Blue Jays Talk
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618 episodes
Blake Murphy is joined by Joe Siddall to diagnose why the Blue Jays struggled to hit Garrett Crochet last night. Afterwards, Leo Morgenstern comes by (27:02) to discuss the Phillies and his piece on why pickoff attempts by catchers are down. In the final hour, Chris Black pops in-studio (49:47) to expand on the Blue Jays’ hitting issues (1:17:11).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 5-0 shutout loss to the White Sox to even the series at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and get right to the offence no-showing vs. Garrett Crochet - how many times can you 'tip your cap' to the opposing team? They discuss the bats only mustering two hits against Crochet and the White Sox bullpen, the uneven outing from Yusei Kikuchi, and how the Ross Atkins availability from the weekend has not satisfied fans who want change.
Blake Murphy is joined by Kaitlyn McGrath to discuss Danny Jansen’s big day, Ross Atkins and the upcoming schedule. Afterwards, James Fegan comes on to provide the state of the White Sox, who’ve won a league-low 14 games (28:03).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 9-3 win over the White Sox to kick off the series at Rogers Centre on Victoria Day! They take your calls and texts, and get right to Danny Jansen getting the call to bat second in the lineup - he turned in five RBI, including a two-run bomb. Does the new-look lineup need to stick? They discuss the six innings of three-run ball from José Berríos, Daulton Varsho slamming another home run, and get to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette - with their production trending upwards, does the team still need more power from them both?
Blake Murphy is joined by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi to give their thoughts on Ross Atkins’ availability on Saturday, George Springer getting moved down in the order and Alek Manoah’s seven scoreless innings in Sunday's series finale against the Rays. Afterwards, Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs discusses how his ZIPS projection system views the Blue Jays, before diving deeper into Toronto's early season hitting (27:40).
Sho Alli breaks down the Blue Jays' 5-2 win over the Rays to salvage the series with a win at the Rogers Centre. He takes your calls and texts, and gets right to Alek Manoah's seven innings of one-hit ball, allowing no runs and issuing just one walk over 103 pitches. How important is it for him to have two back-to-back outings of playing well? He also showed his emotional, fiery side today - is that good or bad? Plus, Daniel Vogelbach went three-for-four including a solo home run - after seeing the first Vogelbomb of the season, how much more secure is his spot on the team?
Sho Alli and Daniele Franceschi break down the Blue Jays' 5-4 loss to the Rays to lose the series at the Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, and they get to some of the micro-aspects of the loss, including Nate Pearson in the eighth inning, the overall bullpen usage, the decision to not pull Kevin Gausman earlier in the sixth, and yet another power outage from the bats after waking up early. Afterwards, they get to Ross Atkins' press conference from earlier in the day, and debate what the breaking point is for making decisions on the team's core. Is it the All-Star Break, is it the end of May, or is the team already there?
Sho Alli breaks down the Blue Jays' 4-3 loss to the Rays to kick off the series at the Rogers Centre. He takes your calls and texts, and gets right to the offence underperforming once again - what's behind this continued slide? With the news that Ross Atkins is going to speak for the first time this season in the morning, the question remains: what does he need to do or say to turn things around for fans? Sho also takes a look at the past, present and future of the team with the callers, as they ask where things took a potential wrong turn, and whether or not the team can still turn things around.
Blake Murphy is joined by former Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada (34:56) to discuss his changeup and playoff memories with Toronto. Also, Tricia Whitaker provides the state of the Tampa Bay Rays and Ben Shulman weighs in on the Jays.
Blake Murphy is joined by Jonah Birenbaum to recap the Blue Jays’ loss to the Orioles and what changes must happen to turn around their season. Afterwards, Blake answers your questions on the text line (37:21).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 3-2 walk-off loss vs. the Orioles to leave Camden Yards with a series split. They take your calls and texts, and get to Jordan Romano blowing the save - should he remain the team's closer with Yimi García dealing right now? Will Yusei Kikuchi ever get more run support? They talk about the team's offence largely no-showing once again, despite both runs coming off the bat of Bo Bichette - at what point do things need to change, and who needs to answer for it?
