Archive for Effectively Wild

Effectively Wild Episode 206: When Does it Make Sense to Fire Managers?/What We Think about Hot Streaks

Ben and Sam talk about the circumstances under which they’d feel comfortable recommending that a manager be fired, then discuss different beliefs about hot streaks.


Effectively Wild Episode 205: Catcher Framing Questions/A Hypothetical Pitching Problem/Post-Start MRIs

Ben and Sam answers listener questions about catcher framing, a very unusual reliever, and cautionary MRIs.


Effectively Wild Episode 204: The Yankees and Luck/How We Watch Baseball/Consuming Scouting Reports

Ben and Sam team up for a simulpodcast with Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs and FanGraphs Audio to discuss whether the Yankees have been lucky, the best way to watch baseball, and the value of old scouting reports.


Effectively Wild Episode 203: Strikeouts and Defense/Shortest Pitching Careers/Novelty All-Star Games/World Series of Worst/Rooting Against No-Hitters

Ben and Sam discuss listener emails about whether rising strikeout rates make defense less valuable, whether the worst teams should face off at the end of the year, and more.


Effectively Wild Episode 202: Bryce Harper Hits the Wall/Albert Pujols’ Pain

Ben and Sam talk about how a player’s willingness to crash into walls affects their expectations for him, then discuss whether Albert Pujols can improve if he keeps playing.


Effectively Wild Episode 201: Drafting Age-25-and-Under Starters/Still No No-Hitters

Ben and Sam draft starting pitchers age 25 and under, then discuss whether there’s any significance to the fact that we haven’t seen a no-hitter yet this season.


Effectively Wild Episode 200: Will Leitch on Media, Fans, and Media and Fans

Ben and Sam talk to Sports on Earth Senior Writer Will Leitch about the evolution of baseball coverage and the fan’s relationship with sports media.


Effectively Wild Episode 199: Pitchers Putting on Sunscreen/The Astros and Clubhouse Chemistry

Ben and Sam discuss the sunscreen scandal and how much clubhouse chemistry matters to the Astros.


Effectively Wild Episode 198: Hitters with the Yips/Power vs. Contact/Starlin Castro’s Future/Reinhart-Rogoff and Sabermetrics

Ben and Sam answer emails about what it would look like if a hitter got the yips, what Starlin Castro could turn into, errors in sabermetric research, and more.


Effectively Wild Episode 197: Our Incredibly Premature All-Star Picks

With All-Star voting officially underway, Ben and Sam make their incredibly premature picks, with Jason Wojciechowski joining them to settle any disputes.