Blue Jays Talk

The Blue Jays had an off-day yesterday, but still managed to gain some ground in the Wild Card race thanks to the Kansas City Royals. Host Blake Murphy is joined by The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath to discuss what the Jays need to do keep that momentum going and separate themselves from the teams chasing them. Next up, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline and MLB.com offers some insight into some of the Jays' top prospects and some of the big names drafted this year, before sharing what his book “Smart, Wrong, and Lucky: The Origin Stories of Baseball's Unexpected Stars” is all about (31:10). In the second hour, Sportsnet Blue Jays Producer Chris Black checks in for his weekly hit to go over some of the Jays’ latest trends and numbers as they head into this week's fun slate featuring the Phillies and Reds (51:25). Blake closes today show with FanGraphs contributor Michael Baumann, who discusses his latest piece on tonight's starter Yusei Kikuchi, and helps preview some of the pitchers Toronto might face this week (01:20:37).

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.

The Blue Jays managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Cubs on what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend at Rogers Centre. Host Blake Murphy re-visits the series with fellow Sportsnet analyst and former MLB player and manager, Buck Martinez! The pair discuss what Jose Bautista has meant to this organization over the years, before taking a look at the current squad on the field and what seemed to come together for them at the plate yesterday. Next, Blake enlists the help of our listeners to answer some questions from our JTP Mailbag (27:15)! In the second hour, Blake checks in with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi live from Atlanta to take a look around the league and get JP’s thoughts on some recent Jays’ headlines (50:22). To close out today, Blake looks ahead to the team’s upcoming mini-series with the Phillies alongside Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who shares some insight into a team that shares many similarities with Toronto (01:20:20).

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.

Sho Alli and Ben Shulman break down the Blue Jays' 11-4 win over the Cubs to wrap up the series at Rogers Centre! They take your calls and texts, and discuss the outing from Hyun-jin Ryu, who allowed two unearned runs over five innings of work - how good has he looked in his three starts? They get to Daulton Varsho's career-high five RBI and whether or not he can continue to build on it offensively, and also chat about four-hit Whit Merrifield - what could a new contract for him look like? Plus, they chat about the upcoming eight-game stretch - what is an acceptable record over the coming eight games vs. the Phillies, Reds, and Orioles?

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.

Sho Alli and Ben Shulman break down the Blue Jays' 5-4 loss to the Cubs at the Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, and get to the pinch-hit situation with Santiago Espinal late in this one - was it the right move, and has Espinal done enough recently to change the conversation about his major league status once Bo Bichette returns? Plus, Jordan Hicks gives up the game-losing hit - what is his status in the 'circle of trust', and was it just a bad outing for him? Afterwards, they chat about the Level of Excellence - who deserves to go in next after José Bautista?

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 break down the Blue Jays' 6-2 loss to the Cubs down at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and get right to another disappointing performance from the offence - is there any one person the continual lack of pop from the bats falls on? Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked extremely frustrated with himself - what's going on there? How has such a large chunk of the lineup taken such a large step back at the plate? Plus, they get to the 4.1 IP from José Berríos - he's been so reliable all season, was this just a blip on the season overall?

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 drop the finale in Cleveland to split the series with the Guardians. Host Blake Murphy reviews it to start today’s show before turning the page to the team returning home to face the Chicago Cubs and celebrate Jose Bautista this weekend at Rogers Centre. Blake checks in with former Jays’ infielder Devon Travis on what he’s been up to lately as well as reminisces on playing with Joey Bats. Next, Blake welcomes the founder of Scout Girl Report and columnist for The Athletic, Andrea Arcadipane (27:22) to talk about her unique career path in baseball as well as a recent piece focused on the A.L. East and some potential impact players. After that MLB insider, Sportsnet’s own Shi Davidi joins (50:59) to reflect on Jose Bautista’s impact on the Jays organization as well as dissect the current team’s road trip. Lastly today, Robert Orr of Baseball Prospectus comes on JTP for a bigger-picture look at the American League and X-factors down the stretch here (1:19:55).

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.

Sho Alli and Ben Shulman break down the Blue Jays' 4-3 loss to the Guardians to ensure a series split in Cleveland. They take your calls and texts, and get right to the ejection of George Springer - was it warranted? Was it all about his hand motions and not what he said? With few guys on the bench, how much did that affect the lineup for the rest of the ballgame? They also get to the multiple bases loaded situations that the bats failed to take advantage of - is that just what this team is now? Plus, Alek Manoah only gets through four innings of work - is this a step back and is he in danger of losing his spot in the rotation to Hyun-jin Ryu?

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.

The day after losing 1-0, the Blue Jays manage to win 1-0. The first time in team history that’s happened and JTP host Blake Murphy recaps it for you. He welcomes Jonah Birenbaum of theScore to dive further into the week that has been for the Blue Jays where scoring runs has become an issue again. After that, the two have some fun as they dive into some Jose Bats trivia ahead of Bautista’s honouring this weekend and going onto the ‘Level of Excellence’. Later, Geoff Pontes, prospect writer of Baseball America, fresh off a trip to the Jays’ Dunedin complex, discusses some of the top names in Toronto’s system as well as some of the ones you might hear of soon (51:38). Last but certainly not least, fan favourite John Gibbons, former Blue Jays manager and now host of The Gibby Show, to talk more about what he’s up to lately, gives some thoughts on this year’s team as well as reminisce on his days in Toronto and share some Jose Bautista stories (1:18:02). 

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 break down the Blue Jays' 1-0 shutout win over the Guardians in Cleveland! They take your calls, and get to the seven innings of shutout ball from Kevin Gausman - despite walking the tightrope again offensively, how important is it that Gausman continue to perform? Is he in the AL Cy Young conversation? They also get to the offence and more double plays at inopportune times - is this just what this team is now? Plus, they chat about Paul DeJong's bat, how important the bullpen has been, and the general play of the starting rotation in the context of the entire American 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 affiliate.

Blake Murphy opens the show with a recap of the Toronto Blue Jays' unfortunate 1-0 loss in Cleveland. Then, Chris Black from Sportsnet joins the show to discuss what to expect from Kevin Gausman based on his recent performances, Davis Schneider's debut, the potential turning point for Daulton Varsho, and the ups and downs of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s season. Blake is joined by former Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider (31:38) who shares his recent foray into coaching at the youth level and the significance of imparting self-awareness to bolster their mental well-being. Then, they go deep on former teammate José Bautista. Next, Vancouver Canadians manager Brent Lavallee (51:02) breaks down his team's impressive year-long streak of success and the growth of the Blue Jays minor league system. Finally, Arden Zwelling from Sportsnet joins from Cleveland (1:12:28) to look at the successful weekend in Boston, the backstory of Davis Schneider and provide insights into what to anticipate in the third game of the series in Cleveland.

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.