The StewPod: Baseball, pop culture & more

The next round of the MLB postseason is upon. We are one stage away from the World Series with four teams looking now to punch their tickets by winning either the ALCS or the NLCS.  The Houston Astros and New York Yankees started Friday night, with the Astros taking an early series lead. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs begin their series Saturday. Here to talk about both of them is former MLB catcher and current Fox Sports analyst A.J. Pierzynski. Fox, as you know, is home of the ALCS and will be broadcasting the World Series for the 18th straight year. Pierzynski was part of the the FS1 broadcast team in the ALDS that called the Astros games, so he talks about what makes them dangerous and he talks about what makes the Yankees dangerous in the ALCS. He also gives us his take on two Dodgers pitchers — Alex Wood and Yu Darvish — that he caught in his playing days.

The busiest part of baseball's postseason is upon us — all four division series will be going by Friday. Friday, in fact, is the best baseball day of the year, as all eight remaining postseason teams will be in action in their respective ALDS and NLDS. On a new StewPod, the Yahoo Sports' baseball podcast, we're talking to two men in the thick of it — one is Cody Bellinger, the Los Angeles Dodgers star rookie who will play his first postseason game Friday when the Dodgers open their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The other is Yahoo Sports' MLB columnist Jeff Passan, who joined us from Houston and will be stadiums across this land throughout October. We delve into every series — particularly talking about if the Indians should fear the Yankees, if we might be underrating the Cubs and who might come out on top in the Red Sox-Astros series. Bellinger joined us on behalf of sports nutrition MET-Rx, for whom he just starred in this new postseason hype video. With Bellinger, we talk about what it's like going into his first postseason, how the Dodgers' losing streak affected the team and what it would mean for the Dodgers to finally win another World Series. [Music: "Come on Baby" - Saigon]

The most unique event of the Major League Baseball season is happening Sunday night, as the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals forego a standard big-league game and head to Williamsport, Pa., to play in the first ever Little League Classic. The idea: Take two big leagues and have them play in the heart of the Little League World Series. MLB renovated an old minor-league stadium — Historic Bowman Field, which is the second oldest minor-league stadium in the country, having opened in 1926 — and it will host the game. But it won't like many baseball games you see. Capacity at Bowman Field isn't even 2,500. And for this game, all the tickets are going to Little Leaguers. The Little Leaguers will get to meet the big-league players earlier in the day and interact with them. It's sort of a sequel to last year's Fort Bragg game, an effort by MLB to take its product to different settings for one night per year. To talk more about this, the StewPod's Mike Oz and Liz Roscher got on the phone with ESPN baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza, who will be calling the game. She also has a unique job Sunday. She'll be calling Little League World Series games in the afternoon for ABC's coverage, then take her normal post as an analyst on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball with Dan Shulman, Aaron Boone and Tim Kurkjian to call the Little League Classic. We talked a lot about why the Little League Classic idea is so cool, and one of the Mendoza's reasons was: "The intimacy of the event, you gotta understand these guys play in front of 40,000, 50,000 fans that are really removed from where they are. This is going to be, not just a small crowd, but they’re right there with them. And having spent the day with them and interacting — and how cool it’s going to look because all the kids are wearing their uniforms, so you’re going to see these bright colors. It’s just going, to me, bring this youthful, joyful feel to what can be a very serious game. But I think it’s important. I think we all remember when we first picked up a ball and played the game. And I think this game will give a reminder to not just the people watching but those playing in the game, which is going to show." She also talked to us about MLB's upcoming Players Weekend — which you can get a preview of Sunday night, as the Pirates and Cardinals will wear their Players Weekend uniforms — her own experience playing Little League and about the growing interest for young girls to play baseball instead of softball. [Music: Glass Animals - "Youth"]

The Chicago Cubs are back. Since the All-Star break, the defending champs have shaken off that World Series hangover and taken control back in the NL Central. This week on the podcast, we're talking to a man who might be so happy you'd think he's still part of the team. Well, he kind of is. Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg — who is also an official team ambassador these days — is our guest. He's talking about what's behind the Cubs resurgence, offering his take on their trade-deadline additions and talking about his love for Chicago. That could be seen this week, as he worked with Subway to break ground on a renovation for a Chicago-area Little League field. Elsewhere on the show this week, we're talking about Pete Rose, an alternative world in which Donald Trump owned the Giants and we take an unexpected turn into soundtracks of '90s sports movies. [Music: Camp Lo — "Swing"]

New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius is having another impressive season, getting even better at the plate than he was the last two seasons. His batting average is up, so is his on-base percentage and he's looking even more at home at Yankee Stadium, where even though he had the toughest of shoes to fill, he's become a fan favorite. On this week's Stewpod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Gregorius joins us to talk about the adjustments that helped him succeed, what he seems from Aaron Judge that impresses him and whether he thinks the balls are juiced this year. Gregorius joined us on behalf of the Delta Dugout program, which gives fans the chance to win memorable baseball experiences, like watching the Yankees play on the road next season. In his latest spot, Gregorius is even being a funny guy. Here are some of the other things Gregorius talked about on this week's StewPod. On how he’s more prepared this season: “It’s more adjustments. I came from National League and it was different. I think personally they pitch different in the American League. You gotta make adjustments, get to know the pitchers and see what they try to do with you … The hardest part of the game is staying consistent with your plan when you go out there and play the game. I ask guys questions, how they approach this guy and try to put that in my plan too.” On how Aaron Judge impressed him: “It’s all-around game. He wasn’t the way he wanted to be when he came up last year. I like that he went home and made some adjustments and look what he’s doing now. It’s actually really great. I’m all for it. If he keeps making adjustments, he’ll be ever better. I think there’s a lot more in there.” On whether the balls are juiced: “No. Not at all. I haven’t seen anything to be honest.”

