Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the two teams at the top and bottom, respectively, of the MLB payroll hierarchy, the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics, touching on the Mets’ signings of Brandon Nimmo, Kodai Senga, and David Robertson, the A’s trading away Sean Murphy, and what a vast disparity in spending does and doesn’t signify for MLB’s competitive balance. They also banter about the other teams’ ends of that three-team trade, the state of the NL East, the Giants’ starting-pitcher signings, a reported Padres offer, the Blue Jays’ and Twins’ latest additions, Munetaka Murakami news, and more, plus a Past Blast from 1941.

Audio intro: Billy Joel, “Last of the Big Time Spenders”
Audio outro: Sex Bob-Omb, “Threshold”

Link to Patrick Dubuque on Cohen
Link to Longenhagen on Senga
Link to Baumann on Mets spending
Link to Rosenthal on owners
Link to Rosenthal on Murphy
Link to Baumann on Murphy
Link to Law on Murphy
Link to Petriello on Murphy
Link to FG payroll page
Link to team catcher WAR
Link to SP depth charts
Link to 2005 team payrolls
Link to FG post on Manaea
Link to FG post on Bassitt
Link to FG on Vázquez/Zunino
Link to Marlins article
Link to Padres report
Link to Kovalchuk article
Link to Murakami news
Link to Ben’s SNL oral history
Link to 1941 story source
Link to Lefty Grove bio
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to Secret Santa sign-up sheet
Link to Secret Santa FB thread
Link to share of team Ks sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their AI chatbot counterparts, then discuss the ramifications of the Padres signing Xander Bogaerts (12:58), the significance of the Red Sox losing Bogaerts and the trend toward very long-term contracts (51:26), and a report about multiple models of the baseball being used during the 2022 season (1:19:59), plus updates and a Past Blast from 1940 (1:49:43).

Audio intro: Pixies, “Get Simulated”
Audio outro: Parker Gispert, “Life in the Goldilocks Zone”

Link to ChatGPT
Link to OpenAI
Link to ChatGPT intro script
Link to Dan S. on Bogaerts
Link to Nightengale tweets
Link to team payroll breakdown
Link to story on Bogaerts leaving
Link to story on Bloom
Link to story on Story
Link to Kram on the Meetings
Link to Stark on long contracts
Link to hitter aging curves
Link to Kovalchuk story
Link to new baseballs report
Link to last year’s report
Link to last year’s EW episode
Link to 1940 story source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to over-30 lineups study
Link to 1985 automatic runner ref
Link to other 1985 ref
Link to giant Turner tweet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley break down the rest of the action from the Winter Meetings, including Arson Judge not signing with the Giants, Aaron Judge re-signing with the Yankees, the Padres missing out on Judge and Trea Turner, the Dodgers’ lack of interest in Carlos Correa, the Giants signing Mitch Haniger, the Cardinals signing Willson Contreras, the Cubs signing Jameson Taillon and Cody Bellinger, the going rate for mid-rotation starters, the Phillies signing Taijuan Walker and Matt Strahm, the secret to Dave Dombrowski’s owner cajoling, the Mets signing José Quintana, whether Steve Cohen has a spending limit, the Rangers signing Andrew Heaney, the Guardians signing Josh Bell, the Red Sox signing Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Masataka Yoshida, the first draft lottery, the podcast’s thirstiness, and more, plus a Past Blast from 1939.

Audio intro: Eleventh Dream Day, “The Arsonist”
Audio outro: Queen, “’39”

Link to Manfred comments
Link to more Manfred comments
Link to Rob on competitive balance
Link to Arson Judge saga
Link to “the grink” tweet
Link to Heyman “grink” tweet
Link to Jay on Judge
Link to Dan on Judge
Link to Padres/Judge rumors
Link to Rosenthal on Correa
Link to Time feature on Judge
Link to Ben Clemens on Haniger
Link to Baumann on Contreras
Link to Justin Choi on Taillon
Link to qualifying offer decisions
Link to Chris Gilligan on Bellinger
Link to EW on Bellinger’s bat
Link to Laurila on Walker
Link to Walker tweet
Link to FG post on Martin
Link to SIS on Yoshida
Link to Baumann on Bell
Link to projected payrolls
Link to draft lottery results
Link to ChatGPT explainer
Link to Rule 5 scouting reports
Link to thirstiness tweet
Link to Ohtani pillow
Link to Insider baseballs report
Link to 1939 story source
Link to The Baseball Reliquary
Link to Baseball Reliquary article
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

