Infinite Inning 217: There's No Reason Why We Shouldn't (Burgers, Rice, and Pudding)

Craig Goldstein (Baseball Prospectus) talks about BASEBALL PROSPECTUS 2022, owner vs. player morality, and the best comps for Juan Soto. Plus tales: A pitcher expresses insecurity right on the mound—or does he? The trap of zero-sum thinking, and an obscure player who was as good a hitter, in his way, as Mike Piazza. TABLE OF CONTENTSPink Hawley is Looking for a Friend*Baseball, Politics, “Evil Incarnate,” and Zero-Sum Thinking*The Rapidly Oncoming Fate of Fred Carroll*Craig Goldstein: Harder to Reconcile, But We’ll Be Back*The KBO Again?*When to Go For Snacks*The Players’ Ideas are Better*The Economic Model Needs to Change/The Unspoken Agreement*The Kershaw Conundrum*BP 2022*PECOTA Confidence*Mike Trout and Juan Soto Comps*Manfred’s Longer Pandemic*Relishing a Higher Bar*Goodbyes.("Wind Chime, Tolling, A.wav" and "Wind Chimes, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org.)The Infinite Inning is not only about baseball but a state of mind. Steven Goldman, rotating cohosts Jesse Spector, Cliff Corcoran, and David Roth, and occasional guests discuss the game’s present, past, and future with forays outside the foul lines to the culture at large. Expect stats, anecdotes, digressions, explorations of writing and fandom, and more Casey Stengel quotations than you thought possible. Along the way, they’ll try to solve the puzzle that is the Infinite Inning: How do you find the joy in life when you can’t get anybody out?