Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners, the Cubs, and other teams that just missed the playoffs, discuss the firings of Giants manager Gabe Kapler and Mets manager Buck Showalter (19:21), and then (32:51) bring on FanGraphs writers Michael Baumann and Ben Clemens to assemble an ultimate playoff team by drafting components of existing playoff teams: hitting, baserunning, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching, and managing. Audio intro : Harold Walker, “ Effectively Wild Them...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Shohei Ohtani’s (finally) leagues-leading jersey sales, Mets grounds crew shenanigans, and shrinking minor leaguers, then (28:18) answer listener emails about restructured pitching staffs on which everyone would throw 3-to-4 innings at a time, a speed limit for pitches, displaying error bars for WAR, allowing outfielders only a certain number of catches per game (plus info on secret natural lefties), and a pitcher who reliably gets stronger as the game g...
Sep 30, 2023•1 hr 49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether Ronald Acuña Jr.’ s historic strikeout-rate reduction is as impressive as his historic power-speed combination, the Acuña- Mookie Betts NL MVP race, the enduring defensive excellence of the late Brooks Robinson , Josh Hader ’s insistence on one-inning outings and the degree to which players should dictate their own usage, the Rockies’ first-ever 100-loss season, Rob Manfred’s comments about broadcasts and betting, and the somewhat-improved probab...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about The Rolling Stones’ credentials as a baseball band, Mike Trout ’s slow healing, more Padres reporting and one-run-game whiplash, the Mariners’ rough stretch, how well this year’s playoff teams are built for October, and the most bonkers stats of the season, plus a few follow-ups. Audio intro : Dave Armstrong and Mike Murray, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Audio outro : The Gagnés, “ Effectively Wild Theme ” Link to Stones tweet Link to Stones/MLB shop Link t...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Yusei Kikuchi ’s (and other players’) sleep habits and the possibility of a three-way AL West tie with no tiebreaker game, then (28:28) answer listener emails about surprising team assignments in Baseball-Reference headshots, a player who replicates the talent of the player who started in the same lineup spot the previous game, making mound visits to the opposing pitcher, a GM who can predict UCL tears and call up a replacement for the pitcher who’s goin...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 43 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the five-year anniversary of a Twitter wager about Adalberto Mondesi and Shohei Ohtani , then compare and contrast two in-depth articles about the problems supposedly plaguing the Padres and discuss how convincing they find those reports’ explanations for the team’s disappointing season (plus additional banter about the possible reasons for recently successful former Padre Mike Clevinger going unclaimed on waivers, and a few follow-ups). Audio intro : Jo...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 36 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about precedents for 50-year-old Bartolo Colon retiring as a Met, whether it’s better for a player to go out on top or be humbled a bit before the end, the ramifications of the Rays’ deal for a new ballpark in St. Petersburg, whether each team is on track to have a successful season by the standard set on the podcast’s season preview series, the likely end of Shohei Ohtani ’s time with the Angels, and the curious career of Anthony Rendon . Audio intro : Benny ...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 48 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Max Harris banter about Ben’s problems remembering Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad ’s name, Baltimore’s lookalike offensive core, and Max’s history with the podcast and baseball, then (18:22) answer listener emails about seat fillers at MLB games, hypothetical players “Mr. Repeat” and “Mr. First Time,” centralizing MLB R&D, systemic vs. individual explanations for changes in the game, instituting minimum and maximum pitch counts, Kyle Schwarber...
Sep 16, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the firing of Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and the extension of Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, injuries to Max Scherzer and Sandy Alcantara and MLB’s UCL scourge, and a proposed tier system for the Hall of Fame and single-season awards, then Stat Blast (1:08:33) about Zack Greinke ’s win-loss record, Matt Olson and players with more homers than their team has losses, the most team innings with a homer to start a game...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 45 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball comps for the season-ending injury of quarterback Aaron Rodgers four snaps into his New York Jets career, the Rip Van Winkle-esque return of Orioles starter John Means after Tommy John surgery, the Mariners’ rough stretch, Meg’s pennant-race anxiety, and George Kirby ’s comments about not being pulled earlier from a start, the Yankees’ unlikely extra-innings win and loss of Jasson Domínguez , the Mets finally hiring David Stearns to run their ba...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the NL wild card race and Dodgers starting pitching, then (17:24) answer listener emails about league-sanctioned spies, the best second jobs for an MLB player, a clairvoyant catcher, celebrating obscure records, switch-hitters and pitchers with reverse splits, existential fandom crises, selective fun-fact framing, oddly aligned MLB logos on a Dairy Queen cup, and an incredibly durable but otherwise unremarkable player, plus Stat Blasts (1:22:00) about qu...
