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Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about their enthusiasm for next month’s probable playoff matchups (01:00), examine the significance (if any) of the Dodgers’ slump and the Indians’ and Diamondbacks’ hot streaks (03:30), and discuss the Red Sox–Yankees sign-stealing scandal (18:30). Then they bring on longtime baseball scout and executive Tony Blengino for an insider’s perspective on sign-stealing (26:00), whether baseball’s prohibition on internet-connected devices in the dugout makes sense in an information-rich era (31:00), how the game might change if that ban is lifted (36:45), the state of grudges and gamesmanship between teams (46:00), and the future of scouting in the age of motion-tracking technology (48:45).
Ben is a writer, podcaster, and editor who covers culture and sports. He hosts ‘Effectively Wild’ at FanGraphs and previously wrote for FiveThirtyEight and Grantland, served as editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, and authored ‘The MVP Machine’ and ‘The Only Rule Is It Has to Work.’
