September 23, 2025 • 37 mins
Part II we discussed about the remaining pitching depth for the Red Sox, dissecting the rest of the AL East and how competitive it is, how wide open is the American League this year, and previewing the upcoming series with the Red Sox and Blue Jays.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This offseason. So let me ask you this.
You guys have mentioned like howgood Chapman's been this year.
He's been, he's been the rock inthat bullpen where you need
that, that stability. Um, what would you say?
How would you say that the depthis of your bullpen now is a
stance with guys like Steven Matz and Greg Weiser, Chris
(00:23):
Murphy. He got got Garrett Whitlock,
Justin Wilson. So tell me how you guys feel
about going into this final weekof the season where you're with
regards to the way your bullpen stands depth wise?
I think with the bullpen, it's very it's very it's been one of
the Red Sox, I mean, very solid compared to other years,
(00:44):
especially in the past few years, the Red Sox bullpen
hasn't been too strong. So the fact that we had the back
end, the setup of Whitlock and Chapman closing Chapman, what a
career year like we've been saying, but Whitlock has always
been dominant and reliable as well.
Steven, Matt, getting him at thedeadline.
He's been really good in that bullpen.
Obviously yesterday, I believe, or the day before he gave up a
Homer. He but obviously he's been
besides that, he's been really solid and he's one of those guys
(01:07):
that I could just see like pitchlike being one of those guys to
eat innings in the playoffs, especially if you need a guy to
go two or three innings. Bernardino has been used a lot
in the the Red Sox as well and Greg Weiser, same thing.
He's made 70 appearances this year.
So he's been used a lot. And obviously he blew a couple
of nice performances from Tolleyand Connolly early, but his ERA
still under 3. He's been very useful for us.
(01:28):
Obviously let's talk about Jordan Hicks and all that.
We don't want to talk about that, but also we had guys who
have good depth. Like like I said, if you put
Dustin May in that bullpen when he comes back, that's another
thing you could do too. So I feel confident, especially
adding guys like that into the bullpen.
And like I said, Cooper, Chris Wall could come up and as you
add more roster spots for your playoff roster, you got a little
bit of opportunities there to upgrade them as well.
(01:50):
Yeah, it for me, it comes down to I trust the guys in the
bullpen. What I don't trust,
unfortunately, is the manager over using those bullpen arms.
You know, I've said it many times recently when when Greg
Weisert comes into a game with runners on base, inherited
runners, I go what, we're losingthe game And I shouldn't feel
that way when Greg Weissert is coming in because he's got a sub
(02:10):
three ERA and he's been one of our better pitchers this year,
but he's just overused. I mean, if you look at the
numbers and see how much he's been used this year, to use Greg
Weissert that much this season is absurd to me.
I feel like there's just so muchthat the manager does.
And thankfully we have Andrew Bailey sometimes saying, you
(02:31):
know, you can't do that to theseguys, stop it.
And but then he does something like he did yesterday when he
should have used Garrett Whitlock in the 8th inning and
not had Kelly tried to pitch 2 innings and we probably would
have won that game. And you were what?
Like why not bring in Whitlock? You have the day off Monday to
rest him. Like bring him in.
(02:53):
It's so interesting to say that this is everybody's, every
team's contender right now. It's like, can the bullpen hold
it down throughout baseball, right?
We could say that with the Yankees, you saw that they
acquired 3 relievers. And I mean, Bednar has been the
most reliable one out of the three they acquired.
(03:14):
And then obviously the Red Sox with Dustin May, right?
You said, you guys mentioned that he could transition into a
bullpen. He was a much better bullpen guy
with the Dodgers. I've noticed that too.
So he could be an X Factor. The Jays made a couple books.
I mean, every team is trying to hold ground.
Like, for example, look at the Mets.
They went all out to get relief pitchers thinking that OK, we
(03:38):
could go use our starting pitcher till the 5th or 6th
inning and hold our bullpen down.
But that's not even the case. Like it's like it's like it's
holding grass because there's a lot of like longevity, a lot of
fatigue, situational spots, right?
And one thing I'll give Alex Core credit is he knows how to
pick and choose who to use the bullpen as well.
(04:00):
And Garrett Woodblock, I believehe was a Rule 5 draft from the
Yankees organization, which is such a steel right, knowing that
the Yankees always have these pictures.
They let go and they succeed in other organizations.
It has been a great find, right?Like it's overall, it's all
about survival. And Justin Wilson, I believe
he's like 40 years old and he's still holding it down.
(04:23):
Like it's insane. Like, I think it's important at
the end of the day, how, how theRed Sox finish it off,
especially with the ball, because the way, the way the Red
Sox are structured right now with Crochet moving to
Wednesday, they want him to be ready for game one of the wild
card just to be sure, right? So I think everything goes at
that point too. Like, because usually when it
(04:45):
comes to playoffs, let's just say when it comes to playoff
time, usually you need 3 starting pitchers, right, to say
the least. And then you, you transition
some of these guys into a bullpen, right?
I think that also lengthens thatas well.
That's why I think regardless ofRed Sox are still good when it
comes to, you know, structuring a situation that I'd give credit
to Andrew Bailey, too, who's been a great pick up as a
(05:07):
pitching coach. I was always on high on him and
I didn't know why the San Francisco Giants let him go, but
he was a great pickup. Yeah, yeah, just to, you know,
just to what you said about Wilson, Wilson goes under the
radar. I mean, he's the same age as
Chapman and he's been just as good this year.
It's it's absolutely insane whathe's done.
I I love every second of it. And yeah, you're, you're
(05:30):
absolutely right with with some of those guys.
You know, we wouldn't be in thissituation without him.
And can I just say for a second to this, this ripping off of the
Yankees and it just continue. I love it.
You know we got got locked in the rule 5.
We got Narvis from them, which, I mean, Nirvanas would be their
(05:54):
number one catcher right now. Yeah, because Austin Wells is
not doing great. And then we got Richard Fitz and
Greg Weissert or Alex Verdugo. Yeah.
We're we're just ripping them off right now and I love every
second of it. Um, I just wanted to say like,
(06:14):
OK, with bullpens, we all know that they're volatile from year
to year. Like when you think of a
bullpen, you never really know what you're going to get.
As long as you have that stability at the back end with
those two or three guys in the late innings, the rest are
pretty much interchangeable throughout the year.
And I think a lot of managers have the same problem of, of
(06:38):
managing A bullpen. And I get it.
It's a tough job. It's not easy, you know, to
manage innings, to manage workloads, to manage
personalities, to manage off days.
You know, it's it's not an easy job, but sometimes you just get
those moves and it just makes you shake your head.
(06:59):
It's like why, Why are you over?And we have the same problem you
guys do about over using some ofour arms.
That's why we've been so bad in the second-half with our
bullpen. It's just a lot of it just comes
down to overuse of certain guys and and pitching them when it's
not necessary and pit, you know,and not using them when it's
(07:20):
necessary. So you know, it, it really is it
really is a team or a thing I think that all teams have a
problem with. It's just some do it better than
others. Yeah, I would say like what
bullpen management I've always like, and I've said it for years
to, and it's funny that like I always feel like I say that
(07:40):
stuff 1st and it just manifests,you know, so maybe, maybe I'm
the mastermind behind all the stuff.
But I even like I said, his bullpen management has been bad.
I said it since like 2020. I've been saying it on TikTok,
everything. And it's finally coming to
fruition. Everybody's realizing, hey, he
leaves guys in for too long, gives them a longer leash.
So that's one of the things and Cora does make some good
decisions at times, but with thebullpen, at least lately down
the stretch, I mean, because youjust need to have that,
(08:02):
especially when you're trying topush for a playoff spot.
Can't have really many mistakes,especially you can't just leave
a guy in like Kyle Barraclough and different guys that he's
left in the just get destroyed and shredded.
And it's not like now you're in,you're serious, you have a
serious chance of making the playoffs.
So it's something that you got to look at as he's like even the
other game, I think Connolly early was it wasn't pitching too
(08:23):
bad. His pitch count wasn't too high,
but he pulled him out before innings.
He wasn't getting hit hard. He kept them in the game, but he
pulled them quick. And it's like one of those
things like, you understand, like, OK, you got to make some
decisions down the stretch. But yeah, the bullpen management
is something I always question what Alex score.
But other than that, a great manager, Red Bull good.
