Blair & Barker

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker share their weekend takeaways after the Blue Jays took two of three against the Colorado Rockies. The guys break down José Berríos’ outstanding start, Yariel Rodriguez’s MLB debut, Alek Manaoh’s performance with the AAA Buffalo Bisons, and Daulton Varsho sitting on Sunday after hitting a grand slam in Saturday’s win. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and MLB Network shares the latest from New York ahead of the Jays-Yankees series: notably how they have mitigated the loss of ace Gerrit Cole in the early-going (29:42). Sportsnet’s Buck Martinez discusses Danny Jansen being reinstated from the IL, what he’s seen from Nate Pearson out of the bullpen, and why he sees Berríos being in the American League Cy Young running in 2024 (49:41). To end the show, Jeff and Kevin examine the Blue Jays lineup for game one against the Yankees and give some love to Isiah Kiner-Falefa for his recent play (01:18:53).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker address the reports that Yariel Rodriguez will be called up by the Blue Jays and examine Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano’s outings at AAA Buffalo; before opening up the Back Leg Line for fan questions. Rockies analyst Ryan Spilborghs weighs in ahead of Colorado's weekend series in Toronto (24:25). Blue Jays manager John Schneider makes his weekly appearance to comment on Rodriguez’s status with the club, his team's series win over Seattle, Danny Jansen working his way back, Alejandro Kirk handling the pitchers in his absence, and Yimi Garcia’s outstanding start to the year (49:51). Former MLB executive and host of ‘Nothing Personal’ David Samson discusses the latest developments in the Ippei Mizuhara-Shohei Ohtani gambling story, the A’s moving to Sacramento pre-Vegas, Scott Boras losing Jordan Montgomery as one of his clients and more (01:16:56).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker are joined by Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who shares the latest updates on Danny Jansen, Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson and more!

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker discuss the Blue Jays-Mariners finale as Cal Raleigh once again played spoiler to help give Seattle the 6-1 victory. Blair and Barker examine Raleigh’s post-game comments suggesting he has “beef” with Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider, Yusei Kikuchi’s standout nine strikeout performance, and Yimi Garcia continuing to impress in the bullpen. Shane Bieber, Spencer Strider, Framber Valdez, Gerrit Cole… so many of MLB’s top pitchers have been hitting the IL with elbow injuries early in the 2024 campaign. The guys call up world-renowned orthopaedic surgeon and Tommy John surgery expert Dr. James Andrews for his opinion on the number of injuries, if the pitch clock is a main culprit, and the advice he should share to parents of young pitchers (25:37). Next, Orioles reporter Roch Kubatko talks about top prospect Jackson Holliday getting called up and making his MLB debut at Fenway Park (49:54). Later on, MLB insider and author of The Arm, Jeff Passan weighs-in further on the pitching epidemic, before discussing the iron men across baseball who strive to be in the lineup everyday (01:17:02).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker recap Toronto’s 5-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday to give them their first series win of the season. The guys discuss Chris Bassitt after his standout performance, his post-game comments about the team’s starting rotation having more to offer, and the offence finding its rhythm totalling eleven hits. Later, Blue Jays radio voice Ben Shulman checks in ahead of the first pitch from Rogers Centre as Yusei Kikuchi takes the mound for Toronto against his former team in search of the series sweep.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker look back on the Blue Jays' 5-2 win in their home opener; particularly José Berríos’ solid outing, along with the crowd’s reaction to John Schneider pregame and when he took Berríos out of the game. The guys invite Sportsnet's Dan Shulman on with his thoughts on the home opener and Berríos' "ace" potential given how well he’s pitched so far this season (26:30). Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement discusses his start to the season, the renovations at Rogers Centre being beneficial for the players, and the importance of Matt Hague to his development as a hitter (49:54). Do you have to plan differently as a coach when changes are made to the dimensions of a ballpark? Jeff and Kevin call-up former MLB manager and Mariners’ 3B Coach Manny Acta to ask him (01:03:44), before being joined by play-by-play voice Dave Sims who provides a scouting report on tonight’s starter George Kirby (01:18:16).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker get set for the Blue Jays' home opener against the Mariners. They share positives and negatives after 10 games and break down Don Mattingly's comments on the team's offensive identity. Then, Jays' Central's Joe Siddall (26:00) discusses the Jays' lack of home-field advantage last season, how the renovations impact hitting and his biggest concerns 10 games in. Later, Blue Jays president & CEO Mark Shapiro (50:54) joins the show to discuss Rogers Centre renovations and his takeaways from the first 10 games of the season. Finally, Shi Davidi (1:16:43) shares the latest on Romano, Swanson, Manoah and Jansen before looking at how John Schneider will navigate the injury-struck roster.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro joins Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker to touch on the culmination of the Rogers Centre's two-year renovation, his takeaways from his ballclub's start to the 2024 season after 10 games and his concerns for the growing list of pitchers sidelined with injury across the league.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker discuss Toronto’s 8-0 loss to the Astros in the finale of their three-game series where Toronto managed only one hit. The guys debate why Davis Schneider wasn't in the Blue Jays' lineup for the rubber match vs. the Astros after hitting the game-winning home run in Game 2. Buffalo Bisons Manager Casey Candaele shares what he's seen so far from Blue Jays prospects Yariel Rodriguez and Ricky Tiedemann after earning his 200th win as Bisons skipper (19:05) . Following Candaele, Jeff and Kevin open up the Back Leg Line to hear fan reaction on the team’s scuffling offence (31:30). MLB analyst and former player Doug Glanville explains what he saw in this Blue Jays’ team ahead of this season that made him pencil them in as his World Series pick (49:47). Astros analyst and three-time World Series champion with the Yankees, Mike Stanton looks back on Jays-Astros before previewing Toronto’s upcoming series in the Bronx, particularly his thoughts on Friday’s starter ex-Jay Marcus Stroman and Juan Soto’s fast start (01:17:43) .

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker recap the Blue Jays' 2-1 comeback win over the Houston Astros as Davis Schneider played hero in the 9th inning. Houston Astros GM Dana Brown (28:45) discusses why he's not going to overreact to his team’s slow start with such high expectations and what he's learned about himself after his first full season in his new role. Blue Jays skipper John Schneider (52:57) talks about bouncing back from being no-hit on Monday, José Berríos' evolution as a starter, and the status of the team's injured pitchers. MLB insider Jeff Passan (1:20:52) comments on the status of the Royals in Kansas City after residents voted to decline a tax hike which would have gone towards a new ballpark before discussing the Tigers' hot start and how the Astros will handle Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman’s next contracts.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.