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AC
12:48
If MLB did come out and say they adjusted the ball to allow for more home runs. How much backlash would there be from team FOs, seeing as they base their evaluations of players based on past performance, and a tip towards more home runs might affect how they valued a fly ball pitcher/hitter?
Dave Cameron
12:49
I'm sure they'd be annoyed, but it'd be hard to argue it hurt any one team more than the others. No teams came out and publicly complained that the league got owners to expand the strike zone a few years back.
Elton
12:50
Didn't MLB have incentive to reduce home runs for a few years (to prove they "solved" the PED problem) and then let them increase again, because casual fans love the long ball?
Dave Cameron
12:51
Yes, I don't think it's that hard to come up with a pretty convincing theory that the rise and fall of offense the last few years has been controlled by MLB. Proving it is harder.
eddie
12:51
Who is your current MVP in the AL?
Dave Cameron
12:51
Trout.
njs
12:52
if there were a change to the ball, would you want transparency? (alternatively, do you like the mystery and/or do you think MLB doing it unilaterally is a thing best kept in the dark)?
Dave Cameron
12:52
I think if the league knows the ball is being manufactured differently, then they owe it to the public to not outright lie about it when asked directly. But we don't know what they know.
12:53
I'm not going to accuse them of lying about this without proof, which we don't have.
Colt Holt
12:53
What about records? If they change the ball, shouldn't all records have asterisks? The ball they used in 2015 was the exact same as what was used since 1915, right?
Dave Cameron
12:54
Nope. Alan Nathan tested some balls from the 70s and found huge variations in the CORs; the idea that there's been one single consistent ball in use forever is a myth.
Toki
12:54
Speaking of the ball, is exit velocity up across the league and also are players just squaring more balls?
Dave Cameron
12:54
Exit velocity is up a bit, yes. The question is why.
Ed
12:55
What are the things you will miss most about NC? I'm guessing the heat/humidity will be the thing you miss the least?
Dave Cameron
12:55
Chick-Fil-A.
Tyler
12:55
When will we get advanced defensive metrics that use statcast as their data source?
Dave Cameron
12:55
My guess would be next year. Tango is pretty transparent about what he's working on now that he's with MLBAM, and it sounds like there's still some work to do.
Gareth
12:55
The green monster should be renamed "the Mookie monster."
Dave Cameron
12:56
Pretty sure that's what they're calling the LF wall in Baltimore.
I am the walrus
12:57
Fowler opt’s out next yr. Baez deserves AB’s but with Schwarber will take maybe 75% of LF AB’s, meaning less OF time for Bryant and Zobrist and less AB’s in IF for Baez. So what's the best options here? Making Baez the CF and wasting his IF glove work? Or flipping Baez for a CF (I can’t image who) or flipping him for minor league pitching while his value is high? Or keeping him as super sub and giving him maybe 375 Ab’s and harming is trade value?
Dave Cameron
12:57
I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping him around as depth and figuring it out depends on who is healthy and playing well. The idea that Schwarber is definitely going to be fine in LF isn't one I'd bet on, and injuries always happen.
Art Vandelay
12:58
You're in luck, chick fil-a is expanding north up the West coast. They just opened the first two in my neck of the woods in Northern CA.
Dave Cameron
12:58
Probably be a while before they get one in Bend, though. It's a town of 85K people and appeals to the outdoor enthusiast crowd, who aren't known as fried chicken fans.
kevinthecomic
12:59
Any plans to go squatching now that you live in Oregon?
Dave Cameron
1:00
I don't live in Oregon yet; moving next month. At some point, you're going to be subjected to some live chats and podcasts from my car as I drive across the country with the dog and Jeff Sullivan.
Alright, have some writing to take care of. Thanks for hanging out this week, everyone.
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