I was gonna say good Bull pen, good players, manager,
everybody. You you never really hear
anybody talk bad about Alex Koran in the clubhouse and who
(08:44):
he is as a guy. Well, obviously besides Pete
fans who are Yankee fans or different people who are hate
the 2017 Astros for obvious reasons, but it's been like
almost 10 years, guys like let'slet it slide.
Yeah, I, I mean, I, I'm really high on Cora as a manager.
I do think that he says something sometimes that like, I
(09:06):
think he just says it to to end the conversation because the we
had the instance the other day where Kyle Hudson made a couple
of bad decisions as the third base coach And when Alex for was
asked about, I don't know if youguys saw this, He's like, yeah,
I don't really I'm I was never athird base coach, so I don't
really question him. I'm you're the manager.
(09:27):
If if, if your third base coach does something stupid, you gotta
question it like so he he does stuff like that, but I I am
really high on him as a manager overall.
It's definitely better than the Carlos Febles experience.
I don't know if you guys have had good experiences with Carlos
Febles as a third base coach, but in Boston, oh, it was rough.
(09:49):
Speaking of which, let's let's dive deep into the aisle E here,
probably the toughest division in sports the last 20 to 25
years. It's like every 100% without
question, like the way it goes through the gauntlet with all
our teams trying to compete. And it's like every year there's
at least one team in our division that's been through a
(10:11):
last, last place at least once, right?
Every like 2 this year to Baltimore Orioles, right?
So if you look at the way it's structured, like how do you look
at the lease itself, like the sofar the way teams have gone, the
Jays, the Yankees and the Red Sox are right now currently in
playoff spots. And how do you look at this the
(10:31):
rest of the way and perhaps moving forward?
I mean, I've always said it, I feel like the AL East is the
strongest division in Major League Baseball.
It's especially when all the talent in there, the Red Sox are
a good young team and they are gonna be a big problem for these
next upcoming years because they're especially these young
guys once they start to develop.I mean, Roman Anthony's 21,
Marcella Myers 22, Christian Campbell's 2223, like you got
(10:54):
all these painted, Tolly's 22, Connolly earliest 22.
Like all these guys are so young.
So they're going to be on the roster for a very long time and
develop into something big. You saw that guys like the
password down there in AAA who could be maybe part of a deal,
fair trade, you don't know. But it's one of those things
where you look at the the faith of the Alise.
I mean, it looks like it's gonnarun through.
Boston's gonna be dominant. New York has a really good,
(11:15):
solid roster, obviously. But I mean, you're gonna have to
see what moves they make. But the Orioles, they have a
good young core. This is this year's just a weird
year for them. I do see them trading Adley
Rushman in the offseason. I want to be surprised cause of
basal the way he's been playing and obviously he adley not
playing to his capable caliber. And then obviously you still got
Toronto who has shocked everybody cause I had them in
last place in the nice previous in my season preview.
(11:37):
So they've been putting the silence there.
The only team that I can see, it's just going to see like
Tampa Bay, like they played in aballpark that was the same as
Yankee Stadium saying dimensions.
They had an advantage because they play in hot weather.
So the ball flies more. They didn't really have that
good of a year. They don't really have a home.
So the raise, I got to say they're, they're the only team
that I'm really questioning, butthey still play solid baseball
(11:57):
regardless. Yeah, I mean, when you look at
this division and like I said, like I said earlier, we we
really broke this down in the the preseason and I I'm looking
forward to doing it again for 2026 because I mean, the Orioles
messed around and won the division a couple of times
recently, right? Like, so despite their bad, you
can't count them out next year. They're they're probably going
(12:19):
to come back the raise. They're always just kind of
hanging around and, and you guys, we, you know, I feel like
you guys have developed a reputation the last half decade
or so of like you guys are trying to go for it and it never
really pans out. Well, guess what?
This year you're the division winners, the all of that, you
know, try to get it to pan out, resign Vlad, get your get your
(12:41):
piece, your homegrown talent stud long term.
And now all that work that you guys have been doing is finally
starting to pay off. So I can't count you guys out
either. So I, I feel like, you know,
this could be a, one of those things where it's like you take
any of these teams and you flip a coin or who wins the division.
(13:02):
Because, because I, I feel like it is gonna be hard fought
dogfight between not just Red Sox, Yankees, but all five of
these teams for years. They're going to be up.
There's going to be ups and downs and it's going to be tough
and it's going to be fun. And frankly, as as much anxiety
that's going to give me as a RedSox fan, as a baseball fan, I'm
going to love every minute of it.
Yeah, this division is, is like I always say to Rocky and, and
(13:25):
anyone I talked to will baseballthat this division is, has been
the best division in baseball for years.
It's it's the toughest division in baseball for years.
And nothing's going to change because, I mean, you have two of
the biggest, three of the biggest markets in baseball with
the Jays, Yankees and Red Sox. And they're beating each other
(13:48):
up there. Like we've made the, we've made
the playoffs. I can count on one hand the
amount of times we've made the playoffs in like 30 years.
So it's it's a tough division tomake the playoffs even tougher
to win it. So, you know, like when you're
this close, like you got to takeadvantage.
(14:09):
Like this opportunity doesn't come around every day or every
year, you know? So, you know, and I just want to
say about the Oreos, they're definitely gonna bounce back
next year. There's no quite percent.
Yeah. You can't take them lightly.
Like we had somebody on on our pod not too long ago.
We were staying. You know, it seems like every
(14:30):
year, you know, there's a team that just takes a beating in the
division and it's theirs to lose.
So this year's Baltimore, I think, you know, a couple years
ago was the Yankees. You know, last year was us, you
know, week. So you know, it's just, yeah,
it's, it's just the way it is. It's a tough division and it's
(14:50):
it's not gonna change anytime soon.
Right, so let me. Ask you a question.
Quick, go ahead. So let's let's say that they do
the realignment and you guys endup in a conference without the
Red Sox and Yankees. How thrilled are?
You. I mean.
Yeah, I mean, I mean. As long as long as the Jades
(15:14):
existed since 1977, we always see nothing but the Red Sox said
the Yankees, right? So it's like it's been there
forever. But what the one guy that kind
of saw afar from what the Blue Jays were this year?
I didn't. I thought they were playoff too,
but not division. But Alex Cora said this on March
26th on WEEI. He said that he sees the Blue
(15:37):
Jays as one of the biggest threats in the American League
East, so he knew what was comingwith the Blue Jays overall.
I think it's just that with the Blue Jays, they had to put it
together, right? So now they have some younger
kids who are stepping kind of like the Red Sox did.
For example, Addison Barger, Alejandra Kirk got extended.
(15:57):
But I think what calmed the storm down for the Blue Jays is
getting Vlad extended because nobody knew what was the clarity
of that organization long term. Because the Yankee, the Red Sox,
the Mets, obviously the Dodgers,perhaps the Giants, like the
big, big market teams wanted Vlad and the Jays had no choice
(16:18):
but to do extend them. And that's going to be something
that we're going to keep an eye on with Baltimore as well
because one, they got only 23 million committed in the
offseason, right? I think Tyler knew and you guys
were wise not to resign Tyler O'Neill or give him a QO because
he has an injury plagued career so far, even though he's a
talented player. And also the fact that Gardner
(16:42):
Henderson is a Boris client, Jordan Westbrook's a Boris
client. Like, what are those guys long
term? That's gonna give us more
identification of what the Orioles are gonna do this
offseason and try to see if they're gonna build around those
guys or they're going to see if they if they can't win, then
they're going to have to think about trading those guys.
And that could change the landscape, not just the LED
(17:03):
throughout baseball, depending if they get traded.
So all things can factor of how this LED is like.
Like I said, the Yankees will keep being the Yankee.
They're going to keep spending no matter what, right?
That's their model, even though there's no guarantee to winning.
And the rates they're like, they're like the biggest
analytical driven the the pioneer of what they they built
(17:25):
like trading guys 2-3 years awayfrom from from being free agents
and getting next level talent like what they do every year.
Like Junior Caminero came from the Cleveland Guardians
organization and becomes a stud,right?
Like that's what they do, right?And you can never rule them out.
Like, I had them winning the division because it's just the
way they are, but they missed the playoffs, which thankfully,
(17:47):
you know, I just don't want themto win.
So, so because they don't spend money.
But even though they're getting new ownership now, but they're
gonna be, they're gonna be a bigproblem as well, especially now
with the new ownership. We'll see what happens with the
stadium. So how, how, why, how wide open
is this division this year? You want to talk about how tough
(18:08):
the division is, but let's get into to, you know, how how how
wide open is like was it from, you know, from pretty much
beginning to end this season talking about the the entire
division. Yeah, yeah, I think the entire
league wide open. I mean, when you look at what,
(18:32):
well, let's take, you know, let's go outside of our comfort
zone for a second and look at the NL West, the Dodgers our not
guaranteed to buy right now, which is insane.
