OG & Crab lament another failed Pirates season under Ben Cherington, review the latest CBA proposal, and make mention of Mark Walter’s ongoing liquidation spree. Sources Tell Jeff Passan: Inside Dodgers Owner Mark Walter’s Billion-Dollar Insurance Scandal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-5wKFyebDM Ever wonder what it would look like for payroll if the Bucs could pack the stands? Think they could lower prices and make up the difference in volume? Presenting the latest time-waster from your favorite uncles: The Bucco Bucks Calculator! https://pod.ogandcrab.show/calculator.html
OG & Crab catch up on the downward spiral of the 2026 Pirates season. Phillies fan Lewis Kalb calls an inning on the radio: https://youtu.be/fx-Q-SuF8cI Try our newest invention, the Bucco Quality Controller! Now you can take command of whether the Buccos are firing on all cylinders, right from your phone: https://pod.ogandcrab.show/manager.html
OG & Crab muse about the Bucco’s solid May and what the outlook is for the season now that we’re past Memorial Day, then pick apart the opening CBA proposals from the union and the owners. The Players’ proposal summary: https://www.mlbplayers.com/press-releases/mlbpa-makes-opening-proposals-to-benefit-all-players-and-build-upon-industry-momentum The Owners’ proposal summary: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-makes-initial-economic-proposal-for-new-cba
OG & Crab adjudicate the first month of the Buccos’ 2026 season.
OG & Crab make their 2026 season predictions and then make fun of a bunch of bad takes from around baseball. This is a long one! You don’t have to listen to it all at once. Pace yourself. The bad takes in question: Trevor May wants collusion: https://youtu.be/d1aoqfTirhg Rob Manfred on WFAN: https://youtu.be/hzeCQh1CZZM Talkin’ Baseball is out on a salary floor: https://youtu.be/Q5QDsH2gaww Trevor May’s ideas for a cap system: https://youtu.be/I7w2H38-u9M
OG & Crab holler about how the Pirates are just pawns for free agents’ agents, what Tarik Skubal’s big arbitration win means for Paul Skenes, and what to make of Fox hinting at scaling back their MLB media spending if the NFL insists on more money. Awful Announcing article about Fox & MLB: https://awfulannouncing.com/fox/lachlan-murdoch-rebalance-sports-portfolio-nfl-rights-increase.html
OG & Crab review the Pirates' offseason moves and assess the Steelers' new head coach.
OG & Crab rant about a couple articles in The Athletic. The articles: The Pirates and Marlins have a sudden willingness to spend. Here’s what could be behind it: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6832284/2025/11/24/miami-marlins-pittsburgh-pirates-spending-offseason-revenue-sharing/ Hal Steinbrenner: It’s ‘not fair or accurate’ to say Yankees made a profit in 2025: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6834242/2025/11/24/hal-steinbrenner-yankees-profitable-payroll/
OG & Crab review the Pirates’ Rule 5 roster protection decisions, lampoon Bob Nightengale a little bit, and unpack MLB’s new national TV deals. Bob on the “big losses”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/11/10/mlb-free-agency-trade-rumors-gm-meetings/87190324007/ Bob on the Pirates’ “profits”: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/05/11/pete-alonso-stats-new-york-mets/83556338007/ DK Pittsburgh Sports saying the Pirates lost money in 2024: https://dkpittsburghsports.com/team/site-stuff/feed?page=0&content=pirates-losing-m
OG & Crab go on and on and on about baseball's labor issues and what is likely to come of MLB's next collective bargaining showdown. Read the CBA for yourself: https://www.mlbplayers.com/cba
OG & Crab recount the recent changes to the Pirates’ front office and coaching staff, and then explore the secret to the Dodgers’ success. Atlanta Braves Holdings 2024 Annual Report: https://www.bravesholdings.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/204/atlanta-braves-holdings-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year-end Boston Globe (via Archive.org) reporting on MLB OPEX in 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20200529064249/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/28/sports/inside-multibillion-dollar-dispute-between-mlb-its-players/ Pirates hire new pitching coach: https://www.mlb.com/news/bill-murp
OG & Crab dissect some reporting about the Pirates' latest dysfunction. Noah Hiles' final article on the Bucco beat: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2025/09/29/mlb-pirates-bob-nutting-ben-cherington-paul-skenes-andrew-mccutchen/stories/202509290003 DKPS Friday Insider: https://dkpittsburghsports.com/team/site-stuff/feed/topic/pirates-bob-nutting-ben-cherington-decision-mlb-dk
OG & Crab eulogize the 2025 Pirates' season and react to the news that both Ben Cherington and Travis Williams will retain their jobs after all that.
OG & Crab dive deep in the first of a series of shows dedicated to exploring the economics of baseball. In this installment, franchise value and its importance to the health of the business of baseball is the subject. Jason Mackey’s article in the Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/jason-mackey/2025/08/18/mlb-pirates-mccutchen-skenes-nutting/stories/202508180052
OG & Crab explore how trades can work for other teams, and OG shares some video from his visit to Cooperstown.
No time to edit! OG & Crab welcome our pal John to unpack the Pirates inscrutable trade deadline moves.
OG & Crab are joined by another guest, Nathan Osler, to chop it up about the coming second half of the Pirates' season, whether the Home Run Derby could get Oneil Cruz right again, and some predictions for the coming trade deadline. Nathan's Xwitter: https://x.com/nathan_osler Nathan's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nathan_osler Nathan's recent videos for North Shore Nine: https://youtu.be/cWvNN8JMaeY https://youtu.be/CxzbEjs1SOY
OG & Crab welcome friend of the pod Matty P to the show to rant about the sorry state of the Bucs at the Break.
OG & Crab reality-check the upcoming trade deadline rumors and quote several lines from Pulp Fiction.
OG & Crab have a lot to say about Donnieball, old stadiums, and whether or not Pittsburgh is a baseball town. Nearly two episodes for the price of one!
OG & Crab have to resort to talking about other teams because the Pirates are so boring right now.
OG & Crab went to a ballgame and wax poetic about the cinéma vérité of baseball front offices. Mackey's article about Matt Arnold: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/jason-mackey/2025/05/24/mlb-pirates-ben-cherington-brewers-matt-arnold/stories/202505230061 MLB dot com article by Adam McCalvy about Matt Arnold's rise to GM: https://www.mlb.com/news/matt-arnold-takes-over-brewers-baseball-operations
OG & Crab assess the early returns on Donny-ball and reassess who's to blame for all this after all.
OG & Crab react to Ben Cherington's press conference regarding the firing of Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
OG & Crab assess the first month of the Pirates' season, check in on predictions, and read some numbers from Fangraphs.