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With Meg Rowley on the IL, Ben Lindbergh and FanGraphs author Dan Szymborski discuss the first batch of news from a busy Winter Meetings, including the big-money market as a whole, the blockbuster signings of Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Trea Turner, the outlooks for the Rangers, Dodgers, and Astros, the Padres’ interest in Turner and its implications for Fernando Tatis Jr., the genre of rumors about teams that tried to acquire players, the Brewers-Mariners trade involving Kolten Wong, Jesse Winker, and Abraham Toro, Brian Cashman re-upping with the Yankees, Bryan Reynolds demanding a trade from the Pirates, Fred McGriff’s election to the Hall of Fame, and more, plus postscript updates about late-breaking news/signings, followups, and a Past Blast from 1938.

Audio intro: Jon Jacob, “Buffalo Killers”
Audio outro: Parquet Courts, “This is Happening Now”

Link to Rosenthal on the market
Link to Dan on deGrom
Link to Ben Clemens on deGrom
Link to Baumann on Verlander
Link to Heyman on deGrom
Link to Heyman on Verlander
Link to thread on old top starters
Link to Jay on Turner
Link to MLBTR on the Turner rumors
Link to Baumann on the Brewers trade
Link to tweet about Winker
Link to Dipoto payroll comments
Link to FG post on Martin
Link to FG post on Estévez
Link to Twitter thread on Estévez
Link to Reynolds request
Link to Jay on the committee
Link to Jay on the HoF results
Link to Dan’s Nats projections
Link to Ben on forecasting chemistry
Link to NBA trophy news
Link to Lindsey on PitchCom
Link to EW Episode 1577
Link to road-attendance sheet
Link to Apstein on Boras
Link to Boras EW episode
Link to “Arson Judge” tweet
Link to Insider baseballs report
Link to 1938 story source
Link to SABR on the 1938 Meetings
Link to WWE belt story
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s daughter’s first steps, follow up on differentiating players with the same name, equipment replacements, and suggested recreational sports for Ben to play, and then discuss the Royals’ remade coaching staff (19:43), the career of the late, all-time-great Gaylord Perry (22:57), and the latest ESPN Crasnick/Rogers annual offseason MLB insiders survey (44:58), plus answers to listener emails (1:04:33) about an MLB awards ceremony, pitcher wins, and the Tigers’ rebuild, a Past Blast from 1937 (1:31:11), and a postscript.

Audio intro: Brendan Benson, “Spit it Out”
Audio outro: Jim Noir, “JJC Sports”

Link to Jeongeun Lee6 LPGA page
Link to Bradley forgetting outs
Link to The Athletic on Sweeney
Link to Royals Review on Sweeney
Link to Manfred statement on Perry
Link to MLB.com’s Perry obit
Link to Perry’s SABR bio
Link to Perry’s book
Link to Nate on pitcher hitting
Link to Sam on pitcher hitting
Link to Eno on old pitchers
Link to 44+ pitchers by year
Link to latest ESPN survey
Link to Sam on the insiders
Link to Russell on the shift
Link to execs on rule changes
Link to EW emails database
Link to Smyth on qualifiers
Link to Mains on qualifiers
Link to Miller on qualifiers
Link to awards dinner info
Link to Poscast episode
Link to 1937 story source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to MLBTR on Eflin
Link to strike-zone EW episode
Link to shuttlecock article
Link to road-attendance sheet

