Best Podcast in Baseball

Kolten "Gold Glove" Wong is a free agent. Tony "Men not Machines" La Russa is the manager of the White Sox. The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions. Randy Arozarena is an October star. And Justin Turner doesn't think the pandemic rules apply to him. A lot has happened in the past week, and so the Best Podcast in Baseball turns to someone who talks a lot -- about baseball. Kevin Wheeler, back with KMOX/1120 AM, visits again with BPIB host Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer, about everything from the new hole in the Cardinals' lineup and defense to the whether the Rays, with Arozarena in the outfield, are an example of what the Cardinals could have been ... should have been ... would have been? There is a debate about the true value of an elite fielder in the age of shifts, some thoughts on TLR's grand return to the South Side and whether it will be storybook finish for the Hall of Fame manager or a cautionary tale. That's how BPIB enters its (mostly) weekly reports from what could be a frigid offseason in baseball. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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Tampa Bay Times beat writer Marc Topkin, the busiest man in baseball joins the Best Podcast in Baseball, live from the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field, it only sounds like we're shouting at you from Texas. Fair warning: Due to technical difficulties during the recording of this episode of the BPIB, the audio files were lost and the backups garbled or corrupted, so what follows is the salvaged audio pieced back together. As a result, the interview is edited for clarity, and the spots where the audio quality varies have been minimized, but not all of them completely erased because of the quality of Topkin's answers. My apologies for the trouble, but his thoughts and explanations were good enough to try and bring you as much of the recording as possible, even if it sounds like we used two tin cans and a shoestring. Topkin joins Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the Randy Arozarena Experience, whether that trade will pinch the Rays at some point, and how the Rays have thrived with creative bullpen use and roster creation. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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A handful of Cardinals alumni are rising stars of October -- leading their teams deeper into the playoffs than their former team reached. Randy Arozarena, a former Cardinals outfielder, and the Tampa Bay Rays advance to the American League Championship Series my leaping past St. Louis native and former Cardinals first baseman Luke Voit and the New York Yankees. Meanwhile, the National League, former Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who took a run at the Triple Crown in 2020, and his new team, the Atlanta Braves, are set to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. What gives? St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson and baseball writer Derrick Goold explore why former Cardinals are doing so well and what the Cardinals missed -- or are missing. The two writers are just back from San Diego and the Cardinals' wild-card series loss to the San Diego Padres, so they have power on their mind, and the Cardinals ongoing lack of it during a month where games are decided by it. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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Two St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporters take to the road (well, air, honestly) for the wild-card round of the 2020 postseason, and it's time for Ben Frederickson to confess his not-so-secret fondness for the San Diego Padres and their swagger, their power, their youth, and the buoyancy they've brought to baseball. But wait — doesn't this all seem so familiar? Back in 2005 and 2006, the Cardinals came to San Diego for the first round playoffs, and once year (2005) San Diego's best pitcher didn't throw a pitch in the series, and the next (2006) a limping, meandering, 83-win Cardinals team found its championship stride once it got rest, got healthy, and got a rookie closer in place. Deja vu. The threequel is bringing in all the elements of the previous two installations. Padres are without starters Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger, and the Cardinals, winded but not undeterred by their daunting schedule, sure do seem to like Alex Reyes at closer. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Frederickson joins baseball writer Derrick Goold for a brand new episode of BPIB, recorded at a socially acceptable distance in San Diego. The Best Podcast in Baseball, brought to you by Closets by Design, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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"We're going to play a 60-game season and never be the team we thought we were," says John Mozeliak, Cardinals president of baseball operations. "In fairness, what this team has been through is not normal." That comment Friday before the start of the Cardinals' third doubleheader in five days is the launch point of a brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss how to evaluate the Cardinals season. Is it a dress rehearsal for 2021 if they make the playoffs? Is it a disappointment if they don't make their way into the expanded playoff pool? They settle on one truth: The Cardinals' offense has wasted an exceptional performance by the pitching staff and defense, especially given the COVID-19 outbreak that interrupted the season. Also discussed is the uncertainty of the 2021 minor-league season, and the changes coming to the Cardinals. (Note: This was recorded before the team confirmed some downsizing of staff.) The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.  

