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5 min readBest of The Ben Maller Show
The night Ben Maller opened his show, the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 at Wrigley Field, spoiling Tarik Skubal's much-hyped debut in Dodger Blue. Skubal delivered a quality start—four hits, two runs, six innings, six strikeouts—but the Dodgers lost their fifth straight game. Maller's reaction was not to analyze the box score but to use the moment as a launching pad into two broader arguments about how fans and media talk about baseball and football.
The Skubal Trade and the "Loser Mindset"
Maller spent considerable time pushing back against what he sees as a widespread, soft reaction to the Dodgers acquiring Skubal from Detroit. He dismissed the notion that the trade was unfair or that baseball is broken because one team keeps adding stars. "Every team could have traded for me," Maller quoted Skubal as saying, noting that other clubs simply chose not to match the Dodgers' offer.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:03) **Dodgers' Skubal Debut Spoiled by Cubs** - Ben opens with the story of the much-hyped Terrick Skubal's first start as a Dodger, which ended in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
- 2 (05:14) **Ben's Take: Skubal Was "As Advertised," Dodgers Are Struggling** - Ben argues Skubal's performance was solid and professional, but the Dodgers' lineup is failing him, leading to a losing streak.
- 3 (10:08) **Skubal Defends Dodgers, Exposes "Crybaby" Fans** - Ben discusses Skubal's pre-game comments praising the Dodgers organization, which sparked further backlash from fans who think the trade is "not right."
- 4 (14:09) **The "Fighting Spirit" vs. "Woe is Me" Mindset** - Ben uses the analogy of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to argue that fans should embrace the challenge of beating the Dodgers instead of complaining.
- 5 (16:17) **Yankees' Anthony Volpe: A "Total Joke" Excuse** - Ben pivots to the Bronx, where Anthony Volpe was demoted to Triple-A, and he dismisses the narrative that the Yankees set him up to fail.
- 6 (19:54) **Volpe's Failure is on Him, Not the Yankees** - Ben argues that the more Volpe played, the more he was exposed, and the Yankee media machine manufactured a "mythical phenomena" that didn't match reality.
- 7 (27:12) **Falcons Make Bijan Robinson the Highest Paid RB in NFL History** - Ben reports on the Atlanta Falcons signing running back Bijan Robinson to a 3-year extension worth up to $75 million, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Big Ben talks about Tarik Skubal's debut for the Dodgers against the Cubs, Bijan Robinson getting a record-breaking contract from the Atlanta Falcons, Maller to the Third Degree, #QueenOfHearts w/ LaReina, Password: Word Game of the Stars, and more!
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