Blue Jays’ Big Weekend | Blair and Barker Full Episode
[Music] all right it is a Monday an off day for the Blue [Music] Jays not a bad not a bad don’t go outside see that’s not I mean you know that they stay in a nice yeah and I like Seether yeah lot to do couple years ago I liked it good restaurants and all you need are restaurants and bars you don’t need anything else yeah anyhow it’s Blen Barker for a Monday on sportset 590 the fan at sportset uh my blue jays taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners on the weekend and uh five4 thank you sir 54 wins lots to talk about uh they are 41 let’s got the I mean they’re 41 of 49 and they still didn’t hit with runners in scoring position don’t be that way they were four for 26 the m a 4 for 28 you’re fine buddy you’re part of the show buddy Mark say hi to everybody nobody saw you look at that PFF even dressed for the show but he’s T hey buddy when you’re done uh just uh inside and outside the car you don’t have to wash the hub caps okay he’s he’s tapped up bo uh he has tapped out he’s on he’s on I’m jealous oh look that it was I I I love Dan Dan Dan Schulman’s tweet uh about the game the games I thought the series was fun I did too I I really did I enjoy they were good games again you know the reason I mentioned the runners in scoring position is because we talked about this last week uh I mean flip a coin between which offense is worse the Jay’s offense or the Mariners so I was going to come down to pitching the Mariners pitch awfully well that is the of their team MH but you know what the Jays Kevin the Jays did enough in this series to uh to take two or three and for me at least again there’s a lot of there’s a lot of good stuff to talk about this the bullpen you know Leo Jimenez getting his first two hits I mean we saw some life from from Alejandra Kirk and again George Springer but I got to start with Ariel Rodriguez man um six Innings pitched uh six strikeouts uh you know the Jays were leading 5 nothing going to the bottom of the eighth inning in that game I look as we get close to the trade deadline the Jays are are probably going to at least have to consider trading one of their starters and they get a few more starts from yiel Rodriguez Kevin and they’re going to feel a whole hell of a lot more comfortable making that decision I think yeah well I mean they they’ve simplified this is the beauty of Pete Walker right I mean again we’ve talked about this we’ve had him on our show we’ve asked him about guys that he gets what does he do and it takes him a little while to you know sort of try and stay out of the way to see what a guy does well see what a guy doesn’t do well Yo’s got a nice little natural cut to his ball right he’s trying to on the flip side of that you know live in the Khaki world of trying to spin everything at the top of the zone and when you do that what do you do Jeff you don’t throw strike one you fall behind a bunch you throw a bunch of pitches in per bat you throw a bunch of pitches you know in an inning that means you don’t go deep as you want to go and to you know sort of try and hide what you don’t have in a pen and then on top that you sort of again we talked about that about making those little Minor Adjustments trying to be a little bit more fluid with the with the delivery which is exactly what he’s done you add that to the fastball command of not trying to spin everything get swing and Miss at the top of the Zone a lot now you just sort of rely on what you do well right be who you are how do you keep it in the zone how do you be have you know competitive pitches to where they’re really tough takes all right if you do that it gives you a better chance to go a little deeper that’s what’s happening yeah let’s Point Let’s point out that the Seattle Mariners do one thing really well offensively they strike they they swing out they strike out a great deal um the stuff you saw from Rodriguez though that carry over against a better lineup yeah I think when he’s got fastball command not overthinking it you simplify now he was what was he nine for 20 nine for 20 throwing and strike one that’s got to get better like that 56.5% of throwing strike one it’s not good enough The League average is somewhere around 61% it’s got to get better doing that that takes away the educated guessing you throw strike one that puts me on the defense now I can’t educate guess against you like he’s got a plethora of pitches now I can’t guess with one of those because I’m behind I’m on the defense now I’m thinking let it travel the other way instead of getting party out front that’s the difference right that’s why they want him to sort of not all the time think about spinning it off the fingers you know getting it out front and having that big time spin rate and all those kind of things when that’s sort of not who he is when it comes to the fast ball now the secondary stuff Yeah you sort of want him to do that right throw it a little bit harder have it t a little bit longer have it breaking a little bit more that’s the when you want to spin a rate on the fast ball just be who you are with that thing and I think that comes with simplifying the delivery having a little bit more fluid having sort of the same kind of arm slot not having so much of the fluidity of that thing going all over the place when you don’t have to that’s basically what this comes down to he doesn’t have to do that because he’s got good feel and he’s got good stuff and that’ll add up to going a little deeper in games you think the Jay’s analytics department will let him do that or do you think that yeah I think Pete Walker’s got control of his pitching staff that’s what I think okay and I think we’ve seen that when it comes to how quickly they make adjustments I mean look at Brandon Littell I mean that dude couldn’t throw a ball off a barn door like a month ago now all of a sudden he’s thrown both them pitches about 50% of the time in the zone I mean that’s the lead stuff right again it’s got It’s got late movement to it and it’s the little thing of if my hands are too high that means my arm swing is Big that means I can’t repeat that I can’t get it out front and have the same release Point all the time so what do you do you just move your hands down around your belt which means that arm swing is a little shorter a little bit more on point and I can have the same release Point all the time I mean again this just gets back to I think this is my personal opinion when you have the best pitching coach in baseball that can look at what he’s saying let it play out a little bit don’t just sort of try and overwhelm players with information and then you just sort of start trying to Tinker fill in the blanks and this is what you’re seeing from these two guys which is right now that’s what they need from them uh we shouldn’t mention by the way we’ll be joined by Jason Stark at 4:30 uh he’s got a terrific article up in the athletic uh taking a closer look at which current players are on a Hall of Fame trajectory always fun to talk little Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Hall of Fame there’s one guy that I thought of as soon as I read that the uh we we’ll talk to him as well about the Jays and their potential assets at the deadline touches well on the Yankee slide they’re one of five to start July 3 and7 last 10 Caleb Joseph joins as John morosi as well as uh the trade deadline does approach before that however there is the uh Major League Baseball All-Star Game you already know Vladimir Gro Jr has been chosen to the game voted him by fans uh as of now and again things can change due to injuries openings Etc but he will be the blue jay’s sole representative in the game about right Jose buos we thought might have had a chance earlier in the year kind of a little bit of a wobble still Jose Brio still going to take the ball Kevin yesterday sixth Innings pitch 10 strikeouts that’s a career high hit 98 that’s hardest pitch of his career mhm um through 60 over 60% of his pitches for strikes but man it looked to me like every time I looked up he was falling behind hitters what did you make of of of Jose Brio yeah see I I I don’t that’s not I mean the the the Home Run he gave up on the on the four seamer in I mean that’s just a dude that beat him to the spot I mean if that thing’s 95 96 that guy’s out because he’s a nine-hole hitter roess I think is his name first home run in two years yeah yeah it’s like if if it’s a if it’s an extra gear he’s out I mean it’s a perfect location every once in a while you just got to tip your hat to dude and say you made a good pitch the guy beat the beat you to the spot like I mean it’s on the black end after going away with a sinker what is it 22 home runs 23 home runs he’s allowed now the most in baseball 20 something yeah it’s right there but I it’s again I think that a lot gets back to because he’s feeling frisky with the mechanics and can repeat that and keep a couple of different pitches in the zone and you know he’s attacking the Zone he’s not going to walk you like he’s going to be in the zone a bunch of the times and what are a lot of hitters trying to do they got all or nothing in their swing and you know you throw a change up which is one of the dumbest sequences in the history of the sport when Garver hit like 30 off a slider off a breaking ball why you would and then you saw the check swing off the slider that he had over the first basement’s head why as a catcher that you in a bazillion years would even think about even throwing anything that doesn’t spin is mind buckling but again this is you know and I want to apologize to everybody who’s made the decision to put George Springer in the leadoff spot I was wrong I apologize to John Snyder any khaki that I’m sure was in the room that is cuz this is because that was the lead and then you thought the game was over cuz they don’t score any runs and then Here Comes big bad George you’re back H hitting the 98 look dud I mean give him credit give him an extension now absolutely not but you know again and now they’re talking about they’re not going to play him as much cuz he’s in the back nine I mean John’s even said that like I said they did they did set him on Friday they did set him on Friday CU he’s back night he’s getting a little older like the bat speed’s probably consistently not there now they can you know hook every machine up and find out what that is so I look I I had my doubts I was wondering well you know why you hate bow so much maybe that bow thing’s ship has sailed and it’s more important to get the guys in the right spots who are getting to paid the most amount of money how dare I ever doubt John Snider so I apologize John I mean I of course have uh been a big supporter of George Springer from the GetGo sounds like you have been all over this way to go I’m not seeing that he needs to hit 12th anymore in the lineup or anything like that uh let’s talk about the bullpen um four scoreless Innings yesterday in that 10-inning win four scoreless stranding 11 again not going to make I we we do have to mention the Mariners they stink they’re awful off they’re not good and I don’t know what the hell’s happened to bigger bigger bigger shock here’s here’s the talking point bigger shock to you Bo bashed or Julio Rodriguez Julio I mean I was picking Julio to win a MVP Amer year that’s I mean we you know we’ve spent all our time talking about bash bashad I’m watching Julio Rodriguez I don’t recognize him yeah they’re they’re both having trouble with anything that’s spinning and now why why that is who knows I mean that might have something of velocity and you know it’s just one of those years where you try too hard you see your friends around you not doing your thing you grip the bat too tight you expand once you start expanding you sort of get in the habit of expanding I mean Bo chases everything and until Bo sort of zones in I’m not saying Bo has to do that consistently all year because that’s