Blue Jays Talk

Blake Murphy hosts the first episode of Jays Talk Plus and opens the show by outlining what's on tap and sharing his baseball background, before getting into former Blue Jay catcher Russell Martin announcing his retirement, and what it takes to be a good game caller behind the mask. Ben Shulman, who made his play-by-play debut for the Jays this weekend, stops by to chat about his first experience working those four games, when he knew he wanted to get into broadcasting like his father, and calling games for the Fort Wayne TinCaps (26:25). Later on, Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith shares his thoughts on Jose Berrios' latest outing cut short to just under three innings, the bullpen's weekend workload, if its time to carry three catchers with Gabriel Moreno's looming call up, and if Nate Pearson has a path to help out the pen (50:26). Finally, PUP guitarist Steve Sladkowski jumps on to discuss the creation of the Jays Talk Plus theme music, how he keeps up to date on his favourite sports team while touring on the road, and his encounter with former pitcher John Axford (79:47).

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 Nicholson-Smith break down the Blue Jays' 11-10 win over the Angels to complete the four-game series sweep! They take your calls and texts, get into the five RBI from Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and discuss the offensive contributions from Raimel Tapia over the last four games. They also break down the wild play by Matt Chapman to avoid the tag at first base, the impressive offence from Alejandro Kirk, and where Santiago Espinal belongs in the batting order. Plus, Sho thinks the 'Ryan Borucki Experiment' is over - what comes next for the lefty?

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 Nicholson-Smith break down the Blue Jays' 6-5 win over the Angels! They take your calls and texts, get into the decision to pitch Jordan Romano for a third straight day, and Ross Stripling coming in to shut the door in the ninth inning. They discuss the luck of Matt Chapman, who finally had one fall his way in the eighth, and another deep flyout by Danny Jansen. Plus, Sho and Ben debate the call to use Julian Merryweather in a high leverage situation, and whether or not that should (or will) happen again going forward.

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 Nicholson-Smith break down the Blue Jays' 4-3 win over the Angels! They take your texts, and discuss Charlie Montoyo pushing the right buttons with both pinch-hitters and the bullpen to grab the victory. They get to the performances of Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards, and discuss the very impressive season that Alek Manoah continues to author. Plus, a discussion on Nate Pearson and whether or not he can be a good addition to the bullpen upon his eventual return.

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 Nicholson-Smith break down the Blue Jays' 6-3 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium! They take your texts, and get to another game where both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Danny Jansen smash home runs, the approach by the offence at the plate, and the smooth swings by the top of the order. They also discuss the off night for Shohei Ohtani, another decent game by Hyun-jin Ryu as the team's fifth pitcher, and break down the embarrassment of riches the Jays have at the catcher position (including Gabriel Moreno).

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' 8-1 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. They take your calls, and exhale after one home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and two from Danny Jansen. They also get into the first at-bat by Vladdy Jr. and how he looked a little more relaxed at the plate, George Springer walking twice, and the general approach by the whole team with twelve hits and eight walks on the evening.  

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 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. They take your calls, and discuss the continuing issues with runners in scoring position, including the team only managing three runs, and Santiago Espinal batting second overall in the order. They get to the parade of relievers in extras, and discuss the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at-bat that saw him ground out after two bases loaded walks.

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' 3-2 loss to the Reds to wrap the series at Rogers Centre. They take your calls, and discuss Yusei Kikuchi regaining his command after a rough first inning. They also get into the slightly shuffled batting order, and the struggles of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the plate (even after being moved up to second in the order).

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' 3-1 win over the Reds at Rogers Centre! He takes your calls, gets into Alek Manoah's start that took him through eight complete innings, and discusses why he may not have come back out for the ninth inning sitting at 83 pitches. Sportsnet's Ben Ennis stops by to discuss the Manoah ninth inning decision, the offence and approaches at the plate, and whether or not Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is closer to his 2020 form than that of his MVP-caliber season in 2021 (0:53).

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.

Sho Alli and Ben Nicholson-Smith break down the Blue Jays' 2-1 win over the Reds at Rogers Centre. They take your calls and texts, get to the offensive performances from players like Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer, and kick around some potential trade target help in the outfield. They also break down another encouraging pitching performance by Hyun-jin Ryu, who went six strong innings in his second stint back from the IL, and take a look down in the minors at someone like Jordan Groshans.

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.