FanGraphs Audio: Red Sox Lefty Austin Davis Is Taking Notes

Episode 979

This week on the show, we welcome a reliever in the middle of a breakout campaign before our Freaky Friday dynamic duo returns for some more banter.

• To kick things off, David Laurila is joined by Red Sox left-hander Austin Davis. Davis describes his journey from being traded by the Pirates to buying his own TrackMan unit and learning to alter his grip — and how that has changed his game entirely. We also hear about playing under Gabe Kapler and with Rhys Hoskins, getting advice from Brad Lidge, and that time Joe West infamously confiscated his scouting cheatsheet on the mound. [3:47]
• In the second half, Dan Szymborski and Ben Clemens are back to chat about the red-hot Yankees, the scorching Braves, and how the Blue Jays are in a crucial spot and need to consider trading for a starter. We also hear about the latest zStats update, questionable baserunning blunders, Miles Mikolas’s near-no-hitter, the Cardinals’ grim catching situation, and the bummer that is injury news. Finally, Dan and Ben speculate about the slowest Eephus possible and muse over how we sometimes choose to ignore concerning signs of regression when we want to believe in a fun player, such as Nestor Cortes. [27:02]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 62 minute play time.)

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