Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about a podcast interview that may hinge on the Rays winning the World Series, John Smoltz’s on-air app suggestion, the latest developments in the Dave Roberts and Clayton Kershaw playoff narratives, the Dodgers and Astros on the brink, the long-term outlook for Randy Arozarena, encouraging catcher glove gestures, the White Sox firing Rick Renteria, and Billy Beane possibly calling it quits as a baseball executive. Then (44:00) they bring on Bradford William Davis of the New York Daily News to discuss why and how MLB proceeded with plans to sell tickets to the NLCS and World Series, whether the league has lived up to its public health commitments, the forecast for attendance in 2021, and how and why Bradford is planning to cover the World Series in person.

Audio intro: Randy Newman, "Naked Man"
Audio interstitial: Sam Evian, "Health Machine"
Audio outro: Paul McCartney, "Hunt You Down/Naked/C-Link"

Link to article about “OnlyFanGraphs”
Link to Jeff’s tweet
Link to BP on Kershaw and Roberts
Link to Ben on Roberts in 2019
Link to Meg on the Braves’ brief embarrassment
Link to Ben Clemens on Arozarena
Link to WSJ report about Beane
Link to Ray Ratto on Beane
Link to Susan Slusser on Beane
Link to Brian Phillips on Beane and Morey
Link to story about Renteria
Link to Bradford on MLB and public health officials
Link to Bradford on MLB and community COVID testing
Link to Evan Drellich on fans in the stands
Link to Stephanie Apstein on fans in the stands
Link to Hannah Keyser on fans in the stands
Link to Craig Calcaterra on MLB’s attendance survey
Link to CPBL outfielder video
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about a baseball ad on the radio, revisit the topic of how often teams win when they outhomer their opponents, discuss the brand of baseball on display this postseason, share a Stat Blast about the percentage of runs scored on homers and investigate whether all-or-nothing baseball is as problematic as it’s made out to be, then examine a pair of standout postseason umpiring efforts and answer listener emails about whether groundball pitchers might make a comeback and what should constitute a “match point” in baseball.

Audio intro: Cordovas, "The Game"
Audio outro: They Might Be Giants, "I’ve Got a Match"

Link to Ben on home runs this postseason
Link to Ben on learning to accept strikeouts
Link to Ben on October baseball
Link to article about increase in solo homers
Link to Ben on umpire perfect games
Link to Umpire Scorecards on Pat Hoberg
Link to Close Call Sports on John Tumpane
Link to 2015 article on umpires improving
Link to 2016 article on umpires improving
Link to Matt Trueblood on the Dodgers’ bullpen
Link to Bill James on groundball pitchers
Link to article about groundball pitchers being overrated
Link to Seinfeld tweet about the “final strike”
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about the Honda Fit being discontinued, then discuss Game 5 of the Yankees-Rays ALDS, why this postseason’s strikeout-centric, home-run-reliant brand of baseball may be entertaining to hardcore fans but a turnoff to non-fans, the ALCS and NLCS matchups, the incredible depth of the Rays and Dodgers, whether (and why) offensive strikeout rate is a strong predictor of team postseason success, how Dodgers architect Andrew Friedman has put his stamp on every championship series, Friedman’s case as the baseball executive of the century so far, and the deaths of Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Whitey Ford.

Audio intro: Hinds, "Riding Solo"
Audio outro: Parliament, "Deep"

Link to article about Honda Fit
Link to Ben on the Yankees’ ALDS loss
Link to Joe Sheehan’s newsletter
Link to Ben on contact hitters versus velocity
Link to Eno Sarris on predicting postseason success
Link to Ben on moving the mound back
Link to Pages From Baseball’s Past
Link to Craig Wright on Whitey Ford
Link to Jay Jaffe on Whitey Ford
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about which team with a new opening at the top of its baseball operations department would be the most attractive to baseball executives: the Reds, the Phillies, or the Angels. Then (15:07) they bring on James Buffi, the biomechanics expert, former Driveline Baseball biomechanics consultant and Dodgers senior analyst, and current CEO of motion analysis company Reboot Motion, to discuss the path he took from public research to working for a team, the biomechanical arms race, how progressive teams are using motion-tracking tech to improve players, how the Dodgers develop pitchers, how predictable and preventable injuries are, how the pandemic-shortened season and the postseason schedule affect pitchers, whether deception can be quantified, and how to avoid snake oil salesmen.

Audio intro: Neil Young, "Motion Pictures"
Audio interstitial: Pavement, "Motion Suggests Itself"
Audio outro: Rex White, "Who’s Hiring?"

Link to Dick Williams story
Link to Matt Klentak story
Link to Phillies hiring process story
Link to Angels hiring process story
Link to James Buffi’s LinkedIn page
Link to Reboot Motion website
Link to Driveline story on biomechanics and motion capture
Link to story on baseball’s biomechanical revolution
Link to excerpt from The Arm about Buffi
Link to story about Buffi leaving the Dodgers
Link to Driveline study on Dodgers player development
Link to story about KinaTrax
Link to Hawk-Eye introduction
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller discuss the merits of stats about the success of teams that hit more home runs in the playoffs and then review the first several games of the division series, touching on the unparalleled power of Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ piggyback pitcher decision, the Astros’ resurgence, the overtaxed Padres’ bullpen, the latest bad blood between the Braves and Ronald Acuña Jr., Clayton Kershaw’s 2020 renaissance, bad blown ball/strike calls, and more (plus a Stat Blast about the biggest mismatches in height between opposing starting pitchers).

