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Blue Jays: Jays Journal Podcast- “It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”

By Ari Shapiro

TORONTO, ON - MAY 18: Marco Estrada #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays exits the game as he is relieved by manager John Gibbons #5 in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre on May 18, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 18: Marco Estrada #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays exits the game as he is relieved by manager John Gibbons #5 in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre on May 18, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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The Jays Journal Podcast is hosted by our own Ari Shapiro, and can be found on blogtalkradio.com. Tune in regularly to hear Ari and a wide range of guests talk about current issues, have roundtable discussions, and regularly take your calls to discuss all things Blue Jays.

Jays Journal Podcast- May 21st- “It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”

Out-hit, out-pitched, out-scored and out-classed; some long weekends aren’t worth their salt when it comes to anticipating a pleasing and worthwhile baseball experience in this city. As the Oakland Athletics battered the home faithful into oblivion with a team that resembled the Bad News Bears rather than the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s abundantly clear that most fans are reaching their boiling point when it comes to unconditional loyalty and surreptitious faith in this franchise. Since we know it’s always darkest before the dawn (and that there’s 115 more games to play in a ridiculously long roller-coaster of a bloated season). let’s turn our attention to more constructive musings and auditory pleasures to inspire immediate optimism.

In what is perhaps one of the most jam-packed editions of the podcast ever produced, I’m excited to start the show with an exclusive one-on-one interview with former Blue Jays second baseman and World Series Champion, Homer Bush (@BushHomer). Together, we discuss his experiences as a player in the pre-sabermetric era and how the transformative nature of the game conspired against his career and his perception of baseball long after retirement. You’ll definitely want to check out his latest book available on Amazon and Google Books: “Hitting Low in the Zone: A New Baseball Paradigm.”

More from Jays Journal

Next, Alexis Brudnicki (@baseballexis), formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays and now with the Great Lake Canadians (@GLCanadians), joins me to discuss her fond memories of the Lansing Three and why Joey Votto’s inexplicably bizarre comments were interpreted in more ways than one. She also offers us a powerful indictment on the state of amateur baseball in Canada and why it’s absolutely vital to support the game at the grass roots level.

Finally, I’m thrilled to round out the show with a boisterous round table discussion featuring Richard Birfer (@richardbirfs) from the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (@CBScoutingNet), Brendan Panikkar (@Panikkar37) from Baseball Prospectus (@BProToronto), and Chris Henderson (@Baseball4brains) of Jays Journal. Topics covered include: Robinson Cano’s dreadful suspension, if Joe Biagini might be irreparably broken, the merits of calling up Vlad Guerrero Jr. sooner rather than later, why Alex Anthopoulos can do no wrong in Atlanta, and their deep thoughts on Joey Votto.

Tonight’s episode was brought to you by: Cloudwifi (cloudwifi.ca). Do you live in a condominium and are paying too much for internet? Surf faster & save money by getting your building on-board and win a pair of season tickets for the 2018 Toronto Blue Jays regular season. E-mail bluejays@cloudwifi.ca today to see if you qualify.

Check out our previous episodes below:

Next: Questions about Josh Donaldson's free agency