Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo and the Sonny Gray trade, then (19:11) bring on Padres podcaster David Marver to talk about the Padres supposedly opening their books, what information the team actually revealed, the ways in which that information may be incomplete or misleading, why Padres ownership hasn’t spent more, San Diego as an underrated downtrodden sports town, the Padres’ top-ranked farm system and future, year one of the Eric Hosmer experience, and more....
Jan 22, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ’s final winter league stats, the retirement of Ricky Romero , the upside of a slow market, and the anticlimax of a big free-agent signing, then (11:25) bring on Baseball Prospectus director of editorial content Patrick Dubuque to talk about why we know how much players make, how knowing players’ financial information but not owners’ affects the way we talk about baseball, whether opportunity cost still matters, whether casual fans ...
Jan 19, 2019•56 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Yankees signing Adam Ottavino and the Angels signing Cody Allen , super-pens vs. improvised pens, and Manny Machado , Eric Hosmer , and Mike Trout , then (15:19) bring on Baseball Prospectus writer Sung Min Kim to talk about how the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has increased its popularity among young people and women, why its in-game experience is so scintillating, how it differs in style and quality from MLB, following two brands of basebal...
Jan 19, 2019•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben and Travis Sawchik finishing their new book, The MVP Machine , Willians Astudillo ‘s MVP voting results, the Kyler Murray baseball/football decision and why it’s unusual for players in his situation to have leverage, Manny Machado rumors, and Yasmani Grandal ‘s comments about the contract he didn’t sign, then answer listener emails about why baseball players don’t hold out and Rickey Henderson ’s base-stealing today, plus Stat Blasts about the big...
Jan 17, 2019•1 hr 20 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo being plunked in reprisal for his home-run pimp, the surprisingly small contract of Yasmani Grandal and the state of the Brewers and the NL Central, Jed Lowrie and the Mets’ positional logjam, DJ LeMahieu joining the Yankees and the ramifications for Manny Machado , the latest in teams trying to lure Machado by recruiting Machado mentors, the Dodgers signing Russell Martin , the latest on A’s first-rounder Kyler Murray, and a real-l...
Jan 12, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo going viral yet again, his iconic winter-league home-run pose and the state of celebration in baseball, the improbable personality of an improbable player, Astudillo’s future in Minnesota, and the Mariners bringing back Dustin Ackley . Then (23:59) they talk to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Systems Engineer (and baseball nerd) Shannon Towey about her past work at CERN, her present work on multiple Mars missions at JPL, her scientif...
Jan 10, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Oliver Drake ‘s new (and also old) team, the Mets, Brodie Van Wagenen, and Keon Broxton , the Yankees signing Zach Britton , how data and technology have helped some free agents and hurt others, the state of free-agent spending and baseball’s economic past, present, and future, Scott Boras’s latest linguistic crime, the White Sox acquiring the friends and family of Manny Machado , Jonny Gomes getting hired as an unlikely coach, and Willians Astudillo ...
Jan 09, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about New York Met Rymer Liriano and the minor league free agent draft, David Robertson signing with the Phillies, Robertson’s underrated record, and a Sabermetrics Mount Rushmore, then (14:43) talk to Retrosheet founder and president Dave Smith about how he started Retrosheet, the organization’s mission to collect a record of every major-league game ever played, its most valuable and most unlikely play-by-play sources, how games get entered into the databa...
Jan 04, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Yankees signing Troy Tulowitzki , Whit Merrifield ’s vaguely worded optimism about the Royals, and the necessity of unrealistic expectations, then answer listener emails about holiday sports conversations (featuring Ben’s mom’s hot take about Mariano Rivera and the truth about Rivera versus Edgar Martinez ), players who are literally in the Hall of Fame, why many fans side with owners over players in economic matters, the worst baseball card poses...
Jan 03, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Mariners signing Yusei Kikuchi, Willians Astudillo’ s last 10 days, and Oliver Drake’ s latest designation for assignment, and then grade the Hall of Fame’s many choices of in-game artifacts from the 2018 season. After that (44:41), they bring on Kyodo News writer Jim Allen to talk about Kikuchi’s origin story, recent performance, balky shoulder, and comparable pitchers, plus the use of stats and technology in Japanese baseball, how the posting sy...
Jan 02, 2019•1 hr 19 min
Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and ESPN’s Sam Miller review the top candidates for the most enduring baseball memory of 2018, then conduct the sixth annual Effectively Wild Minor League Free Agent Draft, selecting 11 minor league free agents each and competing to see whose roster will accumulate the most combined MLB playing time in 2019 (followed by a Nelson Cruz signing addendum). Audio intro : DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, " Here We Go Again " Audio outro : Teal Wicks, " I Know He’s Ou...