In a new episode of The StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas joins us to talk about the upcoming All-Star game. In the podcast, we talked about: • Stanton vs. Judge in the Home Run Derby • How it's reminiscent of Thomas vs. Griffey • Frank Thomas' tips to win the derby • Can the Big Hurt still hit dingers? • Young stars to watch in the All-Star game • The Cubs get snubbed • The best part of the All-Star game for players • First-half surprises/disappointments • Thomas' current World Series pick Catch Frank Thomas on Fox Sports' All-Star coverage, including the pregame show alongside Kevin Burkhardt & Alex Rodriguez at 7:30pm ET on Tuesday on FOX. He's also on the two-hour All-Star preview show airing on FS1 Monday at 3 p.m. ET with Burkhardt, Pete Rose and Tom Verducci.

With all the Unwritten Rules Theater we've seen around MLB this week, The StewPod imagines a world in which a new baseball league is starting and we have to decide which unwritten rules to keep and which ones to ditch. Mike Oz and Chris Cwik are joined by Bad News Ramen and Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg. We're also talking about Kyle Schwarber getting demoted, the 69-year-old baseball cards that sold $500K and we have a great question for you: Batman or Mario? Music: Cousin Stizz ft. Offset - "Headlock"

With the MLB Draft right around the corner, Jordon Adell is waiting for his life to change forever. Adell, a top-ranked high-school player from Louisville, Ky., is expected to be drafted in Monday's first round. Depending on who listen to, he could be a top-10 pick or a top-20 pick. Regardless, scouts all believe he has a high upside. Adell has the " best all-around tools" in the draft, according to MLB.com. He backed that up with a mammoth senior season at Ballard High School in which he hit 25 homers with 62 RBIs and a .562 batting average. In our interview with Adell, he said he has an idea which teams are interested in him (he wasn't revealing it) and talked about wanting to find a team that truly thought he was a future franchise player. "You want to be somewhere where they're all in for now. If a team is [No. 15] and they're like 'Yo, this is our guy. We're going to work him and we're going to get him where he's going to play for us and he's going to be our dude.' That's exactly what you want. You don't want to be just a discount .. You want to be the man and that's exactly what I want to be." We also talked about how he's getting ready for the draft, what he'll be wearing and we threw some rapid-fire questions at him so you can get to know him better. The MLB Draft begins at 7 p.m. ET Monday. TV coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Elsewhere on this week's show, we're talking about David Price's battle with the Boston media, whether it was right for MLB to auction off Hunter Strickland's brawl jersey, Scooter Gennett's four-homer game and the domestic abuse allegations involving Derek Norris and Addison Russell that surfaced on Instagram. Give it a listen and if you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe on iTunes or Soundcloud and leave us a nice review. [Music: Vince Staples ft. Ty Dolla $ign - "Rain Came Down"]

First a thing you know about Arizona Diamondbacks star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt: He's one of the best players in the league. And that's consistent, year in and year out. He's a big reason the D-backs are one of this year's most surprising teams in MLB. Now a thing you might not know about Goldschmidt: During the 2013 baseball season, when he was an MVP runner-up, he finished his college degree. Like, during the season. He divided up his days between baseball and school. He had an itch to finish his degree after being drafted out of Texas State University a year shy of graduation. "I actually learned it was easier during the baseball season than the offseason," Goldschmidt told the StewPod. "Just because of our schedule and having a routine every day. Especially on the plane flights when we were going cross country. I’d put my headphones in, I’d have my laptop or my iPad and just get after it and read and write my papers and everything. I really didn’t get to hang around with my teammates as much as I can now because when they’d go to breakfast or dinner, a lot of times I’d stay back and have to finish up schoolwork. I missed out on movies for two years, but it was definitely worth it." Goldschmidt obviously see the value of education, which is one of the reasons he's partnered with the University of Phoenix for a scholarship program to help people pursue their dreams of graduating. Whether it's to finish a degree or start fresh, Goldschmidt and University of Phoenix are offering five full-tuition scholarships. On this week's installment of the StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Goldschmidt joined us to talk about his college journey, baseball players seeking education, plus such as his stolen-base prowess and why the D-backs are exceeding expectations. Elsewhere on the show, we're examining a number of hot topics from around MLB: • Is MLB doing enough to prevent brawls? • Are brawls good for baseball? • All-Star voting: Which player is getting too much love? • Who should Jeter team up with to buy the Marlins? • Can Mike Trout still win the MVP after being out two months? • Do you have a three-year-old (or older!) beef you want to settle? Who did you wrong!? [Music: "Chase Me" by Danger Mouse ft. Run the Jewels and Big Boi]

This week's StewPod is the stuff of legends — and that's mostly because St. Louis Cardinals great Ozzie Smith is joining us. On the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, we're talking with Smith about baseball's changing rules, plus Chris Cwik and I are digging into the soon-to-be legendary Madison Bumgarner injury, which has all of baseball talking as we head into the weekend. It's a good listen, so pop us into your playlist while you're out dirt biking this weekend ... or maybe just doing your errands. Ozzie Smith joined us on behalf of Kingsford Charcoal, whom he's working with on the #BestOfBaseball campaign in which one fan will win a trip to the All-Star Game. We asked for Smith's opinions about many of the rule changes and proposed rule changes in the game, plus we talked about the talented young crop of shortstops in the game right now. We've also got a lot to say about the Bumgarner injury, including how it will impact the Giants this season, how people will view Bumgarner getting hurt on his day off and how people might view it differently if he got in trouble doing something else. [Music: Cam'ron — "Bubble Music"]

