Exit Philosophy with Griff and Mal

The Mets and Yankees leave Winter Meetings empty-handed while the Dodgers land Edwin Díaz and the Orioles snag Pete Alonso. The Blue Jays stay quiet after earlier moves, introducing free-agent Dylan Cease and taking a Rule 5 flyer. Is Scott Boras controlling MLB's free-agent market? Do the Jays need rotation changes, bullpen help, or clarity on Bo's future? All this and more on Exit Philosophy. IN...

In this week's Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal discuss the revamped Blue Jays rotation and how different the starting five is from the one that opened the 2024 season. The upside of Dylan Cease coming off a down season in San Diego and the potential downside of Cody Ponce coming off a career year in Korea. With the narrowing of position player needs, the discussion centres on Bo or Kyle Tucker and...

Conversations With Griff Presents Ellis Valentine Griff welcomes former Expos outfielder Ellis Valentine, discussing his career as a blossoming young Montreal baseball star in the '70s, derailed in the early '80s by injury and immaturity, from what once was a Hall-of-Fame career path, to finding himself out of MLB prematurely due to injury and a self-destructive lifestyle. The L.A. native talks ab...

BONUS EPISODE Shortly after the latest episode of Exit Philosophy, the Blue Jays made a BIG move and signed Dylan Cease to a massive seven-year, $210 million contract. Griff provides instant reaction to the major move. Please check out previous episodes of   @ExitPhilosophy  on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. #torontobluejays #mlb

Exit Philosophy with Griff and Mal The MLB Hot Stove is heating up early with several significant trades and with important free agent tires being kicked in earnest. Griff and Mal discuss where the Blue Jays stand with regard to '26 team payroll and what it allows them to do in their attempt to repeat a trip to the World Series. What should be the key free agents they should pursue. Does that incl...

On Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal welcome former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons for his  view on the just-completed World Series, his new gig as bench coach with the Angels, and more. The former skipper, who took his Jays to consecutive ALCS in 2015-16, explains the similarities of his first playoff team that lost to the Royals and the difficulties of repeating the next year. He explains the pheno...

It began with an upbeat media session starring Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, describing the joyous October journey to World Series Game 7 and Shane Bieber's surprising decision to opt in for 2026. But the Jays task of defending the AL championship title does not get any easier, as Bo Bichette heads into his free agency, as Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt potentially leave the rotation and as Don Ma...

Was this the greatest World Series story ever told? How about the most memorable Game 7? The Blue Jays, in the end, had chances to hold on to or extend the lead, then, when the Dodgers tied it, chances to win in regulation and then tie it when falling behind in the 11th. The Dodgers' comeback in Games 6-7 came mainly due to the Japanese influence of Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and superstar DH-R...

Griff and Mal discuss Games 4 and 5 of the World Series in LA. Also, we preview games 6 and 7 to discuss what the Blue Jays have to do to bring a World Series championship back to Canada and the city of Toronto.  INDEX: 0:00 – Intro 0:32 – World Series Recap – Blue Jays are Resilient 1:30 – How Can They Win It at Home? 6:15 – Bullpens are the Key 9:35 – Yesavage has All-Time Performance and Game 5...

Griff's recap of an epic World Series game 3.  ---- Get the video version of "Exit Philosophy" and "Conversations with Griff" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExitPhilosophy ---- For the full catalogue of Richard Griffin's work, including weekly Blue Jays/MLB columns, a weekly MLB Power Rankings column, exclusive conversations with some of the game's greats, past and present, and the Exit Phil...

In this week's Exit Philosophy, as the Blue Jays head towards their first Fall Classic appearance in 32 years, Griff and Mal break down the team's League Championship Series win vs. the M's, from George Springer's historic three-run blast in Game 7, to Mad Max's aggressive meltdown getting in the face of manager John Schneider. And where was Seattle's dominant closer, Andres Munoz, to face the top...

The pure fun of playing a kid's game has returned to the Blue Jays dugout and clubhouse. Griff and Mal discuss the unique post-game speech from manager John Schneider after beating the evil empire Yankees and enjoy the ever-more-unique Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s performance with Big Papi, David Ortiz, playing off of broadcaster John Sterling's famous "Th-uhhhh Yankees Win." In response, in unison, Papi a...

