Posts Tagged ‘ Tony La Russa ’

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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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 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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All-Star Hits & Misses

July 11, 2012
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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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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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The Carpenter Variable

March 23, 2012
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Chris Carpenter

Initially, it looked as if the St. Louis Cardinals had dodged a bullet when two weeks ago the discomfort in Chris Carpenter’s neck was diagnosed as stemming more from a bulging disk than a nerve issue.  Renewed symptoms earlier this week led to renewed concerns, however, and while the Cardinals remain optimistic, Carpenter’s history of…

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Episode 13: NL West Preview

March 22, 2012
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In Episode 13, Brock and Dan are joined by Los Angeles Dodgers fan and Citizen of the Diaspora Brett Moore to talk NL West.  After hearing about growing up Dodger Blue from Brett, the guys discuss:

- How bleak things got for Dodgers fans at the end of the McCourt era and who fans hope wins the bidding for the franchise

- Reports that Dodger Stadium naming rights might be for sale and how much of a travesty a name change would be for one of baseball’s most historic parks

- The Dodgers’ offseason moves and whether the 2012 version of the team is better than the 2011 entry

- Matt Kemp’s 8-year $160 million extension and whether it is a good deal for the Dodgers

- If the Arizona Diamondbacks can repeat as division champions

- Whether the San Francisco Giants offseason moves improve their offense sufficiently to return them to the playoffs after they failed to defend their World Series title in 2011

- Whether the Colorado Rockies have a coherent plan in place or if Colorado’s questionable offseason acquisitions signal a lack of direction for the club

- San Diego’s rebuild and if the Mat Latos trade, Cameron Maybin signing and the Padres’ strong farm system are evidence that the Padres are moving in the right direction

- How the additional Wild Card will impact the NL West and if the division can expect more than one team in the playoffs this season and beyond

and

- Predictions for who will win the NL West and NL Wild Card(s)

Brett Moore is a host of sports and fantasy sports shows on KCR College Radio in San Diego.   Follow him  on Twitter as @BigLoudMoore.

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Episode 12: NL Central Preview

March 12, 2012
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In Episode 12, Brock and Dan turn their attention to Brock’s favorite division – the NL Central.  Joined by very special guest Marc Towler, Brock’s dad and Citizen of the Diaspora, the guys tackle the St. Louis Cardinals and the rest of the Central.  After Marc recalls what life was like for diaspora fans prior to the internet, satellite and cable, the guys discuss:

- Which of the departures – Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa, Dave Duncan and Jeff Luhnow – will impact the St. Louis Cardinals most going forward

- How the Cardinals offseason moves – adding Carlos Beltran, extending Yadier Molina – will make up for the loss of Pujols

- How Matt Holliday will handle becoming more of a focal point of the offense

- Whether Chris Carpenter’s neck injury is cause for concern

- Dan’s scouting report on the Cardinals, based off his visit to Cardinals Spring Training last week

- How the Cardinals’ primary competition in the division – the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers – stack up against each other and against the Cardinals for 2012

- What the outlook is for the Pittsburgh Pirates and if their young core and prospects will gel to become a factor in the NL Central in the near future

- What Theo Epstein and new ownership means for the Chicago Cubs’ chances to end their century-plus championship drought

- How much the NL Central will miss the Houston Astros after this season and how strange it will be for AL West fans to welcome a new team into the division

- How the addition of a second Wild Card will impact the NL Central and whether more than one team from the division will make the playoffs this year

and

- Predictions for who will win the NL Central and NL Wild Card(s)

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A Familiar Position

October 23, 2011
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I suppose one day when I have years of predictions under my belt I may have built up a tolerance to the intoxicating effects of my own prognostication abilities.  But in year one, I fell hard for my own prescience.  I was on a real roll.  Let’s go to the tape: NLCS Game 3 prediction:…

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