Passed Ball Show

PASSED BALL SHOW #73 3/28/2013 Part 1 WITH JASON BERGMANN AND JOSE GUZMAN; I start out by recapping my trip to PSL, Fla and the negatives and positives of the New York Mets going into this season. I blast those who only use baseball prospectus for their MLB predictions and have no open mind. I speak with former Nationals RHP Jason Bergmann about his comeback and his offseason workouts as he looks to land a new team. Former Rangers and Cubs RHP Jose Guzman calls in to talk about playing for Bobby Valentine, nearly throwing a no hitter and his foundation

PASSED BALL SHOW #72 3/18/2013 Part 2 WITH ERIC VALENT AND GARRY TEMPLETON II; I touch a little bit on the WBC and injuries in MLB as well as this date in baseball history and the 2013 Dodgers 8 starting pitchers. Former MLB OF Eric Valent calls in to talk about being Rule 5 picked by the Mets, hitting for the Cycle and what he does now as a scout. Garry Templeton II calls in to talk about his father, his own playing career and what he is doing as a manager now. I finish off talking about the 1941 Dodgers, a team that had just about no relation to the Dodgers teams of the later 1940s, 1950s and 1960s

PASSED BALL SHOW #72 3/18/2013 Part 1 WITH SCOTT POSE AND KEVIN BASS; I give the scenario where Brennan Boesch will end up with the Mets by opening day, even after his signing with the Yankees. Former MLB OF Scott Pose calls in to tslk about being the first batter in the history of the Florida Marlins, being in the movie "For the love of the game" and being featured in the book "Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Lived Major League Sports Careers." I then speak with former minor league OF Kevin Bass and ask him how often people confuse him with former MLB OF Kevin Bass. He also gets into his sports equipment business and what he does to produce it. I finish by standing by my predictions of the Seattle Mariners for 2013

PASSED BALL SHOW #40 8/9/2012 Part 2 WITH TANYON STURTZE, ROOSEVELT BROWN AND MANNY MOTA, JR; On part 2 of the PBS, @john_pielli speaks with former Yankees and Devil Rays RHP Tanyon Sturtze, former Cubs OF Roosevelt Brown and former Astros farmhand Manny Mota, Jr. Tanyon talks about the stark differences of pitching for the Yankees and Devil Rays as well as his 6-18 2002 season. Roosevelt talks about having his chance taken away by the Cubs acquiring Moises Alou for a pennant run. Manny talks about his MLB opportunity, being part of the Dodgers clubhouse and the memories of growing up with some of the greats.

PASSED BALL SHOW #40 8/9/2012 Part 1 WITH JAMES FLIPPIN AND ALEXIS PIELLI; Listen back to the first part of @john_pielli's Passed Ball Show where 6 year old Alexis Pielli makes her radio debut. I am then joined by host of MTR radio shows Garden State Radio and Turnpike Throwdown @james_flippin as we hit on a number of topics pertinent to the New York Mets. James talks about his lack in faith in the 2012 team as well as what players are worth keeping around for next season.

PASSED BALL SHOW #33 6/21/2012 Part 2 WITH MARVIN FREEMAN AND BRET BOONE; On part 2 of the program, @john_pielli is joined by former Phillies, Braves and Rockies pitcher Marvin Freeman. Marvin talks about being both a starter and reliever, hitting his only MLB HR in Chicago where he is from and pitching in the postseason for Atlanta in 1992. He also mentions the 1994 strike shortened season, where he finished 4th in the NL Cy Young voting. We discuss pitch counts and innings limits and whether or not we think Stephen Strasburg will pitch this entire season. I akso get into the conflict between managers Joe Maddon and Davey Johnson, remembering Mel Allen and trying to make sense of the fact that somebody actually fired Tony LaRussa. For the last 10 mins or so, I am joined by former AL All Star 2B Bret Boone. He talks about his development into a power hitter and his experiences during the record setting 2001 Seattle Mariners season where they won 116 games

PASSED BALL SHOW #33 6/21/2012 WITH ELI GRBA: On Part1 of the PBS, @john_pielli is joined by former Yankees and Angels pitcher Eli Grba. Eli talks about his experiences on the 1959 and 1960 NY Yankees teams and his feelings about not getting to pitch in the 1960 World Series. He also discusses being taken as the first player in the 1961 expansion draft by the Los Angeles Angels, where he pitched in and won the first game in the history of the franchise. He also describes the clubhouse behavior against the behavior of the players on the road. Also get my take on the importance of the Mets/ Yankees series this weekend, finally seeing the Mets win a game in person and the potential return of Jamie Moyer.

PASSED BALL SHOW #32 6/14/2012 PART TWO; On the second part of the program, I am joined by former Braves and Blue Jays LHP Pedro Borbon. Pedro discusses whether his chances of making the majors were helped or hurt by having a father that played the game. He talks about the impact the MLB player's strike had on him. He also mentions how being a lefty specialist was a win-win situation. We talk about how it felt to be a part of the 1995 Braves World Series Championship and compares his experience then to what it was like when his father won with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976. I start the show by mentioning the Mets AA starting pitching in Binghamton and close by giving an opinion on MLB's looking into David Wright's 1st inning play that may have caused RA Dickey a chance at a no-hitter. Finally, I bring up my suspicion that collusion may have been going on last offseason.

PASSED BALL SHOW #32 6/14/2012 PART ONE WITH BILLY STAPLES; On the first segment of the PBS, @john_pielli talks to baseball writer, author and personality Billy Staples. Bill wrote "Billyball" which was a first person perspective of the entire 2009 season that resulted in the World Series between the Phillies and Yankees. We never got to the book, which we will discuss the next time he comes on, but Billy shared some great stories about speaking with and interviewing Derek Jeter, David Wright, Justin Mourneau among several others. He talks about what got him into interviewing baseball players and he shared some tips about how he has become so successful.

PASSED BALL SHOW #31 6/7/2012 PART TWO WITH RICH COUTINHO AND FORMER METS PITCHER DJ CARRASCO; wishing the best for Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda. SNY.tv and WFAN.com correspondent Rich Coutinho discusses the importance of today's Mets win over the Nationals. Where does the Mets rotation rank among the rest in the NL East? MLB? a case why the Mets bullpen is better than people think. The Mets role players are 1) better than we anticipated, 2) providing the team with depth most didn't think they had and 3) outperforming the Phillies role players. Can the Phillies handle this type of adversity? John is later joined by former New York Mets pitcher DJ Carrasco. They talk about what DJ is up to now that he is not pitching for the Mets anymore as well as whether DJ got a fair chance this year to remain with the Mets. Did DJ enjoy his time in NY? Would he ultimately prefer to be a starting pitcher or a reliever? I close by asking him honestly if he hit Brewers OF Ryan Braun on purpose.