October 9, 2025 • 52 mins
The Jays are in the ALCS for the first time since 2016. We dived deep on what went right for the Blue Jays this season and in the playoff, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being a superstar once again, who else has been big factors in the ALDS, Trey Yesavage's historic start, looking at the next opponent in the ALCS, and many more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:30):
This is the special edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. The reason why you're doing this
because the Jays are LCS bound the first time they've made it
in nine years. What a time to be a Blue Jays
fan. And Rob, you could go off with
this. Did you expect the Blue Jays to
make it to the ALCS this year? Say no.
(00:52):
I mean, I mean, you go into thisseason and after the season we
had last year, it was a disasterwhere we just sold off
everything we could. And really you didn't really
have Matt much expectations thisyear at all.
You know, you were hoping for some bounce backs, but they
literally got bouncebacks acrossthe board and some.
(01:14):
So it's like you got guys like like like bow bouncing back
George. But then you also got like guys
that you're like unforeseen contributions by like guys like
Lucas Clement, Joey Loperfido, Davis Schneider bounced back in
a big way. Nobody was expecting that.
They go up and pick Eric Lauer, you know, off the scrap heap,
(01:38):
essentially. He comes in pretty much saves
the Blue Jays rotation in the middle months of the season.
We're not even thinking about playoffs without Eric Lauer.
I just want to set that record straight.
Like, I mean, just so much good things happen in the bullpen.
Getting contributions from Fluerty, um, Brayden Fischer,
(02:01):
sorry, just, yeah, but just Brandon Little had a great year
until, you know, he was a littlebit overworked in the end, but I
mean, they're getting a, you know, they go out and pick up
those guys at the deadline and everything else.
So no, I wasn't expecting this at all.
The fact that we're, we're, we're going to the ALCS, man is,
is, is something that Blue Jays fans, man, they should be proud
(02:25):
of, man. I expected this team to be a
playoff team, but not winning the division and going to the
ALCS mean ALCS was a thing that OK, you get to the playoffs, you
never know what's gonna happen. Like you said, you credited a
lot of guys with this team. Give credit to what this front
office has done. A lot of people dogged him in
the offseason. The fact that they didn't go get
(02:47):
that marquee * esque player because they've been having that
issue recruiting players for years.
There was reports about Corbin Burnes signing with the Jades
associate. There was reports that the Jades
made the highest bid on one Sodoand they ended up doing what
they did with getting Santander,getting Jimenez, getting Hoffman
like had nearly gritty guys likegetting guys thinking that they
(03:09):
would make sense You make Garciawas a.
Part of this locked up don't. Forget.
Well, I was gonna get to that. I was gonna get to that.
But and sure, we still had uncertainty of what this state
of the franchise was gonna be because Bo said to become a free
agent. Vlad was said to become a free
agent. Like there were guys who were
(03:32):
who were going to be free agentsand we just didn't know.
Romano got cut loose and he ended up going to Phillies and
just wasn't healthy like guys like that.
Eric Swanson was cut. But I think the biggest thing
that has altered the franchise was signing glad to that monster
deal, a cornerstone lifetime contract for a guy like him that
(03:53):
you can have. And look, it has been proving
that franchise players matters, especially when they're
homegrown talent. Vlad started this team.
Or signed with this team when hewas 16 years old in 2015, July
1st or July 2nd. And he's been in this
(04:14):
organization for a decade plus. And he will continue to be with
this table forward. And now not only they won the
division and now they're in the ALCS and both did not play.
And I do think both gonna get extended out.
But I mean, they'll be another story we'll talk about.
But looking at this team now, they are built for the long
(04:36):
haul. This team has finally have a
direction. Not only they have a direction,
this team is relatively young and they have a lot of
flexibility with this team. And I'm excited that this team
is built for right now, for the tomorrow and and for the future.
But let me ask you this. When was the moment when the
(04:59):
Blue Jays, Blue Jays were getting their gear up, meaning
when you thought that this team had a chance to win the division
and you think this team could besomething special?
What time of the year you thought the moment was there for
you like when you thought like when?
When did it open your eyes for you for for the Jays this year?
(05:21):
When they took the four-game sweep of the Yankees at home,
that was that was when it reallyopened my eyes and said this
team, this team is like, not only has has the Yankees number
this year, but this team has what it takes to get the job
done. And from that point forward, it
was, it was winning in multiple like a multitude of different
(05:45):
ways. They would win with small ball.
They would win with the long ball.
They would win with pitching. They would win with, with, with,
with defence. They would win with, you know,
they, they, you know, moving runners over sack flies, you
know, like, like the small ball aspect, like I said, like they
(06:05):
just wanted so many ways and they got the job done.
And you know, John Schneider, credit to him.
He said a great years manage your man when a lot of people
were doubting him and wondering if he's really the guy that
should have that should be taking over this team.
