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Blue Jays Podcast: Clinching and Pitching!

By Shaun Doyle

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Episode #38 of the Jays’ Nest Podcast brings you an entertaining edition of our great Blue Jays talk. We started off with a discussion of the bullet the Blue Jays dodged earlier in the season when they did not trade for a certain closer. We then moved into a discussion about pitching and a rumor that was dropped about a possible target. We looked at just how much stock Blue Jays’ fans should put into this. From there, we looked at the celebrations the club had after they clinched a playoff spot. There have been varying opinions about this celebration. In honor of a recent huge Blue Jays moment, we looked at some of our favorite moments from the past. We wrapped up with our weekly awards, which were fairly easy to choose.

Remember, to catch all of our episodes, you can find us on Stitcher (for Android) and iTunes. If you’d rather watch our show, check us out on YouTube. The video will be a tad different as we’€™ve switched up our platform a little bit. If you like what you hear, please be so kind as to give us a good rating or some stars. Thanks! We would love to respond to your questions/ comments on air. You can also submit them to @JaysNestPodcast or to JaysNestPodcast@gmail.com.

We led off our episode with a look at the recent scuffle between Jonathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper. We voiced our varying opinions about the participants, but had a purpose. The Blue Jays dodged a major bullet when they opted not to pursue a trade for the volatile closer. While both parties have shouldered varying levels of blame, the point remains that when the club needed a closer, Papelbon was the rumor de jour. He would have been a guy who did not fit in with the clubhouse chemistry that has been a major focus for the Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays /

Toronto Blue Jays

The clubhouse was front and center with our next point of discussion. Since the club clinched a playoff spot, they went from a champagne toast to a much more rowdy party. Some questioned why they would do this when they hadn’t actually won the division or anything major. Others felt that they had toiled for so long that some players deserved to celebrate a little bit. There were those who chose not to partake in the celebration like Russell Martin and Mark Buehrle. We discussed the celebrations and potential implications.

In honor of the walk off home run from Josh Donaldson, we decided to look at our favorite Blue Jays moments that aren’t World Series related. The purpose behind this was that Donaldson’s home run marked a possible “moment” for a generation of fans who did not experience the World Series years. This moment was one of the more exciting. So, we listed some of our favorites. John McDonald‘s Father’s Day home run ranked quite high.

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From there we looked at the remaining series’. We debated whether the Blue Jays should be concerned about the Baltimore Orioles playing spoiler and giving the Blue Jays some difficulty as the season wraps up. Our panel was a little divided with just how much trouble this series is going to be. The Orioles always present a challenge. We looked at Chris Davis as a potential thorn in the side. But, ultimately, the pitching matchups favor the Blue jays with Marcus Stroman and David Price getting two of the four starts.

We also moved into a good discussion about whether bullpen guys should stick to one role or if the club should use them in a different way. With the playoffs coming, should the Blue Jays go with the “hot hand” or should they go with matchups? We looked at this issue in the context of Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna possibly showing signs of mortality recently.

We wrapped up our episode with our weekly awards. The Blue Jays’ Hitter of the Week went to the obvious choice, who also was the American League Player of the Week- Kevin Pillar. Our choices for pitcher of the week were varied, but each represented deserving candidates.

As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. Leave us your thoughts below.

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