not who Bo is Bose’s a free swinger but man he gets himself out a lot and you notice when he gets a ball down the middle middle most of the time he hits that hard and it’s a very productive at bat so until somebody in that room raises their hand remember I asked the john about George Springer what the heck took you so long and basically they were saying as a staff it takes a while to figure out how to tell your established players that they need to adjust something well somebody needs to tell Bo just right now this is not working you you can’t swing at everything that’s spinning like everything that’s and you saw Seattle’s catchers we’re setting up with two strikes Jeff like three feet off the plate because obviously they’re thinking he might swing at it yeah why wouldn’t we set up out there I mean that for me just tells you all you need to know so somebody in the room raise their hand for bow and say we understand that you’re a very very good offensive player but right now you’re going through something you got a lot of parts whatever that something is now you just have to refine and hone in on something look right down the middle for something straight if you see it spinning until new strikes do not swing at it it’s that really that simple can he do that cuz if he does that maybe he could be productive how how on Earth Kevin did the Jays run out five relievers again maybe it’s the Mariners lineup five relievers yesterday covering four scoreless yeah and again there were and and I mean I’m looking at the what were what were the Mariners or thers in scoring position yesterday I mean they strand at 11 they were four for 28 in the series runners in scoring position the Jays were were 4 for 2 six in the series but had but had two wins do we learn anything about the bullpen in this series and in particular H’s cabera did we learn anything about him closing out the game I think you got to be real careful about when you use him how much you use him how much you use him in a series I mean you throw him back to back against the same part of the lineup that may not go well that whatever that thing is he call I mean he calls it a cutter it ain’t a cutter cut it’s slider slurve mix between a breaking ball and a lot of times is non competitive you know the the ball that runs all over the place that’s 97 and left-handed start there you use that thing and then you can expand with that thing whatever you want to call that thing but I think you got to be real careful then Pearson was lucky I mean again that’s you come in with a couple of guys on base with nobody out in the game where it’s at where your team’s at give him credit like he got after some dudes he threw the right pitch at the right time now the location was not always good now he does that against a good team he might not get those balls back but it’s the Mariners I mean that Garver pitch was right down the middle but it’s spinning and Garver just whatever reason don’t like anything spinning pop that’s the one guy that’s confusing his stuff is filthy now I do know the people that I’ve talked to they’re basically forcing him to throw a few more Cutters cu the the two it ain’t a sinker it’s a two seamer it’s running a lot right and the lanes of where you have to start the two seamer is just not there consistently right that could be arm slot that could be timing of the ball out of the glove that could be landing point that could be finish I don’t think they really know or they’ have fixed it already that’s why they’re trying to sort of make him throw more Cutters to get him off of the Sinker right or the two Seer it moves three feet and it’s non-competitive okay a lot of good hitters aren’t going to face that or not going to swing at that so and then you looks sort of the way it looks yesterday Little’s really good right I mentioned the adjustments he made now the hands are not so high down around the belt that means the arm path is shorter and quicker means he can get it up means the knuckle curve and the two seamer are more on point in the strike zone filthy movement throws hard you don’t have so much pocket him right he can get a righty and a lefty out which is sort of what they’re doing now Chad green that for me is a different kind of animal right how does he throw the slider to lefties we saw yesterday the elevated fast ball that thing will play when it’s 95 96 97 but he can’t always use that he ain’t going to be able to abuse the fast ball that inning against the Lefty could he develop something stage of his career absolutely I mean he’s already tried the slow breaking ball he he couldn’t that’s a fi pitch now a split finger that I think is sort of what they’re trying to at least suggest because the slider you saw it it ain’t good against the Lefty back dooring it and back foot pointless to throw it to well you have to he can’t consistently cuz he don’t throw hard enough to throw the but he has to throw it so it’s either I locate it all the time I get better setups from my catcher to where my misses are better and the pitch is more competitive or I try and invent another pitch and I just think that grip it and rip it split finger I think you might start to see a little bit more of that now check now uh Jimmy Garcia will be back so they will be able to play around with when they want to use him you know what play against more righties than lefties cuz Jimmy is better against both sides of the plate now that Little’s doing his thing you can bring him in against lefties it’s just that that’s the thing right is how does he throw his slider only having two pitches in the elevated fast ball lefties I want to uh I want to get over to the offense in a minute but I asked you this last yesterday watching the game you surprised that they left latty at third base yesterday what was my what was my answer to you would your answer was you’re not entirely certain he’s any worse than Ernie Clement at third base I’d rather you wouldn’t wouldn’t you’d rather have Ernie Clement at third and and flatty at first Deb all right I mean I think he’s I’d rather have a guy who’s played third fairly regularly as opposed to a guy who I think John has shown you that if they felt like that there was an upgrade they’d be upgrading yeah and they don’t want to you don’t want to take Spencer horrorwood side of the game but I I just I you could move Spencer to Second like there’s a lot of things you could have done if you felt like you needed do that yeah I just I just threw I just wondering but of course if if if if that ball isn’t hit the vlat I wouldn’t have asked the question yeah I know I mean that that boy had Top Spin he’s trying to shuffle his feet over stay in front of it I mean he did the exact right right thing you stay in front of it his biggest strength at third is his arm how do you catch it not to where you have to Fumble it and then go to it that’s sort of where you know the game would speed up on him I he did exactly what he was supposed to do and then the bullpen came up and you know did exactly what they were supposed to so I I don’t all right I don’t think you’re all right let’s V is good enough that you can complain about any all right I’m not complaining I just know I just noted I I just I just noted it I’m not complaining about it a little why you I mean I’m trying why is there any Clement in your team to hit elevated fast balls against certain guys and and they’re not trying to get David Schneider in the game that’s when Ernie’s in the game how’s that and then km’s not in the game against a certain pitcher that’s left-handed you want to put varo in Center you want to put Schneider in left how did I answer that good oh there you go yeah good I still don’t agree with it but you answered it well uh Alejandro Kirk yeah hard contact yeah uh looks are you seeing anything different absolutely yeah yeah well I mean Caleb did a really good job of talking about his finish right now the the Palm up Palm down finish and not explain that to well I mean it’s it’s sort of instead of having roll over at the point of contact sort of what Danny janson’s doing people on TV can see me doing this and obviously you can’t see me on radio it’s point of contact Top Hand is rolling over towards Third Base instead of palm up Palm down to the Finish but your your timing your pace and your rotation have to equal finish there has to be a reason how he can get to his finish if you picture him yesterday or the last couple of days his timing looks better that little thing he does with his front foot like it’s not a start a stop a start again kiry ain’t athletic enough to do that M okay so the timing of the lower half is good that one turn help the pace pace is the fluidity of everything that starts from the ground and sort of just trickles down to his upper half right his hands start to just look like they’re not stiff and he’s standing there and he’s waiting and I’m just I’m going to hit he Kirky ain’t good enough to do that so the lower half with that timing sort of equals the pace and then the rotation he’s finally if you notice Kirky want his back foot he rarely rotates it his back foot is rarely up off the ground and towards the pitcher it’s normally like a caddy corner and his back hip is rarely being thrown towards the positive area to where he wants the ball to end up the last couple of days for whatever reason it’s doing that so that allows him to catch up the velocity to different quadrants of the strike zone that’s why you can see him hitting the fast ball that’s high octane elevated to right center you can see him actually pulling a breaking ball on purpose like there’s there’s intent to everything he’s doing offensively because of the timing the pace the rotation allows him to get to that finish that Caleb was showing you guys whatever day Friday Saturday or Sunday how I how I I try to simplify that because Kur Kirk’s got a very odd way of getting Barrel to baseball that’s why he has to really get rotation rotation of the lower half means the back foot has to be up off the ground and finishing towards the pitcher it can’t be lazy and the backside sort of rotating more towards right field than the pitcher that means that Barrel is dragging it’s late and it looks like a windmill and he’s laid on everything breaking ball off speed and then you throw him a fast ball and he’s jamming himself he’s looking for new bats so that’s help like if he can continue to do that that length lengthens the lineup and that will make Danny Jansen better that’s what that’ll do like now they don’t have to abuse Danny Danny can come in and and you know sort of try and lay off the breaking ball a little bit more and get back to doing what Danny has been doing when Danny’s really well they those two sort of work together if I can play one four days I can play one three days and then the next week you flip-flop them the other one plays Four the other one plays three so the one that played Four is getting the extra couple days of rest it’s sort of feeding off of each other a little bit I know we’re up against the clock a bit here but what we’ve seen from Danny Janson since he’s come back think he’s hurting his trade value at all absolutely absolutely I’m I’m bringing Danny into backup catch catch three days a week and thump he thumping yeah no I I just and it would worry me because now they you know their khakis are looking at exactly the same thing that I was looking at and everybody else is looking at he’s just like that if you sort of showcase him too much and show the other team that he know like he spin away that’s the sort of the thing right is the big leagues is is mean like the more the more you it’s like David Schneider the more you play and the more you have success uh oh it’s it’s like Ernie Clement the more you show them you can hit velocity up and down now all of a sudden you’re starting to get it in more you’re starting to get it away more you’re starting to get more Spin and fastball outs boy it’s mean