Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s preseason predictions, voiding contracts, and Matt Albers’ most recent close calls with his first career save, then discuss the contact-rate improvements of Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo, with an emphasis on Judge’s performance so far and potential for superstardom. Audio intro : Tom Verlaine, " Cry Mercy, Judge " Audio outro : Robyn Hitchcock, " Sayonara Judge " Link to Ben’s article about Judge and Gallo iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) ...
May 06, 2017•39 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about infield-alignment terminology and walking Bryce Harper, then answer listener emails about proper pitch usage, winning minor league championships, the minimum acceptable velocity given perfect command, improving equipment, taking batting practice seriously, Eric Thames vs. Ivan Nova, making positions be dictated by batting order, the Royals’ awful offensive month, a message from the baseball god, a WWE-style MLB team, pace of play and the playoffs, voi...
May 04, 2017•55 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Boog Powell’s debut, Ryan Webb’s and Matt Albers’ ongoing pursuit of history, and the ethics of baseball injuries, then discuss some early-season evidence that the save stat’s grasp on manager’s minds is starting to slip. Audio intro : Sharon Van Etten, " Save Yourself " Audio outro : Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, " Save Me " Link to Ben’s article about saves iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Gr...
May 02, 2017•42 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff Manship, Chris Devenski, the biggest playoff-odds changers, Mets injuries, and Joey Votto’s comments on swing changes, then discuss which players, if any, can challenge Mike Trout for the title of best player in baseball, try to assemble a FrankenTrout, and conduct a brief Bryce Harper debate. Audio intro : Courtney Barnett, " Pedestrian at Best " Audio outro : New York Dolls, " Frankenstein " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us o...
Apr 29, 2017•39 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Chris Coghlan’s slide and the Pirates’ new international players, then answer listener emails about Korean baseball, fixing slides, the impressive JC Ramirez, baseball and humility, Space Jam and Hey Arnold! -inspired scenarios, Clayton Kershaw’s undoing, Billy Hamilton’s speed vs. on-base ability, a mysterious Seager, a pitching-change clock, Eric Thames-esque ownership of one team, intentionally walking Bryce Harper, and more. Audio intro : Laura Ma...
Apr 27, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk to Grant Brisbee of SB Nation about acceptable ballpark behavior, Madison Bumgarner, the Giants, and baseball’s latest tests of unwritten (and written) rules involving beanball wars between the Tigers and Twins and the Orioles and Red Sox. Audio intro : The Bees, " Chicken Payback " Audio outro : The Spinners, " They Just Can’t Stop It (The Games People Play) " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Group Twitte...
Apr 25, 2017•35 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ichiro’s home run in his return to Seattle, the feasibility of intentionally allowing dingers, a John Jaso quote, and manager bobbleheads, then discuss the present and future use, abuse, and presentation of Statcast data. Audio intro : Prince, " Get Yo Groove On " Audio outro : The Jam, " Away from the Numbers " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Group Twitter Account Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com ...
Apr 22, 2017•47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jason Benetti, Andrew Triggs, Addison Reed and Odubel Herrera, C.B. Bucknor’s bad day, and Starling Marte’s suspension, then answer listener emails about the nature of fandom, dominance against a division rival, a billion-dollar payroll, Eric Thames’s hot start, transplanting an NPB team, catching up to favorite players from childhood, Mookie Betts’s strikeout-less streak, an RBI record, an unusual replay-review scenario, an extreme shift suggestion, ...
Apr 20, 2017•1 hr 11 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the significance of some teams’ slow starts to the season, the slowest batter in baseball, and a curious coincidence on another show. Then they have a mini baseball econ class with FanGraphs managing editor Dave Cameron, who discusses the non-news about Carlos Correa’s contract, the surprisingly static price of mid-tier contract extensions, the death of the early-career superstar contract extension, and the culprit behind the players’ declining share ...
Apr 18, 2017•46 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mike Trout topping the WAR leaderboard, Stephen Wright’s vulnerability to the elements, and baseball-player social media behavior, then talk about the increase in game times in 2017, the factors slowing pace of play, and the coming of the pitch clock. Audio intro : The New Pornographers, " Clockwise " Audio outro : Jefferson Airplane, " Won’t You Try/Saturday Afternoon " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Fac...
