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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 8/25/17
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Jeff Sullivan
10:36
I can never really predict how they're going to mete out discipline, but I think this one will be partially mitigated by the likelihood that Betances didn't do that on purpose
It just didn't look intentional to me. I do think that one simply got away
Paul
10:37
Hey Jeff, do we have data similar to Pitchf/x for bats? X,Y,Z location of where the ball impacts the bat? Moment of the bat about its axis at impact? Angle of the bat through the zone?
Jeff Sullivan
10:37
Nope
Maybe one day, but definitely not now
Corey
10:39
Is Brad Ziegler the only submariner in the majors right now? How many are there in the minors?
Jeff Sullivan
10:39
Lowest average vertical release points this year:
Steve Cishek: 3.86 feet
Joe Smith: 3.60
Darren O'Day: 3.50
Brad Ziegler: 2.80
So yeah, Ziegler is basically alone. Don't know how many exist in the minors, but I bet I could count them on one or two hands
Jackson C
10:40
What's wrong with Mookie Betts at the plate? His plate discipline stats are the same or better than last year. His exist velo is up a tick. His GB/FB rate is the same. His pull rate his the same. HR/FB is down a touch, and so is line drive rate. Still, isn't 35 points of wRC+ a lot to lose for a guy who looks the same around the peripheries and improved his walk rate?
Jeff Sullivan
10:41
According to Statcast, Betts has posted basically identical expected wOBAs for three years in a row. I think it's less that this Betts is underachieving, and more that last year's Betts was overachieving
Mark
10:41
Go fish! The Vanimal will lead us!
Jeff Sullivan
10:42
He sure won't!
But I love that that team is at .500, and I love that perhaps literally nobody realizes it
Dan
10:43
Could it be worth it for a team to blow past their draft bonus pool to sign a bunch of players that fall?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
I get the argument, and it's worth exploring further, but I'm just not sure there are enough players who fall because of signability concerns. It's not like a team could just sign some maximum number of would-be first-rounders.
GraphsFan
10:44
Saw your piece on ESPN! I assume that there is a lot more exposure to the casual baseball fan and an order of magnitude of interweb hits when publishing there... How much do you have to adjust your writing style when publishing to a larger, and maybe not as sabermetrically inclined audience?
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
It's different, because the ESPN topics are way more mainstream, and therefore a lot worse. It is a less pleasurable exercise
Mike
10:45
Early reports on Conforto's recovery timetable aren't great, likely 6-12 months. Does this mean they're gonna sign Bruce in the offseason (ugh)? Should they explore trading Cespedes or does his clearing waivers mean he's got no trade value?
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
The Mets shouldn't just give up. Still reasonable hopes that the pitchers bounce back in 2018. They can be the second-best team in that division. They'll just want a quality fourth outfielder
Joe
10:46
wait.. there were 4 fights? besides for the yankees tigers what other fights were there?
Jeff Sullivan
10:46
The Yankees and Tigers had four fights
Was it three fights?
There were a lot of fights
Jack Z
10:46
You will not have nice things
Jeff Sullivan
10:46
No one will have nice things when they're dead
The Dude
10:47
Most exciting September call up (that you think will get the call)?
Jeff Sullivan
10:47
Acuna, if they call up Acuna
Failing that, Crawford, if they call up Crawford
And I'm beyond ready to watch some Glasnow
Bryce
10:48
Is it fair to call the Dodger's season a failure if they don't win the World Series?
Jeff Sullivan
10:48
No, of course not
Robin
10:48
How serious is Conforto's injury?
Jeff Sullivan
10:48
Very serious, but not career-threatening serious
But it's the kind of injury that would probably knock him out for the year even if it happened in April
Jordan
10:49
sometimes I enjoy a good scrum on the diamond, its a nice reminder that players do care and its not all just about money.
Jeff Sullivan
10:49
But then, it's not exactly a reminder that the players care about the baseball. It's more a reminder that the players care about being assaulted
10:50
Try hard enough and I bet you could provoke a fight at the DMV
Hal
10:50
How realistic do you think moving the fences out as a way to bring HRs down is? Would you be in favor?
Jeff Sullivan
10:51
Not realistic and no. I don't think there's a problem that exists, and even if there were, moving the fences out would just reduce homers and increase singles, doubles, and triples.
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