The Windup – The Roundtable | Yamamoto Dominates to Even Up the World Series

Podcast: The Windup: A Show About Baseball
Episode: #188 – The Roundtable | Yamamoto dominates to even up the World Series
Date: October 27, 2025

Overview

This special World Series edition of The Windup’s "Roundtable" features Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough, and Sam Miller as they dissect the most recent games, share their insights on standout players and managerial trends, and break down the controversy of a midgame Jonas Brothers concert. The conversation spans both the micro and macro of 2025’s baseball postseason: From the Dodgers’ and Blue Jays’ strengths and weaknesses, to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s pitching brilliance, to meta discussions about bullpen usage and the unpredictability of postseason outcomes. The episode is marked by its signature banter and nuanced perspectives from three seasoned baseball writers.

Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Jonas Brothers World Series Performance: A Baseball Oddity

Timestamps: [02:17] – [09:32]

• Jonas Brothers concert during Stand Up To Cancer moment: The hosts describe their disbelief at MLB's decision to feature a pop concert in a typically solemn moment meant to honor and remember those affected by cancer.

  • Andy: “To put a Jonas Brothers concert in the middle felt Reagan-esque, I would say… Are they trying to decide who's the cancer concert next year? It felt really not great.” [05:08]

• Concerns about merging pop spectacle with baseball’s unique tradition of brief, intense breaks between innings.

  • Sam Miller: “I just be thinking… If the Jonas Brothers came on while I'm deep in thought, like, is there an artist… is there a Jason Stark of musicians?” [07:17]

• The group explores whether any musical act could make sense in that context, ultimately agreeing that fans weren’t looking for a lighter or distracting moment during the tribute.

2. Lessons (and Non-Lessons) from the Series So Far

Timestamps: [10:00] – [13:17]

• Recap of games and whether anything truly new has been learned.

  • Grant: “I think we can settle the Emmet Sheehan discussion... Sam was right. Not a guy right now.” [10:37]
  • Andy: “With the Blue Jays, they don’t strike out much... Rather than regressing, it’s gotten more extreme in the postseason.” [11:05]

• Observations on the Dodgers’ bullpen woes, Blue Jays’ contact ability, and the postseason’s tendency to amplify rather than normalize team tendencies.

• Series outlook:

  • Dodgers seem slightly favored (“on pace for Dodgers in six,” [12:29]), mainly due to starting pitching and newly regained home field advantage.
  • Games 3 and 4 could be “demolition derbies” with potentially high scores due to both teams' volatile pitching. [13:17]

3. Pitching Trends & Yamamoto’s Ace Performance

Timestamps: [14:16] – [21:38]

• Discussion of starting pitcher usage: third-time-through-the-order concept and the overcorrection towards bullpen reliance.

  • Sam Miller: “I’m feeling less confident with that third time through the order mandate... Yamamoto just showing like...I'm still, even with those extra looks, better than the other options.” [16:18]

• Andy: “Relievers are all unreliable. There have only been four good ones in the history of Major League Baseball. None of them are in this postseason.” [17:30]

• Grant: Contrasts Gausman (two-pitch guy) with Yamamoto (multi-pitch arsenal), explaining why Yamamoto, with his repertoire and command, is built for deep postseason outings:

  • “Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws like four plus pitches and six pitches total...like facing, you know, two or three different pitchers in the course of a game...He can just kind of spot it wherever when he's right.” [19:41]

4. Rookies, Surprises, and Young Pitchers in October

Timestamps: [32:22] – [37:12]

• Focus on Blue Jays’ rookie Trey Savage and the broader question of trusting young pitchers in big postseason moments.

  • Andy: “Young pitchers do get…an advantage the first time through the league... so much of his…plan is about having a look that these guys haven’t seen.” [33:00]
  • Grant: “As a pitcher, I think they’re worse. They’re less experienced and they’re more tired…then occasionally you get a Josh Beckett situation and it makes a guy’s career.” [34:10]

• Data from past postseasons actually shows rookie starters tend to outperform “average” postseason pitchers, likely due to selection bias: only the most talented or trustworthy get handed the ball.

