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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 9/4/18
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Bread Gardner
2:22
Man, the Yankees have REALLY been scuffling recently. Is this mostly due to a deluge of injuries, some of them major, to huge lineup presences? Is it just a slump, especially for the pitching (and most especially the bullpen)? Or is it more that the team was overperforming and is finally coming back down to their true talent level of "really freaking good" instead of "the only team that can hang with Boston and Houston"?
Meg Rowley
2:24
I think the injuries are mostly to blame. They were over-performing a touch based on Pythag and BaseRuns, but not to a crazy degree. I think they're banged up.
It has come at a not great time, of course, but I don't think it is indicative of a lurking badness.
FAN123
2:24
I noticed during the Yankees/A's game yesterday that there were multiple players that played, that did not start the season on the respective team's 25 man rosters. Do you know if the amount of player's the A's and Yankees acquired/called up prior to this game was abnormal?
Meg Rowley
2:25
Today I learned there isn't a comprehensive call-ups list with this broken out by team, BUT looking at the MLB transaction page, yeah they're a little on the high side, but not wildly out of step with the rest of baseball.
2:26
It's not surprising that two teams with injuries in the thick of the Wild Card would make liberal use of call-ups.
The Ghost of DeGroms Hair
2:26
The Mets have a better record than the Yankees since the All Star Break. Can you explain this to me?
Meg Rowley
2:27
Baseball is pretty strange, and the Yankees are pretty hurt.
squeeze bunt
2:27
I understand why people are upset about service time issues, but wouldn't it be malpractice for a GM to not take advantage of this rule?
Meg Rowley
2:28
I think it is useful to remember that simply because incentives exist doesn't mean that acting on those incentives is required. I'd also note that the teams by way of the league helped create the system in which service time manipulation (which isn't allowed under the CBA but is difficult to prove). They didn't just knock into those incentives walking down the street; they put them in the road.
Bo
2:29
While the Braves haven't exactly been on a roll of late, the Phillies are barely treading water. Who comes away with the NL East?
Meg Rowley
2:29
Braves I think.
James
2:29
They need to make a new rule because of players like Ohtani. He should have been allowed to go make rehab starts as a pitcher but not been placed on the DL as a hitter. He could have made a start or two in IE for the 66ers and then hit the next day in ANA during their last homestand.
Meg Rowley
2:30
I wonder if this would incentivize better or worse DL related behavior.
Bread Gardner
2:31
Why have so many people been up in arms about McCutchen having to shave? It's a policy like any other workplace policy; I can't have a beard either. Most importantly, McCutchen doesn't (outwardly) seem bothered by it. So who cares?
Meg Rowley
2:32
I don't like the idea that players should have to literally trim innocuous expressions of identity.
2:33
Much like not putting names on jerseys, the whole thing reeks of trying to get fans behind the laundry, which contributes in my opinion to fans siding with ownership at the expense of players
Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes
2:33
After years of axe-grinding, MVP voting is somewhat OK. What is so different about the rookie of the year awards where Bader, Wendle, and even Ohtani don't get enough love? Jeff wrote up the Bader case, Wendle leads the AL in rookie position player WAR thanks to his D, and Ohtani leads once you add in his pitching, which doesn't even recognize the advantages of having that in one roster spot nor the historical significance. Inspired by an MLB.com story today where the staff gave Bader a distant third, Wendle received no writeup beyond "this guy and that Royals pitcher also got votes", and Ohtani a got closer third (but come on).
Meg Rowley
2:34
It's a really good question. I was inclined to think it was maybe more narrative driven, but then you would think that Ohtani and Wendle would get more love.
DonJose
2:34
Is there any hope for the Giants in the short and long term?
Meg Rowley
2:34
On a long enough time horizon there is hope for all of us, but I think they might be in for a rough go in the medium term.
Washington Irving
2:35
McCutchen in pinstripes - cause for celebration, or for bitterness?
Meg Rowley
2:35
Depends entirely on your perspective, I suppose. Bitterness seems a bit much to me. If you like McCutchen (and who doesn't) shouldn't you be thrilled at the extended playoff run he might now get?
2:36
On the other hand,
I saw it suggested on twitter by a Yankees fan that acquiring him had tipped the balance of charm on the team to the point that all but Red Sox fans would be forced to admit that the Yankees are good and fun.
And look, I get what she was going for.
2:37
But I also still feel bad about the time I accidentally slammed my sister's thumb in a kitchen cabinet when she was five. Don't underestimate my capacity to hold to stuff I should let go, internet lady.
Seeforman
2:37
So Donaldson had how own medical team, as distinct from the Toronto club's medical staff? Is this the new future?
Meg Rowley
2:38
I don't know the specifics of Donaldson, so I'm not quite sure how different it is from other players who consult outside docs, but he is hardly the first.
2:39
Much, even most, medical stuff goes through teams, but a lot of guys look for outside help, especially as they are rehabbing, or in the offseason when they're away from team facilities.
Most teams do a good job with this stuff, but you can understand how there is sometimes a tension between what is best for the player and the team.
Matt
2:40
Hypothetically if a team only had one prospect but that prospect was Vlad Jr, where would you rank the team on the prospect list? So a very low quantity but very high quality.
Meg Rowley
2:41
On the league wide Top 100, that player would rank where he deserved (very high). In org rankings... I mean, that would spectacular. We might need to come up with new math to describe it if he were literally the only one. Like, how does he get to play? Who does he play with? Just... what?
FanGraph's Lurker
2:41
In the end, which franchise do you think will be a greater disappointment in regards to their lack of success during their star's years of control: the Nationals and Harper, or the Angels and Trout? vary degrees of success for both, but no rings.
Meg Rowley
2:42
Angels and Trout, if only because Mike Trout might literally be the position player the game has ever known, and Bryce Harper, while himself very good, is not that.
James
2:42
Meg, not one Dr suggested TJ for Ohtani at any time. People keep comparing it to Richards, it's not the same. Richards was recommended to have TJ, he declined to see if he could rehab it and it didn't work. It's ok to have an opinion, but it should be based on facts.
Meg Rowley
2:43
I didn't say they suggested Tommy John.
2:44
Ohtani has a Grade 2 UCL sprain. Attempting to rehab it rather than get surgery, which is sometimes the course that injury takes, seems like it makes sense, especially given the timing, as I noted earlier.
2:45
I think worrying that that injury will lead to him not pitching for stretches, either because of continued maintenance or because he eventually does need surgery isn't outrageous.
He's a pitcher, which is famously a profession no one should seek out.
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