Effectively Wild: A Fangraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben and Sam discuss the possibility that the Nationals might enter the playoffs without either Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg, then talk about how the White Sox have defied injuries yet again and proved the pre-season predictions wrong.

Ben and Sam discuss how they came to know that Melky Cabrera was about to be suspended for a positive PED test before the news broke, and how they decided what to do about it.

Ben and Sam reach a milestone (the 20-minute mark) as they tackle the topics of clubhouse chemistry and whether there’s more to Jeff Mathis than meets the eye.

Ben and Sam discuss the significance of a potential big-league promotion for Jurickson Profar and investigate the link between Johan Santana’s no-hitter and his subsequent struggles.

Ben and Sam discuss the impact of CC Sabathia’s elbow soreness on the Yankees’ short- and long-term outlooks, and the difference between winning a division and winning a wild card under the new playoff format.

Ben and Sam discuss two players exceeding all expectations in 2012: R.A. Dickey and Eric Chavez.

Ben and Sam discuss Manny Machado’s surprising promotion to the majors and Roy Oswalt’s tumultuous transition to the bullpen.

Ben and Sam discuss the significance of Mike Trout’s 21st birthday and Mets manager Terry Collin’s comments about injured reliever Tim Byrdak’s workload.

Ben and Sam talk about the presents, futures, and contracts of two starters having interesting seasons: Cliff Lee and Ben Sheets.

Ben and Sam discuss the Royals, and then they discuss the Royals some more.

Ben and Sam discuss two outfielders in the news: Yoenis Cespedes and Jayson Werth.

Ben and Sam discuss players who turn down trades to contenders, Yu Darvish, and their standards for playoff starters.

Ben and Sam reevaluate the NL West after the deadline and take stock of this season’s converted starters.

Ben and Sam discuss whether the Orioles should be buyers and what teams mean when they dub a prospect “untouchable.”

After a weekend sweep of the Giants by the Dodgers, Ben and Sam size up the NL West and discuss a hot Matt Moore-on-Mike Trout match-up.

Sam and Ian talk about the major-league debut of the Mets’ Matt Harvey.

Ben and Sam examine how the Nationals have gone about implementing and publicizing Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit and revisit Billy Beane’s trades from last winter in light of Oakland’s success.

Ben and Sam discuss the fallout from the Ryan Dempster debacle and a fascinating factoid about the Phillies’ staff.

Ben and Sam discuss Ichiro’s trade to the Yankees and the Tigers-Marlins swap.

Ben and Sam discuss the disappointing Miami Marlins and resurgent southpaw Francisco Liriano.