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Updated 11/07/2024

4 DEC

Who is Cody Ponce, the newest Blue Jay? Plus, Gord Ash on what winter meetings are like for a GM

Guests: Gord Ash, VP Baseball Projects, Milwaukee Brewers; Jee-ho Yoo, Yonhap News Agency This week in Deep Left Field, we get you set for Major League Baseball's annual swap meet and free-agent signing session, the winter meetings, by giving you a look from the inside. Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Gord Ash joins us to talk about what the meetings are like from a general manager's perspective. Ash was the Blue Jays' GM from 1995-2001 after working under Pat Gillick for six seasons. We also take you across the world to South Korea, where the Jays dove into the international market and pulled out right-hander Cody Ponce, who had a record-setting season with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, winning the pitching triple crown while establishing new league marks in ERA and strikeouts. Jee-ho Yoo, who spent his university days in Toronto, joins us from the far east to tell us what he saw from Ponce this season and what Jays fans can expect. And, as always, we open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca

4 Dec

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1 hr
18 JAN · BONUS

Blue Jays front office throws away $11M to swing and miss in the Sasaki Sweepstakes

There's no shame in making an aggressive attempt to sign a coveted free agent but falling short, and the Blue Jays have done that several times over the past few years, whether it was with superduperstars Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto or mere mortals like Corbin Burnes, Justin Verlander and Xander Bogaerts, but the way the Jays mismanaged the pursuit of Roki Sasaki required a special episode of Deep Left Field. Not only did the Jays miss out on the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, who pings the radar gun at 102 mph, they quite literally threw away $11 million (U.S.) in doing so. This one wasn't disappointing, it was infuriating.

18 Jan · Bonus

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24 min
20 FEB

Blue Jays columnists discuss the good, the Vlad and the ugly

Guests: Toronto Star Baseball Columnist Gregor Chisholm Spring training is underway in Dunedin, Florida, and Gregor Chisholm has been there since the first day, which means he was there when the news broke that the Blue Jays had failed to come to a long-term contract agreement with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Gregor joins us to discuss all the goings-on from camp, first and foremost the how and why Guerrero is moving into a walk year that nobody wanted. Aside from the Vladdy story, we talk about what he's seen and heard during the first week of spring. Baseball is back!

20 Feb

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1h 6m
12 OCT

Game Day! Blue Jays Kevin Gausman vs. the Mariner's Bryce Miller in Game 1 of the ALCS

Guests: Chris Bassitt and Davis Schneider The American League Championship Series begins tonight and for the first time since 1993, it's opening up in Toronto. The Blue Jays are getting set to take on their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, with the well-rested Kevin Gausman facing off against Bryce Miller, who will be pitching on three days' rest. We're joined by Chris Bassitt, who talks about the sacrifices he made during the season that wound up costing him in September and October, but how missing playoff series doesn't matter to him as long as the Jays keep winning. Davis Schneider stops by as well, to tell us about getting a hit in his first playoff at-bat ever, at Rogers Centre in Game 2 of the ALDS, and in his first playoff at-bat at Yankee Stadium two days later. Plus, as always, we open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca - keep those cards and letters coming!

12 Oct

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47 min
06/11/2024

Trump returns, stronger than ever

Guest: The Toronto Star's Richard Warnica, reporting from Washington, DC In this episode, This Matters returns from hiatus with a special episode on the U.S. Election. Knowing all that they know about Donald Trump — after the court convictions and the insurrection and the threats and open bigotry, and after a campaign in which he sometimes seemed increasingly undisciplined — Americans sent him back to the Oval Office. And they voted for him by higher margins than in 2016. The day after the election, the Star's Richard Warnica, who has been reporting on Trump since the 2016 campaign and who travelled the U.S. during this campaign, joins Edward Keenan who covered part of Trump's first term as the Star's Washington Bureau Chief. The two discuss the mood at Kamala Harris' election night party, what Warnica observed about Trump voters, and why Americans might expect a more effective form of authoritarianism from a second Trump term. PLUS: How the Democratic party may have been right about public opinion on abortion access and wrong about how it would affect the presidential results.