The Internet had never been happier for a Hall of Famer than it was for Tim Raines, who finally, in his final year on the ballot, got the word that he'd be immortalized in Cooperstown. The news is a few months past now. Baseball season is here. And every day we're inching a little bit closer to the end of a 10-year saga. Tim Raines is going to be a Hall of Famer. It's started to set in, he says, but the best it yet to come. He'll get on stage in July and make his speech and he'll go to the parties and he'll ride in the parade and he'll see his family there. It'll be special. Raines joined the StewPod this week on behalf of Osteo Bi-Flex to talk about getting ready for Cooperstown and how it'll finally be his turn soon. Raines told us that he's attended Hall of Fame inductions for this friends in the past, so he knows how it goes, but he doesn't know how it feels. "I know what it’s like," Raines told Yahoo Sports. "I've done the parties. I've done the little autographs sessions. I've seen the parade. I kinda got a feel for what it’s going to be like. but I've never felt it. This time it’s going to be a little different. This time I'm going to be in the parade. This time the party is for me. This time people are coming to see me instead of me going to see someone else. Just that part of it is the part that I'm looking forward to. I'm not a guest. I'm the guy." We cover a variety of other topics too, including: • The day he got the call • What he's doing to get ready • How the Internet helped him and how it will change voting • His role with the Blue Jays as a coach • Is Vlad Jr. as good as his dad? • Which young players impress him. • Tim Tebow's turn from football to baseball [Music: Pierce Fulton - "Borrowed Lives"]

The amount of time the average baseball fan spends thinking about their fantasy team would likely terrify you. Trust us, we're speaking from experience. While your other league-mates are busy watching those other sports, you're creating 19 different spreadsheets, setting up Twitter alerts for every minor-league club and mapping out astrology projections to figure out how Scorpios will perform in April. It's a bit excessive, sure, but it's worth it. Winning your fantasy league not only fills your pockets (with gummy bears), but it also provides bragging rights over your friends and family. You can't put a price on that! We here at The Stew want you to experience that joy, so we asked Roto Arcade's Scott Pianowski to come on the StewPod and share his tips for the 2017 season. Scott is in roughly 12 to 13 leagues this year, so he's more than qualified to dole out some knowledge. With any luck, you'll take advantage of that advice and put your league members to shame. When that happens, think of us fondly. Oh, and feel free to send us some of those gummy bears as well. Here's the full rundown of this week's show: • Intro • General draft strategies. What do you do early? What positions can you wait on? • Is position scarcity a valid strategy or do you go best player available? • Should owners have a "Do Not Draft" list? • Do sleepers even exist anymore? • Let's talk specific players. How is Scott handling some of fantasy's most polarizing guys? • Should you take the plunge on Matt Harvey? Was Jean Segura for real? • Who are your favorite fantasy lottery tickets? [Music: Run the Jewels - "Talk to Me"] Warning: NSFW lyrics

The World Baseball Classic is upon us and baseball's international tournament finds itself in a very familiar place as far as its American participation is concerned: How do we get more U.S. stars to care? The WBC has proven in the past that the United States — where we call baseball our National Pastime — just doesn't care as much about winning on the world's stage as much as Japan or the Dominican Republic does. That goes for fans but also players. Sure, Team USA has put forth a team that's capable of winning the tournament, but that team is nowhere near as good as it could be. And that remains to be a storyline that hovers above the WBC. For this week's podcast, we're joined by Jon Morosi, MLB Network's chief evangelist for the WBC, to get you totally up to speed on some of the tournament's biggest storylines. We spend a lot of time, however, talking about ways to get more buy-in from MLB's top stars. The list of frontline stars who aren't playing in the tournament includes Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Kris Bryant, Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, Noah Syndergaard and countless others. Morosi gives us some of his ideas to drive more engagement to the tournament and hips you to some of the other countries and plays to watch out for. (Keep an eye on worldbaseballclassic.com for the full schedule of games over the next couple weeks). Elsewhere on the podcast, we're talking about A-Rod's reported new relationship, Tim Tebow's spring debut, fantasy baseball and, a fitting topic on the 20th anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.'s death, a debate about Tupac vs. Biggie with Bad News Ramen. Here's a full rundown of the show: • Intro • Who has more to gain: A-Rod or J-Lo? • Tebowmania • The WBC so far • Jon Morosi joins the show. • How he well in love with the WBC • Does Team USA have a chance? • How do we get more American stars to care? • Other WBC teams to watch for • Who's going to be a breakout player? • Bad News Ramen joins the show and offers his WBC takes • Am I making bad fantasy baseball decisions? • Biggie vs. 2pac? [Music: "Sky is the Limit" by Notorious B.I.G. ft. 112]

David Ross rode off into the sunset in the best way possible. In his 15th season in the big leagues, Ross helped the Chicago Cubs win the World Series and break their infamous curse. He had said early on that 2016 was going to be his last season, so how's that for an ending? Only Ross, 39, didn't slip quietly into retirement. His playing days are over, sure, but Ross is plenty busy. This week it was announced he'd taken an analyst job at ESPN. It's a perfect fit for Ross, who has always been well-spoken and a go-to quote for reporters after games. And that's just one his new jobs. Ross also accepted a job as a "special assistant to baseball operations" in the Cubs front office, which in reality means he'll be doing a little bit of everything for the Cubs, from helping out in spring training to scouting and helping with the draft. If that's not enough, he has a book coming out in May titled, "Teammate: My Life in Baseball." Ross joined us this week on the StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, to talk about all these things and more. We put him on the spot to give some analysis on a few topics and we talked about whether ballplayers stick to sports in the clubhouse and if players should be public with their political opinions. Elsewhere on the show: My dude Bad News Ramen joins me as guest co-host because Chris Cwik is out this week. We talk about Hal Steinbrenner's unfortunate quote about Aroldis Chapman, the intersection of sports and social/political commentary, plus we end up talking about the best hip-hop diss songs. [Music: Portrait - "Here We Go Again"]

Dansby Swanson of the Atlanta Braves joins the show and we talk a lot about the Hall of Fame. Here's a rundown of the entire show: - Contrary to reports the StewPod is not moving to L.A. and getting a new logo - Dansby Swanson joins the show to talk about becoming a New Era ambassador, being the face of the franchise for Braves and lots more. - Bad News Ramens offers his take on the ENTIRE Hall of Fame ballot - Mike and Chris debate Manny Ramirez's HOF case.

