Artificial Turf Wars

Greg and Josh go over a crazy 48 hour period in Blue Jays land after a couple of months of silence. They start by discussing the huge move to sign George Springer including what he brings to the table, why he was the best fit and the rarity of this type of move for the Blue Jays. They also go over the signing of Kirby Yates and how the Jays took advantage of a rare availability in the market, the pickup of Tyler Chatwood, the odyssey that was the Michael Brantley "signing," and what comes next for the Blue Jays. Finally they answer a slew of listener questions then give out two Do Overs.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, voice of the formerly Blue Jays affiliated Lansing Lugnuts, stops by (25:05) to talk about dealing with the loss of the minor league season, how Lansing made use of the facilities, the uncertainty that came with the pending minor league cutbacks, learning about the move to Oakland and finally to reminisce about a player he watched thrive unexpectedly for Toronto. Greg and Josh also discuss the slow offseason, the many intriguing possibilities that it holds for Toronto, Mark Shapiro's latest comments and what we can take from them, Hyun-Jin Ryu's meeting with posted free agent Ha-Seong Kim and Kim's latest quotes, Vlad Jr. playing 3B in Winter Ball and the organizational reshuffling. Finally, they give out a Do Over to the Phillies owner and to the New York Yankees.

Former Vancouver Canadians GM, Jason Takefman, stops by (15:45) to talk about the recent changes to the minor leagues, how teams will be forced to adapt to affiliation change and loss and how the lack of the regular MiLB Winter Meetings will force change in the industry. Josh and Greg also discuss the return of Robbie Ray and the "close" move and what they suggest for the offseason going forward, which is backed by the recent comments of Ross Atkins. They also answer listener questions and give out a Do Over to an MVP voter.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet stops by (16:20) to discuss the upcoming Blue Jays offseason and the various directions the club could go, spending levels he expects and how the Winter and GM Meetings going virtual will change (or not change) the way things move this winter. Greg and Josh also discuss the Blue Jays' recent MLB award winners/"finalists", the option decisions for Chase Anderson and Rafael Dolis and the potential flexibility that could come with Vlad Guerrero's recent weight loss. They also answer listener questions, give out a Do Over and are unsure how to react to a recent Tweet from an MLB team account.

Greg, Josh and Nick wrap up the 2020 season by giving out their end of the season awards plus the extra categories like "Most Enjoyable Player," "Baserunning Madman of the Year," "Most Surreal Moment" and many more. Thanks to everybody who listened during this wild and wacky season!

Greg and Josh discuss the Blue Jays' short run through the Wild Card round of the MLB Postseason, including the decision to remove Shoemaker in game 1, the pitching choices beyond that, the struggles of Hyun-jin Ryu in game 2, the power display from Danny Jansen and some other things we saw that the team can take into next season. They also answer a couple of listener questions and give out a Do Over before finishing up with a brief look ahead to the offseason.

Greg, Josh and Nick preview the upcoming first round postseason series with the Tampa Bay Rays. First, they discuss some late-season developments that could impact the series, then they look at the Rays' starting pitching depth, some of Tampa's injury issues, how the Jays can counter the tough Rays' lefthanded hitters (despite the Tampa success against southpaws), and weigh in on the Jays' decision to start ace, Hyun-jin Ryu, in Game 2 instead of Game 1. They also answer a bunch of listener questions and give their thanks and prayers to the Baseball Gods.

In this episode, Greg and Josh discuss the shaky rotation behind Hyun-jin Ryu and who is likely to be in the mix for a potential postseason series, as well as how the new postseason rules affect that decision should the Jays reach the ALDS. They also talk about the bullpen structure and how recent blowout losses don't really reflect the state of that group, the impact of Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s hot streak, the recent injury carousel including who's in, who's out, who's coming soon and the call up of Alejandro Kirk. Finally, they answer listener questions and give a Do-Over to a Blue Jays player.

Greg, Josh and Nick take a look at the recent news and play of a surging Jays club. They discuss the injury to Teoscar Hernández and the hitters that have picked up the slack lately to help cover for the slugger's absence, the toll the starting pitchers have been taking on the battered relief corps and the excellence of the latter group and the pending returns of Bichette and Giles. Finally, they answer listener questions and give out a Do-Over to the Blue Jays manager.

Greg and Josh discuss a very busy week in Blue Jays baseball. They begin by going over all four deadline-ish deals, starting with Ross Stripling, then going in reverse chronological order through Jonathan Villar, Robbie Ray and arguably the biggest pickup, Taijuan Walker. They talk about the impact the players could have, how some of them could see some improvement in Toronto from some unusual season long numbers, and what the Jays gave up to get these players. They also cover the emergence of Julian Merryweather, strong month of August from a number of Jays players, some injury updates and pending returns of star players, Charlie Montoyo's bunting fetish and the interesting way the Jays can deploy their roster with all the starters-turned-relievers present in the bullpen. Finally, they answer listener questions, give out two Do-Overs and hand out a Gold Star.

