Podcast appearances and mentions of fisher cats

Baseball and music were on Thursday's agenda. We were joined by Fisher Cats broadcaster Chris Jared who brought us up to date on the current homestand and the events taking place this weekend at Delta Dental Stadium. With us in studio was Brian Coombes of Rocking Horse Studio in Pittsfield and the Rocking Horse Music. The Club's latest album is set to be released Friday. It's titled, “The Last Pink Glow: An Interpretation of Jack Kerouac's The Haunted Life”. The album features the musical talents of Tony Banks one of the original members of Genesis.

Baseball and Horse Racing were Thursday's topics. General Manager Taylor Fisher and the Manager of Broadcasting and Media Relations Chris Jared joined us to talk about the Fisher Cats current homestand and some of the special days coming up over the next week at Delta Dental Stadium. Also Thursday, Lynne Snierson of NBC Sports joined us to talk about Saturday's 151st running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville as well as Friday's Kentucky Oaks for fillies. The Oaks will feature the horse,5G, owned by New Hampshire's Mike Gatsas and named for his five grandchildren.

On a Fisher Cats Thursday we were joined by one of the “voices” of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Chris Jared, who checked in from Binghamton, New York where the Fisher Cats were getting ready to play a doubleheader. During our conversation we talked about how Binghamton, NY played a role in Manchester New Hampshire's baseball history. We also previewed the next homestand for the Cats which will feature 14 games starting next Tuesday.

It was a Sports Monday on the program as we were joined by New Hampshire Fisher Cats General Manager Taylor Fisher and the team's Broadcasting and Media Relations Manager Chris Jared. The Fisher Cats open their 2025 baseball season this Friday night at Delta Dental Stadium against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at 6:35 PM. We were also joined by our Hockey East correspondent John Leahy who reviewed the weekend's NCAA tournament action and looked ahead to the Frozen Four in St. Louis coming up on April 10 & 12.

Justin and Patrick keep the minor league recaps going with the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliatle Fisher Cats. The guys discuss an overall disappointing season for the Cats and highlight Rainer Nunez and Trenton Wallace. Next up, Buffalo! Barring any breaking news (we know Soto is a Met) you'll see the Buffalo episode opn the weekend.

The broadcasters from the Buffalo Bisons, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and Vancouver Canadians look back at the 2024 season in the Blue Jays minor league system. Pat Malacaro (triple-A Buffalo) leads off with host Tyler Zickel (high-A Vancouver) to talk about a Bisons season that did not turn out as expected, with the likes of Leo Jimenez and Addison Barger spending a lot of time in Toronto with the big league team, Orelvis Martinez serving a big part of the season on suspension, and pitchers Ricky Tiedemann and Chad Dallas finding themselves on the injured list. This forced the Bisons to adopt the "next-man-up mentality", exemplified by Alan Roden who struggled after being promoted from double-A before finishing very strong. Andrew Bash and Paxton Schultz solidified the Bisons' pitching, Will Robertson had a strong finish to a good bounceback year, and Payton Henry became a hero coming back from a horrific head injury, hearing loss, and the death of his brother. The 20th season of Fisher Cats baseball did not turn out the way the team wanted; however, Chris Jared and Bob Lipman (double-A New Hampshire) are excited about the return of some of the team and players coming up from Vancouver in 2025. Alan Roden and Josh Kasevich were noted as having made a huge impact at the level before their promotions to Buffalo, RJ Schreck, Charles McAdoo, and Yohendrick Pinango were fun to watch after their acquisitions at the trade deadline, former water polo player Johnathan Lavallee just shoved for the team down the stretch, and Eric Pardinho, who has lost the top-prospect shine, was a dominant reliever at double-A. Tyler and broadcasting partner Chris Georges (high-A Vancouver) were sad to see the Canadians' season ending with a walkoff hit-by-pitch in the Northwest League Championship, but they were proud to see the team keeping the series with the Spokane Indians relatively close given that Vancouver was 8-20 against that team during the regular season. Jace Bohrofen took a couple of months to adjust to professional baseball, but then blew up in the second half, including August in which he OPSed 1.055. After being signed out of independent baseball, Je'Von Ward made a big impact both at the plate and in the outfield for the C's, Jackson Hornung continued to hit all year despite his transition from catcher to first base to outfield, and Peyton Williams may have been too good for high-A. On the mound, Kendry Rojas and Lazaro Estrada were spicy punches, and Ryan Jennings' stuff and dumpster were things to behold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We go international as the Earned Fun Average heads to Vancouver Canada. Tyler Zickel joins us this week. He's the radio broadcaster and media relations for the Toronto Blue Jays High-A affiliate. Tyler tells us about his time with the Canadians and with the Fisher Cats. He tells us how he got the job calling games for the only affiliated minor league team in Canada. Tyler also shares his Proffitt & Loss.Make sure to follow the Canadians online.Vancouver Canadians - Website: https://www.milb.com/vancouverInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/vancanadians/ (@VanCanadians)Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vancanadians (@VanCanadians)Earned Fun Average -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earnedfunavg/ (@EarnedFunAvg)Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/earnedfunavg/ (@EarnedFunAvg)Curved Brim Media -Website: https://www.curvedbrimmedia.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curvedbrimmedia/ (@CurvedBrimMedia)Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CurvedBrim/ (@CurvedBrim)

Zach Worden (@Worden_Zach) is joined by New Hampshire Fisher Cats broadcaster Ian Unsworth (@iunzy) to break down the season that was for the Toronto Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate, diving into players like Adam Macko, Rainer Nunez and Devonte Brown, evaluating the performance of some trade deadline acquisitions and more.

On this episode of Around The Nest, the Toronto Blue Jays minor league podcast, host Tyler Zickel checks in on double-A New Hampshire and low-A Dunedin coming out of the roster upheavals after the trade deadline and speaks with Altoona Curve broadcaster Jon Mozes about Charles McAdoo, the return for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Broadcaster Chris Jared is thankful we are into August because July saw the Fisher Cats record the worst record in team history. Eleven new players had been added to their roster since July 27, including starter Rafael Sánchez, who had a great start in double-A, and Johnathan Lavallee, who was immaculate on August 15. New draftees, like catcher Aaron Parker (6th round pick), have injected energy into the Dunedin Blue Jays' roster, according to D-Jays broadcaster Larry Larson. On the mound, Daniel Guerra demonstrated his ability to deal with adversity by retiring 13 of his last 14 batters faced after giving up an early grand slam, while Eliander Alcalde has been a key member of the bullpen. Last year's first-round pick Arjun Nimmala had spent some time on the development list and down in Rookie league ball this season, but has come back to the Florida State League like a thunderstorm, hitting slugging 10 homers, 11 doubles, and 4 triples over 37 games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second half of the Minor League Baseball season seemed to have just started and teams are getting ready to put their feet up for a breather as they enter All-Star Game weekend. With the trade deadline coming soon after, the Blue Jays' minor league broadcasters are gearing up for various roster machinations that could affect their teams. The episode starts with the Voice of the Buffalo Bisons Pat Malacaro inviting long-time New Hampshire Fisher Cats broadcaster Bob Lipman to join him to call some triple-A games in Worcester. Then, Pat reports on his team, who have been in a funk. However, things are looking up as Riley Tirotta continues to be consistent at the plate, newcomer Gabriel Cancel has had a white-hot start, and Chad Dallas has returned to good health. Diving into Aaron Sanchez's return, Pat tells us that he is going through the process of learning how to become a new kind of pitcher now that he's not throwing as hard. From Manchester, Bob is joined by Chris Jared who showed off the Fisher Cats' 2011 Eastern League Trophy replica giveaway (Saturday, July 13). Nominative determinism (and the Cavan Biggio trade) have brought reliever Braydon Fisher to the 2024 Cats team where he has been showing off a curveball that could be better than Adam Macko's. Chris also tells us about Ryan McCarty on and off the field and Deveraux Harrison's success in their rotation, while Bob reassures us that Cade Doughty just needs some more time to settle into double-A life. With our host Tyler Zickel in Portland, Chris Georges has been handling the mic for the Vancouver Canadians this week. Since the second half, the C's have been red-hot with a 14-4 record to lead the second half standings. Chris and Tyler took this opportunity to heap praise on catchers Jackson Hornung and Robert Brooks. They are also looking at the success Payton Williams and Dasan Brown have been having and are thinking that they may be on their way to New Hampshire sooner rather than later. They also gawked at Grayson Thurman's splitter, which his teammates have rated as 80-grade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Raffio, president & CEO of Northeast Delta Dental, speaks with Michael Neis, General Manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The pair discuss Northeast Delta Dental's partnership with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and their focus on promoting oral health and community engagement.

