Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 2/3/17
klof
Which team is best positioned to lose a core star from their lineup and still make it to the WS? (Schwarber, Cubs, as the example)
Jeff Sullivan
The Indians just made it and could probably make it again without anything from Michael Brantley
Rays just re-signed Logan Morrison for 2.5 million. Why'd they do that?
Why'd they want him in the first place? I don't know
Q-Ball
Jeff Mathis, 34 years old, 49 wRC+ got a guaranteed contract this offseason, $4 mil. Suzuki got less. Wieters is looking for work. Castillo got $2 mil more, but he can actually hit. Catcher framing is now 100% accepted as a thing by FO, isn't it?
It's not just framing. It's framing in large part, but pitchers just love working with Mathis in general. Calls a good game, too, they say. Wieters, meanwhile, is frustrating. And I've heard that Suzuki suffers from having little arms
Was Josh Reddick worth the contract? 13m~ a year for a platoon guy seems crazy.
I'm not convinced he's that much of a platoon guy. Obviously worse against lefties, but I think his true talent is better than what's shown by the splits. It's not a bad contract, but the way this winter has played out has made it look worse
JRuby
Travis Sawchik's article today suggests that Aaron Nola should consider going the way of Rich Hill and throw his curveball up to half of the time. Do you like that idea?
I'd support at least like 40%. He went over 40% a couple games last year. Granted, in this games, he got hit. On the other hand, if the curves in some way led to his arm problems, then that's a dealbreaker right there
It's worth noting that Hill has a few different curveball varieties. Not sure Nola could say the same
Do you still think the AL is the better league? The 2 clear best teams are in the NL, and the AL now has a couple clearly bad teams to match up with the bottom of the NL
AL just won 55% of interleague games again. Still the better league until proven otherwise
Tigers had a quiet offseason. They hinted they want to get younger, cheaper, but didn't do much in the regard. What's the plan, do you think; see if they contend, otherwise try and move some contracts at the deadline?
I don't think there was much for them to do. Not a big market around for their giant contracts and I never believed they'd move Verlander. The league knows all about JD Martinez's strengths and weaknesses. I think the plan is to try to win as a wild card again, and then reevaluate if needed
One minute, having some issues with the chat window
Keeps telling me my messages aren't sending. Guess I'll just have to hope for the best
Ricky of Sunnyvale
Romo and/or Blanton to LAD. What's your gut?
I'll choose Blanton going back, but I wouldn't be surprised if Romo also fell in their lap
Norrin Radd
Cleveland signed Wily Mo Pena at the suggestion/as a favor to Edwin Encarnacion. How often do you think GMs are scouting players at the suggestion of other players?
Sometimes you see these little favors done. The Mariners kept Felix's brother around in the minors for a while. I don't think the Indians invested a bunch of resources in Wily Me Pena scouting, especially since he didn't play professionally last season
What do you expect out of Kyle Schwarber? Will his fielding be OK? Or will he hit so much, we won't care?
Mostly the latter, but I think his fielding will be only a little below average
Eric Weinstein
If Heyward bounces back at the plate and the Almora/Jay combo struggles, any chance we see Heyward get more time at CF as a way to give more playing time for Baez?
I don't think things will get that far, but you can count it among the possibilities the Cubs can entertain on account of their versatility
Darvish has over or under 250 K's this year?
This question has been spammed at least 10 or 11 times, which is a great way to ensure this is the best sort of response you will get
For some reason "J Ram" made me think of Horacio Ramirez.
That's a curse word in here
+ison Russell
Can I have a year anytime soon where I go .280/25/95 ?
Do you know how hard it is to hit .280 in the league today?
I bet Russell will have...one season where he hits all three of these marks together
Better 2017 results Stroman or Sanchez?
I've got a Stroman bias. So, Stroman
Is it inconsistent to think that pitch-framing is okay but that flopping in basketball isn't okay? I don't want to be a hypocrite....
Pitch-framing requires a great deal of skill, in terms of forearm strength and anticipation. Flopping is stupid and just opportunistic. Doesn't mean it doesn't work! But flopping crosses that boundary and makes the game worse. It's a gut thing. A flop reflects an event that didn't happen. Pitch-framing is mostly about *not* distracting umpires with exaggerated motion
Of the teams worse than 20 games below .500 last year (Phillies, DBacks, Athletics, Braves, Padres, Rays, Reds, Twins), who's most likely to make the playoffs this year, and what probability would you give that?
Rays, 10% or so
Might I be the strangest still-an-FA case? It seems like 99% certain that the O's should have gobbled me up by now.
Guessing it's about two things: the league questions how healthy the arm is, and Hammel is probably to some degree anchored by the amount of money his option was worth