It's Hall of Fame season in baseball, and with that comes all sorts of opinions and analysis. Including this: One projection says five new players could be voted in this year, the most by BBWAA voters since the historic 1936 class, which was the first. Nathaniel Rakich created a model for using public ballots to project what the final results will be and this year he says Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, Ivan Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero will get in. You can read all about his process and see his results at The Hardball Times. But he's also joining on this week's podcast to talk all things Hall of Fame. This week's show also features talk about our Hall of Fame coverage so far and the public response, Alex Rodriguez allegedly not returning to baseball in 2017 and Edwin Encarnacion's interesting clause in his contract with the Cleveland Indians. [Music: "If U C My Enemies" by Rubblebucket]

Mike Trout is baseball’s drama-free superstar — the type of guy who still lives in his hometown, works out with his friends and still frequents the same haunts he did before he had two MVP awards. So when Trout agreed to come on this week’s StewPod, the Yahoo Sports’ baseball podcast, we quickly learned he was living another drama-free day: hunting in the morning, working out at night, spending the day doing a photoshoot in his hometown of Millville, N.J. (population 28,400) for Body Armor, the sports drink in which he’s a stakeholder. We peppered Trout with a number of questions, ranging from his recent MVP win to what he thinks about the people who say the Los Angeles Angles are “wasting his prime.” He also talked about MLB’s new rookie hazing rules that prohibit dressing up like women, his workout routine and his beloved Philadelphia Eagles. Oh, and you know we had to ask him about the weather, since that’s one of his top hobbies. You can listen to the whole conversation above. Here are some highlights: On rookie hazing: "That’s one of the things you do. That’s how the veteran guys welcome you. That’s how I looked at it. I had fun doing it … It didn’t bother me at all." On the idea that the Angles are “wasting his prime”: "It’s not like we don’t want to win. Our mentality going into spring training is we want to win a championship. When people say they’re wasting my years, I can’t control that. I just go out there and just try to do the best I can." On the Eagles: "Going into this season, obviously everybody wants to do go to the Super Bowl, but the reality was, it’s a year we had a rookie quarterback. Wentz has been unbelievable. He’s fun to watch. He’s got a great future. I keep telling everybody this, I go to a lot of games, they’re always in the game at the end of the game." This week on the show, we’re also joined by our friend Bad News Ramen for the return of the Three Strikes segment, plus Mike and Chris talk about hazing, the Braves GM’s comments about pay for front-office jobs and our view of the free-agent market. [Music: “Dusk 2 Dusk” — Smoke DZA & Pete Rock]

Dexter Fowler finds himself in a fascinating place these days: He's still riding high off the Chicago Cubs' World Series win, but he's also a free agent and it's looking increasingly likely his time with the Cubs is over. The Cubs signed Jon Jay to a one-year deal on Tuesday, which many fans and people in the industry took to mean that the Cubs won't be resigning Fowler. But what better way to find out then ask the man himself, right? Fowler joined us on this week's StewPod to talk about free agency, his post-World Series experience and how he's helping raise money for a cool youth sports initiative. But first, free agency. Fowler said he got a call from Cubs president Theo Epstein telling him about the Jon Jay deal. "We talked," Fowler told us. "I realize it's a business. You gotta do what you gotta do. I'm gonna do what I have to do on this end. He does what's best for his ballclub. At the end of the day, there's no hard feelings. They still look at me as family and I do the same." Asked whether he thinks the door is shut in Chicago, Fowler said: "I always leave my opinions open. You never know." While we wait to see where Fowler lands, he's also helping Dick's Sporting Goods' Sports Matter program and its #SaveYouthSports effort. Dick's is selling special green shoelaces and $2 from each sale goes to Sports Matter. The program has saved a youth football team in Houston and will continue to help other underfunded youth sports programs around the country. HERE'S A FULL RUNDOWN OF THE PODCAST: • Intro: Mike and Chris are back together • Dexter Fowler joins the podcast • Are his days in Chicago over now that the Cubs signed Jon Jay? • What's it like being a free agent in 2016. How does he get his information? • How much does he follow rumors on social media? • Besides money, what goes into making a decision where to play? • What did he learn from free agency last year? • Why are youth sports important to him? • Shoelaces and his favorite sneakers • What was his most unbelievable post-World Series moment? • When do you get back to regular life? • Rapid-fire: Favorite place to eat on the road, offseason binge-watching, music and movies • Mike and Chris talk about the Yoenis Cespedes signing • Which big free agent is the next to fall? • The Andrew McCutchen trade market? [Music: "Cash Machine" by D.R.A.M.]

Life still isn't back to normal for Addison Russell, the 22-year-old Chicago Cubs shortstop who helped break the curse and deliver the first World Series title to the North Side since 1908. Russell took part in the team's giant parade, got whisked off to Disney World and even was given the key to the city in Pensacola. You know what they say: To the victors, go the spoils. Russell joined the StewPod this week to talk about the World Series win, all that's came after it and getting back to normal offseason life. The World Series isn't exactly a high that goes away after a week or two, but Russell says he's already getting back into the parenting routine, playing the new "Call of Duty" game and binge-watching some TV shows he's missed. Russell joined us on behalf of MET-Rx, which he says is an essential part of his conditioning plan whether it's regular-season travel time or offseason Dad time. Here's a full rundown of our chat: - When does life get back to normal? - Important: What happened to Matt Szczur's underwear? - What's the coolest thing that's happened after winning the World Series? - Is Chance the Rapper the coolest person you've gotten to meet? - What's the offseason like? - How much do you pay attention to offseason news and rumors? - Rapid fair questions: Favorite places to eat, favorite music right now, what shows are you binge-watching, best sneakers of all-time, etc. [Music: "Whistle King" by The Georgia Flood]