Blake Murphy is joined by Julia Kreuz to discuss the bullpen and Yusei Kikuchi. Alex Fast joins the show (26:19) to explain the MLB’s new bat tracking data. Afterwards, Chris Leroux comes in-studio (49:50) to explain what makes Kikuchi successful and how extra days off impact pitchers.
Blake Murphy is joined by Keegan Matheson to recap a huge Blue Jays win vs. the Orioles. Afterwards, Kevin Brown dives deep into why the Orioles are a force this season (29:39).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 3-2 extra-innings win over the Orioles to open the three-game series in Baltimore! They take your calls, and get to the sickness sweeping through the team, leaving just the starting nine as the only available players - how important was this win? They discuss the outing from José Berríos, who allows just two runs over seven innings of work, and get into the bullpen as well, headlined by Yimi Garcia and Jordan Romano once again. Plus, they discuss Daulton Varsho, who launched a home run, added an RBI single in extras, and made a home-run saving catch as well.
Blake Murphy is joined by Dan Shulman to recap the weekend series vs. the Twins which saw Alek Manoah pitch seven innings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continue his hot hitting. Afterwards, Doug Fox checks in with a look at Spencer Horwitz, Eric Pardinho and others in the Blue Jays’ farm system (27:55).
Sho Alli breaks down the Jays' 5-1 loss vs. the Twins to lose the series at the Rogers Centre. He takes your calls and texts, and discusses the start from Alek Manoah, who went seven strong innings but still gave up the game-losing home run to Carlos Santana. Should Santana - who hit three home runs in this series - have been intentionally walked with a base open? Is that on John Schneider? He also gets to the changes made to the batting order, including Davis Schneider being taken out of the leadoff spot, and Daniel Vogelbach continuing to play irregularly. Is it time for a minor-league callup to Orelvis Martinez or Spencer Horwitz?
Sho Alli breaks down the Blue Jays' 10-8 win over the Twins at the Rogers Centre! He takes your calls and texts, and discusses how the offence finally broke through, as they turned a 7-1 deficit into a 10-8 win. He gets to Davis Schneider looking great atop the batting order, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocking home four hits and three runs, and Bo Bichette blasting his second home run of the season. Plus, he gets to the bullpen, who held it down after Kevin Gausman only managed three innings of work, and discusses the recent play for Danny Jansen. Has he earned more playing time?
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 3-2 loss vs. the Twins to open the three-game series at the Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and get to Yusei Kikuchi's eight innings of two-run ball in which he took a loss, the longest outing of his Blue Jays career. Is it time for the team to entertain calls on dealing Kikuchi given their record? They discuss the Jays having runners on second and third base with no outs, only for the top of the order to drive home no runs - is that luck or poor play? Plus, they debate the bullpen, and chat about the look of Davis Schneider at the top of the batting order.
Blake Murphy is joined by Vivek Jacob to discuss his piece on Yusei Kikuchi and Cricket Night at the Rogers Centre. Afterwards, Ben Nicholson-Smith comes in-studio to recap the win vs. the Phillies and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s hitting over the last 10 games. In the final segment, Blake and Ben outline what buying and selling looks like for the Blue Jays (21:59).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 5-3 win over the Phillies to secure a split of the mini two-game series! They take your calls and texts, and get right to the performance from Chris Bassitt, who allowed only three hits, two earned runs, and struck out six over 6.2 IP. How important was it for Bassitt to turn in this outing after a huge loss the night before? They also discuss the offence, including Davis Schneider continuing to look great, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. potentially turning it around, and George Springer's continual leadoff role.
