Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome back to Blair and Barker, brought to you by Capital One. Giving Canadians credit for 30 years. How dare you. I dare. How dare you? 938 or 940 or 939. Someplace around there will be the first pitch tonight.
Just turn it on at 7 o'clock.
Yeah. Here. Be the first pitch tonight on Sportsnet 590. The fan at Sportsnet is that Jay's open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Jay's coming off a tough three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. A couple of 2-1 losses.
It's early.
It is early.
Uh-huh.
Well, a couple of 2-1 losses. The ball barely, barely leaving the infield. How hard you hit them, it's where you hit them. Well, that is true. But nonetheless, let's bring in the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, John Schneider. How you doing, John?
Hey, buddy.
What's up, guys? Yeah, doing all right. Good to get out of Milwaukee. We were getting paper-cutted to death there.
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Chapter 2: What strategies is John Schneider using with Braydon Fisher as the opener?
That's a good question. Clean that up. You know what? Sometimes you got to... Sometimes as a doctor, you let the neurosurgeon come in and do the real important stuff. You kind of do the triage. You know how it is. Oh, yeah. Fair. Hell, at least I'm open about it. That's true. I was just wondering if you could maybe give us a little bit of a health update on, you know, on George. It seemed...
really optimistic on george yesterday but also uh trey is savage jimmy garcia who all of a sudden seems to be maybe in the picture a little sooner than some of us thought he might be uh and of course jose brios if you can maybe just run through that for us yeah quick um jose you know
Numbers aside, I think from his outing, Vila was good, felt good, stuff was good. So kind of check that box with him. He'll do another rehab game. Not sure yet where. We got to talk to him today. Trey, we're going to talk to him today again as well. He's feeling good after his last outing. We're just debating where the next one's going to be. You know, I think the next one.
Wherever it is, you get him up to around 80, 85 pitches and kind of see where you're at. And I just want to really make sure that he's ready when he comes back. And if that's the next turn through, great. If he needs one more, then, you know, that's all right, too. So he's making progress. George, I think, is starting to move around running-wise a little bit this weekend.
He's been hitting the last couple days and looks pretty normal from a hitting standpoint. So that's good. Garcia is getting closer and closer. He's been throwing pens. I think he's got a live VP this weekend down in Florida, his first one. But reports have been 94, 95 in bullpens. So that's good to hear. And then who else? I feel like this is a long list. Every series I do, Barger's doing well.
He started to run lightly down at the complex. He's been hitting. He's been throwing. So hopefully he can kind of ramp that up over the weekend and into early next week, the running part of it, and get him back playing in some rehab games probably.
Okay, let's put a little bow on the pitching before we jump into the hitting. How open are you and Petey to throwing different guys in the ninth inning?
I think, yeah. I mean, again, we trust multiple guys. I see the question within the question there. Is Hoff still the closer? I think, yeah, man. I still trust him. I trust Louie. I trust Raj. So I think depending on availability, like the other day, Louie was going to close if we had the lead. And I think it'll just be like that. But I think I...
You know, when you look at everyone's stuff, you know, I think that minus an outing, I think Hoff is throwing the ball basically the same as Louie. You know, maybe the below is a little different, but in terms of strikeouts, it's similar. You know what I mean? So I trust all those guys. Doesn't really matter who it is every night.
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Chapter 3: What are the latest injury updates for the Toronto Blue Jays?
And when Miami was kind of more upright and he's so athletic, what we've told him is just, Hey man, we want you to be loose. We want you to be free. We want you to be athletic. He creates a lot of natural lift for this swing. And I think just getting his bat up here just allows him to do that. So that's, that's basically it. I think it was be aggressive.
Don't be afraid to take some shots, but be as loose and athletic as you can. You can see it throughout his bats. You know, he's, laughing sometimes when he's up there going through his at-bats, which I think is great.
But I think what he can be, I mean, he can be, if you want to like put a comp on him, he could be a lot like Addy, you know, he could be a guy that hits the ball extremely hard, extremely far. And then you can put the bat on the ball and go the other way. You know, I think that part will come. But what we're trying to get him to do is really take aggressive swings on pitches he can handle.
