Passed Ball Show

4-25-2022 Passed Ball Show. John "breaks" the "story" of Ben Simmons' projected return (or debut) for the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022 NBA Finals, but it will be a gametime decision. He then gives some props to the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets for their performances in Game Four (4) of their respective series. John then talks about the under-discussed depth that both teams possess. John then knocks the Brooklyn Nets, claiming they do not have a performance like that in them, before claiming that they will lose Game Four against the Boston Celtics in an unspirited bow. John then speaks a little bit about the USFL and mentions two rule changes that he is interested in seeing how they pan out. He compares it to the rule experiments going on in Major League Baseball before making one final plea to get rid of the ghost runner extra innings rule. He suggests two remedies to extra innings that make more sense. He then spends some time paying his respect to the great Guy LaFleur, whom he calls Gretzky before Gretzky, before explaining why. We also lost former Oakland Raiders Quarterback Daryle Lamonica, who John spends a little bit of time remembering. Finally, John makes a good (well... I guess that is up to you) comparison of Roki Sasaki to Masahiro Tanaka.

4-21-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by congratulating Miguel Cabrera as he is right on the verge of getting his 3000th MLB hit. Cabrera will join the likes of all time greats Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, and Eddie Murray as the only players in history to have both 3000 hits and 500 home runs. John spends the nucleus of this podcast talking about the blame game and why some stars always escape the blame when their teams do not win. John talks about the Brooklyn Nets and asks why Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have not taken enough of the blame for not delivering a Championship to the city of Brooklyn. Is it because both players have won before? John compares this to the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott and wonders aloud why enough blame has been thrown their way. Similar to the Cowboys, the Nets have been through two (2) Head Coaches. When does the blame for the lack of team success move on from the Coach to the star players? When will stars like KD, Kyrie and (to a lesser extent) Dak and Zeke be held accountable for the failures of their teams to deliver a respective Championship? John then spends a little bit of time talking about Gerrit Cole and the Yankees. John questions the Yankees' analytics department and wonders why they cannot spot mechanical issues with Cole during a game. John allows the conversation to grow to bigger things, such as players being athletes and perhaps why they are becoming victims to the information overload. The players are not scientists, not mathematicians, their talents involve simple things like hitting or throwing a baseball. Sure, the information is intended to help them, enhance their performance. But has enough research been done to see how much data and information becomes an overload and players' ability to do their job is compromised?

4-16-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens this program by telling his audience that Wilt Chamberlain died on his 20th birthday (October 12, 1999). He proceeds to talk about the Minnesota Twins decision to retool themselves for the 2022 baseball season after a disappointing 2021. He expresses his anger and frustration for the Cincinnati Reds and their fans after ownership quit on a promising rebuilt team that would have been competitive if the owner actually gave a shit. John talks about some of the things that hurt the Arizona Diamondbacks and why he feels the team will surely be bad in 2022. Finally, John talks a little Ben Simmons and whether he thinks the latter wants to play basketball and a little bit on why he believes the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are not getting the credit they deserve for the season they just had.

4-13-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by talking about the Cherry Blossom Washington Nationals uniform branding that he feels has, to this point, been successful. John's tie shows his favor for the new uniforms. John's prolegomenal point on today's show has to do with the national prominence that exists for very few teams in the world of sports. He uses the Los Angeles Lakers as an example, as he (rhetorically) asks why an NBA team that did not make the playoffs should be such an important sports news story? While the Lakers might take some of the spotlight of some of the solid seasons had by actual playoff teams, John explains the some of the real reasons why teams like the Lakers, New York Yankees, and Dallas Cowboys have the pulse of the public regardless of how good they are at a given time. John takes a couple of minutes to touch on a couple of baseball topics as well, first of all, celebrating the fact that there is even a full baseball season, where it did not seem possible just a month or so ago. John talks about some of the things he likes about the Cleveland Guardians this year, from Steven Kwan to the team's sudden interest in signing core players to longterm extensions. All while continuing to refer to them as the Indians (unintentionally). John explains why there should be a grace period for the transitioning of the name while giving credit for the catchy smooth name change.

