In Episode 28, Brock and Ben say goodbye to the 2013 World Baseball Classic and continue moving eastward with their preview of the National League Central.
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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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In Episode 24, Brock & Ben turn their attention to the upcoming World Baseball Classic. After briefly discussing the Curtis Granderson injury and what it means for the Yankees in 2013 and beyond, it’s 100% WBC! The guys provide a brief primer of the history, rules and format of the tournament, then break down the rosters pool by pool. To wrap up, Brock & Ben put their reputations on the line, predicting the 2013 World Baseball Classic from the First Round to the Championship game.
For more on the World Baseball Classic, check out the WBC’s website.
Special thanks goes to Yahoo! Sports’ Big League Stew. Their team-by-team WBC previews were indispensable in preparing us for this episode.
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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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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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In Episode 20, Brock & Dan look back at the memorable 2012 Division Series, then turn their attention to the League Championship Series currently in progress. In typical TBD fashion, the topics of discussion hew closely to the teams closest to the guys’ hearts. Topics include: - The impressive showing by the Oakland crowd in…
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…
Congratulations to Yadier Molina and David Freese, who reached the 20-HR plateau within 2 innings of each other tonight (Freese with a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 2nd and Yadi a solo number in the bottom of the 4th, both off Astro’s starter Lucas Harrell). This marks the first time in team history…
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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How could I not love the MLB All-Star Game? It is a living, breathing embodiment of the baseball diaspora. More than most anything else MLB does, the All-Star experience is about the fans. Fan voting, fan fest and programming designed to entice every type of fan, from the most casual (Derek Jeter! Celebrities…
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