Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo’s visa problem, Doug Fister’s retirement and CC Sabathia’s retirement tour, Johnny Cueto’s late horses, the current size of Yoenis Cespedes, players’ newly coordinated messaging about baseball economics, and Aaron Nola’s extension, then answer listener emails about when baseball will cease to exist, small-market teams’ spending, Shohei Ohtani as twins, projecting power vs. contact, saving money for Mike Trout, seven-inning games, and using total bases to end extra-inning games, plus Stat Blasts about Max Muncy vs. Robbie Grossman and major award winners with no award votes in previous or subsequent seasons.

Audio intro: Guns N’ Roses, "Dead Horse"
Audio outro: The Yardbirds, "Over Under Sideways Down"

Link to Ben’s old story about retirement-tour gifts
Link to Cueto’s first dead horse
Link to Cueto’s latest dead horse
Link to Cespedes video
Link to article about players’ social-media messaging
Link to Sam on small-market teams
Link to Sam on ending extra-inning games
Link to Baseball Mogul offer
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the return of Brett Lawrie and two-way draftee Kyler Murray’s decision to pursue playing football over baseball, then preview the 2019 Atlanta Braves (8:45) with From the Diamond host Grant McAuley, and the 2019 Arizona Diamondbacks (43:23) with the Arizona Republic’s Diamondbacks beat writer, Nick Piecoro.

Audio intro: The Swell Season, "When Your Mind’s Made Up"
Audio interstitial 1: Chip Taylor, "Hello Atlanta"
Audio interstitial 2: Clem Snide, "Collapse"
Audio outro: The Rock*A*Teens, "Tuesday’s Just As Bad"

Link to Grant’s website
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a bunch of proposed rules changes, FanGraphs readers’ responses to them, and the general desirability of change of some sort, then preview the 2019 Colorado Rockies (19:57) with former Rockies outfielder and current AT&T SportsNet Rockies analyst Cory Sullivan, and the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates (46:20) with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Stephen J. Nesbitt, plus a closing note on J.T. Realmuto.

Audio intro: The Bevis Frond, "Time to Change"
Audio interstitial 1: Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby, "Rocky Mountain Moon"
Audio interstitial 2: Oasis, "The Importance of Being Idle"
Audio outro: Guster, "Two at a Time"

Link to rules change survey responses
Link to Sam on Marlins trades
Link to SABR Award voting
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan dissect the trade that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins to the Phillies for Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez, and Will Stewart, honor the legacy of Frank Robinson, and then (22:28) bring back 88-year-old 1950s two-way player and podcast king Johnny O’Brien, along with his 24-year-old grandson, current Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Riley O’Brien, for an inter-generational conversation about baseball and player development, touching on Robinson and the late Bob Friend, the relationship between Johnny and Riley, life in the minors, baseball’s salary structure, changes in how players train and spend their offseasons, advances in velocity, strikeouts, and technology, and much more (plus a postscript on MLB’s just-concluded Mariners and Dodgers investigations).

Audio intro: Real Estate, "It’s Real"
Audio interstitial: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Jules Munshin, "O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg"
Audio outro: The Byrds, "John Riley"

Link to Jeff’s post on Realmuto and Marlins Park
Link to Jeff on Realmuto as baseball’s best catcher
Link to Jeff on the Realmuto trade
Link to first interview with Johnny
Link to Seattle Times article on the O’Brien twins
Link to video of Riley
Link to SI report on the Dodgers and Kapler
Link to SABR Award voting
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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In the first installment of the seventh annual Effectively Wild season preview series, Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Bryce Harper, Scott Boras, team meetings with free agents, the season preview series, the Super Bowl, and mortality, then preview the 2019 Reds (12:11) with The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans, and the 2019 Athletics (47:46) with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.

Audio intro: The Sadies, "The Very Beginning"
Audio interstitial 1: Nick Drake, "One of These Things First"
Audio interstitial 2: The Coral, "Don’t Think You’re the First"
Audio outro: Beck, "Seventh Heaven"

Link to evaluation of last year’s preview guest predictions
Link to preorder Susan’s A’s book
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about rumors and the offseason, then answer listener emails about forming a team from remaining free agents, the definition of “Baseball IQ,” small-market teams banding together, the best thing for a team to be bad at, incentivizing teams to win, and whether front offices are planning for a work stoppage, plus Stat Blasts about the worst drafts ever, Johnnie LeMaster, and Ketel Marte and closing banter about a dream and the upcoming season preview series. Then (53:49), Ben talks to listener Anne Marie Chua Lee about anime as a rich, overlooked source of baseball entertainment, touching on series including Gurazeni: Money Pitch, Major 2nd, Ace of the Diamond, and Princess Nine.