Around The Nest is the Blue Jays' minor league podcast where the broadcasters from up and down the farm system get together to talk about the performances of Blue Jays prospects in the past two weeks. This week, we welcome Chris Georges, the Vancouver Canadians' broadcast assistant, to the Nest. Chris G. is joined by Chris Jared of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Larry Larson of the Dunedin Blue Jays, and of course podcast host and the Voice of the Canadians, Tyler Zickel. The Fisher Cats have had solid pitching performances—like Adam Macko striking out nine Yard Goats—but have had weak run support (sound familiar). Overall, the team is still loose, believing that they are better than their 15-21 win-loss record. Before a rough start Friday evening, Trenton Wallace had been solid for New Hampshire, sporting a funky delivery. Alan Roden has struggled at the plate but has been working hard, one-on-one with manager Cesar Martin. The D-Jays batters had been taking a lot of walks earlier in the season, but had seemed to be little overeager lately. On the positive side, Christian Feliz and Yhoangel Aponte have been taking patient, encouraging at bats and lately, Manuel Beltre seems to have turned a corner, taking better at bats and getting a walkoff hit. On the negative side, Arjun Nimmala had been placed on the development list strikeouts have been piling up now that he's seeing more breaking balls. On the mound side, Juaron Watts-Brown has been displaying a nasty slider and an underrated change-up and Connor O'Halloran has demonstrated that he can grind through games in which he just didn't have his best stuff. Vancouver's Jace Bohrofen had been getting walks and making good contact but had not displayed home run power until this week when he hit two. Ryan McCarty has been delivering clutch hits for the Canadians and is seen as a guy with a big heart who is easy to root for. Japanese-Brazilian Raphael Ohashi has almost been perfect out of the bullpen, starting the season with 15 consecutive scoreless innings against five different Northwest League teams. Ohashi will be given a start in game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Raffio speaks with Michael Neis, General Manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The pair talk about the Fisher Cats' 2023 season and what is planned for their 20th anniversary next year.

It's time for host Tyler Zickel (Vancouver Canadians) to perform a check-in on the Blue Jays minor league system to see who has been performing during these dog days of summer. Pat Malacaro (Buffalo Bisons) leads off from Syracuse, NY to talk about the lengthening of the Bisons' lineup with the return of Nathan Lukes and Ernie Clement to triple-A to complement Spencer Horwitz and Rafael Lantigua who just know how to put the bat on the ball. Addison Barger has become the team's everyday right fielder, stunning fans and broadcasters with his cannon of an arm. Speedster Cam Eden has passed mailman Roemon Fields to take the Bisons' single-season stolen base record with 45 (and counting). Pat wraps up his segment talking about how Bisons superfan Mark Aichinger is getting his own bobblehead day in September. Steve Goldberg (New Hampshire Fisher Cats) re-joins Around The Nest to speak with Zick about some former C's who had been promoted. Alan Roden has kept his consistent approach after arriving in double-A and is finding success, starter Michael Dominguez recorded nine strikeouts against the Rumble Ponies, and the “Shake & Bake” duo of Mason Fluharty and TJ Brock are now the leverage arms in the Fisher Cats' bullpen. Steve also takes us for an audio tour around the new training facilities at Delta Dental Stadium. To wrap up the show, Chris Valentine (Dunedin Blue Jays) banters with Tyler about the two lowest rungs of the ladder. The Canadians have hit a bit of a dry spell, getting no-hit at home and losing several consecutive games, but are still seeing a great performance from big guy Peyton Williams, who is sporting a .311/.385/.556 slash line in August. Chris gushes about the D-Jays' Lazaro Estrada, who has been deploying a wipeout slider that is impossible to hit by right handers in his transition from late-inning bulk guy to a legit starter. Outfielder Jace Bohrofen (6th round, 2023) slugged five homers over his first five games after being promoted out of the FCL and Chay Yeager (12th round, 2023) is throwing 96 mph fastballs out of the ‘pen. The two broadcasters then chatted about Jeff Wehler in Vancouver and Davis Feldman in Dunedin providing a solid veteran presence in their respective clubhouses.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting from low-A Dunedin, broadcaster Chris Valentine speaks about Roque Salinas, whose bat finally caught fire in July, J.J. Sanchez's 95-mph fastball, Josh Mollerus' wipeout slider, and Kelena Sauer's sweeping slider. Podcast host and voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel then speaks about his team being the first affiliate in the Blue Jays organization to reach 60 wins and Wednesday's cycle completed by Michael Turconi. Bob Lipman then joins the conversation from New Hampshire where the Fisher Cats now have a brand new rotation, with all five starting pitchers from the beginning of the season switched out with the recent departure of Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse. Bob also gives an update on Steward Berroa, Phil Clarke, and Trevor Schwecke. Up at triple-A, Bisons' play-by-play guy Pat Malacaro looks back at Davis Schneider's rung-by-rung progression up the Blue Jays' minor league ladder and looks forward to the upcoming two weeks of high-intensity baseball as Buffalo makes a push to enter the International League playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom sits down with Michael Neis, General Manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to discuss sports, minor league baseball and the honor of Delta Dental stadium being named “Best Double-A Ballpark” in America by fans.

Broadcaster Gareth Kwok's Fisher Cats are still waiting on their first walkoff of 2023, but the broadcasters from the other affiliates talk about the most exciting walkoffs of the season so far. The Bisons' Pat Malacaro tells us his team is finally getting consistency from the starting nine and the starters, Ernie Clement and Spencer Horwitz's dual five-hit day, Orelvis Martinez's triple-A debut, and Zach Thompson's season reset while he was on waivers. Double-A New Hampshire has not really be consistent, but Gareth gives us positive updates about Leo Jimenez's on-base streak, Rainer Nuñez sliding into the middle of the lineup, and Adam Kloffenstein's success in his second season in the Eastern League. In the last segment, host Tyler Zickel of the Vancouver Canadians banters with Chris Valentine of the Dunedin Blue Jays about the D-Jays' rough patch in July and the C's remaining red-hot. We also get updates about Ryan McCarty, Victor Mesia, Jean Arnaez, Rafael Sanchez, Deveraux Harrison, Michael Dominguez, and Pat Gallagher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker share their thoughts following the Red Sox sweep of the Blue Jays over the weekend and examine their schedule going forward in the second half. Sportsnet's Shi Davidi discusses what he saw from Alek Manaoh in his rehab start with the Fisher Cats and the latest on Hyun-Jin Ryu's status as he looks to re-join Toronto later this month (31:03). The Braves are sending eight players to the All-Star Game in Seattle; notably their entire infield. Atlanta's President & General Manager Alex Anthopolous discusses the feat and his club's incredible first half to the season (49:32). Finally, breaking news hits the show as John Schneider mentions in his pre-game availability that Alek Manoah will make his return to the Blue Jays on Friday and start against the Detroit Tigers (1:13:09). 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.

