Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Shohei Ohtani’s blister, the Braves signing Jose Bautista as a third baseman, and Oakland’s well-attended free-admission game, then talk to two authors of new books about what happens in baseball players’ brains: Zach Schonbrun, author of The Performance Cortex: How Neuroscience is Redefining Athletic Genius (11:58), and former MLB pitcher (and current Giants mental skills coach) Bob Tewksbury, author of Ninety Percent Mental: An All-Star Player Turned Mental Skills Coach Reveals the Hidden Game of Baseball (41:04).

Audio intro: Violent Femmes, "Blister in the Sun"
Audio interstitial 1: The Action, "Brain"
Audio interstitial 2: Beulah, "Don’t Forget to Breathe"
Audio outro: Superchunk, "Lost My Brain"

Link to The Performance Cortex excerpt
Link to Bob Tewksbury’s website

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Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and Baseball Prospectus writer Russell Carleton discuss Russell’s new book, The Shift, banter about bad weather, Bartolo Colon, baseball’s unexpectedly competitive division races, Mike Trout topping one WAR leaderboard, Ronald Acuña’s (possibly) impending call-up, MLB’s low attendance so far, and a new Carter Capps imitator, then answer listener emails about Kris Bryant and the Cubs’ batting order, cold weather and the early season home-run rate, a pitcher with worse pickoff skills than Jon Lester, a 28-man roster, the Yankees’ power trio homering in the same games, a perfect pitcher with some strange demands, a hitter who knows pitch locations, and three Shohei Ohtani usage scenarios, plus a Stat Blast about the unlikely career of Odell Jones.

Audio intro: Pixies, "Stormy Weather"
Audio outro: The Baseball Project, "Fair Weather Fans"

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a recent spat of basebrawls, Clint Hurdle vs. Javier Baez and bat flips, Shohei Ohtani’s latest heroics, what bullpens do during brawls, and a fun-fact-free player, then bring on MLB Advanced Media’s Mike Petriello (23:19) to discuss what’s new with (and next for) Statcast, the system’s growing pains and commitment to accuracy, writing for a league-owned entity, MLBAM’s philosophy about rolling out enhancements, the most exciting (and most overrated) Statcast players, why Statcast stats get released, the data imbalance between teams and outside analysts, how Statcast has changed the writing process, a Statcast quiz, and more.

Audio intro: Clem Snide, "Don’t Be Afraid of Your Anger"
Audio interstitial: D’Angelo and The Vanguard, "Back to the Future (Part I)"
Audio outro: Stereo Total, "Vive le Week-End"

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Shohei Ohtani’s platoon splits and pitchers’ league-wide avoidance of the strike zone this season, then answer listener emails about the power and prestige of managers compared to coaches, when to trust in-season results over projections, choosing between Ohtani and Mike Trout, whether Albert Pujols or Adrian Beltre will end up with the higher career WAR, the staying power of the phrase “Andrew Miller-type role,” the Marlins’ current shortstops vs. a 43-year-old Derek Jeter, a hypothetical involving consecutive walk-off wins, the Mario Mendoza of wRC+, Ohtani’s ceiling and odds of winning awards, the value of being a big leaguer, and an MLB equivalent of Scott Foster, the NHL’s accountant emergency goalie, plus a Stat Blast about reliever use, game length/pace, and the most homers without a walk-off shot.

Audio intro: Common (Feat. John Legend and Kanye West), "They Say"
Audio outro: Sparks, "This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us"

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a walk-off popup, a weekend brawl, booing Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper’s hot start and Byron Buxton’s slow (but not slowest) start, Xander Bogaerts, and Ian Happ, and then do a deep dive on Shohei Ohtani’s past, present, and future as a hitter and pitcher and the wonder of what he accomplished last week.

