Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Carter Capps, Noah Syndergaard, and salary distributions, then preview the Angels’ 2017 season with Pedro Moura of The LA Times and the Diamondbacks’ 2017 season with Nick Piecoro of AZCentral Sports . Audio intro : The Super Friendz, " Give the Sign " Audio interstitial : Teenage Fanclub, " It’s a Sign "...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a bad highlight, then preview the Cardinals’ 2017 season with Will Leitch of Sports on Earth and the Royals’ 2017 season with Rany Jazayerli of The Ringer . Audio intro : Genesis, " Get ‘Em Out by Friday " Audio interstitial : The Jackson 5, " Never Can Say Goodbye " Audio interstitial 2 : Great Lake...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about nets, nicknames, and scouting directors’ comments about international prospect Luis Robert, then answer listener emails about robbing from the Cubs, a division composed of only the worst teams, pitch counts and automatic intentional walks, pitchers pitching to pitchers, trying to win in spring training, Mike Trout batting eighth, pants and the str...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan follow up on an Andrew Miller discussion and banter about Cubs backlash, then preview the Giants’ 2017 season with Grant Brisbee of SB Nation and the Braves’ 2017 season with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Audio intro : Richard Thompson, " Backlash Love Affair " Audio interstitial : Banks & Steelz, " Gian...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about an Andrew Miller image and the top-heavy projected standings, then preview the Nationals’ 2017 season with Chelsea Janes of the The Washington Post and the Twins’ 2017 season with Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus . Audio intro : Blondie, " Picture This " Audio interstitial : The Apples in Stereo, " Stephen, Steph...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about a Steven Matz tweet, the Reds and Ryan Raburn, and the automatic intentional walk, then answer listener emails about misleading headshots, pitchers who rely on one pitch, the decline of player nicknames, the Yankees’ refusal to lose, Josh Reddick’s lack of clutchness, making Mike Trout run backward, and more. Audio intro : A Tribe Calle...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Yoan Moncada’s kid and Randy Levine’s comments about Dellin Betances, then preview the Houston Astros’ 2017 season with writer Zachary Levine and the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2017 season with Michael Baumann of The Ringer . Audio intro : Built to Spill, " Randy Described Eternity " Audio interstitial : The White...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Adam Lind, Matt Albers, bunting to beat the shift, Mike Fiers, and Brandon Guyer, then preview the Cleveland Indians’ 2017 season with writer/editor Pete Beatty and the Chicago White Sox’ 2017 season with Cat Garcia of Baseball Prospectus . Audio intro : Lily & Madeleine, " Midwest Kid " Audio interstitial : Destroye...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Carter Capps’s comeback, Brian Flynn’s barn accident, the Reds’ weights and nicknames, and C.J. Wilson’s retirement town, then answer listener emails about preventing Tommy John surgeries, a Randy Johnson alternate history, Statcast in non-MLB ballparks, a baserunner’s secret skill, whether defense slumps, a Kyle Hendricks...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan preview the Red Sox’ 2017 season with Alex Speier of the The Boston Globe and the Reds’ 2017 season with Zach Buchanan of the The Cincinnati Enquirer . Audio intro : The Jayhawks, " Red’s Song " Audio interstitial : Neko Case, " Red Tide " Audio outro : Neil Young, " Red Sun " Link to Alex’s articl...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Matt Wieters and debunk Scott Boras, then preview the Cubs’ 2017 season with Sahadev Sharma of the The Athletic Chicago and the Brewers’ 2017 season with Jack Moore of the The Hardball Times . Audio intro : Courtney Barnett, " Scotty Says " Audio interstitial : Grateful Dead, " Built to Last " Audio interst...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the anticlimactic approach of spring training and answer listener emails about baseball reductionism, investing in Little League, the Cardinals’ effect on the Cubs, transplanting Trout and Kershaw, and wearing out starters, with a statistical detour to talk about history’s most volatile hitters. Audio intro : Thrush Hermit, " We Ar...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan introduce the fifth annual Effectively Wild season-preview series and banter about the short life expectancy of front-office secrets. Then they preview the Dodgers’ 2017 season with Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times , and the Padres’ 2017 season with Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune . Audio intro : Spoon, " Take the Fifth "...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan fixate on their new baseball obsession, NPB shortstop (and offensive outlier) Takuya Nakashima. Then they discuss prospect terminology and the nebulous significance of the “ceiling.” Audio intro : Destroyer, " Strike " Audio outro : Wilco, " Taste the Ceiling " Link to Ben’s Nakashima article  iTunes Feed  (P...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about how and why the Astros and Royals seem to have exchanged strategies and revisit champagne in the clubhouse and trampolines, then answer listener emails about what to hack if you were hacking, Statcast and baserunning, catcher framing, and Mike Trout. Audio intro : Death Cab for Cutie, " Champagne from a Paper Cup " Audio outro : Jaso...

