Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller discuss the AL and NL wild card games (touching on Max Scherzer , Stephen Strasburg , Nick Anderson , Oliver Drake , Yandy Díaz , Avisaíl García , Josh Hader , Trent Grisham , and others), bid farewell to the Brewers and A’s, and analyze the Rays’ and Nationals’ division series prospects, then answer listener emails about the the Rays’ and Yankees’ long-term outlooks and how the regular season would work without playoffs, plus a Stat Blast about the Twins and WAR fro...
Oct 04, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller follow up on banter about Mike Minor ’s pop-up do-over and guaranteeing homers, revisit an earlier discussion about whether the 2019 regular season was good, and then preview the postseason, touching on every team in the playoff field, the difficulty of predicting playoff success, the most compelling matchups, the different ways to pick a playoff rooting interest, and more. Audio intro : Generationals, " Ten-Twenty-Ten " Audio outro : Boat, " Come With Me We’ll Win "...
Oct 01, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s mental preparations for Félix Hernández ’s probable last start as a Mariner, the dubious appeal of playing spoiler, the biggest hits of the season according to Championship Win Probability Added, Rowdy Tellez delivering on a promised home run, what Meg loves about baseball, both hosts’ experiences in the Arizona Fall League, Mike Minor , Ronald Guzmán , and the intentionally dropped popup heard round the world, how to judge the quality of a regular...
Sep 27, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the diminishing roles (and salaries) of MLB managers, then answer listener emails about whether it’s better for teams to be balanced than unbalanced and how to decide whether to upgrade on offense or defense, how consistently good a player has to be to make the Hall of Fame without ever leading the league, and what they love most about baseball, plus a Stat Blast about steroids and the league-wide distribution of dingers in the 2000s and today. Audio int...
Sep 25, 2019
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Cody Bellinger ‘s and Keston Hiura ’s home runs, the Cardinals’ climactic four-game sweep of the Cubs, the Brewers’ surge sans Christian Yelich , the rapid reversal in the NL Central playoff picture, Craig Kimbrel , Dallas Keuchel , and the narrative about players signed at midseason, what went wrong for Chicago and how we should perceive the Cubs’ Theo Epstein era, how this year’s playoff teams got good, what we’ve learned about the efficacy of tanking,...
Sep 23, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller talk to two Atlantic League players with the Somerset Patriots, pitcher Rick Teasley and catcher Yovan Gonzalez , about the experimental rules being tested in the league this season as part of a partnership with MLB. They discuss how Rick and Yovan first heard about the new rules, how players have perceived the changes and the effect of the rules on team morale, the elimination of mound visits, the problems with robot umps, the end of catcher framing, the absurdity o...
Sep 20, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the return of Luis Severino and the Yankees’ prospective playoff roster, how teams will use their pitchers in the playoffs, a Sonny Gray fun fact that sort of checks out, Yu Darvish ’s strikeout spree, and an extremely long September game, discuss the arrest of Felipe Vázquez , and answer listener emails about Mookie Betts and Mike Trout , when today’s baseball will start to seem dated, how long it takes bad teams to restore their reputations, and the au...
Sep 18, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Twins’ missed opportunity for a mid-plate-appearance pitching change, more mind-boggling home run facts about the year of the dinger, fun facts about the Diamondbacks and Jarrod Dyson , Guy Fieri endorsing Spencer Torkelson and which celebrity character references might make them draft a player higher, and how to answer the Phillies’ interview question for a quantitative analyst position, then discuss Mike Trout ’s season-ending injury and what his a...
Sep 17, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Kyle Lewis’ s debut, Rich Hill’ s brief return, Daniel Palka ’s second hit of the season, the Braves and Dallas Keuchel , and the Diamondbacks’ Brewers-style rebuild, then (18:13) talk to Will Leitch about what (if anything) Dave Dombrowski’s firing says about MLB teams’ competitive priorities, how the Cardinals (and Jack Flaherty ) became the NL’s most successful second-half squad, and the NL Central and NL wild card races. Audio intro : The Resonars, "...
Sep 13, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the costs of Christian Yelich ’s broken kneecap and other injuries disrupting pennant races and the Mets-centric personal-catcher controversy involving Noah Syndergaard , Wilson Ramos , and Tomás Nido . Then they answer listener emails about the mystery of Edwin Díaz (and the more minor mystery of Justin Verlander ) and whether we’re heading for a post-pitch-type sport, plus a Stat Blast about batter results on 3-0 counts and further discussion about out...
