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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 8/18/17
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Jeff Sullivan
9:06
Hello friends
Welcome to Friday baseball chat
Sterling Mallory Chris Archer
9:07
If Cistuli wrote your chat intro, what would it be?
Jeff Sullivan
9:07
Long and pointless
J
9:08
Are the Yankees or Red Sox better on paper?  Yanks have the better baseruns record but Sox are better by the projections.
Jeff Sullivan
9:08
I think the Red Sox are the better baseball team, but the Yankee bullpen is seemingly so very deep that they probably have some form of postseason advantage
The Average Sports Fan
9:09
So the Cards might be losing Wainwright for a while.  Perhaps the Cubs lose Lester for a period as well.  Could it be that things are lining up for the Brewers?
Jeff Sullivan
9:09
So, on the one hand, well, Wainwright hasn't been very good for a while
And the Brewers have already had their equivalent by going without Chase Anderson
9:10
I don't think the Brewers are going to win that division. That being said, I love that it's still so close, and that the Cubs haven't been able to pull away, like I assumed they would. I figure the Cubs will still take it, but this race is better for baseball as it is
JD15
9:11
Which player makes the biggest impact in this years’ playoffs that is not currently on their playoff team’s roster? (Ex. a guy that is a waiver trade or minor league call up)
Jeff Sullivan
9:11
That's tricky. Walker Buehler out of the bullpen?
Babe Lincoln
9:12
Is there any relationship between a pitcher's zone% and the O-swing% that pitcher induces?  As in, does a pitcher pounding the zone result in more (or fewer) swings outside the zone?
Jeff Sullivan
9:13
Out of qualified pitchers this season, the R^2 between O-Swing% and Zone% is 0.05
9:14
So, not much of a relationship to speak of. It's one of those case-by-case-basis things. It's not a coincidence, for example, that Tanaka has such a high O-Swing%, and such a low Zone%. That's a reflection of his command and secondary stuff
But then, it's also not a coincidence that Wade Miley has a low O-Swing% and Zone%. He just isn't very good
Daniel
9:15
What's the furthest you've traveled to solo hike/camp?
Jeff Sullivan
9:15
Everything international to this point has been with company. I've spent stretches by myself in like eastern and central Oregon, but that's about it
Zonk
9:16
Hopes were high for Jason Heyward coming into this year, but he's turned in another poor offensive performance so far.  Is there any hope, or is he broken?  Will that contract prove regrettable?
Jeff Sullivan
9:17
Any hope is tied up in the fact that he's 28 years old, and he still makes a lot of contact. The physical abilities remain, so Heyward remains intriguing. But, obviously, there's even less hope for him now than there was last March. The Cubs would like to back out of this if they could, I'm certain
Xolo
9:19
It seems like the power that scouts thought Margot wasn't going to be able to tap into has been tapped. Do you think he could be a 20 homer guy?
Jeff Sullivan
9:20
As you can imagine, this is a problem -- scouts made their evaluations under certain circumstances, and now home runs in the majors are everywhere. *Everyone* can hit home runs. Jarrod Dyson has hit home runs. Scouts aren't accustomed to balls flying like this, and it's not easy to project big-league power when you're watching minor leaguers hitting different balls in different environments
9:21
I can say that, based on the evidence, major-league Margot is not very powerful, relative to his peers. But, 20 home runs? Scooter Gennett has 20 home runs. So Manny Margot could hit 20 home runs.
CamdenWarehouse
9:21
Do you ever get questions in the chat where someone was obviously in the wrong window when typing and accidentally sent you something related to their jobs?
Jeff Sullivan
9:21
Not yet, but this is why I get up on Friday mornings
Kris
9:22
Should the Braves call up Acuna this year?
Jeff Sullivan
9:22
I prefer a world in which the answer is yes, but if the answer ends up being no, the Braves will have objectively justifiable reasons
E
9:22
Inspired by your recent Albert Pujols article, do you know off the top of your head who has struck out the most times in their career?
Jeff Sullivan
9:23
I don't, but I bet that player is in the Hall of Fame
Is it Jim Thome?
It's Reggie Jackson!
9:24
Confirmed Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson
Marwin Gonzales- Power Hitter
9:24
If it wasn't for Ellsbury last year, Josh Reddick would have a chance at the catcher's interference record. I believe he has 7 this year.
Jeff Sullivan
9:24
You're correct! He's one away from the *previous* single-season record
9:25
People don't seem to hold onto 8 catcher's interferences the way they hold onto 61 home runs
The Average Sports Fan
9:26
What would need to go right for the Reds to be a legit 85-90 win team next year?
Jeff Sullivan
9:26
Every single thing their pitching coach has ever attempted
Their staff is a mess. They need some sort of overhaul because they can't turn any pitchers into anything
Road Trip Ideas
9:26
Maybe Sam and Ben can help you come up with a book idea
Jeff Sullivan
9:26
Still not sure writing a book is a good idea in the first place. It sounds like it's horrible
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