So he's done a good job of that. And I think that every day he feels a little bit more and more comfortable with where his hands are and with what he's trying to do. I mean, Kev, next time you're there, you've got to watch this dude take BP. I mean, it's electric. So he's getting there, and I think that he's scratching the surface of what he can be, really.
Yeah, I saw him when I was in Dunedin hitting balls three-quarters of the way up the scoreboard on that field. I mean, I know the wind blows there, but that's a good country mile. So, yeah, he's got tremendous power for sure.
He does, yeah. He was putting balls up over that four-runner in Milwaukee with, like, he's, you know, all series. But it's exciting because he's – He's a likable dude, too, and he's really easy to work with and talk to. So we've just tried to make him feel as comfortable as we can.
Yeah, it looks like they're throwing Okamoto away. How does he make the adjustment to that?
Yeah, he's got to. You know, he's got some basketball skills that way, right? And Papa and I were talking about this just on the plane yesterday. He's got to really intentfully stay on top of some balls and get some line drives to right center. He had a couple good swings in Milwaukee that way, but his natural swing is going to be a little bit, you know, a little bit lifty, if you will.
You know what I mean? But... Until he can show that he can cover where he's being pitched right now, he's not going to get those pitches that go into his swing path. So the work he's doing, I think, is right. And the conversations he's having, I think, are right.
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Chapter 4: How are the Blue Jays planning to handle their ninth inning options?
And People tend to forget, like, we still got a lot of these games left, you know, 140-something of these things left. And I think what we've dealt with, what other teams have dealt with kind of in a condensed period of time is just what usually happens over a longer season. So it's been weird, definitely been weird, you know, like trying to dissect exactly.
You know, you look at those teams you mentioned, it's weird. who are those players that they're being counted on? You know, are they going to go through an adjustment period, you know, with where they are in their career? Um, pitching can be a little bit hit or miss right now. Bullpen can be hit or miss right now. So it's been, it's been a weird year to start for sure.
Um, hopefully we're one of the quickest teams to kind of turn it around and stay and stay consistent. So tough to explain sometimes baseball is baseball. Um, But I think, again, like you said, worrying about us is the most important thing.
John, what's your first impressions of Lenny Sosa?
This dude can hit. Yeah. Again, I think probably a little bit better than anticipated defensively. Fit right in in the clubhouse. You know, we like the bat-to-ball skills, again, you know, for a couple years with Chicago. Drew Butera knows them well being over there, and he called him their team's best hitter.
Um, so I think kind of a little bit of a, um, different look in terms, you know, he's like, like Davis where, you know, right-handed, he's got some thumb. Um, he's going to swing as opposed to Schneid. He's going to work yet. You know, he's going to try to get on base. So a little bit of a different profile, right-handed. Um, but so far so good, man. And he's, he's not scared.
He's going to go up there. He's going to hack.
Okay. Last one. Uh, Nathan Lucas doesn't look like himself. What do you think's going on there?
Yeah, he's been grinding physically, right? Everyone doesn't know everything. We don't really disclose everything if we don't have to. So he's going through some stuff physically, and we're trying to just make sure that he's getting back to where he should be to be the normal version of him.
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Chapter 5: What adjustments has Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made to improve his hitting?
Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, maybe. I mean, again, he has been playing a little bit. Obviously, Tyler Heinemann's been hurt with the lower back thing. He had a little window there. Everything's faster at the big league level. I've been telling you this forever. I've lived it. It's hard. That's the one part. It's that internal clock. You know, we went through that with Bo Bichette.
We heard everybody saying it's shortstop. It's the internal clock. Fair point. Figure it out. Remember on the backfields when I was doing the show in spring training and I was standing like, eight feet away from them trying to hide him on the backfield because of that internal clock. And they had the big, giant clock telling them how fast the guy was running down the line. It's a thing.
You know, everybody's got to figure it out in their own pace. It just so happens they're 7-11 and lost five series in a row, and now everybody's paying attention to it. So, yeah, perfect case scenario, he's not in the big leagues yet. It's just reality. Like, he needs more weathering. That word. The only way you learn is to fail at it.