Jeff Jason Stark of the athletic he’s not mean no he’s got a uh terrific article up on the athletic website about the Hall of Fame uh wish current players are on a Hall of Fame trajectory what are you laughing who do you think the first person I thought of reading Jason’s article I got about a third of the way down Blue Jays the minor leagues that’s been hurt for since spring training Joey V I mean Joey’s g i I think Joey’s a slam dunk man I I think I think Joey I think I think Joey’s a slam dunk um I just I just do I think it helped that the first baseman for the Rockies just got you know ducted into the Hall of Fame that makes a the on base percentage for me is a tough sale like I’m I’m I’m kind of I’m kind of with on that and I don’t think a tough sale Todd hton getting in I’m with you in that and I also don’t think that necessarily you can say well this guy is in therefore this guy has to go in I don’t think you can necessarily but I no offense to Joey or Todd mean they water they they are watering down the hall of fame a little bit used to be the hardest Hall of Fame to get into it’s not anymore oh I think it still is oh I think it’s hardest I mean I guess I mean you look at the the NHL Hall of Fame is the Hockey Hall of Fame is basically who you know in the NHL committee uh or if you’ve played for the Toronto Maple Leaf you’ve got a you for the most part you get an edge the NFL Hall of Fame is a bunch of guy who the hell who the hell knows when you pick an offensive lineman and um yeah the NBA Hall of Fame is the the Basketball Hall of Fame is you I mean there’s just not that many players I just think the B I think I think a Hall of Famer in baseball you can do eye test pretty much that’s it well we’ll talk to Jason Stark about that Jason Stark Caleb Joseph John Paul morosi a loaded show for Monday it’s Blair and Barker on Sportsnet 590 the fan at [Music] Sportsnet all right we’ve got tickets to give away to uh see the Jays and tigers at the Rogers Center on Friday July 9th we will do that in the 5:00 hour when Caleb Joseph joins us John morosi as well never too early to start talking about trade deadline yada yada etc etc especially 3 weeks well it’s always it’s earlier this year than it seems to we’ve been talking about the trade deadline since opening day but uh blue jay’s been struggling for a while yeah I I I realize I realize that it’s like I had to channel my inner expose writer to remember what it was like actually that’s not fair because there there have been J Seasons where uh where the trade deadline’s been dominant talk uh you know for example I didn’t Friday night the Jays when they lost 2-1 to uh the Mariners shout out to Arden zwelling for doing the work on this it was left them 10 games under 500 for the first time since final day of the 2019 season um so it’s not as if there haven’t been Seasons where we’ve been looking ahead to the trade deadline or talking about the trade deadline just kind of a different feel to this uh because I I I just don’t know I mean we’ll talk about it later I just don’t know if we have any idea what this front office thinks or or what this front office’s marching orders are whether indeed they have any marching orders I made this point normally by now I like to think I have a pretty good handle on what a team is going to do but other than you know the obvious guys who aren’t coming back here as free agents uh I I don’t know I I don’t know nothing would shock you I think that’s it I’m almost at the point now where I would be shocked if vlat is traded yeah that’s fair almost at the point I see vlat talked again and opened the door uh to possibly resigning in Toronto so but yeah beyond that I it’s it’s very difficult to uh get a read in these things yeah you know what’s also difficult to get a read on I want to bring in Jason Stark of the Athletics Jason Stark’s not difficult to read that’s not what I’m getting at but um and thank you for joining us today Jason Jason’s article is terrific on I I love talking about the Hall of Fame I mean even if I wasn’t a Hall of Fame voter I’d still like talking about the Hall of Fame because I it’s just it’s one of those topics where everybody seems to have an opinion yeah Jason’s done his look at the hall of fame and uh Jason joins us now uh I believe do we have Jason I’m here hey guys there you are Jason’s here I was looking for your face but you’re voice will do your voice will do for me um this I love the way you I love the way you do these lists um and throw these little these little these little quirks in now in right now in your list is Mike Trout Verlander Scherer and Freeman I don’t think anybody has any problem with that the injured list division of the in right now Club Kershaw and VTO um I don’t think anybody has any problem with that got to ask you this though across the 50 you call it judge Otani and Jose Altuve see I think Jose Altuve is a I think he’s a slam I just think he’s a slam dunk first ballot guy he is for me now I understand you you know you as you right the banging well the banging that’s one year well as far as we know Jason can you jump in here because it is it is a complicated it it’s an interesting case isn’t it well I I look I think he is getting elected I think he should get elected but I just had reservations because he’s an Astro and don’t you think that if Carlos beltron had not been an astro he would already be a Hall of Famer absolutely I do and so he was I know he was a ring leader named in the in the report as opposed to Altuve who it really doesn’t look like participated in the trash can banging exploits at all but I I just I I can’t predict how my fellow voters are going to vote ever and when it comes to cheating um we’ve already seen that there are voters who won’t vote for anybody they think quote unquote cheated so maybe he gets dragged into that group I I just don’t know what to do with him or with that whole teams that’s really why he’s there yeah I I mean the thing is I I look at his position and his numbers at at second base right and yes there is the there’s the the trash bang and the the trash lid banging and all that but and and I admit I approach this as a guy who votes for for for the guys who for steroid guys I I I I just do but my goodness I mean you know most of the steroid dudes you could look at that and go okay that was three four I don’t know maybe five years but this this was a one-year thing and and even if it was a one-year thing as you say there’s no evidence to suggest that it particularly particularly helped them um it’s I’m not listen I’m I’m say I think you’re right I think it probably cost him a first ballot I’m voting for him in the first Jason before you answer you you know what it is it’s the shirt thing it’s not letting his teammates rip his shirt off that’s that’s what it is you can’t get the you can’t get that image out of your head him running the home plate not letting him rip his shirt off I’m sorry that’s it J yeah you look you’re talking about the walkoff off of all this chat in the LCS and yeah that’s I like I I think there are enough voters who have that their heads or have the the whatever Astros hangover in their heads that this is going to be harder than it should be I don’t like other than that I don’t know if the question should be is he going to be a Hall of Famer it should be is he going to be DK Jeter okay now that’s yeah that’s that’s fair as I as I said I can see I still think there are people out there Jason who go yeah you’re a Hall of Famer but you know what you’re not getting into my first ballot I’m gonna I’m gonna spank you for that and I know I like Jeff I don’t know I do not know how people are going to handle the Astros I just know Carlos beltron clearly got D for it no you’re right who um I’m not going to ask you who’s in the most in most Jeopardy right now of this list and and it’s a it’s a lengthy list I’m going to I’ll direct people to the to the article in the athletic but is there somebody that is in at a certain point in their career where it could go south for them um you know a guy I was sure was on a Hall of Fame path last year who I’m not so sure now is Ronald auna Jr and that has nothing to do with his accomplishments um it has nothing to do with his talent it has to do with two reconstructive knee surgeries in the last four years and trying to project what that means for him moving forward because he’s got a lot he has a lot of numbers to put up if he’s going to be a Hall of Famer he’s 26 so he’s one and then I like I’ll admit this uh I was really bullish on vlat last year and I’m a little more hesitant now even though he’s he’s having a good year um just vlat since the one great year has not been the same his ability to hit the ball hard is still there his ability to to hit it out of the park hasn’t been there and I just don’t know that his slash line that we’re seeing this year if he were to put this up for the next eight years would get it done maybe I’m wrong but I think at some point he’s he’s going to have to start down that path to being a home run hitter again what do you guys think oh yeah absolutely I I I think it’s the big league Parks I I think that’s what it is right I think he he had the really good year at the Moder League parks and I think yeah I think that’s part of I think that’s part of the thing if if vat’s career year occurred when he was hitting in minor league Parks uh I I think that’s something people will some something people might might might end up might end up holding against him but yeah I agree and you know that like here’s the thing we have a lot of tools now to evaluate it yes and you know if you’re just going to look at hard hit rate and average exit velocity body is way up there in those metrics um so you would buy stock in them but would you buy Hall of Fame stock in them you know we just have a we we we just have our Hall of Fame magic numbers they’re fading fast because baseball’s so different now but you’ve got to approach some of them and at this point how many home runs is V going to hit in his career I don’t know if it’s going to be enough you know another guy and again asos’s connection here that you have in your list that I’ve wondered about is Carlos kareah um yeah I mean he his his his La last year offensively wasn’t very good now he’s hitting 305 this year yeah he’s been really good this year he’s been really good this year and he’s what he’s still a career 274 hitter is he a guy that you think is is just is on that cusp and you know if he’s a guy that I mean let’s say that Carlos Korea plays for another I don’t know another five or six years and then do you think that he’s a guy that could conceivably play himself out of out of contention here out of or into I think he’s he’s a interesting guy right okay if I don’t know where you guys stand on winds above replacement as a guidepost but if I were to ask you what active position player under 30 has the most career wins above replacement he’s he’s got would you know it’s car he’s got no he’s got like 44 or 45 though I cheated I just looked and that blew me away I did not I would not have answered Carlos karea Jason do you ever use ey test to to judge Hall ofers of course is he is he just by the eye test is he a Hall of Famer well depends when you’re watching him look he’s battled so many injuries Kevin the years look he he loves to play he loves to post he understands the importance of posting to his teammates so those years that he’s playing through stuff he really shouldn’t be playing through at all he doesn’t look like a Hall of Famer no but if you watch him this year he looks like one he’s a he’s a shortstop he’s 29 and he can play he can hit he’s a phas of a franchise he’s a leader uh he he gets a lot of points for all that for me but because of health and because of the Astros yeah I don’t know where this is going yeah it’s tough jury still out on that I gotta ask you about the closers the Kimbrell the Jansen aalis Chapman