Episode 876

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, Ben Clemens shares his impressions of the Winter Meetings, before we discuss a recent piece of his exploring free agency, and which types of teams are actually keeping the hot stove burning. Ben also shares which rosters have him the most excited for the 2020 season, and the answers may surprise you. Lastly, we discuss the latest updates from the realm of sign-stealing, and Ben discourages you from committing financial crime. 

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @megrowler on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximate 44 min play time.)

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Episode 875

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, I welcome senior writer Dan Szymborski back to the program. Dan and I discuss his favorite free agent signings of the offseason so far, the teams that have most altered their 2020 fortunes, and what a busy winter means for the overall health of free agency. I also force Dan to assign the remaining good free agents to new homes, lightening round style.

You can find all of Dan’s 2020 ZiPS projections here as they roll out.

Our RosterResource Free Agent tracker can be found here, and the Offseason Transaction Tracker can be found here.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @megrowler on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximate 53 min play time.)

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Episode 874

On this edition of FanGraphs Audio, I welcome Craig Edwards back to the program. Craig and I discuss the Astros sign-stealing scandal and how much is too much cheating in baseball, before we turn our attention to the offseason, the free agent market, the motivations of baseball owners, and the troubling trend of good teams seeming interested in shedding good players to reduce payrolls and avoid rich extensions.

You can read Craig on the Yankees’ payroll here.
You can read Craig on the Cubs’ potentially eschewing their window of contention here.
You can read Craig on the wisdom of the crowd when it comes to free agent contracts here.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @megrowler on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

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Sam Miller and Meg Rowley revisit a fast-moving 1916 afternoon tilt between the Asheville Tourists and the Winston-Salem Twins with some historic significance, and engage in an Effectively Wild experiment.

Audio intro: Ben Gibbard and Feist “Train Song”
Interstitial: Muddy Waters “Train Fare Home Blues”
Audio outro: Oscar Peterson Trio “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be“

Link to Heidi Coryell Williams’ Our State piece, “Hell and High Water: Hell and High Water: The Flood of 1916”
Link to Wynn Montgomery’s SABR piece, “Quicker Than Quick: A 31-Minute Professional Game”
Link to Wynn Montgomery’s SABR piece, “That Was Quick!”
Link to Emma Baccellieri’s Sports Illustrated piece, “A Brief History of the Many Times Baseball Has Died”

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Meg Rowley and Sam Miller banter about Ben Lindbergh’s vacation-induced absence, an unusual umpire Wikipedia entry, and the acceptability of failure, before turning their attention to a few listener emails answered during the Jeff Sullivan era, including what would happen if Giancarlo Stanton only tried to hit home runs, how they would prefer to consume baseball if they could only do so through either twitter or a livestream, and whether baseball would be better if it were played in masks.

Audio intro: Death Cab for Cutie “I Dreamt We Spoke Again”
Audio outro: Dashboard Confessional “Living in Your Letters“

Link to Sam’s Giancarlo Stanton home run piece
Link to the Effectively Wild Email Question Database
Link to order The MVP Machine

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Episode 873

Fresh off the conclusion of the 2019 season, FanGraphs’ Lead Prospect Analyst Eric Longenhagen joins the program to discuss a few moments of potentially questionable decision-making during the World Series, some Umpiring Choices during that same Fall Classic, and our experience of robo-umps in the Arizona Fall League and a few prospects who stood out there, as well as the merits of the word “spooktacular.”

A word of warning for those listeners with tender ears: This episode does contain three swears. Those swears are not the fault of Dylan Higgins, who is away, but are instead the fault of the host, who got flummoxed by the prospect of editing them out. Generous listeners who are not undone by those bad words might describe the episode as “loose.” Those with a vendetta against the host might instead assert that said host sounds tired. Both camps might be correct.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @megrowler on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

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The offseason is almost upon us, which is sad, so we’re hosting a reader event at SubCulture in New York City on Thursday, November 21 to help get through the long winter months. The evening will feature drinks, plenty of time for mingling, and a fun slate of not one, not two, but three panels staffed by FanGraphs writers and our friends from around the game, plus audience Q&A.

The panel lineups are below. Ringer staff writer and Effectively Wild co-host Ben Lindbergh and I will emcee the proceedings to make sure no one misbehaves too badly. And while we hope you’ll join us live, if you can’t, don’t fret. The panel program will be released as an episode of Effectively Wild.

Major League Update
Jay Jaffe and The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler and Marc Carig.

Baseball by the Numbers
Craig Edwards and MLB.com’s Mike Petriello

UMP: The Untitled McDongenhagen Panel
Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel

Doors open at 7 PM; the event will kick off at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $35. FanGraphs members will receive $10 off each ticket purchased — a coupon will be automatically applied if you are logged in when you purchase.

Tickets can be purchased here.

We hope to see you there!

Event Details
Thursday, November 21
SubCulture New York, 45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY
Doors open at 7 PM
Program begins at 7:30 PM

The event is all-ages, though children under 8 years of age are not allowed in the venue.

Please note, the venue is an easy walk (within two blocks) from the 6 at Bleecker Street, the B/D/F at Broadway-Lafayette, and the N/Q/R/W at Prince.