When you look at, you know, whatyou expect of the Dodgers.
And there's been talk about, youknow, well, the, the the league
(18:53):
just isn't as talented as it used to be.
I think it's the other way around.
I think that there's so much talent that these teams are
starting to stack up against each other.
And that's why you're seeing, you know, like less wins and,
you know, not the hundred win seasons and the teams that kind
of hover around what what looks record wise as like maybe an
(19:13):
average team. But it's because all of these
teams have so much talent that they're just evening each other
out. And I really think when we look
at back at our division, like what you said, this is going to
be a wide open brawl for years to come because of the level of
talent on all five of these teams.
They could go neck and neck. And I wouldn't be surprised if
we have a year or two where all of all five teams in the AL East
(19:39):
have winning records and are allin it until late in September.
Would not surprise me at all. Yeah, this division has been
like it's been up for grabs for the whole season, honestly.
I mean, it it's still up for grabs right now.
And it just seems like a lot of things has been going on,
especially in the at least. I mean, you think about it in
this series at the Red Sox win 2out of three.
(20:00):
You're putting the Yankees, if they can win against the White
Sox, which I hope they could, they put themselves in a good
position to even arguably maybe even win the division.
It's one of those things that you just got to see how it plays
out. And maybe the Red Sox sweep the
Blue Jays. I don't want to say that loud.
My my good friend OG. And they will be.
Saying it's gonna happen, I don't think it's gonna happen.
I think we we, we do serious predictions later on in our our
(20:23):
podcast. So, OK.
But if that does happen, I think, you know, it will be
something that the Red Sox even have an opportunity to possibly
take the Division 2. So you never know.
The division still in play. There's six games to go 4 1/2
out. It's not impossible.
But I mean, wild card is more likely.
But it's been the AL East and the ale in general has been up
for grabs. And I think it's going to be one
of those things like I was saying before the earlier before
(20:45):
we started recording, I mean theAmerican League, I think whoever
makes it out, the American League is there, the whole
thing. It's it's so crazy to think that
the Tigers had the lead, even even they have the lead right
now, but there are whole holdinggrass.
They've Cleveland has found a new way to get back in this
division in so many ways possible.
(21:06):
The fact that if you look at theway the trade deadline's gone,
like we I thought Houston would win the division by Seattle has
come out of nowhere too. It's insane to think that the
American League is the most wideopen.
I think maybe in my life time I can't recall a year like this.
Like the fact that there's too many teams with unsettled
(21:27):
playoff spots. Like Seattle wasn't even in
first place till they started winning these last what, week
and a half? And Cleveland is all of a sudden
well back into this picture. So it's like insanely enough
thinking that the way the ALS isor AOL itself in general is
gone. It's still unsettled baseball
(21:50):
like and you look at you look atthis is that it's all comes down
to health, who's sustainable, who gets really hot down the
stretch. I'm in Cleveland is the hottest
team in baseball and probably Seattle right after that.
So it's insanely enough to thinkthat baseball is so
unpredictable. And like you said, I'll pick you
(22:11):
back with what you said about the Dodgers.
They didn't do enough at the trade deadline and they made the
Padres do all this stuff. You knew AJ Preller is is such a
beast when it comes to this. He headlined trade deadlines on
a yearly basis. No matter what year it is, he
always finds a way. And then everybody else, he sets
(22:31):
a standard and everybody else just go from there because,
like, who would have thought Mason Miller was going to get
traded with four years of control after this year?
It's insane, right? So no.
And The thing is, like now, now that you know, Milwaukee and
Philadelphia getting their byes and the Dodgers are going to
play in the Wild Card route, nothing is guaranteed anymore.
(22:52):
No. And I think it's I, I think
it's, you're seeing what is thisyear 3 or 4 of the new playoff
format where you have three wildcard teams.
And I think we're finally starting to see what that means.
And it goes back to the point I made earlier about I think I
don't think that the league is weak.
I think that we're all more justequally stacked.
(23:13):
Teams are learning that you don't have to spend like the
Dodgers, like the Yankees, like the mass to, to have a team that
can win at all. I mean, look at a couple years
ago with the Rangers. I mean, the, the last time that
we saw a World Series, like lastyear where the two best teams
were in it was 2013. So it's, it's been awhile,
(23:35):
right? Like it's, it's absolutely crazy
when, when you look at this format and it just, it just, it
helps every single team because even a team like the Marlins,
who you don't think you're goinganywhere as recently as the
beginning of September, we're only five games out of this
thing. It, it just, it, it puts you in
(23:58):
a place where exactly what you said is right.
You're going to have more unresolved playoff spots until
the end of the season. The Rays were just eliminated by
us 2 days ago with, with 9 gamesleft to go.
I mean, you're, you're going to see more of this.
And I I think it's good for the sport, honestly, when all of the
(24:18):
teams are this evenly matched and you could have an upset in
the last week of the season. Yeah, it's it's like, you know,
the NFL from year to year has a lot of parity in it.
You know, we see different teamsdoing different things,
different teams making the play.I I think you're with the extra
wild card teams, though, you're starting to see that in baseball
(24:38):
too, where, you know, like Houston might not even make the
playoffs this year, you know, and I mean, they've been a
mainstay in the playoffs for thelast how many years, right?
So. Nine years.
Decade. Nine years.
Yeah, Yeah, it's been, it's beena long time, right.
So if I mean, they're tied with Cleveland right now, who made
that incredible push to get backwithin like, you know, I think
(25:02):
it's a what is it a game or a game and a half of of of
Detroit? So it's like, you know, it's
just, I think you're I think you're right.
I think it's just, you know, it's not that there's a lot of
bad teams. I think that there's just more
evenly matched teams because, like you said, teams are
figuring out. You don't have to go spend like
the Yankees. You don't have to, you know, you
(25:24):
can put, you can play that routewhere you're just, you know, as
long as you know, the key. I think it I think the key is
keeping some of your homegrown players.
You gotta keep the guys going out.
So, yeah, you know, teams are starting to do that more and,
and you're starting to see, you know, the the talent in baseball
nowadays is it's like it's young, it's exciting.
(25:45):
It's you know, it's a young, it's a young man's game right
now. It's first like, so to speak,
like it's, it really is incredible that that the, the
level of young talent that's into sport today.
It's great for the sport. I think, I think overall you
gotta look at this way and I agree with you, Brandon, on the
(26:05):
landscape of, of you gotta, you gotta have a balance of both,
right? You got to have some homegrown
talent and a balance of a talentthat you could acquire elsewhere
where it's fire trade or or signas a free agency, depending on
what team you are. Because because all the small
market teams. And I think that's this is going
to be something that's going to talk about in the CBA is that
(26:28):
are they going to raise the floor of team spending like the
small market team? Let's just say like the Rays,
the Guardians, the Athletics, the Marlins, who I think are
very dangerous long term. So overall, there needs to have
a little bit more of a competition.
And I know that before that, a lot of teens were tanking for
(26:49):
the draft. And now they changed that scheme
into a lottery, which is wise because they want to see more
competitive baseball. Obviously, you know, Rob Manfred
wants ratings, right, for the sport, but we love to see
winning baseball. The Red Sox have been a winning
organization, like, throughout my lifetime that I witnessed.
Like, we're starting to see thatagain after such a long time,
(27:09):
like the 15th before 15 and 16. And then Baltimore's trying to
win two, and the Yankees are going to be the Yankee.
Then the Rays, I don't know if they're over, have a banner, but
I mean, the way they're built. But let's just say, like,
overall, it's important that youneed to balance itself.
So I agree with you, Brendan andRob, on everything what you
said. So, yeah.
So let's wrap up this episode onpreviewing the series with the
(27:33):
Blue Jays and the Red Sox, the final series between both
squads, and I think they've played for three.
And what are your thoughts? What do you think about the
rotation? Like, what are the matchups and
who? Who are we seeing returning for
the Red Sox? What I believe, yeah.
So go ahead, Rob. Well, I believe, I know For game
3, I believe on Wednesday it's gonna be Gayer Crochet or game
(27:56):
two, it's gonna be Dark or game one time Soca.
Two Game 2. Game 2.
Days. Game 2.
That I keep thinking it's. Game 3.
