ben nicholson-smith

The show kicks off with Blake Murphy summarizing last night’s 2-0 loss to the Yankees at Rogers Centre. He is joined by Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet's Senior MLB editor, to delve into the recent struggles of Jordan Romano over his last two relief appearances, the timeline for Brandon Belt's return to form, and the strategic usage tactics the Blue Jays might employ in the upcoming week. In the latter part of the hour, Jon Morosi from MLB Network discusses the American League playoff races, starting with the Mariners' bounce-back performance, Texas ‘just about’ securing the top seed in the West, and his insights into which team appears strongest leading into the next week (32:41). Transitioning into the second hour, Joe Siddall, Blue Jays Analyst at Sportsnet, joins the conversation to share his analysis of yesterday's loss to the Bronx Bombers, explore the idea of simply deploying the best player in high-pressure situations, and conclude with a quick projection of the Blue Jays' Wild Card roster (50:50). Wrapping up today's episode, Eno Sarris from The Athletic joins and briefly reviews their collective Fantasy Baseball seasons, before diving into potential standout candidates for the 2023 Cy Young Award and how teams might utilize their likely playoff-bound starting pitchers in the coming week (01:10:55).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

JD starts the show talking about the Blue Jays finding themselves out of a playoff spot again (00:00).  Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith joins JD to discuss the Jays' record versus playoff teams, the ripple effects of the new dimensions at Rogers Centre, Cavan Biggio’s hot streak at third base, Matt Chapman’s looming return, Davis Schneider’s influence on the offence, John Schneider’s level of control, the trust level with Trevor Richards, Hyun-Jin Ryu’s future, and Alek Manoah’s stand-off with the organization (8:00). In today’s podcast-only portion, JD and the fellas chat about the photo allegations about Mike Babcock, the NHL’s expansion interest, a cool sports bar promotion, and Apple’s iPhone 15 launch. 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

Monday's result was not the start the Blue Jays and their fans had hoped for in Game 1 of this important series with the Texas Rangers. Host Blake Murphy breaks down what went wrong including Chris Bassitt's shaky start and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s night to forget offensively with the help Sportsnet's Madison Shipman. The two also look ahead to tonight’s match-up on the mound between Hyun-jin Ryu and Max Scherzer. After that, Blake is joined by Jay Jaffe, FanGraphs Senior Writer, to weigh in on the American League Wild Card mess, before zeroing in on the Rangers' top of the order of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien producing at a near-MVP pace (29:51). In the second hour, Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith stops by to discuss the story he broke on Alek Manoah in more detail, before turning his attention to this Rangers series and what the Jays have to do to put themselves in a good position for the postseason (50:12). Lastly, Blake talks with Levi Weaver, author of The Windup daily MLB newsletter for The Athletic, who shares his take on the Jays-Rangers series, as well as the Wild Card race as a whole (01:21:12).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

The Blue Jays end their road trip with a loss to the lowly Athletics, which brings some disappointment with it ahead of a crucial stretch at home. Host Blake Murphy recaps his takeaways from the series finale in Oakland, before opening up the JTP mailbag to read some audience texts and tweets! Next up, Editor-in-Chief at Baseball America, J.J. Cooper checks in to discuss how Major League Baseball is tweaking some of the new rules implemented in the minors this season, before delving into Jays prospect Ricky Tiedemann's recent outings (30:00). Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith kicks off the second hour with a deep dive into the Jays' road trip, the importance of this upcoming homestand, and the latest on Toronto's injured and unavailable players including Alek Manoah (52:15). To close out today’s show, Blake welcomes Ben Verlander of FOX Sports and the Flippin’ Bats podcast to go around the horn on MLB's landscape and postseason picture, including the A.L. Wild Card race (01:20:56).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