06/11/2024

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34 min
20 OCT

One more win. Blue Jays vs. Mariners. Game 7

Guests: Blue Jays infielders Andres Gimenez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa The Blue Jays are the closest they've been to the World Series since 1993 thanks to their 6-2 win over the Seattle Mariners that evened up the American League championship series at three wins apiece. In this playoff bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we take you through Sunday's big win with two of the key cogs – Andres Gimenez, who was involved in all three consecutive inning-ending double plays (two with the bases loaded) that the Jays turned in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had a hand in two of them and also drove in a run with an infield single. As well, we open the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca to hear your thoughts on all things Blue Jays as they move toward their first post-season Game 7 in 40 years. A trip to the World Series for the first time in over three decades is on the line Monday night, and Deep Left Field is here with you every step of the way.

20 Oct

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1h 1m
31 JAN · BONUS

The Blue Jays add Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer

The Blue Jays Add A Hall of Famer A busy January on the free agent front came to a close with the Blue Jays snagging Max Scherzer, the 40-year-old eight-time all-star who will bring his three Cy Young awards and two World Series rings to town with him. With five trips to the injured list in the past two seasons, and only having been able to make nine starts in 2024, what does Scherzer have left to add to a decent Jays rotation? Can he stay healthy, and if he does how much should be expected of him? Does the big right-hander help the Jays in their quest to get back to the post-season?

31 Jan · Bonus

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27 min
1 MAY

Blue Jays home run leader Anthony Santander, reliever Brendon Little, 1B/OF coach Mark Budzinski and more

Guests: Blue Jays home run leader Anthony Santander, reliever Brendon Little, 1B/OF coach Mark Budzinski The Blue Jays miserable April is over and it ended with a massive comeback win against the Boston Red Sox. No one might be happier to turn the page to May than Anthony Santander, who is hitting just .175 as the calendar flips. The switch-hitter joins us for a frank and open discussion about his early-season struggles and how he and the team hope to turn things around. After the interview, Santander hit a game-tying three-run homer to help the Jays to victory on April 30. We also speak to Mark Budzinski, who knows Santander better than anyone, having managed him in the minor leagues, and we also get insight into the incredible circus catch made by Daulton Varsho – on one knee and with his back to the plate – in Varsho's first game back. Plus, get to know the Jays' top left-handed reliever, Brendon Little!

1 May

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1h 2m
30 JAN

Blue Jays 1B coach Mark Budzinski, former Baseball Canada slugger Scott Thorman and more

Guests: Blue Jays 1B coach Mark Budzinski, former Baseball Canada slugger Scott Thorman Not too many people in the Jays' system know their new acquisition, Anthony Santander, better than Mark Budzinski, who managed Santander at two levels of the minor leagues. We get the goods on the new guy from his ex-skipper, who is very excited for the reunion. Also, we catch up with Cambridge, Ontario's Scott Thorman, a Baseball Canada standout and Joey Votto's inspiration growing up.

30 Jan

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51 min
28 FEB

Ford wins! But did everyone kind of lose?

Guest: Toronto Star Queen's Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie On the one hand, Doug Ford won a third straight majority (the first such feat by a premier in Ontario since the 1950s). On the other hand, he doesn't seem happy about it, because he wanted more seats. The Star's Robert Benzie explains why, and looks at the similar dark cloud/silver lining result faced by other parties (and shares former premier David Peterson's observation about why winning too big is as much a curse as a blessing). He also breaks down the results, and the turnout (NOT the worst participation rate ever, FWIW), and discusses the prospects for long-simmering issues such as health care to come to the surface now that the election is over. PLUS: Why you could consider this a "Seinfeld" election This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Ed Keenan and Paulo Marques.

28 Feb

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37 min

The Star Podcasts are part of the Toronto Star, a multi-platform news organization that informs, connects, investigates, reports and effects change. The purpose of the Toronto Star is to keep our audience informed about what matters most to them, to help make their life, community, country and world better.

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