Posts Tagged ‘ Albert Pujols ’

Episode 37: Baseball in Darkness and in Light

June 6, 2013
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In Episode 37, Brock & Ben begin by discussing the news of the day, starting with the latest developments in the Biogenesis scandal.  Turning their attention to happier topics, they discuss the rise of Domonic Brown and the 2013 Rule 4 Draft.  In the episode’s educational segment, the guys turn their attention to batted ball statistics – ground ball, fly ball and line drive rates (GB%, FB% & LD%).  Episode 37′s discussion segment spotlights the major movers and shakers of the 2012-13 offseason and how the signings and trades have worked out so far for the offseason’s more active clubs.

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Episode 36: Happy Michael Wacha Day!

May 31, 2013
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In Episode 36, Brock & Ben celebrate America’s new favorite holiday, Michael Wacha Day!  The guys kick off the podcast with a look around the league, discussing Michael Wacha’s debut for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Oakland A’s defense of the Oakland Coliseum against the villain Jon Heyman and George Brett taking over as the Kansas City Royals hitting coach.  The guys also share TBD superfan Bob in Taiwan’s update on Manny Ramirez and the CPBL.

In the episode’s educational segment, Brock & Ben check in on building block offensive state the triple slash (Batting Average/On Base Percentage/Slugging Average), then turn their attention to the upcoming Rule 4 Draft.  The guys discuss the changes to the draft implemented by the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement and their potential impact on competitive balance and baseball getting the best domestic athletes.  The conversation then turns to a potential international draft, how it might impact baseball’s international development and what factors MLB should consider in structuring it if they do decide on a more formal approach to international talent acquisition.

Here’s the link for Manny Does Taiwan.  Enjoy!

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Episode 33: L.A. Story

April 18, 2013
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In Episode 33, Brock & Ben are joined by Jeff James to discuss the early season storylines for both L.A. teams.  Jeff provides some SoCal perspective on the Carlos Quentin-Zack Greinke brawl, the impact of the Greinke injury on the NL West race and the Dodger offense’s early season woes.  The guys then turn their focus south, discussing another slow start for the Los Angeles Angels.  The episode concludes with Brock & Jeff sharing their impressions of the new film 42 and the guys discussing Jackie Robinson’s career and legacy.

NOTE: The article Brock references in the discussion of 42 can be found here.

 

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Episode 26: AL West Preview

March 11, 2013
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In a very special episode, Dan returns to The Baseball Diaspora Podcast to break down the American League West with Brock & Ben.  The guys discuss the latest developments from the World Baseball Classic, including Team USA’s outlook, the Canada-Mexico brawl and Samurai Japan’s offensive awakening.  The discussion then turns to the AL West, where the guys ask & answer:

- Will the Oakland A’s build upon their 2012 success & return to the playoffs?

- How does Bob Melvin find handle the positional surplus the A’s project at catcher, in the outfield and at 2B, 3B & SS?

- Will the Houston Astros be an historically bad team in 2013?

- Is the Astros’ complete rebuilding a positive or negative for the young players on the team?

- How do the Texas Rangers replace the production they lose with the departure of Josh Hamilton?

- Where does Jurickson Profar fit on the Rangers this year and how will they get him into the lineup?

- Have the Seattle Mariners’ modest upgrades moved them into contention in the AL West?

- Did the Mariners make the right decision in extending Felix Hernandez with a record-setting contract?

- Have the Los Angeles Angels misstepped in handling Mike Trout’s salary and position this offseason?

- How will Josh Hamilton fit with the Angels and will he prove the missing piece that gets the Angels to the playoffs after falling short last season?

- Is it possible that 3 AL West teams make the playoffs this year?

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Episode 22: The Baseball Diaspora 2.0

February 13, 2013
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In Episode 22, Brock bids a heartfelt farewell to Dan’s regular involvement with the podcast and welcomes new co-host Ben Stein.  After establishing Ben’s diaspora credentials, the guys turn their attention to the concluding offseason, focusing specifically on issues of baseball economics, injuries and medical advances and the impending World Baseball Classic.  Topics include:

- How the big pitching deals of the offseason stack up both against past long-term, high-dollar pitching contracts and the mega-contracts given to hitters in recent years in terms of advisability and value

- Whether the rising cost of quality pitching will result in teams locking up their young aces (or potential aces) long-term early in their careers (a la Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki and a slew of other young position players)

- If the rising cost of pitching is responsible for a recent willingness to deal top prospects (Wil Myers, Travis D’Arnaud) to net quality starters on team-friendly contracts (James Shields, R.A. Dickey)

- What the Myers, D’Arnaud and Trevor Bauer trades mean for the recent standard practice of holding onto top prospects and whether we will see more major league-ready prospects traded in the near future

- What role personality plays in organizational thinking with respect to its players and prospects and whether Arizona mishandled its unloading of Bauer, Justin Upton and Chris Young

- The advance of medical technology and how it is impacting baseball contracts, making the “pending physical” much more than a mere formality

- Whether the use of enhanced medical capabilities to not only spot current injuries but to project future risk may present a future labor problem as more players have the experience shared by Mike Napoli and Francisco Liriano and lose guaranteed money and guaranteed years as a result of more heightened medical scrutiny

- Injuries and the World Baseball Classic and whether it’s time for MLB to step in to remove some of the barriers to the participation of some of the game’s top talents

- What it will take for the WBC to rise to the level of prestige and participation of the World Cup

and

- Who is missing from Team USA that would most enhance the team in terms of both quality on the field and star quality?

