The OG & Crab Show

OG & Crab adjudicate the first month of the Buccos’ 2026 season.

OG & Crab make their 2026 season predictions and then make fun of a bunch of bad takes from around baseball. This is a long one! You don’t have to listen to it all at once. Pace yourself. The bad takes in question: Trevor May wants collusion: https://youtu.be/d1aoqfTirhg Rob Manfred on WFAN: https://youtu.be/hzeCQh1CZZM Talkin’ Baseball is out on a salary floor: https://youtu.be/Q5QDsH2gaww Trevor May’s ideas for a cap system: https://youtu.be/I7w2H38-u9M

OG & Crab holler about how the Pirates are just pawns for free agents’ agents, what Tarik Skubal’s big arbitration win means for Paul Skenes, and what to make of Fox hinting at scaling back their MLB media spending if the NFL insists on more money. Awful Announcing article about Fox & MLB: https://awfulannouncing.com/fox/lachlan-murdoch-rebalance-sports-portfolio-nfl-rights-increase.html

OG & Crab review the Pirates' offseason moves and assess the Steelers' new head coach.

OG & Crab rant about a couple articles in The Athletic. The articles: The Pirates and Marlins have a sudden willingness to spend. Here’s what could be behind it:https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6832284/2025/11/24/miami-marlins-pittsburgh-pirates-spending-offseason-revenue-sharing/ Hal Steinbrenner: It’s ‘not fair or accurate’ to say Yankees made a profit in 2025:https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6834242/2025/11/24/hal-steinbrenner-yankees-profitable-payroll/

OG & Crab review the Pirates’ Rule 5 roster protection decisions, lampoon Bob Nightengale a little bit, and unpack MLB’s new national TV deals. Bob on the “big losses”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/11/10/mlb-free-agency-trade-rumors-gm-meetings/87190324007/ Bob on the Pirates’ “profits”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/05/11/pete-alonso-stats-new-york-mets/83556338007/ DK Pittsburgh Sports saying the Pirates lost money in 2024: https://dkpittsburghsports.com/team/site-stuff/feed?page=0&content=pirates-losing-money-bob-nutting-investigation-mlb-dk Jeff Passan’s article claiming the Pirates are looking to spend: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46999006/mlb-2025-26-offseason-passan-predictions-free-agency-kyle-tucker-schwarber-alex-bregman

OG & Crab go on and on and on about baseball's labor issues and what is likely to come of MLB's next collective bargaining showdown. Read the CBA for yourself: https://www.mlbplayers.com/cba

OG & Crab recount the recent changes to the Pirates’ front office and coaching staff, and then explore the secret to the Dodgers’ success. Atlanta Braves Holdings 2024 Annual Report: https://www.bravesholdings.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/204/atlanta-braves-holdings-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year-end Boston Globe (via Archive.org) reporting on MLB OPEX in 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20200529064249/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/28/sports/inside-multibillion-dollar-dispute-between-mlb-its-players/ Pirates hire new pitching coach: https://www.mlb.com/news/bill-murphy-to-be-pirates-new-pitching-coach-source Nationals hire Justin Horowitz: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2025/10/24/pirates-nationals-justin-horowitz-konnor-griffin/stories/202510240066

OG & Crab dissect some reporting about the Pirates' latest dysfunction. Noah Hiles' final article on the Bucco beat: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2025/09/29/mlb-pirates-bob-nutting-ben-cherington-paul-skenes-andrew-mccutchen/stories/202509290003 DKPS Friday Insider: https://dkpittsburghsports.com/team/site-stuff/feed/topic/pirates-bob-nutting-ben-cherington-decision-mlb-dk

OG & Crab eulogize the 2025 Pirates' season and react to the news that both Ben Cherington and Travis Williams will retain their jobs after all that.

OG & Crab dive deep in the first of a series of shows dedicated to exploring the economics of baseball. In this installment, franchise value and its importance to the health of the business of baseball is the subject. Jason Mackey’s article in the Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/jason-mackey/2025/08/18/mlb-pirates-mccutchen-skenes-nutting/stories/202508180052

OG & Crab explore how trades can work for other teams, and OG shares some video from his visit to Cooperstown.

No time to edit! OG & Crab welcome our pal John to unpack the Pirates inscrutable trade deadline moves.

OG & Crab are joined by another guest, Nathan Osler, to chop it up about the coming second half of the Pirates' season, whether the Home Run Derby could get Oneil Cruz right again, and some predictions for the coming trade deadline. Nathan's Xwitter: https://x.com/nathan_osler Nathan's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nathan_osler Nathan's recent videos for North Shore Nine:https://youtu.be/cWvNN8JMaeYhttps://youtu.be/CxzbEjs1SOY

OG & Crab welcome friend of the pod Matty P to the show to rant about the sorry state of the Bucs at the Break.

OG & Crab reality-check the upcoming trade deadline rumors and quote several lines from Pulp Fiction.

OG & Crab have a lot to say about Donnieball, old stadiums, and whether or not Pittsburgh is a baseball town. Nearly two episodes for the price of one!

OG & Crab have to resort to talking about other teams because the Pirates are so boring right now.

OG & Crab went to a ballgame and wax poetic about the cinéma vérité of baseball front offices. Mackey's article about Matt Arnold: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/jason-mackey/2025/05/24/mlb-pirates-ben-cherington-brewers-matt-arnold/stories/202505230061 MLB dot com article by Adam McCalvy about Matt Arnold's rise to GM: https://www.mlb.com/news/matt-arnold-takes-over-brewers-baseball-operations

OG & Crab assess the early returns on Donny-ball and reassess who's to blame for all this after all.

OG & Crab react to Ben Cherington's press conference regarding the firing of Pirates manager Derek Shelton.

OG & Crab assess the first month of the Pirates' season, check in on predictions, and read some numbers from Fangraphs.

OG & Crab discuss Andrew McCutchen’s recent comments to the press and speculate what will happen once the Pirates’ present front office leadership is replaced. OG was wrong: the 1909 Pirates won 110 games on their way to a World Series title and the 1902 Pirates won 103. 98 wins is the third most, a total the club has achieved three other times beyond 2015 (1991, 1979, & 1908).

OG & Crab rant about the Pirate's inability to get out of their own way, and pick apart Jeff Passan's recent appearance on Baseball Today.

OG and Crab put Ben Cherington on trial for his mismanagement of the Pirates over the past half decade.

OG & Crab lament the Pirate's poor play on Opening Day in Miami, and hand in the 2025 Predictions late (-5 points for tardiness).

OG & Crab discuss:- Ken Rosenthal scolds Bob Nutting- Andrew Miller is spoiling for a fight- Jeff Passan thinks a salary cap would kill the golden goose- Yinzers have Nutting Derangement Syndrome

In our pilot episode, OG & Crab discuss the recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and DK Pittsburgh Sports muckracking of the Pirates' finances.