Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners-A’s opening series, the emotional last game featuring Ichiro Suzuki, and the uncertain degree to which the recent rash of contract extensions reflects players’ anxiety about free agency, then preview the 2019 New York Yankees (38:17) with The Athletic’s Yankees beat writer, Lindsey Adler, and the 2019 Miami Marlins (1:14:31) with The Athletic’s Marlins beat writer, Andre Fernandez.

Audio intro: Built to Spill, "Some Things Last a Long Time"
Audio interstitial 1: The Black Angels, "Empire"
Audio interstitial 2: Animal Collective, "Derek"
Audio outro: Fairport Convention, "Farewell, Farewell"

Link to video of Ichiro leaving his last game
Link to Jeff’s post about extensions
Link to Craig Edwards on extensions
Link to Sam on Marlins trades
Link to Andre on the Marlins’ young pitching
Link to Ben’s On Baseball Writing appearance
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter at length about Mike Trout’s extension, why he may have wanted to stay with the Angels, what makes him different from other players, and why he’s underpaid despite his record contract, then preview the 2019 Houston Astros (44:38) with The Athletic’s Astros beat writer Jake Kaplan, and the 2019 Detroit Tigers (1:15:05) with Detroit Free Press Tigers beat writer Anthony Fenech.

Audio intro: Heatmiser, "Why Did I Decide to Stay?"
Audio interstitial 1: Neil Finn, "Astro"
Audio interstitial 2: John Doe and The Sadies, "Country Club"
Audio outro: Flamin’ Groovies, "The First One’s Free"

Link to Ben’s Trout extension article
Link to Sam’s Trout extension article
Link to Sam’s article about Trout on every team
Link to story about MLB considering raising minor-league salaries
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Effectively Wild listener and Mike Trout Tier Patreon supporter Anthony Scheff banter about the Blue Jays raising salaries for minor leaguers, the team’s motivations for doing so, and whether other teams will follow suit, then answer listener emails about A.J. Hinch getting ejected in a split-squad spring training game, MLB’s demoralizing offseason and whether baseball is in any short-term trouble, and what qualifies as a pitcher’s “stuff,” plus Stat Blasts about the most two-year-old friendly game and the longest careers among players who only ever made the majors in September.

Audio intro: Martin Solveig & GTA, "Intoxicated"
Audio outro: Belle & Sebastian, "Lord Anthony"

Link to recent episode with Emily Waldon on minor-league pay
Link to Emily Waldon on minor leaguers’ lives
Link to Emily and Ken Rosenthal on the Blue Jays raising salaries
Link to John Lott on the Jays raising salaries
Link to Jeff on intentional walks in spring training
Link to Ben Bailey on intentional walks in spring training
Link to Hinch explaining why he was thrown out
Link to Bryan Curtis on baseball’s perceived decline
Link to box score of most two-year-old-friendly game
Link to instructions for finding MLB games on YouTube
Link to John Poff’s SABR bio
Link to live episode with Fernando Perez
Link to Episode 323 with Adrian Cardenas
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Meg witnessing actual baseball being played, her plans for watching the Mariners’ and Athletics’ international Opening Day matchup, Willians Astudillo’s spring training, the long list of 2019 and 2020 rules changes announced by MLB and the MLBPA, Meg’s new hires at FanGraphs, and Jessica Mendoza’s dual role with ESPN and the Mets, then preview the 2019 Indians (44:41) with senior writer for The Athletic Zack Meisel, and the 2019 White Sox (1:15:32) with The Athletic’s White Sox beat writer, James Fegan.

Audio intro: The 88, "The Real Thing"
Audio interstitial 1: The New Pornographers, "Jessica Numbers"
Audio interstitial 2: Eric B. & Rakim, "No Competition"
Audio outro: Pixies, "Into the White"

Link to video of Astudillo dinger
Link to Grant on time of game
Link to Ben’s article on the rules changes
Link to Gerald Schifman on teams exploiting minor-league options
Link to Schifman on the rise of MLB’s minimum earners
Link to Meg’s announcement about new hires
Link to Zack on Mario Kart
Link to March to Friendship website
Link to March to Friendship Facebook post
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about parity in the NL and imbalance in the AL, then preview the 2019 Dodgers (7:08) with Los Angeles Times national baseball writer Andy McCullough, and the 2019 Kansas City Royals (1:02:45) with The Athletic’s Royals beat writer, Rustin Dodd.

