Best Podcast in Baseball

Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, joins the Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss the top three storylines of the first week of games and the impressions some players have made -- and others have not. Pitching drives most of the discussion, as Hummel and BPIB host Derrick Goold discuss the first turn through the rotation, the importance of Miles Mikolas' second start, and what to make of the ninth inning. Always Be Closing might be the motto of the realty office, where the podcast was record, complete with ambient leaf-blower noise, but what's the goal for the Cardinals and their bullpen. Anyone Be Closing?

As the first games of spring arrives, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold welcomes KMOX's sports host Chris Hrabe to the BPIB, borrows his recording equipment and Fishbowl Studios, and launches into a preview of the Cardinals' early squeeze of the Grapefruit League. Into their third week at Jupiter, Fla., Hrabe and Goold discuss changes they've seen in spring workouts -- and what to watch for in the early games of the exhibition schedule. And who not to watch for because of the condensed schedule. Closing is considered. But no closer is named. The meaning and pronunciation of the word D-O-U-G-H-B-O-Y is discussed, and after lots of practice Goold is able to say Hrabe without Hrdifficulty.

The sixth season of the Best Podcast in Baseball opens in Jupiter, Fla., as host Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer, and colleagues Rick Hummel and Benjamin Hochman discuss the 10 most-pressing issues facing the Cardinals at the start of spring training. Recorded in a conference room at a nearby real estate agency, the trio of Post-Dispatch writers explore how the Cubs adding Yu Darvish has rewritten the division race, and whether the Cardinals have the rotation, the roster, or the bullpen to give chase. Are they closer to the Cincinnati Reds than they are the Cubs? How do they close that gap? In its sixth season at StlToday.com, BPIB will continue with reports from spring training and throughout the baseball season, featuring longform discussions like this one as well as interviews and crossover episodes with media from other cities.

From the Post-Dispatch Podcast Studios in downtown St. Louis, host Derrick Goold and columnist Ben Frederickson discuss on the Cardinals and other Major League Baseball clubs are trying to scurryfunge their rosters before spring. That is, they're hastily cleaning them up before company arrives. Within this podcast, the Cardinals outfield is compared to the Brewers' new-look outfield, STEAMER projections are discussed, and an epiphany is had about the Cardinals curious crop rotation of prospects. Frederickson also gives a strong advocacy for Lance Lynn being an addition that could alter the division race -- for one team. This is the last full-length BPIB before the Post-Dispatch squad heads south to flood the zone with coverage of Cardinals spring training, starting on Feb. 7 at StlToday.com.

A special BPIB reunites the four members of the radio show that aspired to the be the longest-running show in St. Louis radio history -- but only lasted 13 months. The Writers' Block featured BPIB host Derrick Goold, baseball writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and was hosted by PD columnists Ben Frederickson and Benjamin Hochman and produced by Chris Gardner. All four gather in the Treehouse Studios to talk about the Winter Warm-up, the bullpen, the impressions so far of the 2018 Cardinals and just what went wrong with the Block. Recorded a few hours before the Cardinals traded outfielder Randal Grichuk to Toronto for two pitchers, the Best Podcast in Baseball expressed skepticism for the team's "stand pat" bullpen approach and said it was a surprise they had not been able to flip one of their extra outfielders into the reliever they coveted. Then it happened. The episode also includes the return of the BPIB's executive movie correspondent and his review of "The Post." Oh, the longest word in the English language is learned -- and held accountable.

Long before the temperatures dropped, baseball's hot stove season went cold. What gives? St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold and StlToday.com columnist Ben Frederickson plunge into the stagnant market and discuss what the Cardinals can -- and should -- do about the ninth inning and their search for a closer. In-house candidates are discussed. Market factors are explored. And a question is presented: Why is a team with more resources than any other positioned now to start spring training without the certainty that it can afford and this market still offers? Welcome to 2018.

As the most active team at this year's winter meetings, the Cardinals didn't land the hitter they reached for, but did hook a big fish before leaving the marshland of Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Marcell Ozuna is coming to town, complete with his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. After covering his first winter meetings, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist and StlToday.com man of many hats Ben Frederickson pulls up a chair in the Treehouse Studios for a holiday edition of the Best Podcast in Baseball. Frederickson and St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold discuss what's next for the Cardinals, what needs to be next for the Cardinals, and what realistically can be next for the Cardinals. Giancarlo Stanton, whose comments open this edition, gave a blunt assessment of their future. The Cardinals' next move revealed how urgent they are to win in the present. Happy holidays to all the BPIB listeners who have given their time and their feedback in the five years of the show. Looking forward to putting those comments to work to make it better in 2018.

In order to unpack all that happened at the winter meetings -- and all that could yet happen as the holidays near -- InsideSTL.com chief and podcaster deluxe Tim McKernan invites St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold into the studio to talk Giancarlo Stanton, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Evan Longoria, how to sell St. Louis to a free agent and much, much more. The interview, done originally for The Tim McKernan Show, is repackaged here for Best Podcast in Baseball listeners as a part of the crossover series. Both shows can be found on iTunes.

Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, fresh off a conference call with National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold for this brand new episode of the Best Podcast in Baseball. The two StlToday.com baseball writers discuss their excellent adventure at the annual GM Meetings, the Cardinals pursuit of the 59-homer slugger, the need for a reliever (or two) at the back end of the bullpen, and whether it's time for the BPIB to start tanking so that it can get better hosts. Leicester City is also name-checked. Enjoy.

From the GM Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold finds a spot in the hotel lobby, amidst a swirl of general managers and baseball execs, to talk with Sporting News baseball writer Ryan Fagan about ... well, what else? Giancarlo Stanton. The biggest bat in the game is also the biggest name on the market as the Marlins and at least six teams, including the Cardinals, talk about a trade that could reshape any lineup. The conversation starts however with St. Louis. Fagan, a native of the area, has history at his back as the baseball writer for the longtime Bible of Baseball, which like him used to call St. Louis home. He's got a feel for the fan base and a feel for the industry, and how those team things intersect this winter, a pivotal one for the Cardinals.