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Klawchat 2/8/18
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Gregory
2:16
Any suggestions on what to look for in a pressure cooker and in a kitchen scale (for cooking, coffee)?
Keith Law
2:17
My pressure cooker is nothing fancy - stovetop model, old-fashioned. I own two kitchen scales - one for larger measurements, and this smaller one for more precise measurements where a gram either way might matter (coffee grounds, yeast for baking): http://amzn.to/2siE8Ya
Aaron C.
2:17
With the Padres' prospects pail overflowing, are there decent odds that you'll be making a trip to Lake Elsinore this year (where I can get my copies of "Smart Baseball" and Warren G's debut album signed?
Keith Law
2:18
Probably not. That's a cross-country trip now and I don't generally do those for pro prospects. I'll see some of their top guys in Peoria next month.
JJ
2:18
Keith, you seem bullish on the Red Sox' Jason Groom, ranking him as your #30 prospect.  However, the Red Sox have done a pretty lousy job in recent years when it comes to developing starting pitchers (where have you gone, Trey Ball?) -- does that organizational weakness affect your view/ranking of Groome at all?
Keith Law
2:19
I say at the top of the rankings every year that they are team-agnostic. Any player can be traded at any time, and his ranking would not change. BTW, Ball's issue wasn't really on player development; he was projectable at 18 and just never got any extra velocity.
JJ
2:19
Like you, I'm not thrilled with the idea of Trevor Hoffman in the HOF, but that's a moot point now.  Mariano will undoubtedly coast in on his first ballot next year, but after that, who's the next reliever to get in?  Lee Smith, via Veterans' Committee?  Craig Kimbrel?
Keith Law
2:22
I am not supporting this in any way, shape, or form, but K-Rod has a pretty good case with Hoffman in, and so will Joe Nathan. Even if K-Rod doesn't pitch again this year, he'll still be 4th all time in saves, and we heard ad nauseum how impressive it was that Hoffman was 2nd. There's a difference of about 100 IP and 4 WAR between Hoffman and K-Rod right now. I would never, ever vote for Rodriguez, but his argument became plausible with Hoffman in.
Dan
2:22
Pirates made some retooling type trades instead of reloads, but there doesn't seem to be enough talent in place to compete in the short or medium term.  What do you think?  I feel like they're counting on more guys stepping up than is reasonable to assume.
Keith Law
2:22
I felt like they went more towards rebuild, but the two guys they traded were seen as flawed assets in the market.
Ben
2:22
When you're on the road and eating on your own do you make a reservation or just try to walk-in places?  I always wonder how you get into all the best spots!
Keith Law
2:22
I walk in and tell the maitre d', "Do you know who I am?" Then s/he usually says, "Do you know who *I* am?" and I ask meekly if there's a seat at the bar.
Rex
2:23
Hey Keith, thanks for doing this chat. To what degree do you consider the federal deficit to be a problem? If you could decide how to address, what are some measures you'd take?
Keith Law
2:23
The growth of the deficit is a major problem, but a truly balanced budget is both unrealistic and perhaps a poor policy decision anyway. Eventually, however, we will lose some of our seemingly infinite borrowing power.
2:24
And that could have all sorts of nasty consequences, including stagflation or economic contraction.
Tony
2:24
Do you think Andujar will be good enough to prevent the Yanks from going after Machado next year?
Keith Law
2:24
I love Andujar, but he's not Machado good.
Adam
2:24
If you did a Top 150, which team do you think would have the most prospects on the list?
Keith Law
2:24
Atlanta had the most on my top 100; I would not give a different answer here without doing the entire exercise.
David
2:25
Does any data exist indicating the value of splitting up handedness of a starting rotation or is any perceived benefit strictly anecdotal?
Keith Law
2:25
Anecdotal. And likely bunk.
Noah
2:25
Will there be a strike? Feels like there is so much momentum towards one
Keith Law
2:25
They just signed a new CBA a year ago. There isn't going to be a strike until that's over.
DealsDealsDeals
2:25
What are Blue Jays fans to make of Danny Jansen? Being anointed the Jay's Catcher of the Future is a lot like being Spinal Tap's drummer.
Keith Law
2:26
Good chance he really is their catcher of the future, everyday guy with more bat than defensive skills, biggest flaw has been trouble staying healthy (at a position not conducive to keeping oneself off the DL).
Andy
2:26
Say you're given the power to fix baseball. You can't abolish the draft, get rid of commercials, or fire any owners into the sun. What actual changes can be made to even out the power dynamic between players and owners or improve the game? Is it as simple as just calling a better strike zone, granting free agency earlier, and getting rid of spending caps?
Keith Law
2:27
Still think you can reduce the time required for pitching changes, perhaps running ads on the screen without breaking completely for commercials. Players used to fight for earlier arbitration and/or free agency, but seem to have dropped or deprioritized that in this last round. Perhaps that was their big mistake.
John
2:27
I recently finished your book, and enjoyed it very much.  Question -  if statcast allows us to measure how far a player travels from crack of the bat until the out, wouldn't that fail to capture a Ripken-style skill?
Keith Law
2:27
I'm not sure what the skill here is.
Nick
2:27
Hey Keith, I really enjoyed the new prospect coverage. I’m curios about a guy I did not see on there...what are your thoughts on Rays catcher Ronaldo Hernandez? What’s the upside? Is there breakout potential?
Keith Law
2:28
He's outside of their top 20. One of many interesting, check-back-in-a-year types, but not someone I would tab as a breakout candidate or that the org themselves pushed as a top 15-20 guy. (I talk to people from every club to get their own thoughts and sometimes internal rankings of players.)
john w
2:28
i know you don't compare your lists to that of competitors (and that is totally fine and understandable!). but i was wondering what your thoughts on the value of computer-driven prospect lists, like dan's at espn. not asking you to attack him or anything, just wondering how you see a list like that and what you take from it. thanks for all the great stuff.
Keith Law
2:29
I think they're useful because they're different.
Jay
2:29
based on what you saw last year is Miguel Cabrera done or was he injured?
Keith Law
2:29
Probably hurt.
Jimmy
2:29
Cubs win Central fairly easily this year?
Keith Law
2:29
No, Jimmy from Chicago
Erich
2:29
I am curious as to your position on meat consumption and big business agriculture in the world. We could make as big of an impact regarding climate change and emissions by changing the way we eat compared to changing our energy and transportation, yet we only ever hear about the energy/transportation. This isn't even considering the rain forest destruction. Why do you think this is? Would it be viewed as an attack on farmers if someone said "we need to eat less meat and dairy to help sustainability feed a planet that will soon have 10 billion people?"
Keith Law
2:30
That might be the most unrealistic proposal of all. If we solve our climate change problems, and there's a damn good chance we don't, it's not going to come from convincing 2-3 billion people who are accustomed to eating meat once or twice a day to give it up while also convincing another 2-3 billion people who rarely eat meat but view it as a symbol of wealth or prosperity that they didn't really want it after all.
Tyler
2:31
What would you say is the breakdown of how you get evalutations players? e.g. 50% in person, 30% talking with other evaluators, 20% stats/metrics? Apologies if you’ve given this breakdown before.
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