So yeah, game two, game crochet.I'm excited to see that.
No Bayo and game three, he's been dominant for us.
I think he's going to be a good match up against Max Scherzer
and obviously the first game. I mean, you're gonna have to see
how everything pans out. Obviously, it will be fine.
(28:17):
I think Lucas Shillito's going to give us some quality innings
and keep us in the game. He's been a workhorse this
season for the Red Sox. So out of all the pitching
matchups, I don't know who the Blue Jays have going.
I know you said Scherzer is going up against us.
I know shirts. There's a little older, a little
bit on those shakier side. I mean I can see after.
Red Sox, if I recall right. Rob.
It's it's Giolito, Gosman, Crochet, Scherzer and Bayo
(28:41):
Bieber. Bieber.
Only thing I get a little bit scared of is Bieber cause Bieber
is great obviously. So it obviously has a former Cy
Young winner. So I would say if you had the
guy will say obviously not shirts or two, a little scary,
but he's older so that really too worried about back shares or
although I say that now and he'sgoing to probably destroy us.
But I do feel confident in the Red Sox rotation, especially
(29:04):
with crochet, especially with Bayo having his last start was a
little shaky, but I feel like he'll do fine.
I'm going to go 2-3. I got the Red Sox win the series
because this is a big series forthe Red Sox.
They need to win. So two out of three for the Red
Sox, and I don't want to say this, but we're helping the
Yankees out, unfortunately in this series.
I'm a little bit different. Like I, I love our pitching,
(29:24):
right? I, I love these three guys
specifically have been the anchors of this rotation.
And I don't recall a series where I looked at the fact that
we have Giolito crochet bail going for us.
But then I look at what's opposing us and what the offence
is doing and like we've got our best 3 going in.
We could get swept, you know, like, so I'm a little bit more
(29:45):
pessimistic, I guess, coming into this, this series, just
because of what the offence is doing.
If I had to say we're going to win a game, give me the crochet
game. But I think that the Red Sox are
getting out of here with one outof three, and I think I'll be
happy if they get at least one. I, I agree with you, Brandon.
I think, I think it's gonna be, we're gonna take two.
(30:07):
I, I think the Jays haven't beenthis close to a division win
since 2015. I think they wanna lock it up as
soon as possible. I mean, they just won't.
They you know, they they got jobone done.
They made the playoffs. They wanna go for they want they
they want that division. They want that that time off.
(30:27):
You know, you gotta get bowl healthy.
I think it's paramount that theyget it done so and get it done
quick. So I think yeah, I mean,
crochets just crochet, man. I mean, he's he's so damn good.
But Guzman, I feel confident in Gossman.
Gossman really, really good lately.
So that matchup is going to be good.
We had a hard time hitting Carlito last time, if I remember
(30:50):
correctly. We couldn't hit it.
He pitched a gem against the Blue Jays.
That game might have been Toronto too, I think.
But yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say we went to, but I mean, it
could really go anyway, you know.
I mean, we're, we're both too evenly matched, good teams,
playing with a lot of heart, playing with a lot of, you know,
(31:13):
they, they both want it, man. So you know it's going to be a
good series. I think I think the the formula
for both teams are very similar like like you said, like
matchups, looking at the depth. Let me ask you guys this on a
red sized Red Sox perspective. Which player scares you most in
the lineup? Would you say it's a George
Springer, Addis Barger, Vlad, like which or even Kirk?
(31:36):
Like who scares you the most in a lineup?
Springer, he kills us when you look at the stats.
Yes, Springer, but I'm also I'm glad he did just it just has
he's even though he's he's like obviously has been streaky this
season. He's when he's on, he is a
different machine dude and he hits a very, very far.
So I either bladder or George Springer cause all around George
(31:59):
Springer kills the Red Sox. I think on the Blue Jays
perspective, I think Bregman owns the Jays.
It's going back to his days withthe Astros.
So he worries me a lot. Yeah, I mean, the Red Sox, like
I said, they're pesky light of both very similar lineups, men
overall. You guys are getting a Bray you
back. I think that's also important
power back that's needed in thatteam, right, especially these
(32:22):
next games down the stretch. So I think it's important and it
all, like I said, for both squads, it comes down to the
bullpen, like who's going to execute the most?
And it's it's very similar. And and look at look at it this
way, like so when you look at the bullpen, and I want to ask
you guys this about the bullpen,like even moving forward, like
(32:45):
is there anybody else that wouldbe in the bullpen besides a
paying toll? Or if it doesn't mean when he
comes, is Kyle Harrison's going to be a factor if you go for the
playoffs itself as well? I could see him make getting
like a long reliever role. I feel like they're gonna put
all hands on deck and kind of stack that bullpen the way they
(33:05):
need to. I think especially like in the
playoffs, you need guys who would eat a lot of innings.
So I think Kyle Harrison couldn't maybe crack the roster
for the playoffs. I could see him definitely maybe
even cracking the rotation in there.
Another lefty in that rotation would help them out.
So we're going to have to see how that goes.
We could see a lot of those guysactually going into the bull pen
just to add some extra depth in the back end there towards the
playoffs. Yeah, it it's interesting to me
(33:26):
the way that they are structuring their roster right
now because a move that kind of went under the radar prior to
them bringing Conley early up was they they brought up Von
Grissom to the big league squad and immediately put him on the
60 day IL, which then opens the door in a loophole for them to
be able to add Conley early to the playoff roster as his
(33:49):
replacement should they need him.
So that they're they're they're making these kind of underrated
moves. Not a lot of people understand
how they work to be able to bring some of these young guys
on to the playoff roster if theyneed to.
So it's gonna get really interesting down the stretch.
Well, it's so funny that you said that about putting putting
what's his name to the 60 day bond.
Grid the same thing. Did same thing with Robinson
(34:11):
Pina and they brought up trailerSavage.
Now he's playoff eligible. It seems like there's new
tactics for these teams to bringup some of their top guys to be
part of the it's, I think that'sa new way of manipulation in
today's for it. And it's fascinating that
they're creating different ways that that could change in the
new CBA because they're gonna say it's gonna be unfair rule.
(34:32):
I think the Rangers did that when they called up Evan Evan
Carter when Garcia was down on the IL.
But that's, that's a new format now and that's a new wave
instead of the September 1st call.
It's like, hey, if you if you goby the rules, it just works
right? So yeah.
Yeah, I, I think these, the new ways you do things is absolutely
(34:54):
like it's, it's, it's insane to me when you look at it because
like as a guy that's studied baseball my whole life, I, I
went on a road trip with my dad this past week and he, he taught
me everything I know about baseball.
But he also hasn't followed baseball in some 20 odd years.
So he but he was asking me some ball questions and as I was
explaining all these new rules and, and things to him, the
(35:14):
loopholes, like it was just veryweird for me, you know, teaching
the person who taught me everything that I knew about
baseball when I was a kid to now, he's having trouble
understanding a lot of the new rules and the loopholes and the
things like that. And I understand them in a way
that, you know, those of us who study the game the way we do
understand them. Well, this was a great episode,
(35:36):
man. Like with the hybrid of the Red
Sox, Blue Jays collabo of doing a podcast in a roundtable.
This was awesome, man. We thank you guys for being a
guest here once again, Make sureyou guys follow the Pesky
podcast on Twitter. We're going to put the
description below. But before we do that, Rob and
Brandon just let us know where you can find you on social media
(35:57):
and everywhere else. Yeah, of course.
While I'm here, if you guys see,you can follow me on Twitter or
ask what everyone call it fade lines.
What is Z and an under score on Twitter.
But on TikTok on Instagram, you can follow me a fade lines on
everything. I I post a lot of Red Sox
content raw reaction. I'm more of a potty mouth on
TikTok. So if you guys hear me swear, I
apologize. But but if you guys want to
(36:20):
check that out, you can. I make a lot of red sock
content. But yeah, if you want to check
that out, those are my socials. Yeah, mine are just pretty much
the same. It's BCX 3 under score TV on all
the socials on YouTube. And then obviously I'm with the
pesky. Boys, so you.
Know thing so that's where you can find me.
Awesome, man. There's this is a great episode.
It was it was great to, you know, break things down and see
(36:42):
what you know, have you guys on get your guys perspective of the
Red Sox, especially going into such a big series for both
teams. So thanks for joining us today,
guys. We appreciate it.
Absolutely. Thank you.
We will place a description below where you can fall Rob and
Brandon and the rest of the pesky podcast crew.