Dec 28, 2018•1 hr 18 min
In the second of two themed episodes, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan review one aspect of each National League team’s year that they overlooked on earlier episodes, touching on stories involving the Baby Braves, Charlie Culberson , and Dansby Swanson , Brent Suter vs. Corey Kluber , Jack Flaherty vs. Walker Buehler , Willson Contreras ‘s wedding, Archie Bradley , Yasiel Puig , Dereck Rodriguez and Gorkys Hernandez , Wei-Yin Chen ’s record split, Zach Wheeler and the Mets, Dave Martinez and came...
Dec 27, 2018•1 hr 7 min
In the first of two themed episodes, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan review one aspect of each American League team’s year that they overlooked on earlier episodes, touching on stories involving Mike Scioscia , Myles Straw , Stephen Piscotty , Rowdy Tellez , Jose Ramirez , Mike Marjama , Richard Bleier , Isiah Kiner-Falefa , a stathead in uniform, Tony Renda , Brad Keller , a fight between broadcasters, Byron Buxton , Yolmer Sanchez , Gary Sanchez , and more. Audio intro : John Cale, " You Know ...
Dec 24, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Daniel Murphy , Trevor Cahill , Anibal Sanchez , and Andrew Miller signings, react in real time to the three-team Jurickson Profar trade, and answer listener emails about signing Bryce Harper for one year, signing Harper as a catcher, choosing between watching games and having access to all other information, rebuilding by collecting exorbitant contracts, an NBA case of mistaken identity, and the offseason if teams were in the dark about transacti...
Dec 22, 2018•1 hr 44 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Royals signing Terrance Gore and turning themselves into a bad-but-entertaining team of stolen-base threats, the Angels signing Matt Harvey and how they stack up, the renaming of Safeco Field, and the new posting system for Cuban players. Then (28:18) they talk to left-hander Rick Teasley about becoming the first pitcher ever to strike out Willians Astudillo twice in one pro game, the significance of getting big leaguers out, his itinerant career,...
Dec 20, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Astros’ signing of Michael Brantley , the curious cases of blocked prospects Kyle Tucker and Alex Verdugo , the Mets’ signing of Wilson Ramos , and the unique career of globe-trotting Trey Hillman. Then (20:49) they talk to Charlie Olson , co-founder and CEO of Pando Pooling, about his company’s plan to provide a security net for poorly paid minor-league players by pooling their future earnings, how they approach players and whether the service is...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 5 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about why there have been so many Noah Syndergaard trade rumors, then answer listener emails about whether Giancarlo Stanton would be better if he raised his launch angle, how and when a manager who kept intentionally walking hitters would be stopped, how and whether to debate saber skeptics (about Harold Baines , or anything else), Bryce Harper pulling a LeBron, how to identify pitches, and the definitions of “gas” and “inning,” plus a Stat Blast about J.T...
Dec 15, 2018•58 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s sartorial choice during his MLB Network appearance at the Winter Meetings, Willians Astudillo striking out twice against the same pitcher in a pro game for (possibly) the first time, Scott Boras and Brian Cashman metaphors, big-picture takeaways from the Winter Meetings, the Phillies signing Andrew McCutchen , the Blue Jays releasing Troy Tulowitzki , Jerry Dipoto ‘s hospital heroics and the three-way trade involving Yandy Diaz , Jake Bauers , ...
Dec 14, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about expected activity at the Winter Meetings, the pointlessness of the Winter Meetings, and the Hall of Fame elections of Lee Smith and Harold Baines (yes, that Harold Baines). Then (23:04) they talk to FanGraphs prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen about the baseball and multi-sport future of Heisman Trophy winner and A’s first-round draftee Kyler Murray. Lastly (38:38), they bring on baseball executive and former journalist Octavio Hernández to discuss the...
Dec 10, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo and discuss Nathan Eovaldi re-signing with the Red Sox, the Cardinals-Diamondbacks trade involving Paul Goldschmidt , Luke Weaver , and Carson Kelly , and the significance of good teams trading away great players. Then (36:03) they bring on free-agent outfielder and probable fastest man in baseball Terrance Gore to talk about when he first knew he was fast, his football career and non-track career, whether he actually likes running,...