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s latest former major leaguer Facebook friend recommendation and an important update (3:49) to the dictionary.com definition of “ghost runner,” then follow up (17:00) on a previous rumination on free-agent tours by touching on a Carlos Correa comment about playing in Minnesota, Eduardo Escobar’s deep-seated affection for Fogo de Chão, and the research the Red Sox did on Carl Crawford, before discussing (41:58) the most notable ways in which baseball is unique among sports (including a comparison of the number of balls used per contest), MLBPA leader Tony Clark’s reputation restoration (57:12), the latest Disney windfall for MLB owners, and Ben’s conditional desire to play more recreational sports (1:11:42), followed by a Stat Blast (1:27:05) on Shelby Miller-like career arcs and a Past Blast (1:41:15) from 1936.

Audio intro: Fleetwood Mac, “Think About Me”
Audio outro: David Schwartz, “Balls in the Air”

Link to Bush’s book
Link to old “ghost runner” page
Link to new “ghost runner” page
Link to “automatic runner” page
Link to “imaginary runner” page
Link to 2018 automatic runner story
Link to other 2018 story
Link to 2008 automatic runner story
Link to Correa clip
Link to 2018 Escobar story
Link to 2019 Fogo study
Link to Fogo video
Link to Milwaukee Fogo story
Link to 2022 Fogo story
Link to DiComo Fogo tweet
Link to Fogo locations
Link to 2011 Crawford story
Link to Crawford on Boston in 2014
Link to Crawford on Boston in 2017
Link to Crawford’s wiki
Link to story about soccer balls
Link to story about baseballs
Link to story about foul balls
Link to Chiarella story
Link to other Chiarella story
Link to story on golf balls
Link to Evan on Clark
Link to Evan on the subcommittee
Link to story about Scherzer
Link to CBA tick-tock
Link to Marc on Clark
Link to story about Latino players
Link to thread on BAMTech deal
Link to story on BAMTech deal
Link to Seinfeld clip
Link to Stat Blast data
Link to Eno’s Stuff+ tweet
Link to Donohue SABR bio
Link to Campbell SABR bio
Link to Kirby SABR bio
Link to Ryan Nelson on Twitter
Link to 1936 story source
Link to SABR on Shaughnessy
Link to 1933 Buffalo article
Link to 1933 Decatur article
Link to 1933 Allentown article
Link to 1933 IL standings
Link to Shaughnessy Playoffs page
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about their Thanksgivings, Joe Kelly’s comments (10:29) about free agents’ team visits being “outdated and cheesy,” the Astros signing José Abreu (30:25), and some standout totals (45:17) from the preliminary ZiPS-projected standings for 2023, plus Past Blasts (1:15:48) from 1935.

Audio intro: The Shivas, “If I Could Choose”
Audio outro: Redd Kross, “Choose to Play”

Link to Kelly’s comments
Link to “Avocado Factor” wiki
Link to MLBTR FA predictions
Link to FanGraphs FA predictions
Link to previous EW Abreu episode
Link to Kevin Goldstein on Abreu
Link to MLBTR on the Sox and Abreu
Link to MLBTR on Houston and Abreu
Link to White Sox depth chart
Link to job listing for The Freeze
Link to tweet about The Freeze
Link to Ringer pod with The Freeze
Link to projected 2023 standings
Link to post on Giants pinch-hitters
Link to 2022 projections review
Link to first Past Blast story
Link to Dean Past Blast story
Link to 1935 Giants story source
Link to SABR on the 1935 Cubs
Link to Cubs vs. umpire source
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to @MrSugarPenis story
Link to NYT tweet about it

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Ben Lindbergh convenes a roundtable of hitting analysts—Robert Orr from Baseball Prospectus, Esteban Rivera from FanGraphs, and Ryan Parker, formerly of Baseball Prospectus and the Los Angeles Angels—to diagnose the problems with free agent Cody Bellinger’s much-diminished bat and recommend how to revive it. They also discuss their approaches to analyzing hitting, coachability, the differences between public and private hitting analysis, the importance of mashing mistakes, the Angels, and more. Then (1:15:03) Ben closes with a Past Blast from 1934 and a few followups about Bellinger, tweets, and assists on strikeouts.

