Welcome to Barbecast 74! This is our super-special playoff preview podcast in which 30% of this 2+ hour long marathon is anything resembling a playoff preview. We have two special guests this week. Our first special guest (at 15:00) is Jeff Passan, MLB columnist for Yahoo Sports and PLAYOFFS EXPERT. We pondered a bevy of playoff-related questions with Jeff, including:

• Which playoff team is most surprisingly in the playoffs?
• When does everyone start freaking out about the Cubs possibly winning the World Series?
• How can the Cardinals lose?
• How can the Blue Jays win?
• Why did Jeff think it was a good idea to call us when he was in an Uber?
• What is Jeff's book about?
• Why is Todd Coffey the subject of Jeff's book?
• Can Jake throw a 1,000 Pitch Bullpen?
• ...and more!

Our second special guest (at 56:52) has been on the Barbecast before, but we decided to bring him back on to talk about some recent controversial happenings in the major baseball league. It's John Baker! Topics include:

• Papelbon vs. Harper, and whether fights like they had actually happen all the time (hint: they don't)
• The time Wes Helms (!!!) almost fought Hanley Ramirez
• the idea of "protecting" players who have been hit
• the amazing Jose Ramirez pimp job and its aftermath
• a fantastic story about 19-year-old Prince Fielder pimping a home run against John's team in the 2003 Midwest League 
• John's most egregious bat flip when he was playing at Cal (also a fantastic story)
• being in Spring Training with Frank Thomas and Mike Piazza
• ...and more!

After John (at 1:36:42), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle for the ages, including a player who the tallest pitcher in baseball for over 60 years. For Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 2:03:51), we called Lana immediately following her beloved Rangers' epic collapse against the Angels on the penultimate day of the season and invoked the memory of the great Carlos Garcia (Seriously, go listen to it). We conclude this audio voyage (at 2:13:45) with our own playoff picks (the Nationals are gonna win it all!!11!1) and a somewhat somber Varsity Baseball Update. Thanks for listening <3

Music: PLAYOFF HYPE SONGS

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Welcome to Barbecast 73! In the spirit of Yom Kippur, we're atoning for the sins of the previous 72 Barbecasts with two special guests and an inordinate amount of actual baseball talk. Our first special guest this week (at 19:55) is Cardinals minor league pitcher Kyle Grana. (It's Gran-uh, not Grahn-uh. alternatively: Kyle Grandma).We talked to Kyle about how he went from being an undrafted D-II starter to a shutdown reliever with two full seasons of an ERA under 1.00 in the minors. Our second special guest (at 58:10) is Andrew Stoeten, Blue Jays Ambassador to the United States of America. We talked to Andrew about his beloved Jays as they march towards the postseason for the first time in over 20 years. The Jays are awesome! After our special guests (at 1:33:04), another B-Ref Battle took place and included an instant classic in the Agamemnon Baca category and some prominent religious figures. Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 1:56:30) reached an all-time high in the Ridiculous Recording Conditions category as the 8/9-hour time difference afforded us the ability to keep this god damn segment alive. We concluded with a brief draft of our favorite Yogi Berra quotes and some exciting general BBQ news. Thanks for listening <3

Music: First Place - Taylor Swift

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Welcome to Barbecast 72! Our special guest this week (at 28:45) is Rangers prospect and Integalactic Defender of Unpopular Opinions, Mike Matuella. Mike was the Rangers' third round pick in the 2015 Draft out of Duke University just a couple months after getting Tommy John Surgery like all the other cool kids. We talked to Mike about a whole host of topics tangentially related to baseball, including:

• growing up in the DC area and the kind of pitcher he was in high school
• choosing Duke over Maryland
• going from throwing 88 to throwing 98 in two years
• pitching in the ACC
• getting Tommy John before getting drafted
• rehab getting him into the Best Shape of His Life
• goals for the 2016 season
• Mike's vehement defense of Nickelback as Not The Worst Band In the World
• a strong argument against the cult-like nature of Chipotle
• ...and even more controversial opinions on nonsensical crap that you rarely hear from professional baseball players 

Mike was great! Follow him on Twitter @mikematch30 for more scorching hot takes. After Mike (at 1:22:50), another B-Ref Battle commenced which included one of the more incomprehensible names we've ever heard as well as an incredible Honus Wagner story. Next (at 1:46:40), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry asked HOW MANY FINGERS?!?! We concluded (at 1:53:57) with some thoughts on our inaugural baseball experiences here in Europe: Jake watching actual baseball in London, and my inexplicable sighting of a Billy Koch painting at a Copenahagen pub. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Nickelback (Blame Mike)

