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Blue Morpho
12:34
Bradley Zimmer's age and k rate are giving me Tyler Naquin vibes. What are your expectations for Zimmer this season?
Travis Sawchik
12:34
It's my understanding Zimmer is a much more natural OF defender ... as for the bat, 2017 might tell us a lot more
Regginald Spade
12:35
How much does Toronto want to unsign Morales given the 1bish slugger market now?
Travis Sawchik
12:36
Very much, I would imagine. Toronto seemed to not foresee this over-correction in the market in regard to bat-centric position players
Chuncey Wiggins
12:36
Do you think that MLB should sign a deal with a tablet manufacturer so that managers can use tablets instead of crumbled up bubble gum wrappers to organize lineups?
Travis Sawchik
12:36
The print product is in jeopardy everywhere
Eric
12:36
Who's the best pitcher in the NL Central? Arrieta, Lester, or Hendricks?
Travis Sawchik
12:37
It's certainly a Cub. Can Hendricks do that again? Curious to see if Arrieta makes some adjustments in 2017
Chris
12:38
What's the next analytics trend in baseball?
Travis Sawchik
12:38
I think it's tied to understanding player efficiency/injury prevention
Guest
12:39
Think Benintendi is already up to the rumored challenge of the Sox #2 hitter?
Travis Sawchik
12:39
He was SO impressive last season and into the postseason. I think he can meet most challenges tossed his way
Mariner's fan
12:39
How much did the Drew Smyly acquisition improve the Mariner's chances of making the playoffs?
Travis Sawchik
12:40
It certainly helped. Eno had an interesting deep dive on Smyly the other day. The park and the OF defense is going to help him
mtsw
12:41
Is Bautista's arm cooked? Without a cannon, he's a Mark Trumbo-level butcher in RF. Is he the DH in Toronto by the end of 2017?
Travis Sawchik
12:41
His defensive decline certainly didn't help his market. He could be headed for a DH role
Matt
12:41
Hi Travis, I'll miss reading your work in the Trib but congrats on the new gig! At the end of Big Data Baseball you mention Mike Fitzgerald saying that things like framing and shifting will be copied throughout the industry, which we've seen happen. Will there come a point when all the market inefficiencies have been copied and if so how will small markets stay competitive?
Travis Sawchik
12:43
Thanks, Matt. It's an endless copy-cat game, but I think there will always be new breakthroughs and undervalued skills/tactics. I do think, right now, it's a bit tougher to be a small-market club as some of the recent big breakthroughs, like framing, are being adopted everywhere
Andrew
12:43
Can Boston compete with Cleveland?
Travis Sawchik
12:44
Sale-Price should allow a team to compete with anyone in the postseason (assuming Price really doesn't have a thing with pitching in the postseason)
SDinSEA
12:44
As a Padres fan, just how bad was the Grandal trade? I mean, we gave him up for the honor of paying Olivera's bloated mistake. With some crappy D and decent O thrown in.
Travis Sawchik
12:44
It looks pretty bad. As you might know, I voted for Grandal at No. 7 on my MVP ballot
Spicy Boy
12:45
Why do the Rays like Mallex Smith so much? I get that the speed is good and probably makes him at least a fourth outfielder, but I just don't see much more upside outside of that
Travis Sawchik
12:46
He could be a Michael Bourn type player, which is pretty valuable. The Rays might also be really trying to create an advantage in regard to OF defense. Was the return for Smyly good enough? That's another debate. Rays do have some SP depth
Rex
12:47
Buying or selling 2017 Mets?
Travis Sawchik
12:47
With pitching health (big disclaimer), I'm buying
5 Run Homer
12:48
Next guy not named Mike Trout to lead the AL in WAR and when?
Travis Sawchik
12:48
I'll play. Carlos Correa in 2020
Sonny
12:49
How important was Russell Martin's 'buy-in' to the wearable tech experiment in Pitt? Can programs like that thrive without veteran leaders embracing them?
Travis Sawchik
12:50
Great question. It's tough to quantify clubhouse presence, etc. But I saw Martin make an impact with the wearable technology. Players respected him and followed him. And that had to have some influence on diet/rest and overall efficiency.
E
12:50
I knew it wasnt going to happen but it would have been really fun if Bautista signed with Cleveland
Travis Sawchik
12:50
The idea made some sense with Carlos Santana nearing free agency
mtsw
12:51
Doesn't it kind of feel like the Cardinals should do something? Or are they comfortable where they're at right now even though they're not really competitive with the Cubs?
Travis Sawchik
12:52
Well, Fowler was something ... but I don't think the Cardinals have made a 40-man roster transaction since Dec. 12. Give Mozeliak credit for not acting irrationally. The Cardinals, as composed right now, look like a pretty solid club even without any other additions
mtsw
12:52
Do we have any idea how the new Braves stadium is going to play, park factors wise? Presuambly, the Braves have done some studies on it but is there any public info?
Travis Sawchik
12:53
I'm not sure. I do know that all the clubs that built pitching-friendly, spacious parks (Citi Field, Safeco, Comerica) have brought their outfield fences in several times. So hopefully the Braves considered that fans like run scoring
Moltar
12:53
Is there any momentum to improve the replay system? Seems to me like a full booth review in place of the "challenge" system would speed up the game and eliminate all the pointless arguing that takes up so much time.
Travis Sawchik
12:55
It's certainly not a perfect system. I'm not sure why managers get the benefit of calling into the clubhouse to have the video guy take a look at the replay. Shouldn't a challenge be based upon what the manager sees vs. the umpire? I'm pretty sure college and NFL coaches don't have the benefit of looking at replays before issuing a challenge. They have to hurry before the next play is snapped
Jimbo
12:57
Wil Myers is rumored to be signed soon to a 6 year, $80 extension. It would buy out 3 years of arbitration and 3 years of free agency. Worth it?
Travis Sawchik
12:57
Generally I love these deals for clubs, but Myers has been so up-and-down that there's much more risk involved. I like this one for the player
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