The Over the Monster Podcast: Watching the frenzy from afar

Note: This episode was recorded prior to the signing of James Paxton early Wednesday morning.

Welcome back to another episode of the Over the Monster Podcast, coming back to you after a week off for the holiday. For this episode that we expect will directly precede a lockout and a subsequent transaction feed, it is Matt hosting with Bryan co-hosting.

The two first talk about the move that the Red Sox did make over the weekend amid the free agent chaos happening around the league. The conversation starts with how well the contract matches what the right-handed veteran can bring to the table, first looking at Wacha in a vacuum before looking at his fit with the roster. They try to determine what role would look best for him, and how hard it is to really judge the move without knowing what comes next.

After the Wacha discussion, the conversation moves to the moves that have been made around the league and Boston’s lack of involvement. Does that mean there is no big splash to come, or will it perhaps just come down a different avenue? They also talk about the team’s infield defense and whether or not that should make them lean away from ground ball pitchers like Marcus Stroman and others who are available on the market.

Finally, the conversation does turn to the lockout, with some predictions about how long things will last, albeit with an acknowledgement that it comes with very little knowledge of the situation. They also talk about some rule changes they’d like to see in the CBA as well as the league’s recent proposal which included alterations to the playoff format. The show finishes with a handful of listener questions.

We hope you enjoyed today’s show. If so, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.