Host Tyler Zickel (Canadians) is joined by the wonderfully mustachioed rookie Chris Valentine (Dunedin Blue Jays) and the reliable veteran Bob Lipman (Fisher Cats) to talk about the state of the Blue Jays minor leagues. Chris nominates Ryan McCarty as the D-Jays' hitter of the month and updates us on Rafael Ohashi's return to form, Alex Amalfi's new curveball, Irv Carter's phenomenal changeup, and tells us that Brandon Barriera is throwing bullpens and is feeling good. Tyler's first-half champion Vancouver Canadians love Ian Churchill both on and off the field, Gabby Martinez needs to work on his two-strike approach, Dasan Brown's bat has warmed up with the weather, and Adam Macko (the return for Teoscar Hernández) had his best start since joining the Toronto organization. Finally, Bob makes his 2023 Around The Nest debut by recapping a heartbreaking 14-inning Fisher Cats loss on a balkoff and he tells us to ignore T.J. Brock's ERA because he has been lights out. We end the show with Bob telling us about Orelvis Martinez's amazing turnaround including improvements to his plate discipline and situational awareness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Chris Ryan talks Red Sox with Trevor Story, Adam Duvall and Tanner Houck. Plus, his 13U New Hampshire Bobcats team interviews Blue Jays prospect and Fisher Cats starter Sem Robberse.

My daughter Harper is here before school starts.  We talk about her busy day, the band / chorus concert tonight, singing at the Fisher Cats game, how she likes 6th grade and more.

Host Chris Ryan checks in on the 1-1 Patriots here in Week 3 of the NFL seaosn. He also chats with the Red Sox Trevor Story, MA Native and Royals Rookie Bobby Witt Jr and his NH Bobcats Baseball team interviews Fisher Cats infielder and Blue Jays prospect Addison Barger.

Three of the Toronto Blue Jays' four minor league teams are chasing a playoff berth (sorry, Fisher Cats fans). On this episode of Around The Nest we talk about the Jays' newly-drafted players like Cade Doughty, Alan Roden, and Peyton Williams injecting their talent into a surging Dunedin club alongside Edisson Gonzalez and Devonte Brown. We dissect New Hampshire's tough season that also featured a lot of individual positives, including Parker Caracci's recent promotion and Paxton Schultz turning his year around after a sluggish start. Vancouver has a magic number of six and several viable paths to the Northwest League championship series; the Canadians have been getting great performances from Orioles reject Garrett Farmer and closer Connor Cooke. We also get a report on the bumpy path Eric Pardinho has taken on his path back from injuries. This episode of Around The Nest was hosted by the radio voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel and featured Dunedin Blue Jays communications and admin specialist Andrew Thriffiley, and New Hampshire Fisher Cats broadcaster David Korzeniowski.

Blake Murphy is joined by MLB.com's Julia Kreuz, to chat about her takeaways from covering the Orioles during their series against the Jays, how the team sees themselves among the teams in the AL East, pushing Yusei Kikuchi into the bullpen, and how the team can find success against the Yankees and Red Sox in the back-to-back series' coming up (4:00). Manager of Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Cesar Martin, joins the show to share his thoughts on prospect Orelvis Martinez's season with the team while on the verge of breaking the team's home run record, how pitchers have attacked Martinez's at-bats, his impressions on Ricky Tiedemann, his approach to helping players early in their career, and if he sees a path in his managerial career similar to John Schneider (35:00). The Athletic's Lindsey Adler, jumps on to discuss the Yankees up and down season, the decision to trade away Joey Gallo, how the clubhouse is dealing with the added pressure, the boost both Toronto and New York got by winning their respective games ahead of their series, and the organization's approach to the past trade deadline (01:02:00). Then, Blake previews the Jays four-game series against the Yankees including a meeting against post-trade deadline Frankie Montas and Jose Berrios return to the Bronx (01:35:00).  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.

We had some fun on this episode of Around The Nest, the Blue Jays minor league podcast, by looking at the prospects that would be the best to put on a pickup football team based on body type, strength, and athletic prowess. This episode of Around The Nest was hosted by the radio voice of the Vancouver Canadians Tyler Zickel and featured Dunedin Blue Jays communications and admin specialist Andrew Thriffiley, New Hampshire Fisher Cats broadcaster Steve Goldberg, and the Voice of the Bisons Pat Malacaro. From the Bisons, we heard updates on the injury front about Gabriel Moreno and Spencer Horwitz, who are both back taking batting practice and are progressing on recovering from thumb issues. We discussed a Fisher Cats game last week where Adam Kloffenstein, Sean Mellen, Braden Scott, and Jimmy Burnette combined to strick out 19 Richmond Flying Squirrels, as well as Kloff's general improvement in his first tour of double-A. Tyler laments the loss of the triple-digit-throwing Juan Nunez who moves up to double-A and shares with Steve his love for Addison Barger's quiet but continued success at the plate this season. Andrew chats with Tyler about Gabby Martinez and Ranier Nunez, who were just promoted from Dunedin to Vancouver. He also gives us an update on the newest Blue Jays including Michael Turconi's (15th round, 2022 draft) great bat and Alan Roden's (3rd round, 2022 draft) flashy glove.

On today's episode, Trey Wilson sat down with Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey to look back at the last few weeks coming out of the mid-season break and look ahead to this two-week road trip to New Hampshire and Portland, which kicks off tonight against the Fisher Cats. 

Second Saturdays are here!Second Saturdays are a downtown small business driven initiative to bring awareness to the local business community.Look for specials, sales, events and more every second Saturday of the month!April is the first month and we anticipate this program to pick up attention and speed as the months go on. Some of the businesses involved include:Barre Life, Café la Reine, Diz's Cafe, Statement Boutique, AR Workshop, Shadow and Soul Emporium, Pop of Color, Adored, Diane Crespo FIne Art, Fisher Cats, Creative Framing Solutions, Smoothie Bus, Boards and Brews, HopKnot, The Bookery, Market Square Jewelers, Studio 550, The Terracotta Room, A&E Coffee and Tea, Thirsty Moose, Wild Orchid Bakery, Blush Beauty Boutique, and Studio Verne. Make sure you follow all of the amazing downtown businesses on social media to stay up to date with their events and deals this weekend. Support local this saturday, April 9!Ashley & Alex have a special cross promotion for this Saturday. Stop into Café la Reine and show that you took a class at Barre Life this Saturday for 20% off your cafe order. Screen shot and send your receipt to Barre Life showing you purchased from Café la Reine to receive 15% off a class pass.  See you Saturday!

The Kings lost their final game before the All-Star Break to the Bulls. The guys break down the game and look for any surprises in the contest. They also focus on Donte DiVincenzo and how he has started off his tenure as a Sacramento King. Big things are expected from Donte. Can he live up to the expectations?

