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Blair & Barker

State of the Squad with John Schneider + Thad Levine!

5/1/202650 min

Blue Jays Manager John Schneider joins Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker for his weekly chat! Skip shares the latest on José Berríos and Addison Barger as they continue to work back from injury, his takeaways from Trey Yesavage's return to the mound, and what he learned from the team's "State of the Squad" meeting. They also touch on his lineup's lack of home run production, what's changed for Daulton Varsho and Kazuma Okamoto at the plate, the keys to success for Patrick Corbin and Tyler Rogers, and how Jeff Hoffman has handled his role change. John wraps up with his thoughts on the Blue Jays' outlook heading into May with a 14-17 record. Later, Thad Levine (27:45), former Twins GM and co-host of Rosters to Rings, investigates Carlos Mendoza's vote of confidence in New York, the Red Sox clearing house, and the Phillies' struggles through April. They wrap up the week with discussion about a potential lockout in 2027 and what's on the table for both sides.

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.

Clips

Schneider on identity and errors
Closer committee clarity
Why Varsho’s timing shifted
Vladi’s power is mechanical
Schneider bullish on Okamoto
Inside Jays’ diagnostic meetings
Rogers: a manager’s dream
Votes of confidence backfire
When firings spark a clubhouse

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Jeff Blair· Host0:00

    [upbeat music] All right, welcome back to Blair and Barker, brought to you by Capital One. Capital One, giving Canadians credit- Mm ... for 30 years. 8:10 is the first pitch tonight from Minnesota. It's gonna be warm. As, uh, Patrick Corbin takes on Simeon Woods Richardson, the Jays looking to, uh, even up the four-game series after their 7-1 loss last night that dropped them to 14-17 in the year. And has Mr, has Mr. Barker ready to, uh- [laughs] To flee.

  2. Kevin Barker· Host0:37

    I like the way you waited to say that- [laughs] ... until we had in our ear, John's on the, uh, on the other line ready.

  3. Jeff Blair· Host0:46

    Let's bring him on. He is the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

  4. Kevin Barker· Host0:48

    Unbelievable. See, look at that.

  5. Jeff Blair· Host0:49

    Yeah, I- See what John did? Yeah, John, you know what? You gotta help me. I'm, I'm trying to walk Barker off the ledge here, you know?

  6. Kevin Barker· Host0:56

    Yeah.

  7. Jeff Blair· Host0:56

    It's like, it's- Yeah. [laughs] I, it's just, I, I'm running out of things, I'm running out of things to say to, to, to calm him down. Not really.

  8. John Schneider· Guest1:04

    You gotta send, you gotta send Kev on the road or something.

  9. Jeff Blair· Host1:06

    Oh, yes, we do.

  10. Kevin Barker· Host1:07

    Yeah. That'd be great.

  11. John Schneider· Guest1:09

    You know, get you out of Jeff's ear and just start yelling at me.

  12. Kevin Barker· Host1:12

    Yeah, they won't let me. You know, I'd have to ask for money, and they won't, they won't let me do that.

  13. Jeff Blair· Host1:17

    Yeah.

  14. Kevin Barker· Host1:18

    That- Thanks, thanks for joining us. Yeah, you're the best, man.

  15. Jeff Blair· Host1:20

    Thanks for joining us, by the way. Um- Yeah, you bet ... uh, just I'll, I'll, I'll get the sort of the housekeeping out of the way. I know that yesterday you were asked, you, you gave four injury updates. I'm just wondering

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