Blue Jays Morning Brew: Back to business

After a one-day hiatus, the Toronto Blue Jays get back on the diamond tonight in Philadelphia. Speaking of taking a hiatus, the Jays Nest Podcast featuring myself and Shaun Doyle is taking a quick breather this week, but will return next Tuesday with Episode 33! Check out all of our past episodes by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes or following us on YouTube!

The Blue Jays will hope that their two-game miniseries against the Phillies gives their offense a chance to collectively rebound before continuing on to Los Angeles where the Angels await in a Wild Card showdown. To get you set for a crucial road trip featuring the Jays’ newly-formed four man rotation, here’s your Morning Brew.

TV records smashed  –  The Jays’ recent surge has obviously spiked their attendance and television ratings, but I had to read this tweet from Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling several times to believe it. 


That number grows even further when you factor in the fans at the ball park, those listening over the radio, streaming through MLB.tv and all other avenues. There’s little more that I can add here other than to say that those numbers are absolutely astounding. Rogers ownership will take notice of this, too. Keep in mind that 3.14 million viewers wasn’t the peak on Sportsnet, it was the peak on Rogers Sportsnet.

Home run race  –  Doug Harrison of CBC Sports breaks down the tight race for the American League home run crowd, with Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson heavily involved. Donaldson currently sits just five back of AL leader Nelson Cruz with 31 home runs, three back of Chris Davis and two back of the Angels’ Mike Trout. This isn’t a race that “matters”, but don’t tell me you’re not interested!

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Blue Jays myths  –  Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair gives an interesting take on the old “Man in White” urban legend surrounding the Blue Jays. Multiple MLB teams use more than one set of signs in the Rogers Centre at all times due to the lingering suspicion that the Jays have a special agent relaying signs from the outfield bleachers. As Blair tells us, even John Gibbons was suspicious of this during his time with the Kansas City Royals.

“Trey (Hillman, who was then the Royals manager) got a call from one of his friends who’d just been through here telling him about it,” said Gibbons. “I mean, I managed here so I figured I’d know. Anyhow, we sent Zack Greinke out and they hammered him all over the park and … you know, I kept looking at the guy who was running the centre-field camera and, I thought I saw him doing something …”

Sabathia enjoyed his stay!  –  Here’s a strange one. Deadspin’s Tom Ley brings us some video footage of Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia getting into quite the altercation outside of Toronto’s EFS Nightclub early Saturday morning. ***(Be warned that the video embedded in this linked article does include a fight after C.C. is shoved into a cab and driven away, if that’s not how you’re looking to start your Tuesday morning.)

Not a good look for C.C., who must have been nursing a nice little headache on Sunday afternoon as Jays fans cheered on the big win. The real crime here is Sabathia’s choice in shoes, however. What is going on down there!?

More from Jays Journal

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