JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 6/9/25

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Beve Salboni

2:49

re: Judge's BABIP and such, Petriello also theorized he's hitting the ball so hard he's creating an overperformance cushion by forcing the outfield to play prevent defense that allows more hits to fall in. Nuts!

Ben Clemens

2:49

I absolutely believe that

you try defending aaron judge with nine players

Dan

2:49

Games 2 and 3 of the wildcard should be on the same day.

Ben Clemens

2:49

great! into it!

Motivational Speaker

2:49

If Roman Anthony REALLY wanted to be in the show, he would've picked up a 1b glove 3 weeks ago....

Ben Clemens

2:49

Devers had a spare one

Guest

2:49

I'm trying to find a board game I can play with my wife, who is very uncompetitve. Any recs for a *cooperative*, 2-player game?

Ben Clemens

2:49

okay, I have more of these than competitive ones

2:50

our favorite is this game called "Mass Transit", you are trying to build transit lines and get commuters home from work

it's a little bit of a constraint juggling game, and they limit communication so that one player can't take over as captain

in a similar vein: Tranquility, a beautifully illustrated and lightly themed game about sailing and/or putting numbers in order

2:51

they're both quiet, both come in tiny boxes and play fairly quickly, both very pleasant for an afternoon on the patio

appa yip yip

2:51

it's difficult to admit but a lot of manfred's changes have ended up being really good. i just wish the ghost runner started in the 11th instead of the 10th.

Ben Clemens

2:51

you know, you can have the wrong intentions and still come up with good solutions

2:52

I don't agree with Manfred's motivations in general, but I do think that the game is a lot better for the on-field rules changes

Ethan

2:52

What are your thoughts on Jarren Duran? He is hitting the ball harder this year (92.5v 90.8, better launch angle and better hard hit rate 47.2 v 43.9 and he is pulling the ball in the air more 12.4 v 10.3) and yet his underlying numbers and actual numbers are down from a season ago. Would you trade him to a OF needy team like Mets, Phillies, Padres and call up Anthony?

Ben Clemens

2:52

well, I don't think you're supposed to pull the ball in the air more as a lefty at Fenway, so I wouldn't really consider that a plus

2:53

but I guess I'd say that my opinion of Duran when he broke out last year was that this felt like a late breakout and that I'd put my expectations around "slightly above average hitter with excellent baserunning" going forward

I left him off the top 50 trade value, for exmaple, and honestly I didn't get a ton of pushback from industry contacts on that

2:54

I think that these 'trade a good player while contending and just call up a reinforcement' trades are fun in theory but that they almost never happen in practice

so like.... I think the actual solution here is that Duran is just gonna keep playing left, and that it's nice to have a bunch of good players so that even when some of them tail off you have others to pick up the slack

appa yip yip

2:54

how do you feel about the ball/strike challenge system coming next year? i think it threads the needle pretty nicely myself - keeps framing important for borderline pitches but lets teams not get burned by the really egregious calls.

Ben Clemens

2:54

I absolutely love it

2:55

yesterday, please

also have you ever been to either a minor league game with the challenge system or a tennis match with the old challenge system?

it's fun! audience involvement

Why Always Mets

2:55

Went to Safeco (T-Mobile now i guess) for the first time last Thursday vs Baltimore. Great park, great city

Ben Clemens

2:56

it's the park I haven't been to that I most want to go to (now that I've crossed off Wrigley)

I've heard nothing but good things, particularly about the views and food

A's line of thining

2:56

Do the A's try to make Soder pick up third base over the offseason for next year? If not, who is the third baseman of the future?

Ben Clemens

2:57

I think that's asking too much and that left field makes a bit more sense to me

I could completely see him ending up as a good left fielder. I'm very skeptical that he could suddenly pick up third without a ton of experience as a quick-twitch infielder in the minors

A Boy Named Yu

2:57

What did you think of your trip to Wrigley?

Ben Clemens

2:58

you know.... the atmosphere was amazing, and I completely understand the reason it's considered such a Mecca. Great place to watch a baseball game, the fans are fun and friendly, I had a wonderful time

but like... that stadium is not good from a me watching a baseball game in 2025 standpoint

the food, for one thing!

2:59

I love it, I love that it exists, but I'm glad I'm not watching every game tehre

Matt VW

2:59

I'm all for the ABS challenge system too, but I do want to give some credit where credit is due. It feels like umpiring is waaay better than it was twenty years ago. Quantification and accountability have already done a pretty good job of raising the bar.

Bosoxforlife

2:59

The more I watch the more I can't wait for the challenge system to be implemented. Maybe it is just because I am a crotchety old man but the umpiring seems poorer than usual capped off by yesterday's ejection of Nico Hoerner on an awful call. There needs to be more than 3 challenges to make it really effective because the teams will be forced to conserve them.

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