The Baseball Show: Hot Stove talk; the mental side of the game

On Saturday morning Clint and I were back at it on The Baseball Show, offering our thoughts on all of this past week’s signings, as well as other notable headlines.

Some of the many things that we discussed:

• Adam Dunn: Clint’s favorite player and my the White Sox new 1B/DH

• A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, and the Chicago White Sox

• The great career of Andruw Jones and what could have been…

• Adrian Gonzalez; the newest member of the Boston Red Sox

• Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, and the Oakland A’s development of closer

• We weave in the always-rare Joe Borowski name drop

• Troy Tulowitzki’s ginormous contract – we approve.

• What kind of extension Joey Votto might command and more on the Cincinnati Reds

• Miguel Tejada and the San Francisco Giants cluttered infield

• Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera’s contracts

• Shot in the dark: Javier Vazquez, Dontrelle Willis

• I offer my thoughts and share memories of the legendary Ron Santo

• Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are gone; we like the potential the new crew: Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine, and Dan Shulman

In what was our longest show to date, Clint and I unintentionally launched into a discussion on one of our favorite topics(and one we believe is the most interesting): the psychological side of the game.  Considering that we both played college baseball and are constantly reflecting on our experiences — probably too often, in fact — we analyzed the psychological barriers associated with being an elite baseball player, and even offered stories from our own careers.  It’s a topic that we find absolutely fascinating and one we will surely be dedicating entire shows to in the future.