• Discussion about how teams prepare for a pitcher with an unfamiliar release point; advances in batting practice technology mean there are fewer true surprises. [35:42]

5. The Dodgers: Depth, Offense, and World Series Prospects

Timestamps: [29:15] – [32:15]

• Dodgers’ path forward: Do they need perfection from Snell, Yamamoto, or could their bats finally break out?

  • Grant: “They need their offense to, like, be good. Their offense has just not been great all October.” [29:48]

• Andy: “The Dodgers have a lot of ways to beat you…they’ve really been reliant on their starting rotation having a historically great month. But that’s not the only way they’ve won this year…” [30:22]

6. Mookie Betts – The Miracle Shortstop

Timestamps: [40:20] – [45:07]

• Celebrating Mookie Betts moving to shortstop at age 32, becoming one of MLB’s best at the position.
  • Andy: “I just can’t get over 32-year-old playing [shortstop] for the first time…wins the Fielding Bible award for best defensive player at the position in all of baseball.” [40:20]
  • Sam Miller: “The idea of someone moving to shortstop in their 30s after no [recent] infield…to me is just as unrealistic and fantastical as…if you’re describing the scenarios, Jimmy, I would just point at both [Mookie and Ohtani pitching/hitting] and equally say with confidence, those can’t happen.” [43:33]

7. The Bryce Harper/Philadelphia Phillies Non-Controversy

Timestamps: [45:21] – [51:48]

• Dombrowski’s public “not elite” comments about Harper, social media/podcast speculation about potential trades, and resultant player displeasure.
  • Grant: “This, of course, became clipped and reported as ‘New York Post not shocked if Harper's traded’…after that story comes out…Harper’s like ‘I’m really hurt by this trade talk’.” [46:48]
  • Context: Harper’s contract below market value, open talk about extension, team’s reluctance. Likely, recent comments are leverage for those ongoing discussions, but have escalated unnecessarily.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Andy McCullough on the Jonas Brothers: “Are we gonna start getting shows and are they trying to do this now? ...it felt really not great.” [05:08]
• Sam Miller on the cancer tribute: “I'm not going to pretend like it's sacred. But...my father-in-law had pancreatic cancer...it was actually like writing that name.” [06:48]
• Andy McCullough on postseason pitching: “Relievers are all unreliable. There have only been four good ones in the history of Major League Baseball. None of them are in this postseason.” [17:30]
• Grant Brisbee on Yamamoto: “He’s like the greatest pitcher to ever come out of Japan, you know, and that’s not saying nothing.” [21:08]
• Andy McCullough on Mookie Betts: “He might be the great player of our generation…Mookie Betts is, like, right there. He is just so much fun to watch.” [42:01]
• Andy McCullough on the Harper trade saga: “Dombrowski has said, I'm not trading Bryce Harper. If you're denying, you're losing...you don't want to be denying.” [46:48]

Additional Highlights

• Pitching Trends: Spirited conversation about over-reliance on the “third time through the order” rule and how uniquely talented pitchers like Yamamoto challenge current analytics dogma.
• Favorite Players: The hosts muse on who their favorite players are as adults, expressing admiration for talents like Andrew McCutchen, Cliff Lee, Buster Posey, and now Mookie Betts. [42:04]
• Harper’s Contract Context: Grant provides a concise rundown of why Harper’s contract situation is so fraught, giving listeners essential background for understanding recent headlines. [50:24]
• Baseball and Music: Fun, digressive riffing on musical tastes, the merits of listening to “greatest hits” vs. albums, and generational “gaps” in music appreciation among the hosts. [52:47]

Conclusion

This episode stands out for its balance of deep baseball insight and the playful, informed camaraderie of its hosts. The discussion weaves between specific in-game decisions (third-time-through-the-order, bullpen meltdowns), the marvel of singular talents like Yamamoto and Betts, and the ongoing human drama of baseball’s stars and executives. Whether you’re tracking World Series matchups or simply want to revel in the unpredictably joyful and sometimes bizarre world of baseball, this Roundtable delivers.

Next Episode Preview:
Will the World Series be over by the next Roundtable? Will the Dodgers’ offense awaken? Can the Blue Jays continue to defy regression? Stay tuned.