Artificial Turf Wars

Greg and Josh discuss the latest in Blue Jays land including the historic debut from Davis Schneider and the skillset that lends credibility to the belief that he will continue to contribute, Alek Manoah's strong return from the awful events of his last start, baserunning follies in Boston, the continued excellent pitching from Yusei Kikuchi, and encouraging start for Ryu that ended in injury, prognoses for the injured Ryu, Romano and Bichette and a ridiculous injury to Chad Green. They also answer listener questions and give a Do Over to the Baltimore Orioles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting from low-A Dunedin, broadcaster Chris Valentine speaks about Roque Salinas, whose bat finally caught fire in July, J.J. Sanchez's 95-mph fastball, Josh Mollerus' wipeout slider, and Kelena Sauer's sweeping slider. Podcast host and voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel then speaks about his team being the first affiliate in the Blue Jays organization to reach 60 wins and Wednesday's cycle completed by Michael Turconi. Bob Lipman then joins the conversation from New Hampshire where the Fisher Cats now have a brand new rotation, with all five starting pitchers from the beginning of the season switched out with the recent departure of Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse. Bob also gives an update on Steward Berroa, Phil Clarke, and Trevor Schwecke. Up at triple-A, Bisons' play-by-play guy Pat Malacaro looks back at Davis Schneider's rung-by-rung progression up the Blue Jays' minor league ladder and looks forward to the upcoming two weeks of high-intensity baseball as Buffalo makes a push to enter t

Greg and Josh go over the moves made and not made the trade deadline. They discuss the pickup of leverage reliever Jordan Hicks and what he'll bring to the Jays' bullpen in terms of performance and variability, the cost of Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein, the pickup of Paul DeJon and what he'll bring as both a temporary starter while Bo Bichette recovers and as a reserve afterwards, and finally the move that wasn't made for a RH bat and why that is a problem that comes with extra risk. They also answer listener questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Josh discuss the up and down road trip that led to a split against good teams, but got there in disappointing ways, the very tired bullpen thanks to the disappointing offence, the reinforcements such as the acquisition of Génesis Cabrera and imminent return of Chad Green, how the 6-man rotation with Hyun-Jin Ryu will hurt the bullpen depth, Jordan Romano's injury and how they'd cover the closer role, a lineup shuffle at the top and potential activity at the trade deadline. They also give out a Do Over to Buck Martinez and a Gold Star to the Brewers stadium ops team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Broadcaster Gareth Kwok's Fisher Cats are still waiting on their first walkoff of 2023, but the broadcasters from the other affiliates talk about the most exciting walkoffs of the season so far. The Bisons' Pat Malacaro tells us his team is finally getting consistency from the starting nine and the starters, Ernie Clement and Spencer Horwitz's dual five-hit day, Orelvis Martinez's triple-A debut, and Zach Thompson's season reset while he was on waivers. Double-A New Hampshire has not really be consistent, but Gareth gives us positive updates about Leo Jimenez's on-base streak, Rainer Nuñez sliding into the middle of the lineup, and Adam Kloffenstein's success in his second season in the Eastern League. In the last segment, host Tyler Zickel of the Vancouver Canadians banters with Chris Valentine of the Dunedin Blue Jays about the D-Jays' rough patch in July and the C's remaining red-hot. We also get updates about Ryan McCarty, Victor Mesia, Jean Arnaez, Rafael Sanchez, Deveraux Harrison, Michael Dominguez, an