Sep 09, 2023•1 hr 48 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss listener responses to their banter about surprising Statcast throwing speeds, then (12:42) discuss Nick Ahmed ’s unsung great glovework, the A’s turning out to be (slightly) less historically terrible than they initially seemed, the AL West race, and how the Rangers missing the playoffs would reinforce conflicting narratives about baseball. After that (57:24), they answer listener emails about Mookie Betts overtaking Mike Trout in career WAR, how to tell when...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 40 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a Statcast-standout throw by Brenton Doyle , a Statcast-standout homer by Ronald Acuña Jr. , and how closely Statcast data matches the eye test in various aspects of performance, the surges or resurgences of Cole Ragans , Blake Snell , and Trea Turner , a Julio Rodríguez fun fact, Royce Lewis’ s grand slam streak, David Fry’ s ironman position-player-pitching appearance, Kodai Senga’ s strong season and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’ s free agency, the second arres...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a new browser game called Homer Hindsight, where all the players placed on waivers ended up, the White Sox promoting Chris Getz and the continued comeback of the ex-player GM, Brandon Lowe’ s Yankees trash talk, whether load management has diminished the grind, updates to the strike zone and pitch clock in Triple-A, and Bernie Williams ’s comments about Shohei Ohtani . Then (42:42) they talk to FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about the w...
Sep 02, 2023•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s voice and the potential for an ambidextrous superstar who blends the skill sets of Shohei Ohtani and Pat Venditte , then discuss all the implications of the Angels (and a few other teams) placing prominent players on outright waivers right before the deadline for postseason eligibility. After that (44:43), they talk to Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service frontman Ben Gibbard about his beloved Mariners’ surge into first place, his relationshi...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about classifying throws by infielders that are actually made in the outfield, imagine a multi -sport two-way Shohei Ohtani , and belatedly acknowledge Scott Cooper’ s singular cycle, discuss Kyle Schwarber ’s possible sub-replacement-level 40-homer season, break down the NL MVP race featuring Ronald Acuña Jr. , Mookie Betts , and Freddie Freeman , pat Kyle Barraclough on the back for wearing one, note that regression has come for Mickey Moniak , and offer ano...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 54 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about how late it is in the season and a fan’s exuberant reaction to the only known unassisted outfield triple play in major or minor league history, answer listener emails (15:17) about Shohei Ohtani 2.0 and whether “bulk guys” could stave off extinction for 300-game winners, Stat Blast (38:11) about standings-related fun facts, precedents for the Mariners rapidly erasing a 10-game deficit in the AL West, team droughts in back-to-back-to-belly homers, non-All...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 57 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley lament and discuss Shohei Ohtani’ s UCL injury and its ramifications for the rest of his season, his two-way future, his free agency, the Angels, and the continued happiness of baseball fans and podcast co-hosts, followed by conversations about Stephen Strasburg’ s retirement (59:17), Wander Franco ’s placement on administrative leave (1:11:30), and whether players are required to wear pants (1:21:06), plus a Future Blast from 2050 (1:31:37). Audio intro : Ted O., “ ...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s week away, Julio Rodríguez’ s hot streak and the Mariners’ surge, and the White Sox firing Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn, plus a grab bag of topics that caught Ben’s attention while he was in Sweden: the Dodgers signing Kolten Wong ; a Cubs adult-diaper ad; an oddly ricocheting Luke Raley home run; errors and official scoring, another incident that made Miles Mikolas mad; Riley Greene , Spencer Torkelson , and the Tigers’ rebuild; Bobby Witt Jr.’ s ...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 39 min
Baseball Prospectus’ editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein joins the show to discuss the surging Dodgers (5:26) and what led to their recently concluded win streak, the call-ups of Masyn Winn and Nolan Schanuel (28:07), and the optimal timing of the trade deadline and the draft (44:43), and why Craig doesn’t want to move it back. Plus, Meg and Craig answer emails on keeping relievers in the dark about the score before they enter the game (58:00), how teams might have changed their approach to the offs...
Aug 19, 2023•1 hr 32 min
With Ben Lindbergh still in Sweden, FanGraphs’ Michael Baumann takes the co-host chair for a spin. He and Meg Rowley begin (2:10) by delighting in a picture of Lance Lynn and Enrique Hernández from Dodgers photo day, then take advantage of Ben’s absence to discuss (7:30) college baseball and how conference realignment might affect the sport (and the athletes who play it). They then turn their attention (32:13) to Cole Hamels , who recently retired, and Félix Hernández , who was recently inducted...
