Welcome to the second episode of the Call to the Pen flagship podcast! New episodes Monday and Wednesday.
In today’s episode, host and Call to the Pen contributor Jonathan Platek breaks down the scores from Tuesday’s MLB action, and gives you the latest on the Sonny Gray and Yu Darvish trades, as well as more from the MLB trade deadline.
Jon also discusses the current host-under-fire Doug Gottlieb for his comments, some would call them racist, concerning Adrian Beltre and PED usage. This leads to a brief discussion on permitting suspected, even positive-testing, steroid players into the Hall of Fame. Finally, it’s time for What’s Hot on Call to the Pen, and a discussion on who won the MLB trade deadline.
Here’s what is going on in today’s episode:
- 0:00—6:30: Intro and Scoreboard
- 6:31—10:35: “Damn Millenials.” Jon explains the need for an abbreviated show today, and explains how cool a ‘mix minus’ can be. Great pod.
- 10:36—16:36: Jon plays the audio from Doug Gottlieb’s radio show concerning Adrian Beltre and steroid usage, pausing to point out inconsistencies and funny moments.
- 16:37—26:15: Jon breaks down the various arguments Gottlieb makes about Beltre being in the Hall of Fame. Should suspected steroid users get in? What about positive tests? A case is made that there should be no barrier for entry for steroid users, as they benefited from the modern environment, much like hundreds of other Hall of Fame players from past eras.
- 26:16—29:00: What’s Hot on Call to the Pen. Jon discusses and teases some great articles from Call to the Pen contributors, the posts are linked below.
- First up is a column detailing the dominance of the #3 overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft, MacKenzie Gore. David Hill’s piece can be read in full here.
- Then is a column discussing the Cardinals’ decision to stand pat at the deadline. Tim Haberin’s column can be read here.
Next: Astros had deal nixed by opposition's owner
- 29:01—End: Jon discusses the Yu Darvish trade, surmising that the Dodgers may not have gotten what they thought they would get. This leads to a discussion on who “won” the MLB trade deadline, as well as the “trading season” altogether.