JotCast | Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat

Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 8/21/18

Meg Rowley

2:00

Hello, and welcome to the chat.

There is a lot of smoke in Seattle. It is a bummer. But, a chat!

Nick

2:00

Robinson Cano had a dramatic HR for the Mariners last night. Is this the Mariners keeping their heads above water for a little longer before they finally drown? Or is there a rescue boat nearby?

Meg Rowley

2:01

I think it might be best described as there is a lifeboat nearby, but the crew of the boat has dropped one of the oars in the water and also, the A's are a giant shark whose fin we can see.

2:02

The AL West being a race is very exciting and winning is better than losing. And surely the A's can't win like this... forever? I think the division still probably goes to the Astros, but it is hardly a far gone conclusion, and the A's still probably hold on to the second wild card, but the M's aren't dead yet.

Nick

2:02

Why is Luis Urias still not on the Padres?

Meg Rowley

2:03

Because teams will always prefer to retain extra control of players, even if they are good, especially when the team isn't playing for anything.

Nick

2:03

Will Oakland ever stop winning? I'm getting annoyed.

Meg Rowley

2:03

They probably will stop winning sometime! If nothing else, they have to deal with Houston/Boston/New York in the playoffs.

2:04

They are a very fun team though. They have several of the good Matts. They have Fernando Rodney. They have a fan base that is small, but mighty!

You should feel however you want to, though. I'm not here to tell you how to feel.

White Sox Fan

2:04

Finally Kopech is on the way. Hope he's a bit better than Gonzalves was last night for the Twins. Over/under on K's at 6 - I'll take the over...

Meg Rowley

2:05

The thing I'll be interested in is walks (I know, I know, it has been better lately, I KNOW).

Guest

2:05

A.J. Hinch announced recently that Osuna "is going to get the majority of save opportunities", which means that Hector Rondon is now 2-2 on getting replaced as a closer by someone with some pretty serious off-the-field issues...that's gotta suck

Meg Rowley

2:06

I think that it is important that we continue to recognize that (and the Astros are far from the only team to do this) these are all choices. They might be choices that are logical in a baseball sense. They might be choices that are heavily incentivized. But they are choices, and Houston has to wear them.

Mike

2:06

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not meaningful at all and 10 being very meaningful, how meaningful is this Red Sox/Indians series? On one hand, it would take a catastrophe for either team to miss the playoffs but on the other hand, if Cleveland plays well people should start taking them seriously.

Meg Rowley

2:07

I think people were taking Cleveland more seriously already, but the loss of Bauer is a big one. Winning against good teams is always a good thing. I would imagine it means more to the players than it necessarily Means, but yeah.

CamdenWarehouse

2:07

Has it always been a thing for baseball announcers to brag about being unaware of pop culture? I've noticed this a lot over the last few years. This weekend a Yankees broadcaster had to make sure everyone knew he had no idea what GoT was and it came off so...weird. It's a very specific breed of baseball grump.

Meg Rowley

2:08

If I wanted to be generous I would say that there is a certain strain of contrarian that exists across all age groups that delights in being out of step with what is popular. If that's new to the booth I'd think it's mostly because announcers engage pop culture more than they used to. But yeah, it reads grumpy for sure.

2:09

I will say, and I mean this as someone who likes Game of Thrones and has read the books, ummmm kinda weird that MLB has embraced that show, no?

2:10

Like, fundamental to the plot of the show about a lot of people being murdered horribly in the pursuit of power are a bunch of closely related characters having sexy time with each other. Very family friendly.

seattlecougar

2:10

I hope tonight's Women in Baseball night is a success! As excited as I'm sure you are for it, would you support the Mariners canceling games until this smoke clears? I tried to go to last night's game and just sitting on my ass was killing me - I have no idea how the players survived physical exertion in that.

Meg Rowley

2:11

I will not pretend to know more than the advisories have said, but I'm not sure it is at that point yet? I do encourage people who have concerns to reach out to the team. I think (and I hope I'm not speaking out of turn here) I saw one of the team's reps say they would offer refunds on the game generally.

Also the event will be on Facebook Live, so if you can't make it because of smoke, you can still watch!

2:12

It is really bad. It made me wonder what the protocol is for cancelling games. Seems like an issue that will come up more.

Devil Ray Jay Johnson

2:12

Do the Rays have a path to contending next year? What if they spent an extra $20 million to find a decent starter and DH?

Meg Rowley

2:12

The Rays are almost contending now! A lot will depend on when pitchers come back and how healthy they are, but sure.

2:13

I like what the Rays do. I think it is smart and imaginative. I also wonder, huh, if you spent some money, then what could you do?

2:14

They're always going to be nervous about how much $20 million is of total payroll. But it would be good to see them somewhat less cheap, even if they'll never rival the Yankees and Dodgers.

Eddie

2:14

Has anyone accomplished more before getting their 1st AAA than Jose Altuve?

Meg Rowley

2:14

He is a great, delightful baseball spirit. And no.

Michael Anthony

2:14

Do you think superutility player fit Wil Myers better than lineup anchoring first baseman/corner outfield?

Meg Rowley

2:15

I don't think we know what his best fit is because we don't know what all the other Padres fits are, but he isn't bad. Quite good sometimes! He's better than some other first basemen on that roster for instance.

Ryan

2:15

So, the A's, huh?

Meg Rowley

2:16

Just remarkable.

Their playoff odds on June 16 were...

3.3%

They are now in the high 70s.

Nick

2:16

Better Sunday cream uniforms, Mariners, Phillies, or Braves?