Episode 1119: We’re in the Great Game Now

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter one last time about the Glory Hole Recreation Area, as well as fading feelings of fandom, the circumstances that led to Braves GM John Coppolella’s resignation, and poor press-conference questions. Then they discuss their takeaways from the wild-card games and thoughts on the division series matchups before answering playoff-themed listener emails about Zack Granite missing first base, Craig Kimbrel’s exit velocity, team-level performance against particular pitch types, why playoff announcers annoy everyone, the prospect of repetitive pennant winners, short playoff outings by starting pitchers, and more.*

## Topics

* Reviewing the wild-card games
* Poor press conference questions
* Reviewing the division series matchups
* Terry Francona's bullpen management
* Zack Granite missing first base
* Team batting performance against pitch type
* Craig Kimbrel's WHIP and exit velocity
* Fixing issues with playoff broadcasts
* Repetitive World Series matchups
* Playoff wins with short outings by starting pitchers

## Banter

* Episode 1115 follow-up: A listener Brandon lives nearby the Glory Hole recreation area and refers to a gold deposit that was found in the area. He says that there is also a nearby location called Moaning Caverns.
* Ben and Jeff discuss the ways in which their baseball fandom has changed as part of their jobs
* Discussion of details surrounding John Coppolella's resignation
* MLB international signing system and amateur status

## Email Questions

* Steven: (On Zack Granite) "How do you miss the bag? And how is the play scored 3-4? Why is that not a 3-1-4 putout?"
* Forrest: "Has either of you looked at team level pitch values? Right now the Indians have a huge lead in value against sliders. I find the idea that only one team has a positive value against sliders a bit surprising."
* Encore: "Craig Kimbrel has the highest exit velocity on batted balls and the fifth lowest WHIP of all time. Am I right to assume that Kimbrel's great results and analytic value this year are superficial and the granular batted ball data suggests that perhaps there is some luck involved here?"
* Dylan: "I think I have a solution for one of the classic sports broadcaster problems of never criticizing coaches and diluting opinions on what a team is doing wrong. Broadcasting networks should have their own scouting networks so that they aren't getting information directly from the teams."
* Jay: "There's a certain percentage chance that the Yankees and Dodgers now go off onto simultaneous golden ages. Let's say that they meet in the next five World Series and that the playoffs are about as entertaining as they have been in the past several years. Is it more likely to be a good thing or a bad thing for MLB?"

## Stat Segment

* The Yankees win over the Twins was the 6th time in MLB playoff history where a team won after their starting pitcher lasted just 1/3rd of an inning.
* In 1924 and 25 this exact situation happened during elimination games.
* There have been three times in MLB playoff history where a team won after their starter did not record an out.

## Notes

* During the wild-card game the Diamondbacks swung at 46% of first pitches.
* Joba Chamberlain confirmed that he has retired from baseball. Ben comments, "That's what happens when you go on trampolines."
* Craig Kimbrel struck out 49.6% of batters he faced this season.
* Jeff thinks that as long as there were uncertainty each year about which teams would meet in the World Series he would be OK with the Dodgers and Yankees meeting in several consecutive years.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1119: We're in the Great Game Now