JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 8/30/21

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Ben Clemens

2:13

Probably! We're all looking for topics, and he's an MVP candidate

Appa Yip Yip

2:13

What blockbuster trade would you most like to see this offseason from a purely chaos reigns point of view.

Ben Clemens

2:14

How about: Cleveland decides to completely blow it up, trading Shane Bieber and Jose Ramirez in a single deal. Who gets them? The Marlins

Appa Yip Yip

2:14

Does José Ramírez ever suit up as a Cleveland Guardian?

Ben Clemens

2:14

(inspired by this!)

Jerry Dipoto

2:14

Do I go for my hallmark trading approach or use free agency to improve my team’s rotation?

Ben Clemens

2:14

I think the Mariners *should* try free agency

I think they'll dabble in trades as well

Trevor

2:15

Do you think the Twins will give Jose Miranda meaningful at bats in September? Having played multiple positions, which is difficult at the best of times to adjust, the kid's bat seems ready.

Ben Clemens

2:15

I think they should give him plyaing time

2:17

It would basically be over Andrelton Simmons, I think

Which doesn't feel great

But Simmons has been abysmal this year, and Jorge Polanco has been excellent, not like you're going to arbitrarily bench him

Ronnie

2:17

Do you think hitters will eventually flatten their swings again to handle the high fastball, then pitchers will start pitching down in the zone again to combat that, then back and forth, on and on?

Ben Clemens

2:17

Over time, yes

2:18

I think the change where hitters value lifting the ball more is here to stay

But how that plays out in terms of what pitches they optimize against still has plenty of room to change

Brian

2:18

From the start of the season until June 22 the Padres had the best team ERA in baseball (3.10). Since that date they have the ninth worst (4.76). Explanation or coincidence?

Ben Clemens

2:19

I mean, definitely a little of both. They've had a really bad run of injuries, which is doing a lot of it, but Darvish looks like he was getting a sticky stuff boost

Still good, obivously

2:20

But, not quite as good

The bigger issue is that they're doing things like signing Jake Arrieta

2:20

Overall thoughts on the Mets kerfuffle? This org is a clown car of headlines.

Ben Clemens

2:20

Pretty bad look for them, though I think it's being overblown

2:21

Todd Frazier did the same exact celebration and everyone thought he was hilaaaaaarious

But I think the team did not do a good job characterizing it, and the whole thing feels more combative than it should be

Booing the fans because they booed you can be funny in context, but it did not feel that way from the stories

Tom

2:22

Is Tommy Edman a starter long-term? At 2B or somewhere else?

Ben Clemens

2:22

I think he's a totally fine person to have as your 6th-best player or so

2:23

If he's your second baseman, that can't be the highlight of your team

But if you're pretty good at other spots and want a solid player to fill in at second, absolutely

2:24

Of note, Statcast is WAY higher on his defense than UZr, and I tend to believe it

He looks legit out there. Perhaps not Kolten Wong legit, but legit

Now, when they put him in right field? It's terrible, and it needs to stop

Thumbs Down

2:24

Yeah but the 2017 one was the Yankees making fun of a Mets fan who was unhappy that the Yankees (playing at Citi) were doing well. Not making fun of Yankee fans booing them.

Ben Clemens

2:25

The context is different. But if Javy said 'hey, people in New York like booing, I thought I'd get some booing in too' no one would care. I don't think he presented it particularly well, but Mets fans being upset about this is just stupid. Like, who cares? It's clearly okay for the fans to boo him

And I don't really care if he does something about it

2:26

But the team's *handling* of it is just so tone deaf and it just always seems to be

Appa Yip Yip

2:26

Does stuff like this really happen to the Mets more often, or have we just become so conditioned to think of them as a disaster franchise we read into things more?

Ben Clemens

2:26

I think that they handle things more poorly than the average team, and the media covers them more, which makes sense b/c they have a ton of fans

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