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Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 10/4/2021
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Kevin Goldstein
11:26
I mean, he's not a face of the franchise or anything, but he's a piece.
Ucloyd
11:26
Do you think this is the actual O Neill we’re seeing or just a one year fluke
Kevin Goldstein
11:27
Definitely made some adjustments in the second half that were real and measurable. I'd be optimistic.
Andrew
11:27
Is it really true that you were raised on showtunes?
Kevin Goldstein
11:27
My mom played Broadway cast albums quite a bit, actually.
Key Flaw
11:28
Do front offices ever go to owners and say "we will save money this year on salaries, but use it for higher salaries next year so we can sign a good free agent"?
Kevin Goldstein
11:28
In tends to be year to year. You never want to take a low number because then the owner uses that as a baseline.
Dan
11:28
Random front office question, but I'm assuming that for home games when in-office folks are required to stay for the game after working a full day that they are provided with dinner?
Kevin Goldstein
11:29
Oh yeah, media dining and/or food in a suite is available to team folks.
Blake
11:29
Are there any team stats that are more or less predictive in the playoffs versus the regular season? For example, does having an elite bullpen matter less in the regular season and more in the playoffs? Or does roster depth have more or less of an impact? Or is a general measure of team strength the best predictive indicator for both regular and postseason?
Kevin Goldstein
11:30
I think a good first exercise is to cut off the back of a team's rotation, but let's face it, in a five or seven game series, really nothing is predictive.
Ryan
11:30
Opinion on the Diamondbacks bringing Lovullo back for another year (plus a 1 yr option)
Kevin Goldstein
11:30
Fine with it.
Carl
11:30
I always thought it amusing that the Gomez/Fiers for Hader/Houser/Phillips/Santana trade happened just a few months before Stearns took over the Brewers, and certainly benefiting from it now. Do you know what he thought about the trade at the time?
Kevin Goldstein
11:31
The room in general was in favor of it. I was in favor of it. Whooops!
TJ
11:31
Does work for in office front office employees become more of a normal 9-5 during the offseason since there aren't games to watch, scouting reports to prepare, etc?
Kevin Goldstein
11:31
Yes, it does.
Brian
11:31
Any idea what causes a breaking ball to "hang"? Lack of spin? Lack of velocity? Is the movement the same but the release point changes (so it drops into the heart of the strike zone instead of middle)?
Kevin Goldstein
11:32
Yeah, often breakers that get classified as 'hanging' are often just a bad location. Sometimes you miss the spin or the spin shape, but often they're just in the wrong place.
Jason
11:32
If you ran the Giants, would you: a.) Exercise Posey's option for 22 with and Bart will take over catching in 23 and beyond; b.) Extend Posey for +/- 3 years and trade Bart; c.) Other (if so, please expand)?  Thanks so much for the chats; really appreciate the insight.
Kevin Goldstein
11:33
I'd prefer a. but first I'd sit down with Buster and talk about what he wants to do.
Tom
11:33
No way the M's pick up Seager's $19M option, right?
Kevin Goldstein
11:33
No way.
Phil
11:33
Any guess among Correa, Verlander or Greinke who is best shot for Astros to retain for 2022?   Are the young Latin arms successful enough where for Click the SS is a somewhat clear priority?
Kevin Goldstein
11:33
I think they're all gonzo.
Jacques Pederson
11:33
Did you ever have a favorite team? Most of the staff seem to have connections to teams in varying degrees. (Also why does it seem like the Mariners have produced 50% of the baseball writers in the country?)
Kevin Goldstein
11:33
I grew up a Mets fan and still have feels for the 1980s teams.
All non-playoff team Front Offices
11:33
How much are we up to right now?  I mean we got some Rule 5 stuff to sort out, but then the CBA will ut us on hold, right?
Kevin Goldstein
11:34
You can't really assume CBA stuff, so you have to be full-speed ahead. Lots of scouting and analysis on potential free agents and trade targets going on.
Homer McLongball
11:34
As Yankees fans call for the heads of Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman, agree or disagree:

The randomness and relative slight competitive advantages of the 3-(now 4) series postseason format and the accomplishment of the Yankees being as competitive as the've been for 30 straight years highly misunderstood by fans?
Kevin Goldstein
11:34
Brian Cashman has done, and continues to do a REMARKABLE job.
Guest
11:35
So is Nestor Cortes a mid rotation piece moving forward ?
Kevin Goldstein
11:35
That's the ceiling, but probably settles as more of a 4.
Guest
11:36
do FO discussions ever include "hey this guy would be fun for our team and attract fans," as an entertainment component, or are FO's almost completely focused on on-field production?
Kevin Goldstein
11:36
Not going to say it's a zero, but if assigning 100 points to it, it would be 97 to talent and 3 points to that kind of thing.
Doug
11:37
How would you approach Correa's free agency if you were the Astros?
Kevin Goldstein
11:37
All you can really do is stay in touch and make your best offer.
ALWC
11:37
With so many teams so tight, it's gotta be hard not to remember one particular blown game that could have changed the whole season. Do you think teams or players fixate on that?
Kevin Goldstein
11:37
Players, no. Players have short memories in general. FO people, absolutely.
Ryan
11:38
Before you had said when you went to see Alek Thomas in person he just didn’t hit in those games. Is this something that will significantly move a player down a team’s board or is enough video able to balance the evaluation out?
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