Greg and Josh discuss the latest news in Blue Jays land including Randal Grichuk's hot streak and change in approach, the injuries to Bo Bichette and Nate Pearson, the improving offence, a vintage performance from Hyun-jin Ryu, an unexpected bullpen ace and some issues with the mental side of the game. They also answer listener questions and give out a Do Over to the Padres manager.

Greg and Josh discuss the week that was for the Blue Jays. They talk about the very strong work from the bullpen of late, especially sudden standouts Ryan Borucki and Jordan Romano, the very impressive and encouraging recent start from Hyun-jin Ryu, and some ups and downs in the rotation otherwise. They also turn their focus towards the extremely slumping offense, but which at least has Vlad Jr. showing some signs of life, and to the bizarre comments of late from manager, Charlie Montoyo. Finally, they answer listener questions and give out a Gold Star to the team from Cleveland.

Greg and Josh discuss the latest week of news in Blue Jays land. They talk about Charlie Montoyo's confusing management decisions, the great work from the starting rotation, Teoscar Hernández' incredible start, Nate Pearson's debut and some issues with Hyun-jin Ryu's early season velocity. They also answer listener questions, give a Gold Star to David Price and discuss the messy return to play from MLB.

Greg and Josh preview the entire 30-man Blue Jays opening day roster and the three taxi-squad members. They also give a Do-Over to Brad Ziegler and discuss the impact of the shortened season.

Greg and Josh discuss the latest news from Blue Jays land including Vlad Jr. moving to first base, Travis Shaw's misstep on quarantine, the surprising readiness of the rotation, the battle for the fifth starter with Chase Anderson's injury, Toronto's lack of a regular season home and what it's been like watching intrasquad games on tv. Finally they answer listener questions, give out a Gold Star and discuss the unfortunate Twitter fight between Randal Grichuk and Marcus Stroman.

Dr. Mike Sonne, Chief Scientist at ProPlay AI, stop by the podcast (25:00) to discuss his new product, PitchAI. He discusses how PitchAI can capture and break down pitching mechanics with the use of a cell phone, how he and his team came up with the idea, how Blue Jays' top prospect Nate Pearson got involved with the company, and what this could mean for the future of pitching analysis. Greg and Josh also discuss the Blue Jays "Summer Camp" training in Toronto and the hurdles still to clear before getting clarity on where they'll play regular season games, the Jays' 60-man player pool, the signing of Austin Martin, and a longer discussion about COVID and how it has already affected the start to the season and what could be still to come. They also answer listener questions and give out a Do Over to Rob Manfred.

Greg, Josh and Nick discuss the pending return of baseball. They first discuss the general concept of the sport returning and the challenges that must be overcome in order for play to resume successfully before looking into the 60 game schedule and its accompanying rules affects the Blue Jays. They talk about how the team can take advantage of their pitching depth in the early going, how an out of options player like Anthony Alford could have more chances to show his worth, and how the team can get plenty out of Nate Pearson and still gain the extra year of service. They also answer listener questions.

Greg and Josh continue their look back at Blue Jays history during the COVID-19 shutdown, this time shining the spotlight on the greatest (and a couple worst) individual game performances over the life of the franchise. They include some of the highest highs, club records, goofy moments and a couple of true disasters that people would like to forget.

Former Blue Jays' great, Pat Hentgen, stops by to discuss his incredible 1996-1997 seasons (26:35) as part of an overall historical look back at great seasons on underperforming ballclubs. Hentgen talks about his struggles to get going in 1995, the impact of Devon White and Roberto Alomar, learning from Charlie O'Brien and Dave Stieb, the mentality that helped him win the Cy Young Award, "competing" with Roger Clemens and what lessons he took with him to the coaching ranks.Greg and Josh also look back at some great seasons on "bad" teams from as far back as 1986 and as recently as 2009 and answer a couple of listener questions.

Throughout the shutdown of MLB caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, ATW will be doing looks back at various aspects of franchise history, from the draft to award winners and snubs to interesting pennant races and more. This week, Greg and Josh look back at the Toronto Blue Jays history with end of season awards and what they meant to the franchise and fandom at the time. They range from Alfredo Griffin's Rookie of the Year win* in 1979 to Josh Donaldson's MVP in 2015. They also look at some historic snubs, including basically Dave Stieb's entire early-mid 80s run and some awards that the Jays probably shouldn't have gotten.