Effectively Wild: A Fangraphs Baseball Podcast

Ben and Sam revisit the trade that sent Dan Haren to the Angels in light of Haren’s down year and Tyler Skaggs’ debut for the Diamondbacks, then talk about how Derek Jeter has remained productive at age 38 and examine whether the Yankees are in any trouble in the AL East.

Ben and Sam talk about Brett Anderson’s Tuesday return from Tommy John surgery and its impact on Oakland’s potential playoff rotation, then discuss whether Stephen Drew would be wise to test the free-agent market this winter in light of the other shortstops available.

Ben and Sam discuss Kenny Williams’ contention that the poorly rated White Sox farm system is just misunderstood, then consider whether the Cubs should be concerned about Starlin Castro’s makeup.

The Rays demolished the Angels in a four-game weekend sweep, which gives Ben and Sam the idea to discuss the two teams’ divergent directions since the deadline and reevaluate Anaheim’s offseason approach.

Ben and Sam discuss the possibility that the Nationals might enter the playoffs without either Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg, then talk about how the White Sox have defied injuries yet again and proved the pre-season predictions wrong.

Ben and Sam discuss how they came to know that Melky Cabrera was about to be suspended for a positive PED test before the news broke, and how they decided what to do about it.

Ben and Sam reach a milestone (the 20-minute mark) as they tackle the topics of clubhouse chemistry and whether there’s more to Jeff Mathis than meets the eye.

Ben and Sam discuss the significance of a potential big-league promotion for Jurickson Profar and investigate the link between Johan Santana’s no-hitter and his subsequent struggles.

Ben and Sam discuss the impact of CC Sabathia’s elbow soreness on the Yankees’ short- and long-term outlooks, and the difference between winning a division and winning a wild card under the new playoff format.

Ben and Sam discuss two players exceeding all expectations in 2012: R.A. Dickey and Eric Chavez.

Ben and Sam discuss Manny Machado’s surprising promotion to the majors and Roy Oswalt’s tumultuous transition to the bullpen.

Ben and Sam discuss the significance of Mike Trout’s 21st birthday and Mets manager Terry Collin’s comments about injured reliever Tim Byrdak’s workload.

Ben and Sam talk about the presents, futures, and contracts of two starters having interesting seasons: Cliff Lee and Ben Sheets.

Ben and Sam discuss the Royals, and then they discuss the Royals some more.

Ben and Sam discuss two outfielders in the news: Yoenis Cespedes and Jayson Werth.

Ben and Sam discuss players who turn down trades to contenders, Yu Darvish, and their standards for playoff starters.

Ben and Sam reevaluate the NL West after the deadline and take stock of this season’s converted starters.

Ben and Sam discuss whether the Orioles should be buyers and what teams mean when they dub a prospect “untouchable.”

After a weekend sweep of the Giants by the Dodgers, Ben and Sam size up the NL West and discuss a hot Matt Moore-on-Mike Trout match-up.

Sam and Ian talk about the major-league debut of the Mets’ Matt Harvey.