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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 5/18/18
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Jeff Sullivan
9:52
I mean, Cozart will occupy one of those infield positions
9:53
The rotation should include, at least, Ohtani, Skaggs, Heaney, and Barria
Ramirez will be under team control. Tropeano is around. And so on
YKnotDisco?!
9:54
Can they do picture in picture for all the commercials during half innings (do they do this for the WS?)? Could it make a viewer less likely to change the channel?

And, although, I think they already do this some of the time: They can show commercial(s) during long breaks of action, too. Like a play that is challenged, a trainer checking on an injured player…
Jeff Sullivan
9:55
Wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw more of this. Instead of going away between innings, you do split-screen. Of course, only one of the screen halves can get the audio priority, so, it's not like this is simple. But it's something for baseball to try to figure out
Jake
9:56
I don’t really understand why the Mariners are going to briefly interrupt Dee Gordon’s transition to center field just so he can fill in at second base for Cano for a few months. Wouldn’t he be better served being left in center and continuing to learn the position, assuming the Mariners plan to move him back there once Cano returns? I feel like the thing that would make the most sense would be to pick up a cheap but useful rental in a guy like Hechavarria (no way they’ll be in the Machado market), move Segura to second base for now and leave Gordon in center
Jeff Sullivan
9:57
I don't love this either, but I guess the Mariners feel like they're more able to replace an outfielder than a second baseman internally. Which just means they like Guillermo Heredia more than they like Gordon Beckham
That much is easily defensible. But they still need to get an outfielder now because their organizational depth completely sucks
9:58
And like you said, this just interferes with Gordon's defensive development in the outfield. It's all just team scrambling
THE Average Sports Fan
9:58
How do you feel about Jeter's comments?
Jeff Sullivan
9:58
I feel confident about my personal news curation because I don't have any idea what you're referring to
Nats For Life
10:00
Thoughts on Edubray Ramos usurping the closer role?
Jeff Sullivan
10:01
Ramos and Neris are almost exactly as good as one another. So this doesn't mean anything to me. Probably won't be the last time the Phillies mess around with the back of the bullpen
Anon21
10:03
Braves have a chasm between their standard projected ROS Win % (.474) and their season-to-date projected ROS Win % (.577). Would you take the over or under on the 83-79 projected finish?
Jeff Sullivan
10:03
Definitely the over. I don't think the Braves are a juggernaut yet or anything but I don't see them as worse than a .500 team the rest of the way
10:05
I will say that while the Braves have had great offensive results, they're also just 18th in baseball in team xwOBA
10:06
xwOBA misses certain elements, but this team is due to slow down a little bit at the plate, I'm sure
altitude
10:07
Is Kinsler done? K% down, BB% up, BABIP is miserable. But hard hit down
Jeff Sullivan
10:07
Not worried about him yet. Far more concerned about Calhoun
10:08
Kinsler is still doing most of everything he's supposed to do
Calhoun has a wRC+ of 9
Nine
Kristen
10:09
TEX badly in need of a rebuild but farm system upper levels empty.  I think everyone should be on the table at the deadline including Gallo and Mazara.  What do you think they could fetch?
Jeff Sullivan
10:09
Mazara could land a pretty good haul, if he were to keep this up. Gallo, less so, because of ongoing concerns regarding his consistency. I doubt teams would be excited about trading for Gallo to play him in October against playoff-caliber pitching
Vegan Man!
10:10
Archer looked good last night against a good offense. Sign of things to come? Thanks!
Jeff Sullivan
10:10
He still walked four and struck out five, a start after walking three and striking out four
10:11
I think Archer very much remains a good pitcher, and it's not like his numbers are that bad. But a little bit of the shine is off
YKnotDisco?!
10:13
Do batters swing at the first pitch more often against relievers, rather than starters?
Jeff Sullivan
10:13
Right now, 27.8% first-pitch swing rate against starters, and 28.6% first-pitch swing rate against relievers
10:14
So, basically, no difference
Lucas Giolito
10:14
What's going on with me?
Jeff Sullivan
10:14
You looked good in spring, but actually you are bad
10:15
The release point is trending back up. Maybe that's a good thing. Giolito feels like a guy who really can succeed if he just finds the right delivery. But at the moment, he's drowning
10:16
It probably doesn't help to have to take a big-league mound every five or six days. Makes it challenging to fold in between-starts adjustments
Chacin the Dream
10:16
The Brewers seem to be winning with depth and a great bullpen.  We know about bullpens, but is depth underrated as a tool for building a winner, especially in a small market?  It seems like projection systems may not adequately value having a lot of 1-2 WAR guys?  Curious to hear your thoughts...
Jeff Sullivan
10:16
I think teams everywhere understand the importance of depth, and you know a deep team when you see one. But from the outside, we suffer from a lack of a good depth metric
10:17
I've tried to come up with one a bunch of times and I'm never all the way satisfied
At the end of the day, a team wants to limit how often it's playing someone who's replacement-level or worse. That at least gives us a chance to evaluate depth in hindsight
10:18
The fact that the Brewers can put Braun on the DL and call up someone like Choi -- that speaks well to how deep the system is at the upper levels
Zonk
10:18
Are the PIrates sneaking up on everyone?  The fans were incensed that they were mailing it in this offseason, yet here they are in first place, with no signs of going away it seems
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