8 - 19 - 21 COYOTES, FOXES, AND FISHER CATS by Maine's Coast 93.1

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Present Age podcast. I’m your host Parker Molloy.Joining me on today’s show is baseball writer and all-around good dude Keith Law. Keith is the author of two books — Smart Baseball: The Story Behind the Old Stats That Are Ruining the Game, The New Ones that are Running it, and the Right Way to Think About Baseball and more recently, The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves.Parker Molloy: All right. Joining me this week is Keith Law. Hey, Keith.Keith Law: Hey, how are you?I'm doing all right. So one of the reasons I wanted to, to kind of have you on here was A, my love of baseball. B, we've been talking for what, like three, four years or something now.Yeah, I think so.Yeah. So, and you're just a great person to talk to on Twitter and everything like that. But C, a big part of this podcast and newsletter is, has to do with the odd times that we live in.And on that front, there were few things as bizarre to me as baseball during the pandemic, which at first it seemed like the 2020 season might be canceled. And then it came back. It was a shortened season, but without fans. And then watching on TV, there were the cardboard cutouts of fans that was kind of weird. And the fake crowd noise that came with it. To me, it was a bit like watching a deleted scene from an Avengers movie where all the actors you have Mark Ruffalo in a mo-cap suit because it's like, he will be the Hulk here when we finish the CGI, but it's not done yet.Right. “We haven't finished painting in the players yet.”So that's kind of what it felt like. And it was so odd to me. And I can't even imagine what it was like for you, someone who you cover baseball for a living. So what has it been like writing about and covering baseball in such an odd time?Yeah. Last year it sucked from a work perspective. It's the first year, since, before I got into the industry. So my first year doing anything baseball professionally full time was 2002, my first year in the Bluejays front office. And so 2020 was the first time since probably, well, before then, that I went a full calendar year without going to a baseball game. I think if you even just count the high school and college stuff I do, I went something like 380 days between going to games, which was, I mean one, just lousy because I like doing it. Right. It's the best part of job is going to the games evaluating players. But also it was just sort of wait, how do I do this? Right. There's so much of my job is so much of it is driven by the act of going to the game and either seeing the players or it's people I talk to when I'm at the games or afterwards, "Hey, I just saw your AA affiliate. This guy looked really good. What's going on with…, Hey, did this guy get a new pitch?"That's just such a huge part of the rhythm of the job. And then to have basically no minor league, anything, in 2020 and very little college or high school stuff. And I don't really go to major league games much, if at all, because I can watch them on TV and often have better views on TV than I'm going to get at the ballpark. Especially last year where they were like, "Oh, you can come sit in the press box, but you can't go. You can't walk anywhere. We're going to actually physically nail you to your seat."Oh, fun.Yeah. So it was just sort of wait, I have to rethink how I do parts of my job. And I would just watch certain players on MLBTV and write pseudo scouting reports like, hey, this is what I saw so far.It's not great. I don't love it, but this is what we got. At least this year, I did some high school stuff, a couple of college things. I flew once in the spring, once I got my second shot. And then once the minor league started, I could actually go to games. I have been doing that one or two a week, which is less than I would usually do but still at least I'm going out and seeing games. That's been easier. And it's like, "Oh yeah, I remember how to do this. I know what this is." First few were weird. Definitely. But then after a while you sort of get back into the rhythm. It's like, "Oh yeah, I've been doing this for a long time. I think I can do this."When it comes to the actual Major League Baseball sort of experience, I keep thinking back to... There was that game in Baltimore, during the Freddie Gray protests where the White Sox were playing the Orioles. And it was just so surreal with no sounds. And I kind of wanted that to come back. I was kind of looking forward to this like chill, silent thing, but then they pumped in the fake crowd noise and...Well, that game was such... Obviously circumstances were terrible, but just from a baseball perspective was so fascinating. It was like, oh, this is what baseball sounds like with nothing else. And it was like, this is kind of cool. I like this. Yeah, you could really hear the crack of the bat. You can hear the pitch hitting the catcher's mitt. To me it captured some of what I like of going to these low-level games whether it's high school or low minors. And I was at a game the other night. Where the heck was I on Tuesday? On my God, so bad. Wherever I went though... Aberdeen, I went to Aberdeen, which usually they draw pretty well. But for whatever reason, this Tuesday night, there was nobody there at all. I could have had a one-on-one conversation with the second baseman, and it would have been we had no problems hearing each other.And, but there's part of that I absolutely love too, because then I can just hear what's on the field. It actually gets, I don't love all the shenanigans that are there, the music and stuff between. Oh wait, we have a five-second delay. We got to play song. We can't have anybody be bored ever, but whatever, I'm not the audience for them. Right. I'm not the target.But then it was even more glaring to when they have to pipe in five seconds of Fall Out Boy, because they got to play the latest hits, obviously, that are 20 years old. And then it's no, no, no I was listening to the game. I was really into the sounds of the game. And I love that. That to me is a big part of it. And it's actually very comforting to me when I'm at a game, and it's now the real sound is what's on the field. All the other stuff is very, it's like static where it's very distracting to me, because I try to be very focused on. It's usually I'm focused on a player more than I'm focusing on the game itself, but still it's the same thing. It's the sound. The sound is part of the experience and part of what I love about going to games.Yeah. Music playing constantly, constantly having different sort of ways to keep the crowd entertained.Yeah. It's like, they think people are going to leave in the fourth inning if they're not sufficiently entertained. So no, no, no, no, they're here, and many of them have already started drinking, so they're not leaving right now.Yeah. Well, exactly. And also a lot of the stadiums aren't exactly right in the middle of a city. If you drove out there to go to that game, you are there. But also it just strikes me as so odd that minor league baseball players are famously underpaid and can barely kind of scrape by. And it seems so weird that there's this fun house pushed around them as they're really just trying to get by. I mean, one thing I love about minor league baseball are the hats. I have a bunch of just various, I've got the Rocky Mountain Vibes, which it's a s'more that's on fire, and it's just chilling out with sunglasses, and it's just the best thing ever.Sure, that's what I do when I'm on fire.Yeah. No, totally. I mean, that's it. It's perfect. It makes sense. And the reason for so much of that is teams will rename themselves these kinds of goofier things.Oh yeah, the Jumbo Shrimp. That's one I can't get past.Jumbo Shrimp. Yeah.Somebody had me on the radio. I think it was ESPN radio had me on to talk about Cleveland changing their name to the Guardians from an obviously racist team name. And I said, explained why it's a good name. It has a classic feel. It has a local tie-in, et cetera. It's not ridiculous. Right. I at least have this worry that anytime any team's going to have a new name that they're going to pick something that a bunch of people got in a room and they did marketing. And suddenly they're going to, oh yeah, let's... The Jumbo Shrimp is a great name for a minor league baseball team. It would be a horrendous name for a major league team. And that's if you just know baseball, you completely understand. If you don't follow baseball, you'd probably say what is the difference? I don't understand. It's hard to explain. It's just, we have such a dichotomy between what is big league and what is not big league.Yeah. It would be odd if there was a Major League Team called the Cleveland Trash Pandas.Trash Pandas. This is the other one I was going to say. Right. I had a choice, right. A friend of mine he's driving cross country because he's moving to Arizona. And he texted me from the Amarillo Sod Poodles stadium. Which another one, I don't even know what that is. Stadium looks nice though. I got to say. I have never been there, but…See what I've got here. As you can see, I have a bobblehead of the SeaWolves. Nick Castellanos.Yes. “And there's a drive to left field and that'll make it a four-nothing ballgame.”Yeah, there it is.Yes. When I worked for the Blue Jays, the New Haven Ravens I think were sold and the new owners moved them to Manchester, New Hampshire, which they played one year in a temporary field and got a great new stadium. Used to love going up there. And they were the Fisher Cats. What the hell is a Fisher Cat? And turns out it's local. Right. It absolutely makes perfect sense. But it's a weasel. And I would have to say the New Hampshire Weasels probably just wouldn't sell as well. So I mean, I think they made a good choice. That to me also is sort of the difference between it's the same thing. It's the difference between a good name and a bad name. Fisher cat, totally local. Apparently, they're really annoying too, but it's a very distinctly New Hampshire thing. If you're not from there, you don't know what this is. And I, of course, was not. What the hell is a Fisher cat? Oh, it's a screech weasel. But the New Hampshire Screech Weasels just doesn't quite have the same ring to it.Yeah. I mean, that's a... Imagine being paid poverty wages to play for a team and be like, "I played for some weasels." I don't know. The ownership has fun with our name, I guess, at least so yeah.Yes. Oh yes. Well, I'm actually very glad to see there's been, I feel, an exponential growth in just among Twitters' baseball, baseball Twitter of acknowledgment that the way minor league players are treated is totally unacceptable in a multi multi-billion dollar industry. And I don't know why this year we hit the tipping point, but okay, good. I mean it's five, 10 years too late, but whatever. We're there. We're getting there. It's a bit of an optimist bias I guess, but it is that, this is progress. We are finally making progress. It's too late, but at least we're moving in the right direction.Yeah. I think a lot of that sort of comes down to, or a lot of the resistance to some of that you see on Twitter where it's like, oh, well they're playing a game. They should be happy with whatever, blah, blah, blah. That sort of stuff is sort of based on this idea where people will think, oh, well, one person on that team may someday make a hundred million dollars. I mean, yes, one person on that team may do that. Most of them won't. Most of them probably, depending on what level you're talking about, probably won't make it to the major leagues at all. And that's the same discussion we keep having about college athletes as well. Where it's well, they got a free education, which sure, I guess. But at the same time, they're making so much money for their schools and for all the people who go pro, there are so many others too, in football, for instance, just get a bunch of head injuries and have to go about their life.We see this. So baseball's problem in college is to me, it's twofold. It's different that the football and the basketball players, that's men's and women's basketball players now, they're generating so much revenue for their schools. The fact that the money doesn't trickle down to the players is its own, tragedy isn't the word. It's a crime. To me, it is a crime. I think the NCAA is essentially a cartel. And I would love to see an antitrust case around that. In baseball, most of the players, if not all, I mean, there are almost no players with full scholarships in baseball. So they're not getting a free education. They're getting a subsidized education. Okay, sure. But yeah, those players can get hurt, especially college pitchers. I'm sure you've seen me ranting about these high pitch counts. And if a college player blows out his elbow or his shoulder and has to have surgery and obviously a complication... There was a player at George Mason who had Tommy John surgery and then died.I believe he got some kind of infection or something, something. He had a completely unusual complication from the surgery and ended up dying from it. Obviously, that is the worst of the worst-case scenarios, but still these are real people who are not paid, but can incur an actual injury as life-altering life-ending complications. And they get nothing. And there is just this group of mostly people whose Twitter avatars are them in their sunglasses taken while they're in their cars who will say things like, "Oh, it's just a game. Oh, they should suck it up." And you're not even having a conversation at that point. Right. And we see this on multiple issues. Obviously it goes way beyond sports, but it's people who just they're so intransigent that they can't even hear supporting argument for the other side, like saying, pointing out that. They're not playing a game.This is work. They're probably at the ballpark nine to 10 hours a day. And then minor leaguers aren't even paid in the off season, but they have to continue to keep their bodies in shape and continue to at least do things to maintain arm strength or muscle tone or work on their swings on their own, just on their own time for no pay. Very little, no financial support from the team. They may get training support. It is a job. It's a real job, and it's a physically taxing job. And just because what you see... Somebody said this to me on Twitter the other day. "Well, they only work like three hours a day." I mean, that's the game. That's the actual first pitch to last pitch. Hell of a lot more than that. That's like saying an actor who made a movie, "Well, she only worked for two hours." Because the movie was two hours long. So obviously that's all it was. And she should make about 30 bucks, right? $15 an hour, two hours. There you go, that's fair.Yeah. It's interesting to me because it takes this argument that we see all kind of all over the place where so many people are more concerned about someone getting what they deem is more than they should, for any one thing. It doesn't matter who it affects or what it affects. We hear this when it comes up in discussions about should student loan