There are times when you want information, cold, hard information that speaks truth to your soul. There are other times when you need a good laugh to tame burns from the fires of modern life. Fortunately for you, there are sports podcasts to provide both.

Well, neither, really. But still, right?

This week's OTM Podcast features Matt talking baseball (mostly, I swear!) with the excellent and always affable Jason Wojciechowski from Beaneball.org of ESPN's Sweetspot Network, and The Platoon Advantage, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Baseball Prospectus (not really). Jason's and Matt's discussion bounces around to the point where Matt, to nobody's surprise, completely loses his train of thought and then, later, forgets to edit that part out. Yay professionalism! In any case, the discussion covers the following list of topics, which is in no way comprehensive:

• Manny Ramirez
• The Andrew Bailey trade
  
• Yoenis Cespedes
• Andrew Bailey's girth
• Andrew Bailey's girth's girth
• goats
• Free Agency: Reviewing the Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Jose Reyes deals.
  
• The epistemology of sabermetrics

Yes, that last one is a joke.

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with questions, statements, drum circle tips, cake recipies, media inquiries, and goat herding suggestions at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Many thanks to Jason for his time and insight. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

Was there any doubt that when you combine the Over The Monster Podcast with The Platoon Advantage, you'd wind up upsetting somebody?

On this week's episode of the OTM Podcast, Matt Kory and Marc Normandin are joined by Bill Parker from The Platoon Advantage and Baseball Prospectus to talk baseball. Other topics may or may not include:

• TwinsFest 2012: Attended!
  
• Marc's computer: Broken!
  
• The Minnesota Twins: Mentioned!
  
• Concussions: Discussed!
• Jim Bowden: Pined after! Not really!
• The Prince Fielder contract: Dissected!
  
• The future of human civilization: Solved!
• Carson Cistulli's style: Shamelessly aped!

There may also be a little bit about Jim Bowden's excellence, something know only as ESPM (you'll never figure out what that stands for!) and of course, your standard 'eating pudding in your mom's basement' blogger insult. Yes, it's all here, and it's all... uh, near...? One way or the other, it's a raucous 39th episode of the Over The Monster Podcast!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with questions, statements, discussion points, powerpoint presentations, media inquiries, and ear hair styling suggestions at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Many thanks to Bill Parker for his patience, time, and perspicacity. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

There may be a more scattered podcast in existence, somewhere, some place, but I would not put what the ancient Chinese call "Money" on it. That said, I challenge the listener to find a podcast containing more fun per square gigabyte. The patient listener will be rewarded by discussion of actual baseball, but prior to that "purpose" there may be times when, wandering in the desert of existential/old Red Sox prospect madness, you wonder if it can get any better. I assure you, it can't. And it doesn't.

But that, my friends, is far far from an insult. Indeed, it's the highest of compliments. This week, Matt and Marc are graced by the gentile humor of one Jeff Sullivan, proprietor of the blog Lookout Landing which ostensibly focuses on the Seattle Mariners. The guest and hosts discussion includes but is not limited to:

• Volcanoes
• Portland's impending doom
• Brian Rose: Steroid Starter Kit
• Boxes of crap
• Abe Alvarez
• The recent Mariners/Yankees swap of Michael Pineda (or Joel Pineiro if you aren't paying attention)
• The Red Sox off season

It's an abreviated, vulgar, and generally awesome 38th Over The Monster Podcast!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with questions, comments, media requests, and nose hair styling suggestions at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Many thanks to Jeff Sullivan for his time and insight. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

Six things we are not talking about on this, the 37th Over The Monster Podcast:

1. The State of the Union

2. The state of unicorns

3. Unicorn meat

4. My mom

5. Your mom

6. Moms

Yes, it's time to talk Red Sox baseball again, and it's a mom-insult free zone. Until we hit 'stop' on the recording software, then Marc Normandin goes off. Goes OFF!

This week, Marc and Matt are lucky enough to be joined by the illustrious Chad Finn, sports writer for the Boston Globe. Mr. Finn and the guys discuss the off season up to the present day, including the Red Sox search for another starting pitcher, the ridiculous Prince Fielder contract, and the new Red Sox manager and front office. It's a rollicking red-soxing-ish time on this, the 37th Over The Monster Podcast!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with questions, comments, favorite Horatio Sanz sketches, grass growing techniques, media requests, and toupee styling suggestions at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Many thanks to Chad Finn for his insight, humor, and levelheadedness. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

About the best you can hope for in any podcast is information coupled with joviality. This week's OTM Podcast has that in spades. No guests getting in our way this week. No big important names with big important opinions. "LOOK AT ME I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT I'M IMPORANT." None of that. Just Marc and Matt talking Red Sox. Well, sort of. I mean 'sort of' in the sense that we aren't really talking Red Sox BUT WAIT!!!

