Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s weekend trip and discuss the end of the ALCS and the Astros’ crazy curveball reliance in ALCS Game 7, the Astros’ reluctance to use regular relievers, the Yankees’ outlook for 2018 and beyond, why this World Series isn’t easy to analyze, whether the Dodgers and Astros are evenly matched, what to make of the Nationals’ and Mets’ recent managerial moves, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the home run’s postseason supremacy, Clayton Kershaw’s performance in NLCS Game 5 and the Dodgers’ World Series outlook, the Cubs’ upcoming offseason and long-term future, and the significance of the Tigers’ Ron Gardenhire hiring.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jake Arrieta’s effective wildness (and free agency), the Astros’ offensive struggles, and Yu Darvish’s bases-loaded walk, then answer listener emails about sequencing wins in the playoffs, a Dodgers fun fact, postseason managerial specialists, why hitters telegraph taking all the way, whether hitters can read fielders to tell which pitch is coming, a curious commercial for the MLB shop, the lowest-scoring and highest-scoring postseason teams, games in which everyone on a team had a negative WPA, Joe Maddon’s bullpen management, two-PA pinch hitters and one-PA pinch runners, overlooked team traditions, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Ben’s wedding weekend, the outfield-wall padding at Minute Maid Park, the rapid repair of a behind-home-plate sign, and a very long pause between pitches, then discuss the first four games of the championship series, including Joe Maddon’s decision-making in Game 2, the Cubs’ moribund offense, the pivotal plays of the first two games of the ALCS, the excellence of Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander, the rest of the Astros’ rotation, Aaron Judge’s strike zone, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Yellowstone-explosion sensationalism and discuss the improbability of the Cubs’ 277-minute NLDS Game 5 victory over the Nationals, the game’s umpiring oddities and errors, the Nationals’ and Cubs’ reputations and legacies in the wake of the series, and what to do about instant replay and slides.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about John Farrell’s firing and the Nationals’ will-they-or-won’t-they pregame routine with Stephen Strasburg, then answer listener emails about the definition of “veteran,” projecting a team to win 116 games, looking up players’ stats, a pitcher getting both a blown save and a save in the same game, the career leaders in innings played exclusively at each position, David Price’s Hall of Fame case, a semi-nonsensical baseball commercial, the potentially underrated Rick Honeycutt and why some coaches get great reputations, the difference (if any) between individual success and team success, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the inaccessibility of playoff stats and the average length of this year’s playoff games, then discuss whether we’re really witnessing a revolution in postseason pitcher usage before breaking down each of the division series, analyzing the latest controversial managerial decisions, and bidding farewell to two more eliminated teams.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the larger improbability and significance of Archie Bradley’s triple in the NL wild-card game, how to experience a four-playoff-game day, the first games of both AL division series, Chris Sale’s and Masahiro Tanaka’s semi-struggles and the vexing nature of pitcher home-run allowance, the danger of using home/road splits to set playoff rotations, things every fan base believes about its team, Jose Altuve’s unusual strike zone, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter one last time about the Glory Hole Recreation Area, as well as fading feelings of fandom, the circumstances that led to Braves GM John Coppolella’s resignation, and poor press-conference questions. Then they discuss their takeaways from the wild-card games and thoughts on the division series matchups before answering playoff-themed listener emails about Zack Granite missing first base, Craig Kimbrel’s exit velocity, team-level performance against particular pitch types, why playoff announcers annoy everyone, the prospect of repetitive pennant winners, short playoff outings by starting pitchers, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about John Jaso’s possibly career-ending comments, the ends of the Dodgers’ and Tigers’ seasons and the teams that have never had a first-overall pick, the selling points of this postseason, the changing consensus about the best team in baseball, how to analyze the playoffs and manage playoff games, the respective strengths of the Indians and Yankees, the Yankees-Twins wild card game, the best and worst WARs of 2017, the crazy debate about Austin Romine vs. Gary Sanchez, and the resignation of Braves GM John Coppolella.

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (effectively-wild): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS