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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 1/15/18
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Meg Rowley
2:01
Hello everyone, and welcome to the chat!
Apologies for the slight delay in getting started-- I had to check in with some writing sorts.
Damian
2:01
Where do you think the big market teams will be once rising sea levels makes our major coastal cities uninhabitable?
Meg Rowley
2:02
What a happy, happy chat.
2:03
The answer here seems like Chicago, Denver, Seattle and St. Louis, (some of those obviously being quite large already) and also that we should take climate reports more seriously.
Jack
2:03
Would you prefer Harper or Machado for the same money/years?
Meg Rowley
2:04
I think right now, absent a specific roster, if I were contemplating a big contract in 2019 and another in 2020, I would like go with Harper and then make a run at Arenado.
Which isn't to say someone shouldn't sign Machado for $300 million. A team should do that. Like today. I mean, honestly.
The Old Buccaneer
2:04
Are you going to Spring Training this season?
Meg Rowley
2:05
I am. We'll have details on it soonish, but FanGraphs will be making a trip to the desert, which will almost certainly include a reader meetup as well.
2:06
As someone who lives where it rains and is cloudy much of the winter, and who also likes the desert as a climate, spring training is always very, very welcome for me, and that's before the baseball.
Eyebrows
2:06
Word is that Ichiro wants to play beyond the Japan series. It doesn't seem like he has much left in the tank. Wouldn't those at bats be more useful going to "let's see what we have" guys like Domingo Santana or showcasing potential trade pieces like Jay Bruce? Or am I just an old grump now?
Meg Rowley
2:07
I am skeptical he will play much beyond that series, at least for the Mariners.
Andrew
2:07
Are you surprised that so few teams are reportedly interested in signing 26 year olds who each have 30 WAR?
Meg Rowley
2:08
Seems very odd. Very, very odd. They are both super stars. They can change the picture for a franchise. They are just like, so much younger than I am.
Alex
2:08
Say the A's decide to place Kyler Murray on their 40-man roster and give him a major league contract. What kind of reverberations do you think that might have through the league?
Meg Rowley
2:11
Acknowledging that the particulars of them being able to do that are still an open question, I think I might be coming around on it having an impact but it being more limited than I originally thought. Murray's football picture did legitimately change from the time when he signed his contract to now. This doesn't read as the sort of pre-draft shenanigans MLB is trying to prevent.  Now, that isn't to say that savvy agents wouldn't attempt to find other points of leverage that might have the same effect.
But not every draft prospect is going to be a Heisman winner.
Bewildered
2:12
Why do you act like you care about players on a personal level when you don't know them? It's incredibly bizarre.
Meg Rowley
2:13
Because they're also humans, and while they are very dissimilar from me in many ways, they are still also humans, and sometimes they hit big home runs or mess up badly, and I can imagine what that joy or embarrassment feels like.
Xolo
2:13
Why are the Indians still listening on Kluber after trading EE and Alonso?
Meg Rowley
2:14
Because they think they have deep pitching, can get prospects and play in a division in which most of the teams are pretty bad.
They could just spend money on an outfielder and keep their very good pitcher, but they seem reticent to do that.
Safety Stegosaurus
2:14
Seriously why does Samuel L Jackson have to be cast in so many movies?
Meg Rowley
2:15
He is fun to watch, and a good actor, and we like good fun actors as a matter of course.
v2micca
2:15
So, I would Imagine that teams will be more reluctant to include provisions allowing their new prospect to play a year of College football.
Meg Rowley
2:17
I mean, it sounds like he wouldn't have signed had that provision not existed.
Then he literally won a Heisman. I get why we are reacting to this, as well we should, but I think it is useful to remember this is a weirdo case.
Big Wer
2:18
If the Reds are interested in trading Senzel for Kluber, or any team is interested in trading a good young third baseman, why wouldn't the Indians just call them direct?
Meg Rowley
2:18
Might be other players or pieces in the deal necessary for it to come together.
It is a weird-seeming thing, but a not uncommon sort of thing.
Not mean but regressing
2:18
I'm a beer guy. Do most stadiums sell wine? Someone asked me and I have no idea!
Meg Rowley
2:19
I believe most do. At Safeco, you can buy a carafe of wine that literally fits an entire bottle in it. They will offer you two cups, but they will not make a judgmental face if you decline the second. Or so I am told.
Damnit, at T-Mobile park.
ChickenOfTheSea
2:20
I am a Marlins fan for some reason. Apparently, my team made an at least reasonably serious offer to sign DJ LeMahieu. They're also bringing back Realmuto for one more year as well as Dan Straily, Miguel Rojas and lovable fan favorite José Ureña. My question is ... why? Is there a plan here? Do they just need guys who can buy beer for the rest of the clubhouse? Is this what normal teams look like when they rebuild? I guess "Tell me there's a plan" isn't really a question, but ... yeah.
Meg Rowley
2:22
It does appear that they misjudged the Realmuto market, though the offseason isn't over and there are still teams that need a good catcher. I think the Marlins as an org have gotten to the point where we are, over the course of this season, going to learn what their approach and plan is. When they did their first round of trades last year (which yikes do a lot of those look bad now!), my understanding is that the front office infrastructure and hiring was still at a lag. Now it isn't.
billy red beane ice cream
2:23
I dunno if enough gets said about verlander. Like, he's old and still throws upper 90s and just had a 7 war season. He was supposed to be over the hill a few years ago and was open minded enough to change so that he could get back to what he once was. Watching king felix now... verlander is inhuman. It was painful seeing him shut down my As so much in the playoffs over the years but damn. I feel like we all take him for granted.
Meg Rowley
2:24
He was arguably the difference maker on a World Series winning team, and finished second in Cy Young voting this year! I think we talk about him a lot, though I agree that his career course correction remains incredibly impressive.
Hae-Lo Dee
2:24
Seattle has shown a willingness to buy talent for their next run at contention, and has payroll flexibility going forward. Do you see any possibility they get involved with Machado or Harper?
Meg Rowley
2:25
I don't (though I get the argument you're making). I also think it is good to remember that free agents are making decisions, too. Don't think either of those guys sees Seattle as the spot for them.
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