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Episode 21: The Baseball Diaspora Eats Crow with the Best of ‘Em

November 1, 2012
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In Episode 21, things are curious and unnatural on The Baseball Diaspora.  Due to the lingering effects of the sinister confluence of Halloween and a San Francisco Giants World Series Parade, Brock is joined not by Dan, the ardent anti-Giant, but bizarro Dan – Dan Lerner – a lifelong diaspora Giants fan.  San Fran Dan takes Brock through the 2012 Postseason experience before the two look ahead to the Giants’ offseason and the NL MVP race.  Topics include:

- Which component of the Giants’ winning formula was most indispensable to the team’s success in the postseason.

- The Giants player most deserving of the MVP award for the entire postseason.

- What play or moment stood out as the most memorable for Giants fans from an October full of remarkable games?

- Dan’s road warrior experience in the 2010 and 2012 playoffs, following the Giants to Atlanta, Texas and St. Louis, and favorite memories from those trips.

- How the 2012 World Series compared to 2010 for Giants fans and, from a more general perspective, can you ever top the first World Series your team wins in your lifetime?

- The 2012 Giants team compared to the 2010 team and which will be remembered more fondly.

- What the future holds for the Giants: continued playoff success or a drop-off due to stiffer competition within the division?

- The Giants’ fan’s wishlist for the offseason: does the team build upon its success by keeping the team largely intact?  Add outside talent through free agency or trade?  Both?  Neither?

The guys close out the podcast by discussing the NL MVP race between Buster Posey and Yadier Molina, whether the race is closer than most people think and how to adequately factor defense and base running into the MVP calculus.

While the focus is on the 2012 World Champs, Brock is able to work the St. Louis Cardinals into the conversation at regular intervals.

This episode goes out to Dan (the original), his wife Rachel and the certain A’s fan daughter who they should be welcoming very soon!

NOTES:

The Bill James book Brock completely blanked on the name of is The Politics of Glory: How Baseball’s Hall of Fame Really Works

The ESPN article Brock & Dan discuss during the brief discussion of the AL MVP race is this one by Peter Keating (sorry, it’s an Insider piece)…

…and here is an evisceration of Keating’s argument that I found when searching for the original article

 

 

 

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One Last Strike

October 13, 2012
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AP Photo/Nick Wass

One last strike.  That’s the refrain that kept running through my head last night as the St. Louis Cardinals stepped to the brink of elimination.  Twice.  Again.  I may even have spoken the words out loud once or twice, an idle prayer for reprise to fill the tense seconds. “And a foul ball out of…

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Episode 17: Baseball in Vegas & the Trade Deadline

July 28, 2012
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In Episode 17, Brock & Dan discuss Dan throwing out the first pitch before a Triple A Las Vegas 51′s game, then turn their attention to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, specifically:

- The Miami Marlins’ mini-fire sale and whether the new era of baseball in South Florida is already over

- The Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez/Omar Infante trades and how they grade out for the teams involved

- The Cole Hamels contract, what it means for the Philadelphia Phillies and whether the aging Phillies have one more run in them

- The Zack Greinke trade and how it impacts the tight race in the AL West

- What moves the Texas Rangers and Oakland A’s might make before the deadline to counter the Angels’ acquisition of Greinke

- Whether the St. Louis Cardinals will make a move before Tuesday and if so, for what

and

- If and where the remaining names on the trade block – Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Josh Johnson, James Shields, Cliff Lee, Francisco Liriano, Chase Headly, Hunter Pence – will move

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WBC at AT&T!

July 25, 2012
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World Baseball Classic

I just read the news, so I haven’t had time to process just how excited I am about the 2013 World Baseball Classic semifinals and final coming to San Francisco’s AT&T Park next March.  I’m pretty confident, however, that my anticipation level falls somewhere within the “a lot” to “a whole lot” range. I was…

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Episode 16: Looking Forward, Looking Back

July 14, 2012
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In Episode 16, baseball is back and so is The Baseball Diaspora!  Brock & Dan look back at the first half of the 2012 season and look forward to the July 31st trade deadline, focusing specifically on the A’s and the Cardinals.  Topics of discussion include:

- How the A’s have defied predictions to finish above .500 in the first half and just 1.5 games out of the AL Wild Cards

- Revisiting the A’s offseason in light of the production the team has received from Josh Reddick, Jarrod Parker, Tom Milone, Ryan Cook and Derek Norris

- The manner in which the Cardinals have overcome the losses of Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa, Dave Duncan and Chris Carpenter to contend in 2012

- How injuries have impacted the Cardinals, but not in the ways everyone expected

- Assigning 1st half MVP, Cy Young, Rookie and “Thanks for Nothing” honors for both the A’s and the Cardinals

- What direction each of the two teams will go at the trade deadline, buyer or seller

- Whether the playoffs are in reach for either the A’s or the Cards and where each team figures to end up at season’s end

- Which of baseball’s major potential trade pieces – Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton – will move before the deadline and where

 

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