debt be forgiven. Well, yeah, but what about this one? If someone paid it down and then they're not getting something that's someone else is, or a job that pays really well or something along those lines. And really, I think it's just a great example of the way that as society, we kind of hold each other back in the sense that we're fighting the fight on behalf of billionaires to not pay people. And just the other day, Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over how they released Black Widow, because she took a deal that was really heavy on the box office numbers.And Disney cut her out of the Disney plus stuff that they did when they released it. And so many people are rushing to defend Disney in this. Yeah, she's one of the highest-paid actresses on the planet, but she's still the little guy in this situation. If Disney can screw her over, they could screw anyone over. And that's kind of the thing that gets lost so much because so much of us would kill to be in Scarlet Johansson's place, fame and finances and all of that. But we end up defending billionaires and millionaires and all of that.And we defend Corporations. That's the thing I can't understand. And trust me, I'm no socialist here. There is a weird, I can't even call it a capitalist. It's like this weird corporatist status that the people who jump into defend Disney. And I worked for Disney for a long time. Actually, as companies go to work for they're pretty good, actually. Benefits were always very good. And they were progressive on at least many issues. But this idea that first of all, Disney, they're not going to love you back. Right. That's definitely true. I don't know what the goal is of defending a multi-billion dollar conglomerate like that. But I feel like people see an individual who's already rich, Scarlett Johansson in this case already very rich. And they say, well, it's not fair that she gets money.And they can't do the same thing with the company on the other side, the company just not being a person. Although I think Supreme Court said companies are people. So maybe I should rethink this, but that they can't understand that. So they immediately see person asking for "too much" money. I'm air quoting the too much here. And they get mad, "That's not fair." Which I have three kids, and they're all at different ages. And yet, "That's not fair," is just like the common vernacular of the household, right? Nothing is, they're so locked in on fairness. And there is a part of me that just wants to scream. "Hey, the world is not fair. We're just preparing you for this." And that's what I see when I see these people saying it's not fair that Scarlett Johansson wants more money.No, she actually wants what she was contractually entitled to get. And Disney doing an end run around the contract is not legal and something we should all oppose. Right? If companies can just run rough shot over contracts they have signed, negotiated and signed in good faith, then we're all screwed. We absolutely should be reading for Scarlett Johansson. It's not even so much about, I don't care what dollar figure she gets.I want the contract to be upheld because hey, I did sign contracts with Disney, as it turns out. And they upheld their terms of the contracts, and so did I. And we should absolutely want that to be in place. And that's why you should be supporting Scarlett Johansson in this particular lawsuit, but people don't see that. They just see, and probably worse because she's a woman, obviously a woman asking for more money. And that becomes a, that's not fair. I don't like that. And that's the end of it. And you can't argue against, you can't have a conversation. You just laid out the argument of why Disney is acting, probably acting in bad faith here. You can't get to that point because the sunglasses, Twitter, avatar crowd is they can't get past fair.Yeah. They ended up running interference for these companies to avoid having to do that.Yeah, they're like an unpaid social media SWAT Team.Yeah. To me, it's even weirder when you see especially in the Twitter mentions of Elon Musk. His fan base, the dudes who love him, who would jump in front of a bullet for him, they are something else. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what the end game is here, because there are people who will be like, "Oh, I love Tesla. I got laid off, but I love Tesla still." And all of this, blah, blah, blah. It's like, "They laid you off, man. You don't have to be happy with them."You get to be mad actually.You can be kind of irritated. That's fine. But they'll do that. And they'll be like, "How dare you speak ill of Elon just because he wanted to put people back in the factories during the middle of a COVID surge." It's like, well, you're there because you just explained why." Yeah. I don't know if they think that someday, like Elon Musk is just going to be like, thanks for defending me, here's a million dollars. Because he could.Yes he could and not miss it.Yeah. I mean, if any billionaires want to just Venmo me a million dollars, I'm cool with it, but I'm not...Elon would pay in dogecoin coin or something.Yeah, “If you hang onto this, just wait 40 years,” yeah.Twitter is toxic to begin with. I think you and I have even talked about this. Anyone who snitch tags, I just block it at this point, because if you tag an Elon Musk, for example, and it's not even specifically about him. You tag someone like that and his followers catch onto it. Forget it. You have to log off for a few days. The site becomes totally unusable at that.Oh yeah. Oh, absolutely. And that's kind of the sort of, I was trying to explain why people with larger followings have every responsibility to not be jerks on the internet. Because someone will say, "Well, why is it okay for this small account to be mean? But if Donald Trump picks a fight with someone." And it would be like, well, when Donald Trump would pick a fight with someone on Twitter, he was sending tens of millions of people to go and flood that person with all sorts of horrible stuff that could bleed over into their everyday lives.And it's a responsibility. It's a look at how to respond to things proportionally based on your own position, the position of the other people that you're criticizing. And I tried to explain it once as it's like if you're at a baseball game, for instance, and you're standing there and suddenly a beer spills on your head. And you turn around, ready to fight the person who poured a beer on your head, and you see that it was a baby that knocked it out of their mom's hand or something. Are you going to punch the baby?I mean, some of these people might.They might. And that's where I maybe need to recalibrate that little analogy for a bit. But it's the idea stands up, I think, where don't punch the baby. That's my house.This is where we've sunk as a society that we have to remind people not to punch the baby.See, I'll do that, and someone will be like, well, because you told me not to punch the baby, I am going to punch the baby's so much harder.Oh, yeah. I got that for pointing out that Anthony Rizzo is essentially, he's a vaccine refuser, called him an anti-vaxxer. To me, that is a distinction without a difference at this point. If you have to come out and publicly say, you're not getting the vaccine, you're an anti-vaxxer at this point. And somebody said it's because of people like you, that the rest of us will be defiant about not getting the vaccine. First of all, you're going to get COVID to own, who me? Okay, sure. But if that was all it took, I have many more questions.We're doomed.We are doomed. We are definitely doomed.Well, and that was another thing I wanted to quickly ask you about with athletes. What they say matters and what they say can influence people, because people look up to athletes. I look up some athletes and if they say something I'll go, oh. If Sean Doolittle says something, I'll be like...I was just going to say, he's our guy.Sean is my favorite guy on the planet. And I was at the Cubs game. He did not pitch again. Never seen him pitch in person. I've been to games where he's been on one of the teams several times, which is just so weird. But, yeah, if Sean says something, if he says, check out this band or something or takes a political position or something on something, I'll think about that and I'll consider it. And I'm sure that there are people who look up to Anthony Rizzo or in the NFL, what's his name? The guy on the Buffalo Bills, the receiver...Cole Beasley?Beasley. Beasley, that's it.Who won't stop talking and can't wear his mask properly.Yeah. And then the Bills promoted that tweet that they put up.I saw that.It's just why? But so my question to you is what responsibility do you think that athletes have in these sorts of situations? Because I think if the messaging is the issue with getting people vaccinated, for instance, what moral or ethical responsibility, if any, do you think that athletes have to at very least not spread harmful information?Right. To me, what they say and how they behave is separate from whether they get vaccinated themselves. And I hate even talking about it as a choice because I think there is a huge, personal and civic responsibility to get vaccinated that has been there the whole time. That's been there since April. I think it's even greater now. And now we are seeing, Kay Ivey and Asa Hutchinson, Brian Kemp, Republican governors of states that are now getting pounded by the Delta variant are all coming out and saying in various ways, get vaccinated. I thought, Kay Ivey, look, I'm not going to agree with Kay Ivey on basically anything. But I liked what she said, we got to blame the unvaccinated people here. Good for, yes. Good. You should've said this six months ago, but good.Yeah. Better late than never.Yes. Again, I believe in any progress is good even if it's late. I will take progress over because the alternative is regression. But I think that athletes or anyone with a platform has a responsibility to you would hope to say the right thing, but say the right thing, or just say nothing, just don't, but they're spreading misinformation. They are repeating anti-vax tropes. We're waiting for more data. That's my favorite one. You don't know how much data there is. You have no f****n idea how much data there is clearly, if you start saying stuff like that. You are just repeating something you saw on Facebook or a parlor or whatever. And so some of that could come down to the teams too. I think it would... Anthony Rizzo talked about he made a comment like that back in April. And he was saying his immune system was the strongest it's ever been as another implication of sort of, I don't need this vaccine. This great strong immune system.Which struck me as odd, given that he's a cancer survivor.He's a cancer survivor, 13 years ago. Yes.He knows how this stuff goes.You would think right? But I will also put a little bit on the Cubs in this. And maybe all teams were just unprepared for this, or didn't think about what could happen when you stick a bunch of microphones in front of a bunch of players and ask them what is kind of a science question. You can say, "Hey, you're going to get asked about this. We can't make you get vaccinated. We'd really like you to get vaccinated, but we can't make you. Here's how we would like you to answer questions about vaccinations if you're asked, especially if you are a vaccine refuser." There are way better ways to approach that.Yeah, well absolutely.And I just come down to, if you have a big platform, you have a responsibility. And that includes the responsibility to say less. That is something I've tried to practice myself in the last couple of years is to say less, to make sure I'm not inadvertently sending a swarm of my followers at somebody because I have enough followers. I don't have a huge following, but I have enough of a following that it could happen. Right. And also to not spread misinformation. I wouldn't do it deliberately. I think I try to be a critical thinker, but I'm subject to, I can make mistakes too. And so sometimes the best response is just saying less. And I don't want to misuse the platform. I think it's a privilege to have that many people following me and obviously interested in some things I have to say. And that means being judicious in what I do on the platform. And I would say the same thing to players. This is not actually about whether you're getting vaccinated. It's about what you say in public because it will affect how people think.Yeah, exactly. And that's a great point. That's pretty much all I've got. I just wanted to pick your brain for a little bit before letting you get back to a trade deadline madness.I don't think anybody's been traded since we started talking. So that's good. I couldn't get to sleep last night because every time I was like, "Oh, I finished up." Okay. "Wait, the Dodgers did what?" Yeah.“They're getting who?”Yeah, thank God I knew the prospects because there's always the chance in one of these deals where it's like, oh God, I got to find a scout who saw so-and-so because it's a player who... Players get traded now where they've got almost no pro experience. Guys are getting traded out of the Gulf coast league or whatever, I call it the Florida man league. I think they're calling it the Florida Complex League, which I understand it's at the complexes, but it makes it sound like the league itself is actually complex. And it's like, no, it's really not. It's pretty simple, actually. But the worst part of the trade deadline. I mean, my job is to know as many players that I can, but I can't know them all. And it's like, someone's going to get traded at 3:58 today, two minutes before the deadline and be like, "I don't know who that is." And then it's the mad dash to the phone. Right? Who can I text? Who can tell me they saw so-and-so play for the ACL Padres?Yeah, you've got accountant's tax day and you on baseball trade deadline day.Yes. This is my tax day. That's pretty good. My brother-in-law's an accountant so this analogy works.You're like, "I know how you feel." But thanks so much for joining me again, Keith. Is there anything you want to plug?Can I plug my book? Can I even mention my book?Yes, of course. I already mentioned it in the intro but do it again.Yes. So my second book, The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves, came out in paperback this April from Harper Collins. You can buy it anywhere you buy books. And I would say, please find an independent bookstore near you. They are probably partially reopened at this point, but they absolutely need our business. So if you do buy it from the big company that shall not be named, I won't complain, but I try to do all my book buying through indie bookstores because they need us. And we are a better society if we have more bookstores. I strongly believe that.That is a great policy. And what I'll do is I will be linking to some indie bookstores to buy that from.Awesome.I will make it as easy as possible for people to get that.It's a full-service podcast.Yeah, exactly. But yeah. Thanks a lot, Keith.My pleasure. Get full access to The Present Age at www.readthepresentage.com/subscribe

