JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/24/20

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/24/20

powered by

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Ben Clemens

3:27

With Smith I'm not sure anything has changed, but he was already mashing last year

This is one of those fake breakout type deals

Jonesy Wales

3:28

Javy Baez is finally being less aggressive and is...worse?

Ben Clemens

3:28

Oh yeah I'm super into this because I wrote an article about how he should be *more* aggressive last year lol

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/javier-baez-is-incomparable/

3:29

I don't think being less aggressive really works for him

Becuase he'd need to get *so* much less aggressive

And he's a really good bad-ball hitter

Gene

3:29

Which NL team is best positioned to beat the Dodgers in the playoffs?

Ben Clemens

3:30

The D-Backs, because they're the team most likely to end up in the 8 seed

So they'll get the first crack at the Dodgers. Everyone else has to win their first round series and have the Dodgers survive

If you mean which team is the second-best team in the NL, then I suppose I'll say the Braves

Derek

3:30

Angels fun:quality of results ratio has to be an all-time record. Trout, Simmons, Fletcher, Bundy, Adell, (even a one-way) Ohtani... Why can't they be good!? (After typing this I suspect it's because only one of those names is currently a pitcher...)

Ben Clemens

3:31

You didn't even list Rendon!

It's really wild

But yeah, a lot of it comes down to just not having enough pitching

Joshua

3:31

Carter Kieboom and Adam Eaton for Mike Yaz and Evan Longoria......who says no? I actually think this trade makes a ton of sense for both teams.

Ben Clemens

3:31

Oh, I kind of like this without doing too much digging on it

3:32

I think that might work if the Giants were interested in Eaton. I don't know how you make it work if they don't want him, but if they do, why not? Yastrzemski is a great fit for the Nats' contention window, he should be good as long as Scherzer and Strasburg are

YardGoat

3:32

How's it going Ben? Any predictions at this time for a surprising team that will make it to the League Semifinals?

Ben Clemens

3:33

I'm going to say the Mets. They've had some rough injury luck this year but they're a really dangerous short-series team and they're actually in playoff position right now

Gene

3:33

Follow-up question, who would you pick in the NL: The Dodgers or the field.

Ben Clemens

3:33

Field

3:34

These first-round coin flips are wild

Our odds have the Dodgers at 27.5% to win the NL

the487

3:34

Hi Ben, if a postseason bubble were implemented, would Manfred change the playoff format again to incentivize being a top seed? Would seem like as is, with no HFA, there would be little incentive

Ben Clemens

3:34

I totally agree that they *should* change something

3:35

I don't know if they will

They could make it like the NBA play-in game, lower seed needs to win two straight

But I kind of think they'll just go with it and say, hey, this was a weird season

HFA in an empty stadium was already kinda weird

K-Rock

3:36

In a dynasty league where Kris Bryant is in the last year of his contract, is he worth holding on to? Dude looked lost before he got hurt.

Ben Clemens

3:36

I'm worried

Not long-term, because he's really talented and has shown he's capable of adjusting his approach

But this year? Very worried

It can take time to do that and he doesn't have it

the487

3:37

Fair enough, though I'd think ballpark familiarity at least provides a small advantage theoretically (sorry Blue Jays lol)

Ben Clemens

3:37

I think so too

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/home-field-advantage-is-dead-long-live-hom...

(sorry for talking myself up so much but hey, I'm very self-indulgent)

Connecting…

Register

Message History

On Off

On Off

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

Register now to continue managing your subscriptions

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Ben Clemens hosts a chat