Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast

Episode 14 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast opens up with a discussion about Jed Rigney's first experience with an almost-blizzard named Stella and Jon Sumple's friends and family who were blanketed by the storm that avoided Jed and New York City. Good times. The guys discuss the World Baseball Classic and how it has a long way to go before it feels world-worthy like the Word Cup, Pedro Alvarez and his minor-league deal (what's going on with big bats these days?) and how the Rockies could have used Alvarez a few days later when Ian Desmond broke his hand, Kris Bryant setting the record for a second-year service contract (and a tangent about football and baseball player contracts), the Phillies trading for ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte and what it might happen when he faces a switch-hitter, Yankees' prospect Clint Frazier and his haircut (because "Yankees"), Manny Ramirez and the sushi clause in his Japan contract, and Jose Reyes' ongoing woes as a horrible father and husband. This week's "Starting Nine" is a salute to the WBC with players names that sound like or could be associated with geographical places (it's good), followed by a deep dive into the NL East Projections and why the Nationals should breeze, the Mets could fall, the Marlins recovery from Jose Fernandez and the Braves and Phillies rising from the ashes. The show ends with an accelerated "Extra Innings" on March Madness, Brock Osweiler's banishment to Cleveland, the Kyle Busch- Joey Logano dustup and why it's good for NASCAR, and the budding romance between Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.

Episode 14 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast kicks off with the bit about not having a bit, which may become a standing bit for times when co-host Jed Rigney has no bit prepared for the big segment. Jed's counterpart, Jon Sumple, struggles through his second cold in seven weeks as the two banter about David Price and his lucky elbow, which appears to magically heal itself; Rob Manfred's crazy notion that reducing commercial breaks might actually fly; MLB approving the use of on-field biometric monitoring; MLB leveraging its success with Star Wars themed nights at the ballpark by having Game of Thrones nights in 2017; chemically treated balls and their effect on one's grip; and David Ross's retirement party continuing as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Jed turns the new Republican healthcare plan into the best Starting Nine yet featuring players with names that resemble body parts -- yes, it's a stretch and worth listening to how he arrived there. This week's preseason preview focuses on the AL East -- or AL Most, in Jed's opinion -- and there is much pontificating about who will rise to the top and who will fall to the bottom and who will be middling, but the Red Sox are the team to beat. In Extra Innings, we take a look outside of the baseball world and talk about Tony Romo; Khabib Nurmagomedov (go ahead and try to pronounce that correctly -- thanks, Jed!); Adele's pending nuptials and her most successful album yet to come: The Divorce Album; and last but not least the importance of having a day to celebrate international women. Enjoy!

Episode 13 -- Play ball! (kinda), Levine v Betances, Tebow, Schwarber, Facebook, Oscars by

For Episode 12 of Foul Territory, Jed and Jon kick off the 2017 season with a recap of why Foul Territory came to a sudden halt last season, and the pure joy of the Cubs World Series victory, before discussing Alex Reyes' season-ending TJ surgery, Eric Gagne's improbable comeback, Jorge De La Rosa signing with the D-backs, what a Yolmer is and isn't, the World Baseball Classic, new rules being explored to speed up the game, and Derek and Hannah Jeter's upcoming bundle of joy. A preview of AL West projections is followed by a Presidents Day Starting Nine and the tried and true Extra Innings, which focuses on non-baseball ramblings like the FT no-politics zone, Boogie Cousins being traded, Burger King's acquisition of Popeyes, a recap of The Bachelor's contributions to the demise of society and why Jed thinks Rogue One is going to sweep the Oscars.

For Episode 11 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast, Jed dusts off his patented Baldwin Brothers ranking system to evaluate whether teams delivered a much-desired "Alec" rating vs. the oh-no, we're a "Daniel." Complete rundown of every team in MLB, so fasten your headphones for an hour of nonstop post-trade deadline talk.

