Full Preview: Kicking off this year's festivities, we welcome the 2011 BoA:Audio Baseball Special predictions champion Jason Offutt. We begin things by getting Jason's take on his beloved Kansas City Royals and why they still can't seem to turn around their poor fortunes. He looks back on the departure of Zach Grienke from the team as well as the development of up and comer Alex Gordon. Given Jason's location in Missouri, we find out how he feels about Albert Pujols departing the Cardinals. Since Jason worked at Royals Stadium as a vendor, he regales us with tales of his days working at the ballpark including an encounter with newscaster Sam Donaldson as well as some cringe-worthy insights into ballpark food. And, wrapping up the segment, we get Jason's predictions for the 2012 season as well as what's next for him as the year unfolds.
Next, we welcome iconic cryptozoologist Loren Coleman back to the program for the Baseball Special. First, we get an update from Loren on what he's been up to since his last appearance on the program back in November. Getting into the baseball talk, Loren gives us his overall take on the state of the Red Sox to start the season, including pitching concerns as well as the arrival of Bobby Valentine in Boston. We also get Loren's take on the big free agent moves from Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. In other baseball news, Loren weighs in on the new stadium in Miami and their outlandish Opening Day ceremony. This segues into some discussion on a new player for the Orioles who actually grew up with Loren's son. Eschewing our East Coast bias, we also discuss the sale of the Dodgers and which west coast teams he thinks improved in the off season. Wrapping up our baseball news discussion, we get Loren's take on the impending Hall of Fame ballot for 2012 which will see a number of controversial figures like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. And, finally, we get Loren's predictions for the 2012 season.
Up next, we welcome esteemed UFO historian Rich Dolan back to the Baseball Special. Before we get into baseball discussion, we find out what Rich has been up to since his last appearance on BoA:Audio and he preview his impending new book, due out this Summer. Next, we dive into baseball talk and Rich reflects on why he thinks 2012 will be a particularly interesting year for the sport. He also looks at the paradoxical Boston Red Sox and Bobby Valentine as well as reveals why he is rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays this year. We also get his take on the NY Yankees, Rich's longtime favorite team. He also talks about his longstanding affinity for small market teams. Connecting things to our previous conversation with Loren Coleman, Rich weighs in on the impending and controversial HoF ballot as well as the longstanding lack of Pete Rose in the Hall. Wrapping things up, we get Rich's predictions for the 2012 season and get an update on his status for vintage baseball this year.
Continuing onward, we welcome filmmaker, raconteur, and rogue paranormalist Paul Kimball. We begin things by finding out what Paul has been up to since his last appearance on BoA:Audio. Diving in to the baseball talk, we start by getting Paul's general feelings about the start of the season, Bobby Valentine coming to the Red Sox, and his general uneasiness with the team going into the new year. Paul then shares his surprising choice for best story of the off-season. We also get Paul's take on Ryan Braun's positive steroid test, the expansion of the MLB playoffs, whether Ichiro can recover in 2012, and the impending HoF ballot with PED users. Wrapping it all up, we get Paul's predictions for the 2012 MLB season and find out what's next for him this year.
In the five spot, we welcome back longtime friend of the program, author of Project Beta, and host of Radio Misterioso: Greg Bishop. After finding out what Greg's been up to since his last appearance on the program, we then get his take on the sale of the Dodgers for an astounding $2 billion dollars. Greg reflects on the circus surrounding the sale of the team, the new owners, and what developments may happen now that there is a new ownership group. Greg then talks about Albert Pujols coming to the LA market and vents about the Angels using 'Los Angeles' in their name. We then get Greg's take on the current state of the Dodgers team, as constituted. Next Greg discusses the Brian stow attack which happened at Dodger Stadium at the start of last season. And, wrapping things up, we get Greg's predictions for the 2012 MLB season and find out what projects he's working on for the rest of the year.
Wrapping up the Baseball Special, we welcome our old friend, 'crackpot historian' Adam Gorightly. We kick things off by discussing the downfall of his beloved San Francisco Giants in 2011 and cover the controversial injury to catcher Buster Posey. Next we discuss whether the Giants can keep both of their ace pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Gorightly then details the different signings made by the Giants in the off-season as well as the departure of Cody Ross, who now plays for the Red Sox. Then, we reveal the long-awaited Gorightly baseball predictions and his 2012 methodology, which is loosely based on Tebowmania. And, in keeping with our special Gorightly baseball tradition, we spent a fair amount of time talking about the state of the NBA and his beloved Lakers. Wrapping up the segment, we find out what's next for Adam Gorightly in 2012.
