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Perhaps you've heard, but Sean Keys has had a meteoric and completely unexpected rise through the Blue Jays system so far this year, reaching the majors by the end of June and making his name known throughout the nation on Canada Day with an impact home run to help propel the club to a series win amid what has easily been their worst stretch of a dismal season. The 23-year-old now has more home runs at Rogers Centre this year than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In other words: things could be worse. Well, maybe except for that last bit, I suppose. But they were a whole lot worse just a few days ago!

Unfortunately, they could certainly go south again quickly.

Vlad is still a mess. Springer and Kirk aren't much better. Bieber and Yesavage, despite some positive steps, have questions still to answer. And even though the Jays could theoretically coast somewhat into the All-Star break with series against the disappointing Mariners, Giants, and Padres, all nine games against those foes will be played on the road, as they're about to embark on a difficult three-city west coast road trip.

And the week we talk all about it! Plus the return of Bo Bichette, a check-in on Arjun Nimmala and JoJo Parker, obligatory fifth starter stuff, and more!

** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

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** THIS IS A SHORT PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK'S PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE. TO HEAR THE EPISODE IN FULL, PLUS AD-FREE EPISODES OF THE MAIN SHOW, SUPPORT US AT PATREON.COM/BJHH **

With the Texas Rangers in town, in this week's Patreon-exclusive bonus episode we're talking all about the Blue Jays' rivals of the past—or, often, the lack thereof—and potentially the future!

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The Jays are coming off maybe the most frustrating series of a frustrating season, losing two of three at home to the Astros in ugly fashion. They continue struggling to pull themselves above the .500 mark whenever they get a chance, and more and more the righteous anger of the fan base—which is different than the dopey anger that keeps being heaped toward the likes of John Schneider, Jeff Hoffman, etc.—is landing at the feet of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladdy is the key here and, when you get right down to it, the primary reason this campaign has felt maddening and baffling in equal parts.

It's not great! And this week we're talking all about it.

PLUS: Shane Bieber's return, the fifth starter spot, Luis Urias, Atkins Speaks!, and more!

** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

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** THIS IS A SHORT PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK'S PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE. TO HEAR THE EPISODE IN FULL, PLUS AD-FREE EPISODES OF THE MAIN SHOW, AND AVOID EVER SEEING THESE PREVIEW SHOWS IN YOUR FEED AGAIN, SUPPORT US AT PATREON.COM/BJHH **

For this week's Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, we considering the cases of Blue Jays free-agents-to-be Kevin Gausman, George Springer, and others, through the lens of the club’s recent history of deciding whether to retain beloved players—like Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernández, Robbie Ray, etc.—or to move on.

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In an episode recorded just before the Blue Jays completed their sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway, we were already feeling some good vibes starting to poke through. Kirk is here, Bieber's on his way back (as are Barger and Yimi), Springer's started turning it around, and the back-end of the bullpen—particularly Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers—is looking absolutely lethal.

The Jays may still have a fifth starter problem, their bullpen may be overtaxed, and their position as a would-be playoff contender remains precarious, but there is still a lot of talent here if they start playing up to their capabilities. The rest of the league better hope they're not getting hot.

PLUS: A ridiculously stupid hat!

** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

** THIS IS A SHORT PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK'S PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE. TO HEAR THE EPISODE IN FULL, PLUS AD-FREE EPISODES OF THE MAIN SHOW, AND AVOID EVER SEEING THESE PREVIEW SHOWS IN YOUR FEED AGAIN, SUPPORT US AT PATREON.COM/BJHH **

With Alejandro Kirk set to return from the IL this weekend, we used our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode to discus the Blue Jays catching situation, the club's knack for finding good ones, the potential long-term future of the Kirk-Valenzuela pairing, and to make peace how things worked out the last time the Jays traded from a catching surplus. 

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The Blue Jays continue to tread water, bobbing up and down in the murky waters of a comprehensively underperforming American League. And though they seem to have a Max Scherzer problem on their hands, they'll soon have a catching problem on their hands, and they definitely have Vlad- and Springer-sized problems on their hands, overall, things could certainly be a whole lot worse.

And this week we're talking about all of that, plus some love for Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement, the official removal of Jesús Sánchez from Bumwatch (TM), and more!

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With the Jays just having visited Atlanta, for our Patreon-exclusive bonus episode this week we decided to look back at the Blue Jays tenure of Alex Anthopoulos—the Atlanta GM who, I assume you remember, was formerly the architect of the Blue Jays.

** THIS IS A SHORT PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK'S PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE. TO HEAR THE EPISODE IN FULL, PLUS AD-FREE EPISODES OF THE MAIN SHOW, AND AVOID EVER SEEING THESE PREVIEW SHOWS IN YOUR FEED AGAIN, SUPPORT US AT PATREON.COM/BJHH **

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The last four, momentum-sucking games haven't been great for the Blue Jays, and this we're going to have to talk about it. Yes, from a mess to the masses, it's time for yet another round of Hoffmania. With a healthy heaping of Schneider discourse thrown in for good measure. Like a riot, like a riot, oh.

But that's not all! We've also got transaction talk, a discussion of the future of the rotation, a player-by-player confidence check for each of the Blue Jays hitters (spoiler: not a lot of confidence at the moment), and a whole lot more!

** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

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