Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Brent Honeywell injury and Corey Dickerson trade, the Yankees’ and Orioles’ potentially record-breaking projected home-run totals, two addenda about team-inspired baby names, surviving spring training, and an ill-advised trampoline recommendation, then preview the 2018 Yankees (19:07) with The Athletic NYC’s Marc Carig, and the 2018 Orioles (52:48) with MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Rays’ Carlos Gomez signing, the Padres’ improbable all-time home run leader, and the players’ portion of MLB revenue, then answer listener emails about running a team with the eye test or with stats, the effects of breaking the batting order, a serial rebuilding team, a pitcher fatigue indicator, team-based baby names, a flamethrowing knuckleballer, the value of leverage in transactions, the financial effects of expanding rosters, and an anti-tanking incentive clause, plus a Stat Blast/email answer on the best and worst extra-innings players.

Audio intro: Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, "Lonely Financial Zone"
Audio outro: Parliament, "Wizard of Finance"

Link to franchise home-run leaders Sporcle quiz
Link to Ben’s baseball economics article

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about another volcanic comment by Scott Boras, the Eric Hosmer and J.D. Martinez signings and the Rays’ sudden sell-off, MLB’s latest pace-of-play initiatives, why spring training intentions often go awry, and sabermetric trailblazer Sherri Nichols, then preview the 2018 Nationals (23:46) with the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes, and the 2018 Tigers (50:44) with MLB.com’s Jason Beck.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the Orioles’ Andrew Cashner signing, recent “super-teams” that missed the playoffs, and Marcus Stroman’s arbitration tweets, then preview the 2018 Cubs (16:27) with The Athletic Chicago’s Sahadev Sharma, and the 2018 Padres (46:43) with The Athletic San Diego’s Dennis Lin.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the installation of a humidor at Chase Field, how peak Ichiro would have hit at Coors Field, and what to make of reports about players in the best shape of their lives, then answer emails about which team performances would qualify as surprising in 2018, projecting players who’ve had hard times off the field, evaluating launch angles, how much better teams get when they go for broke, NPB teams poaching unsigned free agents, how many non-athletes a team of the best players in baseball could carry without being bad, and how to define a platoon, plus a Stat Blast on post-humidor Coors, a meditation on the free-agent market, and an update on Jose Ramirez’s mysterious Twitter handle.

Audio intro: Sparks, "Instant Weight Loss"
Audio outro: Yo La Tengo, "Is That Enough"

Link to Alan Nathan’s humidor research
Link to Ben’s BSOHL research
Link to Mike Trout Pecos League hypothetical

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Esteban Loaiza’s drug bust and the Cubs’ Yu Darvish signing, then preview the 2018 Indians (15:31) with writer/editor Pete Beatty, and the 2018 Royals (44:16) with Kansas City Star Royals beat writer Rustin Dodd.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the new spring training camp for free agents, return to the topic of why so many high-profile free agents remain unsigned, discuss Todd Frazier’s contract with the Mets, and talk about whether a proposed “Tank Tax” is a solution in search of a problem. Then they preview the 2018 Dodgers (19:54) with LA Times Dodgers beat writer Andy McCullough, and the 2018 Marlins (1:02:11) with Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about two reports citing anonymous sources, Scott Boras’ boat metaphor, “Memento Mori” as a motivational tool, a John Jaso update, and a Patreon plug, then bring on the FanGraphs prospect team (Kiley McDaniel, Eric Longenhagen, and Chris Mitchell) to talk prospect-ranking philosophies, scouting-the-stat-line successes, how record home run rates affect scouting, the Ronald Acuna consensus and the Brendan McKay controversy, and the 10 biggest disagreements between FanGraphs’ stats-based and scouting-based prospect lists.

Audio intro: John Frusciante, "The Will to Death"
Audio interstitial: The Tragically Hip, "Inevitability of Death"
Audio outro: The Kinks, "Till Death Us Do Part"

Link to “reminders of death” study
Link to Fernando Perez John Jaso tweet
Link to scouting-based top 100 prospects list
Link to stats-based top 100 prospects list
Link to Effectively Wild Wiki
Link to Effectively Wild Wiki crowdsourcing sign-up sheet
Link to SABR Analytics Awards voting page

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about February rituals and the start and format of the sixth annual EW season preview series, as well as transaction inactivity and another player trampoline sighting. Then they preview the 2018 Astros (9:43) with The Ringer’s Michael Baumann, and the 2018 White Sox (40:45) with White Sox and ESPN broadcaster Jason Benetti.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about bullpen-cart feasibility, a listener crowdsourcing project to fill out the Effectively Wild Wiki, and the effect of starting an inning with a runner on second, then follow up on player volatility and knuckleball hits and answer listener emails about the historical significance of the Marlins’ latest firesale, the respective offensive ceilings of Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons, the effect of this winter’s slow market on future extensions and high-profile free agents, the “Steroid Era” and aging patterns, and optimizing a legendary lineup. Plus a Stat Blast on low payrolls and a teaser for the sixth annual EW season preview series.

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