Effectively Wild Episode 2332: The Setup Man Cannot Hold

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Spencer Strider’s concerning performance, how he and Sandy Alcantara remind us that comebacks from elbow surgery aren’t automatic, and whether things are looking up for the White Sox on and off the field. Then (32:23) they bring on top-tier Patreon supporter John Thomas to banter about his background as an EW listener and baseball fan, answer listener emails (42:34) about the future of baseball’s historic cathedrals, whether sabermetrics inevitably promotes efficiency and specialization, whether Mariano Rivera delayed the reimagining of bullpen roles, the evolution (or devolution) of framing, and a rotation of Paul Skenes clones, and then Stat Blast (1:38:33) about the Rockies and the best-ever infield defenses, Devin Williams and the worst holds, and notable matchups between minor leaguers and rehabbing big leaguers. Audio intro: Xavier LeBlanc, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio interstitial: Jimmy Kramer, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Philip Tapley and Michael Stokes, “Effectively Wild Theme” Link to WhatIfSports offer page Link to Davy on Strider Link to TJ return study Link to White Sox TV info Link to MLBTR on Ishbia Link to Ishbia wiki Link to story on Ishbia’s home Link to story on the Suns Link to Ishbia letter Link to Sheehan on the Sox Link to Vargas leaderboard Link to team SP WAR Link to Veres on the Rockies Link to Dubuque article Link to Scout School series intro Link to Scout School series conclusion Link to Ben on no-hitter defense Link to Ben’s gaming pod Link to John Thomas slang Link to Russell on shortening up Link to article on historical TTOP Link to Rob on TTOP over time Link to Molina framing montage Link to Ben on framing in 2013 Link to Ben on framing technique Link to Skenes TTOP splits Link to Russell on SP handedness Link to Ben on SP playoff familiarity Link to Ben on RP playoff familiarity Link to Monfort on defense Link to all-time infield defense Link to 2025 infield defense Link to infielder definition Link to infield definition Link to rulebook on infielders Link to Ben on Piazza Link to hold definition Link to Williams game Link to worst 2025 holds by WPA Link to McDaniels game Link to worst-ever holds by WPA Link to Cascarella game Link to worst 2025 holds by RE24 Link to Maton game Link to worst-ever holds by RE24 Link to Cox game Link to Kershaw game story Link to Kershaw box score Link to Reds prospect list Link to rehabbing pitchers sheet Link to rehabbing batters sheet Link to Ryan Nelson Link to Robert Au Link to listener emails database Link to Excellius Link to La Colaborativa Link to Dotson/Farrell article Link to SNL Goulet clip  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Give a Gift Subscription  Email Us: [email protected]  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Spotify Feed  Facebook Group  Bluesky Account  Twitter Account  Get Our Merch! var SERVER_DATA = Object.assign(SERVER_DATA || {}); Source