The Infinite Inning

Baseball Prospectus writer Rachael McDaniel joins Steve to talk about surviving the offseason when baseball is your defense against time spent alone with yourself, plus Steve’s encounter with Chuck Knoblauch and twin tales of a great songwriter and a not-so-great pitcher from 1936.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chuck Knoblauch and the Chicken Française theory*Van Lingle Mungo and Larry Hart*Rachael McDaniel: Baseball Prospectus writer at 20*Baseball as a lens on experience and vice-versa*The Box*Finding baseball again after losing touch*The price of being candid* “Time is limited”/”Hurry up, please, it’s time”*The bird’s nest at the University of British Columbia*We can’t all be STEM kids*Knitting away anxiety*Does a poor postseason negate the enjoyment of the regular season?*Coping when your baseball coping device has been taken away*The aging Blue Jays and the departure of Josh Donaldson*Troy Tulowitzki/Don Mattingly*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?

Rob Neyer, the Sage of Portland, joins Steve to preview his new book on the state of baseball, review some classic old ones, and dig into the art of writing for an audience of baseball fans and his controversial stance on the owners versus the players.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

McGraw, Chase, Porter*July 4, 1950 at the Polo Grounds*Rob Neyer: The Father of Us All*Alternative realities: Rob Neyer, pro roofer*The sabermetricians won*Has the low-hanging fruit been picked?*Writing vs. auditioning for a front-office job*Wishing for transparency in prospect reportage*Accountability: Fernando Tatis and Jay Bruce*Previewing Power Ball*Monographs on tuna and shattered authorial dreams*The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers*Infield shifts of the 1950s*The Sabermetricians vs. the Politicians*The Owners vs. the Players*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?

Ben Lindbergh (The Ringer, Effectively Wild podcast) makes an emergency relief appearance when a guest bails, and he and Steve dissect a bleak winter landscape.

WARNING: One cussword early on. We contritely apologize.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Turtle Who Was Hated By God*The Johnny Bassler interruption*Metacom and Wahoo*Ben Lindbergh: A podcast in baseball’s worst winter*What if Mike Trout is a woman?*Why buy tickets for the Reds (or anybody)?*Does Jarrod Dyson prove collusion?*Did Bud Selig break baseball and Homestead Camp II*The Tim Raines non-spring training moment*All your predictions are wrong, or will be*Spring really hangs you up the most (unless all the signings finally happen)*Jack Morris and collusion*The last Marlins fan*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?

Cliff Corcoran returns to discuss the current scene, including Mark Appel’s break from baseball, the state of the Dodgers’ starting rotation, and gives an important pro-tip about how to adjust your microphone pack (not a metaphor).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Farewell to Oscar Gamble*Reggie Jackson, Steve Chilcott, and Casey Stengel*Cliff Corcoran: Behind the scenes at the MLB Network*Surprised by Bill James on set*Insulting Ken Rosenthal over OPS*Mark Appel’s career time-out and TINSTAAPP*Are prospect lists too long?*Bryce Harper: A disappointment?*The prospect aging curve*Shohei Ohtani vs prior Japanese players*Will Yu Darvish return to the Dodgers?*A requiem for Julio Urias*Davey Lopes and the Whimsical World of 1970s Dodgers Defense*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?

Did anyone say stick to sports? Baseball’s slowest offseason collides with the national mood when Deadspin’s David Roth returns to break down a case of universal paralysis and, of course, supply his particular brand of Mets ennui.

WARNING: As is typical of a David Roth episode, there is the occasional profanity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Wayne Garland and Mother-Love*Connie Mack and the Wilpons*David Roth: The thin line between Collusion and Cincinnati, OH*The fantasy of doing more with less*The McCourt Dodgers period as forerunner of the apocalypse*The Astros Way might only work for the Astros (not the Pirates)*Going to the Mets game can be cheaper than going to Shake Shack alone*Doubleheaders and congealed fried chicken*No cheering in the press box (seriously)*The Dead Hand of Adrian Gonzalez*Brandon Nimmo’s true nickname*The Hall of Fame vote (Jim Thome full of love and good will)*Gary Sheffield*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?

