Beyond the Scrum: The Baseball Stories We Didn't Write The Athletic

Marc and Andy are joined by the new president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, The Athletic's Reds reporter C. Trent Rosecrans. They debate some of the big topics facing the Hall of Fame and its voters including whether or not writers should be voting at all.

Marc and Andy also react to the Mets firing new general manager Jared Porter after he acknowledged sending explicit text messages to a female reporter in 2016.
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Mike Ferrin joins Andy and Marc for a celebration of the virtual Winter Meetings. They cover everything they would have in the lobby at the real Winter Meetings right here on the podcast.

-Surprisingly active free agency
-Updating the arbitration system
-The state of tanking
-The Phillies are a mess
-Checking in on Mike's D-backs
-When would today's worst GM have been baseball's best GM?
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Marc and Andy weigh in on the early days of Steve Cohen's ownership of the Mets and how unrecognizable it is from the Wilpon era. Then L.A. Times columnist and Around the Horn regular Bill Plaschke joins the show to tell tales of 25 years as a sports columnist in Los Angeles. How does he continue to succeed in a sports journalism landscape dominated by Twitter. How 18 years on ESPN's Around the Horn has helped him in clubhouses and locker rooms. Bill and Andy share their story ledes if the Dodgers hadn't won the World Series.
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Major League Baseball has a new champion and almost made it through the postseason without a major COVID-19 story. Andy and Marc discuss the Dodgers win over the Rays in what became a potential super-spreader event in Texas. The guys dig into Kevin Cash's decision to pull Blake Snell, attempting and failing to see both sides of the argument. Finally it's a look ahead to the offseason and the possible returns of Alex Cora and A.J. Hinch to the managing ranks.
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The World Series is underway and Marc and Andy dive into the key storylines between the Dodgers and Rays. A fresh look at the Clayton Kershaw narrative. The misery of Red Sox fans watching Mookie Betts shine this October. Every club has analytics, so what makes the Rays different? Marc also vows not to rant anymore... we'll see.
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The Athletic's Astros reporter Jake Kaplan joins Marc and Andy to delve into the state of the Astros. Will they try to bring back George Springer? Should they shake up the roster to better separate themselves from the cheating scandal? Did Dusty Baker do a good job managing the team in 2020? The guys answer those questions and also debate the right time to ask Walker Buehler about his pants.
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