The Blue Jays picked up a conventional win at Rogers Centre on Monday night, finally providing some run support for Kevin Gausman to beat the Nationals 6-3. Host Blake Murphy breaks down the victory with Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith! The two discuss Kevin Gausman's season as a whole, the injuries plaguing the Jays right now, who will step in to fill the gaps, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. taking reps at *checks notes* third base?! After that, Blake takes a big picture view of the Majors with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, who checks in on the postseason races around the league and identifies the deciding factors heading down the stretch (30:55). Later on, Blake connects with Andrew Golden of the Washington Post, who is in Toronto covering this series, to get some insight on the Nationals' strong second half of the season (50:30). Lastly, Blake is joined by Tim Britton, senior MLB writer at The Athletic, who helps determine a team’s best path to compete in October, and the lessons learned from the New York Mets this year (01:14:00).  

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Blake Murphy opens the show with a quick trip around Monday’s Major League Baseball action, sans the idle Blue Jays. Sportsnet's own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins the show to chat about the curious case of  Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s season, where in the world is Alek Manoah, the current condition of the pitching staff, and the heated Wild Card race in August. Following this, Geoff Pontes from Baseball America guides Blake through an exploration of prospects within the Jays' ranks who are on the cusp of advancing, as well as those who have faced setbacks (31:16). In the second hour, Craig Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus stops by for a detailed look at Vlad's season statistics, how the dimensions of different parks impact player performance, and how to evaluate team execution data in high-leverage scoring situations (52:56). We wrap up with a visit from Mid-Atlantic Sports Network’s Melanie Newman, who shares her colleague Kevin Brown’s thespian exploits, before delving into the upcoming AL East showdown between the Jays and Orioles (01:18:47).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

The Blue Jays head into their weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds clinging to a half game lead on that last Wild Card spot. Host Blake Murphy brings on Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith to discuss this road trip and what the Jays need to do to come out of it with an increased lead with a focus on the usage of their pitching staff. Next up, with Friday Night Smackdown in town, WWE mega-superstar L.A. Knight joins Blake in-studio to discuss where baseball fits in his sports fandom, as well as his lengthy wrestling career which has recently seen a meteoric rise (31:09). In the second hour, Blake turns his attention back to the Jays and this important series with the Reds as he talks to Ryan Spilborghs (51:00) and Dan Shulman (01:20:20), both of whom who will be on the call for APPLE TV+ (Friday) and Sportsnet (Saturday and Sunday) respectively. In between those two chats, Blake checks in with utility man in the Blue Jays system, Ernie Clement, who has been red hot for the Buffalo Bisons recently (01:07:26).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

JD Bunkis kicks off today's show recapping the Blue Jays' festivities honouring Jose Bautista this weekend and reminisces about Jose's time in Toronto. Sportsnet's own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins JD to share his thoughts on the ceremony and some of his favourite memories of Jose, before the guys break down the Jays' weekend series with the Cubs (10:12). They discuss if Sunday's offensive surge will continue this week against the Phillies, the state of the rotation going forward into the postseason, and what's behind Jays fans' frustrations this year. Later on, JD recaps his trip to Sunday's Argos game at BMO Field and dives into why he's all in on the Boatmen this year! (36:32). In today's podcast-only portion, JD looks into James Harden's recent comments about Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey! (50:01)

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

The final hour of The FAN Morning Show kicks off with Ben Nicholson-Smith dropping by to discuss the Blue Jays’ relatively quiet trade deadline, the need for more production from the team’s top stars, why the Jays were unable to swing a deal for Teoscar Hernández, how Bo Bichette’s injury impacted the Jays’ deadline plans, and the Orioles’ disciplined roster-building approach. Afterwards, Brent and Sam are joined by Jim Duquette, former MLB GM and current analyst for SiriusXM MLB Network Radio, to chat about the scarcity of blockbuster deals on deadline day, the New York Mets’ teardown, the Blue Jays’ deadline additions, why he’s still bullish on this Jays team, and his philosophy on roster building (29:19).  

