# Starkville | Andrew Friedman Isn’t Apologizing for the Dodgers

An episode of [Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1486883874), 15 Aug 2026, 51 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6818a1a4eb737caf8ca41879/e/6a7dfe748da1ec597c32cabe/media.mp3

The Dodgers are ruining baseball—or they’re not. These days, it depends on who you ask. This week, Jayson and Doug go straight to the source, sitting down with Dodgers president Andrew Friedman to get his take on the firestorm, as well as the inside story of how he pulled off the trade for Tarik Skubal. Plus, Jayson and Doug try to make sense of what happened in Toronto, where the Red Sox scored on one of the strangest plays in recent baseball history. Rundown: 2:55 A Fourth Out in Toronto? 15:33 Andrew Friedman Stops By 15:57 The Rich Get Richer with Tarik Skubal 21:33 Are the Dodgers Ruining Baseball? 29:21 How a Big Deal Goes Down 31:20 Listening to the Players 32:24 Transitioning From Player to GM 33:17 The Awe-Inspiring Shohei Ohtani 36:06 Strange But True 41:10 Doug’s Strange But True Moment Follow Jayson on Bluesky: @jaysonst.bsky.social Follow Doug on Bluesky: @dougglanville.bsky.social E-mail: starkville@theathletic.com Starkville Hotline: (347) 313-8371 Subscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrels Hosts: Jayson Stark & Doug Glanville With: Andrew Friedman Producer: Jason Potere Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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