Welcome to Barbecast 83! Two special guests comin' at ya. Our first special guest this week (at 20:00) is Marc Carig, Mets beat writer for Newsday and lucky guy who gets to cover Yoenis Cespedes on a daily basis for at least another year. We talked to Marc about how shocking Yo's return was to him, to the Mets, and to the crazed Mets fans tweeting firestorms of vulgarities at the @Mets account. After Marc (at 39:10), we brought on our second special guest, Andrew Moore! Andrew was the Mariners' 2nd round pick last year out of Oregon State and had a stellar professional debut. More interestingly, he's spent much of his off-season coaching JV basketball at his high school alma mater. So we mostly talked about that! After Andrew (at 1:03:45), another B-Ref Battle brought to you by Baseball-Reference commenced, featuring a family member and a guy whose tremendously long surname probably rhymes with Becky. Next (at 1:12:10), we brought on Lana Berry for her final Tales from Logdog after 75 grueling episodes of mediocre contribution. Lana is the best, but she doesn't have to be on this silly podcast every week. We concluded with an unfortunate appearance from Jake's roommates each saying something about baseball. We're so sorry about that. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Mike Jones!

Click here to watch us do bat flips with Andrew!

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Welcome to Barbecast 81! Our special guest this week (at 14:05) is Lance McCullers, right-hander for the Houston Astros. The last we heard from Lance was back on Episode 59, merely hours before his 2015 season kicked off with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Within months, Lance was in the big leagues making veterans look foolish. So we talked about that! Other topics included the major league hitters he most enjoyed facing from a "WOW THAT'S THAT GUY" perspective, how he maintains focus while also being super amped/emotional on the mound, Carlos Correa, and of course, the Powerball. After Lance (at 49:35), a very special B-Ref Battle commenced. Why special, you ask? Because the B-Ref Battle is now sponsored! By B-Ref! We also talked about the long-awaited B-Ref Battle Bracket, which is currently in progress (Details below).  After B-Ref (at 1:00:20), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered the college football National Championship and why Nick Saban is still doing this. We conclude (at 1:06:38) with some thoughts on returning to real college for the spring semester. Thanks for listening <3

Music: Batter Up - Nelly

The B-Ref Battle is brought to you by Baseball-Reference. Use the coupon code "bbq" for $6 off a one-year subscription to the Play Index, the essential tool for statistical baseball research. Click here to order your Play Index now!

The BBQ Best Name Bracket is here. Help us determine the best B-Ref Battle name we've ever used! Click here to vote! 

Huge thanks to Kendall Guillemette for helping us develop the bracket on the site. You can check out his other work by clicking here.  

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Welcome to Barbecast 80! It's been nearly a month since our last installment of this audio venture, so it's great to be back. Our special guest this week (at 15:18) is Erik Malinowski, purveyor of Rule 1. and freelance writer extraordinaire. We talked to Erik about the recent Hall of Fame results, the <5% player who most deserves to go in the Hall, the process of producing any of his aforementioned extraordinary freelance pieces for various corners of the Internet, and most importantly, the origins of Rule numero uno. After Erik (at 51:43), another B-Ref Battle commenced with two more silly names and an exciting announcement about next week's B-Ref Battle Bracket. Next (at 1:00:45), Tales from Logdog with Lana Berry covered what Lana would name her bowl game. We conclude at (1:02:40) with a rather traumatic but extremely amusing tale from Jake's post-semester Euro-trip, and look ahead towards our final week of winter break. Thanks for listening <3

Note: Apologies for the shaky audio throughout, particularly during Erik's segment. We also just bought new mics, so Barbecasts 81 and beyond should be more consistent.

Music: STANDIN' IN THE HALL OF FAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Please rate and review us on iTunes! We'd really appreciate it!