Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about returning to the regular-season routine, between-innings highlights on MLB.TV, Shohei Ohtani’s Angels debut, Gerrit Cole’s Astros debut, Ichiro’s home-run robbery, Kevin Pillar’s base-stealing exploits, Mike Trout’s rapid resurgence, the first (and possibly the silliest) unwritten-rules controversy of the season, the early evidence that swings (and batted balls) are changing, two potential fun facts, the week-one criticism of rookie managers Gabe Kapl...
Apr 03, 2018•53 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s research into the performance of college teams vs. MLB teams in spring training, then reach into the grab bag for a selection of topics inspired by actual baseball, including Kyle Schwarber’s defense, the Astros’ four-man outfield (and whether Joey Gallo should bunt to beat it), Mike Trout’s un-Trout-like start to the season, Felix Hernandez and Noah Syndergaard, the optimal order of starting pitchers in the first week of the season, the bypass...
Mar 31, 2018•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an update on the fate of the indy leagues, their rapid playoff predictions for 2018, the inaugural journey of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen cart, juiced-ball precedents from the 1920s and 1930s, what spring stats are saying about the season to come, and a Dennis Sarfate extension. Then they talk to Brewers minor-league pitcher Jonathan Perrin (18:30) about the so-called Save America’s Pastime Act, minor-league pay and working conditions, what teams could ...
Mar 28, 2018•1 hr 5 min
In their final team-preview podcast of 2018, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a new podcast-inspired song, the Scott Kingery, Ketel Marte, and Christian Vazquez extensions, Ben’s partially listener-inspired research about catcher offense, a Devil Rays close call, and whether the ball is juiced in MLB The Show , then preview the 2018 Mets (28:47) with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo , and the 2018 Rays (1:08:35) with CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BO...
Mar 27, 2018•1 hr 48 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the passage of the so-called “Save America’s Pastime” Act, the future of minor-league spending, the endangered status of lower-level independent leagues, Ryan Zimmerman’s spring-training trailblazing, leadoff hitter Aaron Judge, actual likely Opening Day Dodgers starter Matt Kemp, a Zack Greinke anecdote, and Miguel Cabrera’s solution for not knowing teammates’ names, then preview the 2018 Mariners (20:38) with FanGraphs’ Meg Rowley , and the 2018 Roc...
Mar 24, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Alex Cobb’s surprising windfall with the Orioles and the ever-present overlap between baseball and social issues, follow up on non-throwing outfielders, and answer listener emails about challengers to Mike Trout’s email-episode throne (and Trout’s spring training strikeout-less streak), whether tanking is actually bad for baseball or becoming more common, what might make Clayton Kershaw opt not to opt out, players whom cutting-edge stats overrate, how...
Mar 22, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Eugenio Suarez and Jose Altuve extensions, whether this offseason’s slow free-agent market will make players more likely to sign extensions, the industry’s latest effort to avoid paying minor leaguers, and the debate about where Shohei Ohtani should start the season, then preview the 2018 Twins (18:52) with Baseball Prospectus’s Aaron Gleeman , and the 2018 Rangers (56:45) with The Athletic DFW’s Levi Weaver . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL ...
Mar 20, 2018•1 hr 31 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a new nautical analogy by Scott Boras, the resurgent Lucas Giolito, Ronald Acuña (again), and possible destinations for free agents Alex Cobb and Greg Holland, then preview the 2018 Blue Jays (15:00) with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith , and the 2018 Pirates (46:48) with MLB.com’s Adam Berry . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Aud...
Mar 16, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo’s day in the spotlight, Carter Capps’s new look, and Minor League Baseball’s new pace/length-of-play rules, follow up on previous discussions of spring-training celebrations and ground-bound players, and answer listener emails about a front-office saboteur, Steve Carlton’s incredible career balk total, the predictiveness of second-half performance, Ronald Acuña’s next triumph (and the cost of a lifetime Acuña contract), David Price’...
Mar 15, 2018•1 hr 12 min
On a Bay Area edition of EW’s season-preview series, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the resolution of their free-agent-contracts draft, the Lance Lynn, Neil Walker, and Jake Arrieta signings, the offseason market in review, and a Stephen Hawking baseball connection, then preview the 2018 Giants (32:07) with SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee , and the 2018 Athletics (1:07:20) with the San Francisco Chronicle’ s Susan Slusser . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET...