Aug 18, 2023•1 hr 11 min
With Ben Lindbergh in Sweden on Ringer business, FanGraphs’ Ben Clemens joins Meg Rowley for a turn in the co-host chair. Ben and Meg begin (1:40) by discussing the disturbing allegations made against Rays shortstop Wander Franco over the weekend. They then banter (5:00) about the experience of watching baseball while on vacation, before turning their attention to Ben’s Five Things series, the sneaky delights of mid-sized Midwestern cities, the Braves scoring big against Danny Mendick , chalk pr...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh, Meg Rowley, and Patreon supporter Samuel Giddins banter about Samuel’s baseball background and history with Effectively Wild, before (9:52) discussing a Juan Soto quote and the type of disappointing team that’s most frustrating. Then (21:35) they answer listener emails about randomizing on-field decisions, the legibility of player autographs, whether teams should employ designated huggers, whether veterans are more clutch, whether we’re misusing the phrase “heating up,” what would...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 51 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about whether the plight of running backs in the NFL is analogous to any data-driven developments in MLB, the benefits and drawbacks of more or fewer off days during postseason series (and the problem with pluralizing “series”), the White Sox going 0-11 in games when they’ve struck out 14 or more opposing batters, Cody Bellinger and the surging Cubs, the flailing Diamondbacks and how the sequencing of slumps and hot streaks affects the perception of seasons, a...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 43 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Tim Anderson – José Ramírez fight and White Sox clubhouse culture, John Angelos benching Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown, the Angels’ post-deadline slump (and the Mariners’ rise), the return of Gary Sánchez ‘s power bat, updates on the MLB injury rate, the pitch clock, and the zombie runner, Charlie Culberson ’s re-reunion with Atlanta, the Rays’ latest unlikely starting pitcher, the Yankees’ ambidextrous catching prospect (and the dream of a left-ha...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 28 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Robin Ventura truthers defending Ventura on the 30th anniversary of his brawl with Nolan Ryan , Shohei Ohtani ‘s 2023 WAR matching his full-season 2021 WAR and whether this Ohtani season would’ve won him an MVP award in 2022, the Yankees’ handling of Anthony Rizzo ’s belatedly diagnosed post-concussion syndrome, whether this year’s shift restrictions are leading to more pitchers being hit by baseballs, and what winning or losing the trade deadline is act...
Aug 05, 2023•1 hr 56 min
After the trade-deadline dust settles, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the big deals from deadline eve and deadline day, starting with high-level trade-season takeaways (reunions, top prospects, hitters vs. pitchers, missing star power) and then zooming in on almost every team as they discuss the Justin Verlander trade, the AL West arms race, and Framber Valdez ’s no-hitter, the Mets’ sell-off, the Padres’ non-sell-off (and the itinerant Rich Hill ), the Mariners’ middle course, the Orio...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 29 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Charlie Culberson’ s surprising staying power as a barely-playing big leaguer, then break down the first batch of trades preceding the trade deadline, including deals involving Max Scherzer , Jordan Montgomery , Chris Stratton , Jordan Hicks , Nicky Lopez , Randal Grichuk , and C.J. Cron . They also discuss the lack of impact hitters on the market, Matt Chapman dissing the Angels’ offense, how intentional walks affect Shohei Ohtani ’s WAR, and how a misa...
Aug 01, 2023•1 hr 57 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a silly kerfuffle involving Miles Mikolas , Willson Contreras , and Ian Happ , Triston Casas’ s hot streak and previous unwritten-rules run-in, Bullet Rogan vs. Shohei Ohtani , Aaron Judge ’s return and the Yankees’ underlying issues, the Mets trading David Robertson to the Marlins and the White Sox sending Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers and Kendall Graveman to the Astros, White Sox historical franchise futility, which of this season’s most disa...
Jul 29, 2023•1 hr 34 min
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about watching Shohei Ohtani play while they podcast, the Angels’ decision not to trade Ohtani and subsequent trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López , whether the Cubs should buy or sell, the Guardians’ and Dodgers’ perplexing Amed Rosario -for- Noah Syndergaard swap, the Brewers acquiring Carlos Santana , and Rob Manfred’s extension. Then (45:05) they answer emails about dugout punching bags and whether the ABS system could help umps (and players) learn t...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 36 min
