Say good bye to Ben Wagner and whoever else was calling Blue Jays games on The Fan.

Source: Sportsnet announced Friday morning it will be carrying at least 10 exhibition games, including Sunday’s spring opener against the Yankees at 1 p.m. Three games will be produced internally while an additional seven will be picked up from other teams.

In the same release, Sportsnet announced it will not have a radio-only broadcast in 2021. Instead, the company intends to simulcast its television coverage over the airwaves with the lead team of Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler.

The company claimed the move was made to “minimize travel and closely adhere to team, league, and government protocols related to the pandemic.”

Radio play-by-play announcer Ben Wagner remains part of the Blue Jays’ broadcast crew but will at least temporarily transition to a new role, joining Jamie Campbell, Joe Siddall, Hazel Mae and Arash Madani on the sidelines.

Good move.  There are human casualties in Radio.  Surprise.  We should be over the outrage.

Listen, radio is an in car business.  People aren’t in their cars, radio is a diminishing asset and Dan Shulman might be the best radio/TV PXP on the planet so, BOOM.  No brainer when it comes to delivering better content on the Radio and an effective way to shed headcount and salary.

Listen, if you’re still playing the public outrage at decisions like this, stop.

Of course we feel bad for people who lose jobs but in the words of Marshall Mathers, “that’s the reality, here” it’s bad strategy and business to NOT replace Ben Wagner with Dan Shulman + Buck Martinez if Rogers was looking to improve their product while rejigging their Blue Jays broadcast crew in a severely limited pandemic season  broadcasting from the same building.

Fuck nostalgia.  This is the new age and it makes more than financial sense all things considered.

It all starts March 21 vs The Yankees.

Sorry.

DB