Episode 24: U2, Derek Jeter number retired, Bryce Harper contract, Chris Sale dominance, Alonzo Ball
Episode 24 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast is in the books. Jed Rigney and Jon Sumple start the show talking about U2 and its Joshua Tree Tour along with Derek Jeter and the Yankees retiring No. 2 — you have to listen to understand the connection. Additional Headlines include discussions about the Nationals signing Bryce Harper to a $21.625 one-year deal and what the Nats are thinking, considering Harper’s all but guaranteed to bolt when he hits free agency; the Johnny Cueto-Yasmani Grandal dustup and in-game reconciliation (kinda) over sign-stealing; the Seattle Mariners’ starting rotation disappearing act with Kuma joining King Felix, Smyly and Paxton on the DL; Chris Sales’ seventh consecutive start with 10 or more strikeouts (Pedro-esque in Beantown), this week’s episode of “As the Mets Turn,” with Jeurys Familia’s blood clot and potential to miss the remainder of the season; and Alex Rodriguez joining the cast of “Shark Tank.”
A new segment — Farm Report — Â debuts, focusing on Chicago Cubs prospect Ian Happ and Cleveland prospect Bradley Zimmer making their MLB debuts. Following the segment, Jed declares that Farm Report has been cancelled — one and done. Listen to see why.
This week’s Starting Nine pays tribute to Derek Jeter with players who have Super Model names, and the word “nipple” appears on the show for the very first time! Another kind-of-new segment debuts, In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), with an interesting convo about Jose Canseco and how valuable he was in his final season, which leads to a discussion about Barry Bonds, and the fact his final season WAR would be valued at $24 million on today’s market. ICYMI will not be cancelled!
This week’s Are You Buying It? follows up last week’s division-leaders segment with a bottom-dwellers discussion of the Jays, Royals, Pirates, A’s, Marlins and Padres. Who’s Jed buying? Tune in. Find out.
Show wraps with Extra Innings and a view at what’s going on outside the baseball world. The guys talk about the NBA Lottery and the potential of a Bird-Magic redo with the Celtics and Lakers picking 1-2 (along with the sideshow circus that will follow Alonzo Ball); the French Open rebuffing Maria Sharapova to “protect the game” and intentionally reduce viewership (Jed also shares where the clay on the courts of Roland Garros comes from); Pacman Jones pleading guilty and apologizing for something or other … again; and Grandpa Rossy outlasting Simone Biles on Dancing With the Stars, and Jed’s conspiracy theory as to how and why it’s happening. All this and more on Episode 24!