Ben Lindbergh, Jeff Sullivan, and Sports on Earth Senior Writer Will Leitch banter about the accuracy of a Jarrod Dyson declaration and the fairness of the penalty levied against St. Louis in the Cardinals-Astros hacking scandal. Audio intro : White Rabbits, " They Done Wrong / We Done Wrong " Audio outro : The Ramones, " Punishment Fits the Crime "  iTunes Feed...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about baseball’s trampoline problem and the future of Andrelton Simmons, then discuss and critique the crowdsourced organizational rankings produced by FanGraphs readers. Audio intro : Camera Obscura, " I Don’t Do Crowds " Audio outro : Smith Westerns, " Weekend " Link to crowdsourced organizational rankings  iTu...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss their EclipseFest sellout and answer listener emails about Jae-gyun Hwang, Daniel Murphy, and power/contact reinventions; the most informative stats; the best way to split up seasons; drastic defensive changes; career cycles for pitchers; protecting the inside of the plate, and more. Audio intro : The Rolling Stones, " All Sold Out " Audio&nbs...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan discuss the brisk sales of tickets to their August “EclipseFest” outing and the strange saga of former major league reliever Jeff Manship. Then, on a much more somber note, they remember the late Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte and talk to Vice Sports editor-in-chief Jorge Arangure about the dangers many foreign players face when they spend their offseaso...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan begin by bantering about tentative plans for an Effectively Wild event this summer. Then, prompted by Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo signing, they pit the perplexing Orioles against every other organization in a series of head-to-head matchups. Audio intro : The Band, " Volcano " Audio outro : Beck, " Volcano "  iTunes Feed  (P...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan analyze the Hall of Fame voting results and extend their unlikely Lenny Harris discussion streak, then answer listener emails about restructuring the BBWAA ballot, restructuring Mike Trout, unbreakable records, eclipses, parity, and more. Audio intro : The Minus 5, " The Long Hall " Audio outro : Pink Floyd, " Eclipse "  iTunes Fee...

Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Lenny Harris and Jerry Dipoto, then celebrate the end of a long baseball news drought by discussing a few recent and imminent transactions, including the Jose Bautista signing and the Danny Duffy and Wil Myers extensions. Audio intro : Josh Ritter, " Harrisburg " Audio outro : Supergrass, " Lenny "  iTunes Feed  (...

We’d like to welcome Effectively Wild to its new home on FanGraphs! Effectively Wild will continue to be hosted by The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh, who is joined by his new co-host Jeff Sullivan. Fans of our existing podcasts need not worry, as Effectively Wild is an addition to our existing podcast offerings, all of which will continue to be produced. Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan talk a...

Ben talks to former major league pitcher (and newly hired Diamondbacks Pitching Strategist) Dan Haren about his new job, how players handle the media, his struggles and success against Hall of Fame-caliber hitters, his own hitting skills, PEDs, trades and free agency, baseball’s salary structure, and more. var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source

Ben talks to Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli about unsigned free agents, baseball economics, trends to watch in 2017, and the perplexing Royals. var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source