Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the unwritten rules controversy stemming from Kevin Kiermaier absconding with a Blue Jays scouting card, the Padres’ collapse, dysfunction, and outlook for 2022, the Cardinals’ surge and the Braves’ revamped outfield, Anthony Gose’s return to the majors as a pitcher, a number of injured arms making comebacks, the Pirates yet again failing to sweep, and the impact of depressed pitcher pay on team payrolls, then (41:43) talk to Jonathan Judge of Baseball Prospectus about his proposal to redistribute MLB revenue between the owners and players and to reapportion pay among the players.
Audio intro: The Clash, "The Card Cheat" Audio interstitial: Laura Marling, "I Was Just a Card" Audio outro: Kiwi Jr., "Salary Man"
Link to story on Kiermaier controversy Link to story about Rays apology Link to story about Mets-Dodgers dispute Link to episode on banning in-game cards Link to The Athletic on Padres dysfunction Link to The Union-Tribune on the Padres Link to story on Tatis and Machado Link to Dan Szymborski on the Padres Link to story on the Cardinals’ surge Link to story on Atlanta’s outfield Link to story on Gose’s comeback Link to story on Syndergaard and deGrom Link to story on Bieber Link to story on Bassitt Link to Rob Mains on pitcher pay Link to Judge’s baseball economics article Link to old EW episode about similar proposal Link to story about minor league wristbands Link to Angell watching the Mets Link to Roger Angell EW episode
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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the potential benefits of a 15-second pitch clock and the massive winning-percentage mismatch between the NL’s impending wild card winners, then answer listener emails about intentionally swinging at a wild pitch to reach base, the obsolescence of ERA, whether Statcast should be used instead of video to make fair-foul calls, and whether DJ LeMahieu is good, then meet major leaguers Kaleb Ort and Sammy Long and do Stat Blasts about whether relievers are really all failed starters and the Pirates’ historic failure to complete sweeps (plus a postscript about Austin Adams’ record-breaking HBP).
Audio intro: Remember Sports, "Clock" Audio outro: The Scruffs, "I’m a Failure"
Link to Jayson Stark on the pitch clock Link to Mike Sonne on pitch clocks and injuries Link to J.J. Cooper on pitch clocks and game times Link to MLB time of game by year Link to Grant Brisbee on time between pitches Link to David Smith on time between pitches Link to Smith on why games get longer Link to Rob Arthur on hitters’ time between pitches Link to Rob on pitchers’ time between pitches Link to EW episode about wild card game Link to Travis Sawchik on the wild card round Link to Griffin strikeout post Link to Griffin strikeout video Link to Griffin strikeout newspaper clipping Link to Fuentes strikeout video Link to Fuentes strikeout podcast Link to Sandoval swing video Link to Sam Miller on the ERA qualifier threshold Link to J.J. on the ERA qualifier threshold Link to story on Statcast’s margin of error Link to story on Hawk-Eye in tennis Link to Chet Gutwein on LeMahieu’s power outage Link to Jeff Sullivan on LeMahieu’s power Link to Kenny Kelly on LeMahieu and park effects Link to story on Ort’s debut Link to Oort cloud explainer Link to Susan Slusser on Sammy Long Link to story on Long’s debut Link to Chafin’s “Failed Starter” shirt Link to relievers Stat Blast data/graph Link to Stat Blast sweeps data Link to “Full Nelson” tweet Link to current “Full Nelson” club Link to Zach Kram on Adams Link to Adams’ record HBP
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Jake Arrieta’s sub-replacement pitching and the sorry state of the Padres’ starting staff, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and the NL MVP race, Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the competing, persuasive narratives of the AL MVP race, and the ascendance of micro sports betting. Then (31:49) they talk to FanGraphs writer Jay Jaffe about tracking “Team Entropy,” fun and far-fetched tiebreaker scenarios, the potential for wild endings to 2021’s division and wild card races, the retirement and legacy of Ryan Braun, and the players who’ve most helped their Hall of Fame cases this season.