But till next time, take care, be kind to each other.
(37:04):
Signing off from the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Monday, September 22nd, 2025.
Yeah. Yeah.
This offseason. So let me ask you this.
You guys have mentioned like howgood Chapman's been this year.
He's been, he's been the rock inthat bullpen where you need
that, that stability. Um, what would you say?
How would you say that the depthis of your bullpen now is a
stance with guys like Steven Matz and Greg Weiser, Chris
(00:23):
Murphy. He got got Garrett Whitlock,
Justin Wilson. So tell me how you guys feel
about going into this final weekof the season where you're with
regards to the way your bullpen stands depth wise?
I think with the bullpen, it's very it's very it's been one of
the Red Sox, I mean, very solid compared to other years,
(00:44):
especially in the past few years, the Red Sox bullpen
hasn't been too strong. So the fact that we had the back
end, the setup of Whitlock and Chapman closing Chapman, what a
career year like we've been saying, but Whitlock has always
been dominant and reliable as well.
Steven, Matt, getting him at thedeadline.
He's been really good in that bullpen.
Obviously yesterday, I believe, or the day before he gave up a
Homer. He but obviously he's been
besides that, he's been really solid and he's one of those guys
(01:07):
that I could just see like pitchlike being one of those guys to
eat innings in the playoffs, especially if you need a guy to
go two or three innings. Bernardino has been used a lot
in the the Red Sox as well and Greg Weiser, same thing.
He's made 70 appearances this year.
So he's been used a lot. And obviously he blew a couple
of nice performances from Tolleyand Connolly early, but his ERA
still under 3. He's been very useful for us.
(01:28):
Obviously let's talk about Jordan Hicks and all that.
We don't want to talk about that, but also we had guys who
have good depth. Like like I said, if you put
Dustin May in that bullpen when he comes back, that's another
thing you could do too. So I feel confident, especially
adding guys like that into the bullpen.
And like I said, Cooper, Chris Wall could come up and as you
add more roster spots for your playoff roster, you got a little
bit of opportunities there to upgrade them as well.
(01:50):
Yeah, it for me, it comes down to I trust the guys in the
bullpen. What I don't trust,
unfortunately, is the manager over using those bullpen arms.
You know, I've said it many times recently when when Greg
Weisert comes into a game with runners on base, inherited
runners, I go what, we're losingthe game And I shouldn't feel
that way when Greg Weissert is coming in because he's got a sub
(02:10):
three ERA and he's been one of our better pitchers this year,
but he's just overused. I mean, if you look at the
numbers and see how much he's been used this year, to use Greg
Weissert that much this season is absurd to me.
I feel like there's just so muchthat the manager does.
And thankfully we have Andrew Bailey sometimes saying, you
(02:31):
know, you can't do that to theseguys, stop it.
And but then he does something like he did yesterday when he
should have used Garrett Whitlock in the 8th inning and
not had Kelly tried to pitch 2 innings and we probably would
have won that game. And you were what?
Like why not bring in Whitlock? You have the day off Monday to
rest him. Like bring him in.
(02:53):
It's so interesting to say that this is everybody's, every
team's contender right now. It's like, can the bullpen hold
it down throughout baseball, right?
We could say that with the Yankees, you saw that they
acquired 3 relievers. And I mean, Bednar has been the
most reliable one out of the three they acquired.
(03:14):
And then obviously the Red Sox with Dustin May, right?
You said, you guys mentioned that he could transition into a
bullpen. He was a much better bullpen guy
with the Dodgers. I've noticed that too.
So he could be an X Factor. The Jays made a couple books.
I mean, every team is trying to hold ground.
Like, for example, look at the Mets.
They went all out to get relief pitchers thinking that OK, we
(03:38):
could go use our starting pitcher till the 5th or 6th
inning and hold our bullpen down.
But that's not even the case. Like it's like it's like it's
holding grass because there's a lot of like longevity, a lot of
fatigue, situational spots, right?
And one thing I'll give Alex Core credit is he knows how to
pick and choose who to use the bullpen as well.
(04:00):
And Garrett Woodblock, I believehe was a Rule 5 draft from the
Yankees organization, which is such a steel right, knowing that
the Yankees always have these pictures.
They let go and they succeed in other organizations.
It has been a great find, right?Like it's overall, it's all
about survival. And Justin Wilson, I believe
he's like 40 years old and he's still holding it down.
(04:23):
Like it's insane. Like, I think it's important at
the end of the day, how, how theRed Sox finish it off,
especially with the ball, because the way, the way the Red
Sox are structured right now with Crochet moving to
Wednesday, they want him to be ready for game one of the wild
card just to be sure, right? So I think everything goes at
that point too. Like, because usually when it
(04:45):
comes to playoffs, let's just say when it comes to playoff
time, usually you need 3 starting pitchers, right, to say
the least. And then you, you transition
some of these guys into a bullpen, right?
I think that also lengthens thatas well.
That's why I think regardless ofRed Sox are still good when it
comes to, you know, structuring a situation that I'd give credit
to Andrew Bailey, too, who's been a great pick up as a
(05:07):
pitching coach. I was always on high on him and
I didn't know why the San Francisco Giants let him go, but
he was a great pickup. Yeah, yeah, just to, you know,
just to what you said about Wilson, Wilson goes under the
radar. I mean, he's the same age as
Chapman and he's been just as good this year.
It's it's absolutely insane whathe's done.
I I love every second of it. And yeah, you're, you're
(05:30):
absolutely right with with some of those guys.
You know, we wouldn't be in thissituation without him.
And can I just say for a second to this, this ripping off of the
Yankees and it just continue. I love it.
You know we got got locked in the rule 5.
We got Narvis from them, which, I mean, Nirvanas would be their
(05:54):
number one catcher right now. Yeah, because Austin Wells is
not doing great. And then we got Richard Fitz and
Greg Weissert or Alex Verdugo. Yeah.
We're we're just ripping them off right now and I love every
second of it. Um, I just wanted to say like,
(06:14):
OK, with bullpens, we all know that they're volatile from year
to year. Like when you think of a
bullpen, you never really know what you're going to get.
As long as you have that stability at the back end with
those two or three guys in the late innings, the rest are
pretty much interchangeable throughout the year.
And I think a lot of managers have the same problem of, of
(06:38):
managing A bullpen. And I get it.
It's a tough job. It's not easy, you know, to
manage innings, to manage workloads, to manage
personalities, to manage off days.
You know, it's it's not an easy job, but sometimes you just get
those moves and it just makes you shake your head.
(06:59):
It's like why, Why are you over?And we have the same problem you
guys do about over using some ofour arms.
That's why we've been so bad in the second-half with our
bullpen. It's just a lot of it just comes
down to overuse of certain guys and and pitching them when it's
not necessary and pit, you know,and not using them when it's
(07:20):
necessary. So you know, it, it really is it
really is a team or a thing I think that all teams have a
problem with. It's just some do it better than
others. Yeah, I would say like what
bullpen management I've always like, and I've said it for years
to, and it's funny that like I always feel like I say that
(07:40):
stuff 1st and it just manifests,you know, so maybe, maybe I'm
the mastermind behind all the stuff.
But I even like I said, his bullpen management has been bad.
I said it since like 2020. I've been saying it on TikTok,
everything. And it's finally coming to
fruition. Everybody's realizing, hey, he
leaves guys in for too long, gives them a longer leash.
So that's one of the things and Cora does make some good
decisions at times, but with thebullpen, at least lately down
the stretch, I mean, because youjust need to have that,
(08:02):
especially when you're trying topush for a playoff spot.
Can't have really many mistakes,especially you can't just leave
a guy in like Kyle Barraclough and different guys that he's
left in the just get destroyed and shredded.
And it's not like now you're in,you're serious, you have a
serious chance of making the playoffs.
So it's something that you got to look at as he's like even the
other game, I think Connolly early was it wasn't pitching too
(08:23):
bad. His pitch count wasn't too high,
but he pulled him out before innings.
He wasn't getting hit hard. He kept them in the game, but he
pulled them quick. And it's like one of those
things like, you understand, like, OK, you got to make some
decisions down the stretch. But yeah, the bullpen management
is something I always question what Alex score.
But other than that, a great manager, Red Bull good.
I was gonna say good Bull pen, good players, manager,
everybody. You you never really hear
anybody talk bad about Alex Koran in the clubhouse and who
(08:44):
he is as a guy. Well, obviously besides Pete
fans who are Yankee fans or different people who are hate
the 2017 Astros for obvious reasons, but it's been like
almost 10 years, guys like let'slet it slide.
