JotCast | FanGraphs After Dark Chat

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Rick

9:38

Dozier, Altuve, Cano, Kinsler, Pedroia--which second baseman would you rather have for this year, for next year, and for the length of his current contract?

Jeff Zimmerman

9:38

Altuve for all three. Not 100% on each's contract though

Paul Swydan

9:39

I mean, Altuve is at 4.5, 6 and 6.5 mill for 17-19

hard to top that

Murdoc

9:39

How do you prefer to handle your starting pitcher in a blowout, leave him in and let him coast or save his arm and take him out?

Paul Swydan

9:39

Depends on the pitcher, but as a general rule in these days where pitchers don't do the whole coasting thing, I'd err on taking him out.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:40

It would really depend on the pitcher, too many variables to go with one approach

Ryan

9:40

Is Rich Hill just trolling Dodger fans at this point? Scratched from his start again, today....

Paul Swydan

9:40

Nah, he just old.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:41

and the Dodgers love acquiring injured pitchers. They deserve the trolling

ginsugarland

9:41

D-Backs front office for AJ Preller. Who says no?

Paul Swydan

9:41

Prob San Diego.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:42

SD for sure, the D-Backs FO is a disaster

Brian

9:42

Does Bryant have a chance of MVP with Arenado's performance (even though he isn't on a playoff team)?

Paul Swydan

9:42

Yes, absolutely. I don't think Arenado is the frontrunner.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:43

Bryant's got a good chance

Roger

9:43

Has anyone done a study to determine if there is a "trade deadline penalty" (similar to the DH or PH penalty) that tends to cause players who change teams at the deadline to perform worse with their new team? Seems like it might be reasonable to expect as much (exceptions like Cespedes notwithstanding) simply because a player is distracted by getting used to a new city, new teammates, etc.

Paul Swydan

9:43

Jeff probably knows this one better than I do, so I'll defer to him.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:44

None I know of. I did look at players changing leagues and teams (FG+) from one season to the next and found no adjustment period.

Paul Swydan

9:45

There is also the Matt Swartz OPP study (studies) that are related but not the same thing.

Ryan

9:46

Is Joey Votto worth 5.6 WAR (per Baseball Prospectus) or 2.6 WAR (per Baseball Reference)? Or something in between (per Fangraphs)?

Jeff Zimmerman

9:47

I don't trust BP's numbers right now. Yesterday they had Jered Weaver at -7.2 WAR. Something seems off with their numbers right now

Paul Swydan

9:47

That's a good question. Both us and B-Ref give him demerits for his defense. Would need to look closer at BPs numbers.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:48

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=49127

Pedro

9:48

What do we learn from Carlos Gomez?

Jeff Zimmerman

9:48

Injured players can fall apart quickly?

Paul Swydan

9:49

That you shouldn't always let injured players suit up just because they have a high tolerance for pain.

Da Bum

9:49

Of the current playoff teams, what rotation would you take?

Paul Swydan

9:50

Nationals probably. Maybe Cubs.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:50

Cleveland is in the discussion

Each one has some glaring warts.

Paul Swydan

9:50

That they are.

Da Bum

9:50

Excited for football or strictly baseball guys?

Paul Swydan

9:51

I'm excited for the Patriots, but my interest level in the NFL is fading rapidly.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:51

I like football, but don't really get into it until the WS is over.

Paul Swydan

9:51

Celtics/NBA and BU hockey/NCAA hockey are higher than the Pats/NFL on my priority list now. And obviously baseball.

Brian

9:52

What game are you watching right now (if any), while chatting with us? I'm watching Pirates-Cubs.

Jeff Zimmerman

9:52

Nothing, enjoying some quite time.

Paul Swydan

9:52

Was going to watch TOR-BAL, but I am wiped to be honest, so I'm listening to some old school Raekwon to keep me awake. :-)

Zach

9:52

This is a super random question just out of pure curiosity that will go down as the most insignificant question in FanGraphs history. Today the Orioles traded with the Pirates to acquire Kyle Lobstein, which is the least exciting move in the history of baseball. Two hours later, they acquired Drew Stubbs off waivers and DFA'd Lobstein to make room for him. Was there anything tactical here that I'm missing or was it just a case of "Oh hey we got Stubbs. Eh, on second thought, we don't need Lobstein"?

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