The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh and Michael Baumann banter about an Angels team photo (1:15), the Mets-Indians Jay Bruce trade (2:00), and an Astros blooper (4:05). Then, they bring on ESPN’s Mark Simon to discuss how teams are attacking the slumping Aaron Judge (6:30) and Mike Trout’s continued dominance (15:50). After that, they welcome Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of MLB.com and Cespedes Family BBQ to talk about the best and the worst player-chosen nicknames for the upcoming Players Weekend (27:45) and whether the event signals a thaw in baseball’s aversion to self-expression (44:55). Lastly, Ben and Michael discuss what Jerry Dipoto did (53:35).
Ben is a writer, podcaster, and editor who covers culture and sports. He hosts ‘Effectively Wild’ at FanGraphs and previously wrote for FiveThirtyEight and Grantland, served as editor-in-chief of Baseball Prospectus, and authored ‘The MVP Machine’ and ‘The Only Rule Is It Has to Work.’