Mar 14, 2018•1 hr 41 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the odd odds of Jason Heyward opting out, the Mike Moustakas and Carlos Gonzalez contracts, the origins of shifting, the always-all-out Noah Syndergaard, Shohei Ohtani, and a non-throwing outfielder follow-up, then preview the 2018 Diamondbacks (38:46) with AZCentral Sports’ Nick Piecoro , and the 2018 Brewers (1:14:14) with The Frosty Mug’s Kyle Lobner . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL A...
Mar 10, 2018•1 hr 47 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Rays’ latest Tommy John surgery victim and the team’s potential plans for a four-man rotation, players’ decreasing IP and PA totals, exhibition-game walk-off celebrations, Marlins spring-training invitees, and Jon Lester’s new bounce pass to first base, then answer listener emails about lower-level clutchness, how quickly changes to the ball would be noticed, Shohei Ohtani’s underrated offensive ability, how teams could spend their way out of scru...
Mar 08, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ichiro Suzuki’s return to Seattle, Neil Walker’s perplexing unemployment, the unreliability of bullpens, Anthony Gose’s extremely rough start to spring training, and Kyle Jensen’s extremely hot start to spring training, then preview the 2018 Angels (20:44) with The Athletic Los Angeles’s Pedro Moura , and the 2018 Phillies (51:19) with The Athletic Philadelphia’s Meghan Montemurro . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA ...
Mar 06, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Justin Verlander’s contribution to the juiced-balls debate, home runs, and a frank Justin Upton interview about how teams treat players, then preview the 2018 Cardinals (27:08) with FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards , and the 2018 Braves (57:28) with broadcaster Grant McAuley . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Audio intro : Talking Heads, ...
Mar 03, 2018•1 hr 34 min
In a bonus, non-team-preview episode, Ben Lindbergh talks to FiveThirtyEight’s Rob Arthur about his new research into the changing construction of the baseball and its possible effect on the rising home-run rate. Then Ben talks to trailblazing baseball researcher Tom Shieber , the senior curator at the Hall of Fame and a recent recipient of SABR’s Henry Chadwick Award, about his origins as a researcher, his pictorial deep dives into baseball’s past, and the Hall of Fame’s artifact archive. Audio...
Mar 01, 2018•56 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Rangers’ Tim Lincecum signing, the Phillies’ corner-outfield experiment, and the Royals’ Lucas Duda signing, then follow up on a knuckleball question and answer listener emails about relievers’ and starters’ quality of opponents, an Albert Pujols basestealing challenge, the post-signing aging patterns of free agents, a Rusney Castillo hypothetical, surprising 2018 team projections, an opt-out what-if, teams trading places in divisions, time-travel...
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Logan Morrison signing and the Twins’ potent lineup, the Rays’ potentially lucrative new TV deal, and two tidbits from a game played in 1870, then preview the 2018 Red Sox (19:49) with The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier , and the 2018 Reds (55:47) with The Athletic Cincinnati’s C. Trent Rosecrans . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG...
Feb 27, 2018•1 hr 28 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Brent Honeywell injury and Corey Dickerson trade, the Yankees’ and Orioles’ potentially record-breaking projected home-run totals, two addenda about team-inspired baby names, surviving spring training, and an ill-advised trampoline recommendation, then preview the 2018 Yankees (19:07) with The Athletic NYC’s Marc Carig , and the 2018 Orioles (52:48) with MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET ...
Feb 23, 2018•1 hr 22 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Rays’ Carlos Gomez signing, the Padres’ improbable all-time home run leader, and the players’ portion of MLB revenue, then answer listener emails about running a team with the eye test or with stats, the effects of breaking the batting order, a serial rebuilding team, a pitcher fatigue indicator, team-based baby names, a flamethrowing knuckleballer, the value of leverage in transactions, the financial effects of expanding rosters, and an anti-tank...
Feb 22, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about another volcanic comment by Scott Boras, the Eric Hosmer and J.D. Martinez signings and the Rays’ sudden sell-off, MLB’s latest pace-of-play initiatives, why spring training intentions often go awry, and sabermetric trailblazer Sherri Nichols, then preview the 2018 Nationals (23:46) with the Washington Post’ s Chelsea Janes , and the 2018 Tigers (50:44) with MLB.com’s Jason Beck . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TB...