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Before they play their first game against Milwaukee, the Cardinals will have finished their season series against the Cubs and Reds, and yet it's the 10 games against the Brew Crew crammed into the final two weeks of the regular season that will decide both team's playoff chances -- and perhaps more. Adam McCalvy, the Brewers beat writer for MLB.com and author of "The Milwaukee Brewers at 50: Celebrating a Half-Century of Brewers Baseball," joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to preview a series more than a month in the making. St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold hosts the weekly podcast, and the two veteran scribes of the NL Central discuss everything from Brewers history to Brewers present, to Craig Counsell's influence and a manager's irritation at a Boston hotel, to the problem with the Manager of the Year awards and what it's like covering a World Series game at Fenway Park amidst the fans in right field. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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Is 2020 the last swing for the core Cubs that brought their faithful the first World Series since 1908, the group of players that was supposed to establish a dynastic reign over the NL Central with broad-shouldered ability and Miracle Mile charisma? These are the questions explored with Patrick Mooney, a senior writer at The Athletic who covers the Cubs and Major League Baseball, in a brand new BPIB with St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold. With five games crammed into four days at Wrigley Field, the Cardinals have their final head-to-head chance of 2020 to chew into the rival Cubs' lead in the division. When last the Cardinals visited the North Side for a pivotal September series, they swept all four games -- for the first time in 98 years. All 10 games between the Cardinals and Cubs will be played at Wrigley, were the Cubs have defied their meager offense to tighten a grip on first place in the division. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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"The Big Fundy," Cardinals infielder Brad Miller says, describing teammate Paul Goldschmidt, who has reached base in 29 of his first 51 plate appearances since the team returned from its outbreak of COVID-19. During a call with teammates as they readied for a daunting schedule of doubleheaders and no off days, Goldschmidt suggested they have fun, "play loose," and as Miller said the "Tim Duncan of baseball" has led by example. The Cardinals have clawed out of quarantine to a 10-8, so what to make of the team, its expectations, and its approach as the Aug. 31 trade deadline nears? St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the tradecraft of the Cardinals -- what they need, what they'll do, and one big question: Given what this team has gone through, is it right to make a trade, or should Cardinals go with the team -- "Big Fundy" and Company -- that got them this far? The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design, is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

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After a week when the podcast could would have been outdated by the time it reached your ears, the Best Podcast in Baseball returns -- out of Milwaukee and into the precarious future for the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis radio staple Kevin Wheeler, a contributor to Siruis/XM and KMOX/1120 AM, joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to talk about the nature of covering the COVID-19 outbreak that engulfed the Cardinals on their road trip and what the team looks like as it tries to return to play. The difference between reporting on rumors and riffing on rumors is only the beginning as Wheeler joins the discussion about Dylan Carlson's promotion, the Cardinals' exhausted pitching depth, protocols at the ballpark, and, of course, the notion of a Zero Defect Ziploc. Is that the only thing that will keep the 2020 season -- for the Cardinals or for baseball -- from coming undone. Consider the Cardinals a cautionary tale. The Best Podcast in Baseball, brought to you weekly by Closets by Design, is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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It's later that usual. The season is shorter than ever. And the postseason, we learned after recording this episode, is going to include more teams. Welcome to Major League Baseball in 2020. St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson joins baseball writer Derrick Goold to preview the St. Louis Cardinals 2020 season, as they open the 60-game sprint against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals have set their roster, and top prospect Dylan Carlson is not on it -- yet. The NL Central could be the tightest division race in the majors. The Cardinals threw a curve ball when they veered from their usual path of least resistance and named Carlos Martinez the fifth starter and careerlong starter Kwang Hyun Kim their closer, a role he's never had in a regular season. And the biggest question facing the Cardinals remains their lineup and where they're going to unearth offense. The clock is ticking on finding that answer -- starting now. The Best Podcast in Baseball is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.