JotCast | Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat

Dan Szymborski FanGraphs Chat - 1/11/16

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Dan Szymborski

1:09

DId I spell that correctly?

Uther

1:09

Have you played Mage lately? If you were going to, what playing style do you feel best suits the current state of the game?

Dan Szymborski

1:10

Freeze mage is the best version of mage right now, I think.

But the meta changes rapidly

mtsw

1:10

Did you play any Mini-Metro? Fun and addictive time waster tho inexplicably not available on mobile platforms yet.

Dan Szymborski

1:10

I have not

Guest

1:10

Does it piss you off if someone you don't know is over your shoulder looking at your phone to see what you're doing?

Dan Szymborski

1:10

Not particularly. don't like it but I don't really care

Guest

1:10

NFL wildcard playoffs have been very exciting, any thoughts?

Dan Szymborski

1:10

Very

2-D

1:10

I thought Hedberg was your favorite comedian?

Dan Szymborski

1:11

My favorite things vary depending on the mood I'm in.

You can ask me tomorrow and it'll be Hedberg. Or maybe Louis C.K. or Oswalt.

mtsw

1:11

When you play OOTP how much do you micromanage? Do you set each day's lineup? Do you play out the games individually? I find it infuriating to let the AI do anything more than manage non-prospect minor leaguers even tho it means the game progresses at a snail's pace.

Dan Szymborski

1:11

When I play OOTP, I pick a role. I don't play as both GM and manager.

If I'm GMing, I don't make decisions that a GM wouldn't normally make.

RotoLando

1:12

Which of your household items do you most suspect is a transformer?

Dan Szymborski

1:12

I have a few actual transformers somewhere.

Maybe a cat. Possibly my tortie cat who doesn't seem to shed, barf, and I swear I have not seen her use the litter box in 12 years I've had her.

jtt

1:12

Hypothetical : There is one tweak that you could make to ZiPS that would raise it's accuracy level to 100%. Teams are lining up for you. The catch is...you have to give all the credit to cistulli. Do you want zips to succeed that badly? or would you burn it to the ground

Dan Szymborski

1:13

Since I know 100% accuracy is a theoretical impossibility even if I knew everyone's exact underlying probabilities, it would mean that ZiPS is using information gleaned from time travel, so I could not support it.

Slew

1:14

Favorite island?

Dan Szymborski

1:14

Assateague? I haven't been on a ton of islands

Slew

1:14

Percentage of US states visited?

Dan Szymborski

1:14

I dunno, 70?

1:15

No alaska, hawaii, alabama, mississippi, arkansas, oklahoma, arizona, new mexico, montana, idaho, dakotas

so 78%

err 76%

mtsw

1:15

Predict the results of the Iowa and NH GOP contests. Who comes in 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each?

Dan Szymborski

1:16

Cruz/Trump/Rubio, Trump/Rubio/Cruz

Sean

1:16

Will you play Civ V with me?

Dan Szymborski

1:16

I haven't played in a long time.

Slew

1:16

Favorite Gatorade flavor?

Dan Szymborski

1:16

Orange

Slew

1:16

Shoe size?

Dan Szymborski

1:16

12.5

RotoLando

1:16

Is gelato a scam?

Dan Szymborski

1:16

Bork

1:16

If it counts, a female played an NHL pre-season game.

Dan Szymborski

1:16

Does it?

Connecting…

Mat

5:06

Does a $19 Puig in an NL only league seem like good value this year?

Eric

7:24

Assuming $260 cap, yeah, I think that is a pretty good value.

Zach

5:13

What do you think Joe Ross' upside is?

Matt Damon

5:14

MATT. DAMON.

Eric

5:26

Do you think Ketel Marte can be a top 12 SS?

mtsw

5:55

What feature do you feel like OOTP could most improve on? It still feels curiously incomplete for a game that's been around forever.

mtsw

5:01

Are we still at a point where the Orioles would probably give Chris Davis the 7/150 they reportedly offered or has the market for him (and Upton/Cespedes) deteriorated enough that they'd try and talk Boras down to a more reasonable contract?

nickh93

5:03

What are your thoughts on a pair of 2nd year lefties. Eddy Rodriguez for Boston and Carlos Rondon for Chicago

JBoyle

5:04

Are the Mets squandering this year of cheap, overpowering starting pitching by not adding another formidable bat/Bullpen arm? They seem so close to being a complete roster.

Bork

5:04

What kind of payday do you think Bautista and EE are going to be receiving?

Ctwink

5:04

The ZIPS projection for the Twins looks pretty bad on the pitching side and management has been sitting on their hands all winter. Should I be concerned that MN is due for a major drop off after doing surprisingly well last season?

Michael

5:05

Hey Dan - how does ZIPS feel about Ender Inciarte?

MikeMilligan

5:06

So now that the Dodgers have a surplus of starters does it make sense to package one with prospects in a deal for a high end bullpen arm ? Is it legal to trade Anderson ?

