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9:45

I was passively rooting for the Royals to win a little for a while there and now I hate them. Is this normal?

Paul Swydan

9:46

Absolutely. There were a whole lot of people passively rooting for the 2004 Red Sox to win who have since turned up their noses at them (not that I blame them).

Jeff Zimmerman

9:47

Understandable, everyone likes the under dog until they are no longer the under dog

Justin

9:47

When you say a so and so is a +10 defender, what exactly does that mean? 10 DRS?

Paul Swydan

9:47

Yeah, or UZR. And that means 10 runs above average.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:48

Yep, the player saves 10 more runs than the average defender

Red in the Face

9:48

Dan Straily is 27 and looked pretty good in his only game for the Reds. Should they give him a chance to start now before Lamb and Desclafani come back to see what he can do?

Paul Swydan

9:49

He shouldn't stand in the way of the younglings, but if there's room, Straily is definitely worth giving a shot to.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:49

I see no reason why not. The Reds need to be taking chances whenever they can

Your Name

9:50

Who makes a bigger impact this year (performance and volume of starts): Urias, Berrios or Giolito? It is realistic to think any of them will be studs out of the gate, or have we been spoiled by the likes of Thor recently?

Paul Swydan

9:50

I'll say Berrios.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:50

Berrios ... Giolito .................................Urias. I have a notion the Nats will get to Giolito soon if their starting staff is struggling

Lance Mannion

9:51

Hi Guys Whoops Do you think that Zych can jump over Benoit for saves if and when Cishek fails

Paul Swydan

9:51

Yes, I think there is that potential for sure, especially if Benoit's shoulder problem becomes an actual thing.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:51

No. Got to go with the "proven" closer.

Chipmunknunchuks

9:52

How good is the SF Giants Offense going to be this yr? Plenty of talk re: regression for all of their young, developing players around the IF - which sounds strange to say, but was certainly a theme for some pessimism. Guess I personally view them as a potentially very effective "no holes" type lineup.

Paul Swydan

9:52

I believe in the Giants offense. I actually picked the Giants to win the West.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:53

They are OK and should be good enough to make the playoffs

Jon

9:53

When do you expect Berrios to arrive?

Jeff Zimmerman

9:54

Next week or so is the highest chance IMO

Paul Swydan

9:54

I don't know. It depends on how the Twins view themselves. If they viewed themselves as contenders who are having a bad start, then Berrios could come quickly to help patch it up. If they're resigned to being bad all year, there's no reason to rush him.

Watching the Mets

9:54

Do you think Park will lose playing time? Would you drop him for Valencia or David Wright? Thanks!

Paul Swydan

9:55

No, and no.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:55

No and no.

Curtis

9:56

If a bad to average pitcher had one great secondary pitch he threw that was pretty much unhittable, would he be better if he tried to throw it more often? or would it make him worse eventually because players could have more reps to adjust?

Paul Swydan

9:56

Would depend on which secondary pitch it is. You can't just throw sliders and curves all day, it's too much torque on your arm.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:56

Convert him into a reliever

Bob

9:57

Thor is throwing pitches that seem to be unprecedented. Is there any chance he doesn't blow his arm out?

Paul Swydan

9:57

Of course there's a chance. Fingers crossed!

Jeff Zimmerman

9:58

Just enjoy it while it lasts and remember Strasburg, Fernandez and Harvey

Jake M

9:58

Yelich has been an on base machine so far this season, 2 more times tonight. How good can he be offensively this year after three straight 117 wRC+ years?

Paul Swydan

9:59

I could see him between 130-140 wRC+, but I don't think any more than that. Like you said, he's established a pretty strong baseline.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:59

I see him as a potential 125 to 130 wRC+ player.

Anal Hershiser

10:00

Would you trade Joc or Conforto for Buxton in a keep forever?

Paul Swydan

10:00

I could maybe be talked into Joc, especially if your league counts strikeouts, but I'd probably hang on to Conforto.

Jeff Zimmerman

10:00

I would go with Joc for Buxton only. I think Buxton's ceiling is more, but both of the pair could completely fail

Simon_McPherson

10:01

tell me its time MLB played the first 2 weeks of the season in the south, the west, or in Domes. Why on earth is it sensible to have Houston play the yankees in new york? Why would you have a nationalally televised game in detroit in April?!?

Paul Swydan

10:02

It's not sensible, but the cold weather teams want their marquee games in April too. It's hard to please all masters simultaneously.

10:03

And that is going to do it for us tonight folks. Thanks, as always, for hanging out. Talk to you next week!

Jeff Zimmerman

10:04

I don't get early season schedules. complete stupidity.

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