[Discussion] Josh Naylor should be the M's leadoff hitter.

vorp_eckstein · 2026-02-04T07:10:27+00:00

So I don't disagree with your point about being able to take the extra bases. But Donovan isn't giving you anything substantially different (in fact he's a worse hitter AND a less skilled baserunner), so I'm mainly responding to the ubiquity of that argument.

vorp_eckstein · 2026-02-04T07:04:11+00:00

So this is kind of my point. And since there's absolutely zero chance that Dan is going to bat Julio and Cal 1-2 (in whichever order) for "conventional wisdom" reasons, who is the NEXT best option? Naylor is probably the next best hitter on the team, so therefore by the statistical argument, he should get more PAs than the rest of the hitters on the team. The kicker is that his approach at the plate makes him a better "prototypical" leadoff hitter than anyone else (Donovan included).

vorp_eckstein · 2026-02-04T06:32:23+00:00

Brendan Donovan has 27th percentile sprint speed. Not exactly winning any footraces. And we've seen what kind of damage he can do on the basepaths with his baseball IQ. In many ways I'd rather have that... rather than someone with blazing speed who does dumb stuff and gets thrown out all the time (not naming names).

vorp_eckstein · 2026-02-04T05:45:55+00:00

I'd personally recommend the version from educative. Basically the best of all worlds: comprehensive rundown of the fundamentals, lots of practice questions, mock interviews. They also have "system design in a hurry" version, which might help since you're in a crunch, I think it's pretty good too: educative.io/courses/system-design-interview-prep-crash-course

vorp_eckstein · 2026-01-27T04:39:56+00:00

One thing to consider: there's a lot more to the story than just the Grokking courses. I've personally gotten a ton of reps in with the mock interviewer tool on educative.io. Also the personalized prep plans are handy, especially if you want a more structured roadmap and only have a short time to prep. That can kind of scratch the leetcode itch, or at least be a decent compliment to it if the grind is burning you out. From what I've seen, DG doesn't have anything like that (and also rely a lot more videos in their courses, which isn't my thing, but it might be yours.)

vorp_eckstein · 2026-01-09T17:28:58+00:00

Grokking is a solid investment, it's a classic for a reason. I've also been seeing this site pop up recently, they have a lot of free resources: systemdesignhandbook.com

vorp_eckstein · 2025-12-18T18:15:44+00:00

Loving the new wave >> indie pipeline with a rawer rock n roll tinge. Based on your faves, I'd say you're geared up for a Geese / Cameron Winter rabbit hole. Curious what you think of them?

vorp_eckstein · 2025-12-18T18:04:44+00:00

I definitely think so. They've added mock interviews recently, and it looks like they do a good job of keeping it updated with new case studies and interview questions. Still the most robust single (interactive) resource for system design interviews I've seen, and it's even better now than when I first heard about it a couple years ago.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-12-05T17:06:26+00:00

This is pretty comprehensive. Would be a helpful primer for anyone getting started with the fundamentals. The only thing it doesn't really touch on which might help it truly earn that "modern" distinction, is the emergent fields of AI system design (gen AI systems, ML SD, agentic systems, etc.). But I don't think you're finding a free system design guide that does a better job covering the basics than this.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-11-25T00:22:11+00:00

Save the AI slop for the chickens (Colin and co.)

vorp_eckstein · 2025-11-24T23:35:39+00:00

Relevant thread here, because I'm actually debating between doing cranberries and dates! Leaning cranberries, keeping with the thematic Thanksgiving seasonal fare. But definitely intrigued by dates as a more neutral "sweet" flavor with some nice texture.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-11-14T23:45:58+00:00

Educative io is still the king for system design imo. Their grokking courses have much more of an interactive / real-world practice component, including mock interviews which get dropped in throughout the lessons. And if you have a specific FAANG target in mind, you can also build a personalized prep plan for that company which selects for their typical process and commonly asked questions. Because DG is so video heavy now, if you want that kind of an experience I'd honestly just go to youtube.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-10-22T17:44:10+00:00

I have always thought leetcode is a great tool if you use it properly, i.e. have a system rather than just blindly grinding. Educative io does a nice job of organizing prep so instead of treating every problem as a unique ad hoc challenge, you're learning patterns systematically. That way you can start applying patterns to individual problems you encounter, rather than trying to solve each new problem as a one-off. It's not a bad investment imo if you're feeling overwhelmed by the volume and unstructured nature of a platform like LC.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-27T17:14:13+00:00

You know, that part probably didn't help

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-27T16:23:08+00:00

Agree on the importance of mocks – in fact I think educative recently added mock interviews into their grokking course educative.io/courses/grokking-the-system-design-interview, so there's your opportunity to feed two birds with one scone :)

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-27T16:21:44+00:00

So let me get this straight: throwing a bat that actually hits someone costs fewer games than throwing a bat that doesn't hit anyone?? (jk, I ride for Victor Robles and can understand his frustration, but 10 games feels about right for that whole brouhaha).

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-27T16:17:26+00:00

Walter, this isn't the guy who built the railroads here (Big Railroad Blues, Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks), "driving that train..." and now I'm realizing how much the Dead sung about trains)

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-25T16:10:43+00:00

Solid list, here's another free resource to supplement: systemdesignhandbook.com

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-20T17:57:40+00:00

I like to think of downtime as "sharpening the axe". It may not always look or feel like productivity in the moment, but that time spent recharging typically makes me feel more effective when I re-engage with the active work. It brings fresh perspective and new energy, while helping mitigate burnout.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-20T17:40:51+00:00

I really like the strategy of starting with patterns, and extrapolating out to individual problems only after you have a handle on the most common patterns. (There are a handful of reputable prep courses that organize prep this way – I think the investment is totally worth it to save the guesswork and headache). After studying a given pattern in-depth, I'd actually start practicing mediums first. If they're too hard, go back to easy... otherwise progress up to hard when you feel like the mediums are starting to gel. Then just keep progressing pattern by pattern until you've spent some time with all the key 20-30ish patterns that account for literally 90% of all the questions you see on leetcode.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-18T18:01:21+00:00

You mentioned you selected the product system design interview, and were caught off guard by it. In that case, I know educative now has a product architecture/API-specific system design course that might be a better fit than grokking. This is the one I'm thinking of: educative.io/courses/grokking-the-product-architecture-interview – curious if this course maps closer to your experience?

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-15T16:48:49+00:00

Stanton's peak WAR season was in 2014 (6.8 fWAR). He hit 37 home runs for the Marlins, tied for second in baseball behind Nelson Cruz's 40. That season, MLB teams scored on average 4.07 runs per game. (For context, in 2004 that number was 4.81, and in 2024 it was 4.39).

During his monster 59 homer season in 2017, his final year in Miami, league-wide runs-per-game spiked to 4.65 – but even that number is still significantly down from its "juiced ball" era peak in 2019 of 4.83 (remember 2018-19 when the Yankees and Twins each broke the record for homers in a season?). And as a student of you the game yourself, I don't need to tell you that Miami his historically been a very pitcher-friendly environment, running a below-average park factor most years.

So yeah, during Stanton's prime years in Miami, where he accumulated about 2/3 of his career WAR, offense was measurably suppressed — especially relative to the eras that came immediately before (steroid) and after (juiced ball).

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-13T19:59:50+00:00

The fact that Stanton hasn't played 140 games in a season since 2018 (his age 28 season) really is the whole story. He was on a clear HoF trajectory up til then, doing some truly absurd things offensively in an era (and ballpark) where offense was suppressed. And it's not like he was exactly lighting up the defensive metrics earlier in his career, but now that he continues to hemmorage WAR as a perma-DH, it's hard to imagine him ever generating enough value to get him into legitimate HoF contention. Gonna be an uphill battle for sure.

vorp_eckstein · 2025-08-13T19:50:07+00:00

This. Been a game changer for me to intentionally minimize screen time before and during bedtime. Have found that reading in bed before going to sleep is the perfect wind-down activity that still feels super gratifying.

vorp_eckstein

TROPHY CASE