Phil

5:06

Valuewise; Dickey and Thole for Melancon and Stewart? Close in value?

Scott

5:10

Do you think Cespedes and/or Upton settle for 1 year deals?

josh

5:11

can LA clear up their OF log jam w/o trading Puig or cutting Guerro

The Cincinnati Kid

5:11

Is there a projected stat in Zips that you feel is close to 100% accurate; is there another that you feel like you haven't quite cracked?

Matt

5:12

In a dynasty league, I traded Abreu for Grienke (equal contracts) and also gave up Grandal as a minor leaguer, and a #15 minor league draft pick and got back a #10 minor league pick. I have Hosmer as a 1B now, and my rotation is Waino, Greinke, Stroman, McCullers, Ventura. Did I do good?

John

5:14

How do you think Cespy and Upton markets play out?

Zach

5:15

Hey Dan, what do you think Joe Ross' upside is?

Cruz

5:16

Tommy Pham....underrated dynasty asset?

Jake

5:16

Hi Dan, thanks as always for your time. What the hell is going on with Upton? This isn't Kendrys Morales here

NCAA argument

5:16

You explicitly agreed to give up your rights for money in exchange for program where you get food, shelter, and education while learning a trade while following certain rules. If you don't agree with that exchange, you can go play in the minors/Canadian football league/D or Euro League for money.

Scott Bakula

5:17

did someone say quantum leap?

Sirras

5:19

Mets need a bullpen piece, or so it seems. Are there any deals you think the Mets still should make at this juncture? If they weren't in on Oh, seems like an odd choice.

Joe

5:21

Where do you see J. Upton signing with ? And how much ?

The Cincinnati Kid

5:21

When some of these FAs start signing (and getting rid of the logjam), do you think we'll start seeing a few more trades or are we basically done with mid/major level names until July?

RotoLando

5:22

Can Mikie Mahtook be a decent 4th OF this year, and maybe work his way up to OF3?

Alex

5:23

Degrom or Harvey ?

Tommy

5:23

Which is the hardest for Zips to accurately measure: grit, 5 tools, pluck, or looking like a baseball player?

Matt

5:24

Benintendi for Teheran...Who says no?

Chass

5:25

Gun to your head because YOU'RE A FILTHY NERDY TWITTERER WHO DONT KNOW BOUT BASEBALL BACK IN MY DAY YOU WOULDNT LAST A DAY IN MY DAY WITH US OLD BASEBALL GENIUSES WHO DONT NEED NO NEW AGE LASERSABERNERDS.

John N. Braca III

5:26

What do the Jays do with Osuna now?

Gary

5:27

The Mets ZIPs projections look really good!

Man In White

5:30

Favorite in the AL East in your opinion: Red Sox or Jays?

Mark

5:32

Have Zips for Seung Hwan Oh aka The Stone Buddha aka The Final Boss?

Nick

5:33

So the Royals will sign Kennedy?

Julio Pepper

5:33

Who's decent first, the Phillies or Braves?

Scott Bakula

5:34

shouldn't mike piazza's nickname have been "supreme"? i feel like that writes itself but it never caught on.

Jeet

5:36

Hey Dan why does it seem that everyone is depressing expectations on Schwarber this year? Do you think he will have a sophomore slump or can we expect 30-35 HRs with a 260/270 BA?

Money

5:37

How is Kennedy not better than Gallardo? And the difference between him and Chen is negligible at most

TKDC

5:38

Is giving token votes to guys like Mike Sweeney better, worse, or the same as filling in fewer than 10 names?

Steve-O

5:39

I think ESPN/MLB has ruined Opening Day with Sunday games. WTF is going on there?

Caveman Jones

5:39

Who do you think is the most likely to win the AL East?

Tim O.

5:41

If you and Alderson switched jobs - would you rather have De Aza, Walker, Cabrera as currently constructed I (with Flores as backup and Herrera in minors) or Span and O'Day for 3 years each (with Niese on team, Flores at SS, and Herrera at 2nd)?

RotoLando

5:41

Did you do the Padres ZiPS already? What's the projection for Jabari Blash?

5:43

What caliber of SP could Brett Gardner actual return in a trade?

cmg8462

5:43

Anything specific you look at when finalizing a teams ZiPS? Or at the point you publish are you already familiar with the nuances of the key players on each team?

Gus

5:43

Give me an AL Cy Young sleeper candidate

Tim O.

5:44

Is Rey Luke's Daughter? Leia's daughter? or Obi Wan's daughter?

jtt

5:45

Considering how short the average job tenure is for a team GM, why does anyone stockpile prospects anymore? I'd go for it, trade everybody. if you don't win in 3 years you're probably going to get shitcanned anyway. Not saying its the right way to build a team but I'm trying to keep a job here...

Tim O.

5:47

Where in the projections would I find TWTW? (the will to win) or even wTWTW?

TimeMachineInTheShop

5:47

Quick! Who's winning the 2020 World Series?

jeff

5:47

When using these tools to project a players upcoming season, how much does ballpark, and roster alignment factor into projecting a player?

