Effectively Wild: A FanGraphs Baseball Podcast

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 interstitial 2: Maritime, "Milwaukee" Audio outro: Modern Baseball, "The Weekend" Link to Ken Rosenthal’s article about Matt Wieters and framing  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 Are Being Reduced" Audio outro: Bob Dylan, "Gates of Eden"  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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" Audio interstitial: Tegan and Sara, "The First" Audio interstitial 2: Jedi Mind Tricks, "The Worst" Audio outro: Frank Sinatra, "We’re on Our Way" Link to Ben’s article about team secrets  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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: Jason Isbell, "24 Frames"  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 outro: Bahamas, "Hockey Teeth"  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 offseasons at home. Audio intro: Paul McCartney (with Michael Jackson), "The Man" Audio outro: The Bees, "Skill of the Man" Link to EclipseFest event announcement Link to NC Dinos press release Link to Jorge’s piece for Vice Sports  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

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 (Please rate and review us!)  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Get Our Merch!  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source