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

It's Trade Deadline Day in Major League Baseball and Jays Talk Plus has you covered! Host Blake Murphy starts off with a look back at last night's game where the Blue Jays not only lost to their divisional rivals and the first place Orioles, but saw All-Star Bo Bichette leave the game with “knee discomfort”. As today's 6 pm ET deadline approaches, we check in hourly with those closest to Toronto’s team including The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath (00:00), and Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith (50:28) and Arden Zwelling (01:39:48). Blake also brings on MLB Network Insider Jon Morosi to update us on the latest rumblings around the league (28:52). Later on, we touch base with Alex Fast, renown Orioles fan and analyst at PitcherList and ESPN, to discuss the divisional battle this week at Rogers Centre, before sorting through the best fits for both the Jays and the O's (01:22:08).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Host Blake Murphy is joined by Sportsnet Blue Jays Producer Chris Black in-studio to go over some of the latest numbers around Toronto’s MLB team. After that, Blake turns his attention to the upcoming trade deadline with the help of The Athletic’s Levi Weaver, writer of “The Windup” MLB newsletter (32:40).  For the second hour, JTP heads to the City of Angels with Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith, who shares his takeaways from his first game ever at Chavez Ravine, before taking some time to sift through the top trade targets for Toronto (50:50). We wrap things up with Fabian Ardaya, Dodgers writer for The Athletic, who offers some insight into Los Angeles' season so far and previews some names they could be looking at for the deadline (01:24:42).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

The Blue Jays offence seems to have disappeared again as the Padres' pitching staff shutout Toronto in Game 2 of their series. To see where the bats have gone, Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins Blake Murphy in-studio to break down last night’s defeat, before turning their attention to the quickly approaching MLB trade deadline. The SN duo dissect some of the comments made by Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins yesterday, and take a look around the league to identify some potential targets for Toronto’s blue birds (22:20). In the second hour, Blake welcomes Johnny Giunta of the Gate 14 Podcast to chat about their continued frustrations with this team, highlighting Vlad Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk's production, before diving into the Jays' top priorities ahead of August 1st (52:12). Continuing down that path, Blake welcomes Ben Clemens of FanGraphs to discuss his "Trade Value" series, and takes us behind the scenes of how he makes sense of the data (01:11:58).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

JD Bunkis welcomes on Sportsnet Blue Jays reporter Ben Nicholson-Smith to recap the team's sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. The pair re-evaluate the Jays' stance in the A.L. East, the team's top trade deadline priorities, if the "clutch gene" actually exists, and if they would reverse the trade for Daulton Varsho in hindsight (03:45). JD closes out the day with the biggest stories we missed over the weekend including Steph Curry winning a golf tournament and DeAndre Hopkins signing with the Titans!  (50:00)

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

On the final hour of The Fan Morning Show, Daniele and Jesse bring on Blue Jays Reporter Ben Nicholson-Smith, who got to see Alek Manoah’s first Major League start since June 5th firsthand! He talks about what he liked from that start, how his good outing was a pleasant surprise, his next start being a bigger challenge, and how having Manoah back impacts the starting rotation and the bullpen. Ben also gives the Jays their mid-season grades, diving deep into what they’ve done well, what needs improvement, what he thinks the Jays need to add before the trade deadline, and his thoughts on the Blue Jays drafting High-School prospect Arjun Nimmala with the 20th overall selection. In the final half hour of the show, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli (26:51) sifts through the recent NHL transactions including Alex DeBrincat's move to the Detroit Red Wings, before discussing what's next for the Ottawa Senators, and how DeBrincat’s contract extension might impact William Nylander’s negotiations with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

