Blue Jays Morning Brew: Podcast, Donaldson, Storen rumours

The Jays Nest Podcast, Episode 75
You speak, we listen. Shaun Doyle and I will be tinkering with The Jays Nest Podcast in the coming weeks to bring you the best product possible. That begins with a shorter run-time, added structure, and fewer long-winded tangents by someone (this guy). We’ve got some exciting plans for the months ahead, so please subscribe and enjoy the weekly ride!

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This episode focuses in on Drew Storen and the recent rumours that he is being made available in trades. We also begin a new weekly feature where we break down one statistic. Starting at the bottom, it’s ERA week. The show wraps up with our Hot Takes and listener questions. Submit yours anytime to myself, @KeeganMatheson, or Shaun, @JaysFromCouch.

A changing of the code?
Josh Donaldson was vocal in his displeasure following game four against the Minnesota Twins. Phil Hughes threw tight inside on Donaldson, then behind him, bringing to light (once again) the beloved “code” of baseball.

Dayn Perry of CBS Sports thinks that prominent players like Donaldson speaking out against the old ways could signal a shift in baseball culture. “Donaldson’s straight talk and how difficult it is to dismiss it feels like it’s heralding change. If the players are to be stewards of the code, then they have sanction to to mold it to their will.”

Baseball Blogging while Female
I strongly recommend that you find some time to read through Joanna’s piece at Hum and Chuck entitled “Baseball Blogging while Female: My Thoughts.” In it, Joanna addresses a series of questions put out by Jessica Quiroli who wrote a piece called “All Girls Allowed” for her site Heels On the Field.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

“Limiting the diversity of voices means limiting the variety of stories. Do you want to read versions of the same story 75 times? I don’t.”

Speaking of diversity…
For the Toronto Star, Brendan Kennedy spoke with Blue Jays’ great Carlos Delgado and third base coach Luis Rivera about the lack of Latin American managers in Major League Baseball. With Atlanta firing Fredi Gonzalez last week, the number sits at zero for the first time in 25 years.

“We’ve got a different culture, we speak a different way, we have different body language,” Delgado said. “Sometimes in the industry that’s still not accepted 100 per cent.”

Saunders and Smoak surprising together
On Monday, Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun wrote about Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders, who have been connected throughout their baseball careers and are now thriving in Toronto.

ICYMI: The Blue Jays Monday Morning Mailbag
“I missed it on purpose!” shouts a member of the studio audience. Regardless, the Blue Jays Monday Morning Mailbag will be a new weekly feature here at Jays Journal as we look to bring you more video content. Enjoy (and submit your questions for the next show)!

Back to those Storen rumours…
Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet spoke with Storen about the recent trade rumours, and stretching back to his Washington Nationals days, he’s no stranger.

“When it comes to bullpen guys, you never know — we get moved a lot. Especially when you look at the fact that I’m not under team control after this year,” Storen told Zwelling. “It’s so unknown. It’s not my decision. It’s just the name of this game. But I’ve dealt with it before, and it’s not something that I’m going to let affect me because I’m only concerned about helping this team win.”