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, improving his base-stealing technique, racing teammates, how he ever gets caught, the difficulty of bunting, getting his first big-league hit and home run, whether he can be an everyday big leaguer, how he’ll pick a team, staying healthy before he gets called up, the 2014 AL wild card game and 2018 NL wild card game, the excitement of stealing, and more.

Audio intro: Buzzcocks, "What Do I Get?"
Audio interstitial 1: Lorde, "Glory and Gore"
Audio interstitial 2: The Posies, "Everyone Moves Away"
Audio outro: Big Thief, "Paul"

Link to 2014 Gore feature
Link to Gore’s first hit
Link to Gore’s 2018-wild-card-game strikeout
Link to Gore’s minor-league homer
Link to Gore’s steal in the 2014 AL wild-card game
Link to Gore’s favorite baserunning play

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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, his (and players’) opinions on the shift, stats, technology, and player reinventions, his interest in broadcasting and thoughts on tweeting, watching his former team in the World Series, the players’ economic predicament, baseball’s youth movement, why fastballs are faster, the demise of the starter, clubhouse leadership, the up-and-coming Braves, framing and Tyler Flowers, dealing with politics and bad behavior in baseball, preventing pitchers from getting hit in the head, and more.

Audio intro: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, "Banned (By the Man)"
Audio interstitial: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24"
Audio outro: R.E.M., "Exhuming McCarthy"

Link to Jayson Stark on the shift
Link to Jeff on the shift
Link to Ben on the shift in 2015
Link to Ben on moving the mound back
Link to Ben on Flowers

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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 record-setting experience of pitching for five major-league teams in one season, the demands that switching teams six times placed on him and his wife, his unusual baseball origin story, the logistics of changing teams, the differences between certain teams and clubhouses, whether he feels wanted or unwanted, his outlook for 2019, and more. Lastly (1:06:23), Ben brings on Baseball Prospectus’s Jonathan Judge to explain the site’s new, comprehensive hitting stat, Deserved Runs Created Plus, how to assess a new stat, the positives and the negatives of changing evaluations, BP being purchased by members of its staff, and more.

Audio intro: Mac DeMarco, "Another One"
Audio interstitial 1: Tennis, "Traveling"
Audio interstitial 2: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, "People Don’t Get What They Deserve"
Audio outro: The Tragically Hip, "You’re Everywhere"

Link to Ben on Cano
Link to Jeff on the Mariners-Mets trade
Link to Jeff on the Mariners-Phillies trade
Link to DRC+ introduction
Link to first Judge DRC+ piece
Link to second Judge DRC+ piece
Link to Trout/Cabrera DRC+ piece
Link to DRC+ run values

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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 renderings of proposed ballparks, plus a stat blast about new Mariners catcher Omar Narvaez.

Audio intro: Sweet, "Blockbuster"
Audio outro: Blur, "Mr. Robinson’s Quango"

Link to Sam on what free agents are seeking
Link to Sam on Hamilton breaking baserunning
Link to Travis Sawchik on Hamilton

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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 equality, shorter games and lack of strikeouts, walks, and home runs, international expansion, best player, potential to produce baseball prospects, capacity to be followed from afar, and more.

Audio intro: Queen, "Play the Game"
Audio interstitial: Monty Python, "Finland"
Audio outro: Death Cab for Cutie, "Different Names for the Same Thing"

Link to Jeff’s Bumgarner post
Link to Zach Kram on roster retention
Introduction to pesäpallo
Official rules of pesäpallo
Pesäpallo rules explainer video
Link to pesäpallo WSJ piece
Link to pesäpallo NYT piece
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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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 baseball would look like, the cultural significance of the scene, why he stopped playing minor league ball and switched to show business, his baseball work on Calvin Marshall, Leverage, and Portlandia, his two College World Series wins at Oregon State University, analytics at the college level, and more.

Audio intro: The Band, "Twilight"
Audio interstitial 1: Lou Reed, "Set the Twilight Reeling"
Audio interstitial 2: Elliott Smith, "Twilight"
Audio outro: Electric Light Orchestra, "Twilight"

Link to Jeff’s Cron post
Link to episode with baseball coordinator from Pitch and Moneyball
Link to Twilight scene
Link to Vulture post on Twilight
Link to baseball scene oral history
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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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), FanGraphs writer and author of The Cooperstown Casebook Jay Jaffe joins to preview Hall of Fame voting season, including newcomers (Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Andy Pettitte, Todd Helton), holdovers (Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Omar Vizquel, Gary Sheffield, Scott Rolen, Billy Wagner), the changing electorate, the new Cooperstown pitching baseline, and candidates from the Today’s Game ballot (Lee Smith, George Steinbrenner).

Audio intro: Jeff Buckley, "What Will You Say"
Audio interstitial 1: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, "The Delivery Man"
Audio interstitial 2: The Glands, "Possibilities"
Audio outro: The Black Angels, "Haunting at 1300 McKinley"

Link to story about phantom big leaguers
Link to Jeff’s Kikuchi post
Link to previous episode on minor-league pay
Link to Jay’s HoF preview post
Link to list of HoF-eligible hitters
Link to list of HoF-eligible pitchers
Link to Jay’s Today’s Game ballot intro post
Link to Ben on Halladay
Link to Ben on Smoltz vs. Mussina vs. Schilling
Link to Ben on support for Bonds and Clemens
Link to Mussina video
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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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 stats for the times-through-the-order effect, and modern pitcher usage compared to the gig economy, plus a Stat Blast about Derek Dietrich and the hitters with the highest hit-by-pitch rates.

Audio intro: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, "Thanks a Lot"
Audio outro: Chris Thile, "Thanks for Listening"

Link to Jeff’s Eovaldi post
Link to Jeff’s Dietrich post
Link to Ben’s Padres Rule 5 post
Link to Shakeia Taylor on White Sox caps
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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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 covering breaking news, the difficulty of replacing writers who get hired by teams, the balance between stats stuff and non-stats stuff, common writing pitfalls, representing (and extending opportunities to) women in a male-oriented industry, weekday vs. weekend website traffic, balancing writing and editing, and more.

Audio intro: Franz Ferdinand, "Darts of Pleasure"
Audio interstitial: Camera Obscura, "James"
Audio outro: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, "Walkin’ Boss"

Link to Ben on Harper’s defense
Link to darts story
Link to Ben on Beltre
Link to Jeff on the Paxton trade
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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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, his (low) level of confidence in his own abilities, how he’s managed to identify overlooked players, why teams are hiring a new type of writer, his feelings about leaving FanGraphs, why he gradually grew on the readers, and how his life will change.

Audio intro: The Zombies, "Moving On"
Audio interstitial: Iggy Pop, "I’m Going Away Smiling"
Audio outro: Gord Downie, "Christmastime in Toronto"

Link to R.J. on Mathis
Link to Sam on Mathis vs. Napoli
Link to Sam on Mathis vs. Napoli again
Link to Carson’s first FanGraphs post
Link to Carson’s Fringe Five results summary
Link to Carson’s 2018 Fringe Five results
Link to Carson’s farewell post
Link to listener’s extra-effort visualization
Link to EW Secret Santa sign-up

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