With the MLB trade deadline looming, Jonah Keri talks to Grantland writer Rany Jazayerli about the art of buying and selling. Should the long-shot Royals sell, buy, or both? Should the ostensibly eliminated Phillies sell, or do off-field concerns trump potential baseball ops moves? Jonah and Rany also cover bullpen-fortifying trades by the Tigers and Rays, the Braves’ huge NL East lead and its ramifications, and how the next two months might shake out the Pirates.
Jonah is then joined by Brewers relief pitchers Burke Badenhop, John Axford, and Jim Henderson. What’s life like in a big league bullpen? Badenhop and Axford weigh in with the wildly entertaining and extremely unhygienic game they hope to make famous (feel free to weigh in with a name in the comments below). We also cover Henderson’s long journey to the big leagues, how two Canadians like Axford and Henderson ended up choosing baseball over hockey, and Badenhop’s thoroughly baseball-nerdy undergraduate thesis from his days at Bowling Green.
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