Blake Murphy is joined by Kaitlin McGrath to go through reasons for optimism and pessimism for the Blue Jays. Robert Orr provides the state of the Phillies (21:53). Afterwards, Ryland Heagy of Origami Angel pops by to talk Phillies, the76ers, his new song and more.
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 10-1 loss vs. the Phillies to kick off the mini two-game series in Philadelphia. They take your calls, and discuss the offence no-showing once again - how much more of this will the team endure before major changes? They get into John Schneider's ejection, Bo Bichette continuing to scuffle at the plate, and José Berríos turning in his first bad outing, including giving up a grand slam to Bryce Harper.
Blake Murphy is joined by Arden Zwelling to discuss Aaron Sanchez reportedly joining the Buffalo Bisons, Bo Bichette’s struggles and what to make of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s recent play. Following that, Andy McCullough (26:25) details what he learned while writing his book, “The Last of his Kind, Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness.” Also, Blake and Andy review the results from a recent poll at the Athletic of the top front offices in the MLB.
Blake Murphy is joined by Keegan Matheson to discuss Alek Manoah’s re-debut with the Blue Jays, the bullpen’s inconsistency and signs Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s swing is improving. Afterwards, Thomas Nestico of TJ Stats on Patreon.com https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpatreon.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7CNick.Lew%40rci.rogers.com%7C3d3ede03d6fb48dfb5fd08dc6de615b0%7C0ab4cbbf4bc74826b52ca14fed5286b9%7C0%7C0%7C638506082168128451%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gY1YGD%2FMaycihCEf7ZUx63DI0C28L2Qxz00pkKuL7RU%3D&reserved=0, provides insight into Manoah’s command, Kevin Gausman’s sinker and more (30:44)
Sho Alli and Julia Kreuz break down the Blue Jays' 11-8 defeat vs. the Nationals to wrap up a series loss in Washington DC. They take your calls and texts, and discuss the outing from Alek Manoah - was it too soon? What happens next for Manoah when his turn in the rotation comes up again? They discuss Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s grand slam, the play from the bottom of the order, and Bo Bichette continuing to look lost at the plate. Plus, they get into larger conversations, including the job security of both John Schneider and Ross Atkins at this point of the season.
Sho Alli and Daniele Franceschi break down the Blue Jays' 6-3 win over the Nationals in DC! They take your calls and texts, and get right to Kevin Gausman throwing 5.1 IP while allowing zero runs - is the ace officially back? They get into Kevin Kiermaier hitting his first bomb of the season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s up-and-down year, Bo Bichette getting ejected, and Daulton Varsho looking good in the two-spot. Afterwards, they get to Alek Manoah and expectations for what looks like his first start of the season in Sunday's rubber match.
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 9-3 loss vs. the Nationals in Washington DC. They take your calls, and discuss the lack of offensive power once again, now coupled with defensive mistakes that the team hadn't shown for much of 2023. What's going on? Who needs to answer for this, players, management, or both? They chat about the top three of George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette, the outing from Yusei Kikuchi, and the bullpen deployment of Erik Swanson.
Blake Murphy is joined by Dan Shulman to look at potential changes to the batting order and the upcoming questions about the starting rotation. Afterwards, Ryan Spilborghs, who will be the colour analyst for the Blue Jays-Nationals game on Apple TV, joins the show to discuss the Blue Jays’ hitting this season and making reads on base stealing (27:42).
Blake Murphy is joined by Shi Davidi to recap another lacklustre performance from the offence on Wednesday night and what the Blue Jays should do with their 5th starter spot. Afterwards, Geoff Pontes gives the latest on Orelvis Martinez, Addison Barger and more (29:39).
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker break down the Blue Jays' 6-1 loss vs. the Royals to wrap the series at the Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, and hear from Chris Bassitt after he gave up three earned runs, all in the sixth inning. Is it too much to continue ask the pitching staff and defence to walk the tightrope? They take a wide ranging look at the whole organization, including John Schneider, Ross Atkins, and the core members of this group, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Is it really time to tear things down?