Greg and Josh talk about the last week of Blue Jays baseball starting with the All-Star game Jays news and Vlad's home run derby win. They also discuss the unheralded reliever corps repeatedly doing its job up and down the pen, Bassitt and Berríos continuing to give the Jays the chance to win, Kikuchi showing an ability to make adjustments that wasn't present in 2022, Manoah's discouraging start, a lack of patience/approach from three key Blue Jays hitters, Ross Atkins' press conference about the deadline approach, Gausman's minor abdominal injury and the pending returns of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green. They also answer listener questions and give a Gold Star to Mookie Betts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Josh discuss the return of Alek Manoah to the rotation and what changes they did and didn't see in his excellent outing against Detroit, the changes José Berríos has made to his repertoire to reclaim (and even exceed) his former glory, the still somewhat struggling offence beating up on bad pitchers while having issues with solid ones and the pending return of Hyun-Jin Ryu, the confusing roster situation that it could create and how it could really affect the Jays' deadline plans. They also answer listener questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dennis Gilbert, the architect of the Bobby Bonilla contract joins the podcast (37:00) to discuss how he got into the agent business, how the Bonilla contract came about and why he encourages all players to take some deferrals in their contracts to protect their futures. Greg and Josh also discuss Yusei Kikuchi's excellent June, Chris Bassitt rebounding when reuniting with Kirk and the change in his pitch mix/calling, Vlad finding his power stroke for a still-underperforming offence, and some injury updates for Hyun-Jin Ryu, Chad Green and Zach Pop and what can be expected of them in the near future. They also answer listener questions and give out a Gold Star to Brandon Belt's dry sense of humour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Tyler Zickel (Canadians) is joined by the wonderfully mustachioed rookie Chris Valentine (Dunedin Blue Jays) and the reliable veteran Bob Lipman (Fisher Cats) to talk about the state of the Blue Jays minor leagues. Chris nominates Ryan McCarty as the D-Jays' hitter of the month and updates us on Rafael Ohashi's return to form, Alex Amalfi's new curveball, Irv Carter's phenomenal changeup, and tells us that Brandon Barriera is throwing bullpens and is feeling good. Tyler's first-half champion Vancouver Canadians love Ian Churchill both on and off the field, Gabby Martinez needs to work on his two-strike approach, Dasan Brown's bat has warmed up with the weather, and Adam Macko (the return for Teoscar Hernández) had his best start since joining the Toronto organization. Finally, Bob makes his 2023 Around The Nest debut by recapping a heartbreaking 14-inning Fisher Cats loss on a balkoff and he tells us to ignore T.J. Brock's ERA because he has been lights out. We end the show with Bob telling us about Orel

