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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 4/8/16
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Jeff Sullivan
10:34
Marte, because he's an actually good player
Doc
10:35
How many more runs do the Jays score than the padres this year?
Jeff Sullivan
10:35
I'll go with 200
I could see 250 fairly easily
A Different Joe
10:36
Why don't we have 28-man rosters at this point? It's not as if it's a money issue for baseball. Wouldn't it be more fun if teams could have their 13-14 pitchers plus a few Matt Stairses and Jim Dwyers on the bench for special occasions?
Jeff Sullivan
10:37
I don't know how much baseball wants more specialization. I don't know if it's good for the game to move further away from regular all-around players. I do think we're approaching the point of a "taxi squad," of minor-league alternates you can swap in. So you'd have 28 or 30 available players, but only 25 active on a given day
Gary
10:37
Talk to me about Starlin Castro, Sullivan. Could he hit 20-25 home runs?
Jeff Sullivan
10:37
I could see him getting to 20 in that ballpark
Guest
10:37
Is it easier to find things to write about it the beginning, middle, or end of baseball season?
Jeff Sullivan
10:38
Beginning is easy. Everything feels fresh and it's such a great feeling to have new information. August is hard. The trades are done and most of the trends are established and you're not yet in the playoffs
August kind of blows all-around
Zorak
10:39
Think Panik can win a batting title?
Jeff Sullivan
10:39
Buster Posey is better
10:40
I like Panik's game but I don't think he'll get to that level
Gary Guy Yeti
10:40
Do you ever feel like your job is a futile attempt at quantifying the absurd
Jeff Sullivan
10:41
If I ever step back and think too deeply about what it is that I do, it makes it incredibly difficult to then subsequently do what I do without rolling my eyes. It's such a weird way to be invested
I don't know if it's *better* to be an expert on politics or economics or something. It feels like it would be better, compared to being an expert on baseball, which by its very nature makes experts look stupid.
10:42
The plus side is, hey, low stress and low stakes
kevinthecomic
10:42
Would Billy Hamilton's OBP increase if he just attempted to bunt in every at bat?
Jeff Sullivan
10:42
For a week or two, until teams started playing him to bunt in every at bat
Nelson
10:42
Who has more MLB at-bats left, A-Rod or Reyes?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
A-Rod
Hipster Mecca
10:43
Isn't it incredibly wierd that the Nationals don't have a scheduled game today, a Friday?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
Now that you mention it, yes!
This is bizarre!
mtsw
10:44
The most Dan Duquette-y outcome for the Orioles will be them having to eat ~$20M after DFAing Trumbo, Alvarez and Kim but then having Joey Rickard generate 6 WAR and make up for it. This is inevitable, right?
Jeff Sullivan
10:44
Also they'll get big innings from Zach Phillips or some shit
A Different Joe
10:45
Cano HR over/under: 20.5. What do you take?
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
Over
Jordan
10:45
fyi - Kilgore is no longer a Nats beat reporter, switched to columnist last year. WaPo beat reporters are James Wagner & Chelsea Janes
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
That's what I get for not paying attention.
Aroldis
10:46
Who ends up with more career WAR, Betts or Tulo?
Jeff Sullivan
10:47
As much as I love Betts, I'll say Tulo. Six career seasons already of 5+ WAR. Betts came up just short a season ago
Erik
10:47
Is the appearance of pitch types as being discrete categories? Isn't there pretty much a continuum from cutter-slider-slurve-curve, for example? So when Syndergaard throws a 95 mph "slider", isn't it equally accurate to call it a cutter with more drop than most?
Jeff Sullivan
10:48
Yeah, the general understanding of pitch types is too simplistic. For each individual pitcher, he does mostly have discrete types, but that doesn't make one guy's slider similar to another guy's slider. Ultimately there are infinite ways to grip a baseball and throw it. There's no magic point at which a cutter turns into a slider
kyle404
10:50
Has Anthony Rizzo changed his stance a bit at the plate this year? It looks like his front foot is closer to home plate and is more closed. Anthony has a history of making certain adjustments like this so I was just curious.
Jeff Sullivan
10:51
His stance is definitely different, as you describe. He's more closed in 2016. What I don't see yet is evidence that his *swing* is more closed
JDogg
10:51
are you skeptical of Devon Travis for this year? Small sample size last year and just okay MiLB numbers
Jeff Sullivan
10:52
I like Travis as an underrated player
He's almost impossible to notice in that lineup when he's healthy but he's strong across the board
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