The Barbecast

Welcome to Barbecast 61! Our special guest this week(at 20:12) is the consensus worst pitching prospect in baseball and member of the Washington Nationals organization, Lucas Giolito! If you recall, we had Lucas' dad on the Barbecast way back on Episode 42, and that went pretty well so we decided to have Lucas on also. We talked about a plethora of mostly baseball-related stuff, including:

  • when he realized he was pretty good at the whole pitching thing
  • his experience with Tommy John Surgery
  • the secret highlight of playing in Hagerstown
  • when he realized he had an alien curveball
  • giving up the dinger in the Futures Game to Javier Baez
  • watching Max Scherzer in Spring Training
  • ...and more!

After we talked to Lucas (at 1:17:15), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle Bonanza, and went over the 300 Crazy Name mark in Barbecast history. After B-Ref (at 1:36:28), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry discussed HER FINALLY BEING IN GOD DAMN LOS ANGELES after four months of anticipation. We concluded this week's show (at 1:43:38) with a discussion on Angel Berroa, and Jake's Varsity Baseball Update includes a dramatic telling of Jake's HBP that lead to his 4-game suspension. Fun for all! Thanks for listening <3

Music: A Tribe Called Quest  

 

Direct download: Pod_61.mp3
Category:Cespedes Family Barbecast -- posted at: 12:31pm EDT

Welcome to Barbecast 60! Our special guest this week (at 27:15) is veteran catcher and Twitter All-Star John Baker, who is currently with Triple-A Tacoma in the Seattle Mariners organization. Live from the depths of the Albuquerque Isotopes ballpark, John talked to us about a whole bunch of stuff, including...

  • Getting traded for Wade LeBlanc
  • Lance Cormier (!!!)
  • Coming up with the Moneyball A's
  • Recovering from Tommy John as a position player
  • Facing Aroldis Chapman
  • Aroldis Chapman
  • Meeting 21-year-old Nelson Cruz
  • Jesus Montero's side of the ice cream sandwich incident
  • ...and more!

After we talked to John (at 1:06:20), we commenced in our weekly B-Ref Battle which resulted in a lengthy conversation about a metal band named Junius (this week's musical guest). It was strange. After B-Ref (at 1:40:35), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered Yasiel Puig's reported desire to cut down on batflips as well as a #BeefinWithLana update. We concluded with a brief discussion about Josh Phelps, an indifferent Varsity Baseball Update from Jake, and some exciting news regarding the fall semester. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Junius

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Direct download: Pod_60.mp3
Category:Cespedes Family Barbecast -- posted at: 12:10pm EDT

Welcome to Barbecast 59! For the second week in a row, we've got two special guests for you guys. First (at 24:20), we talked to Lance McCullers, one of the best pitching prospects in the Houston Astros organization. We talked about a whole bunch of fun stuff, including...

  • Being the son of a former MLB pitcher
  • when he first hit 90 MPH
  • why he dominated in high school
  • winning Gatorade Player of the Year
  • how he dealt with questions about being a starter or a reliever
  • his first experience in pro ball
  • his rough experience in the California League and why it's good for prospects to fail
  • ...and more!

After Lance (at 58:10), our weekly B-Ref Battle of Bombastic Baseball Names commenced and laughs were had by all. Our second special guest this week (at 1:24:38) is NBC HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra, who you last heard on the Barbecast wayyyyyyyy back on Episode 19. 40 episodes later, he's back! This time, we talked to Craig about his beloved Braves and what the hell they have been up to this offseason.  After Craig (at 1:47:35), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered A-Rod's triumphant return to baseball and quickly led us down a rabbit hole of tremendously strange A-Rod Internet content. We concluded with a brief appreciation for one Tony Womack and a relatively unexciting Varsity Baseball Update. Thanks for listening <3

Music: dope ass Braves music

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Direct download: POD_59.mp3
Category:Cespedes Family Barbecast -- posted at: 11:53am EDT

IMPORTANT NOTE: Jake made an editing error which resulted in the break music playing about 10 seconds later than it's supposed to. We would normally fix an error as such before uploading, but the result ended up being too hilarious to delete. What it does mean, though, is that the breaks are eerily silent -- whatever device you're listening on is not broken; it's just us. The music is in there though. We hope you appreciate it's fashionable tardiness as much as we do, and we promise our production quality will be back up our mediocre standard for Barbecast 59. Thanks! 

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Welcome to Barbecast 58! It's been over two weeks since the last Barbecast, so we return with two special guests! Our first special guest (at 29:17) is Howard Megdal, contributing writer to Capital New York, Sports Illustrated, and the author of the upcoming book, "The Cardinals Way". We talked to Howard about his inspiration for the book, the Cardinals complicated offseason, and his favorite young Cardinals player going forward. We also talked about Howard's experience being a Mets fan since Jonathon Niese was born, and whether or not he has any hint of optimism heading into the 2015 season.  After Howard (at 57:07), we talked to minor league friend Matt Ball, a pitcher in the darkest depths of the Chicago White Sox system. Matt explained to us the important differences between major and minor league camp in Spring Training, and gave us an idea of his 2015 schedule developmentally. Matt's great, and we appreciate him making his first (and probably last) career pinch-hit appearance when some of our other minor league friends are too busy to record this stupid podcast with us. After Matt (at 1:20:20), we participated in a spectacularly themed B-Ref Battle...this time, it's WAR. After B-Ref (at 1:44:10), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry celebrated 50 EPISODES LOL LANA HOW DID WE MAKE IT THIS FAR and covered Lana's first experience playing fantasy baseball. We concluded (at 1:51:43) with a brief discussion on Mike Lieberthal and some of the greatest offensive seasons by a catcher in MLB history, as well as an exciting Varsity Baseball Update from Jake, who is now actually pitching for a varsity baseball team on a shockingly consistent basis. Thanks for listening <3

Music: DO YOU REMEMBA 

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Direct download: POD_58.mp3
Category:Cespedes Family Barbecast -- posted at: 1:17am EDT

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