Audio intro: Genesis, "Your Own Special Way"
Audio outro: Tweedy, "Wait for Love"

Link to walk-off popup
Link to video of 2012 Astros two-error play
Link to Ben’s Ohtani article

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a James Paxton eagle attack (and an earlier condor attack), a successful Jon Lester bounce pass, a play that proves that some players don’t know the rules about tagging up, Shohei Ohtani’s rest schedule, and a heartwarming moment involving Mike Trout, then do another edition of Gabe Kapler Criticism Watch and discuss a few teams that significantly shifted their playoff odds in week one.

Audio intro: Jay Z, "The Bounce"
Audio outro: Bob Dylan & The Band, "Odds and Ends"

Link to tag-up play
Link to Lester bounce pass
Link to video of kid meeting Mike Trout

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Shohei Ohtani’s hot hitting start, revisit the subject of Joey Gallo bunting against the four-man outfield, and critique a retracted Trevor Rosenthal report, then answer listener emails about Bondsian starts to seasons, Tommy Pham’s prophfanity, how data-driven players may impact projections, Seth Lugo’s breakout potential, short-term tanking vs. long-term tanking, new counting-stat thresholds, a version of Giancarlo Stanton who always swings for the fences, a harebrained scheme to break the career hits record, a Mike Trout pitching hypothetical, a Triple-A/MLB role reversal, a star player out for vengeance, and more, plus a Stat Blast about the balls hit hardest by pitchers.

Audio intro: Spoon, "First Caress"
Audio outro: Roger Daltrey, "A Second Out"

Link to Russell Carleton’s article about Joey Gallo’s bunting outlook

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about returning to the regular-season routine, between-innings highlights on MLB.TV, Shohei Ohtani’s Angels debut, Gerrit Cole’s Astros debut, Ichiro’s home-run robbery, Kevin Pillar’s base-stealing exploits, Mike Trout’s rapid resurgence, the first (and possibly the silliest) unwritten-rules controversy of the season, the early evidence that swings (and batted balls) are changing, two potential fun facts, the week-one criticism of rookie managers Gabe Kapler and Aaron Boone, and the Rays’ first bullpen day.

Audio intro: First Aid Kit, "This Old Routine"
Audio outro: Lucy Dacus, "Night Shift"

Link to Effectively Wild: The Video Game

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jeff’s research into the performance of college teams vs. MLB teams in spring training, then reach into the grab bag for a selection of topics inspired by actual baseball, including Kyle Schwarber’s defense, the Astros’ four-man outfield (and whether Joey Gallo should bunt to beat it), Mike Trout’s un-Trout-like start to the season, Felix Hernandez and Noah Syndergaard, the optimal order of starting pitchers in the first week of the season, the bypassed bullpen cart, Gabe Kapler’s divisive decision-making, and more. Lastly, they critique and respond to ESPN writer Jerry Crasnick’s latest survey of baseball executives about the season’s biggest stories.

Audio intro: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, "All Over Again"
Audio outro: Buzzcocks, "No Reply"

Link to Jeff’s article about college teams vs. MLB teams
Link to Ben’s article about redefining positions
Link to Matt Gelb’s Gabe Kapler game story
Link to article about starting rotation order
Link to Jerry Crasnick questions

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an update on the fate of the indy leagues, their rapid playoff predictions for 2018, the inaugural journey of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen cart, juiced-ball precedents from the 1920s and 1930s, what spring stats are saying about the season to come, and a Dennis Sarfate extension. Then they talk to Brewers minor-league pitcher Jonathan Perrin (18:30) about the so-called Save America’s Pastime Act, minor-league pay and working conditions, what teams could and should do to improve minor-league development, what major leaguers could do to help the minor leaguers’ cause, his legal aspirations and investment advice, having interests outside of baseball, his first professional hit, and more.

Audio intro: The New Pornographers, "Play Money"
Audio interstitial: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, "Money"
Audio outro: Arcade Fire, "Put Your Money on Me"

Link to Nathaniel Grow article about the indy leagues
Link to Diamondbacks bullpen cart video
Link to Ben’s article about spring stats
Link to Pages from Baseball’s Past

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