Baseball PhD Podcast: MLB Realignment

Yes, I know it is hockey season and you are all fidgeting in your seats awaiting more NFL picks. BUT I am a baseball fan at heart and this is just an issue that must put forth. REALIGNMENT. Yes, just recently the Houston Astros have agreed to be sold on the terms that they will be moved to the American League. While I admire MLB's idea to make both the American and National Leagues have an equal amount of teams, 15, I do, however disagree with this move. When it comes to realignment they might as well tear it all up and create divisions that will create more natural rivalries. I mean come on why are the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants not in the same division given their proximity and success of the Bay Bridge series. Why don't we get this all year round like Yankees vs. Red Sox.

After going back to a podcast that was recorded this summer, by Baseball PhD, I couldn't help but come up with my own ideas on how the realignment should work.

Take in mind that the Designated Hitter will be eliminated.
With six divisions each team will play each division opponent 14 times.
They will also play each other team in baseball in one four game series.

- alternating home and away each year
This comes out to a total of 156 games.
Yes, we are eliminating the 162 game schedule, offering more off days for the players and making more room for postponed games.
Each division will send their top seed to the playoffs.
The next best four records will play in a three game series (wild card round).
The winners will face the #1 and #2 seeds in the second round.
This will be followed by a semi-finals and then World Series, which has the possibility of having the two best teams, record wise, in the World Series every year.

Here are my new divisions.

Northeast
Boston Red Sox
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates

Atlantic Coast
Baltimore Orioles
Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays

Great Lakes
Toronto Blue Jays
Minnesota Twins
Milwaukee Brewers
Detroit Tigers
Cleveland Indians

Great Plains
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
St. Louis Cardinals
Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals

California
San Francisco Giants
Oakland A's
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
San Diego Padres

Western
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
Houston Astros
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks

I love this. More rivalries. Higher Attendance. More intensity. More Hype.

No reason for MLB not to look into this.

DO YOU AGREE? DISAGREE? I would love to hear what everyone has to say.


Be sure to check out Baseball PhD
Twitter: @BaseballPhD
Podcast: Download

Also: Bet on TEBOW tonight. He is everyone. Everyone loves him. That is all.

Starting A Podcast: Skeletor's Mouthpiece

And welcome to the classroom. Or podroom if you will. Yup, I do it all watch sports, eat, sleep and now educating my peers. Fu*king exhausting. But for you, the reader, I will always reach further and faster than the competition. So here we go.

I have got a little wisdom to pass along to you today: How to start a podcast.

Featured on our Monday Pod Pack was Skeletor's Mouthpiece, a recently established podcast in England. Skeletor's Mouthpiece is run by Dan Scractcher & Adam Roberts.

I was able to ask them some questions about how they got started and advice they have for the future podcasters of the world. So put on your reading glasses, make a little bit of room in that multitasking mind of yours and soak it in.

PodWorld: What gave you the motivation to start a podcast?

Skeletor's Mouthpiece: We've known each other for 16 years and met at school through our mutual friend Nick Wheadon (the guy who keeps falling off his chair in episodes 5 & 6), pretty much straight off the bat we were talking shit and goofing around. As we have gotten older we have tried ways to do something creative together as we live in rural England and creative stimulation is hard to come by, mainly trying to come up with good ideas for film/T.V scripts, Adam even wrote some stand up. Most of these are much like the podcast, heavy amounts of toilet humour. It's quite a big part of the British sense of humour, especially in our age group as we grew up watching a generation of excellent comedians on t.v such as Harry Enfield, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. I figured we had good chemistry as we have been friends for so long so why not give it a try.............plus I thought the world needed to know about how much of a tool Roberts is, mission accomplished I'd say.

PW: Are podcasts becoming as big in England as they are here in the US?

SM: As far as I can see Podcasts are universally becoming more and more popular and it's an exciting and relatively inexpensive new way to get 'material', if you can call what we do material, out to a large audience.

PW: Any advice for future podcasters?

SM: look into hosting sites seriously and take into account the amount of time you are going to spend doing all the stuff that isn't as fun as recording. Also try not to put any undue pressure on yourself like time constraints or the quality of your 'material', the interweb is a large place and if people will listen to us two then there's an audience for everything.

Also, type "how to podcast" into google. There are some great guides out there that make the whole process very easy. Once you have your platform sorted then you can start thinking about content. Or, if you are like us, just switch a mic on and try to let the content develop itself. If you are slightly more ambitious then I'd read up on basic sound recording, Dan and I both have experience with this so have managed to get a decent enough amateur sound using my home studio set-up. There are certain impressions I feel you have to make to be taken seriously and a good sound quality helps to lend an air of legitimacy. Saying that though...you could just record it into an Iphone. That works too.

Well there you have it folks! A nice educational touch to the blog. Yes, I know my NFL picks are very educational in terms of how to lose $. But this one tops it all. Hopefully we will have a few more of these in the coming posts.

Big thanks to Adam & Dan. Don't forget to follow them on twitter:@skeletorspiece

Monday Pod Package: Skeletor's Mouthpiece

Pod-World Presents . . . Skeletor's Mouthpiece

Well folks you are in for a little bit of a treat today. We are going across the pond!

Yes, England may not like our dollar but they do love podcasts.

I got the chance to talk to two budding podcasters: Dan Scratcher & Adam Roberts, who have recently created a podcast: Skeletor's Mouthpiece.

Viewers beware explicit humor is not frowned upon in this podcast but is welcomed with open arms from the Queen herself, i joke. But still, you know I find nothing more humorous than a fowl mouth, and Skeletor's Mouthpiece provides exactly that.

