Episode 1122: Frog in Our Throats

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about John Farrell’s firing and the Nationals’ will-they-or-won’t-they pregame routine with Stephen Strasburg, then answer listener emails about the definition of “veteran,” projecting a team to win 116 games, looking up players’ stats, a pitcher getting both a blown save and a save in the same game, the career leaders in innings played exclusively at each position, David Price’s Hall of Fame case, a semi-nonsensical baseball commercial, the potentially underrated Rick Honeycutt and why some coaches get great reputations, the difference (if any) between individual success and team success, and more.*

## Topics

* Projecting a 116 win team
* Defining what a MLB veteran is
* Episode 1119 follow-up: Getting a blown save and save in the same game
* How many MLB player pages have Jeff and Ben seen?
* Longest careers playing exclusively at one position
* Nonsensical baseball commercial from FrogTape
* David Price's Hall of Fame case
* Rick Honeycutt and coach reputations
* Does individual success always lead to team success?
* Starting pitchers playing when sick

## Banter

* John Farrell was fired by the Red Sox
* How to evaluate the impact managers have
* Washington Nationals back and forth about if Stephen Strasburg would start Game 4 of the NLDS

## Email Questions

* Nick: "How good would a team's roster need to be in order to be projected for 116 wins? What goes into win projections and what would the roster of this team look like?"
* Jay: "When does a player become a veteran? I usually think of veterans being guys over 30 who have seen regular MLB playing time for the last 5-10 years, maybe with a little gray. What makes a veteran? A certain number of years? Games played?"
* Donald: "During Episode 1119 there was a discussion about not being able to get a blown save or hold and save during the same game. Would it be possible as a result of a waxahachie swap?"
* Bo: "What percent of active MLB players do you think you have looked up on FanGraphs or Baseball Reference?"
* John: "Who are the career leaders in innings played for those who have exclusively played only one position in the field (excluding DH)?"
* Andrew: "What do you guys think of the play by play in the FrogTape commercial?"
* Joel: "In the current Hall of Fame environment do you think David Price will have a shot at the hall?"
* Rob: "I hear very little about Rick Honeycutt who has remained in his position at the Dodgers over various regimes. This leads me to believe that he is actually one of the more valuable pitching coaches in baseball. Strange then that his profile would be so low, or am I misreading this?"
* Brendan: "It seems to me that striving for good individual stats can only help the team's goal of winning as many games as possible. Is there any instance in baseball where going for individual glory can hurt your team's chances of winning?"

## Stat Segment

* Inspired by John's question, Jeff looks into the career leaders in innings played exclusively at each position.
* AJ Pierzynski is the career leader in innings played exclusively at catcher with 16,335 innings.
* The career leader in innings played exclusively at shortstop is Derek Jeter (23,225 innings).

## Notes

* Since 2005 there has been only one team, the 2005 Cardinals, to be projected for 100 wins or more.
* Jeff (somewhat jokingly) estimates that he has viewed 99% of player pages for active MLB players.
* After listening to the FrogTape commercial Ben again pleads for TV or movie producers to ask for help when creating baseball content to avoid having something that makes no sense.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1122: Frog in Our Throats
* FrogTape Baseball Commercial