The upcoming '25 ALDS features the two best teams from the AL East, the toughest division in baseball. Mal and Griff compare the Jays and Yankee rosters in six categories, including the leadership standoff between managers John Schneider and Aaron Boone. In addition, they review and preview the rest of the MLB field that has assembled on the October dance floor. Who are the five most important pla...

On this special solo edition of Exit Philosophy, the Blue Jays simply did what they had to do to win the AL East, knowing the powerful Yankees were likely to run the table against the O's and the White Sox. The team concept of this group of Jays has likely made them the first No. 1 AL seed in years that other wouldn't mind facing in a 5 or 7-game series. Griff breaks down payrolls of the 12 postse...

The playoff-bound Blue Jays were once riding high atop the AL East, but a punchless 10-day spiral, a combination of frustration, panic, tough calls and poor internal decisions, now sees them tied with the confident Yankees heading to the Final Four games. Decisions like Berrios to the bullpen, Bieber pushed back a day, Bassitt to the IL, Manoah cut loose after 14 months of intense rehab from elbow...

The new hate-on between Blue Jays and Yankees fans began with a catty observation by YES broadcaster Michael Kay and intensified lately with a calculated response from Buck Martinez questioning the Bronx Bombers. On this edition of Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal discuss the role of Trey Yesavage, the future of Bo and Santander, the new leader in the clubhouse for AL manager of the year, the import...

The MLB most recent ranking of the Top 20 starting pitchers in the game does not include any Blue Jays, even though Toronto's rotation, as a group, remains highly regarded. With RH Kevin Gausman's two-hit complete game vs. the Astros, how does he not make that list. Exit Philosophy makes a compelling case for Jose Berrios being included in the playoff rotation ahead of Chris Bassitt. Mal and Griff...

The Blue Jays may indeed be receiving Herculean efforts from the lineup and the starting rotation, but when it comes to closing out ballgames, the bullpen and the way the relievers are being used are clearly their Achilles' Heel. Griff and Mal discuss the Jays' relief corps individually and consider whether it can be improved. And what about Trey Yesavage? The danger sign showed up in the Reds ser...

The Blue Jays know it's crunch time and manager John Schneider has worked the rotation to have his three best starts vs. the Brewers then in the Bronx. Griff and Mal discuss extra rest for Lauer, making the bullpen great again, AL Top 5 MVPs, the importance of avoiding the Wildcard round, shoutouts to Cito Gaston, Markham's Jonah Tong called up to the Mets and more. Please remember to subscribe, l...

On this weeks episode of Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal reflect on the series vs Pittsburgh and Tommy Pham's infamous ball four bat flip. Will Shane Bieber force the hands of the Blue Jays brass and insert himself at the top of the rotation and who will get bumped? Rob Manfred keeps making headlines, this time about league realignment and expansion. Canadian slugger Owen Caissie is just starting h...

For a rare appearance in front of Blue Jays media, team president Mark Shapiro talks about his future with Rogers ownership as he nears the end of his contract. On Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal discusses Shapiro's views on the evolution of his manager John Schneider, what his lukewarm comments on negotiations with Bo Bichette might mean, the success of the team compared to 2024 and more. The boys...

The Blue Jays are the Beasts of the East, the hunted not the hunters in this race to the title in what has traditionally been the toughest division in baseball. How did they get there and what about the Yankees and Red Sox. Did Bo Bichette win the bet on himself when he didn't sign any of the deals that have been offered by the Jays over the past several years and what kind of total value, or AAV...

Coming out of one of the busiest MLB trade deadline days in recent memory, the Blue Jays feel they may have completed their shopping list, adding a former Cy Young Award winner, a right handed bat and a hard throwing reliever to go with Seranthony Dominguez obtained from the O's two days earlier. Was that enough for Ross Atkins and the Jays to rank among the Top 6 winners heading down the stretch...

In this episode of Exit Philosophy, Griffin and Mal discuss the All-star game with all its tweaks, like Mic'd up players, the limited challenge system and the swing off to end a tie. What about the Blue Jays and the 2025 draft. Is scouting director Marc Tramuta bringing a new philosophy? What about Vlad? Is he worth all that money and being the All-Star starting first baseman? Then with the trade...

The Blue Jays are arriving at the All-Star break with an unexpected lead in the once-again powerful AL East. How did their once-ridiculed farm system create a lineup with this much significant length from unexpected sources? What do the Jays need to do at the trade deadline to maintain a 95-win pace? Was George Springer the biggest All-Star snub and what about Max Scherzer as a legacy selection? T...