Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the baseball portions of "Twilight." They introduce the film (1:49), with an overview of the story, the cast, and filmmakers, and review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the film (6:01). Amount of Baseball (10:35) opens with a true conundrum: what is the amount of baseball in the baseball portion of "Twilight"? Do we consider the "first Mariners game" and spring training? Baseball Accuracy (15:30) considers the viability of a four-vampire baseball team and a three-vampire baseball team, with the varying degree of problems that arise. Discussion of vampires' familiarity with John Fogarty's "Centerfield," seventh-wheel vampires, and the Mike Fiers of vampires (?). Ellen has issues with the lack of analytical positioning, and Eric queries the notion of thunder from an aluminum bat. Is Alice tipping her pitches? A brief history of baseball gloves (w/r/t Charlie Waitt, Albert Goodwill Spalding, Bill Doak, Rawlings). Some baserunning headscratchers with Carlisle. There is no spring training in Jacksonville (h/t Meg Rowley), but there ARE spring training/regular season timeline issues in this film. Storytelling (40:11) digs in on the substance of the vampire feud, Ellen's annoyance with the notion of the Cullens as "vegetarians," and Eric's annoyance with the sparkliness. Are they good at baseball? Would putting Bella's hair down really help mask her human scent? Some discussion of the directorial style and costume choices. Score (55:39) addresses the use of Radiohead, the Black Ghosts, Muse, and the squealing guitars. Acting (1:00:03) discusses the performances of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, and Edi Gathegi, with shout-outs to Anna Kendrick and Gil Birmingham. Delightfulness of Catcher (1:04:57) weighs the Moment of Utmost Delight, Elizabeth Reaser's line deliveries, and the matriarch as catcher, while Delightfulness of Announcer (1:07:28) doesn't offer so much. Lack of Misogyny (1:08:01) considers the strength of female players, the film's upgrade over the book, with only a brief foray into the misogyny of the whole premise. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:14:20), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:19:52), Favorite Moment (1:22:01) Least Favorite Moment (1:23:50), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:26:37), Dreamiest Player (1:28:12), Favorite Performance (1:29:41), Review Thank You (1:30:41) and Next Time (1:32:39).

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1940 Warner Brothers cartoon, "Porky's Baseball Broadcast." They introduce the cartoon (1:23), with an overview of the script, the cast, and creators, and review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the cartoon (5:10). (Again, the lawyers advise that this is a cartoon, and nothing in this podcast can be used to relitage Posnanski v. Sepinwall.) Amount of Baseball (11:10) once again relies on this being a ratio and not counting stat for a seven-minute cartoon, some which even feels padded for time. Baseball Accuracy (15:00) digs in on the truly most confusing question in this cartoon: which, and how many, teams are even playing in this World Series, with the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs and Giants all being candidates. The colorization doesn't help. The two-headed pitcher has a flaw in his/their plan, plus do they use a Pat Venditte glove? Some discussion of the 1940 World Series, including Willard Hershberger, Ernie Lombardi and Jimmy Wilson, along with the Carl Hubbell reference. Storytelling (36:45) grapples with the unsatisfying nature of the baseball play as a story, and discusses the many simple jokes. The scouts debate the pros and cons of the "round dog looking for his seat" storyline. Eric reveals the recycled material from "Boulevardier from the Bronx," and they discuss the screamingly problematic section of the cartoon. Score (50:27) addresses Carl W. Stalling's handiwork, including the tick method and musical references. In Acting (53:19), they discuss whether or not Mel Blanc is responsible for all of the voice acting, and if that impacts the score. Delightfulness of Catcher (55:18) presents our scouts with a conundrum, given the derivation of the turtle catcher. The rabbit catcher is unquestionably adorable. Delightfulness of Announcer (1:00:49) weighs the notion that the eponymous Porky Pig is the star of the show. Are the double-entendres part of his delightfulness, or just the cartoon? Lack of Misogyny (1:04:29) had the scouts scouring the background of every single frame, and coming up disappointed. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:07:32), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:13:18), Favorite Moment (1:13:57) Least Favorite Moment (1:14:53), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:18:01), Dreamiest Player (1:20:09), Favorite Performance (1:22:52) and Next Time (1:22:52).

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1992 Babe Ruth biopic, "The Babe." They introduce the film (1:36), with an overview of the script, the cast, and filmmakers, and review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the film (4:05). Amount of Baseball (10:01) is surprisingly baffling for a relatively objective tool, but our scouts try to parse the true amount given the unsatisfying, nothing-but-dingers nature of the gameplay. There is a sad player comp. Baseball Accuracy (15:00) dives in on this film's Babe Ruth pitcher erasure, including striking out Ty Cobb, and inaccuracies with Ruth's first career game and his performance in the 1916 World Series. His time with the Orioles and Jack Dunn also elided, with some unfortunate consequences including the creation of his nickname. Some examination of very young George as a rapscallion, his home life, and his time at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, plus Brother Matthias accuracy. Did Babe Ruth ever come late to a game drunk? There are many, many timeline problems, particularly with Claire and Helen. Ellen plays a game of What Year Is It. Discussion of Joe Dugan, Dorothy, Ruth punching an umpire, Ernie Shore's "combined" no-hitter, Eddie Bennett, Harry Frazee's sale of Ruth, the Called Shot, the Johnny Sylvester story, the feud with Lou Gehrig, and Ruth's "milk." Ruth's relationship with Miller Huggins, and his desire to become a manager himself, including anecdotes with Frank Navin and Connie Mack, are examined. WTF is up with the depiction of Ruth's athleticism, (including his purported use of a courtesy runner)? The final game has as many problems as the rest of the film. Storytelling (1:04:02) highlights this film's main problems: the classic biopic problem of trying to tell the entire life story, timeline jumbles, and the depiction of Ruth as a dumb man-child. Yankee Stadium propaganda. Ellen has a list of Unanswerable Questions. Score (1:20:10) envisions the scenario in which consummate professional Elmer Bernstein was asked to compose the music for this film. Acting (1:23:13) discusses this disappointing John Goodman performance, backed by a whole lot of It's Fine. Ellen uplifts one Trini Alvarado moment. Delightfulness of Catcher (1:29:00) had so many good catcher names and Ruth's own catcher feats as possible fodder, but nothing is made of them. Delightfulness of Announcer (1:30:31) considers the culpability of the announcers for the inaccuracies. Lack of Misogyny (1:33:40) has much to contend with given Ruth's biographical philandering, but somehow this movie makes it so, so much worse. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:40:39), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:44:42), Favorite Moment (1:45:22) Least Favorite Moment (1:46:45), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:47:47), Dreamiest Player (1:49:50), Favorite Performance (1:50:28) and Next Time (1:51:36).