4-9-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by expressing his shock over the tragic death of Pittsburgh Steelers and Former Ohio State Quarterback Dwayne Haskins. He then blasts CBS Sports and their fantasy baseball “experts” over his most recent fantasy baseball draft. He wonders how an outfield of Juan Soto, Mike Trout, and Kyle Schwarber ranks 10th out of 10 teams and what particularly is wrong with choices of Jose Abreu (6th round), Javier Baez (9th), Corey Seager (4), Kris Bryant (5), and Joey Votto (8)… all when the team featured keepers Shohei Ohtani (10) and Wander Franco (12). John will take that instead of Guru suggestions of Brandon Belt and Ke’Bryan Hayes. John then spends some time talking about the 1962 National League MVP vote, one that ultimately went to Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills. John talks a little about Wins Above Replacement, something nobody in 1962 knew anything about, and why Willie Mays would have won the award unanimously had the vote been done today. John then makes his case for the late Tommy Davis before explaining why Frank Robinson really should have won the award. John then talks about Burt Shotton’s connection to Branch Rickey and their ties to the St. Louis Cardinals. John then talks about longtime sportswriter Dick Young’s impact on the sports beat and media

4-2-2022 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program by giving his reasoning of why New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom will never be the same again. John cites his consistent velocity and the fact that no other starting pitcher equals his 98-100 miles per hour velocity on just about every pitch. As great as deGrom has been, the days of making 30 starts are long behind him as he will never be able to sustain what it takes to complete a full MLB season. John states that he really hopes he is wrong, but stands by his take. John then spends a couple of minutes talking about the retirement, then unretirement of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Tom Brady, followed by the stepping aside by Bruce Arians as the Head Coach of the same team. John explains why one has nothing to do with the other and the exact reason both happened within the same timeframe.

3-30-2022 Passed Ball Show. John spends the duration of this program (just under 60:00) giving his regular season predictions of the upcoming 2022 MLB baseball season. During his eleventh (11th) annual revealing, John explains why he thinks the Pittsburgh Pirates will be the worst team in baseball and the Milwaukee Brewers will be the best. In doing so, he discusses all thirty (30) MLB teams and ranks them accordingly, based off predicted win loss record. As always, the teams total wins and losses added together will add up to exactly 2430- 2430, with both leagues surprisingly finishing with the same 1215-1215 record.

3-28-2022 Passed Ball Show. John spends the first part of this program talking about how the NCAA's Seeding Committee has failed those who follow the College Basketball Tournament. John cites the fact that there have been seven instances in which a 15th seed (or lower) has won a first round matchup in the past eleven (11) years. (Six 15 seeds and one 16 seed.) John blames the less than stellar emphasis on ranking the teams that receive automatic bids (teams that won their conference tournament, etc.) and questions how their ranking and seeds in the tournament are quantified. John then talks about Baker Mayfield and questions whether he compromised his future by playing hurt last season. John talks about the percentage at which a player plays hurt and compares it to the player(s') replacement at 100%. John is convinced that James Harden at whatever (20%?) percent he played in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals put the team at a disadvantage and had he not played, the Brooklyn Nets would have had a better chance of defeating the Milwaukee Bucks. John feels the same way about Baker and his backup, Case Keenum. After some unexpected Deshaun Watson discussion (and support for the QB and his defense), John questions where Albert Pujols will finish numbers wise when his MLB career comes to an end.

3-21-2022 Passed Ball Show. John spends this program talking about the recent success of the 15 seed beating the number two (2) seed in the NCAA college basketball tournament, mostly recently St. Peters. While moments like St. Peters, Oral Roberts, and Florida Gulf Coast getting to the Sweet 16 are nice, it would become more historic and memorable if a team like that got to the Elite 8 or Final Four, something that has never happened before. John once again questions whether those in charge of seeding for the tournament have enough information to seed the teams correctly. John then questions whether or not there are any MLB free agents left that can make a serious impact before going off on another pro-Barry Bonds rant. Finally, John spends some time talking about rights the fans have after yet another incident involving a fan and a NBA player. John states the obvious in regards that should be off limits for fans but makes a claim that players should be a little less sensitive.

3-19-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by talking about the impact on the rest of the NFL Quarterbacks after the trade of Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. John brings up the possibility that Baker Mayfield could (but very unlikely) stick around as Watson still likely faces a suspension from the NFL. A once potentially slow offseason in regards to QB movement has turned to a tremendous game of musical chairs. John tells of why the Indianapolis Colts are not a good landing spot for Mayfield and which QB would be a better get. He then talks about why the Colts should be cautious when selecting their next QB and, for the future of their franchise, need to get it right. John then pumps up the National League East baseball division and explains why the Braves and even Phillies may be better than the Mets, at this moment. John concludes his show by talking about another division that is underrated and may very well be the best in baseball in the year of 2022.