Posts Tagged ‘ Cincinnati Reds ’

Episode 32: T’is the Season for Overreaction!

April 11, 2013
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In Episode 32, with divisional previews complete, Brock & Ben turn their attention to the young 2013 season.  After leading off the podcast with the first ever TBD listener email, the guys recap the weekend’s Cardinals-Giants series in San Francisco. The guys them move on to discuss the Jason Motte, Jered Weaver and Jeff Niemann injuries and their impact, then close by running a number of opening week  storylines through the lens of early season confirmation bias and overreaction.

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Episode 28: NL Central Preview

March 22, 2013
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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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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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Episode 20: The 2012 Playoffs – League Championship Series

October 17, 2012
By
baseballdiaspora

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…

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Clocking the Infield Fly

October 8, 2012
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Infield Fly

Less than 24 hours after the controversial invocation of the Infield Fly Rule in MLB’s first ever Wild Card Game, I went to a book signing in Alameda, CA.  The author (or co-author in this case)?  None other than former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.  As he signed books for me, I asked…

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Episode 19: The 2012 Playoffs – Wacky Wild Cards and the Division Series

October 4, 2012
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In Episode 19, Brock & Dan turn their attention to the 2012 postseason, breaking down each postseason matchup from the Wild Card round and the Division Series, discussing:

- Will the Texas Rangers be able to bounce back for the shock and deflation of being overtaken in the AL West on the final day of the season?

- Does the Baltimore Orioles offense, MIA as of late, show up for Friday’s Wild Card game?

- Whose advantage trumps: the Rangers offense and starter Yu Darvish or Baltimore’s bullpen and Buck Showalter?

- Can the St. Louis Cardinals end the Atlanta Braves record win-streak of 23 in games started by Kris Medlen?

- Can the Cardinals bullpen control the Braves’ lefthanded power bats?

- Which of the two teams (the San Francisco Giants & Cincinnati Reds) who put up gaudy records in weak divisions by way of solid starting pitching, reliable bullpens and offenses able to make up for the loss of marquee names (Melky Cabrera, Joey Votto) will prevail?

- Which Tim Lincecum and which Mat Latos will we see in the playoffs?

- Will the Detroit Tigers’ poor defense catch up with them in this round?

- Which Justin Verlander will we see this October, the Cy Young-caliber pitcher of the 2011 & 2012 regular season, or the more erratic model from the 2011 postseason?

- Will the A’s bullpen be rested and ready to go for Saturday?

- Will Brett Anderson return in time to contribute to a postseason run?

- Will either Wild Card be able to beat the New York Yankees or the Washington Nationals?

The guys conclude by making their playoff predictions for each series, all the way through to a world champion.  Listen and then go place your bets!

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Baseball Time Travel

September 9, 2012
By
Dick Groat and Bob Gibson

As a blogger, when someone else writes a piece – the premise of which you wish you’d come up with yourself – your options are limited.  You can either stew and mutter in incredulity or brazenly appropriate and hope the strength of your perspective and writing will make up for the less-than-original idea underneath.  With…

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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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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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Episode 14: Opening Day Omnibus

April 7, 2012
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In Episode 14, Brock and Dan record in person – a first for The Baseball Diaspora Podcast!  The guys cover baseball’s multiple opening days and discuss insights from the young 2012 season, including:

- Brock and Dan’s attendance at Opening Night at the new Marlins Park in Miami and their impressions of the new stadium

- The Miami Marlins and whether the team’s lack of offense two games in is cause for concern

- The St. Louis Cardinals and if their early success portends good things in 2012

- Yoenis Cespedes, his power and defense, and what he means for baseball in Oakland during the rebuild

- Tim Lincecum’s troubling first start and whether it points to greater concerns for the San Francisco Giants this season

- The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees and how tight the race for the AL East may become this year

- The “year of the pitcher” trope and whether 2012 projects to continue in the tradition of the last two as more pitching-dominated

- The Dodgers sale, the rise of regional TV revenue and what the new baseball economic landscape means for fans

- The Great Dodger Panic of 2012 – how the Joey Votto and Matt Cain extensions impact the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, respectively, and what these contracts mean for baseball generally

 

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