Podcast: Joe Buck explains why he doesn’t actually hate your team The 2016 World Series is right around the corner. While we wait to figure out just who will be playing the Cleveland Indians we know for sure that Joe Buck will be there. As Fox Sports’ lead broadcaster, Buck is everywhere — MLB playoffs, Super Bowl, etc. He’s the soundtrack to modern sports experience for many people. So we had to have him on a brand new StewPod to talk about a number of things, starting with why he hates your favorite team. And, big news here, he doesn’t actually hate them, as much as you think otherwise. He told us, among other things: When I’m in the booth, the only thing I’m guilty of rooting for is a good long series and exciting games. San Francisco Giants fans think I hate the team. I would rather be in San Francisco than just about anywhere on Earth. But I have to play it down the middle and they’re used to hearing their guys all summer long scream and yell for the Giants. So I get it. It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t make me sad or cry to my mommy at night. Hear that? You gotta try harder if you want to make Joe Buck cry. We also talked to Buck about how he preps for calling big moments like the final out of the World Series and why he bothers with Twitter. There’s a lot more in the podcast too, so check it out. And if you come away a Buck fan, then be sure to check out his book “Lucky Bastard” and his interview show “Undeniable,” which starts its first season in 2017. [Music: Otis English – “Young Kids, Old Love”]

As baseball still processes the shocking death of Jose Fernandez, this week’s StewPod offers you a new perspective on the life of Fernandez. It belongs to Pedro Martinez, the Hall of Fame pitcher and analyst for MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight,” who had built a friendship with Fernandez since his emergence as one of the best pitchers in the game. In fact, Martinez says, he was looking forward to going fishing with Fernandez soon. “Given the circumstances, I’m glad I didn’t get to love him even more,” Martinez says. “Even though I feel like a family member, I feel like I lost someone so close. He was someone unique. I’ve never seen someone embrace the game and complete at the same time with so much grace and glare.” Martinez also talks about the MLB postseason with us, for which he’ll also be serving as an analyst on TBS, specifically about the Red Sox chances, how he’d pitch to the Cubs and about his friend David Ortiz’s amazing final season. Here’s the full rundown of the show: • Intro • Pedro Martinez on Jose Fernandez • Pedro on the Red Sox’s World Series chances and Big Papi’s final season • Pedro picks which teams will surprise and disappoint in the postseason • How would he pitch to the Cubs • Is anybody trying to steal him away from TV to be a coach? • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on Jose Fernandez, the premature Cubs World Series tattoo and “Stranger Things” • Mike and Chris’ favorite Jose Fernandez moments • Mike’s favorite new music pick of the week [Music: Gallant — “Weight in Gold”]

Are the Boston Red Sox likable? This week’s podcast started with that question and morphed into something else. On the StewPod, we’re assessing the likeability of each team involved in the MLB postseason chase. Basically: Are they baseball’s heels or a team to cheer for? We’re also talking about the season’s biggest disappointments, the latest blow to the New York Mets pitching staff, the debut of “Pitch” on Fox and this week in Tim Tebow. We’re joined by The Stew’s Liz Roscher and our buddy Bad News Ramen for another Three Strikes segment. Here’s a full rundown of the show: • Mike and Chris reunited • How disappointing are the White Sox? • Will the Giants be more disappointing if they don’t make the postseason? • The Mets are a different kind of disappointing. • The eternal Bartolo Colon • Likability debates • Pitch: Are people going to get mad online? • The highlights of Tim Tebow’s first week in baseball • Three Strikes w/ Bad News Ramen about Yasiel Puig, David Ortiz and “Field of Dreams” • At Chris’ urging, Mike watched “Stranger Things” [Music: “Gorgeous” by Kanye West]

The world of baseball gave us three questions this week: What was A.J. Preller thinking? Was Adam Jones right? Can the Cubs really do it? We tackle all three (and more!) in this week's StewPod, which finds Liz Roscher joining me. We dig into whether the Padres should be so quick to forgive Preller, their GM who was suspended Thursday for keeping a rule-skirting player-health database to gain the upper hand in trades. Now that the Cubs are division winners, we're discussing what it will take for them to actually break their curse. And in the case of Jones, I talk about a piece of the conversation that so many baseball fans seem to be missing. Here's a full rundown of the show: - Welcomes and where's Chris Cwik - How bad is the Padres situation? - Should Preller get off this easy from Padres brass? - Can the Cubs win it all? - My best possible World Series outcome - What people are missing about the Adam Jones situation - "Pitch" and whether people will get mad at fictional baseball diversity - Important questions: Getting to know Liz [Music: Local Natives - "Mother Emanuel"]

Chris and Liz banter about Tim Tebow's new career in baseball, and discuss the state of Phillies fandom in 2016. Then, Israel joins the program to talk about the tight race in the AL East. Who will prevail in what promises to be the best division race down the stretch?

Mike and Chris look at the biggest storylines in MLB for September, including whether Clayton Kershaw will return, who wins the wild cards, how many wins the Cubs finish with and lots more.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal talks to Yahoo Sports about how the team has withstood a record number of injuries to reach first place in the NL West.

Curt Schilling is a man with no shortage of opinions. And this week baseball has been ripe with things to have an opinion about, including Alex Rodriguez’s retirement and Tim Tebow’s attempt at a pro career. So on this week’s StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast, Schilling his opinions sharing them with us. Schilling gives us his view on A-Rod’s final days, assesses the chances of Tebow and tells us about his new broadcasting gig, with conservative news site Breitbart, where he’ll launch a daily web show about life and politics in the next couple weeks.