There is no hiatus this time, as Aces on Bases is releasing episodes on back to back weeks. On this episode, we are joined by one of the voices of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats - the Blue Jays Double A affiliate - Nathan Strauss. In addition to Nathan, for the first time ever, we have a full crew with ALL 6 co-hosts of Aces on Bases! Big thank you to everybody who has listened to and made the show a success so far. WE HAVE MERCH! Check out shop.spreadshirt.ca/acesonbases Places to find the show: Podbean: https://bit.ly/2OSfkCx iTunes: https://apple.co/3weqvX1 Google: https://bit.ly/3dgBeax Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3tOncDH Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3f8Wu4O Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QBvf8N We hope you enjoy this episode Music: "RetroFutureDirty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

Le joueur de Baseball Québécois Otto Lopez parle de sa magnifique saison avec les Fisher Cats du New Hampshire sur les ondes de Danradiosport.com Visité le site au www.Danradiosport.com

This week, Katie and Ellie welcome friend and fellow podcaster, Sean Milnes (Fowl Mouths Podcast), to Intoxecology. Sean is a keen birder from Connecticut who's hopped on this week's episode to tell us all about the Fisher Cat (which is, to everyones surprise, not a bird, and also, somehow less surprisingly, not a cat either). Turns out, they're bigger than you think and could conceivably eat your baby if you leave it unsupervised in the woods. Lots of tangents and swear-words, as always.Check out Fowl Mouths Podcast on any and all streaming sites! Website: www.intoxecology.comEmail: intoxecologypodcast@gmail.comTwitter: @IntoxecologyInstagram: @IntoxecologyFind us on Patreon!

