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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 10/19/18
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Jeff Sullivan
9:06
Hello friends
Welcome to Friday baseball chat
9:07
Congratulations to the Red Sox, who are very good
So long to the Astros, who were very good
Phil
9:07
Best defeat over the past two days: POSTSEASON NARRATIVES.
Jeff Sullivan
9:07
I don't know if it's some kind of contrarian instinct or what, but I always, without fail, root for the players to turn those stories upside down. Very happy for David Price
And the other guy, too. But the other guy's had a bunch of great playoff starts already
Nelson
9:08
Does it feel nice when you write article, a commenter says that the article sucks and then that comment get voted down a bazillion times?
Jeff Sullivan
9:08
Usually don't see those kinds of numbers!
9:09
But it was the perfect blend of ingredients -- playoff game, Red Sox involved, Joe West involved, and I actually expressed an opinion
9:10
I'll tell you what felt nice: finishing that post. Because it meant I could go to bed
David
9:11
I know you've been trying to figure out what to do with the Padres OF depth but have you thought about Myers? What kind of value does he have left? Is there a team out there that thinks they can finally be the ones to crack that code?
Jeff Sullivan
9:11
Finally, a Padres question in October
Hard to imagine that this is an offseason where Wil Myers and his contract get moved. Didn't impress in 2018 and he missed so much time due to injury. I'm not convinced even the Padres know exactly how this is going to play out, but I think Myers is likely to stick around
9:13
I'd love to know their internal valuations on Myers at third base. DRS didn't hate it, UZR *did* hate it, and the sample was tiny anyhow
Daniel
9:14
Will the new emphasis on versatility lead to baseball teams not grinding their players down over the course of 162? It's no big deal for NBA teams to sit their stars (to the point that the league yells at them) but it seems like in baseball, if you're not playing at least 150, you're some sort of disappointment.
Jeff Sullivan
9:15
Fun fact: over the past 20 years, the median season has had about 72 players appearing in at least 150 games
9:16
The two seasons with the highest totals: 2015 and 2016
The three seasons with the lowest totals: 2014, 2017, and 2018
Pretty hard to know what to make of that!
9:17
Now, I think in the average basketball game, there's more of a physical toll than during the average baseball game. At least for non-pitchers. So there's a greater benefit to sitting a game out
9:18
Baseball teams are definitely increasingly aware of the value of rest, though. The 162-game player-season is going to die
stever20
9:19
I think it's interesting a lot has been made about the Dodgers struggles vs LHP- but looking at the season stats- the Red Sox struggled even more.  Could be a lot of low scoring games in the World Series with at least 5 lefty starters- and a 6th is possible for Boston with Rodriguez.
Jeff Sullivan
9:19
Looking at wRC+ for non-pitchers, the Dodgers ranked sixth in baseball against left-handed pitchers
9:20
That's pretty good
Plus they added dudes like Machado and Freese midseason
9:22
The Red Sox finished much worse, but then again, here are some right-handed hitters of theirs: J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Steve Pearce
9:23
I also feel obligated to point out the Dodgers haven't made the World Series yet
As the Red Sox go though, they're going to have to sit a good player in the NL ballpark. Too bad!
APODionysus
9:24
One of my low key favorite moments from last nights clincher: Mookie making another jumping catch at the wall.... and all the fans in the standings CLEARLY raising their hands away like “nope no controversy this time”. Made me laugh.
Jeff Sullivan
9:24
That was great
It's one thing to joke with your friends that that's how you would react in the same position, but it's quite another for so many people to respond like that in the heat of the moment
9:25
Rewired instincts in the span of 24 hours!
Bruce
9:26
...waitng for Fangraphs to tell me what David Price "figured out" while in the bullpen at the end of game 5
Jeff Sullivan
9:27
At 43%, David Price threw the highest rate of changeups in a game in his major-league career
That changeup yielded 12 swings and misses
It's not as simple as that -- it's never as simple as that -- but the changeup was the featured pitch, and Price says he tweaked his grip somehow the day before
9:28
Nothing real meaningful in terms of changes in movement or velocity, but he had that pitch locked in from the get-go
Also, and this is important: David Price is an excellent starting pitcher
Nicky
9:29
What kind of trade value does Greinke have? Maybe no  surplus value with his contract but still very effective on the mound...
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