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Chapter 1: What were the key moments in the Blue Jays vs. Astros game?
Well, Jeff, lots for us to get you tonight. A wild game, honestly. Jays go down 4-0 in back-to-back-to-back fashion. Not something you see every day. They get back into this one with a pair of two-run shots. Okamoto with another big swing to give them... A 6-4 lead off of former Blue Jay Nate Pearson. And then after Rodgers allows a pair of runs in the ninth to send it to extras.
A bullpen decision I'm sure we're going to talk about today. A former Blue Jay, another one, gets it right back. Joey Loperfito with a three-run jack off of Brayden Fisher. His first home run of the season. It's a 9-7 Blue Jays loss to even this series at one game apiece. The Jays just still can't get quite above .500, Jeff. They're 39-40 after today's loss.
Lots of chances to close this one out in a game that was pretty sloppy, I think, from both sides, I'd say.
Yeah, listen, this game really shouldn't have reached extra innings. I mean, the Jays were 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position. God love Tyler Rogers, but, you know, as... Kevin Barker and I both say all the time, he's not going to strike anybody out. You put him in the game, the ball's going to be in play. And, well, you saw the result tonight, or this afternoon, I should say.
Braden Fisher comes in, does the job. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see John Schneider's explanation. Listen, I know that there's a lot of concern about Braden Fisher's workload. I get all that, and rightfully so. But you can't... You can't let Tyler – you have to stop the bleeding with Tyler Rogers. I mean, again, he's not striking anybody out. The ball's going to be in play.
That was actually probably – you could probably have predicted that the Jays were going to end up losing this game based on the fact that Tyler Rogers was in there. To me, he's a great guy to have in certain situations. I don't want to see him anywhere after the seventh inning in a game. and certainly not in a situation, you know, where I need a strikeout.
And I was a little surprised that Braden Fisher wasn't in the game earlier. But, again, two for 14 with runners in scoring position. You know, you've got the winning run in third base, George and Vladdy coming up. They saw three pitches. Again, Vladdy. Vladdy, what was he at? He had two infield hits. You know, that was his chance to have that signature moment we're still waiting for.
And it's great, yeah, he's going the opposite way. His takes look better, all that stuff. But the Jays should have had this game wrapped up, even with Shane Bieber not looking very good.
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Chapter 2: How did the Jays' offense perform in critical situations?
That is Jeff Blair. I'm Sho Ali. You're listening to Blue Jays Talk here on the Sportsnet Radio Network. We're also streaming on sportsnet.ca and on the Sportsnet app. You can give us a call, 416-870-0590, 1-888-666-0590, star 590 on your cell. You can text us as well, 590-590, name and location. A whole bunch of text for us to get to, Jeff. People text line is always open.
Standard messaging and data rates may apply. Yeah, I do think the two... biggest inflection points perhaps for this game, at least for now, will end up being... And certainly there are moments not cashed in early in this ballgame, but I do think it will be Rodgers over Fisher. And the way they operated the bullpen today, I know a lot of people would say Rodgers over Varlin.
The way they operated today, I'm guessing Varlin was just down because at no point...
He didn't even get up. He was down, and I think they knew going into the game that he was likely down.
Chapter 3: What were the bullpen decisions made during the game?
No, listen, Fisher was up in the ninth inning. They could have gone to Fisher in the ninth inning. Again, you've got to keep in mind, and I know people get tired of hearing it, but John Schneider and his staff have a better idea of who really is available and who really isn't available than we do. And let's be honest here.
The seeds of this loss were planted, one, by that inability to drive in, take advantage of numerous opportunities early in the game, and secondly, by Shane Bieber just not being good enough, kind of doing his Max Scherzer impersonation today. So, you know, let's see what the next outing looks like. Velocity is not his strong point, obviously, but show.
Both, you know, both Dan and Caleb on the TV side both commented on the third inning. I mean, he was throwing 91-98. You can't live at that.
Chapter 4: What did the hosts say about Tyler Rogers' performance?
He needs to be at least 93, 92, 93, someplace in that range. He had no spin in his pitches. It just came apart. So, you know, let's see what the next outing looks like.
Yeah, on Bieber, so the final stat line will go 3-2, 9 hits, 4 earned runs, no walks, 2 strikeouts, of course the 3 home runs. He threw 75 pitches, 50 of which were strikes. And your point is a good one, Jeff, on the velo. I mean, it's not going to be the biggest part of his game.
But, you know, last year, I think you're looking at a fastball that lives, what, in and around 92 and blank, essentially, right? That's where it averages, essentially. And today it lived 91.7. It topped out at 92.7. So, again, first started off the IL. I want to see it maybe one more time. I think it lines up for him to pitch the series finale against the Rangers, I believe, if that works out.
So we'll have to see what it looks like the next time. The command, though, also was just so spot. It wasn't. It wasn't consistent. It was a little more spotty. I mean, you look at that fourth inning. You mentioned the third with the velo dips to a certain extent. The fourth inning, of course, with the back-to-back-to-back. I mean, the home run from Diaz just at the top of the zone.