Audio intro: Foo Fighters, "February Stars"
Audio interstitial: Tom Waits, "Big in Japan"
Audio outro: The Move, "Vote for Me"

Link to free-agent depth chart
Link to team draft data
Link to Anne Marie’s store
Link to Gurazeni
Link to Major 2nd
Link to Ace of the Diamond
Link to Princess Nine
Link to SABR Award voting
Link to Jeff’s nominated piece
Link to Ben’s nominated piece
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and ESPN’s Sam Miller banter about offseason content-creation strategies, recurring columns, and an alternate history in which Orlando Cepeda could have prevented writers from citing stats in stories, then (21:45) talk to longtime Baseball Prospectus writer (and author of The Shift) Russell Carleton about his departure from BP to take a job with the New York Mets, his most influential articles, what he learned from his previous MLB consulting gig, the evolution of sabermetric analysis, critical thinking vs. technical skills, and more.

Audio intro: Margo Price, "Don’t Say It"
Audio interstitial: The Posies, "Farewell Typewriter"
Audio outro: Van Morrison, "Starting a New Life"

Link to Hirsch’s Mays bio
Link to Russell and Kate’s front-office series
Link to Russell on the 30-run manager
Link to Russell on Inge
Link to Russell on the grind
Link to Russell on statistical stability
Link to Russell on player development
Link to Russell on feeding minor leaguers
Link to Russell on intentional walks
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about players playing for their lives, Bryce Harper rumors, Harper’s fame vs. Mike Trout’s, feeling less intense anticipation than they used to, the Red Sox signing the previously permabanned Jenrry Mejia, and uncertainty surrounding the latest labor strife. Then (30:06) Ben talks to Chris Enns, author of The Death Row All Stars, about baseball in the Old West and the strange saga of the 1911 Wyoming State Penitentiary team, an all-convict squad that played to stave off execution and caused a statewide scandal. Lastly (1:00:21), Jeff rejoins for a conversation with Wes Abarca (co-founder, commissioner, and Crestline Highlanders captain) and Joe Billheimer (Highlanders “behind”) of the Southern California Vintage Base Ball League to discuss the popularity of vintage baseball, the strategic intricacies of playing under 1886 rules, the challenge of playing with period equipment, the importance of staying in character, whether they prefer old or new baseball, and more.

Audio intro: Spoon, "Something to Look Forward To"
Audio interstitial 1: Skip James, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"
Audio interstitial 2: Paul McCartney, "Vintage Clothes"
Audio outro: Dr. Dog, "Survive"

Link to Rosenthal article
Link to Ben’s old article about the MLB revenue split
Link to Chris Enss site
Link to Conan’s vintage baseball video
Link to Vintage Base Ball Association site
Link to SoCal Vintage Base Ball League site
Link to Crestline Highlanders site
Link to SoCal league video
Link to Highlanders game photo album
Link to SCVBB Rules
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about good and bad news for much-traveled pitcher Oliver Drake, the Dodgers’ signing of A.J. Pollock and the team’s perplexing offseason plan and lack of NL West competition, the Cubs’ signing of Brad Brach, and a report about the 10-day DL and the rules about optioning players to the minors, then (21:35) talk to Field of Schemes author Neil deMause about the financial calculus behind why teams aren’t spending more on player payroll, how the game got here and what the union can do, the rationale for rooting for a team despite subpar ownership, whether any progress has been made in educating the public about funding stadiums for sports teams, and more.

Audio intro: The Decemberists, "January Hymn"
Audio interstitial: Supergrass, "In it for the Money"
Audio outro: Old Sea Brigade, "Western Eyes"

Link to Jeff’s Pollock post
Link to Ringer article about the Dodgers’ offseason
Link to AP article about DL and option time
Link to Neil’s article
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the Hall of Fame results, including why (and whether) the Hall matters, Mariano Rivera’s unanimous election, the greatness of Mike Mussina, the stagnation of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, the perplexing case of Omar Vizquel, and other topics, then banter about the spread of multi-position players, the Braves bringing back Nick Markakis, the Mariners signing Ichiro Suzuki (sort of), improvements in player development, the Reds’ path to contention in the NL Central, Scott Boras’s role in the slow offseason, the worst seasons by Hall of Famers, and more, plus a Stat Blast about Rivera’s greatness and a parting word from Ben’s mom.

Audio intro: The Apples in Stereo, "About Your Fame"
Audio outro: Phil Ochs, "Chords of Fame"

Link to Hall of Fame voting results
Link to the Hall of Baines
Link to Ben’s article about multi-position players
Link to Jeff’s post about the Reds
Link to worst seasons by Hall of Fame hitters
Link to worst seasons by Hall of Fame pitchers
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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