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 26th: “The Pendulum Always Swings”
As the Blue Jays continue their road trip against quality teams like the Phillies and Red Sox, it’s becoming abundantly clear that something’s got to give when it comes to preserving the fleeting sanity of their concerned fanbase. Specifically, how close the team is to making a decision regarding their mercurial prospect (Vlad Guerrero Jr.) and their equally mercurial disappointments (Kendrys Morales, Randal Grichuk, Marcus Stroman) through the early stages of the season.
Joining me to explore all possibilities are true baseball soothsayers and raconteurs; first, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) drops in and offers a closer look at the differences between the 2017 and 2018 teams, how much of this recent stretch can be attributed to sheer bad luck, what John Gibbons has to do to motivate his slumping players, if the Blue Jays can compete with teams like the LA Angels and Seattle Mariners, and how quickly he’d bring up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to join this year’s struggling edition of the team.
More from Jays Journal
- 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
Next, I’m joined by three writers and bloggers whose expertise on the game of baseball needs to be heard in order to be enjoyed; Marshall Auerback (@mauerback) from the Levy Institute (@LevyEcon), Diamyn Hall (@DiamynHall) from Wright State Baseball (@WSUbaseball), and Ian Hunter (@BlueJaysHunter) from The Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb). Together, we discuss: if fans should be panicking at this stage in the season, their candid thoughts on the struggles of Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, musings on contending and rebuilding aka being half-in and half-out, and how to manage expectations when it comes to the elevation of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to the big leagues.
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Check out our previous episodes below:
- Jays Journal Podcast- May 26th– “The Pendulum Always Swings”
- Jays Journal Podcast- May 15th– “Baseball Gods and Mortal Men”
- Jays Journal Podcast- April 15th- “Preventing Runs and Battling Injuries”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Feb 14th– “Hope Springs Eternal”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Feb 1st– “Collusion of Common Sense”
- Jays Journal Podcast Exclusive with Tony Fernandez
- Jays Journal Podcast- Year in review 2017
- Jays Journal Podcast- Dec 19th- “Soft Resets and Intellectual Exercises”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Dec 13th– “New School & Nostalgia”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Dec 7th– “Perception is Reality”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Nov 16th– “Dare to Dream”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Nov 1st– “Struggling for Legitimacy”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Oct 25th– “Contending and Rebuilding”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Oct 21st- “Wise Men Sing”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Oct 10th– “Standards of Excellence”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Oct 5th– “Don’t You Forget About Me”
- Jays Journal Podcast- Oct 2nd– “Only the Young Can Say”
- Jays Journal Podcast Exclusive with Jesse Barfield
- Jays Journal Podcast- Aug 3rd– “Three Wise Men” (Zwelling, Goldberg-Strassler, Henderson)
- Jays Journal Podcast exclusive with the Tao of Stieb
- Jays Journal Exclusive with Jackie Redmond
- Jays Journal Podcast- June 30th– With Sportnet’s Arden Zwelling
- Jays Journal Podcast- June 28th- Todd Stottlemyre, relentlessly candid
- Jays Journal Podcast- featuring guest, Ben Nicholson-Smith
- Jays Journal Podcast Exclusive- The Todd Stottlemyre Interview
- And many, many more…