Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan follow up on an awful umpire call from the Mexican League, discuss the all-time top power-plus-speed players, lament Johnny Cueto’s Tommy John surgery, and acknowledge Mike Trout overtaking Mookie Betts on offense. Then they bring on Fangraphs writer Meg Rowley to discuss baseball grumps, good and bad broadcasting, the role of the commissioner, how fans and writers should reckon with the Roberto Osuna story and other bad news besieging baseball, the progress the game has made, and the Mariners losing their lead in the AL wild card race.

Audio intro: No Doubt, "Suspension Without Suspense"
Audio interstitial: The Black Keys, "Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be"
Audio outro: Stars, "Progress"

Link to video of awful umpire call
Link to list of players with most HR+SB games
Link to Meg’s article about baseball grumps

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a hiking analogy, the Nationals jettisoning relievers Brandon Kintzler and Shawn Kelley, and the no-longer-so-unhittable Justin Miller, then answer listener emails about Joey Gallo’s zero sac flies, Andrew Romine, red lights, and 3-0 swings, the ideal baseball height, the value of a roster spot, where to draw the line when covering players having horrible seasons, a pitcher who always allows a run per inning, why defenders sometimes reposition themselves with two strikes, the diminishing returns of adding relievers, and teams scoring (and out-scoring their opponent) in every inning of a game, plus Stat Blasts about teams with the most and fewest major-league debuts and the historic state of league-wide shortstop offense.

Audio intro: Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Red Light"
Audio outro: Sloan, "Keep Swinging (Downtown)"

Link to Escobar’s tweet

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan break down (almost) all the trade-deadline deals by (almost) every team, with special attention to the Chris Archer trade between the Pirates and Rays, the Nationals’ non-trades and their competitors’ improvements, the Orioles’ many moves, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers, the Brewers’ remade infield, the Astros and Roberto Osuna, and much, much more.

Audio intro: Badfinger, "It’s Over"
Audio outro: Arkells, "Deadlines"

Link to Ben’s post on the combined Orioles and Royals
Link to Ben’s post the busy, reliever-centric deadline
Link to Doolittle’s tweets

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan have an in-depth discussion with former Mets director of baseball operations and Braves assistant GM Adam Fisher about being a front-office utility man, talking to the media, work-life imbalance in baseball operations, the public-private information gap, the evolution of analytics, scouting, and player development over the past 15 years, the shrinking of competitive advantages, and all of the ins and outs of the trade deadline: where trade ideas come from, how teams communicate, trade-talk etiquette, leaks and sources, evaluating offers, the art of persuasion, the mechanics of completing trades, why teams wait until the deadline to deal, whether “winning” trades is still something teams expect to do, trading within the division, and much more.

Audio intro: Bruce Springsteen, "Outside Looking In"
Audio interstitial: Feist, "Inside and Out"
Audio outro: Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers, "Come Inside"

Link to podcast with Passan about breaking news

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Zach Britton and Nathan Eovaldi trades, the Yankees’ unbelievable bullpen, the Rays’ most recent Sergio Romo experiment, and the Gary Sanchez hustle/groin-strain saga, follow up on athletes dominating lesser competition and Noah Syndergaard’s latest affliction, then answer emails about Odubel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins, how a bad fielder affects a better fielder’s positioning, and the future of specialty coaches. Lastly, they bring on comedian Jim Jefferies (57:06) to discuss the down-and-up Dodgers, being a celebrity fan, the sport’s pace of play, how he learned to love baseball after moving to the U.S., baseball vs. cricket, the use of stats in baseball and cricket, steroids, Mike Trout vs. Bryce Harper, and more.

Audio intro: Gord Downie, "The East Wind"
Audio interstitial: The White Stripes, "Jimmy the Exploder"
Audio outro: Lou Reed, "Oh, Jim"

Link to Ben’s article about Cano’s hustle
Link to community manager ratings

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Billy Butler‘s beer league, the Jeurys Familia trade, the red-hot Oakland A’s, Seattle’s extensions for Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais, the AL wild card race, the Mets’ most recent dysfunction, Khris Davis’s consistency, the FanGraphs trade value series and the long-term prospects of several top teams, the latest on position player pitchers, the pain of hit by pitches, and more.