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Welcome to Barbecast 71! Our special guest this week (at 24:55) is Ben Hill, minor league roadtrip aficianado and writer for MiLB.com. It's Ben's job to drive around America and document the ins and outs of minor league teams, from the on-field promotions to the weirdest ballpark food, and everything in between. It's basically the coolest job in the world (to people like us) so we asked him a bunch of fun experiences about what it's been like for the past five years gallivanting around the country watching minor league baseball. Ben's great! After Ben (at 1:05:15), yet another B-Ref Battle took place and included some guys from the 1850's LOL THAT IS SO RIDICULOUSLY LONG AGO. After B-Ref, we called Lana while she was at the Padres/Dodgers game and interrupted her pleasant afternoon. Tales from Logdog, everybody! We concluded with some updates our life in Europe (including Jake's internship with Manchester City FC), and a look at the week ahead. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Corey Feldman performing at a State College Spikes game?!?!?!

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Welcome to Barbecast 70! You thought you'd get a break from this podcast with us being in Europe. You thought wrong. All the way from Manchester, England and Copenhagen, Denmark, it's a brand new Barbecast with two special guests and all the usual fun we squeeze into these longform audio ramblings. Our first special guest this week (at 16:20) is Carson Cistulli, fringe-prospect fanatic and rennaissance man over at FanGraphs and The New Enthusiast. Carson also has experience living in a European country during baseball season, so we asked him for advice on how to adjust to being surrounded by people that couldn't care less about the beisbol. We also talked about two of Carson's favorite fringe-prospects, Willians Astudillo and Blayne Weller, and even squeezed in some Danish soccer talk as well. Our second special guest this week (at 1:03:30) is a genuine real-life friend of the BBQ and Generally Awesome Person Kinza Baad! Kinza plays softball at the University of Virginia and spent this summer scouting the Cape Cod League for a major league baseball team. We asked about her experience as the incredibly rare female scout and her advice for girls that want to get into that part of the game. We also talked about softball because we also love softball now. After Kinza (at 1:26:25), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of baffling baseball names. Next (1:47:00), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered Lana's somewhat timid excitement for football season (sorry for the shitty audio here -- Lana is so damn far away). We concluded (at 1:52:35) with some observations on our time in Europe thus far and what you can expect from us going forward this semester. Thanks for listening <3

Music: The Countries of the World (Europe edition)!

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Welcome to Barbecast 69, the nicest Barbecast yet. We have THREE special guests this week in honor of the special occasion. Our first special guest this week (at 25:53) is Jared Diamond -- no, not THAT Jared Diamond -- the Jared Diamond who covers the Mets for the Wall Street Journal! Amidst one of the craziest weeks in franchise history, the Mets traded for our beloved hero and all that comes along with him, so we asked Jared about how Yo's stay in New York has been thus far. We also talked about the Wilmer Flores fiasco, the inexplicably awesome Jacob deGrom, and more! Our second special guest (at 1:00:40) is John Baker, former major league catcher and current major league critic. We last spoke to John when he was still with Triple-A Tacoma back in April. This week, John came on to talk about what he's been doing since becoming a free agent, how he watches baseball as a fan, and his ongoing transition into his post-playing career. Our third special guest (at 1:41:18) insisted that he be included on this special episode long ago: it's Jesse Spector of Sporting News, who came on to discuss his fascinating piece on the history of major league players wearing #69 and why those few players ended up with the number in the first place. After our special guests (at 1:48:30), another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary proportions took place. Tales from Logdog (at 2:10:01) with Lana Berry covered Lana's new podcast, which is weird because she's still on this podcast every god damn week. We concluded (at 2:17:41) with some updates on our respective study abroad programs and a look ahead at the challenges the Barbecast may face in coming weeks. Stay tuned! Thanks for listening <3

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Welcome to Barbecast 68! This week's show has two special guests: a minor league pitcher and a major league ballgirl. Our first guest (at 26:03) is Chase De Jong, a right-handed pitcher in the Dodgers organization who was recently traded from Toronto for international bonus money. We talked to Chase about that experience and much more, including...