now that that one now the Josh hater thing for me I I’m not on that camp yet but I think the AR is Chapman the the the alltime left-handed strikeouts leader out of a pen is that a big enough deal to get him in would be the question you know I think Billy Wagner is going to help all those guys because I think he’s going to get in yeah and I I’m really struggling with Kimbell Kenley Chapman because I cover these postseasons and I I’ve seen either their worst moments or I’ve seen how hard their managers have worked to not put the ball in their hands in the biggest games that’s exactly where I was going going yep yeah so like I look for claims to Historic greatness they’ve all got one Kimbrell Kenley Chapman if you look at the regular season numbers they’ve got claims to being as dominant as anyone who has ever come out of any team’s Bullpen but where do we weigh October in the formula for closers where there’s a reason that Billy Wagner took 10 elections and he’s still kind of treading on that line um and I see this group treading the same line don’t you yeah so I’m it it’s I there is nothing I struggle with more when I’m doing a Hall of Fame ballot than closers I there just isn’t you know I it because you can make remember the long the argument about Lee Smith well he was a career saves lead leader for a long time how come you weren how come he wasn’t going in the hall and I I just yeah I don’t know I’ve never it’s it’s the one thing that I don’t think I’ve ever actually felt entirely comfortable with Jason is how I is is how I how i rate cloth just like Suter and uh sud and gussage Bruce sudor and gosage to me were you know were easy but other than that and Mariano obviously but other than that man I I struggle yeah it’s really hard it is and you know Mariana ruined this for everybody he did they did he really did yeah yeah because I know L Gonzalez happened uh I know the Sandy Alamar Junior Homer happened but otherwise that guy was as close to perfect y as you could be in the biggest games of his career against the best hitters on Earth in the biggest moments and that’s what you expect your Hall of Fame closer to look like but he’s the only guy who’s ever looked like that yeah Jason did the let’s shift focus a little bit here did do the Yankees do you think the Yankees or more particularly their front office feels a little different about their team right now than uh than than two weeks ago I mean I know I’ve got to think the Reds came out of the Bronx feeling a lot better about their team and of course the Red Sox had them this weekend as well uh how can they not you know they’re like they were so good for the first two and a half months and that look like they’re never going to win another series they tried to survive all those weeks without Garrett Cole thinking he would put all the pieces in place on their staff and I would never have expected their pitching to Crater after he came back but that’s what happened they’re five and 15 and they’ve given up 130 runs in the 20 games it’s more runs than they’ allowed out in the previous 43 games so I know that they were thinking they might need a starter anyway now how now they definitely need at least one and then there’s the lineup you guys just saw them yeah outside of Judge and stto who in their lineup are you afraid to pitch too I mean judges Ops is over 400 points higher than everyone else on the roster not Nam stto yeah they they they don’t run they don’t manufacture runs so if judge and SoDo don’t hit baseball to the bleacher creatures they can’t score maybe Ben rice changes that but they have big needs if you match them up against the Orioles assuming that the Orioles are going to trade for at least one starting pitcher I mean where’s the path for them to finish ahead of the Orioles it’s really hard to see yeah I mean I looked at last night’s lineup and my goodness by the end the game Sunday night against the Boston Red Sox the Yankees ran out their bottom five guys had only one guy hitting above 250 that was vulpi at 251 and then 26789 is rough wow is it ever it is really bad Jason stay staying in the East what do you think the Jays do uh Kevin I know that they didn’t want to sell I don’t see now how they wind up doing anything other than sell they can’t win it division we know that and what are there they’re eight and a half out in the wild card with I think it’s seven teams to climb over uh last I looked fan graphs thought their playoff probability was 2 and a half% somewhere in there and that that seems high of me yeah so all right that answers one of the two big questions can they play in October that’s a no so the other is why hasn’t this worked um I know injuries of across the pitching staff understand that how do we explain the offense they’re last in the league in homers last they’re 12th and slugging is that the ballpark’s fault is it the manager’s fault it it just feels like for whatever reason it’s the construction of the roster and how how are you going to rebuild it um like trading trading away the reyolds Danny Jansen and yimi Garcia and US Kikuchi it’s not going to change anything so how can they not listen on Vlad and B that’s where I am yeah I had summon with another organization tell me they viewed it as a quote total systems failure and and I think that that might be the way J Jeff’s been saying this too they got the worst bullpen in baseball what do you do with that I mean they just they’re trying to P that thing together too they didn’t think they did going into the season they are where they are yeah no they haven’t and they really haven’t they’ they really haven’t done anything by not to me by not addressing the bullpen when when you don’t have romano and Garcia for a couple of weeks and you don’t address it to me you’re sending a message yep or maybe an intentional but you’re telling me what I think about your team uh the last two weeks have been disastrous and on many levels old pen performance has been right at the top of that yeah um I you know I I don’t know exactly what there was to do that would have addressed it that that was your those were your but they you know they just didn’t have the reinforcements to fix this uh Chad green can’t pitch every he can’t pitch the seventh eth and Ninth no let Al the sixth no Jason really good of you to join us man thanks so much terrific read as always and uh yeah terrific terrific talk thanks man thanks buddy be well pleasure Bo thank you it’s Jason the athletic I’ll uh send out a link to the uh the a get you thinking oh d i I love I love Hall of Fame talk the Hall of Fame class by the way this year and it goes in on uh later in the month is belri uh Helton uh I’m missing somebody oh Joe Mau and Jim Leland going in uh through the uh the committee process and and this is what I keep getting back to with the Hall of Fame I love the committee setup right now yeah we can debate it and the committee process with the Hall of Fame is a little bit like the Hockey Hall of Fame where except at least here you get the the vote breakdown you don’t necessarily know who voted for who but generally the committee process has been a pretty good safety net for addressing guys who whove slipped through the cracks you know yeah every now and then you get the Harold Baines thing happening but um you know look that that’s by and large I would suggest in the last 12 years he’s really the only player to go in either via election or through the committee process that I’ve really really had an issue with and that’s that’s pretty good because you never one thing about the Hall of Fame you never want to have a debate why is so and so in there yeah I think sometimes they try right there’s there’s a lot of there’s a lot of Voters that that are trying to sell why they’re vot voting for some or certain players again I say this I will say this I take I take it a lot more seriously now than I used to in terms of giving guys a second look uh just because it’s different now there’s not the as Jason says there’s not the numbers that immediately get your attention they’re never going to be do you think anybody in this you think I mean I I’ll ask you some do you see anybody who’s going to play long enough to hit 500 home runs 600 home runs 700 home runs I don’t know the way V is in the game right now and I understand power’s there but uh I mean anybody ever going to challenge Joe dagio no hitting streak I me there a lot of the numbers and you know never mind starting pitchers and a lot of those numbers are out the window uh so it’s going to become I think the committee process is going to become more and more important and and I’m okay with that but yeah Jason’s list is interesting and I I’ll admit to me Jose Altuve is is a first ballot dude for me I just can’t I first ballot dude for me I with what he does between the lines I’m with you I just can’t get the don’t rip my shirt off out of my mind Robie alar he Robbie Alamar were terrific second best offensive second base I’m not arguing but he was he was a part of the B Jo Morgan sorry well I’m sorry those are those you can’t you can’t tell me at no time he didn’t go I heard that bam like come on dude like has his has has his has his production decreased since it stopped not say I’m not saying he’s not a good player I’m just saying he was a part of it he was on the team yeah yeah I his his production has been so consistent I don’t I I I don’t think there’s any issue with that uh but we’ll find out got ticket give away and Caleb Joseph no go anywhere it’s blur and Barker on sportset 590 the fan and sportset [Music] all right welcome back to blur bark for Monday July 8th Jays have tonight off they’re enjoying an off day in San Francisco or wherever the hell they’re staying I don’t know if teams the team’s still staying downtown San Francisco I guess they do cuz they’re playing in San Francisco it’s not Oakland well they used to stay in San Francisco when they played in Oakland as well I don’t know if they still do I don’t understand why people wouldn’t stay in Berkeley if you’re playing in Oakland Berkeley’s great h ah the Berkeley Marina is tremendous but anyhow in San Francisco lot of that’s secretive like you got you know it’s down the down low an off day in San Francisco is never it’s like that Seattle thing it’s on the down low the down low uh we’ve been giving you the chance to win Blue Jays tickets all season long here in blur and Barker and by gosh we’re not going to stop right now all you you are a man of the people I am a man of the people all you have to do is text the correct answer to Our Daily Baseball trivia question to 59590 our last question and answer was this player who shares his name with a longtime NBA guard played for both the Blue Jays and Astros in 2019 the answer was Derek fiser and the Jay’s Derek fiser was no was that’s my favorite player all time might have been my he was a five to what was the oh that was it it was an elite he had an elite run tool don’t you say it and a five tool guy he was a five tool guy with a quote Elite run to Who said that somebody in the front office when the deal was made all I remember is him letting a ball bounce off his face but any you won’t say his name uh Derek Fisher God the summer of Derek fiser who can forget that the ball of his face today’s question is to win tickets to see an Elite run oh man he has an elite run tool yeah yeah first better first home than anybody in the history of the sport today’s question is to win tickets to see the Jason tigers at the Rogers Center on Friday July 19 this person did not have an elite run tool oh he was fast this Outfield originally came over to the Blue Jays in a trade from the Astros and was later traded to the Tigers for second baseman his last appearance in MLB was in 2022 when he appeared as a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians again this Outfield originally came over to the you would get this originally came over to the Blue Jays in a trade from the