JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 9/21/20

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Ben Clemens

2:12

B/c, uh, I'm arguing that we should reward excellence

And encourage teams to try to stand out from the crowd

It's wild what passes for socialism these days

2-D

2:12

Did you catch Garrett Crochet's debut?

The Ghost of Bobby Thigpen

2:12

How ballsy would it be to add Crochet to the postseason roster? I know the experience is non-existent...but, damn the stuff will play...

Ben Clemens

2:12

I did not catch it, but I watched most of it later

2:13

I think it would be defensible, but the White Sox have a really high octane bullpen as it is

2:14

Looks like he'd push one of the lefties out? Gio or Detwiler

Yeah I'd do it

Also Ben

2:14

Seems like the Cubs should be pretty concerned about their prospects next year and on, no? Although they do manage to keep doing well regardless of the offensive struggles

Ben Clemens

2:14

I mean, I'd be worried, but if there are expanded playoffs next year, it's no biggie

The NL Central will be very competitive next year, but yeah, the Cubs have given signs that they're a little bit worried about the pipeline

2:15

It's no surprise that they're disappointed in the way things have developed

THough obviously they would redo the last six years in a heartbeat

Boo Expanded Playoffs

2:15

Since there are no built-in off days before the WS this year, do you like how teams will be rewarded with extra rest days for winning a series quickly? Do you think that will serve as a meaningful incentive for teams to be more aggressive in pitcher deployment in order to avoid long series?

Ben Clemens

2:15

Eh... it's a nice talking point, but I don't really think so.

There's not enough flexibility in pitcher deployment

2:16

I guess you could go to your bullpen more aggressively? But optimal strategy is already pretty close to that

You already should be using your best four starters, in order, in the first four games

2:17

Like, the massively more important reason to be aggressive with pitcher deployment is that losing a game in the playoffs is really bad

Losing a game in a 5-game series is like losing 32.4 games in a 162-game series

(to use a realllllly stupid analogy)

Charlie

2:18

How are the in-game WRC+ calculated? I noticed that someone who had 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 outs in 4 PAs had a higher WRC+ than someone who had 1 hit, 2 walks, and 2 outs in 5 PAs. Seems like the latter is a better offensive performance (and unless there are some really important adjustments behind the scenes, should also give a higher WRC+).

Ben Clemens

2:18

Depends on the hits, right?

As best as I understand it, they're calculated in a pretty straightforward way: wOBA, park factors, and league average

Charlie

2:18

(both had hits for 1 base)

Ben Clemens

2:19

That shouldn't happen unless there was a glitch in the code or there was an HBP or something

an HBP is more valuable in wRC+ and wOBA terms than a walk so maybe that's what it was?

But I guess that's PA's

Anyway, that shouldn't be the case, so that's weird

If you have the exact details I can dig into it

Aaron

2:19

The Red Sox are on pace to have the least valuable pitching staff of all time. In fact, no team has EVER finished an entire season with negative pitching WAR. The Rangers are on pace to have the least valuable lineup of all time by a wide margin. These are happening in the same season. Might be worthy of a piece. You’re welcome.

Ben Clemens

2:20

Oh Red Sox

Turns out not trying is a great way to be terrible

Bearry

2:20

Now I’m a Rays fan, and while I realize they’re a good team, there’s no way they’re the cream of the AL... right? Seems like the short-season favored them even with all their pitching injuries.

Ben Clemens

2:20

I'm not so sure

The short season favored them via how compressed it is, which lets their depth shine

But they're also really good. They won a ton of games last year and got better this year

Larry Jones

2:20

If you had to vote today, who gets your MVP vote(s)

Ryan

2:20

Picks for NL MVP/Cy Young?

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