Summary[]
Ben and Sam answer listener emails about the consequences of abolishing the trade deadline, baseball’s war on PEDs, time traveling front offices, and more.
Topics[]
- No trade deadline & short-term rentals
- Time traveling front office
- Front offices & press
- Player salaries during suspensions
- MLB willingness to suspend for PEDs
- Nonsensical things that make baseball great
Banter[]
Nelson Cruz came out mid-game and it is expected he will be suspended and not appeal. Later in the episode Sam comments that he came out with a bruised left quad.
Email Questions[]
- Kosmo (Iowa City, IA): "On Tuesday's episode you kicked around the idea of not having a trade deadline at all. Let's say that two teams ended the season tied for the division title. Neither had a good enough record to win the wild card so there will be a win or go home game 163 which is technically a regular season game. Neither team's ace is available to pitch the deciding game, the best they can probably do is start their #3 starter on short rest. Let's say that Felix Hernandez was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season and that the Mariners were not going to make him a qualifying offer for financial reasons, so they would not be getting any draft pick compensation when he left as a free agent. The Mariners season is already complete and due to the whims of the schedule he'd be on normal rest for a game 163. At this point he would have literally no value to the Mariners, he's the ultimate short term rental. How much could the Mariners get by auctioning him off to the highest bidder among the two teams, with a playoff spot hanging in the balance? He wouldn't be eligible for the post season but he might make a huge difference in game 163."
- Doug: "Let's say you drop the 2013 versions of Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and the entire 2013 Cubs' front office in 1908 with everything they have in 2013 and the power to make baseball decisions for the team. How many World Series do you think the Cubs could win going forward? This presumes they have all of their current knowledge about sabermetrics but not who any of the players were. Technology, scouting department, resources, etc. and every other team remains as they are. I realize front office value is drastically affected by pre-free agency so it may make sense to start the discussion at the beginning in the mid 1970s but you gotta figure this knowledge alone would give the Cubbies at least 10-15 titles, no? In other words, what is the value of a replacement front office?"
- Mike: "Do you think a GM would talk to Ken Rosenthal or Jon Heyman to tell them that they would listen on Player X?"
- Eric: "I was just curious what happens with the money owed to a player who is suspended. With A-Rod perhaps looking at losing $30 million I wonder where does the money go? I assume the Yankees don't just get to keep it, right? That could create some ugly situations where teams could be happy when albatrosses get suspended. Does it go towards a charity or a special fund, I apologize for the lack of whimsy in this one."
- Chris: "A couple weeks ago The Economist ran a piece on the game theory behind doping in sports. The conclusion of the article was that athletes cheat because the drug screening processes don't do a good job of catching cheaters. The authors argue that those administering the testing have incentive to skimp on drug tests in order to save face, "the fear of how customers react if more thorough testing did reveal near universal cheating, which anecdotal evidence suggests in some sports it might, better to test sparingly and expose from time to time what is apparently the odd bad apple rather than do the job thoroughly and find the whole barrel is spoiled and your sport has suddenly vanished in a hailstorm of disqualifications." Why do you think Major League Baseball is so much more willing than other sports to eradicate banned substances from the game despite all of the brand tarnishing associated with it?"
- Sadab: "I've only been a baseball fan for about five years (I live in England), so I'm still getting used to who's who and what's what. I am nominally a White Sox fan, although this season I've begun to follow the Orioles and Pirates just because this whole season is already a dead rubber for the White Sox and there's nothing worse than sports without competition, except perhaps infuriating and anachronistic relics. I love Hawk Harrelson. His turns of phrases and obscene partisanship always makes me smile but there is a point where you just have to ignore him. My question is, what other things are there in baseball that are ostensibly and empirically stupid, but that you have to begrudgingly admit the game is still better for having?"
Notes[]
- Kosmo's question is a follow up from the discussion in Episode 254.
- Would there be fan backlash for teams that were involved in a short-term rental/late trade?
- Sam thinks that in 1908 hiring a doctor, utilizing pitchers effectively, and telling hitters to hit home runs would be worth 20 wins per season.
- Sam loves the playoffs but acknowledges it is not the best way to crown a champion. Ben likes umpire/manager arguments.