The Blue Jays leave home having swept the powerful Padres in three games to complete a 5-4 homestand and now play six, in Tampa (3) and Texas (3). This week's Exit Philosophy has Griff and Mal weighing in on the big sports story of the moment in Toronto, the Maple Leafs and their parting of ways with president Brendan Shanahan. Are there comparisons with the Jays organization and should Shanahan have been given a media platform on the way out the door. Griff describes a similar situation in the '90s with fired manager Buck Rodgers. Is this the moment for the Jays with six primary outfielders, to give a banged-up Anthony Santander 10 IL days to get healthy and regroup? The Jays bullpen has stepped up and is as deep as anyone can remember…except for some blips on the Jeff Hoffman radar. Do they keep him in the closer role? A look at how good MLB teams with slow starts have bounced back and how that reflects on the Jays. The Top 5 List of position players born in the '80s is amazingly thin and how is that a caveat for Vlad in the final five seasons of his mega contract. Plus, a Niagara Ironbacks inaugural season (St. Catharines) is looming in the PGCBL.

INDEX:

0:00 Intro

0:22 Maple Leafs decision to let president Shanahan go

2:47 The Jays and the future of their president Shapiro

5:15 Vlad and Bo and the factor of no salary cap

10:13 Shanahan's no presser exit compared to Buck Rodgers

16:37 Homestand ends with sweep of Padres

22:29 Jays struggles in Tampa through the years

27:33 Santander, Springer and the crowded OF mix

31:40 What happens when Andres Gimenez returns

36:35 State of the Jays Bullpen

43:51 Jays Rotation and the looming crisis of 4-5 starters

50:18 Good teams rebounding from slow starts

55:36 Phillies emerge as Jordan Romano heats up

1:02:05 Top 5 List … MLB position players born in the '80s

1:08:13 Niagara Ironbacks Update

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For the full catalogue of Richard Griffin's work, including weekly Blue Jays/MLB columns, a weekly MLB Power Rankings column, exclusive conversations with some of the game's greats, past and present, and the Exit Philosophy podcast, visit https://www.griffsthepitch.com/