Effectively Wild Episode 1561: Season Preview Series: Rays and Marlins
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about baseball dreams and a holiday weekend in MLB marred by testing delays, canceled practices, concerned players, and other impediments to a safe and smooth season, then pick up where they left off four months ago in their season preview series by previewing the 2020 Tampa Bay Rays (16:05) with The Athletic’s Josh Tolentino and the 2020 Miami Marlins (57:10) with the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson.
Audio intro: Warren Zevon, "Disorder in the House"
Audio interstitial 1: Superchunk, "Florida’s on Fire"
Audio interstitial 2: Modest Mouse, "Florida"
Audio outro: Mac DeMarco, "Dreams From Yesterday"
Link to Jay Jaffe’s summary of MLB’s testing mess
Link to story on Chaim Bloom’s cardigan
Link to Yandy Díaz workout
Link to story on Jonathan Erlichman
Link to Josh’s Rays return-to-play guide
Link to Josh on the Rays’ farm system
Link to FanGraphs’ Rays prospect rankings
Link to Jordan on the Marlins’ furloughs
Link to Jordan on the Marlins’ COVID-19 concerns
Link to Jordan on Marlins roster decisions
Link to FanGraphs’ Marlins prospect rankings
Link to Roster Resource Team Info Tracker
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After listening to your very patronizing interview of the Marlins beat writer, it is apparent to me that you did not do a lot of research prior to this interview. The Marlins not only have six players in the top 100 prospects, but most of these are major league ready and could have an impact in the 2020 season.
You should have asked about the emergence of impact arms such as Edward Cabrera who together with Sixto Sanchez could very well be in the rotation as early as the latter part of this year. These two together with Alcantara and Smith could make for an imposing rotation is 2020!
You have potentially four prospects knocking on the door in Jazz Chilsom, Monte Harrison, Jesus Sánchez and Lewin Díaz. These are no longer the Marlins of years past that did not have the depth and had to start other team discards or washed up veterans as a result.
Instead you steered the interview towards your preconceived ideas about the team and your bias against South Florida.
Meg asked a question where she cited the impressive number of Marlins prospects in the top 100, called the Marlins’ player pool “really interesting from a prospect perspective,” and inquired about the timelines for the top guys, and Jordan discussed all of the players you mentioned in his response to that question and other questions. So I’m sorry you got the impression that we were patronizing and biased, but I don’t know what we did to give it!
Jordan did mention Sixto, Monte and Lewin in his responses, but there was no reference to Alcantara and Smith or Chilsom since you steered the questions towards other areas such as past veterans Granderson, Walker and Prado.
You could have researched the team better in anticipation of the interview and pointed out these up and coming players and allow Jordan to expand his answers.
Sorry but the Northeast bias towards Florida came across loud and clear
Meg is not from the NE, and this is a 2020 SEASON preview, not a “State of the Organization” series. Also, why are you assuming bias toward a state??? That is an absurd conclusion to come to.
Lighten up, Francis.