But the Smith home run, Cam Smith was a slider that he left up. just too far in the zone, and then he throws a fastball, you know, more or less right down the middle, right? So you're not going to fool many batters with those ones. I mean, he just wasn't missing bats either, right? Five barrels on 15 batted ball events in those 75 pitches. He induced just five whiffs, and none of those whiffs
came on the slider, which is generally one of the pitches he throws a ton, right? So I think I'll give it one more.
No velo, no spin. You know, it was interesting hearing John Schneider talk about the decision to bring him up after his rehab start. And, you know, John said we kind of relied on him. He felt good with the slider. The result was last time a triple-A wasn't that great. But, I mean, that's the position the Blue Jays are in right now.
They have to get a read in where they are with Bieber and Scherzer and, to a certain degree, Patrick Corbin. They've got to get a read in where they are with these guys going into the trade deadline. They just have to.
And I think we heard Ross Atkins say today, and rightly so, that their focus is going to be on starting pitching, optionable, controllable starting pitching, essentially trying to get another Louis Varland, although I would presume one who would be more likely to start than Relief. And that's the way it should be because they're not going to have Scherzer next year.
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Chapter 5: How did Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer's at-bats impact the game?
This team needs to win some games. They need to put together a winning streak. They need to take advantage of playing some of the teams around them. Yeah, it's great, and I understand. All those little individual things, when they add up, generally lead to victory.
But, you know, boy, you really, to me at least, you really have to be an optimist to take anything, you know, anything really exciting out of this game. I mean, you know, Kaz Okamoto is a good hitter. We know that. Kaz Okamoto is going to the All-Star game. We get all that. Dalton Varshow is capable of hitting home runs and hitting, you know, and slug. We get that.
But, yeah, I really do think that the poor in this game outweighs the good by a considerable amount.
Robin Nova Scotia on the text line saying, getting harder to watch the top two in the Blue Jays' order continue their journey of woe. The bottom of the 10th, don't hear that very often. The bottom of the 10th was a scenario we've seen too many times this season. You mentioned that, Jeff. And then Eric in the Beach is also saying, early game chances coming back to haunt you.
This game should not have been close. Embarrassing performance by your 1-2-3 hitters. And again, you and I have talked about this a lot. You and Kevin have talked about this a lot. Dan has talked about this a lot. Everyone who covers this team knows. talks about this, Jeff. I mean, we can talk until we're blue in the face as to, hey, Okamoto looks great. Dalton Varshow looks great.
Ernie Clement going to be the all-time, the leading vote-getter for the AL and skip the second round of voting for the American League All-Star group. I mean, Nathan Lucas continues to look. Like, we can talk about those guys all we want. And you know what? I'm not going to spend too much time on George because I think in the month of June he has looked better, but still.
George is – I kind of – Yeah, but I kind of exempt... You know, again, that last at-bat in the 10th inning wasn't great. But George is better. You can see progress with George. I think over the last, I don't know, the last 15 or 20 games, he's actually hitting at a pretty good clip. Vladdy, to me, is the guy that remains the enigma here. You know, I mean, that just...
That can't happen in the 10th inning. That can't happen in the 10th inning. You know, and yeah, I mean, the Astros bullpen, you know, in that situation, you're not facing Hayter. You should have been able to make some hay there.
416-870-0590, 1-888-666-0590, star 590 on your cell. Let's go to the phones, Jeff. And, of course, 590-590, name and location is the way you can reach us on the text line as well. But on the phones, joining us from Sydney, Australia, Rob joining us from Sydney. Rob, what's up?
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Chapter 6: What were the missed opportunities for the Blue Jays in this game?
But expanding the roster, it's not going to make any difference. It's not going to make any difference. As I said, more than anything, I would imagine most teams would probably take an extra reliever over a starting pitcher because if you take a starting pitcher, now you're looking at basically running a six-man rotation, and teams don't want to do that.
There's a couple of texts here, Jeff, about the relievers and the bullpen at large. John at Oshawa saying, Atkins saying that pitching will be a priority, as you mentioned, with Garcia seeing doctors. Is priority definitely another high leverage option? Rob from Fort Erie also saying they just need a reliever. I haven't fact checked this, but this sounds right. The Jays relievers.
are 9 for 21 and save opportunities when Varland is not pitching. So it does feel pretty close to automatic when Varland is out there. Of course, we'll hear from Schneider shortly, I'm sure. Again, feels like he was probably down today. But outside of Varland, and this is not a knock on every single member of the bullpen.
I actually thought Spencer Miles, I know he left with a couple runners on, but Miles, Tommy Nance, even Jeff Hoffman, all three of those guys did their jobs today. But
Yeah, I mean, it does come down to how they do use those late-game relief options, Jeff, and how they are sometimes forced to use those late-game relief options because it would be nice if they just had a good old-fashioned blowout sometimes and they could just throw Simeon Woods-Richardson out there for a couple innings just to mop up, essentially, or whoever it might be, right?
We haven't seen those kinds of games from this team that often really at all this season.
