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It’s been a year since I posted this, so it's time to do it again. Not that things are going poorly (in the threads, in the games, yes, things are going badly).

Welcome to Bluebird Banter! Our little space on the web where we chat, argue, complain, and praise the Toronto Blue Jays.

Most of the rules fall under one idea: this blog is like our living room. Act like you’d like to be back.

Blue Jays bid to build up steam in series opener vs. Mariners

In the past, trips to Seattle almost have felt like home games for the Toronto Blue Jays. Thousands of fans from across western Canada usually flock south of the border to cheer on their country's lone MLB franchise.

Daulton Varsho's 3-hit, 3-RBI game guides Jays past Angels

Daulton Varsho finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

Jays Get A Comeback Win

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Blue Jays 8 Angels 5

When, in the first inning, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero and Anthony Santander all singled to load the bases, with no outs and then George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk all struck out, we thought we were in for another one of those games.

Then, the Angels scored two in the bottom of the inning on a Taylor Ward home run. We were sure it was going to be another terrible night.

In the second inning, Jo Adell hit another home...

Game #37 GameThread: Jays @ Angels

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I don’t know if it was my idea or Hugo’s, but we decided that we shouldn’t allow swearing on the site, which 90% of the time I’m good with. But when the team plays like this, it is hard not to swear. But then Hugo’s mom wouldn’t like it, so I won’t.

But Jays, you better win tonight.

Or at least, let’s try not to lose in a soul-crushing way.

Jose Urena has bought himself another start on Saturday.

I have often gone to Seattle for baseball,...

What Would You Do If You Ran The Jays?

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So, the team is losing a lot. They aren’t fun to watch. There is almost no part of the game that is going well. I guess the defense has been great.

The offense has been anemic, the starting pitching has been shaky, and the bullpen has been terrible lately.

I don’t know what I’d do if I were running things. The easy thing would be to fire the manager and/or the coaches. They tried changing the hitting coach, but I haven’t noticed an improvement.

Fire...

Jays Lose In The Ninth

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Blue Jays 4 Angels 5

Up by two, going into the bottom of the ninth. Jeff Hoffman in.

The Jays keep finding more inventive and more frustrating ways to lose. Hoffman walks Kyren Paris. Then Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel singled. A strikeout gave me hope. But then a grounder down the third base line scored all three base runners. Jonaton Clase misplayed the ball in the left field corner. I don’t know if he would have been able to stop the runner from scoring first if...

Jays RHP Max Scherzer (thumb) moves closer to return

For the first time since exiting his Toronto Blue Jays debut on March 29 with right thumb inflammation, three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer faced hitters on Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif.

Game #36 GameThread: Jays @ Angels

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There were some roster moves made today. And we get Jonatan Clase in today’s lineup.

And the Jays face an old friend tonight, Yusei Kikuchi.

This is good news:

Max Scherzer threw a 20-pitch live BP against Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw here in Anaheim today. Session went “really well” per Jays manager John Schneider. Another similar session expected this weekend in Seattle.

Blue Jays designate Steward Berroa for assignment, select Braydon Fisher

The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves on Wednesday.

Jays Roster Moves: Clase, Fisher Up, Roden, Tate Down

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The Jays made some roster moves:

Clase was up for a double-header (as the 27th man). He’s hitting .315/.419/.371, with 5 doubles, 14 walks, 25 strikeouts, 15 steals and 2 caught stealing.

Braydon Fisher (24) was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. He came to us in trade for Cavan Biggio last season. This year,...

Around The Nest is Back!

Photo by Paul Rutherford/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images

The Blue Jays minor league podcast is back!

Travel around the Blue Jays minor league system without ever leaving your house! Around the Nest, a bi-weekly look at the top stories among the Blue Jays affiliates, is back for another season hosted by Tyler Zickel, play-by-play man for the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League.

Batting leadoff is the voice of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the...

Jays Lose To Angels

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Blue Jays 3 Angels 8

That was up there with the worst games of this season, and there have been a lot of bad games.

Let’s start with the pitching.

I thought we got the best we could have hoped for from José Ureña. There was a home run against in the first. And he gave up a few fly balls to the track. But if you told me he would allow 2 runs in 4.1 innings, I’d have been very happy.

Chad Green came in with one out and one on in the fifth. A caught stealing...

Game #35 GameThread: Jays @ Angels

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We have a late-night game for those of you east of me.

And we get to see new Blue Jays pitcher José Ureña. They figure he can go 75 to 80 pitches. Eric Lauer is available to pitch multiple innings.

None of the above makes me feel like we will watch a great pitching performance tonight.

Lefty Tyler Anderson starts for the Angels. He has a 2.67 ERA in 6 starts.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Blue Jays Pitchers

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A look at how our pitchers performed the last two weeks.

There is some news: Jose Urena will start tonight. I have no idea how many pitches they are expecting from him.

Over the past two weeks, the Blue Jays have been 4-7. The pitchers' ERA was 5.34. With the hitters scoring less than two runs a game and the pitchers allowing over five runs a game, it is amazing we won four.

José Berríos: 2 starts, 0-0, 1.50 ERA. In 12.0 innings, batters hit...

Today in Jays history: Buehrle Gives Up 7 Runs, But Jays Win

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12 Years Ago Today

Mark Buehrle gave up seven runs in an inning against the Rays, but the Jays made a remarkable comeback to win 8-7.

Buehrle had a rough start to his first season with the Blue Jays. Coming into this game, he had a 6.43 ERA in 6 starts. We thought maybe Mark wasn’t up to pitching in the AL East. He had been good in the NL East, but the smaller parks and the better hitters of the AL East seemed too much for him.

Then came this start against...

Taking Wing: Arjun Nimmala

Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Back at the top of the farm system this week, because when a top prospect spends two weeks posting an OPS over 1.000 it demands comment.

Arjun Nimmala didn’t get off to a slow start with A+ Vancouver this season. Through the team’s first three series, his .278/.339/.463 slash line would be perfectly respectable for anyone and was genuinely impressive for a 19 year old. Since then, though, he’s been on fire. Over the last 10 games,...

What to Make of Blue Jays’ Signing of Spencer Turnbull

On May 5, the Blue Jays officially signed ex-Phillie Spencer Turnbull. The move gives Toronto options as the season goes on, especially given the Blue Jays’ pitching woes in the back of their rotation.

Toronto Blue Jays Second-Ranked Prospect Named Player of the Week

Last week, the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league affiliates went 12-14 but outscored their opponents 134-115. Triple-A affiliate the Buffalo Bisons went 3-3 and were outscored 33-26.

Blue Jays transfer Max Scherzer (thumb) to 60-day IL

The Toronto Blue Jays transferred three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to the 60-day injured list in a series of moves Monday. The 40-year-old right-hander has not pitched since his Blue Jays debut on March 29 due to inflammation in his right thumb.