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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 4/7/2021
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Dave
4:00
Are you available to hit for the Cubs?
Meg Rowley
4:00
I have to chat!
Sorry, Cubs! Also, hello all, and welcome to the chat. Let's get going here.
Saul
4:00
6 games in, what are your way-too-early takes for the season
Meg Rowley
4:02
That it's very cool to see Yermín Mercedes doing this, and that despite the risk and it perhaps not being the totally optimal way to use him, I hope Shohei Ohtani is healthy enough to justify him doing the two-way thing all season.
Really groundbreaking stuff, I know.
Guest
4:02
what do you think is a realistic outcome for Jonathan India's rookie season? he's raking and playing a solid 2B after 6 games (small sample size, obv)
Meg Rowley
4:05
From reports/data that came out of the alt sites, it sounds like there was renewed confidence in his bat after he had a couple of injuries, and that while he's unlikely to be a defensive standout, being tried at a few different spots means he has some useful versatility. And clearly the team is bought in given the way they've reconfigured their infield to make room for him. Will he perform like this? I mean, probably not, but it's looking better than it did a year ago.
schmoo
4:05
How did the past week or so go for memberships? Hoping you all didn't have too many lapsed renewals!
Meg Rowley
4:06
Pretty well! There was some attrition but that's to be expected and we're excited about how the membership drive might go. We remain very grateful for the support, and hope that the new features and voices we've been able to add of late make it an easy choice for folks. Membership support allows us to give you a better FanGraphs.
Chris
4:06
James paxton and jake fraley getting hurt really bums me out
Meg Rowley
4:06
It's a bummer!
4:07
Getting to see Ljay Newsome is good, but it's a big bummer, and really underscore how little big-league depth they added this offseason.
Also, just, poor Paxton. Dude can't catch a break.
Not Jake Cronenworth
4:07
Hi Meg, is it too wild to say that I am intrigued to see Kim play more regularly while Tatis is recovering from Injury - oh and more Jake Cronenworth too.  Could this actually be a blessing to the padres in getting Kim's acclimated to MLB with regular playing time
Meg Rowley
4:11
It is too wild, but I appreciate the impulse to try to find something positive in this. Time to adjust to big league pitching is absolutely useful for Kim, but I'd rather it came at a far less grave cost to SD, like days off to keep guys fresh.
Jacob
4:11
Why don't the ZiPS ROS projections include players like Dinelson Lamet/Sonny Gray who haven't pitched yet this year?
Meg Rowley
4:11
Because they haven't pitched yet - once they have innings, they should show up.
Jacob
4:12
Do you and Ben hang out outside of the podcast? And if so, were you friends before you started doing the podcast or only once you began working together?
Meg Rowley
4:13
Since we live in different parts of the country, our ability to hang out, even pre-pandemic was pretty limited, but it's always great to see him at industry events and such. We were definitely friendly pre-EW, but there's nothing like recording an emergency Ohtani pod at 9:30 PM on a Sunday to get to know a person.
LLW
4:14
It's hard to say the Rangers are the bellwether for this trend, given it has always been atrociously hot in south Texas, but how many years will it be until we see teams explicitly cite climate change as a reason why cities need to build them new closed roof stadiums, lest they relocate to the newly balmy climes of the upper Midwest?
Meg Rowley
4:18
That's a really good question - it certainly seems like an argument in favor of retractable roofs, though how explicitly it will be used to justify abandoning existing structures... I'd be surprised given how that issue sits within the broader politics a lot of owners subscribe to, but I guess I shouldn't underestimate how willing they might be to use it if it can secure new public funding.
Chris
4:21
Not a question, just letting you know there is a typo in the Buxton piece from yesterday, though I like to imagine "Byron Buton" as a Frenchman swinging a giant baguette and watching his home run dissapear over the fence with a subdued, "mon dieu".
Meg Rowley
4:21
Ah drat - thank you, updated.
Or should I say, merci.
Jacob
4:21
Which team has been the biggest surprise so far? And which team has been the biggest disappointment?
Meg Rowley
4:23
Really don't think there are any disappointments - it's too early for that! The A's haven't looked great, but they've also played two good teams.
Kiermaier's Piercing Green Eyes
4:25
It's hard to be pessimistic about a team with so much depth in the minors, but woof, the Rays' pitching staff right now. Will this be the year they finally got too cute with roster construction? Their top three players by salary this year are Kiermaier, Tsutsugo, and Archer, which is...interesting right about now.
Meg Rowley
4:25
Could well be but also, I don't know that this stretch tells us that.
Basically all of baseball right now is, does this matter? and us saying, maybe?
Sanford
4:26
Luis Rojas is sitting Jeff McNeil today so that Jonathan Villar can "get a start early in the season" or some reasoning along those lines. As it's seemingly not a platoon or a rest thing, do you think there's much value in playing your bench/utility guys early in the season like this just for the sake of getting them in, or do you think managers should generally just play the best players every day (as long as those players are feeling/playing well)? Unlike a situation with Kim in SD that you and NJC just talked about, feels like the expectation with a vet like Villar should just be that they're ready to go if/when called upon
Meg Rowley
4:28
I think there's something to the idea that going too long without real game action can make dude's rusty, but I don't know where that point is and imagine it varies depending on the guy. I'm also not convinced a start is the only way to do that, but who knows if there's something going on that we don't know about. Not saying there is, but maybe! Managers don't always tell us everything.
WalterBishop
4:28
HOLY COW! The Cubs actually got a hit!
Meg Rowley
4:28
Wow, glad I didn't skip my chat.
Sanford
4:29
Meg, I believe you were the first person I heard call for the elimination of the final "S" in "SSS"--I've been fully on board ever since and want to spread the word again, given it is April and such
Meg Rowley
4:29
Not eliminate, just be discerning. Sometimes you need to say small sample size, but not every time!
James
4:30
12 of Machado’s 18 batted balls have an EV over 100 mph. I think he’s gonna pop off this season.
Meg Rowley
4:32
That's potentially exciting, though it appears a lot of guys are posting very high EV numbers in the early going, so I think we should learn a little more about the new ball before we start saying it means anything about a given player having taken a leap ability-wise.
Which I don't say as a knock on Machado, tbc.
Go Yankees!!!!!!
4:33
What if you want to say Statistically Significant Sample Size? Is there any way to add more S’s to the abbreviation?
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