Blue Jays Talk

On your Monday edition of Jays Talk Plus, Blake Murphy revisits the Blue Jays' weekend series with the Twins, Kevin Gausman's rough start yesterday, and George Springer's record setting season from the lead off spot (00:55). Ben Nicholson-Smith then joins to establish the Toronto Blue Jays Concern and Confidence Index, including Hyun-Jin Ryu's injury, the rotation going forward, Alejandro Kirk's All-Star case, and the need for an additional lefty bat (21:36). Later on, Senior writer from FanGraphs Dan Szymborski chats about the Royals' falloff since their World Series victory in 2012, the ongoing issues in the organization's re-building process, and the FanGraphs projections for this upcoming series (50:43). Finally, former Blue Jays catcher Caleb Joseph joins to talk break down Gausman's latest outing, before sharing his expectations for Ross Stripling on the mound tonight and thoughts on the Bo-Vladdy infield cross-up Sunday (01:14:46). Finally, Blake gets you set for tonight's game with the lineups and notes ahead of first pitch at Kauffman Stadium (01:29:40).

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' 8-6 loss to the Twins at Rogers Centre to wrap up the series. They take your calls and texts, and ask the question: was Kevin Gausman tipping pitches or was it simply a bad game? They debate the idea that Gausman needs to rely more on some of his non-splitter pitches, discuss the lack of sunglasses and whether or not that contributed to the defensive miscues early on, and get to the offensive performances of George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Santiago Espinal.

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 breaks down the Blue Jays' 12-3 win over the Twins at Rogers Centre! He takes your calls and texts, and gets into the terrific start from José Berríos, a seven-inning, 13-strikeout performance vs. his former team. He also discusses the bombs from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, and Bo Bichette, and also gets to the bullpen getting a break with the strong performance from Berríos.

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 breaks down the Blue Jays' 9-3 loss to the Twins at Rogers Centre, snapping the win streak at eight. He takes your calls and texts, gets into the short start from Yusei Kikuchi, and if there's cause for concern. He discusses the bullpen being stressed with no Tim Mayza, and whether or not there are some minor leaguers that could make their way to the majors before the end of the season. Plus, a conversation on some left-handed bats that could be available via trade, and whether or not Alejandro Kirk should be on the block.

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.

On this episode of Jays Talk Plus, Blake Murphy kicks off the show recapping the Blue Jays' 8-3 victory over the White Sox and "pitching coach" Matt Chapman's impact on Alek Manoah. Blake is then joined by The Athletic's Kaitlyn McGrath to anticipate the return of Tim Mayza to the bullpen, what that might mean for the Jays' high-leverage relievers, and looks into how the lineup turned itself around in such a dramatic fashion (06:42). Later on, Brandon Warne of Access Twins joins Blake to play a little Blue Jays-Twins trivia, before discussing Minnesota's season so far and which roster pieces will be absent in Toronto due to the COVID 19 protocols (26:37). ESPN's Joon Lee joins afterward to discuss his feature on Bo Bichette, encapsulating his leadership abilities in the Blue Jays' clubhouse (51:13). To wrap up today, Blake breaks down what to look forward to this weekend, looks back on the last time the Jays saw Chi Chi Gonzalez, and shares the freshly released Twins lineup for tonight’s game (01:10:50).

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 break down the Blue Jays' 8-3 win over the White Sox at Rogers Centre! They take your calls, and get into yet another terrific performance from Alek Manoah that saw him go deep once more - where does your confidence fall whenever Manoah is on the mound? They discuss the bats staying hot, Santiago Espinal providing some insurance late amidst a good game, and Matt Chapman's defensive prowess. Plus, could there be a trade in the starting rotation with Hyun-jin Ryu on the IL?

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' 7-3 win over the White Sox at Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, get into the recent stretch of play by Danny Jansen, and how he made a conscious decision to make some changes offensively when he was rehabbing from his early season injury. Afterwards, they discuss the injury to Hyun-jin Ryu, the walks from Bo Bichette, and the late-inning blast from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Plus, a chat on how valuable is Ross Stripling in the bullpen vs. in the starting rotation.

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 opens the show with a quick look back at the Jays' series-opening win against the White Sox. MLB.com's Julia Kreuz jumps on to discuss an ideal plan for splitting time between Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen, Teoscar Hernandez getting back on track, and how the team is finding ways to win 1-run games (05:03). Spin Rate's Drew Fairservice breaks down Kirk's at-bats, an interest in Bo Bichette's plate approach, and Charlie Montoyo finding a spot for Julian Merryweather to pitch in relief (25:03). The Athletic's Keith Law shares his impressions on Jays prospect Gabriel Moreno, why he's hesitant to call up the young catcher, that position's value in the trade market, and LHP Ricky Tiedemann cracking into the pipeline's top 100 prospects (50:54). Finally, The FAN Drive's Ben Ennis stops by to chat about his confidence level in Hyun-Jin Ryu this season, why Matt Chapman is due for a big game, the thought of trading away one of their catchers, and how the team is finding a way out of their offensive slump in May (01:15:53).

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 break down the Blue Jays 6-5 win over the White Sox at Rogers Centre! They take your calls, break down some timely defensive plays, and get to the pitching performances of Kevin Gausman and the bullpen. They discuss the urgency from Julian Merryweather on the mound, and also debate what they've seen from Jordan Romano. Plus, Alejandro Kirk looks terrific - Blair and Barker break down his bat looking quicker, and how Kirk can focus on his offensive development with Danny Jansen back on the 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.

Blake Murphy is joined by Chris Black, Blue Jays on Sportsnet Producer, to take us through his role working on MLB coverage, the integration of Statcast in the broadcasts, Jose Berrios' up and down starts, and makes the case to carry three catchers at a time on the lineup (02:09). Photo Director at West End Phoenix Jalani Morgan shares his ongoing photo essay called "Black Jays" and his experience mentoring photojournalists (29:06). The Athletic's Eno Sarris weighs in on the best ballparks that offer the top craft beer options, why the vulcan grip isn't used often by pitchers, the death of the fastball count and the use of more sliders (50:26). Finally, MLB.com's Mike Petriello breaks down Vlad Jr.'s slide in May, how he recognizes when a player is coming out of a slump, and a look at battle of the aces tonight between Chicago's Lucas Giolito and Kevin Gausman (01:15:57). Finally, Blake gives the scouting report for Toronto's upcoming series against the White Sox (01:33:55).  

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 affiliates.