Episode 444: Sultans of Swat
7/13/20261 hr 52 min
Episode 444: Welcome to the start of the 2026 All-Star Break. It’s been a long and winding road for every team, but who or what has been the biggest surprise from the first half of the season? The guys discuss plenty of surprises, including the Chicago White Sox in a prime playoff position despite low preseason odds and the Pittsburgh Pirates boasting the second-best offense in baseball.
Jared and the guys share their Home Run Derby selections before Jared heads to Media Day in Philadelphia. Jay Hay, Dallas, and Tyler stick around to talk about how sweep-happy the league was in its final series before the break. They also chat about the draft that took place this weekend. Check out our interviews with three of the top four picks from this year’s draft on the Baseball Is Dead YouTube page!
They wrap up the show talking about JJ Wetherholt getting a bag to stay in St. Louis, and Dallas shouts out the efforts of now-former A’s pitching coach Scott Emerson. Tune in to a Monday edition of BID, and stick around for Wednesday morning’s recap of the All-Star Game!
00:00:00 - Biggest Surprises From the First Half of the Season
00:16:22 - Home Run Derby Predictions & Picks
00:27:30 - Jamie Moyer & Cam Schlittler
00:36:51 - A Weekend of Sweeps
01:00:25 - An Athletics Update
01:05:47 - Guardians Claim Their Own Sweep
01:07:54 - MLB Draft Reactions
01:25:51 - JJ Wetherholt Gets the Extendo
01:31:16 - Dallas Gets Cheesy For a Former Coach
01:36:13 - Award-Winning Nugs & Final Thoughts
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBill Simmons0:00
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Jared Carrabis· Host0:29
I mean, this is a sport that's on the precipice of irrelevance.
Dallas Braden· Host0:34
The games are taking over three and a half hours. Playoff games are taking over four hours.
Justin Havens· Host0:38
Game's too long, too slow. Who cares?
Bill Simmons0:41
This is a situation where baseball's in trouble to begin with.
Justin Havens· Host0:45
I hate to break it to you, baseball's dead.
Jared Carrabis· Host0:48
Baseball is dead.
Dallas Braden· Host0:51
Rest in peace.
Jared Carrabis· Host0:54
Well, first half, first half of the MLB season has concluded. Uh, I don't... I, I, I think... So I've gotta, I've gotta do some shit here in Philadelphia today, so I'm not, I'm not on the full pod. But I, we plan to do Home Run, Home Run Derby, but I kinda wanted to do, like, an impromptu biggest surprises of the first half in terms of when we started on opening day to conclusion of games being played on Sunday. Like, if we were to look at the standings right now, like, is this a Chicago White