JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 7/15/24

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Ben Clemens

2:41

but I'm not really throwing hot takes out there

2:42

I think that if you forced me to recite my articles to the plyaers they were about, I'd be able to do it without fear of angering them, because I'm trying to come from an objective perspective and I think I'm pretty positive overall

Idiotic Failson

2:42

The Yankees feel way worse than their record. If you're Brian Cashman, what do you do to make this team a legit WS contender?

Ben Clemens

2:43

I mean, what do the Yankees need to do to make Yankees fans happy? Last week there was a crisis and they were gonna win 30% of their games the rest of the year

then they win a series against the O's, nearly sweep them, and if anything it seems the mood is worse

2:45

I think that the Yankees need another infielder, hopefully some relievers too, but i don't look at this team and go 'oh no it sucks'

Gator

2:45

Have you finally given up on Ke'Bryan Hayes?

Ben Clemens

2:45

Yeah

classic situation where I still like my process and I expect to like players like Hayes in the future

2:46

good contract, tons of good statistical markers, you have the CHANCE to really hit a home run

but the problem is, he couldn't hit home runs

I'll bet on guys like that again, b/c you don't need to be right all that often

the floor is extremely high, he might STILL be an average player this year

but when they don't pan out, they don't pan out. gotta stop living in the past and accept the present

Matt Damon

2:47

MATT. DAMON.

Dan

2:47

Can Ben Rice be used to let the Yankees aggressively pinch hit for their catchers since he's always their if your second catcher gets hurt? Is he not ready for MLB defense at catcher? If there a cost of switching catchers mid game beyond using up your bench?

Ben Clemens

2:47

yes

Refugee

2:47

Re: Yankees vibes, that's strictly the gap between how bad a 1-run walkoff loss feels versus how bad it actually is, no? I feel like it's the least harmful type of loss (much worse than your starter getting blown out or your offense failing to fire for nine innings).

sorry much *better

Ben Clemens

2:47

I think losing on an error is just the WORST

2:48

it's that, but also, Yankees fans have consistently considered their team worse than our models have

since I've been writing here

5 years now

Farhandrew Zaidman

2:48

Were the scouts/projections wrong on Gavin Lux, was the injury and lost time that big a deal, or has there been a true talent change here?

Ben Clemens

2:48

surely there's been a talent level change there. your guess is as good as mine whether the PT/injury have caused that or been results

2:49

i mean, clearly the projections were wrong in this specific case, in a very literal sense; they didn't project him correctly

but there's a lot of error baked in

2:50

I think that the markers that led both scouts and models to like him are generally good markers, but that they're hardly foolproof

Dan

2:50

Are you worried about Ragans’ 3-start velo dip? He’s so good and has so many pitches, but his velo has been down across the board.

Ben Clemens

2:50

i'm not worried yet

I've done some thinking on this one b/c spoiler, he's on the trade value list, and not low on it

2:51

if he comes out of the ASB throwing even softer, I'll re-assess, but generally speaking I am always a little worried about velo drops, but a little less worried when you still strike out 21 in 18.2 innings

Manfred blues

2:51

Was baseball better when MLB juiced the balls for the 16-19 era?

Ben Clemens

2:51

I thought so, tbh

offense is fun

i'd prefer it to happen on balls in play but i hate when a two-run lead feels insurmountable

Kate

2:51

How worrisome is Altuve's elevated o-swing this year? Is this the type of thing that starts to creep up as guys age and fall off?

Ben Clemens