Steve is joined by Astros Special Assistant Kevin Goldstein to review the championship season and delve into the psychology of a title defense. Plus: Things fall from the sky on shortstops and the Red Sox shoot themselves in the foot.

WARNING: There is one slight profanity in this episode. It quotes the President of the United States and is now in common usage in even the better publications.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Smiting Woody Woodward* Deposing Dom DiMaggio*Kevin Goldstein: The winning moment*Mistakes were made*The Derek Jeter example*Taking credit and blame*What does a special assistant to the general manager do?*The Gerrit Cole trade*Thinking prophylactically*Veterans vs. youth (“I can’t afford to learn about this one just now.”)*Scouting and Chill*Would you sign a player who has sex with goats?*Keeping Carlos Beltran and other positive influences*The Most Important Question About Dallas Keuchel*Losing the prospect focus*Trading your friends*Roster cut-down day*Is the Dominican Republic a “shithole” too?*Ambition achieved?*

The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?