Blue Jays Talk

Déjà vu! Similar to 2022, this season of Jays Talk Plus starts amid some struggles for Toronto’s MLB team that continued into Game 1 at Tropicana Field Monday night. Blake Murphy breaks down what went wrong not only last night, but what hasn’t clicked for them so far this season. He sorts through the numbers to back it up with Sportsnet Blue Jays Producer, Chris Black (28:35). After that, Blake welcomes Robert Orr, a data analyst and contributor at Baseball Prospectus, to dive into his latest piece "How The Rays Raised Their Offensive Game" and share some quick thoughts on a few names familiar to Jays fans (47:10). Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith joins Blake in-studio to chat about the Blue Jays' broken promise of attention to detail early on, and the state of the crowded AL East division (01:13:21).

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' 6-4 loss vs. the Rays at Tropicana Field. They take your calls and get to the home runs given up by Chris Bassitt - why have the Rays shown a propensity to wait on pitches vs. what the Blue Jays do at the plate? They discuss what needs to be changed, and what can be changed, especially if there aren't lots of heralded minor leaguers coming down the pipeline. Plus, a conversation on leadership and whether or not the team has it.

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.

Blake Murphy welcomes you to season two of Jays Talk Plus! Blake brings on MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson to share his take on how the team can turn things around following a dismal homestand and the recent struggles with runners in scoring position (10:12). To end the first hour, Blake breaks down some of John Schneider’s post game comments and opens up the text-line to read some listener texts (33:55)! The next hour starts with Tampa Bay Rays General Manager Peter Bendix, who chats about the great start his team is having and helps tee up this week’s series against Toronto (49:51). After that, Blake turns his attention back to the Jays as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling joins him in-studio to discuss the weekend that was at Rogers Centre that included almost seeing Yusei Kikuchi pinch run (01:07:42)! The two wrap things up diving into the roster and discuss if any moves could be made to help rejuvenate the club (01:18:22).

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' 8-3 loss to the Orioles at Rogers Centre to wrap up the homestand. They take your calls and texts, and they discuss the wasted opportunity after eight innings from Kevin Gausman in which he only allowed two earned runs. They get to the RISP issue rearing its ugly head once again, and how the team looks lost offensively right now - what kind of change can be made? Plus, the relievers needs to be augmented in some way - has Nate Pearson supplanted a number of guys (including Yimi Garcia) in the bullpen?

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' 6-5 loss to the Orioles in extra innings at Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, and get to some of the perceived mistakes from John Schneider in today's ballgame. Should this loss be squarely pinned on the manager, and was the mound visit mistake in the sixth inning emblematic of a larger issue with his managerial style? The guys also discuss the bullpen's over-reliance on guys like Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano (who blew his third save), and get to what could be considered a bounce back outing for Alek Manoah.

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 Orioles at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and get to the performance from Yusei Kikuchi against the Orioles for the first meeting of these two teams in 2023. They chat about the big bats continuing to be relatively silent, and how life in the AL East will continue to be tough with the Orioles here for two more and a trip to Tampa next on the schedule.

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' 4-2 loss vs. the Yankees at Rogers Centre to wrap the series. They take your calls, and debate the one word they'd use to describe this four-game series vs. the Yankees - frustrating? Revealing? They get to the performance of the offence, which has dried up in the last week, and how they couldn't get a hit against...Ryan Weber? Plus, they discuss Nate Pearson's relief work in which he hit 100 MPH multiple times, and what to expect with the Orioles coming to town.

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' 3-0 extra innings win over the Yankees at Rogers Centre! They take your calls, and discuss the three-run walk-off bomb from Danny Jansen, his second walk-off in four days at the Dome. They also discuss yet another great start from Chris Bassitt - where would the Jays be without him? Plus, they get to Jordan Romano's two innings of relief work, and Cavan Biggio's critical baserunning error on what became a Yankees double play late in the game.

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' 6-3 loss to the Yankees at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and discuss the back-and-forth between the Jays/Yankees dugouts, and how despite NY starter Domingo German's ejection after three innings, the Jays couldn't bring a major hit to knock out the visiting club. They also discuss Kevin Gausman's terrific outing, the late Judge home run off Erik Swanson, and a potential injury to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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' 7-4 loss to the Yankees to open the series at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and get another dismal outing for Alek Manoah, who walked seven batters before getting yanked. Can anything be done about this beyond sending him to the mound every fifth day? Plus, they discuss the potential controversy of Aaron Judge seemingly glancing at the Yankees dugout before crushing a Jay Jackson pitch for a home run - what was he looking at, and could this snowball into anything?

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.