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Dave Cameron
12:01
Happy Wednesday, everyone.
Since we last spoke, I (most likely) tore my ACL and contracted a stomach bug that caused me to vomit during the recording of the most recent podcast.
12:02
Oh, also, Mike Trout got hurt.
This week sucked.
Let's talk about happier things.
Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes
12:02
The AL position player WAR leaders right now include Sano (3rd), Dickerson (4th), and Souza (7th). Mike Trout has been the best player in baseball by so far for so long that he can win MVP despite playing for the Angels. Not that Sano, Dickerson, or Souza will still be at the top come October, but how do the voters treat the players on small market non-juggernauts for the non-first place votes? Ortiz got sixth in MVP voting last year, which is farcical, but I can't picture the Rays' DH getting votes over names like Correa and Lindor even if you just extrapolate his numbers to a 7.5 WAR season.
Dave Cameron
12:02
He has basically no chance to win MVP now. Even if he ends up on top of the WAR leaderboards, there's no way voters pick a guy who missed two months on a non-contender.
12:03
Carlos Correa or Francisco Lindor or whoever the best player on the AL East winner will be an easier vote, since the overall numbers won't be that dramatic.
ozzie
12:03
So the White Sox should have traded Quintana during the offseason, right? Or is there only marginal difference, at most, between what Quintana can fetch going forward vs back in the offseason?
Dave Cameron
12:04
No, they should have traded him. His value is definitely down. You can't pitch like this and have it not affect your trade value.
Eric Weinstein
12:04
Your answer last week about Addison Russell being a possible, but mostly undiscussed, trade item intrigued me. IF you were the Cubs, would you offer Addsion Russell for Chris Archer? And how much more do you think the Cubs would have to add to get that deal done? Eloy? Cease?
Dave Cameron
12:05
Last summer, I had Russell at #31 and Archer at #21 on the trade value series. Both have probably seen their values drop a bit since (everyone does, as they get closer to FA, basically), but yeah, I would think Russell for Archer would be an interesting starting spot.
Theo vs. Boras
12:06
Which job would you rather have and why?
Dave Cameron
12:08
If I was into public adoration, it's Theo, easily. He's beloved in two cities, will go into the HOF, and is widely regarded as one of the best executives in the world. If you were into not having your mood dictated by the results of a baseball game every night, then you take Boras, simply because it's probably a little less stressful on a daily basis.
I'd probably take Boras' gig. It seems easier.
joe
12:08
how do i explain to my non sabremetrically inclined friends the importance of exit velocity?
Dave Cameron
12:08
The same way you explain the importance of pitch velocity?
Hard hit balls are better.
klof
12:09
Mike Trout still leads MLB in WAR at the end of the season. Yes/No?
Dave Cameron
12:09
MLB? No. AL? Maybe.
Ninja Black Sock
12:09
Who is the Dodgers 2nd best pitcher?
Dave Cameron
12:09
Alex Wood.
Jeff
12:10
why would GM's be concerned with Quintana?
Dave Cameron
12:11
His primary ace-skill the last few years has been HR suppression, which has gone away this year. He doesn't miss enough bats or avoid walks enough to be a frontline starter while also giving up HRs.
Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe
12:11
Dave, your take on the Harper/Strickland punishment? Sure, Harper did not look good charging the mound, but with fairly clear intent there seems to be no chance that Strickland would have seen "justice" and Posey or Crawford might have. If a player acts as a rogue agent like that, would a National League manager keeping the pitcher in to hit be a good way to assert control of the clubhouse?
Dave Cameron
12:12
I get why players want to self-police. I also think that throwing at each other and risking injury in this way is stupid. I wish players would come up with a better mechanism to discourage behavior they didn't like.
12:13
Forcing the pitcher to hit, so he can get thrown at, is just perpetuating the idea that this is a good way to handle issues.
Mark
12:13
Any hope for the Cubs to turn it around and win the NL Central?
Dave Cameron
12:13
Of course. It's a slow start, but they're still a good team.
Stuafoo
12:14
In respect to player assessment, where have you gone against the grain and been most right/wrong?
Dave Cameron
12:15
Historically I've been one to argue there is more value in the lower upside/higher floor types than the industry has usually believed. My types of guys have often been the ones who might be considered tweeners, so maybe they don't have enough power for a corner spot or enough D for a middle spot.
12:16
This has led to me posting things like "maybe Dustin Ackley isn't so much worse than Stephen Strasburg"
Which is easy to mock, in retrospect.
Gest
12:17
Without considering the small shortstop market, how much has Cozart's individual trade value increased in 2017? He has seemed to make some real improvements but how much will teams buy into them?
Dave Cameron
12:18
It's definitely up, though his HR total has been inflated by a few balls that were wind or park aided. I don't think teams are going to buy into the power. But he's clearly a better hitter than he used to be.
v2micca
12:18
Small sample size, but Chris Sale appears to be suppressing homeruns (in a park known to give up cheap ones) more effectively than he did in a more Homerun neutral environment. Random variance, or his he doing something different?
Dave Cameron
12:19
CHW's park is far more HR friendly than Fenway.
v2micca
12:19
Reading through the strike zone article by Eno today. Has the left-handed strikezone penalty largely been mitigated the last couple of years. Seems like the outside pitches aren't been called with quite the same regularity of even just a few seasons ago.
Dave Cameron
12:19
Yeah, eliminating the lefty strike area has been one of the primary changes MLB has pushed umpires to make.
Colin
12:20
Unless things turnaround fast, the White Sox pretty much have to hold quintana until the offseason, right?
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