Dec 07, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ’s Venezuelan Winter League MVP chances, the latest scuttlebutt about banning the shift (and why it reflects the right impulse but the wrong solution), and the Nationals’ Patrick Corbin signing, the suddenly scary NL East, and the offseason market so far. Then (25:44) they bring on just-retired, 13-year major-league pitcher Brandon McCarthy to talk about his transition to civilian life, a hug from Frank Thomas , the pace of play, hi...
Dec 06, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the nomadic Andy Wilkins , revisit the Mariners-Mets trade and Robinson Cano’ s graceful decline so far, discuss the Mariners-Phillies trade, the career of Jean Segura , the Mariners’ rebuild, Jerry Dipoto ’s flip-flop about tearing down the team, and the status of the investigation into allegations of racism among Mariners brass, and reflect on the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts extension. Then (34:57) they talk to Blue Jays pitcher Oliver Drake about the rec...
Dec 04, 2018•1 hr 38 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a busy week in rumored (and completed) transactions, touching on the Mets-Mariners blockbuster revolving around Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz , the Indians trading Yan Gomes to the Nationals (a rare trade between contenders) and teams opting not to spend, a Craig Kimbrel report, tender/non-tender decisions involving Billy Hamilton , Jonathan Schoop , Matt Davidson , Mike Fiers , Addison Russell , Bryan Mitchell , and more, and a banner week for renderi...
Dec 01, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Robinson Cano , Madison Bumgarner , and Paul Goldschmidt trade rumors, what makes for a slow or exciting offseason, and the cooling effect that superteams can have on the hot stove, then (16:14) bring on Superpesis marketing and communications director Jussi Pyysalo to talk about the Finnish national sport of Pesäpallo, or Finnish Baseball, touching on its origins, popularity, similarities to and differences from baseball, strategic complexity, gender...
Nov 28, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Oliver Drake ’s new/old home, the Braves signing Josh Donaldson and Brian McCann and converting Johan Camargo , the Pirates signing Lonnie Chisenhall , and the Twins claiming C.J. Cron , then (11:20) talk to Bill Rowe , official baseball advisor for the film Twilight , about how he helped make the movie’s depiction of vampire baseball look (more) realistic, where and how the scene was filmed, the actors’ (lack of) athleticism, what real vampire baseba...
Nov 27, 2018•59 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about minor-league pay, the surprising prospect past of Neil Walker , and the impending posting and pitching of NPB star Yusei Kikuchi. Then (13:43) they bring on Cubs Double-A outfielder Connor Myers to discuss his offseason job as a UPS driver, his baseball bonus and salary, making ends meet on a minor-league salary, mental skills, conditions with the Cubs, playing with Kris Bryant , being tracked by technology at both of his jobs, and more. Lastly (43:27...
Nov 23, 2018•1 hr 22 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Willians Astudillo strikeout (and Astudillo vs. other, more highly-touted Twins), the team-switching saga of Oliver Drake , and the singular skill of Nathan Eovaldi , then answer listener emails about changing the game to appeal to non-fans, the value of base-stealing, the odds of seeing gear from every team at one game, Allen Cordoba and the aftermath of the 2017 Padres’ Rule 5 extravaganza, Gareth Morgan and the highest strikeout rates, adjusting ...
Nov 22, 2018•1 hr 13 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Tommy Milone and Willians Astudillo , Bryce Harper ‘s awful fielding in 2018, two more examples of percentages greater than 100, and Adrian Beltre ’s retirement and atypical, incredible career, then (23:34) bring on new FanGraphs managing editor Meg Rowley to talk about both sides of the Yankees-Mariners James Paxton trade, how good Paxton is, the Mariners’ future, the definition of acehood, and a few aspects of her new job, including anxiety about co...
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 19 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a big day for Willians Astudillo , the still-overlooked greatness of Anthony Rendon , the mystery of Jeff Mathis , John Middleton’s comments about the Phillies’ impending spending spree, and the Orioles hiring the Astros’ Mike Elias as their new GM. Then (26:50) they bring on outgoing FanGraphs managing editor Carson Cistulli to talk about how he got a job with the Blue Jays and what it will entail, his initial suspicion that the offer was a prank, hi...
Nov 17, 2018•1 hr 14 min
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ‘s current strikeout-less streak, a few more people who gave much more than 100 percent, and end-of-season-award voting, including Mike Trout ’s showing in the AL MVP race, Jacob deGrom and pitchers as MVPs, and why Jeff voted for Justin Verlander for AL Cy Young over victor Blake Snell . Then (27:50) they talk to FanGraphs writers Eric Longenhagen and Craig Edwards about the site’s recent work on prospects and scouting, including h...
Nov 16, 2018•1 hr 24 min
