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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 1/29/18
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Meg Rowley
2:29
Join me, friends, in being mad about a bunch of stuff at once!
2:30
They are related issues, impossible to decouple, both of which fundamentally alter how we perceive the game.
Adan
2:30
With the Reds being rumored to land Realmuto, I'm really hoping they just Go For It and sign Harper, too. Golly, would that be a fun lineup to watch. Highly doubt this would happen though, right?
Meg Rowley
2:31
I both doubt it, and wonder whether it would be enough in a stacked Central but boy is it refreshing to see a baseball team... trying... to... win? Can't be right.
Johnny5Alive
2:31
similar to gary's q - the astros owner pointed out that analytics ruined free agent comments, since teams are more inclined to find value than to pay for actual wins.  Thoughts?
Meg Rowley
2:32
I think that teams have definitely gotten smarter but to cede the argument that that is all that is driving this, as opposed to it being the next phase in ownership getting precisely what it wants, is to absolve them of responsibility they absolutely should help shoulder.
Lunar verLander
2:32
Seattle, Denver, San Diego & Phoenix...are those the 4 most meteorologically diverse cities that have MLB teams? Is this just a fancy way to say that you're a huge Mike Trout fan?
Meg Rowley
2:35
Seattle is my hometown and a wonderful place; Denver is a lot like Seattle but at a higher elevation and with more line dancing. San Diego is a great food city and has a beach. Phoenix has so much other baseball and so is appealing on those terms, plus I quite like the dessert even if the summer temps are terrifying.
ke'bryan mays hayes
2:36
Will Kyler Murray's decision force MLB to consider the underpaid drudgery of minor league ball a long term threat to the talent pipeline?
Meg Rowley
2:37
I suspect that, as troubling as this development is, they are likely to view it as aberrant enough a case to not change much. That may be overly cynical, but I'm not sure why we'd be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Captain ACAB
2:37
How about in the next CBA having the MLBPA be the ones to buy the two new expansion teams?  The owners still get their expansion fee bucks and the players get to divvy the revenue money from the new teams as they see fit.
Meg Rowley
2:38
To the extent this a solution, which I'm not convinced it is, it's a pretty roundabout one.
2:39
Have players own teams is a really cool idea, but the next CBA likely needs more direct legislative solutions to the current labor situation.
Ham
2:39
Why hasn't Mike Leake been traded to a team like the Brewers yet? Is he going to throw a pitch for the Mariners in 2019?
Meg Rowley
2:40
Leake has a full no-trade (I believe) so his market is a little funky; also we don't know what is on the table right now. Could be traded before this chat is done! And someone has to throw innings for the Mariners.
Guest
2:41
Which team (Dodgers, Reds, Padres, etc.) can provide the best return for J.T. Realmuto?
Meg Rowley
2:42
Padres-- system is very deep.
Pending a Physical
2:42
Comeback player of the year for 2019?
Meg Rowley
2:42
Corey Seager? One of The Many Tommy Felled John Pitchers?
Thomas
2:43
It seems like the accusations against Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners' front office have mostly been forgotten on the media. Am I just not looking in the right spots, or are people waiting for more developments in the story, or has it really just completely fallen off the radar? It feels weird to keep talking about Dipoto as the oh-that-over-active-Jerry when there's this much more serious story looming over his head
Meg Rowley
2:45
It was recently addressed (Uhhh imperfectly? I think imperfectly is the generous word?) at the recent Mariners media day. It is still part of the news cycle here in Seattle. But I think you're right that there has been a lull. I think folks are waiting for the results of MLB's investigation.
But yeah, it is very weird. Just a weird, bad offseason for them.
Tuesdays con Meg
2:45
Where you at right now
Meg Rowley
2:45
Not where you are.
Lou
2:46
The local media in LA, that has always had an undercurrent of being anti-analytics, are the most vocal of the Dodgers' supposed offseason cheapness (even thought they doled out the biggest contract to a position player to date).  Is it bad that analytics is being associated with the lack of offsetting spending?  Is that fair?
Meg Rowley
2:48
I won't claim a super in depth knowledge of all the players there, but I'm not sure it is surprising, though I would point out that a lot of analytically inclined writers are also beating this drum. Recall that one reading of the premise of Moneyball was that there were players who weren't being paid what they were worth because their skills were misunderstood.
Cito's Mustache
2:48
Which side is less incentivized to improve Minor League salaries - the owners or players - and why?
Meg Rowley
2:50
The owners. It sets a precedent for how they want to compensate labor. Major leaguers aren't the ones pursuing legislative avenues to exempt minor leaguers from minimum wage laws in AZ.
Fred
2:50
Who is one player you will always stubbornly believe to be on the cusp of a breakout, regardless of what the projections and common sense tell you?
Meg Rowley
2:50
I will forever believe in Mike Zunino.
Bobby
2:51
Analytics has brought a paradigm shift for long term contracts in baseball.  Is it because of great players who are no longer great like Pujols and Miggy that makes owners less likely to give out 10 year 300+ or 400+ million to players?  Isn't that just rational behavior for owners?  If I was an owner, why would I ever give out 10 years deals in baseball when a player can be very mediocre half way through a deal?
Meg Rowley
2:51
Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are literally 26.
Tony
2:51
I think Anthony's point, though, is that if you're making more than a million a year you're doing very well. That's just rich people fighting over money. But the union does a very good job of privileging post-arb players, frequently making concessions that affect minor-league players (most of whom never earn the big bucks!). It's precisely because the union has not represented minor-league players that the issues should be decoupled.
Meg Rowley
2:54
The gap between the "richness" of players and the "richness" of owners is profound,  and while you are right that the union has failed to prioritize the right things at times, I find it bizarre that are willing to ding them for the current state of things, but are unwilling to "credit" ownership for those same things. This stuff doesn't get into the CBA on accident. It is negotiated for as much as again.
2:55
Mostly, I wish the rationality and efficiency of ownership side, which often beats the drum of the free market when presented with arguments about how labor and ownership ought to be compensated relative to one another, would decide if it means it. Because this isn't a free market.
GSon
2:55
Meg.. it was pointed out in Dan Zymsksalikhfsdalkasaski's latest chat that he was able to take nearly two times as many questions and make two times as many responses than you.. Is there a contest ongoing and where can a wager be placed?
Meg Rowley
2:56
Dan is both very good at chats and also, does not have to run FanGraphs dot com. That is not a knock on Dan, just an illustration of relevant differences.
Conner from AZ
2:56
Rockies and Arenado are going to arbitration over his proposed $30M vs. Rockies $24M. He has consistently stated he wants to compete for championships every year, and the Rockies lone move at the most critical point in their franchise history has been for Daniel Murphy. This is his last year in Denver, isn't it?
Meg Rowley
2:57
I would think so, which is really too bad.
Mike
2:57
I don't disagree with either side, but it seems like the writer's consensus has switched from "big FA deals are terrible decisions" to "why won't anyone give out big money deals" very quickly? Is this accurate or is it more about the value in Harper/Machado?
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