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Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard discuss spring training and the state of broadcasting on this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat.We've now in the midst of spring-training games, and the discussion centered on how MLB has handled game presentation and game action. MLB is allowing managers to call games at seven innings and to shut down an inning once a pitcher throws 20 pitches. So far these rules have been invoked in some pretty bad ways.And, in more bad news for the games, the Toronto Blue Jays are running simulcasts and eliminating radio-only broadcasts--a trend we could see accelerate throughout the industry in coming years. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.

Where on a baseball field can you find half moons and cutouts, all in pursuit of a room-service hop? The infield: the carpet, the inner garden, the skin. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler describes the many terms used to describe the infield in this week’s edition of Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus.Infields have varied over time in the baseball universe: some infields lack grass altogether—a skin diamond—while others feature keyholes between the mound and home plate. In this episode of Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains the many ways groundskeepers can design an infield with a goal of delivering a room-service hop to infielders. Infield is one of the many terms comprising the colorful patois of America’s Pastime. You can find The Baseball Thesaurusat augustpublications.com.

Curt Bloom, Voice of the Birmingham Barons, and author Mark McCarter join Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and Kevin Reichard on this week’s Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat to discuss the distinguished history of the Southern League.Bloom joined the Barons in 1992 after radio stints in Bakersfield, Prince William and Huntsville, which was his first exposure to the Southern League with the Stars. In that time, he’s seen many greats and near-greats cycle through the Double-A circuit, including Michael Jordan’s memorable stint with the Barons. Mark McCarter, who literally grew up in the Southern League, is author of Never a Bad Game: Fifty-Plus Years of the Southern League, the definitive history of the Southern League. With the Southern League replaced by a new MLB-created MiLB league, memories shared by Bloom and McCarter take on special significance during these transitional times.Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest. 

A batter striking out is pulling a Casey, while striking out four times means you're wearing the Golden Sombrero. A strikeout is a core part of the game, one to inspire a slew of colorful terms and descriptive phrases, as related by Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, author of The Baseball Thesaurus.It may also be one of the most poetic events in a baseball game. Growing up with a speech impediment, a young Ernie Harwell was assigned to recite poems, including  “House by the Side of the Road,” Sam Walter Foss, which featured the last two lines:“Let me live in my house by the side of the roadAnd be a friend to man.”Those verses ended up being quoted often by the erudite Harwell to describe a strikeout:“He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched the ball go by.”In this episode, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains the Harwell strikeout call as well as other colorful terms for strikeouts. This first episode of Tales from The Baseball Thesaurus runs down the unique terms for a strikeout, certainly a key part of baseball's distinctive patois. You can find The  Baseball Thesaurus at augustpublications.com.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, Mick Gillispie and Kevin Reichard discuss the two biggest stories in the baseball world -- spring training and the new MiLB league structure -- in this week’s Hot Stove League edition of the Ballpark Digest Broadcaster Chat.Topics included:·      The poor rollout of the new MiLB league structure and the total disavowal of MiLB history with generic league names awaiting sponsorships. Goodbye Southern League; hello Double-A South.·      MLB missed some golden opportunities to hail this next version of MiLB; instead, the announcement came quietly on a Friday and was soon overshadowed by other MLB news.·      Every agrees that six-game series suck.·      On the plus side, spring training begins today, with pitcher and catchers reporting to many camps. After a brutal weather streak, the impending baseball season is good news.·      Spring training still won’t be the same: no fans will be attending workouts, and ballparks will be filled to roughly 25 percent of capacity.·      The Baseball Thesaurus term of the day: hot stove league, the traditional offseason event heralding the approach of the coming season. They’ve become an endangered species in MiLB and morphed into fan fests in MLB. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts and the author of The Baseball Thesaurus and The Football Thesaurus from August Publications. Mick Gillispie is the Voice of the Tennessee Smokies and a spring-training Voice of the Chicago Cubs. Kevin Reichard is publisher at August Publications and Ballpark Digest.