Chris Sale represents a nightmare for opposing hitters, with an overpowering pitch mix coming from a delivery that is unlike nearly any other in the game. In this podcast, Sale discusses the origins of his delivery, what it enables him to do, a

2017 MLB Draft preview with MLB.com's Jim Callis

Jun 12th, 2017 28m 2s

Jim Callis of MLB.com breaks down the upcoming Major League Baseball draft, including potential Red Sox targets with the No. 24 overall pick of the first round.

That's a wrap: Takeaways from spring training with Peter Abraham

Apr 1st, 2017 20m 1s

A spring training that seemed to have no end has now ended. As it does, Peter Abraham of the Globe joined the podcast to take stock of the bigger picture of an unusual Red Sox spring training.

Statcast and the changing language of baseball with Mike Petriello

Mar 7th, 2017 16m 29s

In just two years, MLB.com's Statcast has changed the way that baseball is seen and discussed. Terms like exit velocity, route efficiency, and spin rate -- once concepts that existed almost exclusively in MLB front offices -- have now made thei

Why did the scouting industry miss on Mike Trout and Mookie Betts?

Nov 19th, 2016 37m 55s

Why did the scouting industry miss on Mike Trout and Mookie Betts? by The Boston Globe

Ep. 16: The Red Sox' Top 10 Prospects with John Manuel of Baseball America

Nov 2nd, 2016 41m 20s

With the release of the Red Sox top 10 prospect list, produced for Baseball America by Alex Speier, Baseball America's John Manuel joins Alex to discuss some of the conversations that went into the rankings as they appeared – particularly the s

Ep. 15: A Red Sox-centric view of the World Series

Oct 25th, 2016 34m 37s

This year’s World Series features a litany of Red Sox-related storylines – at a time when the Red Sox aren’t in the World Series. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe looks back at the Red Sox season that was, while Dan Shaughnessy of the Globe lo

Ep. 13: David Ortiz's final walkoff

Sep 30th, 2016 20m 10s

As David Ortiz plays the final regular season games of his career, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe joins the podcast to discuss the larger-than-life slugger’s career, including the controversies that sometimes involved Shaughnessy, and a fa

Ep. 12: Robby Scott's path to the big leagues

Sep 24th, 2016 28m 28s

Andrew Benintendi barely had time to unpack his suitcases while blitzing through four levels of the minors en route to a big league callup in August. One month later, Robby Scott joined Benintendi in the majors, but after a very different ascen

Ep. 11: Managing pitcher risk

Sep 16th, 2016 21m 18s

The decision to remove Rich Hill from the middle of a perfect game placed a spotlight on the risk/reward assessment of pitcher workload management. While the manager and pitcher serve as the focal points of that conversation, a team trainer has

Ep. 11: The Making of Mookie Betts

Aug 25th, 2016 25m 35s

Alex Speier is joined by Chad Finn of the Boston Globe and Mookie Betts' uncle, ex-Red Sox Terry Shumpert, to discuss Betts' upbringing.

Ep. 10: How Andrew Benintendi rode the fastest of fast tracks to the big leagues

Aug 6th, 2016 30m 44s

To answer that question, we talked with all three of Benintendi’s minor league managers.

Ep. 9: John Farrell talks bullpen management

Jul 23rd, 2016 22m 30s

Bullpen usage is the low-hanging fruit on the second-guessing -- and even the first-guessing -- tree. Every decision represents one of several options, which in turn means that there are obvious alternatives to consider if and when something go

Ep. 8: Making sense of the Drew Pomeranz-Anderson Espinoza deal with ESPN's Keith Law

Jul 15th, 2016 32m 10s

The Red Sox dealt the best pitching prospect to enter their system this decade, sending righthander Anderson Espinoza to the Padres in a one-for-one deal for lefty Drew Pomeranz. In Espinoza, what did they give up? Was it a sensible risk for a

Ep.. 7: Making sense of MLB's sanctions against the Red Sox with Ben Badler

Jul 1st, 2016 22m 10s

Major League Baseball hit the Red Sox with significant penalties for alleged "package" deals to circumvent regulations on the bonuses to which they could sign international amateur free agents. What does that mean? What are the penalties? What

Ep. 6: Previewing the MLB draft

Jun 9th, 2016 39m 22s

On the day of Major League Baseball’s Draft, Jim Callis of MLB.com joins 108 Stitches: The Podcast to look forward to what might transpire Thursday night, including some of the players in play for the Red Sox with the No. 12 overall pick of the

Ep. 5: The fascination with hitting streaks

May 27th, 2016 41m 35s

What is it like for a hitter to go a month without a hitless game? How do pitchers and catchers approach the task of stopping streaks? What is a manager's view of his involvement with such a run? And what is the statistical probability of somet

Ep. 4: Is there a better way to call the strike zone?

May 13th, 2016 27m 13s

The recent Red Sox/Yankees game that swung over the ball and strike calls of home plate umpire Ron Kulpa raises a simple question: Isn't there a better way of doing this? Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo and NESN analyst Jerry Remy join Alex S

Ep. 3: The value of a catcher

Apr 21st, 2016 29m 22s

Red Sox manager John Farrell, Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe join Alex Speier to discuss how catcher value is defined and determined in baseball today.

Ep. 1: A conversation on the mound

Apr 20th, 2016 33m 24s

Alex Speier previews the 2016 season by speaking with Red Sox ace David Price, Globe beat writer Peter Abraham, and Red Sox director of pitching analysis and development Brian Bannister in a test run of a new venture for us.

Ep. 2: Panic and perspective

Apr 14th, 2016 25m 4s

Alex Speier discusses the early season battle between panic and perspective with Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.

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