Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the nomadic Andy Wilkins , revisit the Mariners-Mets trade and Robinson Cano’ s graceful decline so far, discuss the Mariners-Phillies trade, the career of Jean Segura , the Mariners’ rebuild, Jerry Dipoto ’s flip-flop about tearing down the team, and the status of the investigation into allegations of racism among Mariners brass, and...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a busy week in rumored (and completed) transactions, touching on the Mets-Mariners blockbuster revolving around Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz , the Indians trading Yan Gomes to the Nationals (a rare trade between contenders) and teams opting not to spend, a Craig Kimbrel report, tender/non-tender decisions involving Billy Hamilton , Jonathan Schoop , Mat...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Robinson Cano , Madison Bumgarner , and Paul Goldschmidt trade rumors, what makes for a slow or exciting offseason, and the cooling effect that superteams can have on the hot stove, then (16:14) bring on Superpesis marketing and communications director Jussi Pyysalo to talk about the Finnish national sport of Pesäpallo, or Finnish Baseball, touching on...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Oliver Drake ’s new/old home, the Braves signing Josh Donaldson and Brian McCann and converting Johan Camargo , the Pirates signing Lonnie Chisenhall , and the Twins claiming C.J. Cron , then (11:20) talk to Bill Rowe , official baseball advisor for the film Twilight , about how he helped make the movie’s depiction of vampire baseball look (...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about minor-league pay, the surprising prospect past of Neil Walker , and the impending posting and pitching of NPB star Yusei Kikuchi. Then (13:43) they bring on Cubs Double-A outfielder Connor Myers to discuss his offseason job as a UPS driver, his baseball bonus and salary, making ends meet on a minor-league salary, mental skills, conditions with the Cubs,...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Willians Astudillo strikeout (and Astudillo vs. other, more highly-touted Twins), the team-switching saga of Oliver Drake , and the singular skill of Nathan Eovaldi , then answer listener emails about changing the game to appeal to non-fans, the value of base-stealing, the odds of seeing gear from every team at one game, Allen Cordoba and the aftermat...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Tommy Milone and Willians Astudillo , Bryce Harper ‘s awful fielding in 2018, two more examples of percentages greater than 100, and Adrian Beltre ’s retirement and atypical, incredible career, then (23:34) bring on new FanGraphs managing editor Meg Rowley to talk about both sides of the Yankees-Mariners James Paxton trade, how good Paxton i...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a big day for Willians Astudillo , the still-overlooked greatness of Anthony Rendon , the mystery of Jeff Mathis , John Middleton’s comments about the Phillies’ impending spending spree, and the Orioles hiring the Astros’ Mike Elias as their new GM. Then (26:50) they bring on outgoing FanGraphs managing editor Carson Cistulli to talk a...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ‘s current strikeout-less streak, a few more people who gave much more than 100 percent, and end-of-season-award voting, including Mike Trout ’s showing in the AL MVP race, Jacob deGrom and pitchers as MVPs, and why Jeff voted for Justin Verlander for AL Cy Young over victor Blake Snell . Then (27:50) they talk to FanGraph...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Jose Altuve and other players claiming to give (much) more than 100 percent and Joe Mauer ‘s retirement and Hall of Fame case, then answer listener emails about Shohei Ohtani ’s future role, whether Mike Trout could go contact-for-contact with Willians Astudillo , a baseball romance novel, winning a World Series MVP award without hitting, wh...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Carter Capps -like cricket bowler, another Scott Boras nautical analogy, the latest Mariners-Rays trade (this time involving Mike Zunino , Guillermo Heredia , and Mallex Smith ), how fans felt about the 2018 season, and a Twitter kerfuffle caused by comments made by Bill James, then (31:19) bring on former major leaguer F.P. Santangelo to discuss the...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the possibility of the Mariners selling and what a Jerry Dipoto -led rebuild would look like, the Yankees’ CC Sabathia signing and GM Brian Cashman’s comments about the luxury tax, scenes from the GM meetings, the Giants hiring Farhan Zaidi from the Dodgers, and Lance McCullers presumably pitching hurt and having Tommy John surgery, then con...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo ‘s 2019 Steamer projections and turnover in the Astros front office and field staff, then (13:17) bring on Arnie Pollinger and Robin Perlow, husband and wife administrators of the 40-year-old SOMBILLA Strat-O-Matic league, to talk about the origins of the league, playing Strat on their first date, league rivalries, how they&#821...

Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and ESPN’s Sam Miller recap the results of their 2018 minor league free agent draft and the surprising season of Wade LeBlanc , banter about Willians Astudillo and Delmon Young , discuss the defining memory of the 2018 season (and other seasons), and react to Clayton Kershaw ’s contract extension. Then (28:54) they bring on Rob Neyer , author of the new bo...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Boston’s outfield rotation during the World Series, the significance of declining World Series ratings, the Orioles and the difficulty of classifying “tanking” teams, Manny Machado ’s public persona and whether his reputation will hurt his free-agent appeal, and the Mets’ hiring of agent Brodie Van Wagenen as their new GM....

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan recap the last three games of the World Series, including a wild and interminable Game 3, Game 4’s divisive managerial decisions, Game 5’s matchup of diverging starter narratives, how this World Series and postseason stacked up historically, the futures of the Red Sox and Dodgers, how great the Red Sox were, the weird ways they won, playoff unpredictabil...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about how teams project the outcomes of matchups between batters and pitchers, the perils of second-guessing well-informed managerial decisions, and why teams still make mistakes, then answer listener emails about start-to-start strikeout variance, limiting the number of pitchers used per game, a potential problem with pitcher-catcher headsets, the four Wande...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a home-run robbery by 40-year-old Endy Chavez and some managerial news, then discuss the first two games of the World Series, focusing on the Red Sox strikeout narrative, the disappointment of Clayton Kershaw vs. Chris Sale and Sale’s playoff vulnerability, David Price ‘s second consecutive strong postseason start, a Fenway Park attendance m...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Willians Astudillo , how long it takes to fall asleep, and international signings, then review the end of the NLCS, discuss the worst way to lose, forecast the legacy and future of the Brewers, and preview the Red Sox-Dodgers World Series matchup, including why the series is closer than it looks, the Mookie Betts conundrum, Clayton Kershaw vs. David Pri...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a wild week of playoff baseball, including all the action from Games 3 and 4 of the ALCS and Games 4 and 5 of the NLCS, Joe West’s infamous fan-interference call against the Astros, Andrew Benintendi ‘s game-saving catch, Craig Counsell ‘s Curly Ogden gambit with Wade Miley , Clayton Kershaw ‘s bounceback start, spygate and sign-...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Game 3 of the NLCS, the apparent breakouts of Orlando Arcia and Brock Holt , Josh Hader as Poochie, why Yasmani Grandal and other playoff catchers can’t catch, whether a “cruising” pitcher is actually likely to keep cruising, and the 15th anniversary of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Then (26:12) they bring on former Red Sox senior baseball...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the lack of non-playoff banter and discuss the first two games of each championship series, touching on Clayton Kershaw bias, Matt Barnes curveballs, the finer points of pitcher-batter matchup stats, Josh Hader as a starter vs. as a reliever, the upcoming games, and much more (including a Brandon Woodruff -filled snippet of last week’s Patreon-onl...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the response to their writing about the demise of the starting pitcher, the sources of their unease about baseball’s bullpen takeover, and the difficulty of previewing playoff rounds, then set up and break down the Astros-Red Sox ALCS and the Dodgers-Brewers NLCS and revisit the dullness of the division series round. After the break (37:50), they...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an engaging Game 4 of the ALDS and sum up the Red Sox-Yankees series, the end of Astros-Indians, and the ALDS as a whole. Then they answer listener emails about working the count and avoiding the bullpen, why broadcasts don’t give screen time to streakers, and the best type of playoff rent-a-player, plus a Stat Blast about shifts and line drives....

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Scott Oberg and the difference between good and bad balk calls, the Brewers sweeping the Rockies and the state of playoff bullpenning, the Astros juggernaut, Dodgers vs. Braves, Ronald Acuna ’s grand slam, and the new Clayton Kershaw , the anomalous playoff performances of Kershaw and David Price , the Yankees’ sluggers and the appeal of bal...