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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 12/16/16
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Jeff Sullivan
10:54
It has a very negative connotation. A lot of the time, people interpret "not good" as "bad"! But what it really means is not good -- that being average or worse
I'd say that, as an overall baseball player, Mark Trumbo is not good. But I'd just mean I don't think he's a 3+ WAR player
10:55
And of course, as always, good or not good is in comparison to the other people who are the very best at this in the entire world
The worst major-league baseball player is impossibly good at baseball
Justino
10:55
Is this Josh Hamilton's last chance?
Jeff Sullivan
10:55
I don't even think there really is a chance
He just can't seem to stay together. Burned bright, burned fast
Sean
10:56
Why don't the mets keep bruce and trade grandy? I know they need him in cf but other teams prefer granderson so why not get a better return for him and save a couple mil? bruce is good for over 25 homers and 90 rbis, and lagares should get a chance to play more consistently.
Jeff Sullivan
10:56
Granderson is better, and the Mets don't want to get worse
Tony
10:56
Chapman says he doesn't agree how Maddon used him in the playoffs. Was he actually treated badly? I know he said he's not comfortable pitching in non-traditional save situations, but this playoffs in particular it seemed more to be a trend in reliever usage that Maddon picked up on rather than a case of the Cubs abusing a rental (but maybe it was both).
Jeff Sullivan
10:57
It was a trend, and the whole league is picking up on it, but that doesn't mean Chapman has to like it. He prefers what he prefers. Miller, Jansen, Allen -- they're more open-minded than Chapman is on this
Sandy Kazmir
10:57
I've yet to read any research on the synergies between good/bad pitchers/catchers as it relates to framing, but would love to hear your thoughts. Do good command pitchers see a bigger impact with good framers than bad command pitchers? Is it more linear? What does Jeff's gut think?
Jeff Sullivan
10:58
I haven't seen an exhaustive study, but the way I figure, good command + good framing work exceptionally well together. Look at Hendricks or Lester on the Cubs. A good-command pitcher can make a bad framer look better; a good framer can't do much for a pitcher who's wild
10:59
In short, pitcher identity is probably quite important for determining the strike zone he gets. Catchers need to have a chance, and if a pitcher misses his target by two feet, that would make even Buster Posey flinch
J
11:00
How do you feel about paying RPs nearly $20M?
Jeff Sullivan
11:00
I wouldn't want to do it, but I would feel more comfortable giving $20 million to Kenley Jansen than $15 million to Mark Melancon
Alien Raines
11:00
Jeff. It pains me greatly to say this, but Curt Schilling is a HoFer. Tweets, ugly as they may be, should not change this. How do you feel about 8 writers so far invoking the "character clause" to keep him out?
Jeff Sullivan
11:01
I totally understand trying to find a reason to keep Schilling out, but I don't understand actually believing and sticking to that reason. You can vote and hold your nose. It's what so many of us are hoping for voters to do with PED guys
11:02
Schilling belongs. His performance deserves that honor. His personality deserves criticism elsewhere
Cicero
11:03
UZR Considers Chase Headley to be about .5WAR better on defense better than Nolan Arenado. DRS says Nolan is about 4WAR better than Headley in the same stretch. Knowing what you know which way do you lean?
Jeff Sullivan
11:03
I think that UZR is closer to the real answer
11:04
The actual separation is probably somewhere around 20 runs
Erik
11:04
Should the Phillies be locking up any other members of their young core, or do they all have too short or inconsistent track records to commit real money to?
Jeff Sullivan
11:04
I'd probably see how open Aaron Nola is to a long-term extension
11:05
He's the one I like the most
Doubt there would be a point in extending Hernandez
Roadhog
11:06
Thoughts on the A's potentially signing Edwin? I like it, kind of a ballsier re-do of the Butler deal, which would have been fine if Butler wasn't both awful and lazy.
Jeff Sullivan
11:06
He'd work better on the Indians, who in theory should have no less flexibility. A's should be less incentivized to go after a player who's at his best right now, but then the A's did charge hard for Chase Headley back when he was an FA. I don't think it would be horrible if they got Encarnacion for something reduced
Nomo Lomo
11:07
Is it relatively reasonable to expect Robbie Cano to live up to or at least approach the value of his mega contract? If we assume an average of about $8mil per win over the 10 years, he'll need around 30 total wins, and he's almost half way there. Projections are down on him, but if the first half of 2015 stomach issue never comes back, it seems like a reasonable contract. Agree?
Jeff Sullivan
11:07
Cano is due $168 million over the next seven years
11:08
He projects to be worth something like $122 million
To this point he's been "worth" $104 million over three years
11:09
104 + 122 = $226 million. His actual contract is for $240 million. That's close enough
Long and short of it: Cano is on track to be worth almost exactly the commitment
It's just, well, the best years have gone to non-playoff teams. Bummer
Carlos
11:09
What would it take to pry Michael Conforto from the Mets?
Jeff Sullivan
11:09
A good and cost-controlled center fielder
Who, me?
11:10
Why do some teams (Mets, Blue Jays?) seem to always load up on pitching prospects when position players are more valuable?
Jeff Sullivan
11:10
It's only equivalent position players who are more valuable than pitchers. Maybe they're just finding better pitchers. And certain organizations and coaching staffs just have a preference for strong arms. Look at the Braves
Homer
11:10
Does Blake Swihart ever become an all star catcher?
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