In Episode 34, Brock & Ben discuss the surprising starts – both good and bad – of the teams in the American League East, assessing the sustainability of strong Aprils for the Red Sox and Yankees and whether the struggling Rays and Blue Jays can turn it around. The guys then turn their attention to quick-starters Colorado, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, wondering if any of them can exceed expectations of general mediocrity this season.
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In Episode 31, Yankees fan Digger Lauter returns to the podcast to help Brock & Ben preview the American League East. The guys kick off the show by discussing the rash of recent big dollar extensions before closing out divisional previews with a belated look at the AL East.
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In Episode 29, Brock & Ben discuss the Brewers signing Kyle Lohse, the Yankees trading for Vernon Wells and preview the American League Central.
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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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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…
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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