Tim O.

5:47

GREEDY!? ZiPS clearly isn't factoring in his grandfather.

Biscuit

5:47

Does Brandon Nimmo figure in the Mets plans this year? What do you think his near and longterm impact will be?

TKDC

5:48

We know Bonds and Clemens are being punished for being associated with PEDs, but is it possible some other guys, like Bagwell, are being punished for different, equally (or more) stupid reasons?

DAMN!

5:48

Dan Szymborski: *I'm* probably in the top third of coolness among writers

Joe

5:49

Mark Melancon for Brett Anderson, straight up (with some potential salary adjusting moves added in)? Thoughts?

Guest

5:50

Can Edgar help Zunino stop hacking at everything?

Matt

5:51

If you had a time machine, what would be more important for you to do first - travel through time to the end of spring training so baseball season would start, or travel ahead to Wednesday to find out the winning powerball numbers?

Curtis

5:51

Any thoughts on Corey Knebel?

Jimmy

5:51

Over under how many dodgers SPs miss at least one start due to injury? 4/5/6/a lot?

Curtis

5:52

can Tylor Duffey stick in the Minnesota rotation?

mtsw

5:56

Think Tetsuto Yamada would get the full $20M posting fee if he were posted today, or does "Japanese infielder" still freak people out too much? If you were a GM would you roll the dice?

TommyLasordid

5:56

NL West test: Rank the six new starters in order for career value going forward: Greinke, Miller, Cueto, Shark, Kazmir, Maeta.

Isaac

5:57

Does Bautista post elite numbers once again in 2016? Age getting up there, but showing no signs of slowing down. Is another 35 HR 100 RBI season feasible with upwards of 95/100 BB's?

Julio Pepper

5:57

Do you think we've seen Francisco Lindor's best offensive season?

Ringo

6:00

Lester Bangs would be proud of you Dan.

mtsw

6:00

Speaking of weird stats, Adrian Beltre was worth over 5 runs in UBR (non steals, non DP baserunning metric) in 2015. No one else is above 4.3. Can one not predict baseball or what?

Mark

6:01

ZiPs projection your Grandson to get 3 WAR?

Ryan

6:01

Do you ever do an estimate to actual on ZiPS? Just wondering how accurate or inaccurate ZiPS has been over the last few years.

Matt

6:01

I was looking at Chipper Jones' career numbers the other day...Will there ever be another switch hitter like him? He basically had two separate peaks nearly ten years apart. Had he not been injured so frequently in the early 2000s he would have been a .300/.400/.500 (which he was anyway) guy with 500 home runs. If anyone should get 100% on the first ballot it's him, right?

Ringo

6:02

Slew

6:02

Sean

6:03

If you could find someone to work with you and program ZiPS into something cleaner (more efficient?), would you do it?

Bork

6:04

Come on man ZiPS should be done using visual basic in excel.

Slew

6:04

What should the Indians do this offseason? Or is it too late?

mtsw

6:05

What do you think is a fair back-of-the-envelope adjustment to make to confirmed steroids' guys numbers when considering their place in history or HoF? I think "throw out their two best age 30+ seasons" seems pretty fair given what we know about the efficacy of available PEDs. Or should there be no adjustment applied to their stats at all?

Sean

6:06

As soon as next year, does your gut say Carlos Rodon's command and control will improve enough to be a long term #2/3 starter?

Bork

6:07

There's enough nerds on FG that would do the ZiPS program just to have access to the ZiPS early.

6:08

I couldn't find the ZIPS for Inciarte. Will we get an update?

Matt

6:09

Who is David Bowtie any way?

Matt

6:10

Have you ever thought of renaming ZiPS to BuTTONS?

Matt

6:11

Roy Oswalt isn't that funny.

Eric

6:11

If the Dodgers run relatively strict platoons at 2B (Hernandez, Utley) and LF (Ethier, Van Slyke), can your ZiPS splits tell us what combined production to expect from those spots?

Matt

6:13

Over the last year the Braves have acquired some of the best names in baseball. Rank these Braves acquisitions/players by name awesomeness: Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, Touki Toussaint, Sean Newcomb, Ender Inciarte, Mallex Smith. Go!

joe

6:21

Eiland may have gotten volquez to not suck, but one could argue he did the opposite for AJ burnett

Guest

6:25

What six parks are they?

mtsw

6:26

What reaction would you predict from the public if the NCAA football players in the national championship game went on strike to demand college athletes be paid?

Kylo Ren

6:27

Is the MLB logo left handed or right handed?

Pete

6:28

Odds than any current player is bribing umpires on personal dirt like Lenny Dykstra did?

Kylo Ren

6:29

lol

6:31

All about that base

6:32

Who do you think is Rey's father?

TKDC

6:32

Yes, but there is no reason to like one and hate the other. It would be like if you like sirloin and hate rib eye.

Lawrence

6:32

you the man rock on!!!

Lawrence

6:33

ooooooh non baseball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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