Yeah, I, I mean, I, I'm really high on Cora as a manager.
I do think that he says something sometimes that like, I
(09:06):
think he just says it to to end the conversation because the we
had the instance the other day where Kyle Hudson made a couple
of bad decisions as the third base coach And when Alex for was
asked about, I don't know if youguys saw this, He's like, yeah,
I don't really I'm I was never athird base coach, so I don't
really question him. I'm you're the manager.
(09:27):
If if, if your third base coach does something stupid, you gotta
question it like so he he does stuff like that, but I I am
really high on him as a manager overall.
It's definitely better than the Carlos Febles experience.
I don't know if you guys have had good experiences with Carlos
Febles as a third base coach, but in Boston, oh, it was rough.
(09:49):
Speaking of which, let's let's dive deep into the aisle E here,
probably the toughest division in sports the last 20 to 25
years. It's like every 100% without
question, like the way it goes through the gauntlet with all
our teams trying to compete. And it's like every year there's
at least one team in our division that's been through a
(10:11):
last, last place at least once, right?
Every like 2 this year to Baltimore Orioles, right?
So if you look at the way it's structured, like how do you look
at the lease itself, like the sofar the way teams have gone, the
Jays, the Yankees and the Red Sox are right now currently in
playoff spots. And how do you look at this the
(10:31):
rest of the way and perhaps moving forward?
I mean, I've always said it, I feel like the AL East is the
strongest division in Major League Baseball.
It's especially when all the talent in there, the Red Sox are
a good young team and they are gonna be a big problem for these
next upcoming years because they're especially these young
guys once they start to develop.I mean, Roman Anthony's 21,
Marcella Myers 22, Christian Campbell's 2223, like you got
(10:54):
all these painted, Tolly's 22, Connolly earliest 22.
Like all these guys are so young.
So they're going to be on the roster for a very long time and
develop into something big. You saw that guys like the
password down there in AAA who could be maybe part of a deal,
fair trade, you don't know. But it's one of those things
where you look at the the faith of the Alise.
I mean, it looks like it's gonnarun through.
Boston's gonna be dominant. New York has a really good,
(11:15):
solid roster, obviously. But I mean, you're gonna have to
see what moves they make. But the Orioles, they have a
good young core. This is this year's just a weird
year for them. I do see them trading Adley
Rushman in the offseason. I want to be surprised cause of
basal the way he's been playing and obviously he adley not
playing to his capable caliber. And then obviously you still got
Toronto who has shocked everybody cause I had them in
last place in the nice previous in my season preview.
(11:37):
So they've been putting the silence there.
The only team that I can see, it's just going to see like
Tampa Bay, like they played in aballpark that was the same as
Yankee Stadium saying dimensions.
They had an advantage because they play in hot weather.
So the ball flies more. They didn't really have that
good of a year. They don't really have a home.
So the raise, I got to say they're, they're the only team
that I'm really questioning, butthey still play solid baseball
(11:57):
regardless. Yeah, I mean, when you look at
this division and like I said, like I said earlier, we we
really broke this down in the the preseason and I I'm looking
forward to doing it again for 2026 because I mean, the Orioles
messed around and won the division a couple of times
recently, right? Like, so despite their bad, you
can't count them out next year. They're they're probably going
(12:19):
to come back the raise. They're always just kind of
hanging around and, and you guys, we, you know, I feel like
you guys have developed a reputation the last half decade
or so of like you guys are trying to go for it and it never
really pans out. Well, guess what?
This year you're the division winners, the all of that, you
know, try to get it to pan out, resign Vlad, get your get your
(12:41):
piece, your homegrown talent stud long term.
And now all that work that you guys have been doing is finally
starting to pay off. So I can't count you guys out
either. So I, I feel like, you know,
this could be a, one of those things where it's like you take
any of these teams and you flip a coin or who wins the division.
(13:02):
Because, because I, I feel like it is gonna be hard fought
dogfight between not just Red Sox, Yankees, but all five of
these teams for years. They're going to be up.
There's going to be ups and downs and it's going to be tough
and it's going to be fun. And frankly, as as much anxiety
that's going to give me as a RedSox fan, as a baseball fan, I'm
going to love every minute of it.
Yeah, this division is, is like I always say to Rocky and, and
(13:25):
anyone I talked to will baseballthat this division is, has been
the best division in baseball for years.
It's it's the toughest division in baseball for years.
And nothing's going to change because, I mean, you have two of
the biggest, three of the biggest markets in baseball with
the Jays, Yankees and Red Sox. And they're beating each other
(13:48):
up there. Like we've made the, we've made
the playoffs. I can count on one hand the
amount of times we've made the playoffs in like 30 years.
So it's it's a tough division tomake the playoffs even tougher
to win it. So, you know, like when you're
this close, like you got to takeadvantage.
(14:09):
Like this opportunity doesn't come around every day or every
year, you know? So, you know, and I just want to
say about the Oreos, they're definitely gonna bounce back
next year. There's no quite percent.
Yeah. You can't take them lightly.
Like we had somebody on on our pod not too long ago.
We were staying. You know, it seems like every
(14:30):
year, you know, there's a team that just takes a beating in the
division and it's theirs to lose.
So this year's Baltimore, I think, you know, a couple years
ago was the Yankees. You know, last year was us, you
know, week. So you know, it's just, yeah,
it's, it's just the way it is. It's a tough division and it's
(14:50):
it's not gonna change anytime soon.
Right, so let me. Ask you a question.
Quick, go ahead. So let's let's say that they do
the realignment and you guys endup in a conference without the
Red Sox and Yankees. How thrilled are?
You. I mean.
Yeah, I mean, I mean. As long as long as the Jades
(15:14):
existed since 1977, we always see nothing but the Red Sox said
the Yankees, right? So it's like it's been there
forever. But what the one guy that kind
of saw afar from what the Blue Jays were this year?
I didn't. I thought they were playoff too,
but not division. But Alex Cora said this on March
26th on WEEI. He said that he sees the Blue
(15:37):
Jays as one of the biggest threats in the American League
East, so he knew what was comingwith the Blue Jays overall.
I think it's just that with the Blue Jays, they had to put it
together, right? So now they have some younger
kids who are stepping kind of like the Red Sox did.
For example, Addison Barger, Alejandra Kirk got extended.
(15:57):
But I think what calmed the storm down for the Blue Jays is
getting Vlad extended because nobody knew what was the clarity
of that organization long term. Because the Yankee, the Red Sox,
the Mets, obviously the Dodgers,perhaps the Giants, like the
big, big market teams wanted Vlad and the Jays had no choice
(16:18):
but to do extend them. And that's going to be something
that we're going to keep an eye on with Baltimore as well
because one, they got only 23 million committed in the
offseason, right? I think Tyler knew and you guys
were wise not to resign Tyler O'Neill or give him a QO because
he has an injury plagued career so far, even though he's a
talented player. And also the fact that Gardner
(16:42):
Henderson is a Boris client, Jordan Westbrook's a Boris
client. Like, what are those guys long
term? That's gonna give us more
identification of what the Orioles are gonna do this
offseason and try to see if they're gonna build around those
guys or they're going to see if they if they can't win, then
they're going to have to think about trading those guys.
And that could change the landscape, not just the LED
(17:03):
throughout baseball, depending if they get traded.
So all things can factor of how this LED is like.
Like I said, the Yankees will keep being the Yankee.
They're going to keep spending no matter what, right?
That's their model, even though there's no guarantee to winning.
And the rates they're like, they're like the biggest
analytical driven the the pioneer of what they they built
(17:25):
like trading guys 2-3 years awayfrom from from being free agents
and getting next level talent like what they do every year.
Like Junior Caminero came from the Cleveland Guardians
organization and becomes a stud,right?
Like that's what they do, right?And you can never rule them out.
Like, I had them winning the division because it's just the
way they are, but they missed the playoffs, which thankfully,
(17:47):
you know, I just don't want themto win.
So, so because they don't spend money.
But even though they're getting new ownership now, but they're
gonna be, they're gonna be a bigproblem as well, especially now
with the new ownership. We'll see what happens with the
stadium. So how, how, why, how wide open
is this division this year? You want to talk about how tough
(18:08):
the division is, but let's get into to, you know, how how how
wide open is like was it from, you know, from pretty much
beginning to end this season talking about the the entire
division. Yeah, yeah, I think the entire
league wide open. I mean, when you look at what,
(18:32):
well, let's take, you know, let's go outside of our comfort
zone for a second and look at the NL West, the Dodgers our not
guaranteed to buy right now, which is insane.
