You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Dave Cameron FanGraphs Chat
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Erik
12:42
Sitting at work, reading this chat and eating a pizza covered in mozzarella sticks. Yup, life is good. No question, that's all.
Dave Cameron
12:42
What is the point of putting mozzarella sticks on a pizza? Are you at some kind of fair? Is the pizza also on a stick?
primantis
12:42
What do your contacts in the game think about the Padres' strategy/direction since they hired Preller?
Dave Cameron
12:43
Pretty much no one that I talk to knows what that organization is doing.
Matt E G
12:43
Who says no: Thor for Betances and Aaron Judge?
Dave Cameron
12:43
I can only imagine the reaction Mets fans will have reading this question.
Kolten
12:44
The implementation of shifts was once a creative means of gaining a competitive advantage in baseball, but couldn't you make a case that at this point shifts are bad for the game now that every single team is utilizing them, and offense is becoming unnecessarily depressed as a result?
Dave Cameron
12:45
In no other sport are defenders expected to line up in a suboptimal position in order to help the offense. There's no reason why baseball teams shouldn't also be able to position their fielders where the ball is likely to go.
old tex
12:45
Jeff Sullivan hiking vacation weeks are so rough.
Dave Cameron
12:46
He'll be back tomorrow!
HappyFunBall
12:46
i know it's april but for fun, name 3 players you would begin to feel super exuberant about?
Dave Cameron
12:47
Syndergaard, Cano, and Smyly have all helped their stock a lot.
Jack
12:48
Trea Turner. I'm a nats fan - and what the fantasy experts and etc is all fine a dandy about him coming up very soon, but realistically I want him down in MILB until he proves he can field SS. Espy may not have a bat, but I don't want to see our defense with Murphy and Turner at SS/2nd. Plus I want the extra year of control. Rizzo is smart enough to keep him down until something happens where he will play everyday.
Dave Cameron
12:48
People are overreacting to SSS in both directions. The difference between Turner and Espinosa over ~30 more games isn't that big a deal.
Joe
12:49
Agree with you re: Kyle Hendricks. It seems a lot of people automatically equate lack of velocity to junk baller. And in many (most?) cases, that's probably true. But there's nothing "junky" about his non-fastball repertoire.
Dave Cameron
12:49
His change-up is fantastic, and he commands everything. He reminds me a lot of Doug Fister a few years back.
Adam
12:52
On the topic of Tulo's body breaking down: I'm not saying that isn't a possible explanation, but it's odd that it doesn't seem to be affecting his defense at all, which has been consistently terrific. Well... it showed up in his actual glove - did you see the play where the ball went right through the webbing?
Dave Cameron
12:52
Bat speed and fielding ability aren't necessarily related.
Matt
12:52
Teheran, Inciarte, and Toussaint for Springer...Who says no?
Dave Cameron
12:52
The Astros
Ritt Momney
12:53
In the not-at-all-probable chance that Harper/Nats go all the way to arbitration next year, what would that number look like?
Dave Cameron
12:54
He's coming off a base salary of $7.5M, and I think the largest raise anyone has ever gotten is ~$9M or something like that. I bet he files close to $20M but settles for a little under that.
hi erix
12:55
Bryce Harper "OVER" last year ... I got chills thinking about it
Dave Cameron
12:55
He's so good.
Nicolas
12:55
How does Syndegaard's stuff compare to Kerry Woods' circa his rookie season? Who else would you compare him to in terms of pure stuff, or is he in a league of his own?
Dave Cameron
12:55
Wood didn't have this kind of command.
12:56
Randy Johnson in his prime is probably the closest thing I can think of.
Shoeless Joe
12:56
Chris Sale is sitting in the back of the room wondering why everyone is talking about Syndergaard. If sale pitched in a pitchers park in the NL would he get more respect?
Dave Cameron
12:57
I love Chris Sale, but let's not pretend that he has Syndergaard's stuff. Thor is getting attention because he's throwing 100 with 95 mph sliders and a devastating change-up.
Jim
12:58
What's your take on Rusney Castillo? Total bust with no trade value or a guy who could still contribute to a team? If the latter should sox keep him or trade him?
Dave Cameron
12:58
Still looks like a guy who could be a useful CF to me. Not a star, but something in the Leonys Martin mold.
Of course, Leonys Martin doesn't make $50 million.
BS
12:59
The Panda's future. Misses the rest of this year with shoulder surgery, and comes back in the spring of 2017 in the best shape of his life and stars for the Red Sox, right?
Dave Cameron
1:00
More likely he misses the year with shoulder problems, reports in better-but-still-round shape, and serves as a part-time player for a few years before they cut him.
Joe Early
1:00
So what do you do to help hitters? Raise the bottom of the strike zone?
Dave Cameron
1:01
That's the first place to start, yes. But if velocity keeps climbing, the league will at least have to think about lowering the mound a little bit.
McDillo
1:01
A follow-up on the shift Q/A...but other sports (flow sports, granted) do have zone, formation, and offsides rules...I'm not a proponent of eliminating shifts but it would seem to me a simple way to offset pitcher gains ("help the offense," as you said)--maybe something as elementary as mandating that 1B/2B and SS/3B set up on their traditional sides of 2B.
Dave Cameron
1:02
The primary reason offense is declining is the rise in strikeout rate, not a decline in singles due to the shift. It's just not a big enough issue to mess with.
mtsw
1:02
In dollars, what contract is currently the most underwater in MLB right now, in your opinion?
Dave Cameron
1:02
Pujols.
Connecting…