Astros and was later traded to the Tigers for second baseman his last appearance in MLB was in 2022 when he appeared as a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians the answer to 590 590 for your shot to win see rules at sportsnet.ca sl5 to me 1990 you knew it right away I did know it right away oh how you got hurt doing it I mean I don’t know oh that was uh that was uh that was uh Canada day he got hurt no no Canada Day when he got hurt the dude that got hurt was uh no no no the dude that got hurt on Canada day was uh uh G um uh the hell the second base I shouldn’t ask you that should I he he they brought him into pitch yeah I know oh Jesus now you’re now you’re going to annoy the hell out of me yeah why would you do that especially on a Monday on purpose you know the guy I’m thinking of yeah springing Kayla why would you do that you still don’t know who it is well I know because I I uh uh Ryan ah it’s going to drive me around the bend anyhow let’s bring in Caleb Joseph he won’t drive me around the B I hate when Barker does that hey are you on the back nine right now no your life or what changing diaper changing diapers vacuuming uh picking out trash you know all the good things so then you are in the back nine pretty much you’re funny go ahead I got well I’m trying to find it you hey should should I came on this show a little bit earlier and apologized to John Snider for putting uh George Springer in the leadoff spot uh is that the right thing to do and Ryan goens are you see there you go are you seeing something from him that will tell everybody that we this is going to be the George going forward from now on this is what we’re going to see well first and foremost um takes a real man to uh come on there and kind of apologize and say that you didn’t get it right I probably wouldn’t have done it I would have spun it even more I would have doubled and tripled down but good for you marker well I called him dunk I mean I called the situation ready to extend should have never done it and and now I have to I have to backtrack and and say it’s the greatest thing that John Snider’s ever done so the only reason that I’m okay with it is because I’ve seen massive changes uh I saw a big change in his approach in terms of he holds his hands the fact that he has now lowered his hands and is closer to that launch position I think that’s a huge adjustment that we can physically see and you know how it is Barker when you’re making an adjustment that’s about four or five inches uh in your body it feels like it’s two feet of a difference and so what that probably does is allows him to really feel like he’s just kind of loading and going and if I’ve looked a lot at George Springer’s swing even when it was going bad and like mechanically it wasn’t there was this massive uh drop drop in the barrel or he just was you know striding too long or it wasn’t that there was all these components that weren’t stringing together where we can sit there and we can talk about certain things with vlat we can talk about certain things with VAR show that we absolutely see but with George it just he just was never on time just could not get on time and then he had to cheat and all these different things this huge change in his hands has really allowed him to get to pitches that he has gotten to for the most part of his career and I think he’s putting in a lot of work I think he’s getting in there and I have not seen him on the field for BP in a while and that’s not normal normally George is out there hitting batting practice hitting balls in the seats every single day and I’ve seen him uh in the cages and so I think he’s really starting to kind of like work on some newer techniques some newer things and I think it’s starting to show and because of the track record I do think that it is sustainable uh because I’m seeing huge adjustments and there’s not a a ton that has changed in terms of his actual mechanics which I think are are pretty decent to begin with he just was never on time he’s now able to get on time why does it look like b bash can’t hit a ball for Te explain it to me oh boy um good luck for me it’s he’s yeah I know he for me he he honestly looks like a player that is out playing outside of his body I mean how many times did would it would it be said that another another opposite field base hit another opposite base hit leads the majors and base hits to right field I mean he was borderline the right-handed version American League version of like a Fred Freeman uh Freddy Freeman gets a ton of base hits to the opposite field and we just have not seen that now he for some reason looks like it’s an accidental ball going over to right field and that was his smooth swing and what I’ve seen is more than than ever I’ve seen the front hip just absolutely flying and I thought a perfect example of it was late in the game yesterday in Seattle and he got down to two strikes and first to get to two strikes there were a couple sliders they’re about three inches off and the pitch is halfway to home plate and that front hip is flying towards left field and that just tells me he’s trying to pull he’s trying to pull trying to pull and when Bo tries to pull for me it’s all about him trying to go for p we’ve talked about this with Vladimir Guero Jr these guys are I think there’s two types of hitters I think there’s pure hitters and I think there’s Sluggers and I just think these guys are pure hitters Vlad gr Jr Bo bashet they’re pure hitters and they they will accidentally hit some home runs I think vaty fooled a lot of people hitting a bunch of homers in 19 and and that might have been an outlier he has the potential and if he gets on a run he can absolutely do it but I think he’s just a pure hitter to begin with and so I think when you ask a guy like Bo yet maybe subconsciously because of the way the lineup is constructed to maybe do more and more is power more is Slug for him he’s been behind the eightball trying to figure all this out constantly stuck in the gray but the biggest thing is that front hip is flying and I just don’t think he’s a natural pull hitter I think he’s a natural up the-middle Oppo and he just does not look comfortable at all going to the right field see I’m not sure I agree with you but I think you are what you swing at I think that’s a big deal right I think he gets him himself out of ton and I’m just not sure he’s capable of looking right down the middle for something straight I that I think is the part of it and I had John the reason why I’m bringing this up to you Caleb because you’re not too far removed from this room like the Blue Jays room and the conversations between hitting coaches and players and I asked John when we were talking about George Springer basically why did it take you guys so long like why why why the change now why’ it take you so long like he’s been looking awful forever like why why all of a sudden you went in the room and he his answer was very honest he basically said it took a coaching staff a while collectively to get together and tell a veteran guy who’s made a ton of money that this ain’t working you got to change this up do something different because if it don’t work he’s lost a month here that’s what I see from Bo is just somebody for whatever reason because it’s like Groundhog Day He swings at the area coat Caleb and it’s sort of looks the way you were talking right I’m not sort in the camp that he’s trying to pull everything I don’t think Bo’s capable doing that I think when you are chasing it just sort of looks that way but it is that conversation of back and forth where dude this ain’t working stop doing that right now like you’re capable of that and I just don’t know if the coaching staff is capable of relaying the message you’re not too far removed am I on to something or am I just trying to throw this off all all on on the coaches because I think they’re not good enough where am I at here yeah no I I definitely think you are on to something and part of what makes these really good hitters as good as they are is their ability to say no early on in their career and just be who they are I think Spencer Horwitz has that ability to say no I’m not going to go for power I’m going to go for on base I’m going to go for doubles and it’s going to turn him into a very good hitter I wish I did that more as a younger player not go into it the first three months of a Big League season and allow anybody to say anything and I’ll try it hey why don’t you pick your elbow up okay 500 swings in the cage later I’ve tried to pick my elbow up and now I’ve totally forgotten who I am and what makes me a good hitter but at the same time when it’s repetitive and when it’s when it’s being done over and over and over then it’s obvious that they’re not able to get back on track that’s when it is time to kind open up as a as an older player and say okay what do you have for me because I think with a younger hitting staff in terms of uh like service time and in terms of just uh presence I I don’t know maybe Donnie baseball could be the only guy that could go in there to had George Springer right out the gate and say hey man change it up right now yeah but they’re going to lean on a lot of these players experiences and I mean if you’re the player and you’ve been so successful you constantly believe that you are you’re one swing away from getting right back to it and so it might take six months over two seasons for a George Springer to realize okay this isn’t working it seems like a long time but I mean goodness he’s been doing it a certain way for almost 10 years so it’s all relative when you when you talk about timing but no I think you’re on to something I think I think it takes some really established players a long time to finally give in and say okay maybe I do need to make a change yeah that listen that’s a great point because I’ve often thought two things about baseball players one I think they’re Eternal optimists because you can be 0 for 14 and you know that next swing that could that could take you out of it but also I think good players um good players have to have a certain amount of stubbornness and in in order especially when you have a track record to say yeah I’m okay back nine two years left on a giant deal will give me room to go up to a player and go dude that ain’t working I’m sorry will yeah but you still got you still have get you still have to get you still have to get he knows why he got the big contract and you still need to get buying from a guy and not everybody’s the same not not everybody is you know willing to I don’t know I I just I you know what I Caleb it’s weird as this went on I kind of I think I kind of understood a little more from George’s point of view well why oddly enough me Caleb me and you talk all the time time and we always ask each other the same more well why does the slumps last so long now we know well like well when John gave the answer the other day when I asked him why it took so long to change that little hand thing with George just to allow it to free it up to get to Velocity it’s real simple it seems like baseball 101 and now it just sort of the the little light bulb went on and now you understand why the slumps last months yeah well I mean for me as an outsider I it’s I do understand how you can point this at a at a hitting coach or a hitting group or hitting strategist any anybody with hitting in their title I I do totally understand how you can say how do you not say something but my initial reaction is to Springer how do you not have enough and say okay enough’s enough I got to look in the mirror every single day and say okay I I finally am looking in the correct mirror no smoke in front of it and going this isn’t good enough like I need to change and maybe I was hyper focused on changing and making adjustments maybe that’s why I wasn’t as good of a hitter as I probably could have been and maybe I could have benefited from not changing as much and staying