Audio intro: Humble Pie, "The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake" Audio interstitial: The Stroppies, "Entropy" Audio outro: Mandolin Orange, "Old Ties and Companions"
Link to Ohtani on the Time Top 100 Link to story on Ohtani’s Top 100 appearance Link to Jeff Sullivan on Harper’s 2015 Link to Rob Arthur on Harper’s 2015 Link to Ben on the Soto Shuffle Link to story on micro sports betting Link to study on micro sports bettors Link to story on cricket betting scandal Link to tennis match-fixing wiki Link to Jay on Team Entropy in 2011 Link to MLB.com 2011 retrospective Link to CBS Sports 2011 retrospective Link to 2011 retrospective video Link to Ben on five-way tiebreakers Link to Russell on five-way tiebreakers Link to Jay’s 2021 Team Entropy intro Link to latest Team Entropy piece Link to Rob on the Mariners’ run differential Link to Jay on Braun Link to Jay on pitchers’ Hall cases Link to Jay on hitters’ Hall cases Link to Jay on Negro Leagues candidates Link to Jay’s first Sausage Race piece Link to Jay’s second Sausage Race piece
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Padres reliever Austin Adams tying the single-season hit by pitch record (and some resulting safety concerns), Corbin Burnes pitching (most of) the season’s record-setting ninth no-hitter and the changing norms around pulling pitchers mid-no-no, Max Scherzer’s recent run, pitchers whose whole careers are covered by pitch-tracking tech, and Scherzer vs. Walker Buehler, the Padres’ stretch-run incentives, the Blue Jays raking and the Orioles imploding, the Yankees moving Gleyber Torres from shortstop to second base, and the latest demotion for quintessential journeyman Ryan Lavarnway. Then (40:18) they talk to writers Russell Carleton and Robert O’Connell about their recent (and not-so-recent) research and reporting about conditions in the minor leagues, touching on whether pay and housing have improved, the role of advocacy groups and media members in influencing public opinion, the cases for and against paying minor leaguers more, how much it would cost to raise the standards, the roots of low minor league pay, the impact of anxiety on development, and more.
Audio intro: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, "Just Outside of Austin" Audio interstitial: Motorists, "Blood From the Stone" Audio outro: The Both, "Pay for It"
Link to Zach Kram on Adams Link to locations of Adams’ HBP Link to Adams’ pitch to Turner Link to story on Planet Nine Link to Will Sammon on Counsell’s decision Link to 1974 Preston Gomez story Link to Jay Jaffe on Scherzer Link to Jeff Passan on the Scherzer trade Link to Dodgers Nation on Scherzer vs. Buehler Link to Scherzer’s Kershaw reaction video Link to MLB’s 3000-strikeouts graphic Link to Ben Clemens on the Blue Jays Link to Hyde’s postgame quote Link to Dan Szymborski on Torres Link to Lavarnway news Link to Robert’s Defector story Link to Russell on minor leaguers in 2012 Link to Russell on what it would cost Link to Russell on responding to objections Link to Russell on minor leaguers as investments Link to Russell on minor league anxiety Link to Russell on player-development losses Link to Russell on changing teams’ thinking Link to Marc Normandin on unionizing the minors Link to story on G League union Link to G League union announcement Link to Joon Lee’s Angels report Link to Brittany Ghiroli’s recent report Link to Ghiroli on Astros housing Link to FanGraphs post on housing costs Link to story about Orioles housing Link to subsequent story on Orioles housing Link to Advocates for Minor Leaguers requests Link to EW meetup info
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Blue Jays’ hot streak and playoff outlook and the meaning of clutchness, then meet major leaguers Andy Ibáñez of the Rangers and Janson Junk of the Angels. After that (37:07), they’re joined by Rob Mains of Baseball Prospectus to discuss the state of starting pitching, the future of pitcher usage, and the ebb and flow of competitive balance in MLB.
Audio intro: Magnolia Electric Co., "North Star" Audio interstitial: Justus Proffit, "Split Into" Audio outro: Dag, "Living in the Balance"
Link to Michael Baumann on the Jays Link to Mike Baumanns podcast Link to AL East playoff odds graph Link to Levi Weaver on Ibáñez’s debut Link to Ibáñez on his call-up Link to Junk’s FG Audio episode Link to last part of Rob’s starter series Link to last part of Rob’s TTOP series Link to Rob on limiting pitcher usage Link to FiveThirtyEight on pitcher usage Link to Twins’ seven-man rotation Link to Ben on bullpenning Link to Russell Carleton on bullpenning Link to Ben on pitching prospects Link to Gerald Schifman on options use Link to Russell on four-man rotations Link to Russell on six-man rotations Link to Russell on swingmen Link to Russell on one-inning relievers Link to Rob on mobility vs. inequality Link to Rob on competitive balance Link to Ben on “hope and faith”
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Salvador Perez’s power output, durability, defense, and career, Shohei Ohtani’s offensive slump, the Rays calling up Josh Lowe to go with Brandon Lowe (but not Nathaniel Lowe), and the desirability of being teammates with one’s brother or father, then draft unsung players who are having good seasons that haven’t been mentioned much on the pod.