It’s that time of the baseball season where Jeff Passan’s phone is buzzing with information. Yes, the trade deadline is coming on Aug. 1, which means teams are making moves and our pal Jeff is trying to wade through the rumors and find the truth. He took a few minutes out of his day — well, like 30, actually — to talk about the trade deadline for this week’s StewPod. We discuss which players he thinks will and won’t get traded, why the trade deadline has actually been more active than you might think and which teams will make a move that has them racing toward the postseason. We’ve also got Bad News Ramen joining us for another installment of Three Strikes, lots of talk about Chris Sale and Aroldis Chapman, plus one StewPod host professing his love, once again, for “Battle Bots.” Here’s the full rundown of this week’s show: - Chris Sale and his cut-up jersey - The complicated Aroldis Chapman trade - Jeff Passan joins the show to talk about the MLB trade deadline - Bad News Ramen’s Three Strikes on Ichiro, Sale and Chapman - Important questions - Rate and review!

Since everybody's talking about improving baseball today, here's what we think of the ideas and how we'd do it.

John Smoltz joins the StewPod to take us inside the All-Star game from his rather unique point of view. Smoltz will be calling the game this year for Fox Sports and, as a player, was an eight-time All-Star. He talked to us about both sides of the All-Star game, his favorite memories as a player and what he's looking forward to in the booth this year. Also on the show: Mike and Chris talk about the Home Run Derby, Bad News Ramen comes by for another installment of Three Strikes and we size up the best player hair in MLB.

Lenny Dykstra joins the StewPod to talk about his new book, "House of Nails" and share his outrageous baseball life.

We talked to Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres about his role as All-Star ambassador, plus his comeback season, why he doesn't wear batting gloves and arm wrestling.

How does hitting for the cycle compare to the no-hitter? We discuss that and more in the latest StewPod.

This week on the StewPod, we're talking to one of this season's breakout players and discussing another much-talked-about baseball brawl. It's a fun one. Nick Castellanos of the Detroit Tigers joins the show to talk about his breakout season. The 24-year-old third baseman is finally fulfilling the potential the Tigers saw in him when they traded Prince Fielder and gave him the third base job. Castellanos is hitting .316 this season with 11 homers, adding another dangerous bat to the Tigers lineup. Did you know Castellanos grew up in Florida as a fan of Miguel Cabrera and even attended Miggy's first game? Now they're teammates. We talk about that and a lot more. We also dig into the Manny Machado-Yordano Ventura brawl. Since it's draft week, we figured we'd draft which MLB players we'd want alongside us in a brawl. Tweet your answers to @bigleaguestew. Our buddy Bad News Ramen also swings through for another installment of Three Strikes. Here's the full rundown of the show: • Brawler draft • Were the suspensions for Machado and Ventura fair? • Nick Castellanos interview: fulfiling his potential, why he's not on social media, what it's like playing with Miguel Cabrera after being a fan, his draft experience and lots more. • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on the brawl, "Game of the Thrones" and David Ortiz • Important questions [Music: "Last Dayz" by Onyx]

On this week's StewPod, we talk about Mark Melancon, the closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates about the rigors of his job, the Pirates chances in the NL and lots more. We also talk about All-Star voting, whether Cubs fans should get vilified like Royals fans and lots more.

In this week's StewPod, we talk about Barry Bonds dissing Joc Pederson when he asked for a pic and whether opposing teams in modern sports should be buddy-buddy. We also talk about Matt Harvey, Julio Urias, Wade Boggs and the Padres national anthem fiasco. Plus Mike tells the story about the time Mark McGwire dissed him.

In this week's installment of The StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball post, Mike and Chris talk about MLB predictions they regret, plus ones they're happy with and some up-in-the-air predictions they're sticking with. Also discussed: The fallout from the Bautista-Odor fight, why Mike is upset about the Bartolo Colon "double life" story and ballparks on our bucket list. Bad News Ramen joins us to talk about Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra and the fight. Music: "Mainstream" by OutKast

In this Yahoo Sports podcast, Chipper Jones talks about his belief in the future of the Braves, but he doesn't expect anyone to feel bad now that the organization is struggling.

There's almost nothing more than a baseball survey. OK, maybe a Bartolo Colon home run. But getting peoples' opinions about baseball in survey form is a lot of fun — and often surprising, as it was on Thursday when Public Policy Polling, a well-known political poller, released its annual sports survey. And believe us, it asked the important questions. What do people think about bat flips? And the DH? Should Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens be in the Hall of Fame? Oh yeah, good ol' divisive baseball topics. So on this week's StewPod, we had some fun going through the survey and trying to see how well Chris could predict the survey results. We're also joined by Bad News Ramen for another installment of Three Strikes, and we talk about Bryce Harper's suspension, Bartolo's big homer and important questions about cheating, thought not necessarily with performance-enhancing drugs. Here's a rundown of this week's show: • Wait, you can't yell at umpires now? • The magical Bartolo Colon • The Baseball Survey: America's favorites teams, players, bat flips, DHs, the Hall of Fame and more • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen • Important question: When did you cheat? [Music: "Scapegoat" by Atmosphere]

Adam Jones is many things — an All-Star outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles, a Silver Slugger, a husband and father, a fun follow on social media. But there's another thing he loved to talk to us about on the latest installment of the StewPod, the Yahoo Sports baseball podcast. He's quite the foodie. Whether he's tweeting his #StayHungry hashtag or looking for the best places to eat on the road, Jones knows what's up with food. Remember when got a birthday cake that looked like a Popeye's box? But if you ask Jones the best places to eat around MLB (as we did on this week's show) he'll quickly have answers for you, whether it's a small Cuban place in New York or which barbecue spot he prefers in Kansas City. (Food Network, you listening?) And that's just one of the topics Jones covered his chat with us. We covered a wide range of topics, such as the Orioles' hot start and their power potential, the recent wave of PED busts in baseball and his game-day routine. A few highlights: On the O's power: "As an offense, it's good knowing that, all right cool, we're never out of a game. We're one swing away from being back in it." On PEDs: "Obviously these people are making mistakes that are getting caught. I think they put a good structure in place for us with all the supplements, so it is a mistake that they're making. But to say that they're bad people and all that kind of stuff is not where I would start." This week's show also brings Bad News Ramen back to the StewPod and he's got a great story about Warren G. We're also talking about PEDs, selfies and "Space Jam." Here's the full rundown: • Selfies in baseball • Adam Jones joins the show • Adam's pregame routine • The Orioles' hot start • How many players on the Orioles can hit 30 homers? • How he reacts to PED suspensions • Would he want to do a food show after baseball? • His favorite places to eat in numerous MLB cities • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on the Cubs, Curt Schilling and Warren G • The new wave of PEDs • Mike Oz has never seen "Space Jam" and Chris hassles him about it [Music: "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde]