with it but I mean again we hear process over and over and over stay with the process well George has a process for 10 years my my gripe is hey this isn’t just this year this dates back to goodness June of last year fair I will tell you this if you’re going to go into it and and first off I I I would have hoped to have seen that change in spring training like going back and reassessing after you’ve had time to really look at it and say okay that didn’t really work was was there something I was doing that’s when I would have hoped that George alone would have made the adjustment yeah uh can you explain to me how this Bullpen got through four scoreless Innings while stranding 11 now I understand yesterday I understand it is the Mariners and and they are not very good with Runners and scoring position but I think you used the phrase you talked about the bullpen in this series being like magicians which was perfect because I did there were there a couple of situations where I came away shaking my head and going I don’t know how it happened but it happened and you know what a series win is a series win for these guys abely but to to zero win in particular a guy who’s kind of intrigued me a little bit is Brendan little here yeah um what do you see in him and and what did you see out of the bullpen in this series was that a gutsy performance or was that just you know sloppy yeah I’ll I’ll give you a very quick rundown for me especially this series uh for me Genesis Cabrera he is um 5050 he’s either going to go through up through down or it’s going to be all over the place because he’s a scatterer I love what Chad Green’s done he’s probably their most valuable trade piece in my opinion we can go there in a little bit Brendan little most intriguing player I think why because he to me looks a lot like an Aaron loop it’s not the same arm angle but he kind of has that same Swagger on the mound he looks like he’s very even ke I don’t know what it is but maybe just a little bit of that like bleep you in him he’s a quiet guy but he doesn’t perform as a rookie he looks like he can handle the spotlight love the fact that he showed some emotion when he got out of that inning Zack pop again for me it’s more of a runner than a sinker I love the movement but until he figures out how to get that ball going down he’s going to have Innings just like this because he can’t control the movement and uh Pearson I think Pearson is just at the mercy of who he’s facing he got out of that jam I thought was great I’m not trying to uh poo poo on a guy as great outing because he comes in with first in second nobody out is able to get out of it but if you go look at the baseball Savant pitch charts it was either non-competitive or right down the middle so I think he might be like Caba in that it just he’s at the mercy of who is in the Box um but like you have a bunch of these kind of ups and downs even Trevor Richards what he does is pretty amazing with one single pitch yeah but if he if the matchup isn’t perfect he’s incredibly vulnerable so I I think they were really at the mercy of who they played and that’s why they were able to escape so many bases loaded jams on the road in a season where they have given it up so many times uh I’m glad that they did it I don’t want to take anything away from them because it was an awesome win it was really fun to watch them Escape those jams uh but I saw a lot of pitches kind of in the heart of the plate where most offenses would put that somewhere in the Outfield or somewhere hit really hard and I think the outcome looks a little bit different let me ask you a question you mentioned Chad green I see the slider against lefties that’s no bueno I don’t like that the elevated fastball with the extra little gear that’s nice I may ask you a question a guy that’s been around as long as he has in season you mentioned something about a trade that’s kind of nice but the blue jay still need dudes who can pitch late in a game is there any chance he could develop say a split finger grip it and rip it pitch now you know he tried the little slow feel of the breaking ball in spring training that thing was no bueno you don’t like you that you don’t want to hang that thing that’s good hitting that’s a BP heater but any chance you think he can do that I just don’t think the slider gets lefties and that would scream pocket and again that gets back to that’s a lot to ask pety and John to match up everybody right think a veteran guy can do that this late in the Season O uh I would probably think a change up would be easier than a split splits are just they’re so finicky it takes a long time to figure out that grip how it comes off the fingers because the fingers are spread out you got to have the right hand size which I’m sure Chad green has considering he’s a large human being yeah um but it just if you throw it it’s totally for Chase what I will suggest with Chad green is the slider to lefties I I think he’s got to work it more in and down and I know that’s a honey spot for guys but instead of trying to make it more kind of back doorish middle away moving down I really think it’s got to be right on the corner or down because that fast ball plays up so much that lefties have to get going and so when they have to get going is when they’re vulnerable down and in but if you get them going and get them cheating a little bit because of that high octane velocity and then you throw a slider more middle-ish they can still have the fanny out and oneand it but if you get it close to them that’s when they two hand and swing right over the top of it so I think he’s really got to concentrate on getting that slider down and into lefties and it is a it is it is a scary pitch I will admit I would love to see him with a split I think you could do it because of the way the arm is in terms of angle and uh you know you don’t want to be on the side of a split finger and I love where his arm is at and how he throws the force team most guys that can throw a pretty straight for team yeah can throw a split really well so he obviously has that straight Force Team I I I could see him doing it but it would be a lot just because that pitch is so unique and so weird yeah I think his height the lane on the elevated fast balls just hard for a left-handed hitter to lay off of I think what you’re saying is don’t aim the slider throw it you know I know a lot of guys want to pitch at that at the back end of the pin he don’t have to do it with the slider I I I just think he needs something going down sort of tunneling off that elevated thing because he’s a giant like you got to change your eyesight right just looking up seeing kind of like the iron mic kind of thing absolutely yeah yeah it’s a lot to ask again you know it’s not it’s his career so uh with yio Rodriguez what do you think next step is I know strike one he has some issues but boy you like the fastball when he can do these kind of things with the fast ball just makes that plethora of all the other stuff he’s trying to do but what would be next step you’re catching him what’s next step uh to be perfectly honest next step is just doing it again he’s done it two starts in a row do it again and again cuz he’s on the right track and for me the right track for him is understanding that his stuff plays in the big leagues remember I’ve said this over and over he comes from the mpb which is a very trickery type art of pitching lots of uh ball to ball pitches that look like strikes but they’re not guys that are nibblers they’re all around the corner and I loved that Yankee start and this pass Seattle start that he got outs in the zone I think he got 12 outs against the Yankees which are really good offense in zone and so that gives a player like yl Rodriguez a lot of confidence to get in there early and if you’re in there early you’re going to get the team in swing mode and then you can start to expand but obviously strike one is number one and I love what Pete Walker’s done with him he’s let him kind of do his thing and I think that injury might have helped a little bit and allowing him to be around the team a little bit and kind of continue to see how guys work and feel confident that he can go in zone right away what that’s going to do is limit the pitches it’s going to shoot the Innings pitched up north and he’s going to be incredibly efficient and so I just I I think it all starts with his aggressiveness in zone with the fastball because he’s got that little cut late action you can’t teach that it’s so difficult you got to see it two or three times to really get a feel for how it’s cutting and where you’ve got to swing as a hitter and by that time hopefully you’ve gotten you know you gotten three or four times through the lineup uh with with Rodriguez so I love what he’s doing it’s it’s really a perfect mold and just continue to get in zone stay in zone not worry about whiff not worry about strikeouts not worry about trickery just say here it is be confident and he’s going to give up some hits he might even give up a couple solo homers but if he stays in zone his progression is going to keep going north the stuff is Elite it’s really good it’s just a matter of can he throw it in the zone enough and then work and start to expand so the Innings pitch go up Caleb as always we appreciate your time back to the diapers my friend good luck buddy you got it guys take it easy man Caleb Joseph blue J Central analyst joining us on sportset sorry I hogged him there a little bit but you I know you guys you guys have a thing I just stand back it’s not really a thing it’s just well you guys no it’s I enjoy I I’m lucky enough to hear you guys talk about it when Caleb’s in studio and doing blue J Central and you’re hanging around so I’m gonna step back because it’s good baseball talking people are wearing look at this look at this is the thing you and Caleb I’m G to show people this people always I’m not always drawing I’m generally not drawing I’m taking notes when a lot of these guys are talking you and Caleb talk I got a a page full of notes yeah I just I I just think it’s it’s very intriguing about that relationship between pitching coach and hitter and and how coaching here yeah what I say pitching coach well yeah for that well I’ve I’ve often said pitching coach needs to be the hitting coach but that’s that’s here nor there I I I I just find I find that I just find that mindboggling at this level that that it’s that this not long this if feelings come in to play here dudes are fired and this thing’s broken up basically that’s where they’re at here like this is that’s I think that’s sort of the conversation sometimes is what you need to have with players doesn’t that really raise the question this is something that the player not trust what the hitting coach is saying this is something that Jay’s fans are talking more and more about on social media and when they call up um and I think it’s a legit question you got Don maddingly yeah no let but let me finish I I mean a great not a good hitter a freaking great hitter and I understand you’re I know where you’re going I can see Rod kuse name flashing in your eyes cuz you had Rod crew as a hitting coach I’ve been led to believe that he is not the best hitting coach you’ve ever had so I understand great hitters don’t necessarily make great hitting coaches but everybody knows that Don maddingley is if Don maddingley went to George Springer and said come here for a minute I want to talk to you about something I’ve got to think that George Springer is going to go over and listen and and this is what you know people will understand that this is an an analytics heavy organ gation people know that people get it I mean it’s but at the end of the day the the average Chase fan says if Don madingley can’t sell you on something like what the hell is going on yeah I just I just find it I just find it funny when Kirk’s hitting he’s hitting the fast ball when George is hitting he’s hitting