Today, Matt and Steve recap opening weekend, applaud the success of increased pace of play, examine the new CBA agreement between Minor League players & MLB, take a look at some new tweaks to instant replay reviews and talk about the new City Connect Jerseys.
Plus: Do the Yankees need more numbers?
Matt and Steve share their season preview as they round out their division predictions with the NL and AL East, as well as name their World Series matchups, AL & NL MVP and Cy Young winners. Plus a bit of discussion about upcoming broadcast changes to Apple TV Friday night baseball and streaming minor league games. Plus they name their B teams for the season.
Break music: "To The Warmth" by Frank Rawel
Matt:
AL East: Blue Jays; Central: Guardians; West: Astros
Wild Card Teams: Yankees, Rays, Mariners
NL East: Braves; Central: Cardinals; West: Dodgers Wild Card Teams: Padres, Mets, Phillies
World Series: Padres vs Guardians
Matt's B Team: Guardians
Steve:
AL East: Blue Jays; Central: Twins; West: Astros
Wild Card Teams: Yankees, Mariners, Guardians
NL East: Mets; Central: Cardinals; West: Dodgers Wild Card Teams: Padres, Braves, Brewers
World Series: Mariners vs Cardinals
Steve's B Team: Mariners
Matt interviews Blue Jays beat reporter Keegan Matheson about what to expect from the team this year. On the pitching side, they chat about Jose Berrios & Yusei Kikuchi, how Kevin Gausman could take advantage of the shift ban and who could be the Jays opening day starter. Later Keegan & Matt preview Toronto's retooled outfield and finally they discuss which AL East team will pose the biggest thread for the Blue Jays.
Steve & Matt turn their attention to the AL & NL Central divisions as they deliberate over possible B teams, and talk about potentially jinxing the team's injury status. Kikuchi finally allows a run, MLB is making it difficult to listen to their radio broadcast of the WBC, and Otto Lopez enjoys a nice moment for Team Canada. Plus: Matt is once again unable to escape Daylight Savings Time.
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JaysFromHome
Mastodon: https://thecanadian.social/@jaysfromhome
Matt's Substack: https://mattgowersbrainonbaseball.substack.com
Matt and Steve continue the Spring Training discourse as the Blue Jays have very little news coming out of camp...which is good because that means no injuries. They talk about Jose Bautista's entry to the Level of Excellence in August, and the new $20 general admission ticket introduced this week. Plus Kikuchi's continuing scoreless campaign and possible place in the rotation, and more World Baseball Classic talk.
Chris Black's Yusei Kikuchi Spring Training Breakdown: https://twitter.com/DownToBlack/status/1633506239920447498?s=20
Chris Bassitt's approach to Spring Training: https://twitter.com/C_Bass419/status/1634664304753496066?s=20
Details on Phillies' AstroTurf: https://twitter.com/dgambacorta/status/1633090968873324544?s=46
https://deadspin.com/philadelphia-phillies-brain-cancer-tug-mcgraw-1850202995
Our NEW Mastodon address: https://thecanadian.social/@jaysfromhome
Steve's Medium Article "I Am 1 in 100": https://medium.com/bouncin-and-behavin-blogs/i-am-1-in-100-c5ee945d1e48
Matt's Substack: https://mattgowersbrainonbaseball.substack.com
Matt and Steve celebrate the various birthdays from the week starting with the birth of Alejandro Kirk's daughter on the 28th, and Bo's on the 5th (with whom Steve graciously shares the day). Plus more talk about the effectiveness of the pitch clock, slightly alarming news about Vladdy pulling out of the WBC, and a little more discussion about Addison Barger's future with the club. They talk a bit about 2023's "B" teams but more on that in the next week or two. Plus, Matt does not keep very good time while swimming...
2023 Spring Training kicks off 6 months of baseball! The Blue Jays got a game in against the Pirates and Matt & Steve talk about those results and some news around the league including the Tampa Bay Rays' arbitration strategies and outrageous hat prices.
Ryan Thompson's thread about his arbitration case with the Rays
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/JaysFromHome
Mastodon: https://masthead.social/@JaysFromHome
Matt's Brain On Baseball: https://mattgowersbrainonbaseball.substack.com/
Matt & Steve talk about Bo Bichette’s new extension with the Blue Jays, the new look broadcast team, Chad Green’s Choose Your Own Adventure contract, a former Expos draftee retires and some new Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees.
Later, they interview Evan Drellich about his new book Winning Fixes Everything.
Also: Matt can see the future with Spaghetti.
Follow Matt’s Substack Newsletter: https://mattgowersbrainonbaseball.substack.com/
Matt and Steve discuss new Hall of Famer Scott Rolen and his Blue Jays legacy. Later, they take measure of Rogers Centre’s new, potentially neutral outfield dimensions, talk about Montreal’s hopes for an MLB expansion team, break down a couple Twins trades involving “Taylors” and talk about the cat & mouse game that the Pitch Clock could create.
Plus: Matt was right about YouTube and Steve gives Casablanca 5 stars.
Fun fact: there IS a baseball tie-in to Casablanca: https://theathletic.com/353898/2018/05/15/heres-looking-at-you-kid-theo-epsteins-connection-to-the-movie-casablanca/
Matt & Steve are back (a little sooner than they planned) to recap a busy week in the baseball world. They examine how the Blue Jays lineup might look with the addition of Brandon Belt, discuss the drama playing out on Twitter over Bo Bichette’s impending arbitration case, dig into the deep roots of Drew Hutchison’s trade tree (and all the fruit that it has reaped) and they tie up all the loose ends in the epic trilogy of Carlos Correa signings this off-season.
Later, Matt interviews Dr. Paul Semendinger about that autobiography he co-authored with Yankee great Roy White (Roy White: From Compton to the Bronx). They also chat about the Yankees chance at defending the AL East division title and talk about Paul’s Gehrig-like streak of running every day for a full year.
Plus: The various hazards of Ottawa winters…
The Drew Hutchison trade has come full circle: Digging into the best trade tree in Blue Jays history