Greg and Josh discuss the latest in Blue Jays land. They cover the offensive approach that is limiting their power output and thus run production, the bad luck with RISP exacerbating the issue, the lineup shakeup to try and increase offensive production, the depth/roster construction issues being highlighted by Brandon Belt's injury, the extreme (mostly) highs and lows of Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt, Jose Berríos turning back into the guy the Jays acquired and how a bullpen game can be mitigated by swapping the rotation order. They also answer listener questions and give out a Gold Star to the fans of the Oakland Athletics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pat Malacaro (Bisons) speaks about the Bisons' low-slugging lineup, Cameron Eden's role as a second leadoff guy, and Paxton Schultz's solid debut. We welcome new Nester Chris Valentine, the voice of the Dunedin Blue Jays, who talks about the ebbs and flows of hitting and pitching in low-A, Brandon Barriera's performance ahead of his injury, Ryan Jennings preventing barrels, and some tough times for Tucker Toman and Manuel Beltre. Gareth Kwok (Fisher Cats) returns and give us an update on the double-A team that is now five games over .500 on the road, Leo Jimenez's bat heating up since an IL stint, and chats with Tyler Zickel (Canadians) about the "Shake & Bake" duo of Mason Fluharty and T.J. Brock. Tyler then tells us about Garrett Spain's game-winning grand slam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Josh discuss the latest in the Anthony Bass saga including a Ross Atkins interview that was immediately undone by Bass' clear lack of growth, and announcement that Bass would catch the first pitch on Pride Night then a live reaction to the sweet release of the Bass DFA. They also talk about why the Alek Manoah demotion needed to happen, what he'll have to work on and potential timelines for his return, what Bowden Francis could bring to the club, the vastly improved defence across the roster and its impact on recent games, the continued excellence of Gausman, Bassitt and Berríos despite entirely different approaches, the power starting to return and Danny Jansen beginning a rehab assignment. The guys also answer listener questions and give a Do Over to Keith Hernandez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Nick open the show by discussing the ugly actions of pitcher Anthony Bass and the team response to the issue. ATW stands with the 2SLGBTQ+ community in full and condemns all forms of hate speech and actions. When they move onto the play on the field, the guys talk about the incredible contributions from the pitching side especially Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt - who seems to never pitch under normal circumstances - and Jose Berrios in the rotation and the stabilizing force of Nate Pearson in the bullpen. On the hitting side, the team is still struggling to score runs so the guys look at Bo Bichette carrying the club, Brandon Belt's odd production, Vlad's power outage and George Springer moving up a special leaderboard. Finally, they answer some listener questions and give out a Gold Star Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pat Malacaro (Bisons) speaks about the return of Bowden Francis, Yosver Zulueta emerging as a bulk guy, Rafael Lantigua and Davis Schneider's grit, Paul Fry, and the automatic balls-and-strikes system in triple-A. Gareth Kwok (Fisher Cats) makes his Around The Nest debut and earns his wings by providing coverage of Chad Dallas' flaming start at double-A, Adam Kloffenstein finding his command and great breaking balls, Hagen Danner and Luis Quinones in the bullpen, and the smiling Steward Berroa's steals. Host Tyler Zickel (Canadians) gushes about Alan Roden's 21-game on-base streak, Josh Kasevich hot streak since hitting the road, Rainer Nunez raking, and T.J. Brock providing high heat from the Vancouver 'pen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Josh take a look at what has gone wrong during a really rough stretch of intra-divisional play for the Blue Jays. They point to some poor timely hitting from certain parts of the lineup, depth problems and mental/defensive lapses at the worst times. Not everything has been bad though, as they give shout outs to Chris Bassitt and Brandon Belt for really doing their best to carry the club and to Nate Pearson for carving out a key role in the bullpen. They also run down the injury returns and exits. Finally, they answer questions and give out a Gold Star and TWO Do Overs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Josh discuss the up and down road swing that saw Daulton Varsho and Brandon Belt start to heat up, the position player roster starting to show cracks, Jay Jackson joining the club after an injury to Zach Pop, the odd, extreme swings from the 2-5 starters on the club and a Alek Manoah's continued struggles. They also answer listener questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The broadcasters for the Buffalo Bisons, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Vancouver Canadians, and Dunedin Blue Jays' comms guy gather to provide their insights on how Blue Jays prospects have played in the past week. Pat Malacaro (Bisons) speaks about his team's big 21-9 win, Nick Fraze's debut, and Hayden Juenger's struggles to start 2023. Steve Goldberg (Fisher Cats) gives us an update on Ricky Tiedemann's injury the return of Hagen Danner from injury, and infielders Leo Jimenez and Miguel Hiraldo. Host Tyler Zickel (Canadians) thanks Andrew Thriffiley (D-Jays) for some former D-Jays, like Devonte Brown, Rainer Nunez, Gabby Martinez, and Trenton Wallace, who have been performing well for the C's. Andrew tells us about Manuel Beltre's new protective mask, Tucker Toman, Adrian Pinto, and Harry Rutkowski. He also gives us a couple of language lessons: the term "Boot Boy" and the proper pronunciation of "Brandon Barriera". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We start by welcoming our new podcast friends, Around the Nest, to the feed, then Greg and Josh break down a very up and down (and very down) week of the Jays as via: The Good: Gausman dominance, Chapman player of the month and Varsho swinging for power The Bad: Berríos and Kikuchi rough starts, bullpen breakdowns and The Ugly: Lots or errors recently and confusing managing decision, all happening in very close games where they matter the most. They finish things off by answering some listener questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The broadcasters for the Buffalo Bisons, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and Vancouver Canadians gather to talk about how Blue Jays prospects have started the 2023 season. Pat Malacaro (Bisons) introduces listeners to the hand gestures that can be used to challenge an automated ball and strike call, Ernie Clement's hot start, and who is in the early running to be a spot starter for the Toronto Blue Jays. Steve Goldberg (Fisher Cats) gives us an update on Ricky Tiedemann, Jimmy Burnette's uptick in fastball velocity, and the strong starts by Leo Jimenez, Trevor Schwecke, Dylan Rock, and Surrey's Damiano Palmegiani. Host Tyler Zickel (Canadians) thinks Vancouver is the most talented team in the Blue Jays' farm system. Devereaux Harrison, Justin Kelly, and Dahian Santos have seen velo increases, Riley Tirotta is the Canadians' (and perhaps the Northwest League's) hottest hitter, and coach Ashley Stephenson's work with infielder Josh Kasevich using a special pair of glasses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg

Greg, Josh and Nick discuss the latest week of developments for the Blue Jays including the incredible run for the rotation, the lack of depth that popped up temporarily with Chris Bassitt's injury scare, the changing bullpen roles that led to the return of Nate Pearson, Danny Jansen heating up, Brandon Belt slowly rounding into form, the bottom of the order powering a few wins and a potential injury to George Springer. They also answer listener questions and give out a Do Over to Apple TV's broadcast team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices