Posts Tagged ‘ Washington Nationals ’

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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Episode 30: NL East Preview

March 27, 2013
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In Episode 30, Brock & Ben take a look at the Vegas odds for teams winning the pennant and the World Series and discuss what it means for the 2013 season.  The guys then turn their attention to the National League East, breaking down the division and predicting its playoff chances.

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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
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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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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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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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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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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 11: NL East Preview

March 7, 2012
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In Episode 11, Brock & Dan are joined by Mets fan and Citizen of the Diaspora Mike Connors, who helps the guys break down the NL East.  After Mike regales the guys with stories of his epic baseball road trips, the three discuss:

- The financial woes of New York Mets ownership and whether fans can hope for a resolution soon

- The Mets offseason and whether the team will be better than last season

- David Wright and whether he will still be a Met by season’s end

- Johan Santana’s recovery and what to expect from him this season

- R.A. Dickey and Mets fans appreciation for him

- The Mets abandoning black in their uniforms and returning to the classic blue and orange only

- The Philadelphia Phillies and if age, injuries and bad contracts will keep them out of the playoffs this season

- The Atlanta Braves and whether injuries will continue to hold them back or if their young talent will rise to the top

- The Miami Marlins and how their big offseason positions them in the division

- First impressions of the new Marlins Ballpark based on Dan’s visit there for Tuesday night’s exhibition between a Marlins’ split squad and the University of Miami baseball team

- The Washington Nationals and if they are ready to take the  next step and become a contender in a tough division

- Whether the Marlins or the Nationals are more likely to make the playoffs in 2012

- How the additional Wild Card impacts the NL East and whether we can expect to see 3 NL East teams in the 2012 postseason

and

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

 

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