Blair & Barker

Jeff Blair & Kevin Barker share their quick thoughts on Texas and Philadelphia leading their respective series before being joined by former Phillies closer & 2007 World Series champion Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon discusses being Bryce Harper’s teammate and how he’s matured into the player he is today, performing under the bright lights in October, and his thoughts on the Blue Jays and Red Sox seasons in the AL East. MLB insider Jeff Passan comments on the Blue Jays abrupt postseason exit, the final four teams remaining, and Nathan Eovaldi’s competitiveness on the mound (28:27).

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 recap game one of the ALCS as Jordan Montgomery & the Texas Rangers shut down the Houston Astros 2-0. Rangers analyst David Murphy joins the guys to discuss how Montgomery might have been overshadowed by the Max Scherzer trade but has been just as important to the Rangers down the stretch; and how Bruce Bochy has been employing his bullpen. Later the guys shift their focus to the NLCS between the Phillies and Diamondbacks with former Phillies Manager & World Series Champion Larry Bowa (28:23) who spoke about Philadelphia’s second straight trip to the NLCS, the job Rob Thomson has done as manager, and how gaining postseason experience last year was beneficial for players like Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott.

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 and Kevin share their thoughts on the final four teams left standing now that both the ALCS and NLCS are set after the Phillies eliminated the Atlanta Braves last night. Foul Territory’s Erik Kratz joins the guys to talk about how awesome the games have been this postseason and the format before sharing his views on the Toronto Blue Jays and how analytics can be better communicated to players in the clubhouse. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (30:27) discusses how teams like Houston and Philadelphia continue to get it done come October, and how much this particular Phillies team embodies the city of Philadelphia.

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 are joined by Blue Jays Central’s Caleb Joseph ahead of Mark Shapiro’s end of season media availability to discuss what they expect to hear from the Jays’ President and more on how the season ended. After Shapiro addressed the media and announced GM Ross Atkins will be returning in 2024, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi joins Blair and Barker with his thoughts on how Shapiro handled the questioning (01:07:50).

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 start the show discussing the Texas Rangers sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in their American League Division Series, to cap off a disappointing postseason for A.L. East teams with none of them having won a game. Host of ‘Nothing Personal’ and former Marlins President, David Samson joins the guys to discuss Baltimore’s exit, the current postseason format, why Arizona is a better team than the Dodgers at this moment, and what he is expecting to hear from Mark Shapiro tomorrow (11:14). To end the show, Blair and Barker focus on the remaining series with three games on the schedule today (28:08).

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 react to Ross Atkins’ media availability from this past weekend and wonder if there is a scenario where Atkins and John Schneider can continue to work together. The guys outline how there were whispers of dissatisfaction throughout the season talking to some of the players, and wonder what President Mark Shapiro will say and do on Thursday when he is scheduled to speak with the media. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi shares a national perspective on the Blue Jays predicament, before looking at the remaining postseason series, notably Houston-Minnesota and Texas-Baltimore which continue tonight (31:12).

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 kick off the second hour with Dan Shulman, who circles back to the final game of the season and the decision to pull a dealing José Berríos, the place for analytics in the game and how much blame falls on the shoulders of manager John Schneider. Then, they predict potential changes to next year’s lineup. Finally, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan joins the show (26:41) to share his thoughts on how the season ended in Toronto and what comes next this offseason for Vladdy, the pending free agents and the front office. He gives his perspective on the remaining postseason picture and some storylines to watch.

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 continue to focus on the Blue Jays postseason exit and look ahead to GM Ross Atkins' year-end media availability this weekend. Jeff and Kevin welcome MLB Network Analyst and New York Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey to the show, (31:11) who discussed pulling Berríos for Kikuchi, how organizations make team decisions in today’s game, hitting in the postseason vs the regular season, what makes Aaron Judge such an elite hitter after working with him every day and if long layoffs could hurt the Orioles and Braves respectively in their division series.

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 colour analyst Buck Martinez joins Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker (1:35) to share his thoughts on the baseball club's early exit in another Wild Card series, why the offence struggled to hit the high fastball throughout the year, if the front office and coaching staff have to fix their relationship with José Berríos, and how the pitcher handled to being removed from the game. Then, Jeff and Kevin take your calls from the Back Leg Line to hear fans reactions to the Jays season ending early.

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 continue to share their thoughts on the Blue Jays postseason loss to the Minnesota Twins and discuss how the quick two-game series encapsulated the team’s weaknesses all season long: the lack of timely hitting. The guys welcome ESPN baseball analyst Doug Glanville (26:48) to the show to talk about the decision to pull Jose Berrios, if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needs more protection around him in the lineup to reach his full potential, and his impressions of Gabriel Moreno and the Diamondbacks after covering the Milwaukee-Arizona wild card series.

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.