Ask Jason: On the Phillies paying Jake Arrieta, my favorite minor-league names and hot dogs

Jason Foster

Ask Jason: On the Phillies paying Jake Arrieta, my favorite minor-league names and hot dogs image

We've reached the point of spring training when the regular season can't get here soon enough. I guess you could argue that all of spring training generates that feeling, but my point is that Opening Day is sooooo close. We're two week away from games than count, which seems both right around the corner and a million years away.

But hopefully this third entry of Ask Jason will take your mind off any impatience that's dogging you. On to the questions.

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Q: "Do you think the Phillies are out of their mind giving Arrieta (and I do love the guy) THAT MUCH money even though he's on the 'wrong side of 30?'" — @SeeWillTweet

The short answer is no. The Phillies are obviously banking/hoping Arrieta returns to his Cy Young form, or at least something close, and see this as an investment that will pay off in wins — and a postseason berth — fairly soon as their rebuild concludes. Some think that could happen this season, thanks to a weak NL East. On the other hand, even if Arrieta has a couple of good seasons at the start of the contract, there's still a good chance the latter years could make the deal look bad in hindsight if he ages poorly. But the Phillies gave Arrieta what they though he was worth. And they have deep pockets, so a scenario in which Arrieta has more bad years than good ones shouldn't hurt the team that much in the long-term. 

Another (very important) question from Will ...

Q: "Best way to eat a hot dog? Chili? Kraut? Plain? Etc.?"

Trick question: There is no best way to eat a hot dog (which is not a sandwich, by the way). I usually like mine with the basics: ketchup, mustard and maybe relish. But sometimes I like to add slaw, chili and/or onions. On occasion I've also had a hot dog topped with peanut butter, honey and bacon, which is pretty tasty if I'm in the right mood.

Q: "Who did the same thing over and over better: Creed, or Nickelback? Also, but for real, any thoughts on the Cubs losing Arrietta? Can we still expect a deep run?" — @UseyMcUsername

I only know one song by Creed and one song by Nickelback. It's long been hip to say both are terrible bands, so we'll call their success a tie. But seriously, I've not heard enough by either band to have an informed opinion. Related to that, I've never been one to have strong feelings about songs, singers or bands. If I hear a song I like, well, I like it. Genre or style doesn't matter. ...

I don't see the Cubs' loss of Arietta having much of an effect on their season because Yu Darvish is a pretty good Arrieta replacement, after all. Plus, they've still got Jose Quintana, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Chatwood. That's a strong staff. Plus, the offense is going to score a ton of runs, so there should be plenty of wins on the North Side. A deep playoff run is anyone's guess, though, as the postseason will always be a crapshoot.

Q: "What's your opinion on the direction the Pirates seem to be going?" — @Rlblack1Rob 

The Pirates seem to be starting another rebuild, which probably portends another prolonged period of losing, which is never a way to put butts in the seats. With Andrew McCutchen now with the Giants and Gerrit Cole now with the Astros, their best players (read: the main reason for fans to watch) are gone, so it's probably going to be a tough sell to fill PNC Park on a consistent basis. But they do still have Josh Bell, who's an exciting player, and perhaps he'll become the new fan favorite. But overall, the Pirates are not an exciting team and don't look to be for a while. It's just strange that the team would be willing to dive back into second-division status so soon after emerging from a two-decade playoff drought (1993-2013). Not enough time has passed for most fans to OK with this, so it will be interesting to monitor enthusiasm in Pittsburgh this season. 

Q: "Do you think Scott Boras did any permanent damage to his reputation by holding out his clients too long this year? Do you think the cold free agent market this year was an anomaly or the wave of the future?" — @mwright713

I don't think Boras has damaged his reputation. He was already known as a bulldog of an agent, and it's always been his job to hold out and get his clients as much money as teams are willing to give. This offseason will probably be just a blip on his career timeline. As for whether this offseason is a sign of things to come, that's kind of hard to predict. We can be pretty certain that the next CBA negotiations will get ugly, as players will want to avoid another cold stove season. But before that happens in 2020, next offseason will probably be a better indicator of the future. A ton of top-flight free agents will be available, so we'll know then whether teams really were just saving up to spend big or whether a new, widespread spending philosophy has taken hold.

Q: "What would be your ideal rotation for the Braves by the time the trade deadline rolls around?" — @jtimm684

That depends on what you mean by "ideal." If you mean "ideal" as in the Braves are in the wild-card hunt at the deadline, that would probably mean going after a front-line starter in a trade. If you mean "ideal" based on the pieces they have now and one last year of rebuilding, I'd say Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Brandon McCarthy, Sean Newcomb and Luiz Gohara. That version of "ideal" assumes everyone is healthy and performs as expected. But McCarthy is somewhat of a question mark given his injury history, and Gohara is a big "if" at this point given his recent ankle injury. Not to mention that the 4-5 slots could be occupied by other promising names by midseason if guys like Max Fried and Lucas Sims have strong first halves in the minors. Too many talented pitchers and not enough spots is a good problem to have.

Another question from Mr. JTimm ...

Q: "Should MLB start using ghost runners instead of pinch runners to save time on substitutions?"

Ghost runners! I love it! Just like kickball in the cul-de-sac in 1985! 

FAGAN: Baseball's extra-innings folly should be left stranded

Q: "Why is there such a dislike for Nick Markakis? Yes, his numbers are average but they are consistent." — @Mad_dog31 

I don't know that the dislike is as strong as Twitter might indicate. I think the main issue is that some people in the Atlanta media and with the Braves tried to sell Markakis as an equal to Jason Heyward in right field. The argument was that both were Gold Glove winners, so the Braves wouldn't really lose much after Heyward was traded to the Cardinals. But Gold Gloves do not translate to actual good defense, and nobody who's being honest can say Markakis is the defensive equal (or even close to it) of Heyward. In fact, he's had a negative dWAR in 10 of his 12 MLB seasons. But people love to talk about the intangibles he brings to the clubhouse, which shouldn't be discounted. By all accounts, he's a great guy, and that kind of thing tends to drive the narrative about him. Stats-wise, though, his best years are well behind him, but he's still presented as a good player. That's the real issue, I think. Yes, he'll still get on base at a decent clip, but he has no power anymore (a big negative for a corner outfielder) and no speed, and advanced stats show him now to be a replacement-level player overall. 

Q: "Are you planning on attending any MiLB games this year? NC has a range of levels and affiliates, where might you go and where have you already been?" — @slightguy

I live in Charlotte, home of the Triple-A Knights, and we have a great stadium, so I usually try to make it to a few games every season. Other than than, I can't say for certain. The last MiLB stadium I went to other than Charlotte was TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. And that was in 2010.

Q: "What are your top 5 favorite Minor League team names?" — @notweetingchad

Good question. There are a ton of team names I'm probably not aware of, but I'll go with the Las Vegas 51s, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Albuquerque Isotopes (because of "The Simpsons" connection), Montgomery Biscuits and, um, let's say (*Googles funny minor-league names*) the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

See? That was fun. Let's keep doing it. Send any comments, questions or snide remarks to [email protected], or reach out on Twitter @ByJasonFoster.

Jason Foster

Jason Foster Photo

Jason Foster joined The Sporting News in 2015 after stops at various news outlets where he held a variety of reporting and editing roles and covered just about every topic imaginable. He is a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and a 1998 graduate of Appalachian State University.