Cliff Corcoran (The Athletic) returns to talk baseball, and then is joined by film critic Scott Tobias (The Next Picture Show podcast) to talk about “Solo,” the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, and the curse of the summer movie season. Prior, Steve has two stories of Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst, plus a protest of sorts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Stan Musial’s kid and mine*Popeye thoughts*Red Shoendienst, Stan Musial, and Trader Frank Lane*Cliff Corcoran: The Montgomery Biscuits cap et al*The integration of the Philadelphia Phillies*Clayton Kershaw in Decline/The Dodgers at .500*The Matt Kemp revival*Scott Tobias: “Solo” and early Star Wars relationships*“Godfather II” references*This is a cynical character?*Disney as franchise-keeper*Anti-auterism*Edgar Wright fantasies*Irrelevant cameo*The “You’ve Got Mail” digression*The hardest time of year for a film critic*Coming attractions*Plugs for “Ricki and the Flash” and the “Mission Impossible” film series*Star Wars vs. Lovecraft*The Cinematography of “Solo”*Will J.J. Abrams undo it all?*Goodbyes.

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?