This week we are joined by Erik Lesniak, VP of Business Development for Manchester's Minor League Baseball team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats! The team is affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Erik has been with the Fisher Cats since the very beginning. When the pandemic began, the MLB stopped all baseball games, so Erik had to get creative to keep the organization afloat. He gives us some insight into what it was like to host graduations, distanced concerts, and other events throughout 2020. Erik also highlights that minor league teams are small businesses, and that it is up to us as a community to buy tickets, attend games, and show our support to make sure the Fisher Cats are a part of our community for years to come! After the year they've had, everyone at the organization is excited to kick off the 2021 baseball season this week. Erik is a champion of downtown businesses, he is always sharing photos of his takeout and travels around town. He is also a long time volunteer at Families in Transition & New Horizons. We hope this episode gets you excited for the Fisher Cats season, and for summer in Manchester, NH! 

After baseball canceled the minor league season last year due to COVID-19, the Fisher Cats are back in action in Manchester this week. Tyler Murray is the broadcast voice of the Fisher Cats. He’s been looking forward to calling the play-by-play, for the first time, again.

Spring is here and it is time to 'Play Ball'.  The 2021 Fisher Cats season is just a few weeks away from starting and Mike Ramshaw is here to share about all the exciting things happening with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Delta Dental Stadium.  Due to COVID-19, safety protocols and modifications to the normal routine of baseball are in effect, and these will be part of our discussion. Join us on the radio to learn all about the 2021 Fisher Cats Season, and visit the Fisher Cats website  (nhfishercats.com) for up-to-date event and COVID-19 safety information.

Live weekdays at 3 pm California time on Facebook Wednesday Jan 20 2021

Brandon talks about a weird weekend, conversations with game devs, Bugsnax (again), and Animal Crossing Policies. Intro by: Lucas GonzeSupport Monster Crown via Steam 

The NH Business Review team talks about a new bill signed by the governor that allows folks to register their flying cars at the DMV, and what that portends for the future of flying cars (and the roadable aircraft business) in the state. Then they check back in on yet another live business event, the Manchester Chamber's summer mixer at the Fisher Cats stadium on Tuesday.

Spring is here and it is time to 'Play Ball'.  The 2020 Fisher Cats season is just a few weeks away from starting and Mike Ramshaw is here to share about all the exciting things happening with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.  The Oral Health Challenge continues this year and provides the opportunity for children to earn two free tickets to a game.  Join us on the radio to learn all about the 2020 Fisher Cats Season, visit the Fisher Cats website  (nhfishercats.com) to buy your tickets, and come cheer on your New Hampshire Fisher Cats at the ballpark!

He’s probably playing Fortnight. Jordan Romano, Fortnight enthusiast and up and coming Blue Jays prospect, joins Matt and Barry from his home in Markham, ON. The guys laugh like old buddies when they discuss Jordan’s rising fame, the attention he’s getting with endorsements and calling Vladimir Guerrero Jr. when the Fisher Cats won the championship. Uber is brought up and Jordan offers his insight into the recent situation with the Ottawa Senators. The three also talk dreams and how Jordan is watching his come into focus. It’s a wonderful chat... A young man on the verge of achieving something many can only imagine. Damon Bennett, of HGTV fame, is joined by Barry to talk Sports Cave’s and how to trick them out. Raj Suppiah discusses Munenori Kawasaki’s favourite exercise equipment. The First Pitch talks Russell Martin and the GM Meetings having Blue Flu. Ask Barry Davis focuses on records and what is a must have and pick off attempts at first base. The results of the Fair or Foul Poll are revealed. Yeah. That’s a ton! Jordan, Damon, Raj, Barry and the other guy! You’re gonna love it.

The Bleu Jays take 2-3 from the Yankees and the Fisher Cats are Champions! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

The Blue Jays make history but fall short of the win. The Minor League teams play well in the playoffs as the Fisher Cats run away with another victory. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

Advanced Rookie Bluefield Blue Jays – Zach Helton 0:28 – A rough patch against the best of the best 2:06 – Mercer Cup outlook 3:08 –Claudio Galva and Nathanael Perez 4:54 – Sean Rackoski’s heavy ball 5:54 – Josh Almonte is a bulldog Short-Season A Vancouver Canadians – Rob Fai 7:13 – A 6-1 stretch for the C’S 7:30 – Spotlight on MGR Dallas McPherson 9:03 – Otto Lopez is high energy and high intensity 9:43 – Yorman Rodriguez and Griffin Conine 11:07 – Josh Winckowski never gets behind 13:22 – Joey Murray has a tremendous changeup A Lansing Lugnuts – Dante De Caria 15:43 – The Lugnuts’ recent play 17:00 – Chavez Young is playing with less pressure 18:17 – Matt Gunter’s two straight gems 19:27 – Reggie Pruitt’s pure speed A-Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays – Jim Tarabocchia 21:17 – Pitching 35 of 36 innings scorelessly 22:22 – The eight-game winning streak 24:32 – Brock Lundquist is relaxed and the D-Jays are playing D 25:33 – On Maverik Buffo’s eight-inning gem of a debut Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Tyler Zickel 28:30 – Zick checks in with the Fisher Cats’ Double-A All-Stars 29:18 – Jonathan Davis has been Triple-A ready for a while 30:13 – Dalton Pompey is a great guy to slot in 30:57 – Harold Ramirez is en fuego 31:45 – The All-Stars’ experience in Trenton Triple-A Buffalo Bisons – Pat Malacaro 33:43 – It’s been a little crazy in Buffalo 34:19 – Pat checks in with the Bisons’ Triple-A All-Stars 35:18 – Dwight Smith, Jr., has been up and down 36:45 – Anthony Alford is still trying to find his way in Triple-A 37:52 – Richard Ureña has been a valuable part of the Bisons 38:54 – Thomas Pannone is as advertised 40:22 – Dino Day is coming up! 42:58 – A story about Tyler Warmoth, coaching in Burlington

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons – Pat Malacaro 0:57 – Pat’s 4th of July 2:07 – Pat Hentgen raved about Sean Reid-Foley’s changeup 3:45 – Danny Jansen’s busy schedule coming up 4:35 – Conehead Day! Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Tyler Murray 6:42 – Canada Day with the Fisher Cats’ Canadians! 7:30 – Bo Bichette, making his second Futures Game 9:10 – Connor Panas finally feels locked in 11:08 – The Cats’ six Eastern League All-Stars A-Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays – Jim Tarabocchia 13:12 – Jim’s Canada Day and 4th of July 14:32 – Patrick Murphy outduels Ervin Santana 16:45 – Kacy Clemens receives B.P. from The Rocket 17:27 – Yennsy Diaz is a three-pitch pitcher A Lansing Lugnuts – Dante De Caria 19:08 – Dante’s Canada Day and 4th of July 21:22 – Jesus Navarro is playing superb baseball 22:33 – Chavez Young’s leaping catch at the wall Short-Season A Vancouver Canadians – Rob Fai 24:33 – The fates have turned in the C’s favour 25:20 – Will McAffer has been dynamite 26:33 – Giving love to Jim Czajkowski 27:54 – Cobi Johnson comes right at you 29:00 – Tanner Kirwer plays 100 miles-per-hour 30:07 – Behind the scenes, a thumbs up to the Blue Jays Advanced Rookie Bluefield Blue Jays – Zach Helton 32:25 – Why Otto Lopez was promoted to Vancouver 33:06 – Davis Schneider asks, “Where can I play today?” 33:48 – The latest on Eric Pardinho 34:50 – The fascinating story of Andy McGuire 36:08 – Alejandro Kirk is a ball of fire 36:57 – Luis De Los Santos is so smooth defensively 37:48 – Craig Calcaterra drops by Bluefield 39:55 – Any chance of a D.J. Neal promotion? 40:34 – In seven games, Cal Stevenson has 13 walks and 13 runs