Before you tune us out, you should know that this really is one of the best OTM Podcasts we've ever done. The sound is top notch, the topics are whip quick, the humor is off the charts (and if it isn't you can just imagine everyone around you naked), and maybe more than anything, we're just informative as heck. As heck I say!

We cover the issues of the day, including, but not limited to:

• Fausto Carmona isn't really A) a good pitcher or B) Fausto Carmona
  
• $120 million for Yu Darvish could be not incorrectly construed as underpayment.
  
• David Ortiz's arbitration situation, complete with discussion of money, years, and years with money.
  
• Jamie Moyer is so old that when he was young the the word "old" was spelled o-l-d-e.
  

All that and maybe even a little bit more if you're good on this, the 36th, Over The Monster Podcast!

Of note: For some reason, GarageBand, the recording software I use to record this comic gold each week, decided to add five minutes of dead air to the end of the MP3. No idea why. Maybe it was just so tired from the rapid fire informationality on this particular episode of the OTM Podcast that it just needed some time to rest and recoup. Who knows. In any case, the actual running time is just seconds past an hour. You definitely needed to know that.

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with questions, comments, vegan chili recipes, goat herding techniques, media requests, and ear hair styling suggestions at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast (though this week's music is actually from a great band called Thinking Machines) and of course thanks to you for listening.

With the Sad Naked Clown Podcast behind us, Marc Normandin and Matt Kory welcome in Sam Miller of the Orange County Register and Baseball Prospectus to talk Angels. The Albert Pujols signing along with the C.J. Wilson signing have moved the Angels to the head of the headlines this off season, but will they be at the head of the AL West? Or maybe more pertinently, will they steal Boston's birthright (a.k.a. the Wild Card)? Also, the Hall of Fame: Annoying or Really Annoying? Discuss! It's another action-packed, exciting, and typing-filled episode of the Over The Monster Podcast!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON IT email us with questions, comments, butter cookie recipes, kite flying routes, media requests, and nose hair grooming tips at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Thanks to Sam for his time and his on-the-fly google skills. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

Sometimes preparation will slow you down. Sometimes, 85% is better than 100%. Sometimes, being lazy means you can win the race and take a nap.

With that in your back pocket, I give you this, the 34th OTM Podcast.

The best news anyone could ever hope to hear could just be, 'That naked clown who was outside your window has left.' It's hard to say for sure, but the start to this week's podcast adventure could just be the break science has been waiting for all these decades. Or not.

Beyond important clown science, we talk Red Sox with fellow OTM overlord Ben Buchanan. Matt, Marc, and Ben discuss the deal for Andrew Bailey, mourn the loss of Josh Reddick, crack wise on Ryan Sweeney's outfield abilities, and generally lay the revamped bullpen to waste. You know, in general. It's a rowdy, over the top Over The Monster Podcast! (34th Edition)

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. PLEASE email us with questions, comments, peanut butter cookie recipes, favorite apples for which to bob, media requests, and arm hair grooming tips at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Thanks to Ben for sharking his totally irrational fear of naked clowns outside his window. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.

Before we get started, here are Five Things that Are Better Than The OTM Podcast

1. Breathing
2. Water-Skiiing Squirrels
3. My Cat, Mr. Pickles (unless he's peeing on the fridge)
4. World Peace
5. Dirty Water (the Red Sox winning kind, not actual dirty water)

And now Four Things that Are Worse Than The OTM Podcast

1. Actual Dirty Water
2. Paper Cuts
3. Wet Socks
4. Angry Goats At The Petting Zoo That Bite You Even Though You Give Them Little Food Pellets That Look Like Rabbit Turds

The OTM Podcast, you see, resides somewhere in the middle there. We're not quite to the level of Water Skiing squirrels or world peace, but then we're miles ahead of paper cuts and angry goats. I feel it's important to point that out.

With that out of the way, I should tell you about the 33rd Over The Monster Podcast. It's not often the Podcast is graced with two excellent baseball bloggers (beyond the two who normally do the podcast that is), but this week is an exception. Marc's voice is still sketchy thanks to off-season illness, so I (Matt) am joined by Cee Angi, the newest writer here at OTM, and Chip Buck, resident guru at Fire Brand of the AL, the Red Sox blog at ESPN's Sweet Spot network. Of course we're talking Red Sox. We cover the Red Sox off season to date, including the potential moving of reliever Daniel Bard into the rotation, the David Ortiz saga, and whether or not the current iteration of the Red Sox contains any Hall of Famers. Despite a few electrical glitches, it's a thoroughly enjoyable 33rd episode of the Over The Monster Podcast!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. PLEASE email us with questions, statements, insults, guesses, date requests, media requests, and nose hair grooming tips at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Thanks to Chip and Cee for sticking with me through myriad technical issues and for staying up crazy late. Thanks as always, to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and of course thanks to you for listening.