This is the real Episode 10 of "Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast" since we somehow lost track and skipped a number along the way (Jon's fault!). During the real #10, Jed and Jon talk a little politics and introduce a new sponsor, before jumping into Headlines: Aroldis Chapman getting traded to the Cubs, Chip Hale on the hotseat (or not), Chris Sale getting all snippy with the White Sox throwback unis, the Hall of Fame inductions of Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr., Johnny Cueto's displeasure on not being invited to the White House with the Royals, Rick Porcello becoming the first Red Sox pitcher to go 10-0 at Fenway in 55 years, and Twitter's deal to livestream MLB games. This week's What the WTF? focuses on too many home runs and why, the Starting Nine gives us players with Democrat-connected names and 3UP/3DOWN gets uppity with Trevor Story, Joey Votto and Kyle Hendricks and downtrodden on Colby Rasmus, Jason Heyward and Tim Lincecum. The podcast ends with the tried and true Extra Innings -- our look at what's going on outside of the world of baseball -- with a take on Peyton Manning walking, Debbie Wasserman Schultz's DNC debacle, Iggy Azalea and French Montana (not French Stewart)spotted in Vegas together, and Rob Kardashian deleting Blac Chyna on Instagram (Ooohhh!).

Episode 10 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast kicks off with some RNC clown-show banter before jumping into Headlines with the Twins firing of GM Terry Ryan, the sentencing of Christopher Correa in the Cardinals hacking scandal with the Astros, trade talk about Drew Pomeranz and Rich Hill, Yan Gomes' freaky shoulder injury that looked like a knee injury, and MLB's serious interest in reducing the schedule to 154 games. We introduce a new segment -- Italics Predictions -- with bland how-can-you-go-wrong picks for division, wild card, MVP and Cy Young winners, before jumping into Starting Nine, which features players with Republican names, followed by 3UP/3DOWN with uppers Hector Santiago, Giancarlo Stanton and Kennys Vargas and downers Michael Pineda, Yasmani Tomas and Ryan Braun. Show wraps with the usual Extra Innings, a look outside the world of baseball, with stories about Tom Brady accepting his suspension, the NFL placing chips in footballs to analyze the feasibility of reducing the width of goalposts, Pitbull purchasing a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Guns 'N Roses being detained at the Canadian border for ... gun possession, and Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian getting bitchy with each other.

Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast's ninth episode enters into foreign territory -- the sub-hour show length. Finally! Jed Rigney and Jon Sumple got their Skype on minutes after the MLB All-Star Game ended, which meant plenty of convo about the game being nothing more than an exhibition vs. an important "must-win" event; considering the hype the NL had going in, they still couldn't deliver. Good game, but how about Giancarlo Stanton's epic Home Run Derby performance and the Futures Game performances of Alex Bregman and Yoan Moncada? There's also a discussion about Matt Harvey's injury and its impact on the Mets; the Cubs' pre-ASG swan dive; Pete Rose suing John Dowd for accusing him of having sex with minors and Cody Stanley's puzzling PED test failures despite using only approved supplements. This week's Starting Nine is the funniest to date with Jed fielding a team of players who have names in common with actual stars -- as in heavenly bodies. There's also a review of Jed's preseason predictions for each division, and he's on to something with his prognostications. FT ends as it always does with a Extra Innings, a look at what's going on outside the world of baseball -- Tim Duncan retiring, Draymond Green getting arrested, Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis tying the knot; Ciara confirming that she finally gave it up to husband Russell Wilson; and the anticipated flop of the new Ghostbusters film.

With Episode 8 of Foul Territory: A Baseball Podcast being recorded mere minutes following the All-Star Game selection show, Jed and Jon spend time dissecting the good, the bad and the ugly of who was and wasn't selected, and who shouldn't be going. There's also some banter about Clayton Kershaw's back injury and why backs are important, the Tigers' exercise in futility vs. the Indians, the BoSox ban from signing international players despite "everyone doing it", the Fort Bragg MLB experiment between the major league Marlins and minor league Braves, Andrew Miller's assurance that he won't be traded and why he shouldn't be, and the little story a few miles from Jed's abode about counterfeit MLB jerseys being confiscated. New segment alert! What the WTF?! features a discussion around the bizarre legislation to preserve the sanctity of MiLB while shafting minor leaguers in the process. We then dive into players with Founding Fathers names in Starting Nine, the 3UP/3DOWN of uppers Danny Espinosa, Max Scherzer and Junior Guerra, and downers Danny Valencia, Andrew McCutchen and Yordano Ventura. We wrap another successful (?) show with Extra Innings' look at non-baseball stuff, including Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors, the super bacteria that is threatening to win the Rio Olympics, FBI exonerating Hillary Clinton, Kenny Chesney's ability to rile rednecks into a drinking frenzy, Ciara's fear about Russell Wilson's "future," and the stunning news that Lindsay Lohan actually made it to the age of 30.