We've got an All-Star edition of the StewPod for you this week, as we're joined by MLB legend Dave Winfield and Yahoo Sports fantasy expert Scott Pianowski. If you're looking for a podcast that will both help yearn for a trip to San Diego for the MLB All-Star game and help fix your fantasy baseball team, this is it. Winfield, along fellow San Diego Padres great Trevor Hoffman, was named as an official spokesperson and ambassador for the 2016 All-Star game. What's that mean exactly? Well, the Hall of Famer explains that plus more in the podcast. It's clear he has a soft spot for San Diego, though, where he played from 1973-1980. And he wore some fantastic uniforms in that time. (Yes, we talked about those too). Meanwhile, Pianowski stops by to offer his early season insights on which players are worth buying low, selling high and watching for on the waiver wire. Especially if your fantasy team is a mess like a certain podcast co-host. Here's a full rundown of the show: • Is Chris the Royals billboard thief? • Dave Winfield on being an All-Star ambassador • What makes a good All-Star game • Wearing the brown-and-yellow unis once again • Keeping young people interested in baseball • Scott Pianowski joins the show • How much should we care about April numbers? • Buying low, selling high, watching the waiver wire * Which prospects should we watch for? • Most outlandish trade proposals? • We play a game to see which early-season performances Scott is believing • Important question: What should be Tyler Collins' punishment [Music: Future - "Inside the Mattress"]

Here's a fun story: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson is a big fan of the Golden State Warriors, which isn't too surprising since he grew up in the Bay Area. When Trayce Thompson was traded to the Dodgers this winter, he became pals with Pederson. Now, they're living together. Thompson is, of course, the brother of Warriors star Klay Thompson. That's just one of the fun things going on in the life of Pederson, the 24-year-old, second-year Dodgers outfielder. He's a big video gamer, so he's always playing FIFA and "Call of Duty" with his teammates. He's also tight with his brother Champ, for whom Joc released a special cap last year with New Era. Pederson joined us on the podcast to talk about all that and lots more, including Vin Scully and his walk-up music. On this week's StewPod also talking about the death of Prince and the firing of Curt Schilling, and we're joined by our pal Bad News Ramen for another installment of Three Strikes. Here's a complete rundown of the show: • Chris has problems • Joc Pederson joins the show • What games is Joc playing? • Will his Warriors win the NBA Finals? • His encounters with Vin Scully • His relationship with his brother, Champ and the New Era cap made in his honor • Why'd he change his walk-up song to "The Fresh Prince" theme? • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen on Curt Schilling, the Jason Heyward story and Prince's death • How did the Internet do with the Curt Schilling news? • What's next for Curt? • Michael Jackson, Prince, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout [Music: Prince - "When Doves Cry"]

If someone were going to bring dabbing to baseball, it makes a whole lot of sense that it's Carlos Gomez. The Houston Astros outfielder is one of baseball's biggest personalities. He celebrates when he does well. He gets upset when he doesn't. But even then, you'll find him smiling a few minutes later and having fun with fans. And possibly dabbing. He's been doing it lately. It's a celebratory dance that most sports fan associate with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but it's taken all sports by storm in the past six months or so. In baseball, Gomez is the guy. "Nobody was doing it in baseball, so I'm saying, I'm going to be the first one." Gomez told us on the latest edition of The StewPod. "It's fun. Bring fun to baseball and people enjoy it. Now you see in the stadium, they're screaming at me, 'Carlos! Carlos! Dab!'" That's just part of our conversation with Gomez, in which we talk about his passion for the game, playing with swagger, entertaining fans and being friendly with kids, plus how he views the 2016 Houston Astros' World Series chances. Also on this week's podcast, we talk about the teams that aren't faring so well in this young baseball season and Bad News Ramen drops in for another installment of Three Strikes Here's a full rundown of the show: • Intro and teams that stink • Carlos Gomez joins the show • Kicking the outfield wall and karate moves • Dabbing and the Carolina Panthers • How he's viewing the 2016 season • What's it like to watch Carlos Correa every day? • Why it's important to play with emotion • Baseball in Latin countries • The difference between putting on a show and disrespecting the game • His interactions with fans, especially kids • Bad News Ramen joins us for Three Strikes on The Bad News Bears, Barry Bonds and catching foul balls • Important questions on special MLB uniforms and Papa Slams. [Music: "The Game Belongs to Me" by UGK]

We're a few days into the Major League Baseball season and we can't even wait to put everything in perspective. So on this week's StewPod, we're playing a game called Small Sample Size Theater, in which we explore the biggest trends of the first week and discuss whether they're legit or results of small sample sizes. Among our topics: Can Carlos Correa be the MVP? Is Robinson Cano back? Was all the worrying about the Dodgers for naught? We're also joined by Bad News Ramen, who has a lot on his mind this week in Three Strikes, including a defense of Bryce Harper, an examination of aging and drinking Dr. Pepper and his new favorite team, the San Diego Padres. Here's a full rundown of the show: • Baseball's here • Small Sample Size Theater on Carlos Correa, the Dodgers, Robinson Cano, Trevor Story and more • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen • Important questions: Best baseball movies? • Chance the Rapper's White Sox caps and who else should redesign caps? [Music: "Juice" by Chance the Rapper]

MLB icon Johnny Bench makes an appearance on the podcast. He tells us about his campaign with Kingsford Charcoal to take back opening day, as well as when opening day went astray. Other topics we touch on: • What else is wrong with baseball • Bat flips • Catchers and concussions • New rules about take-out slides • The generational divide in baseball • Why opening day in Cincinnati is so great • Whether a hot dog is a sandwich

With opening day getting closer by the hour, this week's podcast is devoted to everyone's favorite thing this time of spring — predictions. Oh yes, The StewPod has predictions for you. And so does Aaron Boone, the ESPN analyst who you'll see this season on Sunday Night Baseball alongside Dan Shulman and Jessica Mendoza. That's the team you'll hear calling Sunday night's opener, a World Series rematch between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals. Boone joined us on the show this week to offer his insights into the season ahead as well as offer his take on some of the hot topics surrounding baseball — mainly bat flips and celebrations. We talked about Jose Bautista's ALDS homer (yes, still) and Boone has a great perspective because he also hit a famous postseason homer, so he can understand the moment. We also talked to him about working with Mendoza and how he responds to her critics. Bad News Ramen also stops by to drop some predictions of his own — although, if you know Mr. Ramen, you know there's nothing normal about his predictions. After that, we've got some Important Questions to answer. Here's a full rundown of the show: • Mike and Chris offer some of their hottest predictions • Aaron Boone joins the show • Boone's 2016 season predictions • How he sizes up the Mets and Royals in 2016 • Bat flips and the line between celebration and showboating • Working with Jessica Mendoza • Did he feel passed over when Mendoza got promoted last season? • How he preps for broadcasts • Important Questions on fantasy drafts and title belts [Music: Fort Frances - "Days Get Heavy"]

Opening Day isn't the only day that some baseball fans call in sick. If they're dedicated to virtual baseball, fans consider Tuesday a holiday too. It's the day "MLB The Show 16" drops. "The Show" is the premiere baseball video-game title on the market, a game that prides itself on realism so much that a number of MLB stars are part of the game's development. Among them: Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals. We linked up with Hosmer for interview recently in Arizona, where he playing "The Show" on an off-day from Royals camp. In a fun interview, Hosmer talked about his invovlement in the game, his own experience with baseball video games and some of his preseason impressions about his team. One non-video game thing he admitted to us — he hasn't yet looked at the mock-ups of the Royals World Series rings. He wants to see it for the time when he slips it on his finger next week. Here's a full rundown of the interview: • Hosmer's involvement in "MLB The Show 16" • Whether he campaigns for better attributes • Who's the best Royals player in the game? • Why he plays games with fans • His favorite baseball video games from the past • Early impressions of this year's Royals team • Whether they pay attention to the projections/predictions that have the Royals under .500 this year

Baseball season is almost here, which means that fantasy baseball IS here. On this week's podcast, we're joined by Scott Pianowski of Roto Arcade to talk about the 2016 fantasy season, including which players he's high on and which he's avoiding. We talk about many other strategies along the way too and talk about our favorite fantasy draft experiences and rules. Bad News Ramen joins us for another installment of Three Strikes, which is partially a remembrance of Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest. Here's a full rundown of the show: • Me and Chris, reunited • Scott Pianowski joins the show • Players to draft, players to avoid • Draft strategies • Fantasy draft experiences • Bad News Ramen on Phife Dawg, kids dancing on bases and being a savage fantasy baseball player • Important questions [Music: A Tribe Called Quest - "Buggin' Out" and "Vibes and Stuff"]

Baseball, like society at large, is still trying to digest its on-going divide between the new school and the old school. We saw that in no uncertain terms Thursday, as Bryce Harper and Goose Gossage dominated the headlines for straddling each side of baseball's bubbling culture war. There's Harper, who called baseball "tired" because of its unwritten rules that don't allow players to have flair and personality. He said baseball needs more players like Cam Newton and Steph Curry, more players with express themselves. And there's Gossage, who speaking independently of Harper, expressed his disgust with the current state of baseball. He doesn't bat flips (particularly Jose Bautista's) and sabermetrics and Ivy League-educated execs running teams. Each of these were their own story, but they're stories from the same tree. So on this week's podcast, we delve into both cases and look at baseball (and society's) culture war in a broader sense. Why do young players want the game to be more open? Why do old veterans so loudly object to the way the game is played today? Along the way, Bad News Ramen joins in for a Three Strikes segment and, spoiler alert, his takes are much more old school. Here's a full rundown of this week's episode: • Goose Gossage's mad about everything • Bryce Harper says "express yourself" • What if Bryce Harper called his shot? • What's the right amount of celebration? • Hurt feelings and participation trophies • Three Strikes with Bad News Ramen • Happy Ending: What are the fun stories of the week? [Music: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - "The Evening"]

Baseball is back — for the spring anyway. The question is, how much should we care about the results? The first spring-training games started this week and you now have free reign to prematurely freakout about their favorite team. But should you? That's what we're talking about on this week's podcast. How much do spring training results matter? What should you pay attention you? What should worry you? What should excite you? Beyond that, we're visited by Bad News Ramen for a new installment of Three Strikes and we're talking about the wacky week of animals in baseball, from Yoenis Cespedes' hog to the Arizona Diamondbacks' dog park to the Hank the Dog conspiracy theory. Here's a full rundown of the show: • What's your favorite story of the spring so far? • How much should spring training results worry you? • Does it differ for pitchers and hitters? • Three Strikes on Cespedes' hog, spring cliches and Mike Oz doing on camera • What do we think happened to Hank the Dog? • Important question: Which fictional baseball character would you bring back for a "Creed"-like sequel? [Music: Tha Dogg Pound - "Ridin', Slippin' & Slidin']