When you look at, you know, whatyou expect of the Dodgers.
And there's been talk about, youknow, well, the, the the league
(18:53):
just isn't as talented as it used to be.
I think it's the other way around.
I think that there's so much talent that these teams are
starting to stack up against each other.
And that's why you're seeing, you know, like less wins and,
you know, not the hundred win seasons and the teams that kind
of hover around what what looks record wise as like maybe an
(19:13):
average team. But it's because all of these
teams have so much talent that they're just evening each other
out. And I really think when we look
at back at our division, like what you said, this is going to
be a wide open brawl for years to come because of the level of
talent on all five of these teams.
They could go neck and neck. And I wouldn't be surprised if
we have a year or two where all of all five teams in the AL East
(19:39):
have winning records and are allin it until late in September.
Would not surprise me at all. Yeah, this division has been
like it's been up for grabs for the whole season, honestly.
I mean, it it's still up for grabs right now.
And it just seems like a lot of things has been going on,
especially in the at least. I mean, you think about it in
this series at the Red Sox win 2out of three.
(20:00):
You're putting the Yankees, if they can win against the White
Sox, which I hope they could, they put themselves in a good
position to even arguably maybe even win the division.
It's one of those things that you just got to see how it plays
out. And maybe the Red Sox sweep the
Blue Jays. I don't want to say that loud.
My my good friend OG. And they will be.
Saying it's gonna happen, I don't think it's gonna happen.
I think we we, we do serious predictions later on in our our
(20:23):
podcast. So, OK.
But if that does happen, I think, you know, it will be
something that the Red Sox even have an opportunity to possibly
take the Division 2. So you never know.
The division still in play. There's six games to go 4 1/2
out. It's not impossible.
But I mean, wild card is more likely.
But it's been the AL East and the ale in general has been up
for grabs. And I think it's going to be one
of those things like I was saying before the earlier before
(20:45):
we started recording, I mean theAmerican League, I think whoever
makes it out, the American League is there, the whole
thing. It's it's so crazy to think that
the Tigers had the lead, even even they have the lead right
now, but there are whole holdinggrass.
They've Cleveland has found a new way to get back in this
division in so many ways possible.
(21:06):
The fact that if you look at theway the trade deadline's gone,
like we I thought Houston would win the division by Seattle has
come out of nowhere too. It's insane to think that the
American League is the most wideopen.
I think maybe in my life time I can't recall a year like this.
Like the fact that there's too many teams with unsettled
(21:27):
playoff spots. Like Seattle wasn't even in
first place till they started winning these last what, week
and a half? And Cleveland is all of a sudden
well back into this picture. So it's like insanely enough
thinking that the way the ALS isor AOL itself in general is
gone. It's still unsettled baseball
(21:50):
like and you look at you look atthis is that it's all comes down
to health, who's sustainable, who gets really hot down the
stretch. I'm in Cleveland is the hottest
team in baseball and probably Seattle right after that.
So it's insanely enough to thinkthat baseball is so
unpredictable. And like you said, I'll pick you
(22:11):
back with what you said about the Dodgers.
They didn't do enough at the trade deadline and they made the
Padres do all this stuff. You knew AJ Preller is is such a
beast when it comes to this. He headlined trade deadlines on
a yearly basis. No matter what year it is, he
always finds a way. And then everybody else, he sets
(22:31):
a standard and everybody else just go from there because,
like, who would have thought Mason Miller was going to get
traded with four years of control after this year?
It's insane, right? So no.
And The thing is, like now, now that you know, Milwaukee and
Philadelphia getting their byes and the Dodgers are going to
play in the Wild Card route, nothing is guaranteed anymore.
(22:52):
No. And I think it's I, I think
it's, you're seeing what is thisyear 3 or 4 of the new playoff
format where you have three wildcard teams.
And I think we're finally starting to see what that means.
And it goes back to the point I made earlier about I think I
don't think that the league is weak.
I think that we're all more justequally stacked.
(23:13):
Teams are learning that you don't have to spend like the
Dodgers, like the Yankees, like the mass to, to have a team that
can win at all. I mean, look at a couple years
ago with the Rangers. I mean, the, the last time that
we saw a World Series, like lastyear where the two best teams
were in it was 2013. So it's, it's been awhile,
(23:35):
right? Like it's, it's absolutely crazy
when, when you look at this format and it just, it just, it
helps every single team because even a team like the Marlins,
who you don't think you're goinganywhere as recently as the
beginning of September, we're only five games out of this
thing. It, it just, it, it puts you in
(23:58):
a place where exactly what you said is right.
You're going to have more unresolved playoff spots until
the end of the season. The Rays were just eliminated by
us 2 days ago with, with 9 gamesleft to go.
I mean, you're, you're going to see more of this.
And I I think it's good for the sport, honestly, when all of the
(24:18):
teams are this evenly matched and you could have an upset in
the last week of the season. Yeah, it's it's like, you know,
the NFL from year to year has a lot of parity in it.
You know, we see different teamsdoing different things,
different teams making the play.I I think you're with the extra
wild card teams, though, you're starting to see that in baseball
(24:38):
too, where, you know, like Houston might not even make the
playoffs this year, you know, and I mean, they've been a
mainstay in the playoffs for thelast how many years, right?
So. Nine years.
Decade. Nine years.
Yeah, Yeah, it's been, it's beena long time, right.
So if I mean, they're tied with Cleveland right now, who made
that incredible push to get backwithin like, you know, I think
(25:02):
it's a what is it a game or a game and a half of of of
Detroit? So it's like, you know, it's
just, I think you're I think you're right.
I think it's just, you know, it's not that there's a lot of
bad teams. I think that there's just more
evenly matched teams because, like you said, teams are
figuring out. You don't have to go spend like
the Yankees. You don't have to, you know, you
(25:24):
can put, you can play that routewhere you're just, you know, as
long as you know, the key. I think it I think the key is
keeping some of your homegrown players.
You gotta keep the guys going out.
So, yeah, you know, teams are starting to do that more and,
and you're starting to see, you know, the the talent in baseball
nowadays is it's like it's young, it's exciting.
(25:45):
It's you know, it's a young, it's a young man's game right
now. It's first like, so to speak,
like it's, it really is incredible that that the, the
level of young talent that's into sport today.
It's great for the sport. I think, I think overall you
gotta look at this way and I agree with you, Brandon, on the
(26:05):
landscape of, of you gotta, you gotta have a balance of both,
right? You got to have some homegrown
talent and a balance of a talentthat you could acquire elsewhere
where it's fire trade or or signas a free agency, depending on
what team you are. Because because all the small
market teams. And I think that's this is going
to be something that's going to talk about in the CBA is that
(26:28):
are they going to raise the floor of team spending like the
small market team? Let's just say like the Rays,
the Guardians, the Athletics, the Marlins, who I think are
very dangerous long term. So overall, there needs to have
a little bit more of a competition.
And I know that before that, a lot of teens were tanking for
(26:49):
the draft. And now they changed that scheme
into a lottery, which is wise because they want to see more
competitive baseball. Obviously, you know, Rob Manfred
wants ratings, right, for the sport, but we love to see
winning baseball. The Red Sox have been a winning
organization, like, throughout my lifetime that I witnessed.
Like, we're starting to see thatagain after such a long time,
(27:09):
like the 15th before 15 and 16. And then Baltimore's trying to
win two, and the Yankees are going to be the Yankee.
Then the Rays, I don't know if they're over, have a banner, but
I mean, the way they're built. But let's just say, like,
overall, it's important that youneed to balance itself.
So I agree with you, Brendan andRob, on everything what you
said. So, yeah.
So let's wrap up this episode onpreviewing the series with the
(27:33):
Blue Jays and the Red Sox, the final series between both
squads, and I think they've played for three.
And what are your thoughts? What do you think about the
rotation? Like, what are the matchups and
who? Who are we seeing returning for
the Red Sox? What I believe, yeah.
So go ahead, Rob. Well, I believe, I know For game
3, I believe on Wednesday it's gonna be Gayer Crochet or game
(27:56):
two, it's gonna be Dark or game one time Soca.
Two Game 2. Game 2.
Days. Game 2.
That I keep thinking it's. Game 3.
So yeah, game two, game crochet.I'm excited to see that.
No Bayo and game three, he's been dominant for us.
