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Paul Swydan

9:38

I don't think so. Maybe the second baseman, so he can cover the ground that the 1B doesn't, but in general, if you're the one slugger on a team of speedy non-sluggers, it would probably be difficult to be pinch-run for.

9:39

Good question though, I like it.

EccentricChemist

9:39

We always talk about what teams will be better next year, but any teams that will be demonstrably worse?

Paul Swydan

9:40

Well, the Cubs have nowhere to go but down, though I don't think they'll be demonstrably worse. I would think the O's are due for an off-year as their lack of starting pitching finally catches up to them. If Strasburg needs TJ again, that could take a big, wet bite out of the Nationals' chances. Also I don't think Daniel Murphy will be Ryne Sandberg again.

Rahul

9:41

Who takes the NL Wild Cards this year?

Paul Swydan

9:41

Definitely San Fran, and then I think probably the Cardinals find a way to weasel past the Mets for the final spot.

9:42

It's funny though. A month or so ago, the AL Wild Card race looked to be boring and the NL race exciting, and now it's just the opposite. At least in terms of total teams in the running. Miami and Pittsburgh fell off hard.

Andrew

9:42

Why does Xander pop the ball up so much? Is that a fixable trait? I'm kind of not crazy about his swing.

Paul Swydan

9:44

For reference, Bogaerts is second in the game in IFFB%. Also for reference, if you look at his stats, this sort of cropped up in his rookie season, and then he tamped it down the last two years. I would imagine it's something mechanical that they can fix, since they have one time before.

But I'm with you. It's frustrating.

EccentricChemist

9:45

Is there any way a team can still buy their way to a championship without having a farm system...or do older vets that produce so little just cost too much for it to be realistic?

Paul Swydan

9:45

I think the latter is more true than the former.

Anal Hershiser

9:46

Gonna fall just short of winning and have 8 keepers in their prime (posey, altuve, Villar, Cespedes, Bum, Scherzer, Arrieta, Kluber), need 2 more- do I roll the dice on old dudes (votto and murphy) or look for possible superstar young keepers (franco and rodgers) or some combo of the 2?

Paul Swydan

9:47

I'd have no problem rolling with Votto. Might want to stick with Rodgers for the other pick. He might not make the majors next year, but he might get high enough in the minors to become a really, really valuable trade chip for you.

Harry Caray's Ghost

9:47

Vote Bryant/Hendricks 2016. A ballot you can believe in.

Paul Swydan

9:48

Indeed, Harry Caray's Ghost. Indeed.

KVN

9:48

who's the better defensive shortstop? Seager or Russell

Paul Swydan

9:48

I'm inclined to say Russell. I'm not sure it matters. They're both really good and should be fixtures on their teams for years to come.

Ron

9:49

Re: Blue Jays: Guys like Tulo and Martin are getting further from their prime, but aren't guys like Stroman, Sanchez, and Tarvis moving into their prime? Seems like should more or less even out.

Paul Swydan

9:49

It rarely works out like that. Also, aging curves don't always line up with the notion of age-27 being the peak of someone's prime. Sometimes it's much sooner than that.

Justin

9:49

Fair enough. Any particular reason why you think it won't be the Cubs, other than that every team has a far <50% chance of winning the whole thing?

Paul Swydan

9:50

Joe Maddon is almost always too cute by half. Like that time he tried to play a bowling ball named Kyle Schwarber in the outfield, for instance.

9:51

In other words, the Cubs are so good that all Maddon has to do is fill out his lineup card and get out of the way, but I'm not sure he is capable of staying out of the way.

Grace

9:51

Who is your favorite current MLB player?

Paul Swydan

9:51

Mookie or Xander.

Kevin

9:51

12 team dynasty with custom scoring (add BB, OBP, SLUG and K/BB, QS, HLD to 5x5) keep everyone. I am in the playoffs and have been facing a major roster crunch. I've got DeGrom hurt, Stanton and Sano d2d on the bench, and Benintendi activated from DL. I've also got Dansby Swanson on the wire inching closer to his AB limit. Rosters have 2 Cs, a MI, CI, and 5 OFers plus conventional positions. on the pitching side its just 9 P spots, 6 of whom are relievers, then i've got 8 Starters to cycle through the other 3 spots when they start (including DeGrom)
My issue is I could probably use another starter, plus I may need to add Swanson, plus i want to activate Benintendi. So that is 2, maybe 3 spots needed. Would you drop a reliever or two (relievers are Giles, AMiller, Familia, Neris, Barraclough, WDavis) or an OFer (5 Starters are Pederson, Jankowski, Betts, DSantana, Kepler, plus Puig as Util) or maybe my second catcher (Cervelli).

Paul Swydan

9:51

LONG QUESTION ALERT!

9:53

It's always better to drop the relievers. I'd drop the ones with the least brand name recognition, like Neris or Barraclough. Or Davis, if you think he's fragile now.

Trent

9:53

What do the As do this off-season? Or is it just hopeless trying to predict Billy Beane at this point?

Paul Swydan

9:54

It is definitely hopeless trying to predict Beane, but it also feels sort of hopeless trying to maneuver the A's back to contention. If I was them, I'd probably just stay away from free agency and gear up to spend as much money as they can on international prospects.

Cybo

9:54

What kind of Votto trade can you envision happening this off-season?

Paul Swydan

9:54

I can't envision a Votto trade happening this offseason.

9:55

Probably not enough. I'm not sure Schwarber has a ton of value, and Hendricks even after this season probably isn't a building block the way Russell is.

And Heyward is sort of an open question mark.

Joseph

9:55

Back to the Angels rebuild: Trout for Russell, Schwarber, Hendricks, and Heyward (+ 50MM to make Heyward less of an albatross). Not enough to get it done?

Paul Swydan

9:56

Oops. Sorry, I did the answer before I posted the question. My bad!

Grace

9:56

This is the first time I've stopped in on your chat- do you do this every week?

Paul Swydan

9:56

Yes, usually with Jeff Zimmerman, though he is off this week.

Tom

9:56

Gary Sanchez for AL ROY and Clayton Kershaw for NL Cy Young. And playing time be damned!

Paul Swydan

9:57

Not sure that's the hill you want to die on Tom, but I admire your stance.

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