You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Dave Cameron FanGraphs Chat
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
George
12:37
Do you think Rasiel Iglesias will become the full-time closer at some point this season?
Dave Cameron
12:37
Doesn't sound like the Reds want a full time closer. They're going to experiment with multi-inning RPs.
kevinthecomic
12:38
I take umbrage with your classification of the WBC as meaningful baseball. I get the sense that it is maybe meaningful only outside of the United States and that within the US of A, it is seen only as an opportunity for the best player from your favorite team to get injured. If the WBC was meaningful baseball, wouldn't everyone remember who won the last one? Anyone?
Dave Cameron
12:39
I guarantee you that people in the D.R. remember who won the last one. I legitimately don't understand how you can watch the games, see the passion the players and fans from other countires are exhibiting, and come to any conclusion besides that this matters to them a lot. It might not matter to you, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter.
Philip Christy
12:40
With a great farm system and seemingly infinite money, why don't the Dodgers win even more?
Dave Cameron
12:40
Four straight division titles isn't enough for you?
Ben
12:40
Given that luxury tax is calculated based off an average, do you think we could ever see some sort of lifetime-like contract. For instance, take a guy like Pujols who will be in his early 40s by the time his contract ends. Could the Angels have added another 12 years at league minimum to save on luxury tax penalty?
Dave Cameron
12:41
I heard some suggestions that we might see longer deals this winter to get the AAVs down; someone joked that they were going to try and get their owner to offer Chase Utley a 10 year deal. But it would so obviously be luxury tax manipulation that the league would likely step in and yell at the owner.
Wes
12:42
Does David Wright's peak make him a potential Hall of Famer or do counting stats keep him out? My hope is that by the time he retires the population of voters will have shifted and advanced stats and a player's peak will have more weight.
Dave Cameron
12:42
He's at fewer than 7,000 PAs in his career and hasn't reached +60 WAR. Even newer voters aren't going to vote for him unless he gets healthy and puts together another run of greatness, which seems unlikely.
Seth Lugo
12:42
Why am I getting no respect as a #5 over Gsellman?
Dave Cameron
12:42
Well Gsellman's better, so that might have something to do with it.
Erik
12:43
Could you explain the backloading thing a bit? How does it actually work? Do the Nats pay more or less in the long term? If it's a good idea, should every team do it?
Dave Cameron
12:44
Backloading is just putting the bulk of a contract into the last years of the deal; the Royals do this all the time. Deferrals are what the Nationals do, moving payments to after the contract actually ends. It lowers the NPV of the contract for the player, so the Nationals $150M offer isn't the same as another team's $150M offer, which is why they've had trouble landing free agents that have strong markets.
Turd Ferguson
12:45
Do you think Albert will get to 100 career WAR (91.2 currently)? Would be a special milestone, and he is signed through 2021
Dave Cameron
12:45
He's a ~1 WAR player at this point, so I'd bet against it.
Meldivar
12:46
What do you think of the Reds experiment of using their relievers in multiple high leverage innings situations this year? Does it stick?
Dave Cameron
12:46
Worth trying in a throwaway year. I don't know that it will work to just up reliever usage without a significant change in the structure of how pitching staffs are used overall, but it's a start.
Kristen
12:47
Could throw the Rangers' in there as a team whose window will close after '17. Darvish and Lucroy will most likely not re-sign, and there's a distinct lack of high-ceiling impact talent at AAA/AA to replenish an aging team.
Dave Cameron
12:47
Yeah, true.
Guest
12:47
Should MLB consider creating a minor league in the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico for example? Instead of sending a 17 year old Latin American player to Wisconsin, how about we reverse it and immerse young American players in other cultures? You might be able to live comfortably on a minor league salary in these areas too among publicity/economic benefits.
Dave Cameron
12:48
They already have that; the Dominican Summer League is where guys who aren't ready for full-season US assignments play.
But I don't think there's a lot of push for teams to send their American kids there.
Srb1n
12:49
If a player retires early, is the green responsible for the remainder of his salary
Dave Cameron
12:49
If they retire, the salary goes away. In injury cases like Fielder's, where insurance is a factor, they don't retire; they just stop playing.
And then the insurance company covers the insured part of the contract.
Sean
12:50
If you could be a major leaguer at any position today what would you choose to be
Dave Cameron
12:51
Do I have my current physical skills? Because then I'd like to play backup SS behind Andrelton Simmons.
Torrey
12:51
Why does Detroit seem hesitant to pay J.D. Martinez?
Dave Cameron
12:51
I think they're planning a teardown once their old guys decline.
saditude
12:51
If this period in hindsight turns out to be the beginnings of a revolution in swing mechanics - i.e. building a swing to get loft on the ball - who was the first adopter we should be praising as ahead of their time?
Dave Cameron
12:51
Ted Williams.
Brendon
12:52
Even though the NPV to a backloaded deal is beneficial to the team in current dollars, teams still operate on year to year budgets. Even if they increase their budget some every year, aren't they just filling up future budgets with an attempt to win now?
Dave Cameron
12:52
Yeah, deferring money is just borrowing from yourself, essentially.
But there's a pretty decent chance the Lerners aren't planning on owning the team by the time the Scherzer deferred payments come due.
TF Fredrik
12:53
The fluidness of skills/attributes that you wrote about with gselllman is fascinating to me in baseball. I feel like you have more out of no where players than any other sport. Or just players that take a looong time to develop.
Dave Cameron
12:53
I think it's true, but can't prove, that it's easier to go from meh to great in MLB than in other sports.
Meldivar
12:54
What would it take for Bellinger to break into the Dodgers lineup this year?
Dave Cameron
12:54
Adrian Gonzalez to get hurt.
Erik
12:54
How close is Cole Hamels to the Hall of Fame? 44 WAR and just 33 years old, with proven durability throughout his career. But he never even had a 5-WAR season. What is your ballpark estimate of his chances? 5%?
Connecting…