Audio intro: Elton John, "Social Disease"
Audio outro: The Flying Burrito Brothers, "Hand to Mouth"

Link to Butler article
Link to Mets ownership article
Link to Davis consistency article
Link to trade value top 10

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about beard grooming, the indy-league exploits of Rafael Palmeiro, Patrick Palmeiro, and the Chinese national team, the Padres-Indians trade involving Brad Hand, Adam Cimber, and Francisco Mejía, the Orioles’ commitment to rebuilding, post-publication regrets about articles, the worst example of umpiring they’ve ever seen, and the state of the standings as the second half starts, then answer listener emails about what (if anything) is wrong with Gary Sánchez, Nick Markakis‘s timing (and fashion choices), calling fractional balls and strikes, round-number bias and the 100-pitch limit, paying Mike Trout for promotion, a .500 team without injuries or fatigue, and why certain teams try to tread water rather than rebuild, plus a Stat Blast about the durability of relievers and a reminder about listener Michael Mountain’s 35-day, 30-ballpark road trip.

Audio intro: David Bowie, "Never Get Old"
Audio outro: Smash Mouth, "Road Man"

Link to article about the Texas AirHogs
Link to Dan Duquette quotes
Link to video of awful umpire call
Link to Ben’s article about the playoff field
Link to Markakis’s outfit
Link to original interview about ballpark road trip

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan break down the five-for-one deal that sent Manny Machado to Los Angeles, discussing the players changing teams, the short- and long-term implications for the Dodgers and Orioles, and the ripple effects for the rest of the trade market. Then they reflect on the latest national discourse about marketing Mike Trout, review the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game, wrestle with how to handle the revelation of Josh Hader’s reprehensible tweets, and analyze the historic excellence of José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor.

Audio intro: Bob Dylan, "When the Deal Goes Down"
Audio outro: Razorlight, "Los Angeles Waltz"

Link to Jeff’s Machado post
Link to the Angels’ Trout tweet
Link to thread about Trout’s red-carpet outfit
Link to podcast conversation about marketing Trout
Link to Sheryl’s Harper post
Link to Ben’s article about Ramirez and Lindor

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Mike Trout and marketing, the surprising Rays and the unsung Jake Bauers, the AL wild card race, Willians Astudillo’s pitching appearance, the results of a 21-question player survey, the Royals’ recent performance, and a tariff on baseball gloves, then (24:24) bring on man-of-many-bylines Will Leitch to discuss the long-awaited end of the Mike Matheny era in St. Louis, how Cardinals fans feel to be free of him, what Matheny taught us about managers, the lowlights of his tenure, what did him in, and what’s next for the Cardinals.

Audio intro: Ray Davies, "Things Are Gonna Change"
Audio interstitial: Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Change Partners"
Audio outro: Matt Costa, "Strings of Change"

Link to player survey
Link to Will’s Matheny article
Link to Ben’s Matheny bullpen management article

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Daniel Descalso, Alex Blandino, and the ongoing onslaught of position-player pitchers, Jacob deGrom‘s updated WAR vs. wins status, Kyle Schwarber‘s two-strike bunting, the death-ray potential of the Rays’ proposed stadium, Jordan Hicks and Bud Norris, and two baseball blobs, then (31:17) talk to Seattle Mariners senior marketing director Gregg Greene and marketing director Mandy Lincoln about the in-stadium decibel meter, the King’s Court, player walk-up songs, promotions gone wrong, Turn Ahead the Clock Night, stats on the scoreboard, Jerry Dipoto‘s marketing potential, and more. Lastly, Ben provides updates on scoreboard fun facts, the Rays’ stadium, Hicks and Norris, Mike Trout’s non-baseball hobbies, Willians Astudillo, James Paxton, Garrett Richards, etc.

Audio intro: Beulah, "Burned By the Sun"
Audio interstitial 1: Joel Plaskett Emergency, "Make a Little Noise"
Audio interstitial 2: Phish, "Crowd Control"
Audio outro: Sloan, "Burn for It"

Link to Jeff’s Kyle Schwarber post
Link to Blandino knuckler
Link to Mark Saxon article about Hicks and Norris
Link to Derrick Goold article about Hicks and Norris
Link to first baseball blob sighting
Link to second baseball blog sighting
Link to 2013 Trout hunting article

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