You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 2/28/2022
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Kevin Goldstein
12:18
James Harden has a beard and the only thing I know about Joel Embiid is that he went to the same high school as Francisco Lindor.
Chuck
12:18
What was the prospect team's behind the scenes consensus on Matt Brash?
Kevin Goldstein
12:19
He had strong considerations for the bottom of the list and fell just short.
Berry9
12:19
Once an agreement is made and the lockout ends (fingers crossed sometime soon) what will be the delay for FA signings and trades? A day or two, or right away?
Kevin Goldstein
12:20
Good question. I've been saying it for a while, but teams are anticipating about a seven-day ramp to camp starting. Transactions will start earlier, but not right away. There will be some kind of joint presser with both sides saying we have baseball but there is going to be a 48-72 hour period of tightening up the agreement and getting full union ratification.
JB
12:21
In the (extremely fresh) wake of the Jeter news, and considering the Cardinals and Mike Shildt used similar language in their release - what does a difference of opinion on the direction of the franchise mean? Is it as simple as one side wants to win and the other wants to save money?
Kevin Goldstein
12:21
It's almost certainly far more complicated than that.
Inaccessible Rail
12:21
I keep hearing that the Mets are in on Kikuchi. That guy scares me. K rate barely above average, lots of really hard contact. Am I right to be scared?
Kevin Goldstein
12:21
I actually think he's a very good FA target for anyone.
Bob
12:22
Are there any lessons to be learned from Forrest Whitley’s career progression?
Kevin Goldstein
12:23
Sure. That players change, at times in dramatic ways in both good and bad directions.
RFLMBillyFish
12:24
How much does it cost to run an academy in the DR?
Kevin Goldstein
12:24
Millions.
The Sid
12:24
Has there been any thought of MLB starting the season using replacement players?
Kevin Goldstein
12:24
Absolutely not.
Frank
12:24
Who are some players that did not appear on your top 100 or picks to click that could emerge over the year. Thanks
Kevin Goldstein
12:24
We have a whole picks to click piece up!
JC
12:24
Have you ever attended the CWS in Omaha, and if so what were your thoughts on the environment as a fan and as a scout?
Kevin Goldstein
12:25
I have not. Huge hole in my baseball history.
Sirras
12:25
What are some of the biggest differences between how industry insiders view farm systems/prospects vs how the public/fans at large view them? Worth an article?
Kevin Goldstein
12:26
It's sitting on my second monitor right now. About half done. Need to do some more math.
tyler
12:26
When I bought a house, the offer/negotiation process felt as close as I would get to making a play for a free agent/trade target. The excitement! The jitters! The stress!
Kevin Goldstein
12:28
Tyler, I gotta thank you for the ability to make a rant. I told my wife a week ago, when offering on a house, that I've done free agent negotiations for players at a financial commitment exponentially more than what we are offering on a house, and this home bidding process is way less logical or straight forward and ten times more frustrating. It's a massively inefficient process and I don't understand why it's this way from the seller's side.
Owners :(
12:28
I remember reading something about swing decisions being hard to change. Is it similar with stolen base decisions? Is that something that is considered coachable, or is it mostly just instincts?
Kevin Goldstein
12:29
I think improving stolen base % is easier than fixing swing decisions.
Sirras
12:29
Give us the FanGraphs secrets - who microwaves fish in the lunch room? (and yes I do know that you're remote!)
Kevin Goldstein
12:29
I'm setting Szymborski as most likely to.
Sirras
12:29
Are there any questions we as a community ask that you particularly enjoy or are frustrated by?
Kevin Goldstein
12:30
I'm always happy to discuss how the sausage is made in terms of FO stuff and I'm really happy that the readers seem to really love that stuff as well. It's a blast to talk about. I tend to ignore fantasy questions like "Rank these three random guys."
Jim
12:31
Can you elaborate on Kikuchi? Is there underlying data that makes him interesting?
Kevin Goldstein
12:31
There is. I get that he's been frustrating, but there's stuff there.
Doug
12:32
in your experience do FO generally lean toward the union, granted it is management that signs checks? If owners got super serious about union breaking/weakening would some FO speak out?
Kevin Goldstein
12:32
Yeah, it's tough. For the most part, FOs are caught in the middle while usually being pro-player. They like baseball, they like players, but the owner's sign their checks and the owners define their budget, etc.
Lawrence
12:33
Are all players preparing right now and training/building up arm strength privately?
Kevin Goldstein
12:33
Most are, yes.
Sirras
12:33
What non-player position (coach, manager, front office, etc) is most underappreciated by the fans relative to their contribution to the team's success?
Kevin Goldstein
12:33
Director of Player Development.
Guest
12:34
Hi Kevin.  I enjoy your ultraspecific, 6 or 7 figure answers whenever someone asks you for a percentage chance of something.  I'm a bit curious though, are they completely random numbers because you hate to make predictions like that, or actual predictions with the extra significant figures for comedic effect (e.g. does 15.6429% mean something different from 74.22753%)
Kevin Goldstein
12:34
Yeah, the numbers to the left of the decimal point are genuinely considered. The numbers after the decimal point are me having fun.
Drew
12:34
Do fans/readers underrate a player being a 1.5-2 war guy as an outcome for prospects?
Connecting…