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?

ESPN baseball analyst and ZiPS projections proprietor Dan Szymborski joins Steve to talk about the art of player projections, plus integration, an awkward moment at the doctor’s office, and World War II deflects Buddy Lewis from both the Hall of Fame and the game itself.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A question of courage: Jackie Robinson, Vic Power, Elston Howard, Panglossian racism*What Buddy Lewis saw*Dan Szymborski: Projections of spring*“Deadly Accurate”*PECOTA PTSD*Advances in projection systems*Projecting Aaron Judge*The useable universe of ballplayers*The Pacific Coast League in the 1920s*Filling in Ted Williams’ war years using retro-projections*Projecting Rafael Palmeiro in 2018*Projecting older players*The Rule of Backup Catchers*Herm Winningham?*Are projection systems making the draft more rational?*“You can always tell an old usenet person”*Sabermetrics won*WAR*A statistician’s education*Inventing ZiPS*Holding projections accountable (and letting them off the hook)*Ryon Healy’s zero WAR projection*Projecting the 2018 Yankees bullpen*Projecting relievers*Projecting Shohei Otani*ZiPS vs. Law*Goodbyes.

Jesse Spector, recurring cohost/periodic comet, returns to break down the offseason, such as it is, plus we mourn the death of Rob Picciolo, the most impatient player ever, and consider how Red Ruffing’s global war might be like our own.

WARNING: The F-word is deployed right at the outset of the Jesse segment. It’s clean before and after that.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Rob Picciolo’s intentional walk*Red Ruffing’s war*A false start*Dave Winfield dreaming*Two things will happen 11 months from now*“pitchers and catchers”*Jesse’s new podcast, “Locked on Yankees”*Edit your podcasts*The state of AL races, 2018*Free Jose Abreu?*The Cardinals vs. the Cubs*Disputing Marcel Ozuna*How to Respectfully Address Derek Jeter for Hardcore Yankees Fans*A-Rod is a huge dork*Clarifying Ozuna*The Cubs 2018 rotation*Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas*Matt Kemp, defensive liability*Jesse’s Mets/Yankees loyalties*Homerism in all forms*You have to have room to fail in order to grow*Goodbyes.

A rare (somewhat) shorter solo episode for Steve as baseball leaves the 2017 offseason unfinished and hopes the 2018 segment will bring more action. Tales of Joe McCarthy, Hack Wilson, and the decline of the 1980s Baltimore Orioles as a metaphor for our lives.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Joe McCarthy’s one joke (“Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat”—Sammy Davis, Jr.)*Hack Wilson’s worm*Babich!*With apologies to “The Small Assassin”*The New Deal and the 1983 Baltimore Orioles*Fireside Chat” April, 1938*The O’s, Entropy, the Universe, and Everybody Else*The 1988 Orioles 30th Anniversary Tour*The Tippy Martinez Game*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?

Meg Rowley returns to talk about the discontents of the Shohei Ohtani decision and its aftermath, as well as sundry other topics, and somehow it all ends up being related to “Star Wars.” Plus: A ballplayer with more than one family and the last play of Richie Ashburn’s career.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Arthur Irwin, Baseball Bigamist*Feeling like a loser, feeling like a Phillie*Meg Rowley: The Shohei Otani decision*Ed Whitson and Cecilio Guante*The platonic ideal of the Jerry Dipoto Plan*The Dee Gordon trade*Buck Showalter is the Dick Clark of baseball*The Marlins and the Mariners*“We put all this faith in business”*A Charlie Brown Christmas vs. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown*Pre-Christmas Gift Ennui*A Star Wars moment*Otani and Star Wars possessiveness*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?