the fast ball when vlat is hting he’s destroying the fast ball when Danny Janson is hting he’s destroying the fast ball are we seeing a theme Here like like this is not C this has nothing to do with khakis this has nothing to do with game plans off the field trying to translate it to on the field how do I beat the dude to the spot consistently all of a sudden George is taking 98 to right center with backspin easy Jeff that was an easy three run Homer it took him three months it’s mindboggling it just it’s like holy I’m sorry that’s just I that it’s just it the because it’s almost like they talk themselves into can’t and now we’re seeing them do it yeah so it ain’t can’t but see well I we’re we’ll we’ll talk about this a lot I we’re up against the break here uh we’ll talk about it a lot um because I I also think that you know this is where having a guy who was a former player who would have literally done everything on stand on my head and hit right-handed to and and this is why it gets particularly frustrating for you and for for for guys and I I get it be I mean it’s one thing to look at it as a fan and go ah another thing to look at as a player who’s been there and going I just think it’s as simple as how do you hit the fast ball consistently it ain’t cuz George is 345 and can’t do it we’re seeing him take 98 and backspin it well and you know the other thing buck and Dan and I will take the break in a minute folks the other thing buck and Dan pointed out you know and we may not you know you look at his his the analytics his speed and all that is running I mean he’s not he’s not running like a broken down ball player he’s not he’s covering ground would we see him the No it’s it’s it’s a it’s a it’s a mechanical tweak and it’s a mental mindset Let’s uh let’s step away when we come back John Paul morosi will join us it’s Blair and Barker on sportset 590 the fan at Sportsnet [Music] all right welcome back to BL Barker well I got to make a correction in the uh interest of does matter in the interest of accuracy I got to make it corre um I have uh I I’m afraid that I misspoke when I credited Derek fiser with having uh an elite run tool in point of fact he had Elite plate discipline and an above average run tool so I just wanted to uh because that was uh how the GM described him when he acquired him I I credited him with having an elite run Tool uh that wasn’t above average right oh yeah yeah I just wanted to make sure I because you know me I generally I I’m as much as I say that I gave up my journalist card when I became a sports talk show host I do like to be a little bit accurate don’t have to be accurate all the time because of Sports Talk Radio but I mean I like to be as accurate as possible okay U way to correct it so there you go I just I don’t think anybody cares good I think Mrs fiser does I think der fer she’s listen hey let’s bring in John morosi he’s uh MLB Network’s MLB Insider he’s listening yes by the I try to be accurate too yeah all right I’m just going to leave right now and uh we will uh oh oh you went right there by the way I got to tell you your collection of drawings behind you tremendous as someone whose daughter used to draw all the time and leave little notes and just well done I just I’m a big I appreciate it they they they do change every now and then uh we’ve got a happy birthday one which my birthday was a couple months ago so I probably have to change that one out but I do try to to refresh the artwork from time to time and I’m very fortunate to have girls that really love to draw so it really is a part of their connection to what I do it’s pretty cool it’s the best and I’ll tell you what’s going to be great because I just had this happen the other day now my daughter’s 24 years old I was I was looking for a book and I found this certain book that I put in the Shelf I pulled it out and there was this little welcome home thing she’d written to me after a road trip and I must have I I was probably reading the book on the road and I stuck it in anyhow just it’s great being a dead it is it is I would say probably about a good solid that was probably a good solid five minute cry Jeff is a proud dad moment yeah five five was uh yeah five five was about five was about right um so we’re at that time of year July 8th well we’re not really yeah we are we’ve been there for a while that’s a fact uh spending a great deal of time talking about the the MLB trade deadline before he get to the Blue Jays I wanted to ask you about three teams in particular who’ve kind of crossed paths in the last week and that is seeing what the Reds did in the Bronx and seeing what the Red Sox did to the Yankees which of those three teams do you think is probably came out of the Bronx or came out of those games thinking you know really thinking about what they have to do at the trade deadline the Yankees have some work to do Jee because when you look at their their Rost and certainly the Ben Rice game and and he gets the curtain call which was wonderful and a great moment but they were humbled again last night by Rafael des and the Yankees to me are a team that revolves around their two superstars in judge and stto they’ve had I think the the Garrett Cole re-entry to the rotation has not been quite as smooth as they thought it was going to be not only because of of Garrett Cole’s performance but Luis heel and his struggles of late where for the first couple months he pitched like gar Cole and then he hasn’t uh rhon has been a little bit off his game from where he was at the beginning of the year the bridge to Kay Holmes who of course is an Allstar uh hasn’t been quite as solid as it was earlier on in the season so when you look at those two teams the the Yankees and the Orioles the momentum belongs to the Orioles right now and and I think they also will probably have the better Prospect Capital to make some moves with as we get closer to the de line I think the Reds for me they should be in my judgment an opportunistic seller when I look at the Reds team they’ve got enough Outfield bats to potentially move Fairchild is a new name that’s emerged uh I look at also Jonathan India as an infielder who could potentially get moved it’s interesting any team that we think about or mention as being a possible fit for Bo bashet that the immediate response should be look at Jonathan India and while Bo maybe has the the the peak of bashet is better than probably Jonathan India’s Peak the consistency of India has been better and and there probably is a bit of a clearer fit for him to be traded somewhere than for Bo to be dealt somewhere so I think the Reds for me still belong in the in the seller category the Yankees have some serious work to do and the Red Sox it’s such an interesting topic because they were the team that that underwhelmed so much in the off seon Jeff and Kevin but with Alex cor’s philosophy with Allstar starter Tanner H they’ve done a very good job I think of doing the very best with what they’ve got and I I think for Boston stay the course and they just might find themselves in the postseason that’s exactly what I was going to say because I know there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the Boston Red Sox to do something but if I’m the Red Sox and I’ve got Trevor Story coming back next year like I’ve got some young guys I just kind of and I know the F Red Sox fans will hate this I just kind of keep doing what I’m doing and if somebody that I’ve got control I’ll have control for in the next three years falls into my lap somebody that can be there then I go after but I don’t think I go rental if I’m the Red Sox I I I don’t if I’m a fan I’m mad I what how do you have any idea if the ownership wants to spend money or not for the on the Red Sox that’s the thing right if you want to stay if you want to stay in path fine and dandy but you better go out in the season spent some more money no I mean that’s what you’d have Kevin it’s an excellent point and I think that the Red Sox and from the standpoint of their relationship between the organization and their fans it’s probably never completely recovered right once Mookie Betts went to LA absolutely at the end of the day you start looking at your roster and saying who do you want to sign long term well you want to sign someone who’s appr proven winner amazing in the clubhouse great Ambassador for the game homegrown he can move around the diamond for you you can move around the the lineup for you depending on what you need mooki bets is everything that you would dream of Y and he’s no longer there and I think that for that reason it’s been too easy when Red Sox fans have been frustrated when mookie bets does mookie bets things the response is always wow wouldn’t you want to sign a guy like that yeah and the other the other response to is always the GM going hey I didn’t trade him true don’t look at me that’s the that’s that’s guy a couple of years ago don’t look at me I didn’t trade mookie bets JP and the let absolutely JP let’s move over to the the uh AL West and let’s talk about the Rangers how big of a splash at the trade deadline do you think the Rangers will do and will that start soon because I would think you know say they go on a mini run now they’d be forced as a front office to do something why wouldn’t they just start now doing it it’s a great question Kevin so here this is part of the calendar and the mechanics of the industry right now I had a conversation with a GM today assistant GM and the Word was John we know that it’s a busy time for all of us that want to talk trades we’ve got draft meetings this week call us back in a week yeah and I think that to your to your question Kevin the answer on on the rangers they have signaled I was speaking over the weekend to one longtime player Personnel person and who who said to me John I think Texas is going to sell but they’re not quite ready yet they’re going to do their draft business then we’ll Circle back after the All-Star game I think that’s probably where a lot of teams are right now but when you look at the Texas Rangers yeah it’s been a bit of an injury forced situation for them but they’ve now gotten a lot of their talent back and it just hasn’t worked out for them this year and that’s that’s okay I think if anything Kevin the fact that they’re the reigning world series champions makes it maybe just a little bit easier yep to say much as the Nationals did years ago when they moved on from Trey Turner and Max Sher and that then eventually they moved on from Juan stto it was just time and it was not happening for them that year they weren’t able to extend the window let’s pivot and and prepare for the future I think in the case of the rangers they should be a better team next year assuming a fully healthy season from a deg Gro Mali those those types of players but honestly I think their biggest splash is going to be in Reverse where they they might trade some players Michael Lorenzen is a natural fit even let’s think about this Max Scherer what incentive does Max Scherer have uh in terms of obviously his own Professional Pride which is immense but but in terms of finishing out the year now that he’s in his early 40s if the team is not going to win if they come to Max and say listen we could trade you to a team like like the Mariners like the Astros like the Yankees at the end of the day he’d probably say sure I I’ll go chase another World Series ring so I I think for Max um remember Texas was not the place he signed originally that was a uh that was sort of a convenience trade a year ago the one thing of course is the the different options that that may be attached to the contract the no trade clause those types of things get interesting but I think in general Max Scherer might actually be a trade candidate for the second how about evaldi to the Yankees how about that would love it and and by the way Kevin it’s a great suggestion evaldi has been a Yankee before and actually when he had his his Tommy John surgery the second one Dr Christopher Ahmad the Yankees team physician was was the surgeon I believe who did that operation and so Dr Ahmad who the Yankees rely on for a lot of their medical information knows Nathan exceptionally well and so there’s both a baseball reason and a an injury Comfort level injury risk mitigation reason where maybe the Yankees could be a good spot for him as well absolutely yeah seeing you he hearing you talk about Jonathan India and you know the the Rangers possibly possibly trading those starting pitchers that almost makes me think if you’re the Blue Jays right now um you know we’ve been talking about what they might do it’s one thing people sometimes don’t take into consideration about the tradem market is that the Jays aren’t going to be the only sellers out there and if Texas decides to unload guys with track records that impacts Chris bassett’s value uh if teams decide to to unload middle INF fielders if the Jays are considering moving bow that impact value there and and that’s kind of the concern I think you have to have if you’re if you’re a blue jays fan right now you know another team I’ll throw out there when you look at the St Louis Cardinals the St Louis Cardinal have got they got position players they could put in the market that also has to impact what you do if you’re the Blue Jays like it’s not a vacuum is it correct and I think and I loved by the way the interview that Ross Atkins did with the both of you was an excellent interview and very insightful because you you got to hear bit of Ross’s thought process and then at the very end I think one of the more important sentences he spoke to you was that and I’m paraphrasing here if we have to Pivot we will we’ll be ready to do that and I think that to me when I was listening to that part of the interview my ears perked up and said they’re listening they realize that where they’re at in the standings right now and and that to me said that the Jays will likely look at this deadline on something of a Continuum which means this if there were 10 teams out there today who were willing to give up two or three top 100 prospects to get Vlad Jr they would they would really seriously I believe they would seriously think about that trade what I’m here to say is I’m not sure that type of Market is there yes he’s played better yes he’s an Allstar but if you go up and down the major leagues and ask yourself how many teams with the exception of Seattle who has a good farm system and has a needed first bace and think they’re they’re one but you start looking around Houston might be more inclined to to look for a starting pitcher as opposed to a bat uh the Baltimore Orioles like first there go I think we lost uh he on Roll too let’s try to get him back we got time to try to get him back cuz I want to uh finish that up even if we just do it by phone I want to get the uh I want to get the answer in the Orioles yeah listen it’s uh I I I’m almost talking myself into thinking that the Jays aren’t going to do anything with Vlad and B and and as I’ve said I would much rather I would much rather this team do its its heavy lifting in the off season when I can move some parts around when I have a better sense of how much money I’m going to have okay we have John there you go John welcome back please continue your thought process or your thought process and so the the point there I I love that Thank You by thanks for process you can tell we’ve been talking about analytics process process process so along those lines what I was trying to kind of walk my way through is while I believe that a team like Seattle would definitely have interest in vlat and a lot of teams would on some level but this goes back to something that Doug Melvin told me years and years ago which is it’s almost always easier to trade pitching at the deadline and bats in the off off season because because Kevin Gosman Chris Basset they are better than basically every third and fourth starter in the entire sport so they’re G to make 15 if there’s 15 contenders they help 15 contenders it it’s not quite the same thing with Vlad and with Bo especially if there’s some uncertainty with Bo would he bump your shortstop off of shortstop would he be willing to play second base there’s a lot of questions there that that don’t exist where basically if it’s Kevin Gosman or Basset or k I who’s a pending free agent easier decision than anything to say yeah he’s better than our third starter he’s in our rotation for the rest of the season so I think as I was saying Baltimore whether it’s o’n they’ve got a lot of infielders they’re they’re not GNA call the Jays about vlat they’re just not I think the Yankees they seem to be okay with Ben rice right now they’re not going to dip into their farm system and give the Jays two prospects because they need those prospects to upgrade their rotation I just think there’s the market the market for Vlad is is fascinating I think the market for Vlad will slightly underwhelm what might be the Jay’s increasing openness to moving him just be I really believe that on some level just like Ross said they’ll pivot if they have to I think they really would but I’m just not sure if they’re going to look at the landscape and say if you’re not going to give me two of the best 50 prospects in the game I’ll just keep them and take my chances in 2025 yeah listen I I’ve felt all along that bow and vlat that that’s an offseason move when you know how much money you’re going to have when you’ve got a better idea who who isn’t who who’s going to be out there in free agency non-tender guys all those things I just think it’s an easier decision in the offseason than than in season and I’m with you and and David actually David Samson said the same thing Doug Melvin told you he said our approach was always it’s easier to trade pitchers at the deadline and because people might overpay for pctures at the deadline they generally won’t overpay for a position player at the deadline correct and I think that’s why you’re seeing teams like the white socks with crochet the Tigers maybe with scoble I still think that is maybe unlikely but this is this is the time to do it Kevin you look back at the history of when pitchers if you’re not really going for it and the Tigers for me they’ve underwhelmed you know I watched them closely obviously they they’ve disappointed me a little bit this season and so when I look at what they’ve been able to do or not do this year I I would say that if you’re not convinced that you’re going to be competing for a division title next year then then you’re talking about only one year of scoble in 2026 where he’s got a chance to pitch you into the playoffs if that’s if that’s really what you’re thinking then you should put him out there and see what you might be able to give me a team JP give me a team that you think could afford a guy like that because you’d have to back up the truck like a balore really Baltimore all day long wow I think if you look at Baltimore’s farm system strength at the top levels and and not necessarily Jackson holiday but with new ownership coming in they’ve already got Corbin Burns notably they haven’t signed Corbin Burns yet and so if if you want to find a way to sustain your success and you can’t have you can’t play all these guys there’s not enough room for everybody and and by the way I think Jordan Westberg is better than they thought he was going to be yeah and you you can’t get them off the field now okay cower uh Kobe Mayo like this this amazing group of talent Jackson holiday is still there he’ll make an impact at some point there there isn’t room for all of them and so I I really think whether it’s crochet or scoble I do not be surprised if on July 30th Baltimore gets one of those two big-time lefties because remember it’s a better Park to pitch in yep than it was Years Gone by absolutely and they don’t have room Kevin for everybody hon kad’s one more name so we’ll see I I’m not going to say it’s likely but I certainly I certainly think it’s somewhere on the menu possibilities because Baltimore has the kind of prospects that can make any GM think seriously about moving in Ace crazy John really good of you to do this as always my friend be well thanks buddy thanks man sounds great guys all the best thank you take care John marosi MLB Insider MLB Network and yeah I it’s listen the Orioles man they they can hey here’s the only thing I wonder if winning the American League East will change their mind like they got some momentum down in the east I know that but it’s just it’s like it’s like if we’re good enough to win the East are we good enough to make a deep run into the playoffs that’s the that’s the thing like this I know but this is a different team this is a little bit more experienced team they got their short stop now they got an extra year of you know their catcher like they got some things right I wonder I think John is right I think man with all those prospects you imagine sco go for it now especially with the Yankees there you imagine in this in this division and that’s for a couple of years well they they’d still need another arm in the bullpen too though I mean it’s do you have enough to get it all like you know you know that’s what it’s about right it’s about shortening the game seven in games it be interesting yeah no I I I’m really keeping an eye on the Orioles and uh and Mike Elias and uh the Cardinals man you know you you keep hearing now that they may have Jordan Walker out there and that’s the type of guy 66 hitter that’s the type of guy that organizations might be looking and going you know what that dude could be that might be part of our next window that’s the thing with the Jays that’s why I think you got to wait until the off seon because the guys you’re getting have to be have to be part of your next window they have to be here for a minimum of three years I don’t think you do that in season uh that’s it for us we will be back tomorrow from 4: to 6:00 Eastern on sportset 590 the fan and sportset enjoy the rest of your day
Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker recap the Toronto Blue Jays’ rejuvenating series win over the Seattle Mariners, highlighting Alejandro Kirk’s impressive surge in performance. Jayson Stark discusses which active players are on track for MLB’s Hall of Fame. Later, Caleb Joseph analyzes Bo Bichette’s struggles, the Jays’ bullpen, and George Springer’s standout Sunday. To wrap up, Jon Morosi provides insights on the latest happenings around the league.
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0:00 – Intro
28:23 – Jayson Stark on MLB’s Hall of Fame
52:58 – Caleb Joseph on Bullpen & Jays’ Hitting Struggles
1:18:42 – Jon Morosi on State of League
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7 comments
The sense of camaraderie among participants is palpable. It's like being part of a tight-knit community bonded by shared interests.🧡
Enjoyed the show lads see yall tomorrow
I as a Blue Jay's hard-core fan, have lost it with this organization, and yes, now the players, i never missed a game and now couldn't care less, Sportsnet please bring back more Mariners games.
Not having Teo hurts
I really don't understand why the Bluejays don't hire Kevin Barker as hitting coach!!! He is very loud and animated but in a good ' coach like' way!!! I really believe in any role as a coach he could really get across to players without 'NOT' crossing any personalities if that makes sense!!! Go Jays Go!!!
Kaleb Joseph is a very smart dude as well!!!
Don't worry Jeff I love you as the main dude and do your job in a professional, dedicated way! Keep it up guys !!! This is the best show in baseball!!!
Trade Vladdy & forget that record attendance AA brought back PERIOD!
Vlad looked like he was having so much fun at 3rd. If he can be even remotely compenant at the position they should consider leaving him there so they can get a slugging 1st baseman as thats easier to get.