Around the Nest, Week 12 – Trade Talk A-Advanced Salem Red Sox – Ben Gellman 0:43 – Who is Santiago Espinal, acquired for Steve Pearce 2:00 – The reaction in Salem to Espinal getting traded 3:22 – Ben’s Major League comps for Espinal 4:03 – Ben’s first impression of Espinal A Lansing Lugnuts – Dante De Caria 5:50 – Overcoming adversity on the way to 50 wins 6:28 – Maximo Castillo’s keys to 16 consecutive scoreless innings 7:22 – What stands out recently? The bullpen and rotation 9:15 – The starting rotation is a true strength Short-Season A Vancouver Canadians – Rob Fai 11:31 – The 2018 draft’s impact on Vancouver 11:50 – Griffin Conine has one of the best arms Rob’s ever seen 12:10 – Chris Bec is the millennial catcher 12:41 – Nick Podkul wears pitchers out 13:31 – Sean Wymer has been lost in the shuffle 14:19 – Rob’s Alex Anthopoulos Trade Story 16:00 – Jesse Goldberg-Strassler tells a few trade stories Triple-A Buffalo Bisons – Pat Malacaro 17:15 – Pat’s NHL trade story 18:47 – On All-Stars Jason Leblebijian and Danny Jansen 20:48 – Following along with ex-Bison Ryan Borucki’s MLB debut 21:41 – Jon Harris’s sparkling Triple-A debut 22:33 – The word on Darnell Sweeney, called up to the Majors A-Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays – Dan Venn 24:00 – Dan’s call of Kacy Clemens’s home run 25:12 – A Lane Thomas trade story 26:11 – Eduard Pinto, Alberto Mineo and Ivan Castillo: three players acquired last year who’ve impacted the D-Jays 28:23 – Rodrigo Orozco has been huge, Joshua Palacios is clutch 29:04 – Jake Fishman has tremendous in the Dunedin bullpen 30:08 – Promo Night parade with the D-Jays! Advanced Rookie Bluefield Blue Jays – Zach Helton 31:34 – It’s been a full couple of weeks in Bluefield 33:14 – Eric Pardinho is the only pitcher not getting run support 34:16 – D.J. Daniels has been strong defensively 34:56 – Hagen Danner is going to be a prospect for years to come 36:22 – The near no-hitter Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Tyler Murray 37:47 – Jonathan Davis hits for the first cycle in franchise history 39:26 – The Fisher Cats are feeling good about themselves 40:54 – Cavan Biggio makes his third All-Star team in three years 42:15 – Super Team 45:20 – Playing without Vlad 47:40 – One last trade story to end the podcast

Adv. Rookie Bluefield Blue Jays – Zach Helton 0:32 – An introduction to Zach 1:01 – 2017 playoff run in retrospect 1:45 – Eric Pardinho’s professional debut 3:05 – Offense has not lacked for Bluefield 4:08 – Patrick Morris is a ballhawk 4:58 – D.J. Neal is off to a hot start 5:53 – Dominic Abbadessa is in the right spot at the right time Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats – Tyler Zickel 7:25 – T.J. Zeuch, Eastern League Pitcher of the Week 8:34 – The key to a sweep at Erie 10:29 – How did the Fisher Cats react to Vladdy Jr.’s injury? A Lansing Lugnuts – Dante De Caria 13:16 – The All-Star Game hosting experience 14:20 – Yeltsin Gudiño’s progression has been impressive 15:21 – Ryan Noda has turned it on 16:00 – Dante’s big prediction Short-Season A Vancouver Canadians – Niall O'Donohoe 18:27 – Joey Murray’s Invisi-ball 19:20 – Positive signs after a slow start 20:31 – Spotlight on Connor Law, Cobi Johnson, Orlando Pascual 21:45 – Pascual’s return to the Canadians 22:58 – The personality of the 2018 C’s A-Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays – Dan Venn 25:13 – Dan’s play-by-play radio debut 26:41 – Kevin Smith has caught fire 27:45 – On the jump to the FSL 28:32 – Dunedin’s strong pitching 29:33 – Patrick Murphy is sitting 96-97… and throwing less heat 30:37 – Tayler Saucedo, taking the next step

Jay's sweep the Nationals!!! Who saw that coming? The Bisons take another win as the Fisher Cats and Lugnuts pour on the offense. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

Blue Jays snap their losing streak and take one away from the Tigers. I got to visit the Fisher Cats in Binghamton for their double header but to many close losses in the Minors Sunday --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

The Kings of the Hill! With the Blue Jays mired in a losing streak and fans shoesing their lit we offer you a little distraction. Jack Morris, World Series champion and former pitcher for the Jays, chats with Barry about his upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame. HIs relationship with the media and whom he felt he connected with on the other side of the mic are all touched on. Jack’s intensity is well documented and Barry and Jack discuss the genesis of that intensity and uncover whether or not his competitive nature was born of his prodigious moustache. Blue Jays prospect and Fisher Cats ace Jordan Romano joins us. Whilst travelling in parts unknown, Jordan talks about life on the bus in AA and the movie selection’s of his teammates. Jordan’s on a heater to start the season and the guys dive into what led to everything going insanely right for this young man. Ask Barry Davis talks going blonde, peering into the studio while Jordan Gibbons records and Mike Wilner’s tolerance for hot takes. Matt wrestles the First Pitch from Bulldog and uncovers some of the reasons the Jays are struggling. The Fair or Foul poll talks mockery. All that and much more! Lock it in.

Blue Jays drop an early lead to the Angels. Taking a loss in spectacular fashion. The Fisher Cats continue to roll over the Eastern League. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

Vlad continues to impale Eastern League hitters and the Fisher Cats continue to roll! All things #BlueJays on the #MorningMASH --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

Professional baseball coach (New York Yankees organization) and Deering High School graduate, Kenny Joyce calls into #coachescornerbooth to speak with John, Tim and VERY special guest Jill Joyce, Kenny's daughter. Coach Joyce talks about how his passion for coaching the sport that he loves lead him to his career. He shares the close connections that he has made with fellow coaches and tells some great stories reserved mostly for the small community of professional baseball coaches.

The Toronto Blue Jays had a rough weekend in the Big Apple but they still hung tough against the Bombers. The Fisher Cats continue to assault the Eastern League. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

The Rogers Centre is in need of surgery to avoid a trip to the DL, but we are here for you on the Morning MASH by @BirdWatchingGC. More off days for the Blue Jays system as the weather stinks everywhere! Vlad Jr. continues to impress for the Fisher Cats as he is named player of the week. #BlueJays News every weekday. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/birdwatchinggc/message

Jay and Jorge sit down with competitor, coach and ref Alexandre Bueno de Oliveira by a fire in Gabe’s backyard in Kittery, Maine. We talk about how Alexandre got from Sao Paulo to New England, Fight to Win, The Adam Bradley Episode, Shark Attacks and of course Fisher Cats.

Host Kevin Willett is joined by Erik Lesniak of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the AA Eastern League Affiliate - Toronto Blue Jays Find out more about the Fisher Cats by visiting their website at http://www.nhfishercats.com/ To learn more about the Friends of Kevin Networkling Group, go to http://friendsofkevin.com/ Audio file:  Erik Lesniak.mp3

Sea Dogs, Yard Goats, Fisher Cats!

Behind the scenes at a minor league baseball game.