Audio intro: Wednesday, “Cody’s Only”
Audio outro: The Killers, “Cody”

Link to Dan Szymborski on Bellinger
Link to story on Bellinger’s shoulder
Link to story on Bellinger’s leg
Link to Chris Gilligan on Bellinger
Link to Ken Rosenthal on Bellinger
Link to Prospects Live on Bellinger
Link to Bellinger vs. Musgrove K
Link to Versalles SABR bio
Link to SwingGraphs
Link to SwingGraphs data
Link to Esteban on Acuña
Link to Esteban on vertical bat angle
Link to Robert on crushing cookies
Link to Rosenthal on Angels moves
Link to Joon Lee on the Angels system
Link to EW with Clay Bellinger
Link to 1934 story source
Link to Biele article series
Link to story on Ella Black
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to MLBTR on Harper’s TJ
Link to Blue Jays tweet
Link to Canseco at Vice
Link to Canseco on time travel
Link to assists story 1
Link to assists story 2
Link to assists story 3
Link to assists story 4

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about omissions from their Baseball Twitter draft, a few transactions (including the Kyle Lewis trade, the Gio Urshela trade, and multiple shortstop swaps), the Angels acquiring average players, the Dodgers non-tendering Cody Bellinger, the Phillies extending Dave Dombrowski, the new BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot and Ben’s ballot decision, a series of sports-betting investigations, a college-baseball trailblazer, comeback players of the year, and more, plus Stat Blasts (54:28) about Aaron Judge and intra-team WAR gaps, the most unique players put out, consecutive innings with double plays, and the timing of game-winning runs, a Past Blast (1:04:06) from 1933, and an Angels postscript.

Audio intro: Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek, “Angels”
Audio outro: Mimi Roman, “Never Ramble, Never Gamble, Never Roam”

Link to Heyman tweet
Link to Baer tweet
Link to Nightengale tweet
Link to Bautista tweet
Link to Justin Choi on Lewis
Link to Baumann on shortswaps
Link to MLBTR on Dombrowski
Link to MLBTR on Bellinger
Link to Jay on the BBWAA ballot
Link to Jay on the committee ballot
Link to EW on Ben’s ballot last year
Link to NYT sports-betting thread
Link to NYT sports-betting article 1
Link to NYT sports-betting article 2
Link to NYT sports-betting article 3
Link to NYT sports-betting article 4
Link to Olivia Pichardo news
Link to comeback players story
Link to Ryan Nelson’s Twitter
Link to WAR-gap Stat Blast data
Link to putouts Stat Blast data
Link to game-winning-runs data
Link to Rob Mains on comebacks
Link to 1933 story source
Link to SABR on Browns ownership
Link to MLB.com on the Browns
Link to SABR on Jackie in Montreal
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter
Link to MLBTR on the Renfroe trade
Link to tweet about Renfroe and Trout

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With the future of Twitter uncertain, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley welcome Craig Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and Jordan Shusterman and Jake Mintz of Fox Sports and Céspedes Family BBQ to draft the best tweets and traditions from more than a decade of content on Baseball Twitter (plus a Past Blast from 1932). (Warning/preview: Prepare for somewhat saltier language than usual.)

Audio intro: The Rentals, “Elon Musk is Making Me Sad”
Audio outro: Sparks, “Here Comes Bob”

Link to list of some tweets
Link to Martino/collusion story
Link to unread Rosenthal column
Link to Rosenthal column tweet
Link to Trout emoji EW episode
Link to Chubs EW episode
Link to Chubs tweets
Link to Chubs explainer
Link to Ben on teen newsbreakers
Link to Defector on Nightengale photos
Link to “Ralph” explainer
Link to “wall of porn” post
Link to Ben on the Castellanos meme
Link to Gmail redesign
Link to 1932 story source
Link to SABR on Cardinals ownership
Link to story about Landis and Rickey
Link to story on Rickey’s farm
Link to Jacob Pomrenke’s website
Link to Jacob Pomrenke on Twitter

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