Ben and Sam discuss Bartolo Colon’s first career home run, the Cubs’ continued success and willingness to walk Bryce Harper, and The Good Wife’s series finale.
Ben and Sam talk to Dodgers Baseball Operations Coordinator Emilee Fragapane and Senior R&D Analyst Megan Schroeder about their backgrounds and responsibilities and the gender imbalance in baseball operations departments.
Ben and Sam banter about the Marlins’ failed Friday no-hitter attempt, then talk about which offseason transactions teams would already take back if they could.
Ben and Sam talk to Bloomberg’s Kate Smith about how the Braves have talked taxpayers and local councils into funding ballparks at every level of their organization.
Ben and Sam banter about the Braves and Rich Hill, then answer listener emails about fun-fact distortion, Adrian Beltre vs. Chipper Jones, assessing broadcaster quality, and more.
Ben and Sam banter about Matt Albers, Mike Trout, and front-office hiring trends, then discuss whether the Astros have answered the doubts about their rebuild.
Ben and Sam banter about a behind-the-scenes Barry Bonds story, then talk to legal consultant Jason Wojciechowski about why it’s both good and bad that replay review is like the law.
Ben and Sam banter about this spring’s Tommy John toll, tanking, Barry Bonds, closer erosion, and a replay wrinkle, then discuss the dominance of Cubs starter Jake Arrieta.
Ben and Sam banter about Noah Syndergaard, then answer listener emails about 1-2-3 innings, what David Ortiz could do to replicate Kobe, conservative replay reviewing, and more.
Ben and Sam banter about Walt Weiss and Nolan Arenado, then continue their discussion of potential 2016 trends with multiple investigations into pitcher usage.
Ben and Sam banter about Rich Hill, Jon Lester, and the no-longer-winless Braves and Twins, then discuss some possibly premature evidence that the game has changed since last season.
With help from Twins fan Aaron Gleeman and Braves fan Alex Remington, Ben and Sam attempt to determine which of MLB’s two winless teams has had the more demoralizing start to the season.
Ben, Sam, and FanGraphs writer Jeff Sullivan banter about ballplayer humor, then talk about players (including Garrett Richards, Starlin Castro, and Stephen Strasburg) who are doing something notably different so far this season.
Ben and Sam answer listener emails about whether they would want to play in a major league game, un-fun facts, chyron decisions, GM hypotheticals, robot pitchers, and more.
Ben and Sam banter about the most popular picks in BP’s “Beat PECOTA” game, then discuss Rich Hill, the Cubs’ strong start, Ray Searage’s promising pupils, and more.
Ben and Sam talk to MLB’s Official Historian, John Thorn, about a trio of founding documents now up for auction that casts light on the truth behind baseball’s long-disputed origin story.
Ben and Sam banter about Kenta Maeda’s debut, then talk to Sports Illustrated’s Joe Sheehan about how pitcher-centric roster construction is making baseball more boring (and what might make it better).
Ben and Sam banter about Rich Hill, a controversial game-ending call, and bad baseball ads, then answer listener emails about unfun facts, Theo Epstein’s future, and who’s seen the most major league baseball.
Ben and Sam talk to Yahoo! Sports columnist Jeff Passan about his new book, The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports.
Ben and Sam banter about Opening Day games, the Astros’ closer situation, Albert Pujols, and more, then discuss some of the BP staff’s standout preseason predictions.
Ben and Sam preview the Dodgers’ season with Vice Sports editor Eric Nusbaum, and Jeff talks to Los Angeles Times Dodgers beat writer Andy McCullough (at 21:22).
Ben and Sam preview the Cubs’ season with authors Mark Armour and Dan Levitt, and Jeff talks to Mountain Goats frontman/Cubs fan John Darnielle (at 21:40).
Ben and Sam banter about a listener-suggested expression, then answer listener emails about Albert Pujols’ impact on the Cardinals, rooting against incentive clauses, what a lack of analytics looks like, and more.
Ben and Sam preview Boston’s season with Providence Journal Red Sox beat writer Brian MacPherson, and George talks to Brian’s ProJo colleague, Tim Britton (at 28:41).
Ben and Sam banter about a LaRoche-related White Sox conspiracy and update Ryan Webb’s save outlook, then answer emails about Ryan Howard, Trout vs. Goldschmidt, a terrible trivia question, and more.
Ben and Sam preview the Nationals’ season with Washington Post Nationals beat writer Chelsea Janes, and Jeff talks to Chelsea’s Washington Post colleague, James Wagner (at 23:56).
Ben and FiveThirtyEight author Rob Arthur talk to Pittsburgh Pirates multi-position player Cole Figueroa about his use of statistics, why athletes should keep a close eye on what teams are tracking, and how his future depends on a small sample.
Ben and Sam preview the Astros’ season with Houston Chronicle Astros beat writer Evan Drellich, and George talks to Evan’s Houston Chronicle colleague, Jesus Ortiz (at 31:38).
Ben and Sam preview the Blue Jays’ season with Joshua Howsam of Baseball Prospectus Toronto, and George talks to Sportsnet columnist Shi Davidi (at 19:49).
Ben and Sam announce this year’s Effectively Wild fantasy game, “Beat PECOTA,” then answer listener emails about Mike Trout, game theory in the amateur draft, baseball caps, Goose Gossage, and more.
Ben and Sam preview the Yankees’ season with Kenny Ducey of Sports Illustrated and BP Bronx, and George talks to Lohud.com Yankees beat writer Chad Jennings (at 29:32).
Ben and Sam preview the Mariners’ season with BP/Lookout Landing writer Meg Rowley, and George talks to Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto (at 25:23).
Ben and Sam preview the Pirates’ season with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pirates beat writer Travis Sawchik, and Jeff talks to Pat Lackey of Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? (at 23:58).