Apr 15, 2017•44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan drop the no-Reds rule to banter about Michael Lorenzen and Joey Votto, then answer listener emails about a player who’s always in the rain, stats on baseball broadcasts, a curious scoreboard fun fact, the wave, early closer meltdowns, two framing hypotheticals, how many Kemps equals a Kiermaier, an extended draft drought, a Seinfeld trade proposal, and more. Audio intro : Bob Dylan, " Joey " Audio outro : The New Pornographers, " We’ve Been Here Before " iTunes Fe...
Apr 13, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Mets’ starting rotation, a Keon Broxton sighting, and the five WAR leaders vs. the five WAR trailers, then talk to Rob Neyer about his oral history of Michael Jordan’s baseball career, how good Jordan was and could have been, the ways in which the Jordan experiment is misremembered, and how it differs from Tim Tebow’s current attempt, concluding with a discussion of the use and abuse of the 10-day DL rule. Audio intro : Golden Dogs, " Balloons " A...
Apr 11, 2017•52 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Keon Broxton and batting helmets, statistical soothsaying, and the two-way-player attempts of Michael Lorenzen and Christian Bethancourt, then discuss the early results of several preseason players and teams of interest. Audio intro : Son Volt, " Too Early " Audio outro : Parliament, " I Misjudged You " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Group Twitter Account Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source...
Apr 08, 2017•49 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jake Arrieta’s velocity loss, the league’s artificial velocity gain, and whether the Astros won the winter, then answer listener emails about topspin and the turf, the Mariners’ and Blue Jays’ 40th anniversaries/seasons, disagreeing with projections, intentional-walk predictions, Madison Bumgarner’s batting, the negative value of player mistakes, single-game double-play leaders, a pitcher who always throws strikes, forecasting final stat lines, and mo...
Apr 06, 2017•57 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the difficulty of keeping perspective on Opening Day events, the lone disagreement between their preseason predictions, and a common reader misconception about prediction “groupthink.” Then they talk to Astros Double-A catching prospect and trampoline survivor Garrett Stubbs about his childhood trampoline injury and still-crooked finger, his dramatically different rankings on stats-based and scouting-based prospect lists, how size affects his future a...
Apr 04, 2017•39 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the end of the offseason, a Canada-only Clayton Kershaw, and Drew Smyly’s health status, then discuss whether the advancement of technology and the latest sabermetric insights still favor defense over offense, or whether hitters have started to even the score. Audio intro : The Mountain Goats, " Balance " Audio outro : Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane, " April Fool " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Faceboo...
Apr 01, 2017•41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Carter Capps mimic, several recently released Effectively Wild favorites, a baseball use for trampolines, and Derek Jeter’s prolific publishing career, then answer listener emails about a different kind of fantasy league, a player who can see slightly into the future, speed vs. velocity, a home-run/strikeout pitcher, spring training intentional walks, breaking Old Hoss Radbourn’s record, magically missing bats, part-time Trout and Kershaw, and more....
Mar 30, 2017•50 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Robbie Ray ejection, Tom Hamilton’s Brody Chernoff interview, a quote about Mike Trout, a Takuya Nakashima shift, and a Terry Francona comment about Ryan Raburn, then preview the Pirates’ 2017 season with Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs and the Yankees’ 2017 season with Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal . Audio intro : They Might Be Giants, " The End of the Tour " Audio interstitial : Jackie Lomax, " A Hundred Mountains " Audio interstitial 2 : N...
Mar 27, 2017•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jered Weaver, David DeJesus, and Dan Duquette’s comments about Jose Bautista, then preview the Tigers’ 2017 season with Jason Beck of MLB.com and the Rays’ 2017 season with David Roth of Vice Sports . Audio intro : Lou Reed, " Average Guy " Audio interstitial : ABBA, " Tiger " Audio interstitial 2 : Dillard & Clark, " In the Plan " Audio outro : Unknown Prophets, " Almost There " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get O...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan share responses submitted to a smattering of recent topics and banter about whether old scouting reports have value to teams, then answer listener emails about MVP-vote streaks, Brady Anderson and ex-player executives, predicting pitches perfectly, middle-infield offense, Aroldis Chapman copying Carter Capps, non-traditional starting rotations, and more. Audio intro : Ike & Tina Turner, " Finger Poppin’ " Audio outro : Mike McGear, " What Do We Really Know? " ...
Mar 23, 2017
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about anticipatory player celebrations, then preview the Rangers’ 2017 season with Levi Weaver of WFAA and the Marlins’ 2017 season with Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel . Audio intro : Kanye West, " Celebration " Audio interstitial : Neil Young, " Texas Rangers " Audio interstitial 2 : Laura Marling, " Always This Way " Audio outro : Wilco, " Glad it’s Over " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Group Twitter...
