JotCast | Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat

Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 10/30/18

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Ghost of Ned Yost

3:16

The Red Sox winning with the Dealing Dom seems troubling to me. I think that in 3 years the Sox are going to be terrible terrible, not in the be awful get high picks sort of way but the bottom third but no top picks type of way. He took his shot and won but they might have the worst farm system in baseball and will have a lot of aging contracts. I know they won and they deserve all the credit in the world but I can't help but wonder if this window they are in might have come at a really high expense. I guess it comes down to what you want that one championship or years of prolonged success. Seems to me the Red Sox aren't as set up for prolonged success as the Yankees, Dodgers or Astros.

Meg Rowley

3:16

I get this concern, I guess, though Ghost of Ned Yost, they literally just won the World Series.

3:17

Like, they did the thing that we all get excited about!

hol up

3:17

Red Sox got hot at the right time, and were hot pretty much all season, but am I wrong to think they weren't better than the astros based on projections?

Meg Rowley

3:17

Their baseruns record was worse but not by a ton.

I think it was like four wins?

Guest

3:17

What kind of deal does Andrew Miller get?

Meg Rowley

3:17

Not as big a one as I want him to, and I am so damn bummed about it.

3:18

Andrew Miller is one of my favorite players. His free agency ended up being terribly timed.

I am sad.

RJDR8

3:19

Do you think wealth disparity will ever not be a factor in working in baseball? Even beyond all the clear and obvious neglect towards hirings of women and POC, teams don't really make it easy for anyone who lacks sustainable wealth/privilege to relocate and intern for a new team once a year and fend for themselves on pay that ranges $8.50-$14 an hour. And then after the season, it's back to working part time jobs to keep the lights on. I tried it and couldn't afford to keep up, I've had friends who have gone through the same things. I know "paying dues" is a thing, but I think teams, even as they diversify their front office staff, still allows this system that makes it immensely difficult for anyone without security to jump through all the required hoops for more than a year, if that.

Meg Rowley

3:19

It's a big problem, especially when you consider what folks with the skillset analytics departments hire for could make working in tech or finance.

3:20

Also, controversial take: "paying dues" shouldn't be a thing. Will you make less than people who are more senior, with more responsibility and experience? Yes. That is fine. But everyone should be able to live on their full-time job, especially when you consider front office hours, which are brutal.

stever20

3:21

If you are the Red Sox right now- do you try to extend Sale now, or do you wait until next year and see how his shoulder is doing? They picked up his 15 million dollar option for '19.

Meg Rowley

3:21

I think they probably wait. They also probably know a lot more than we do even now.

TKDC

3:21

Do you think players are more choosing teams to "win a ring" or that they think teams that are good are probably well-run overall and everyone would rather work for a well-run company than a not well-run company. I mean, the Mets and the Cardinals might have similar World Series odds, but would anyone rather play for the Mets (putting aside living in NYC v. St. Louis)?

Meg Rowley

3:22

I think they can select on both things.

James

3:22

Sounds like Andrew Miller is a perfect fit for the Mariners based on your 2:20 and 3:17 - 3:18 comments

Meg Rowley

3:22

This will not happen but man do I want this to happen.

Strelok

3:22

what am I supposed to do for the next 5 months until baseball comes back

Meg Rowley

3:23

Read!

The best thing about the offseason is getting to read more. Oh man. I am so excited to read.

Rockie Dangerfield

3:23

Do you think the Rockies put a QO on Ottavino? And do you think he takes it? His month-to-month trends last season don't paint a pretty picture going forward, but his overall line was excellent, especially among this year's FA crop.

Meg Rowley

3:23

No, because I think he'd maybe take it? Hmmm. Need to noodle on that one more.

TKDC

3:24

John Smoltz's crankiness to a fan might be biased by the broadcast they normally listen to. As a Braves fan who listens to Joe Simpson and Chip Carey, Smoltz does not seem like a crank. But perhaps that is only by comparison.

Meg Rowley

3:25

This is good to remember, I suppose. Though I don't want baseball's biggest audience to get "good compared to worse" either.

NotGraphs Revivalist

3:25

Another great thing to do in the offseason if you're an East Coaster is go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Meg Rowley

3:25

I do not want more people to move to Seattle because stuff is already too damn expensive, but boy is a West Coast schedule good.

Though Mountain time is really where it's at for playoff games.

breakbot

3:26

Weird since they just got eliminated, and they weren't exactly what we expected, but are the Yankees ridiculously set-up for the next couple years? I mean if they won 100 this year, what can they add with positive regression from Sanchez, 1b, etc and some fresh pitching. Just curious if I should temper my expectations

Meg Rowley

3:26

I think they will be very good going forward, and they are primed to spend.

TBRays

3:26

Think we could sign Marwin Gonzalez or Steve Pearce?

Meg Rowley

3:26

Sure!

Jackson C.

3:26

The beautiful thing about the postseason being over is that we can stop talking about ridiculously small sample size stats. I don't care that Manny Machado is 14 for 44 with 5 home runs against David Price. That doesn't mean anything. Especially when you could show meaningful numbers instead like platoon splits or something.

Meg Rowley

3:27

It is a goofy thing, for sure.

Long Live the Nerdcast imo.

Lunar verLander

3:27

re. will he / won't he start: Astros have some intriguing options in their pen (Peacock, McHugh) who could start

Meg Rowley

3:28

This is true. Those guys found a new level of effectiveness out of the pen, which Houston has to like.

We really did not talk enough about McHugh's season.

1.99 ERA, 2.72 FIP