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Dave Cameron FanGraphs Chat
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Dave Cameron
12:01
Well, it's a Wednesday without baseball, so we'll forgo the usual Happy Wednesday greeting.
12:02
Chicago, Toronto, and Cleveland are in the LCS, and we get an elimination game between LA/WAS tomorrow. This has been a fun postseason so far.
Let's chat about it.
Chris
12:02
Was last night the strangest bullpen management we've seen since the time La Russa was surprised by which reliever came out during a world series game?
Dave Cameron
12:03
Setting aside Bochy's lack of faith in Will Smith -- which I wrote about last night -- the rest of it was pretty normal. If you think Smith is just a LOOGY, and not even as good as Lopez in that role, then everything else kind of fits. But the weird part is not recognizing that Smith is good.
Eddy
12:03
Looks like Javy Baez is the front runner in annual "Damn, I didn't know this guy was this good" contest thanks to national postseason exposure. No way this guy gets regular AB next season, right?
Dave Cameron
12:04
Well, I think the Cubs are in a bit of a pickle with Baez, albeit the nice kind of pickle you want to have. He's this year's Schwarber, basically. It's not entirely clear where he fits in next year's line-up, but the team may be reticent to trade him and watch him turn into a high level player elsewhere.
12:05
So, yeah, he probably sticks around as a 400 AB guy, playing all over the field and providing depth until Zobrist is ready to hand over the 2B job in a few years.
nickg
12:05
Realistically, how many members of the Giants bullpen can/should be replaced? As a fan, I vote for all of them (though I thank them for previous service).
Dave Cameron
12:06
The funny thing is that there's the makings of a solid unit here. Law looked great in the second half, and Smith remains one of the best LH relievers in the game. That's a strong pair, so assuming the Giants sign a guy like Melancon to take the ball in the 9th, their pen could actually be good next year.
Professor Ross Eforp
12:06
Is there any reason to believe that Tito Francona's use of Miller/Allen/Shaw could lead them to be less effective over the next 4 to 14 games?
Dave Cameron
12:06
Not really; they got a nice long break between the DS and LCS. If the series had gone five, maybe.
The Lure of the Animal
12:07
How does a *bold* strategy like Tito's usage of Miller originate? Does the manager himself typically figure it out, or would he be persuaded by someone in the FO or analytics department?
Dave Cameron
12:07
I would imagine that was a collaborative effort.
GDUBSS
12:07
Do you second guess Bochy not pinch hitting for Moore with the bases loaded and 1 out in a tie game in the 5th inning? Moore did get a hit but I was pretty shocked that he was hitting there.
Dave Cameron
12:07
They played 13 innings the night before; they didn't really have the option to be super aggressive using relievers last night.
Hideo Nomo
12:08
Roberts has to make a tough call again. Hill on 3 days rest or Urias. You made the argument for starting Urias in game 4. Is Urias your pick again? Hill of course, has a blister problem. Will that affect Roberts decision?
Dave Cameron
12:08
Hill already said he's starting. Would imagine they'll both pitch.
Philip
12:08
What did you think of Kershaw's performance last night?
Dave Cameron
12:08
He was good, and then Roberts left him in too long.
Scott
12:08
All of your slide talk on the podcast left me wondering, why do players slide at home? Shouldn't it be like first where you just sprint through. I thought sliding slowed you down and people only do it because you can't run through the bag. What am I missing?
Dave Cameron
12:09
Plays at first are force plays, plays at home are (almost always) tag plays. You dive to avoid being tagged.
Murdoc
12:09
So, the Giants will probably be looking for bullpen help this winter right?
Dave Cameron
12:09
Mark Melancon's agent might as well draw up the contract now.
Sonny
12:10
Dombrowski claims in-game management is overrated in a coach, after Tito just pants Farrell my head exploded at that comment.
Dave Cameron
12:10
He's not wrong.
Michael
12:10
If you're the Yankees, do you include Clint Frazier in a deal for Sale or hang in to him?
Dave Cameron
12:11
Of course you trade Frazier for Sale.
Brett W
12:11
Fowler will get a qualifying offer?
Dave Cameron
12:11
Definitely.
Sonny
12:11
Can Cleveland continue to give Miller/Allen 20% of batters faced in a longer series? Wouldn't the 'win the game you're in' ethos still hold true as 7 games isn't that much longer than 5 game series
Dave Cameron
12:11
Harder to do that over a longer series, especially once you start having the three games in a row without the off day. The DS really lends itself to the most aggressive relief usage.
Erik
12:12
True or False: the best three remaining teams are all in the National League. If so, do you predict the NLCS to be a better series than the World Series?
Dave Cameron
12:12
True, though Toronto isn't that far off from the NL clubs.
Elton
12:12
This year's World Series participants will consist of teams which haven't been there for at least 19 years. Refreshing! My question is how much of an advantage do the Cubs have by the Dodgers and Nationals going 5 and having to use their aces twice? Perhaps not that much since Kershaw/Scherzer would still get to pitch two games in the NLCS?
Dave Cameron
12:13
It's a little bit of an edge. The Cubs will have a fully rested bullpen when the NLCS starts too.
Erik
12:13
If the Cubs make the WS, do they set things up to ensure that Arrieta pitches at home and Lester pitches in the NL park? Or are the differences between pitchers hitting too small to affect that decision?
Dave Cameron
12:14
Yeah, that's overthinking it.
Dubslow
12:14
Where can I find pitcher stats like wOBA allowed or SLG allowed or OPS allowed etc... basically all the standard hitting stats except as allowed by the pitcher?
Dave Cameron
12:14
On their splits page or in the splits tool.
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