Recently on the Pcast the boys have covered getting fertility tests, giraffe molesters, stories from days past and well wanking off . . . a huge theme of the show.

Wanking off aside, these guys really captivate the audience with real life stories about what is going on in their lives and poke fun at themselves. I cant express enough how much I love these types of podcasts and how well they work in podcast form. The podcast world is turning into a niche market and overtime I believe these guys will only continue to grow, for as soon as you listen you will be itching to plug in for the next episode.

You Know The Drill Pod fans.

download.plugin.enjoy

Follow on Twitter: @SkeletorsPiece

Download: The podcast

*Check Back on Wednesday For Exclusive Interview about How they Got Started and How to Start Your Own PODCAST

-Do you have a podcast? Want to be featured on Pod-world? Follow me on twitter @podcastgreg

Monday Pod Package: Music Edition

Will my podcasts help you shed some pounds before the holidays?

Beats Me

But you might as well give em a shot.

And it is a Musical Monday. Yeah that's right no time for news & sports (my picks sucked again I know brutal, counting on a big win for Philly to climb back to a .500 week) we are going all tunes.

These juicy podcasts are excellent for the gym.

Whether your a chubby tubby trying to lose a little, before your thxgiving indulgence, on the elliptical or a protein shake junky, pumping those dumb bells, one thing is guaranteed these podcasts will make you push it to another level.

Thanks to Mr. Kyle for the tips here is the lineup.

(@MrKyle91 on twitter, dude needs some followers . . . think he has got like 5, yikes and he is in the hospital after inhaling rat poison so give the kid at least a sympathy twitter f*ck)

1. Mad Decent Worldwide Radio

Heavy on the Dub . . . Dubnation Download Now! . . . MDWRpodcast

2. UKF Music

Another set heavy on the bass . . . UKFMpodcast

3. The Essential Mix

The E.mix has got it all everything that a HOUSE music craver needs. EssentialMix

4. Avicii Levels

Just plug it in . . . . Avicii

You Know the Drill folks. download. play. enjoy. workit.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @podcastgreg

Week 9 Pick$

Where Are Herman Cain's Eyebrows?

Beats Me.

But My NFL picks are right HERE!

Hello November Football!

So much promise with a new month and a half of the NFL season remaining. Will Tebowing become the new planking? (come timmy I'm rooting for ya) Will the Packers lose a game? Can the Patriots stop the pass? Who's SuckforLuck campaign will last another week?

Beats me, but what I do know is that my picks for week 9 are so delicious that you may mistake them for thanksgiving dinner.

here we go.

@Kansas City vs. Miami (+4)

I am shocked that Vegas is only dropping a 4 spot for the fins. Is blowing a big lead to the New Jersey Football Giants really warrant praise? I sure don't think so. Look to see the int. happy Chiefs D have a pickoff party, hosted by Matt Moore of course. Oh Andrew Luck. . . where art thou?

The Pick: Kansas City

@Buffalo vs. New Jersey Jets (+2)

The Jets, 0-3 on the road this year. The Bills, 4-0 at home and coming of a SHUTOUT. Yeah thats right the Bills even play a little D. Funny as the Jets have been sttrugglin' to find the endzone with out the help of their defense. The Bills have a flashy aerial attack.

The Pick: Buffalo

Atlanta vs. @Indianapolis (+7)

funny.

The Pick: Atlanta

Green Bay vs. @San Diego (+5.5)

I don't know if it is because I have the gift wrapper (Phil Rivers) and Vince Jackson on my fantasy team. But for some reason I always have some high hopes for these chargers. And ironically I think they are presently charging for this bout against the reigning champs. Will they win out right? that might be a stretch but they might be field goal shy, closer than the experts think.

The Pick: San Diego

@Dallas vs. Seattle (+11.5) . . . The Pick: Dallas

@New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay (+8) . . . The Pick: New Orleans

San Francisco vs. @Washington (+3.5) . . . The Pick: San Francisco

@Houston vs. Cleveland (+11) . . . The Pick: Houston

@Tennessee vs. Cincinnati (+3) . . . The Pick: Cincinnati

@Oakland vs. Denver (+8) . . tebow . . The Pick: Oakland

@New England vs. New Jersey Football Giants (+9) . . . The Pick: NJFG

@Pittsburgh vs Baltimore (+3) . . put your money on this one . . The Pick: Pittsburgh

@Philadelphia vs. Chicago (+7.5) . . . The Pick: Philadelphia

play on players.

For those who can't hold a conversation on sundays, per usual, download the B.S. Report before the Sunday Sun rises. Follow my lead. And go out with a bang on this first November Weekend.

DOWNLOAD: http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7174342

Stuff You Should Know

Have I ever wondered what it is i am squeezing when I play with silly putty? (sidenote: silly putty is still as fun to squeeze at age 20 as it was in pre-school) yes. Have I ever walked into a casino an wondered what the f*ck is going on? yeah. Have I sat in astonishment when my uncle describes driving on the autobahn, but wondered why on earth they let people go so fast? YES! YES! I have.

And I still would be wondering these things today if it were not for the Stuff You Should Know podcast. Hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant...these two curious men release two podcasts a week about interesting stuff that you know, but might not really know.

And they dig Deeeep. For real some of these podcast can go on for 45 minutes about ABSURD topics.

CAN YOU SWEAT COLORS? WHAT IS NOODLING? (noodling is sticking your arm in a catfish hole and waiting for it to latch on for a catch.) Sorry I couldn't contain myself I just needed to let you know. Well yeah! Interesting Facts! Info! Mystery! Fun!

You know the drill podsters: download, plug in, listen, repeat.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StuffYouShouldKnow

Twitter: @SYSKpodcast

Suscribe: itunes