This week, Hot Takedown is checking in with those MLB teams that may have gotten off to a slow start but are starting to show promise. David Samson of CBS Sports thinks run differentials are the most informative data point to look at with a team. Our crew assesses whether that’s the case and what we can best expect from the reigning champions this season.
Mike Goodman — managing editor of StatsBomb, co-host of the Double Pivot podcast and a FiveThirtyEight contributor — joins the show to look at the battle for the Premier League title. Manchester City looks poised to repeat as champions, but Liverpool is mere inches away. We break down the probability of each potential outcome in what BBC 5’s Kelly Cates calls “the most unforgiving title run.”
Our Rabbit Hole goes deep into the world of unofficial mascots and good luck charms. Ever heard of the San Francisco Giants’ Crazy Crab? Or Hamilton the pig of the Carolina Hurricanes? We hadn’t either, but now we can’t let them go.
Here’s what we’re looking at this week:
- Players say which stats do the best job of evaluating them in this MLB.com story.
- We’re consulting our MLB prediction model with regularity.
- And we keep double- and triple-checking our club soccer model.