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a beautiful Javier Baez tag, then preview the Mets’ 2017 season with Ted Berg of For The Win and the Orioles’ 2017 season with Jake Mintz of Cespedes Family BBQ . Audio intro : Jay Z, " Poppin’ Tags " Audio interstitial : Laura Stevenson and The Cans, " The Healthy One " Audio interstitial 2 : Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, " Baltimore " Audio outro : Humble Pie, " The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake " Link to Javier Baez tag video iTunes Feed (Please rate an...
Mar 17, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about WBC tiebreakers and the efficacy of the infield shift, then answer listener emails about a Mike Trout body snatcher, dropped third strikes, bricks behind home plate, premature rebuilds, your WAR compared to Tim Tebow’s, new Statcast stats, and more. Audio intro : Lenny Randle & Ballplayers, " I’m a Ballplayer " Audio outro : Dave Rawlings Machine, " Bodysnatchers " Link to Banished to the Pen’s team previews Link to Banished to the Pen’s EW tourna...
Mar 15, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an Ian Desmond quote and a curious Dick Williams managerial motivational tactic, then preview the Mariners’ 2017 season with Meg Rowley of Baseball Prospectus and the Rockies’ 2017 season with Jen Mac Ramos of the Sonoma Stompers. Audio intro : Eliza Doolittle, " Team Player " Audio interstitial : Wings, " Soily " Audio interstitial 2 : Teenage Fanclub, " Thin Air " Audio outro : Supergrass, " Time to Go " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Spon...
Mar 13, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan preview the Blue Jays’ 2017 season with Joshua Howsam of BP Toronto and the Athletics’ 2017 season with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle . Audio intro : Rod Stewart, " Sonny " Audio interstitial : First Aid Kit, " Blue " Audio interstitial 2 : Destroyer, " From Oakland to Warsaw " Audio outro : Billy Joel, " Weekend Song " Link to Bill Hands episode iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patreon Get Our Merch! Facebook Group Twitter Acc...
Mar 11, 2017•47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan answer listener emails about one-pitch innings, trampoline stats, winning in spring training, David Price and pitcher pace, a baseball scene in Chicago Justice , automatic homer hitting, putting hitters away with two strikes, underrated first basemen, banning player mannerisms, signing with an anonymous team, intentionally walking Mike Trout, and a Clayton Kershaw knuckleball. Audio intro : Red Hot Chili Peppers, " Throw Away Your Television " Audio outro : Courtn...
Mar 09, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Carter Capps, Noah Syndergaard, and salary distributions, then preview the Angels’ 2017 season with Pedro Moura of The LA Times and the Diamondbacks’ 2017 season with Nick Piecoro of AZCentral Sports . Audio intro : The Super Friendz, " Give the Sign " Audio interstitial : Teenage Fanclub, " It’s a Sign " Audio interstitial 2 : The Milk Carton Kids, " Snake Eyes " Audio outro : CSNY, " Pushed it Over the End " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) ...
Mar 07, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a bad highlight, then preview the Cardinals’ 2017 season with Will Leitch of Sports on Earth and the Royals’ 2017 season with Rany Jazayerli of The Ringer . Audio intro : Genesis, " Get ‘Em Out by Friday " Audio interstitial : The Jackson 5, " Never Can Say Goodbye " Audio interstitial 2 : Great Lake Swimmers, " Everything is Moving So Fast " Audio outro : The Jam, " Here Comes the Weekend " iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!) Sponsor Us on Patre...
Mar 03, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about nets, nicknames, and scouting directors’ comments about international prospect Luis Robert, then answer listener emails about robbing from the Cubs, a division composed of only the worst teams, pitch counts and automatic intentional walks, pitchers pitching to pitchers, trying to win in spring training, Mike Trout batting eighth, pants and the strike zone, and baseball players and beer pong. Audio intro : Randy Newman, " Pants " Audio outro : JR JR, "...
Mar 02, 2017•1 hr
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan follow up on an Andrew Miller discussion and banter about Cubs backlash, then preview the Giants’ 2017 season with Grant Brisbee of SB Nation and the Braves’ 2017 season with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Audio intro : Richard Thompson, " Backlash Love Affair " Audio interstitial : Banks & Steelz, " Giant " Audio interstitial 2 : Laura Marling, " Love Be Brave " Audio outro : Elliott Smith, " A Fond Farewell " Link to Ned Garver episode iT...
Feb 27, 2017•1 hr 11 min