Feb 21, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Orioles’ Andrew Cashner signing, recent “super-teams” that missed the playoffs, and Marcus Stroman’s arbitration tweets, then preview the 2018 Cubs (16:27) with The Athletic Chicago’s Sahadev Sharma , and the 2018 Padres (46:43) with The Athletic San Diego’s Dennis Lin . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Audio intro : The Thril...
Feb 17, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the installation of a humidor at Chase Field, how peak Ichiro would have hit at Coors Field, and what to make of reports about players in the best shape of their lives, then answer emails about which team performances would qualify as surprising in 2018, projecting players who’ve had hard times off the field, evaluating launch angles, how much better teams get when they go for broke, NPB teams poaching unsigned free agents, how many non-athletes a tea...
Feb 15, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Esteban Loaiza’s drug bust and the Cubs’ Yu Darvish signing, then preview the 2018 Indians (15:31) with writer/editor Pete Beatty , and the 2018 Royals (44:16) with Kansas City Star Royals beat writer Rustin Dodd . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG Audio intro : Robyn Hitchcock, " Tell Me About Your Drugs " Audio interstitial 1 : Y...
Feb 13, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the new spring training camp for free agents, return to the topic of why so many high-profile free agents remain unsigned, discuss Todd Frazier’s contract with the Mets, and talk about whether a proposed “Tank Tax” is a solution in search of a problem. Then they preview the 2018 Dodgers (19:54) with LA Times Dodgers beat writer Andy McCullough , and the 2018 Marlins (1:02:11) with Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL ...
Feb 10, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about two reports citing anonymous sources, Scott Boras’ boat metaphor, “Memento Mori” as a motivational tool, a John Jaso update, and a Patreon plug, then bring on the FanGraphs prospect team ( Kiley McDaniel , Eric Longenhagen , and Chris Mitchell ) to talk prospect-ranking philosophies, scouting-the-stat-line successes, how record home run rates affect scouting, the Ronald Acuna consensus and the Brendan McKay controversy, and the 10 biggest disagreement...
Feb 09, 2018•1 hr 26 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about February rituals and the start and format of the sixth annual EW season preview series, as well as transaction inactivity and another player trampoline sighting. Then they preview the 2018 Astros (9:43) with The Ringer’s Michael Baumann , and the 2018 White Sox (40:45) with White Sox and ESPN broadcaster Jason Benetti . 2018 EW Season Preview Series AL BAL CHW ATH BOS CLE HOU NYY DET LAA TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD P...
Feb 06, 2018•1 hr 20 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about bullpen-cart feasibility, a listener crowdsourcing project to fill out the Effectively Wild Wiki, and the effect of starting an inning with a runner on second, then follow up on player volatility and knuckleball hits and answer listener emails about the historical significance of the Marlins’ latest firesale, the respective offensive ceilings of Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons, the effect of this winter’s slow market on future extensions and high...
Feb 02, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Nori Aoki’s return to Japan, Vladimir Guerrero’s swing rate, Franchy Cordero’s power/speed skills, spring training for free agents (again), and Melky Cabrera, then bring on Baseball Prospectus Director of Technology Harry Pavlidis to explain BP’s latest pitching-themed analysis, featuring robot umpires’ feasibility, desirability, and potential effects on offense; classifying pitchers and measuring stamina and command; and tunneling and deception. Audi...
Feb 01, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mike Trout’s trampoline encounter, a Matt Albers update, Ryan Braun’s rumored move to second base, the belated demise of Chief Wahoo, and Ben’s article about the 1995 Homestead spring training camp for free agents. Then they talk to Hardball Times author Stephanie Springer about cupping, magnetic chairs, cryotherapy, and other examples of baseball pseudoscience before bringing on listener Michael Mountain to discuss his planned 35-day, 30-ballpark bas...
Jan 30, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk about the Brewers’ trade for Christian Yelich and signing of Lorenzo Cain, how the Brewers stack up in the NL Central, whether they’re the new model for a rebuilding team, how Yelich and Cain could perform in their new park, what the Cain contract says about the slow-moving market, and where the Yelich move leaves the Marlins. Then they talk to Patrick Dubuque of Baseball Prospectus about how moving away from a “winning is everything” mindset can make basebal...
Jan 27, 2018•53 min