But when you fail and you're 7 and 11, and everybody's going, holy moly, and, you know, everybody that thinks they know how to talk about baseball is yelling and screaming about, you know, that internal clock. Pick it up with your glove. Throw a guy out. You know, sometimes he's trying to make a play that it's hard to make trying to do too much. He's a kid.
He's been in the big leagues a little over a week. You know, you're trying to make that good first impression. Because you want to stay in the big leagues. It's not hard getting there. It's hard staying there. Trust me, I know. So that's where he's at. And I got no worries in that. They'll do enough behind the scenes. They got some of the best khakis in the world.
I mean, you know, can't beat them, join them. That's where I'm at with that. So here we go. Bing, bang, boom. I've gotten soft a little. I think you and Dave are right.
Dave in Calgary.
Yeah.
I think you both are right. No, I think maybe we need to – we almost need to – you know what we should do? We should almost have a party for khakis. And just because you've – I think I preceded you into the khaki nether regions about a year and a half ago. You're coming along now.
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Chapter 6: How is Jesús Sánchez impacting the Blue Jays' lineup?
Would it be a squeaky voice? Would it be a deep voice?
It wouldn't be a deep voice. You hear my voice. This voice is my voice.
Rock the boat! That's it. What the hell was that? That was me. A man of many talents, Jeff.
938 is the first pitch tonight. That's really late. Michael Soroka against Braden Fisher.
Yeah. 7-2 victory. Calling it right now. Seven might have been a little heavy.
Did you get the sense that we may see an opener again soon? Yeah. After tonight? Absolutely. You think maybe Max's start? Let me rephrase that. Depending on how tonight's game goes.
I will say this, and I'm not ducking your question, but it is interesting to hear his answer about the ninth inning. Oh, yeah. He basically said, hey, we got to close her. That's basically what he said. He said, you know, we're open to everything, but I think Jeff's there. So let's get Jeff on and we'll stop talking. Yeah. We just got yelled at. Let's bring Passon. Passon. He must be important.
He's more important than we are. How you doing? Hey, buddy.
How's it going, fellas? Yeah, Jeff, I feel like you need a go-to voice. Yeah, I don't. That's what I do with Elmo, you know? Yeah, I've heard your Elmo.
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Chapter 7: What defensive adjustments is Kazuma Okamoto making?
I think the partner... who was, he's also part, I believe, part of Chelsea, the Premier League. Yeah, maybe he's buying it with the understanding that there will be a salary cap. Don't know how we're going to get there, but we are going to get there.
Yeah, I think Major League Baseball is operating like that right now, and we're going to see how willing they are to hold firm in that. That's the calculus of this whole thing. Who blinks? And I suppose that's the case in every collective bargaining negotiation, but this one feels bigger than last time.
This one feels bigger than any since 1994 because the owners are essentially saying that we want to fundamentally change the entire system that baseball operates within. And the consequences of that are... Just beyond enormous for the sport going forward. And I think that players recognize that. They're going to be willing to fight to the death. And I just hope it doesn't come to that point.
Yeah, me too. Baseball's got a lot of momentum. It's a lot of fun. That World Series last year, man alive. That's the best World Series I've ever seen. So hopefully they can keep it going to figure it out.
I do have a question. Well, let me tell you something then, Mr. Barker. Let's hear it. On Tuesday, on YouTube, and on all of your favorite podcast platforms, there will be a 90-minute discussion with Dave Roberts and John Schneider, breaking down all of the elements of that World Series.
And I'll tell you guys, starting up this show, if you're not a subscriber, it's called Sources Tell Jeff Passan. Starting up this show, the idea was to tell stories like this and the insight and the things that have not been said publicly and are acknowledged and just the back and forth between John Schneider and Dave Roberts.
I am enormously proud of this episode and think it's going to be like the standard by which we hold ourselves. going forward. So I urge anybody with the stomach in Toronto to relive some of those moments to do so because I feel like this will give you a better look at that incredible World Series than you've had anywhere else. and I swear to God I'm not just in cell mode right now.
I am really proud of the work that we did here and very thankful that John and Dave were as candid as they were about it.
Yeah, the podcast is Sources Tell Jeff Pass, and I can tell you we had John's weekly hit last week. We asked him about it. He didn't give away any state secrets, but he did credit you because he did say that there was kind of a moment of – geez, really?
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