Sep 12, 2019•1 hr 11 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Michael Lorenzen , Shohei Ohtani , and two-way terminology, marvel at Eugenio Suárez and other surprises from the 2019 home run leaderboard, celebrate the AL wild card race, salute the improving A’s and Rays, and discuss teams that are reshaping their potential playoff rosters late in the regular season, respond at length to the breaking news that the Red Sox have fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski less than a year after winning the W...
Sep 09, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg’s time in the mountains and subsequent September disorientation, attempt to divine the family dynamics of a Colin Moran vs. Brian Moran matchup, talk about the Twins pulling away in the AL Central race and the implications for Cleveland, and discuss the downsides of the annual debate about the definition of “value” in the MVP award debate (plus more musings about Daniel Palka ’s 1-for-53 start to his 2019 MLB season). Audio intro : Mavis Staples, " B...
Sep 06, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller debate whether a fact about Michael Lorenzen’s multi-way play is fun, banter about Nelson Cruz ’s unflagging offense, technology and the future of the knuckleball, and an ignominious achievement by Billy Hamilton , then answer listener emails about the lack of four-homer games, what would happen if foul balls caught in the stands counted as outs, and whether (and how) MLB should ask its audience what it wants to see, plus a Stat Blast about the most-ever talent on on...
Sep 05, 2019•1 hr 28 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Cardinals, the Nationals, and the NL’s increasingly interesting playoff races, the pluses and minuses of expanded September rosters, a caveat about time-traveling to see Mike Trout’ s final game, and Justin Verlander’ s third no-hitter and the role of health in determining pitchers’ careers, then discuss the significance of five fun (and not-so-fun) facts: Oakland’s history of slow starts and fast finishes; Cleveland’s performance against good and ba...
Sep 03, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about GPS, resisting the urge to take the bait on bad takes, and the debate about access for broadcasters who double as team personnel, answer listener emails about not replacing broken bats, earning/working walks, and players with underutilized skills, and close with a discussion of Félix Hernández ’s future and some podcast metacommentary (plus a postscript about another unintended consequence of mercy rules). Audio intro : Tame Impala, " Be Above it " Audio...
Aug 30, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about whether they would take a time machine into baseball’s future, Yu Darvish ’s midseason makeover and ability to pick up new pitches, then answer listener emails about whether the warning track should be widened, players having the second halves of Hall of Fame careers, and a robot ump challenge system, plus a Stat Blast about the most common stolen base totals for players with lengthy careers. Audio intro : Matthew Sweet, " Time Machine " Audio outro : Sl...
Aug 29, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about what GPS directions have to do with analytics-averse managers, MLB’s black and white uniforms fiasco on Players Weekend, Sam’s takeaways from his trip to see a former podcast guest’s game in the Southern California Vintage Base Ball League, a philosophy professor’s quest to establish that the tie goes to the runner and a complaint about replay review, and whether Lance Lynn’ s career year and the ascendance of data-driven development suggest that players...
Aug 27, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about beer and the mercy rule, a 12-minute game finish at Fenway, whether baseball players have high job satisfaction, compelling playoff races and especially lucky and unlucky contending teams, robot ump implications (including measuring player heights, determining the shape of the zone, and preserving receivers’ sense of self-worth), and the Angels’ unorthodox rotation and the future of pitching staffs and Shohei Ohtani . Audio intro : The Beths, " Happy Unh...
Aug 24, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Shohei Ohtani , Mike Trout , and the most compelling playoff races remaining, introduce the new Effectively Wild listener email archive, then answer emails about whether a team in a three-team race suffers or benefits when its opponents play each other, whether home runs hit off of position players should be valued lower than others and whether an MLB mercy rule is a good idea, whether players should earn WAR for helping other players, whether fouling of...
Aug 21, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller bring on White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti to banter about sharing the broadcast booth with Bill Walton, Mike Schur, and Mike O’Brien over the weekend and what the success of the experiment says about the future of broadcasting. Then Ben and Sam mull a one-of-a-kind dropped third strike on Scooter Gennett , MLB’s homer rate reaching an even higher level and the inflationary effect on fun facts, and what the ongoing MLB youth movement tells us about whe...
Aug 20, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Bryce Harper’ s clutchness and how he’s perceived by fans, Clayton Kershaw’ s resurgence, and Mickey Callaway’s comments about analytics, then answer listener emails about the same player batting twice and playing two positions, whether Byron Buxton ’s defense has hidden value, career WAR vs. career counting stats, whether players could call balls and strikes better than umpires, and the umpire replacement level in the age of computer-called strike zones...
Aug 17, 2019•1 hr 19 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about how Gleyber Torres’ s ownership of the Orioles and Aristides Aquino’ s home-run spree are emblematic of 2019, fun facts about players’ accomplishments in their first X games, home-run fun facts and the juiced ball, Juan Soto vs. Ronald Acuña, Jr. , two recent Scott Boras quotes, the Dodgers’ near-record extra-base-hits game, and Jeff Mathis ’s offensive ineptitude and defensive prowess, then discuss an ESPN oral history of the 1994 strike, touching on wh...
Aug 14, 2019•1 hr 26 min
In the third episode of Effectively Wild recorded live at Saber Seminar in Boston, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to Boston Globe sportswriter Alex Speier , author of the new book Homegrown: How the Red Sox Built a Champion From the Ground Up , about Boston’s championship core, the twists and turns of player development, why clubhouse chemistry is so unpredictable, player development before big data, how scouting and player development machines break, the future importance of player developme...
Aug 12, 2019•34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Bo Bichette fun facts vs. Travis Demeritte fun facts, Javier Báez batting left-handed against a position player and why the shift appears to be exempt from unwritten rules, and umpire perfect games, then (30:46) talk to The Athletic ’s New York Yankees beat writer Lindsey Adler about how to explain the team’s injury-riddled yet somehow ultra-successful season. Audio intro : The Pretenders, " Almost Perfect " Audio interstitial : James Brown, " I Refuse t...
Aug 10, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Mike Trout ’s 28th birthday, the stats he’s led the league in, and the stats he still might lead the league in for the first time, the Mets’ recent hot streak and the way in which their season has been both tumultuous and predictable, Max Muncy and a cycle/walk-off triple attempt, and whether the basepaths should be wider, then answer listener emails about the best era in which to hit for the cycle, how teams should decide whether they’re out of contenti...
Aug 08, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the non-running Royals and Terrance Gore , the Diamondbacks’ stolen-base success rate and Zack Godley ’s disastrous season, the Phillies’ roster crunch, Sam’s recurring nightmare, a Roman Quinn fun fact, and the outfield exploits of Vince Velasquez , whether the 40-man roster should be bigger, what Velasquez has in common with EW legend Ned Garver , the trials and travails of baseball’s forgotten “bullpen jeep” and the sport’s perpetual efforts to shorte...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 25 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about FanGraphs’ completist coverage of the frantic trade deadline, the backlash to a perceived lack of activity at the deadline and whether the deadline was really a manifestation of baseball’s structural problems, the appropriate balance between trying to win now and trying to win later, what we can learn from the Chris Archer trade one year later, the significance of the suspensions for the Reds’ and Pirates’ bad brawling behavior, the Hall of Famers Mike T...
Aug 02, 2019•1 hr 25 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about bigger bases in the Atlantic League, then recap and dissect the trade deadline, focusing on why the market took so long to develop, the significance of multiple teams both buying and selling, why some top contenders didn’t do much, what a wild card is worth, the Trevor Bauer three-team trade, the Zack Greinke trade and the Astros as World Series favorites, and many more moves along the way. Audio intro : Son Volt, " Last Minute Shakedown " Audio outro : ...
Aug 01, 2019•1 hr 20 min
Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Gerrit Cole strikeout fun fact, listed heights and weights and Ketel Marte , running the bases clockwise, and a Ramon Laureano postgame comment, then answer listener emails about come-from-behind (and comeback) victories, whether the 2015 season was good or bad for Bryce Harper (and how players’ success is perceived), and whether umpiring crews should expand to include replacement umps, plus Stat Blasts about the benefit of running on 3-2 counts and ...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley follow up on the feedback to the preceding “best players of the decade” episode and minimum innings vs. three-pitch innings, then banter about Mike Trout ‘s new-and-improved throwing arm (and Ross Stripling ’s new-and-improved ability to retire Mike Trout), trade-deadline procrastination, the Giants’ and Mets’ outlooks, the future of Noah Syndergaard , the newly slider-iffic (and highly effective) Jacob deGrom , the retirement and legacy of Troy Tulowitzki , which of...
Jul 27, 2019•1 hr 5 min