Audio intro: Ages and Ages, "Unsung Songs" Audio outro: John Prine, "Pretty Good"
Link to Patrick Dubuque on Perez Link to Perez oppo homer video Link to Jay Jaffe on Perez Link to players with more homers than walks Link to MLB.com on catcher home runs Link to Craig R. Wright on Ted Simmons Link to BP on Josh Lowe Link to Craig on manager fathers Link to MLBFrameJobs Twitter account Link to MLBFrameJobs app Link to Ben Clemens on Narváez Link to Kevin Goldstein on the Rays Link to DRaysBay on Springs Link to Jake Mailhot on Sewald Link to Lookout Landing on Sewald Link to Chet Gutwein on Cease Link to Dan Szymborski’s breakout picks Link to pitcher run support leaderboard Link to EW episode on Wainwright/Miley Link to Patrick Dubuque on Miley Link to Ben Clemens on Wainwright Link to Devan Fink on Riley Link to Ben on the Soto Shuffle
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Mike Yastrzemski, “bubble guts,” and the right way for a manager to publicize a player’s intestinal distress, then follow up on Miguel Cabrera and the factors that influence players’ career ratios of pitchers homered off of to total home runs, review the state of the standings, discuss the Cubs’ unexpected contributions from Frank Schwindel and Rafael Ortega, and answer listener emails about Patrick Wisdom and the difference between building blocks and fun flashes in the pan, Joey Gallo and the decline of the 0-for-4 game with no strikeouts or walks, the advent and spread of intentional balks, a potential systemic disadvantage to moving the mound back, and MLB (briefly) considering the idea of allowing fans to throw home run balls back and keep them in play, plus (1:05:15) two Stat Blasts about Ryan Lavarnway and the longest trip to 162 games played, and the Rays and the lowest leading WAR on a division winner.
Audio intro: The Jayhawks, "Living in a Bubble" Audio outro: Built to Spill, "Conventional Wisdom"
Link to Kapler’s comment on Yaz Link to data on pitcher-to-home-run ratios Link to CBS Sports on the Cubs’ winning streak Link to Cubs Insider on Schwindel Link to Sahadev Sharma on Schwindel Link to Rustin Dodd on Schwindel in 2018 Link to Ashley MacLennan on lovable “bad” players Link to 1990 article on Kevin Maas Link to Devan on Wisdom Link to Stathead on the all-contact 0-for-4 Link to article on Gallo’s “reset” Link to 2019 story on the intentional balk Link to video of Jansen’s intentional balk Link to story on the latest intentional balks Link to post on Kimbrel’s intentional balk Link to mention of throwing home run balls back Link to previous EW convo about balls in stands Link to Lavarnway Stat Blast data Link to 2011 post on Lavarnway’s promotion Link to Rays/WAR leaders Stat Blast data Link to SABR on DiMaggio’s ’49 comeback Link to Andy McCullough on the Rays Link to Zach Kram on the Rays Link to ESPN on the Rays in 2020 Link to story on the Rays’ saves record Link to article about deGrom’s UCL sprain Link to Ben on the Soto Shuffle Link to post on EW Wiki Chrome extension
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley talk to The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee and SB Nation’s Eric Stephen about the last series of the regular season between the tied-for-first-place Dodgers and Giants, the historic greatness of their race, the state of (and outlook for) their respective rosters, the strengths and weaknesses of each team, their secret sauces, each team’s most pleasant surprise, the highlight of their season series so far, what went wrong for the Padres, how the Dodgers and Giants compare as playoff teams, their toughest potential postseason opponents, the biggest offseason questions facing the two teams, the NL West’s future, and more, plus a postscript on Ben’s top 10 hopes for the the final month of the regular season.
