JotCast | FanGraphs AL Wild Card Chat

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Kevin Goldstein

8:45

Jon with a remarkable factoid there. I had no idea. Availability is one of the more underrated stats in the game.

Morbo

8:45

Drinking a 2020 Goose Island Bourbon County while watching the game. Anyone else drinking anything good?

Kevin Goldstein

8:45

Iced coffee, but I'll have a cocktail in a bit....

Dan Szymborski

8:45

Yeah, I did not see a 14-year career coming for Gardner

Kevin Goldstein

8:46

Kevin Plawecki repping the Midwest (Purdue)

Derek

8:46

Is there any chance whatsoever that anyone gets popped for sticky stuff in the postseason? Will they even be checking?

Kevin Goldstein

8:46

Almost certainly not; Yes.

Morbo

8:47

Kevin, I recommend a boulevardier! Had one with dinner. I'm probably done for the night after my beer

Kevin Goldstein

8:47

I don't like beer. Never drink it [ducks.]

Guest

8:47

Re: Players on the active roster all season: That makes for an interesting quiz: https://www.sporcle.com/games/alexhudsonchamp/2021-mlb-perfect-attenda...

Jon Becker

8:47

That's how I knew that factoid! You learn a lot from Sporcling to kill some time.

Kevin Goldstein

8:48

105 EV on the Plawecki double. Cole 98FB caught too much of the plate.

Morbo

8:48

A boulevardier is a cocktail. It's basically a negroni but with whiskey instead of gin

Kevin Goldstein

8:48

Ah!

Dan Szymborski

8:48

My stomach means I have to stay away from cocktails

Joey Caltrain

8:49

If Chris Sale had been at full health, would you have preferred to have him for this game instead of Eovaldi?

Jon Becker

8:49

No. Command has been pretty spotty, the back foot slider has been pretty MIA and that's especially troubling against a team as righty-heavy as the Yankees

8:50

Now I guess if full health is "pre Tommy John" then yes, of course

8:50

would the Yankees been better off with Sanchez + Odor starting then Velasquez/higashioka for defense or leave the gary/Roogie combo for pinch hitting? Feels like with Cole’s Ks and handing Yankees pen a lead the former would have been a better choice.

Kevin Goldstein

8:50

I don't trust Gary Sanchez behind the plate in the playoffs. I know this is a touchy subject, but a big reason the Yankees lost the 2017 ALCS is because Gary Sanchez can't catch a baseball.

Jon Becker

8:51

This goes back to the lineup spot discussion too. If a pitcher's more comfortable throwing to a certain catcher, even if that's not backed up in anything besides his mental state, he gets that say, IMO.

Brian

8:51

great pitch

Kevin Goldstein

8:51

Killer pitch.

Guest

8:52

Seeing Plawecki in the lineup makes me ask: what exactly happened to Christian Vazquez's offense this year?

Kevin Goldstein

8:52

If you look at his career, it's 2019 that looks like the fluke, not 2021.

Morbo

8:52

Also higashioka is basically Cole's personal catcher at this point

Kevin Goldstein

8:52

Also true.

8:54

Way too easy last out there.

8:55

After 2 innings, we have Boston at 68.7% to win . . . will they?

Hell yeah (72.4% | 84 votes)

Hell no (27.6% | 32 votes)

Total Votes: 116

Divcoman

8:55

39 pitches in two innings for Cole. Is this important?

Kevin Goldstein

8:55

VERY

Jsolid

8:55

So far Cole's most successful pitch is fastball at the eyes.

Dan Szymborski

8:55

WHY ISNT HECK AN OPTION

Kevin Goldstein

8:56

Cole has been among the best pitchers in baseball by elevating FBs, why stop now?

Dan Szymborski

8:56

Since it's a commercial, here's the neural network-generated nickname list for these two rosters.

Jon Becker

8:57

A LOT of early swinging for the Yankees today, Eovaldi's doing a great job at getting that fastball under the hitters' hands

Belli Flop

8:57

Cat update Dan?

Dan Szymborski

8:57

Last I checked, they were all sleeping

5 Run Homer

8:58

A fun part of the postseason ESPN games is learning how much worse American commercials are

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