You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Klawchat 11/2/17
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Keith Law
2:24
The blah game 7 hurts; I'd put this behind last year's and 2011 for sure, probably 2001 as well. I could argue for 2002 and 2014 in there somewhere.
Roger
2:24
Should the Astros add Whitley and Tucker to their 25 man roster to start the 2018 season, or let them work in the minors for a few more months than bring them up mid-season?
Keith Law
2:24
That's very premature.
Jim Nantz
2:24
I'm worried Conforto's shoulder injury is going to sap his power for next year? Do you share this concern?
Keith Law
2:24
I don't think we have any evidence either way on this.
Dr. Bob
2:24
As a Dodgers fan, I'm bummed at the end result, but I'm hopeful looking to the future. Friedman has built the right kind of organization. The team's deep pockets has allowed it to eat dead money without hampering its ability to sign other players. We'll see if the process adjusts the "book" that Dave Roberts seemed to be working from.
Keith Law
2:26
I wonder if Roberts is the right guy going forward, which I know sounds weird given the season they just had, but it does appear that he's not a very good tactical manager, and I don't know that he's a good developmental manager, at least with young pitching. I don't think firing him is some panacea or even a good idea, but the more I see him, the more I think they can do better. And, building off that, they're going to have to develop young pitching soon, so they don't have to go trade for a Darvish each July.
Roger
2:26
Do you ever really get an offseason since minor league ball is essentially now year round?
Keith Law
2:26
I'm done. The minors ended in mid-September, and I've already gone to the AFL.
David
2:26
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak has said an impact bat is most likely going to have to come via trade. There’s speculation the Cards will be in on Christian Yelich and Josh Donaldson, maybe even acquiring both players. Cards fans are worried two such acquisitions will deplete the farm system. Do the Cards have enough surplus prospects to make a couple of deals and not be barren? Who in this system is untouchable in your eyes? Thanks.
Keith Law
2:27
Not sure anyone could trade for both those guys and still have depth - maybe Atlanta, but even they'd have to pay with quantity - but the Cards do have a lot of prospects with value to other clubs and I don't think they have anyone untouchable right now.
Andy
2:27
Did I miss it, or was the atrocious strike zone in the Series glossed over?
Keith Law
2:28
Nope, it came up, and I know the teams had a lot to say about it. It was game to game, though. Bill Miller's was by far the worst. Last night was no picnic either.
Daniel
2:28
This is obviously not a small 'if' but if Kaprielian returns to form and stays healthy, could you see him becoming the top pitching prospect in baseball? Seemed to have that profile before he went down. Just hadn't pitched enough yet.
Keith Law
2:28
He has #1 upside if he's healthy. He hasn't been healthy for a full season in pro ball, which would probably eliminate him from consideration for #1 overall.
Josh
2:28
Besides Ticket to Ride, any game recommendations for a newly-reading kid?  Shorter play times would be preferred.
Keith Law
2:29
Depends on age, but I get the sense you're talking 4 or 5, and there are now kids' versions of TtR, Carcassonne, and Catan.
Ridley Kemp
2:29
Howdy Keith,

I have a long-ish Charlie Morton question. I've always been a fan of his because of his extreme ground ball rates and his ability to avoid the long ball.  He's definitely become a different pitcher this year, working up in the zone, getting more strikeouts at the expense of allowing more home runs. My question is: Is he really a better pitcher now? His ERA and FiP this year is about the same as what they were in most of his healthier years (2011,2013, and 2014).  He certainly LOOKS better, but are the results that different?
Keith Law
2:32
He did just post the lowest FIP of his career, and that's not adjusted for league/year ... his ERA- was a career best, and it was just his second ERA+ over 100 (which is average) in any season over 20 IP. So yeah, I think he's better.
Chris
2:32
Can I get an FYEAHBASEBALL!
Keith Law
2:32
Fuck yeah, you can.
Tracy
2:33
Hi Keith, I usually ask you questions related to books or current events but I actually have a baseball question—an odd one, but here goes: If you were able to go back in time and survey a particular baseball era, not just scouting players but also observing the way the game is played at that time, which would it be? For me, it would be going back to the height of the old Negro Leagues and seeing what we really missed out on.
Keith Law
2:33
Oh, 100% on that. There's so much myth around those guys and so little facts that I'd love to see what it really looked like.
Ben
2:33
GOP tax bill apparently allows churches to endorse political candidates. Unless they plan on taxing churches, that should be illegal, no?
Keith Law
2:34
Of course it should, but nobody cares - and good luck getting anyone to agree we should tax churches. (Reminder that the Church of Scientology harassed its way into tax-exempt status.)
Jim Nantz
2:34
When will your top FA list comeout?
Keith Law
2:34
Monday.
Michael
2:34
Hi Klaw - thoughts on the Gabe Kapler hire?  While I was initially in the Wathan camp, the more I have read the more I like this move.
Keith Law
2:35
I've known him a few years and I'm a big fan. Ideal hire for a club that will be full of young players for the next few years. Brings energy & new ideas. And he's actually managed a year in the minors, which puts him ahead of a lot of recent managerial hires.
Bobby
2:35
Keith - thanks in advance. Love these chats. I have always thought that managers in baseball don't move the needle much. Clearly, Cashman thinks otherwise as he is taking a risk moving on from a very good manager in the hope of finding a great one. What do you think in general re manager importance and specifically re the risk Cash is taking and the commitment he is showing (to the concept that a manager is very important).
Keith Law
2:35
I'm not clear that this was Cashman. Couldn't it have been ownership? It feels too impetuous to be Cash.
Archie
2:35
Do you think the game is trending too much toward the 3 true outcome model? If so, what would you do to "fix" things?
Keith Law
2:36
Tighten the manufacturing specs on the ball, and raise the bottom of the strike zone (which already happened a little this year).
Casey
2:36
On a scale of doesn't matter to existential dread, how much consternation should Dombrowski's hiring of LaRussa give Sox fans?
Keith Law
2:36
Doesn't matter. Doubt he has any influence.
Zach
2:36
What do you make of hearing that Darvish was tipping his pitches (according to Beltran on postgame show)? After he was traded to Dodgers, they apparently "fixed" that issue.
Keith Law
2:37
Eduardo Perez said the same for us last night - he specifically saw a hand movement. If that's true, then the question would be why no Dodger coach picked it up after the first inning.
Michael
2:37
Hey Klaw - What do you think is the actual deal with all of the anti-sabermetrics comments across the board.  These people are so angry, you'd think someone kidnapped their kids.  Do you think it's just a matter of: this is what I know, this is what I am used to, math is hard, I'm not getting younger, get off my lawn, and waaaaaa, waaaaaa - ?
Keith Law
2:38
I think many people view technology as an existential threat. And they're not entirely wrong - Houston is replacing pro scouting with video work and analytics. Automation is affecting all industries. Beat writer jobs are disappearing because of technological changes. So I get it. But it's evolve or die. You can't just will away analytics because they bother you.
Mika
2:38
Do you believe it's likely we're living in a computer simulation? On a scale of 1-100, how full of crap is Elon Musk?
Connecting…