Yeah, he was up in the bullpen, by the way, in the last inning. So, Simeon Woods Richardson. So, clearly, you know, Louis Varland wasn't going to be in the equation today. Here's the thing. I mean, the Jays, you know, despite what Ross Atkins said today, you know, they're focusing on starting pitching, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Well, they should be focusing on starting pitching.
They will add a bullpen arm at the trade deadline because everybody adds a bullpen arm at the trade deadline. Yeah. Now, you may not be looking at a Mason Miller guy. Maybe you're going to get this year's version of Sir Anthony Dominguez, but they will add a bullpen arm at the deadline. Josh Hader would look good. Yeah, I mean, I need to...
I guess I was a little – well, he's coming off the aisle as well. You know, Velo didn't impress me that much today. But, you know, a Roldis Chapman, a guy like – he would look really good. The problem with the bullpen right now to me is pretty – it's pretty straightforward. Other than Louis Varland, there isn't anybody you would want pitching in the ninth inning of a game. There just isn't.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of this loss for the Blue Jays' season?
And, yeah, like I said, to me he's just a guy. He's just another guy, and he'll be this guy three years down the road. He'll be this guy at the end of his career.
416-870-0590, 1-888-666-0590, star 590 on your cell. Let's go back to the phones, Jeff. Let's go out west to Port Coquitlam with Jay. Jay, what's up today?
Hey, what's up, guys? Listen, I really wanted this win today, and I got a bone to pick with Vladdy. You know, I feel like the scouting report on him is you just throw something a little bit off the plate, and he'll get himself out. I mean, that at bat in the eighth inning where he got on base, he's not even running it out, and he swung the pitch out of the zone.
And then in the 10th inning there, I think they were trying to walk George Springer, throwing pitches way off the plate, and he gets himself out. I mean, this guy's been around the league forever. All you have to do is try to hit a fly ball. You're not going to hit a fly ball on a sweeper way off the zone.
So I don't know why you're not keyholing in on a pitch middle end to try to drive and pull in the air. He's a veteran. He doesn't need us to tell him that. I don't know why he can't throw the game down there. He's done it before. And then Vladdy, you know, I was just begging, begging for him to not swing at the first pitch when we need him the most. Maybe have an at-bat, have an approach.
But no, he swings at a sweeper on the black away and hits a lazy fly ball out there. It's the same story over and over again. He's paying half a billion dollars. It's time to grow up. and mature at the plate.
Jay, appreciate the call. Anything to disagree with there, Jeff?
I mean, grow up and mature at the plate. You know, I keep getting back to this. I don't know. I mean, it's in Vladdy's hands. Grow up? I don't think he needs to grow up. Mature at the plate? He looked pretty mature in October last year. So I'm not buying that argument. I just go back to the same thing that Kevin says and other people have said. He doesn't have a plan B when he's at the plate.
It's the... Rinse and repeat. It's the same thing over and over again. It's hard inside, soft away. I mean, it's not as if he's a particularly difficult guy to game plan for now. We can sit here and watch the games and pretty much know exactly how teams are going to attack him. And I found it interesting.
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Chapter 8: How did Luis Urías perform in his Blue Jays debut?
I mean, with Vladdy Jeff, I mean, you just want to see it all synced up at once, right? This is a guy who just needs that timing to be right. just right at the plate. I suppose all hitters do. And it does feel like maybe over the last couple of weeks, we've seen him be closer to that guy. I mean, when he's right, even, you know, he's not chasing, the takes look better.
And, you know, even the other night, you know, you and I were doing this last night, and, you know, he swings that up at you. when he's right, would never see him swing at, and then he drives one into center field.
I think we're seeing him get closer to that guy, but it does feel like, especially in those big moments when things are magnified, he does feel just like this much out of sync, just this much out of his rhythm, which is too much of the issue that's been going on for much of the season.
Listen, games like tonight would be fine in the first month of the season for Vlade, but it's the end of June. We're almost halfway through the season. And I think if this continues, it will be interesting to see. If this type of performance from Vlade continues, it will be interesting to see how Toronto fans start reacting to him. I mean, again, look, he's here forever. He's hardly a bum.
But fans in this city, they were teased last year by the World Series. And one of the things that happens when you... have a brilliant individual postseason that raises expectations is people start to expect that of you as a player. And we're not seeing that from Vladdy.
It's probably not helped by the fact that it's simply that when the postseason ended, I think everyone kind of tacitly agreed that, hey, you know what, eight home runs in 18 games or whatever it was, not going to be something that you're going to do for most players over the course of a regular season.
But then when the regular season got started, or maybe right before it, Vladdy did look like he was going to be on some kind of heater because of the World Baseball Classic. Exactly. And then Ernie Clement, he kind of picked up where he left off. I think the expectations have skewed to a certain extent. And then the money is a part of that, as people always mention.
We heard Jay mention that as well. It's almost like all of these things at once, essentially. Expectations from other players, the World Baseball Classic, the playoffs last year, the money. It's all kind of just compounding three and four and five times over, it feels like.
Yeah, you know, and look, we're at the end of June. It's entirely possible that Vladdy's just going to have a bad season. Sure. I mean, yeah, I hope that isn't the case. And I don't want to think about what this means for the team. But maybe it's one of those years. It does happen.
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