Yesterday saw the Blue Jays edge out a tight win in Chicago fueled by a late home run from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - but perhaps the bigger news is that Alek Manoah will start for the team on Friday in Detroit. Host Blake breaks down both with former Major League catcher, Sportsnet and Windsor’s own Joe Siddall, to kick off today’s show. After that, Jays Talk Plus keeps it in Chicago as Blake talks to Julia Steiner, voice of American indie band Ratboys, who will be at tonight’s game, about her White Sox and baseball fandom (26:49). Next, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and the At The Letters podcast, joins Blake to take a deep dive into the Blue Jays' numbers, the trickle down effect of Manoah's return depending on his results, and what the team should be targeting ahead of the trade deadline (50:00). To close today, Blake opens up our JTP mailbag to read out and answer some listener texts and questions (01:25:14).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Host Blake Murphy is back to give his take on the Blue Jays' weekend series win over Oakland! He brings on Sportsnet Blue Jays producer Chris Black to look at the numbers from it, specifically the resurgences of both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Yusei Kikuchi, before teeing up Kevin Gausman's start tonight. Next, MLB Network’s Anthony Castrovince joins Blake to break down the process of the MLB Draft Combine and share some insight into some of the most notable players, including a highly rated Canadian (31:30)! Hour two kicks off with Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith, who digs into the Jays' upcoming schedule, when they should utilize a bullpen day, the team's interesting catching situation, and some early trade deadline buyers and sellers (51:10). To close, Ben Clemens of FanGraphs delves into the numbers behind the Giants' strong first half of the season ahead of their upcoming series in Toronto (01:21:30).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

After another disappointing weekend, host Blake Murphy has no choice but to look back on the numbers that led to Sunday's disheartening loss. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi joins the fray to find some Blue Jays optimism from an outside perspective, before taking a look around baseball to identify some very early trade deadline targets. Next, we head to New York with Esteban Rivera of FanGraphs to get his views on the A.L. East, specifically the struggling Yankees, and the Jays' refusal to gain ground in the meantime (31:34). Ben Nicholson-Smith of At The Letters kicks off the second hour diagnosing the Jays’ recent woes, before looking ahead to Toronto's upcoming favourable stretch that could change the tides (49:47). We wrap up in sunny Miami with Jessica Blaylock of Bally Sports, who shares what's behind the Marlins' strong first third of the season ahead of the team's upcoming series against the Jays (01:19:15).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Blake Murphy starts the show alongside Blue Jays producer Chris Black, to take a detailed look at roster, the injuries that have crept in, and what moves we could see the team make ahead of this upcoming series Baltimore for an A.L. East showdown. Next up, Blake brings on the guitarist from PUP, Steve Sladkowski, to chat about his love of baseball and reminisce about some of his all-time favourite Jays ahead of the band’s show at Budweiser Stage in Toronto this Friday (30:30). Later on, Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith checks in from Baltimore to dive deep into the series at Camden Yards, before getting into some early trade talk (50:55). Lastly, Blake catches up with former Jays pitcher and current Manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, Jesse Litsch, who lets us know the ins and outs of the MLB Draft League, before sharing some old stories from his days in Toronto (01:21:00).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Blake Murphy starts things off where last night’s game pretty much ended: Alek Manoah’s nightmare first inning in what was perhaps the toughest start of his career. He brings on Jays producer Chris Black to try to dissect Manoah's mind-boggling season they’ve seen from the team’s supposed ace. In a positive twist, they look at recent plate appearances by Vlad Jr. and why he’s trending up. Blake then welcomes MLB analyst Rob Friedman to shares his story of how he became the infamous "Pitching Ninja", before taking a look around the league at some of the coolest pitches being thrown and the state of Toronto's rotation (28:35). In the second hour, Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins Blake to break down what he saw Monday night and what to expect ahead of Manoah's scheduled next start (48:35). To close the show, Astros analyst and World Series champ, Geoff Blum dives a bit deeper into Houston's season so far and what to expect in the final three games at Rogers Centre (01:19:30).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

On this condensed version of Jays Talk Plus, Blake Murphy dives into another Blue Jays loss highlighted by some familiar storylines this season: a rough outing for Alek Manoah and a lack of offence for Toronto. We sort through some of the numbers behind the action and replay Alek Manoah’s post game comments. After the break, Sportsnet’s own Ben Nicholson-Smith joins Blake to give his take on what’s going on with Manoah and this team overall, before sharing some solutions on how to get things back on track (21:23).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.