The Ringer MLB Show

We convene to talk about one of the strangest stories in baseball this year—Dave Dombrowski's firing less than a year after leading the Red Sox to a World Series (1:20). Then, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic joins to forecast what’s to come in the near and far future for the Chicago Cubs, including whether Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Joe Maddon will be around much longer (21:56). Finally, Ben Lindbergh joins to discuss the Houston Astros’ historic offense, the best offense compared with the rest of the league since the 1927 Yankees (47:46).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: Sahadev Sharma

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Justin Verlander threw his third career no-hitter this weekend, sparking conversations about whether the Astros' dominant rotation makes them heavy favorites heading into the postseason (1:25). Plus: Jacob Pomrenke of SABR joins to reflect on the 100-year anniversary of the Black Sox Scandal (16:03), and Ben Lindbergh gives the rundown on players to watch out for now that rosters have expanded in September (40:02).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: Jacob Pomrenke

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After shutting down rookie starter Griffin Canning for the season, the Angels have set themselves up for a year in which none of their starters will pitch 100 innings. Is this the future of baseball (1:25)? Plus: Grant Brisbee on the boring nature of Players’ Weekend and MLB jerseys (24:07), and Ben Lindbergh on MLB’s race for the first overall pick (46:28).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: Grant Brisbee

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The hipster baseball event of the year is A’s vs. Rays for the AL wild card—which team has the edge (1:00)? Plus, The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans on Cincinnati breakout rookie Aristides Aquino (23:16) and Ben Lindbergh on a historically good crop of young position players (38:59).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: C. Trent Rosecrans

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Michael Baumann comes on to detail the failures of the 2019 Phillies—both in team building and keeping players healthy (1:00). Then Meg Schuster shares a heavy dose of Minnesota nihilism as she worries about whether 2019 will be lost to Cleveland (27:15).

Host: Bobby Wagner

Guests: Michael Baumann and Meg Schuster

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We discuss how the juiced ball is starting to cloud the importance of baseball record books (1:00). Then, Lindsey Adler joins to talk about a weird Yankees season that has seen unlikely heroes like Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela save the day (24:01), before Ben Lindbergh closes out by talking about how the Twins have lost their grip on the AL Central (40:50).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: Lindsey Adler

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The new trade deadline has produced a waiver market similar to the NBA's—what does this mean for teams trying to build around the edges (0:55)? Plus, the Mets have been the hottest team in baseball since the All-Star break (21:41), and the Astros continue to win lopsided trades with noncontenders (43:50).

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

Guest: Jarrett Seidler

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Claire McNear joins the show to detail the emotional journey of Giants fans in 2019, as they watched their star players get dangled in trades but then ultimately stay in black and orange (1:00). Then, Sean Yoo wonders why the Yankees haven’t been able to fix their starting rotation at consecutive deadlines, while fellow contenders like the Astros have added Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke (14:18).

Host: Bobby Wagner

Guests: Claire McNear and Sean Yoo

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We break down the 2019 MLB trade deadline, which began with fringe moves involving relievers like Mark Melancon, but ended with Zack Greinke moving to the Astros and making them the World Series favorite. Plus, we recap the Trevor Bauer–for–Yasiel Puig trade, which broke the day before the deadline.

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zack Kram

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We break down which teams should have their chips in the center of the table (1:00), which teams should be trying to maximize the value of their stars (30:34), and which teams maybe shouldn’t do either.

Hosts: Michael Baumann, Ben Lindbergh, Zach Kram

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