• having a cousin that played for the Jays
• being a 2nd round pick 
• playing in the Appalachian League
• an hour-by-hour timeline of getting traded to the Dodgers
• ...and more!

Next (at 1:00:35), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary baseball names and laughed at them because they are funny. Our second special guest this week (at 1:25:16) is Celine Fowler, a softball player for Central Washington University and one of the many ballgirls for the Seattle Mariners. We talked to her about softball and how the hell she became a major league ballgirl. It was great! Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry (at 2:00:01) covered what Lana would trade in her life for something from our lives. It was a tremendously strange conversation. We concluded with a somber Barbecuers update on the tragic end to our season :( Thanks for listening!

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Welcome to Barbecast 67! Our special guest this week (at 21:30) is the author of "The Best Team Money Can Buy", Molly Knight. TBTMCB is Baseball Twitter's favorite thing at the moment and we also enjoy it quite a bit, so we had Molly on to talk about some of the highlights of the book, including...

• PUIG. Duh. 
• The evolution of Zack Greinke as a Dodger
• what the hell Ned Colleti is up to
• how writing the book has affected Molly's Dodger fanhood
• ...and more!

After Molly, we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle chock full of absurd sounds that are actually names and a fair share of World War II jokes. Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered how her roommate Molly's book has positively and affected HER life since she moved in...and how much she likes the book, of course. We concluded with an exciting Barbecuers update and an update on our remaining summer plans. Thanks for listening <3

Buy Molly's book! 

Music: DJ YRS JERZY

Welcome to Barbecast 66! After last episode's 1,000 pitch festivities, we've returned this week with a fairly regular Barbecast -- at least, as regular as Barbecasts go. Our special guest this week (at 15:47) is Luke Ramirez, one of the most notorious players in Little League World Series history and a huge part of the 2009 LLWS Champion Chula Vista team. We talked to Luke about all the ridiculousness surrounding the Little League World Series, including:

• How his team survived the California regionals and made it to Williamsport
• Game-by-game analysis of the team's championship run
• Hitting all the dingers
• Being one of the biggest kids in the tournament
• Having a Yahoo Answers question about how he was a ringer
• The absurdities of being in Williamsport
• That awkward moment when they won the championship
• ...and more!

After we talked to Luke (at 59:05), we participated in yet another B-Ref Battle of extraordinary baseball names. After B-Ref (at 1:18:08), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered Lana's #FinalVote candidacy and why she doesn't even really wanna get voted into the All-Star Game. We conclude with a brief discussion on our recent trip to North Carolina and look ahead to the rest of the summer. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Phineas and Ferb

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Welcome to Barbecast 65! This is not a normal Barbecast. There will be no e-mails or B-Ref Battle. This is a Barbecast about the possibility of Jake throwing a 1,000-pitch bullpen. Inspired by the one and only Wes Yee, we brought on 10 special guests (including Wes himself) to discuss this absurd proposition. As a result, this podcast is longer than usual. A list of all our guests (with timestamps, for your convenience):

1. Wes Yee, creator of the 1,000-Pitch Bullpen (Intro), on how this idea came about and his vision for how it will go down

2. Sam Miller, EIC of Baseball Prospectus (15:23), on the rules and regulations of the bullpen

3. Kyle Boddy, founder of Driveline Baseball (31:36), on what Jake can do to physically and mentally prepare for the bullpen

4. Doug Thorburn, pitching mechanics guru (47:00), on how Jake's mechanics (click here for video) will help/hurt his pursuit for 1,000 pitches

5. Lucas Giolito, Pretty Good Pitching Prospect (1:03:10), on his concerns for who in the world is going to catch this bullpen

6. Matt Ball, Not As Good Pitching Prospect (1:15:42), on why Jake is crazy

7. Lance McCullers, 1,000-Pitch Bullpen Pessimist (1:22:05), on why a 1,000-pitch bullpen is utterly impossible

8. Kazuto Yamazaki, Tokyo resident and Japanese baseball expert (1:34:35), on whether anything like this has been attempted in Japan

9. Lana Berry, That Lana Girl On Twitter (1:41:53), on her unexpected concerns for Jake's well-being

10. Jake's parents, parents of Jake (1:48:30), on their completely expected concerns for Jake's well-being

We conclude (at 2:04:40) with some final thoughts and share what we've learned by talking to all of these sane people about this preposterous idea. We had fun. We hope you enjoy it as well. Thanks for listening <3

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