Episode 1430: To Win or Not to Win

Summary[]

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Kyle Lewis’s debut, Rich Hill’s brief return, Daniel Palka’s second hit of the season, the Braves and Dallas Keuchel, and the Diamondbacks’ Brewers-style rebuild, then (18:13) talk to Will Leitch about what (if anything) Dave Dombrowski’s firing says about MLB teams’ competitive priorities, how the Cardinals (and Jack Flaherty) became the NL’s most successful second-half squad, and the NL Central and NL wild card races.

Topics[]

Interview with Will Leitch
Firing of Dave Dombroski
Shifting priorities of MLB teams
Differences in GM styles
What happens when planning for the long term goes wrong
Parallels between Walt Jocketty and Dave Dombrowski
St. Louis Cardinals' successful second half
Jack Flaherty
Cardinals final stretch and position for a playoff run

Interstitial[]

Supertramp, "The Meaning"

Banter[]

Meg discusses attending a recent Mariners game and seeing Kyle Lewis' MLB debut.
Rich Hill's short return and MCL injury
Episode 1427 follow-up: Daniel Palka got his second hit (a single) of the season
Dallas Keuchel, the Braves' strong season, and team regrets about not signing Keuchel
Arizona Diamondbacks success in the midst of high roster turnover

Notes[]

Meg jokes that Kyle Lewis' knee appears to be made of "hamburger meat".
Will notes that the huge amount of money coming into MLB teams has significantly reduced the incentive of team owners to win in the short term.
The Cardinals and the Marlins were the only two teams that did not have a player or fan voted All-Star.