I think he's going to be a good match up against Max Scherzer
and obviously the first game. I mean, you're gonna have to see
how everything pans out. Obviously, it will be fine.
(28:17):
I think Lucas Shillito's going to give us some quality innings
and keep us in the game. He's been a workhorse this
season for the Red Sox. So out of all the pitching
matchups, I don't know who the Blue Jays have going.
I know you said Scherzer is going up against us.
I know shirts. There's a little older, a little
bit on those shakier side. I mean I can see after.
Red Sox, if I recall right. Rob.
It's it's Giolito, Gosman, Crochet, Scherzer and Bayo
(28:41):
Bieber. Bieber.
Only thing I get a little bit scared of is Bieber cause Bieber
is great obviously. So it obviously has a former Cy
Young winner. So I would say if you had the
guy will say obviously not shirts or two, a little scary,
but he's older so that really too worried about back shares or
although I say that now and he'sgoing to probably destroy us.
But I do feel confident in the Red Sox rotation, especially
(29:04):
with crochet, especially with Bayo having his last start was a
little shaky, but I feel like he'll do fine.
I'm going to go 2-3. I got the Red Sox win the series
because this is a big series forthe Red Sox.
They need to win. So two out of three for the Red
Sox, and I don't want to say this, but we're helping the
Yankees out, unfortunately in this series.
I'm a little bit different. Like I, I love our pitching,
(29:24):
right? I, I love these three guys
specifically have been the anchors of this rotation.
And I don't recall a series where I looked at the fact that
we have Giolito crochet bail going for us.
But then I look at what's opposing us and what the offence
is doing and like we've got our best 3 going in.
We could get swept, you know, like, so I'm a little bit more
(29:45):
pessimistic, I guess, coming into this, this series, just
because of what the offence is doing.
If I had to say we're going to win a game, give me the crochet
game. But I think that the Red Sox are
getting out of here with one outof three, and I think I'll be
happy if they get at least one. I, I agree with you, Brandon.
I think, I think it's gonna be, we're gonna take two.
(30:07):
I, I think the Jays haven't beenthis close to a division win
since 2015. I think they wanna lock it up as
soon as possible. I mean, they just won't.
They you know, they they got jobone done.
They made the playoffs. They wanna go for they want they
they want that division. They want that that time off.
(30:27):
You know, you gotta get bowl healthy.
I think it's paramount that theyget it done so and get it done
quick. So I think yeah, I mean,
crochets just crochet, man. I mean, he's he's so damn good.
But Guzman, I feel confident in Gossman.
Gossman really, really good lately.
So that matchup is going to be good.
We had a hard time hitting Carlito last time, if I remember
(30:50):
correctly. We couldn't hit it.
He pitched a gem against the Blue Jays.
That game might have been Toronto too, I think.
But yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say we went to, but I mean, it
could really go anyway, you know.
I mean, we're, we're both too evenly matched, good teams,
playing with a lot of heart, playing with a lot of, you know,
(31:13):
they, they both want it, man. So you know it's going to be a
good series. I think I think the the formula
for both teams are very similar like like you said, like
matchups, looking at the depth. Let me ask you guys this on a
red sized Red Sox perspective. Which player scares you most in
the lineup? Would you say it's a George
Springer, Addis Barger, Vlad, like which or even Kirk?
(31:36):
Like who scares you the most in a lineup?
Springer, he kills us when you look at the stats.
Yes, Springer, but I'm also I'm glad he did just it just has
he's even though he's he's like obviously has been streaky this
season. He's when he's on, he is a
different machine dude and he hits a very, very far.
So I either bladder or George Springer cause all around George
(31:59):
Springer kills the Red Sox. I think on the Blue Jays
perspective, I think Bregman owns the Jays.
It's going back to his days withthe Astros.
So he worries me a lot. Yeah, I mean, the Red Sox, like
I said, they're pesky light of both very similar lineups, men
overall. You guys are getting a Bray you
back. I think that's also important
power back that's needed in thatteam, right, especially these
(32:22):
next games down the stretch. So I think it's important and it
all, like I said, for both squads, it comes down to the
bullpen, like who's going to execute the most?
And it's it's very similar. And and look at look at it this
way, like so when you look at the bullpen, and I want to ask
you guys this about the bullpen,like even moving forward, like
(32:45):
is there anybody else that wouldbe in the bullpen besides a
paying toll? Or if it doesn't mean when he
comes, is Kyle Harrison's going to be a factor if you go for the
playoffs itself as well? I could see him make getting
like a long reliever role. I feel like they're gonna put
all hands on deck and kind of stack that bullpen the way they
(33:05):
need to. I think especially like in the
playoffs, you need guys who would eat a lot of innings.
So I think Kyle Harrison couldn't maybe crack the roster
for the playoffs. I could see him definitely maybe
even cracking the rotation in there.
Another lefty in that rotation would help them out.
So we're going to have to see how that goes.
We could see a lot of those guysactually going into the bull pen
just to add some extra depth in the back end there towards the
playoffs. Yeah, it it's interesting to me
(33:26):
the way that they are structuring their roster right
now because a move that kind of went under the radar prior to
them bringing Conley early up was they they brought up Von
Grissom to the big league squad and immediately put him on the
60 day IL, which then opens the door in a loophole for them to
be able to add Conley early to the playoff roster as his
(33:49):
replacement should they need him.
So that they're they're they're making these kind of underrated
moves. Not a lot of people understand
how they work to be able to bring some of these young guys
on to the playoff roster if theyneed to.
So it's gonna get really interesting down the stretch.
Well, it's so funny that you said that about putting putting
what's his name to the 60 day bond.
Grid the same thing. Did same thing with Robinson
(34:11):
Pina and they brought up trailerSavage.
Now he's playoff eligible. It seems like there's new
tactics for these teams to bringup some of their top guys to be
part of the it's, I think that'sa new way of manipulation in
today's for it. And it's fascinating that
they're creating different ways that that could change in the
new CBA because they're gonna say it's gonna be unfair rule.
(34:32):
I think the Rangers did that when they called up Evan Evan
Carter when Garcia was down on the IL.
But that's, that's a new format now and that's a new wave
instead of the September 1st call.
It's like, hey, if you if you goby the rules, it just works
right? So yeah.
Yeah, I, I think these, the new ways you do things is absolutely
(34:54):
like it's, it's, it's insane to me when you look at it because
like as a guy that's studied baseball my whole life, I, I
went on a road trip with my dad this past week and he, he taught
me everything I know about baseball.
But he also hasn't followed baseball in some 20 odd years.
So he but he was asking me some ball questions and as I was
explaining all these new rules and, and things to him, the
(35:14):
loopholes, like it was just veryweird for me, you know, teaching
the person who taught me everything that I knew about
baseball when I was a kid to now, he's having trouble
understanding a lot of the new rules and the loopholes and the
things like that. And I understand them in a way
that, you know, those of us who study the game the way we do
understand them. Well, this was a great episode,
(35:36):
man. Like with the hybrid of the Red
Sox, Blue Jays collabo of doing a podcast in a roundtable.
This was awesome, man. We thank you guys for being a
guest here once again, Make sureyou guys follow the Pesky
podcast on Twitter. We're going to put the
description below. But before we do that, Rob and
Brandon just let us know where you can find you on social media
(35:57):
and everywhere else. Yeah, of course.
While I'm here, if you guys see,you can follow me on Twitter or
ask what everyone call it fade lines.
What is Z and an under score on Twitter.
But on TikTok on Instagram, you can follow me a fade lines on
everything. I I post a lot of Red Sox
content raw reaction. I'm more of a potty mouth on
TikTok. So if you guys hear me swear, I
apologize. But but if you guys want to
(36:20):
check that out, you can. I make a lot of red sock
content. But yeah, if you want to check
that out, those are my socials. Yeah, mine are just pretty much
the same. It's BCX 3 under score TV on all
the socials on YouTube. And then obviously I'm with the
pesky. Boys, so you.
Know thing so that's where you can find me.
Awesome, man. There's this is a great episode.
It was it was great to, you know, break things down and see
(36:42):
what you know, have you guys on get your guys perspective of the
Red Sox, especially going into such a big series for both
teams. So thanks for joining us today,
guys. We appreciate it.
Absolutely. Thank you.
We will place a description below where you can fall Rob and
Brandon and the rest of the pesky podcast crew.
But till next time, take care, be kind to each other.
(37:04):
Signing off from the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Monday, September 22nd, 2025.
Yeah. Yeah.
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