Audio intro: The High Water Marks, "National Time"
Audio interstitial 1: Mark Olson, "National Express"
Audio interstitial 2: Gorillaz, "Kansas"
Audio outro: Matt Costa, "Sweet Thursday"

Link to Ben’s AL/NL parity article
Link to Andy’s Farhan article
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the fallout from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s oblique injury and the signings of Adam Jones and Martin Maldonado as referenda on free agency, then answer listener emails about whether the Indians and Astros could have significantly upped their playoff odds by making more moves (and fan bases that should be aggrieved about their teams’ winter inactivity), Craig Kimbrel’s in-season negotiating leverage, whether wearing or not wearing a uniform number is a more fitting tribute, the value of scouting strengths versus scouting weaknesses, and the effects of robo umps on offense, entertainment value, and chasing pitches outside the strike zone, plus a Stat Blast about manager height.

Audio intro: The Glands, "Pie"
Audio outro: Neuseiland, "Robots of Me"

Link to Dan Szymborski on Jones and Maldonado
Link to Sam on players seeking contracts
Link to BP playoff odds
Link to Sam’s article on manager height
Link to article on the compassionate umpire
Link to article on the Bayesian umpire
Link to Baltimore/DC-area EW meetup
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about Max Scherzer’s supremacy and the changes coming to the Atlantic League in 2019 as part of its partnership with MLB, include an altered base size, mound distance, strike zone, and more, then preview the 2019 Nationals (29:00) with Washington Post columnist Barry Svrluga, and the 2019 Seattle Mariners (1:04:16) with Seattle Times Mariners beat writer Ryan Divish.

Audio intro: Pixies, "Debaser"
Audio interstitial 1: Grateful Dead, "He’s Gone"
Audio interstitial 2: The Baseball Project, "Ichiro Goes to the Moon"
Audio outro: Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, "Play it Again Sam"

Link to Kershaw/Scherzer article
Link to Atlantic League-MLB press release
Link to Sam on Hamilton and Bolt
Ben’s article on moving the mound
Link to Cooper article about moving the mound
Link to Jeff on banning the shift
Link to Barry’s book, The Grind
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh (re)introduces new co-hosts Sam Miller of ESPN and Meg Rowley of FanGraphs. Together, they explain the show’s new format and schedule, pay tribute to departed co-host Jeff Sullivan, and answer listener emails about a team made of clones of Ken Griffey Jr., how to reacclimate to baseball after taking an offseason off, and what they’re most anticipating about the 2019 season.

Audio intro: The Frames, "New Partner"
Audio outro: The Lemon Twigs, "As Long As We’re Together"

Link to Griffey clone commercial
Link to Ben’s Griffey scouting report article
Link to Sam’s Belt/beer vendor article
Link to Sam on position players pitching
Link to Sam’s Bartolo article
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Steven Goldman of The Infinite Inning banter about Luis Severino’s injury and the perils of spring training, Sonny Gray’s slider problem and the perils of player development, and Ben’s series at The Ringer about scouting past and present, then preview the 2019 Cubs (34:19) with The Athletic’s Cubs beat writer Sahadev Sharma, and the 2019 Texas Rangers (1:13:15) with The Athletic’s Rangers beat writer, Levi Weaver.

Audio intro: Slothrust, "Baby One More Time"
Audio interstitial 1: The Bangles, "Under a Cloud"
Audio interstitial 2: Hop Along, "Texas Funeral"
Audio outro: Teenage Fanclub, "Live in the Moment"

Link to article on Gray’s sliders
Link to first part of Ben’s scouting series
Link to second part of Ben’s scouting series
Link to Ruffcorn reports
Link to Levi’s story on Clyde and pensions
Link to Infinite Inning podcast
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and guest co-host Emily Waldon of The Athletic banter about how Emily got into covering the minor leagues, the perils and rewards of minor-league coverage, the progress of player development, the benefits of speaking Spanish, prospects of particular interest, the growing media interest in minor-league pay, and more, then (27:18) discuss the future of the minor-league-pay problem with former Mets minor leaguer Jeremy Wolf and current Rays minor leaguer Simon Rosenblum-Larson, the executive director and director of player personnel, respectively, of More Than Baseball, a new organization dedicated to improving conditions for minor-league players.

Audio intro: Billy Bragg & Wilco, "Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key"
Audio interstitial: Beulah, "Cruel Minor Change"
Audio outro: Roxy Music, "More Than This"

Link to Emily’s Athletic archive
Link to More Than Baseball’s website
Link to Forbes article about More Than Baseball
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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