Audio intro: Eleanor Friedberger, "My Mistakes"
Audio outro: Olivia Jean, "Mistakes"

Link to Lindsey Adler on the Yankees’ pitching plan
Link to Ben on second-guessing
Link to most lopsided starting pitcher heights
Link to Ben on Kershaw
Link to research on shadows
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about potato chip sponsors, playoff games at neutral sites, juiced-ball suspicions, ALDS bad blood, how Pedro Martínez approached playoff starts, postseason MLB debuts, and the power of Giancarlo Stanton, then answer listener emails about how 2020’s shortened season will affect future pitcher workloads, what counts as a “crooked number,” how to define a “hard-luck pitcher,” the significance of the Dodgers’ record win total in a simulated season, whether baseball history would be better if it extended even further into the past, how quickly preferred mechanics can change among major leaguers, and how teams could incorporate a pitcher like Trevor Bauer who wants to work on three days’ rest.

Audio intro: Van Halen, "Hear About it Later"
Audio outro: Animal Collective, "On Delay"

Link to thread about Utz
Link to B-Ref’s simulated season results
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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With the wild card round wrapped up, Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley react to the end of the Marlins-Cubs and Padres-Cardinals series and reflect on the wild card round as a whole. Then they critique a few aspects of the postseason’s national baseball broadcasts (including Alex Rodriguez’s small-ball boosterism, the scourge of live, in-game player interviews, and the portrayal of Trevor Bauer) before previewing the division series and paying tribute to the late, great Bob Gibson.

Audio intro: Dawes, "Somewhere Along the Way"
Audio outro: The Strokes, "Vision of Division"

Link to Katie Baker on A-Rod
Link to Ben on in-game interviews
Link to Meg on baseball grumps
Link to Bryan Curtis on Joe Buck
Link to Ben on foreign substances
Link to Rob Arthur on Bauer’s suspicious spin rates
Link to story about Bauer’s tweets
Link to Ben on Tatis and unwritten rules
Link to Bud Light ad
Link to other Bud Light ad
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage
Link to Gibson obit
Link to Angell on Gibson

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During a brief respite between games, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller catch up on a week’s worth of wild card action, discussing the experience of being bombarded by an unprecedented amount of postseason baseball, the playoff run environment, and the state of postseason strategy, along with observations and takeaways from every wild card matchup and musings about almost every one of the 16 playoff teams.

Audio intro: The Jesus and Mary Chain, "I Can’t Find the Time for Times"
Audio outro: The Rolling Stones, "Keep Up Blues"

Link to Ben on Yankees-Cleveland and second-guessing
Link to FanGraphs playoff coverage

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Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller banter about a misconception about FIP and how to weigh FIP and ERA in evaluating pitcher performance after the fact, the Phillies’ failure to make the playoffs and how the outcome of their season affects (and should affect) the future of their front office, Jacob deGrom’s ever-increasing velocity and how his record fastball speed changes his long-term outlook, what the playoff field would have been after a 54-game season instead of a 60-game season, the lack of stakes at the end of the season, and the strike zone in the final regular-season game.

Audio intro: Elvis Costello, "Welcome to the Working Week"
Audio outro: Dear Nora, "Rollercoaster"

Link to Beyond the Scrum episode
Link to Bowden article
Link to blown leads percentage update
Link to deGrom’s Brooks Baseball page
Link to Rob Arthur on deGrom’s velocity
Link to Travis Sawchik on deGrom’s velocity
Link to Ben on 60-game-season randomness
Link to article on unique playoff matchups
Link to FanGraphs playoff previews

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Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about late-season playoff uncertainty, whether they’re happy with how the playoff field has turned out, the Cubs’ strange season, the surprising number of top prospects who’ve made their MLB debuts in 2020, and the percentage of promoted prospects who’ve skipped the upper levels of the minors. Then (20:47) they talk to free agent left-handed pitcher David Speer about spending six seasons in Cleveland’s system, witnessing the team turn into a pitcher development powerhouse, the organization’s individualized plans for pitchers, learning about and being receptive to advanced stats and technology, nature vs. nurture, playing with many members of Cleveland’s current staff, reaching Triple-A, getting released and job-hunting in 2020, the reduction of the draft and contraction of the minors, minor league pay, and preserving player dev advantages.

Audio intro: Jim James, "Out of Time"
Audio interstitial: Yo La Tengo, "Periodically Double or Triple"
Audio outro: The Roches, "Losing Our Job"

Link to Jay Jaffe on the playoff picture
Link to Dan Szymborski on the Cubs’ offense
Link to Ben on 2020 prospect promotions
Link to Lucas Apostoleris on Crochet’s stuff
Link to Travis Sawchik on Cleveland’s homegrown rotation
Link to Zack Meisel on Cleveland’s pitching development
Link to David’s Twitter account
Link to the rebooted FanGraphs Audio

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