Posts Tagged ‘ Matt Cain ’

Episode 35: Getting the Calls Right

May 16, 2013
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In Episode 35, Brock & Ben debut the new, more sectionalized format of the podcast, beginning with observations on Brandon Belt’s improvement and the impressive pitching performances of the last week.  The guys then debut a new recurring segment designed to unpack and discuss the myriad advanced statistics that inform modern baseball.  This week’s focus is on pitcher strikeouts, specifically the evolution from strikeout rate (K/9) to strikeout percentage (K/PA).  While discussing strikeouts, Brock & Ben explore the recent league-wide spike in strikeouts and strikeout % and what factors might be contributing to this trend.  The guys round out the podcast with a discussion of umpire accountability and expanded replay and how MLB moves closer to what everyone wants: getting the calls right.

For further reading, here are the New York Times and Fangraphs articles referenced during the discussion on the recent rise in strikeouts/K %.

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Front Row for Futility: Series Introduction

April 15, 2013
By
Pat Sullivan/AP

As a general rule, I tend to avoid watching bad teams (that aren’t my teams) play.  When watching on TV it’s a good rule, but when attending a game in person it’s close to black letter…or so I formerly believed.  The case against watching bad teams is a sensible one, one that essentially comes down…

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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 25: NL West Preview

March 8, 2013
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In Episode 25, Brock & Ben are joined by Dodgers fan Jeff James to kick off The Baseball Diaspora Podcast’s 2013 divisional previews.  After the guys discuss the first week of the World Baseball Classic and the Mark Texeira injury, they turn their focus to the National League West, discussing each team’s offseason and outlook for the upcoming season.  The show culminates with the three picking the NL West champion and any potential Wild Card winners from the division.

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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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In Search of Deja Vu

October 22, 2012
By
Peter G. Aiken/USA Today Sports

The last two games of the 2012 NLCS have had the trappings of deja vu.  In Game 5, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn hit an invisible wall in the 4th inning and – as in Game 1 of the series – had to be relieved before recording 12 outs.  In Game 6, the St. Louis defense…

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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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All-Star Hits & Misses

July 11, 2012
By
AP Photo/Chris Lee, Post-Dispatch

  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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The Perfect Time to Go Home

June 14, 2012
By
Mick Lauter

I love no-hitters. That’s not the most controversial position one could take, although I am sure there are those who don’t share my enthusiasm for hitless baseball.  A lot of fans – perhaps the majority – go to the ballpark for offense.  Hits, walks, stolen bases, home runs, those are the things that get the…

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