Audio intro: Beulah, "Battle Cry of the West" Audio outro: The Mountain Goats, "We Do it Different on the West Coast"
Link to FanGraphs series preview Link to Andrew Baggarly’s series preview Link to Grant on the gift of Dodgers-Giants Link to Eric on past Dodgers-Giants races Link to Eric on the 1971 race Link to Grant on the teams’ 100-win paces Link to Grant on the Giants being “lucky” Link to Grant on SF’s best-case scenario Link to Fabian Ardaya on Bellinger Link to Dan S. on September projections Link to BaseRuns standings Link to FanGraphs playoff odds Link to Ken Rosenthal on the Giants’ secret Link to Tauchman/Pujols play Link to Defensive Efficiency leaderboard Link to True Blue LA podcast Link to Baggs & Brisbee podcast Link to latest Ringer MLB Show episode Link to list of 1st/2nd-place WAR gaps Link to article on Scherzer not reaching base Link to article on Franco reaching base Link to article on Tatis and HR/SB leaders Link to Ben and Meg’s SSAC panel podcast
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Wander Franco coming into his own, Kevin Newman’s steep offensive falloff post-spring training, a strikeout milestone for Robbie Ray, the Kendall Graveman–Abraham Toro trade and promotions/extensions for the Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais, the new-and-improved Blake Snell, Austin Adams’ historic hit-by-pitch pace, Cardinals radio broadcaster Mike Shannon discovering and attempting to explain NFTs on the air, and the difference between bad and good Mets missteps. Then (41:21) they bring on FanGraphs lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen to discuss September roster expansion, touching on the developmental implications of going from 40-man to 28-man rosters, the most promising prospects who could debut this month and impact pennant races or the playoffs (including Joe Ryan, Nate Pearson, Shane Baz, and Hunter Greene), the remaking of Padres pitcher MacKenzie Gore, post-deadline desperation, the Nationals’ Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, and Riley Adams, the Royals’ Nicky Lopez and Bobby Witt Jr., and other notable names.
Audio intro: Frank Sinatra, "September in the Rain" Audio interstitial: Frank Sinatra, "September Song" Audio outro: Frazey Ford, "September Fields"
Link to Franco streak article Link to Dan Szymborski on Franco Link to article on Newman’s spring Link to spring training stats study Link to B-Ref career K/9 leaderboard Link to article about Snell’s reinvention Link to article about Adams Link to article on Shannon and NFTs Link to Zack Scott news Link to roster expansion explainer Link to list of September 1 callups Link to Gore mechanics video Link to Eric on AL impact pitchers Link to Carmen Ciardiello on Lopez Link to Adam’s EW Wiki post Link to EW Wiki Link to EW Wiki sign-up sheet Link to EW emails database
Ben Lindbergh talks to Defector’s David Roth about the Mets’ freefall in the standings, the extremely Metsy controversy surrounding multiple players giving the thumbs down to fans, and how the franchise still practices Wilpon-era self-sabotage. Then (46:18) Ben “benters” with Ben Clemens from FanGraphs about the post-sticky-stuff collapse of demoted Cleveland closer James Karinchak, the continued success of aged ace Adam Wainwright, and the consistent kind-of-good-ness of the still-contending Cardinals. Lastly (1:27:08), Ben (the first one) Stat Blasts about the most runs scored in a game with no earned runs, the longest streaks of consecutive pinch hitters, and the most outs made with runners in scoring position.
Audio intro: Dinosaur Jr., "Thumb" Audio interstitial: Semisonic, "Get a Grip" Audio outro: 2nd Grade, "Sucking the Thumb"
Link to David on the Mets Link to Ray Ratto on Steve Cohen Link to Deesha Thosar on the thumbs Link to NL East playoff odds graph Link to BP IL Ledger Link to early Mets thumbs downs Link to Deesha on the Mets’ apologies Link to Alderson’s statement Link to fan stress study Link to Operation Shutdown retrospective Link to Defector birthday party Link to tweet about Bens on podcasts Link to reliever championship belt article Link to The Athletic on Karinchak Link to Defector on Karinchak’s Instagram Link to biggest in-season K rate drops Link to Devan Fink on Richards Link to Ben L. on post-sticky-stuff offense Link to Karinchak’s 4-seam spin by game Link to Patrick Dubuque on Miley Link to Ben Clemens on the Cardinals’ records Link to Ben Clemens on Wainwright Link to Nathan Grimm on Wainwright Link to Mike Petriello on Wainwright Link to Wainwright on sticky stuff Link to Cardinals defense by pitcher Link to Timothy Jackson on RPM losers Link to Rob Arthur on RPM losers Link to list of all-unearned-runs games Link to story on 1987 Petralli game Link to info on consecutive pinch hitters Link to article on 1979 Mauch game Link to story on 2016 Rockies/D-backs game Link to data on most team outs w/RISP Link to data on most team LOB