He kind of silenced all the doubters this year.
Like you look at the game tonight and we'll get we'll get
(06:28):
into that soon. But you look at that game
tonight and he managed a master class.
I thought of a bullpen game, which he's done a few times this
year. So really it's that was the
moment for me. I don't know what was the moment
for you. Uh, when did George Springer hit
(06:50):
a Grand Slam against Luke Weaveron Canada Day?
Same. I was like, same series.
Yeah, same series. And I thought that.
When you know that the opportunity was given for you
and you know that you had a three-game, you were three games
behind the Yankees to open that spot, right?
And you either can close the gap, either take a step back or
(07:18):
you end up being first place after that series is done.
I thought in my mind, if you cantake 3 or 4, that would that
would have been the ideal situation for them to say that
they closed the gap. But sweeping them for the first
time in franchise history against the New York Yankees,
that's very telling of what thatteam was, the resilience of what
(07:41):
what it is. And by the way, shut out to
Ernie Clementin, Nathan Lucas, man, journeymen have finally
been acclimated in pivotal rolesfor this friendship.
Not for throughout the season, but in the playoffs.
Goodness. Like, if you looked at what
Clement did, if you look at whatNathan Lucas did, I don't know
(08:02):
if the Jays would have won that series without those two men.
Ernie. Oh, man.
And you know what? And I'll say this, credit to
Shapiro and Atkins for finding those guys because those guys
were with the Guardians organization when Shapira was
the president in his final year and.
Ross Atkins was the assistant GMof that time.
(08:25):
And they had guys about where, where, where they came from.
And that's what they were tryingto do and they were trying to
find. And you know what, credit to
them. And at the end of the day, this
team is built to go to go far. Like the sky is the limit for
(08:46):
this team this year. This team showed me so much,
like not only they held it down to win the division, they faced
adversity. They ended up winning, beating
the Yankees too, especially in the ALDS, and everything just
went well. Like when I saw the first two
games of the ALDS, what were your thoughts about like?
(09:07):
Like you thought that there was no way that this Jays team was
going to do something like that or or did you think like?
Well, that was a wedding on on Game 1.
So, but I watched, I watched on.I mean, I wasn't missing that,
you know, I had my device. Or well, well, well, well to
talk about the score, like did you expect him to put?
(09:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spot on.
Them that's why I'm that's what I'm getting to.
OK, OK, OK. Like I watched the game and it
was the way it unfolded. It was like, you know, they
started out getting a couple runs and, you know, the couple
home runs there in the beginningand then it was just, it was
(09:50):
just this onslaught, man. It was run, run, run, run, run.
And it was like, yeah, no, I didn't.
I didn't see this explosion coming at all.
Like we've had our droughts and heading into that final, you
know, week of the season, we cutit was kind of a grip.
I felt like a grind, you know, and and I mean, you, you look at
(10:13):
baseball in general, it's a it'sa grind.
It's a 162 marathon. But that especially that final
week, though, just felt like we were just grinding away.
You know, we didn't clinch the division to the last day, you
know, and it was it was just, you know, the the time off.
I was kind of I wasn't worried about it, but you just never
(10:35):
know how teams gonna react afterhaving a layoff like that.
But they came out strong and they put up huge numbers and the
first two games and, you know, and, and, and it really, really
set the tone for this series, really.
The stars had to show up in thisseries, especially Vlad.
(10:55):
And Vlad showed up in a big way possible.
Not only he showed up in a big way, he dominated.
He dominated this series. Like there's something different
about Vlad. And he is determined to to go do
this. And I know his father did not
(11:15):
end up going to the World Series, probably did, if not not
window win the whole thing. And you know, a cornerstone
player like that, you don't let go.
And there's a big region now, right?
One he's the best first racer toget.
I don't care what people say, like the talent, the magnitude,
his defence, like the complete, like he does not strike out a
(11:37):
lot. Like the guy's gonna be a
perennial 300 here. The guys already has 1000 hits,
by the way, he's already 1/3 away from 3000.
And he's he, he's going to do itas long as he stays healthy,
right. So, so that's important about
what what you got to do, right? Like it's it's fascinating to
see what's the longevity of his situation.
(11:57):
Like, I know his power numbers were down this year.
He had what, 23 home runs? But he showed up where where he
needed to show up the most. Like he is that guy.
There's a reason why when you come and you play at that level,
especially against the New York Yankees, like he said he would
(12:18):
kill the Yankees and he did thatand he's going to keep doing
that. He's going to be a thorn to
this, just like the Jays were there and Judge, just like what
happened, David Ortiz, just likeMookie Betts.
But Vlad is going to be a thorn to a lot of teams, right?
And assuming a Boba Shek resides, he's going to be same
thing. George is doing his thing, man.
(12:38):
George is a leader. He's a big and what I was told.
And this is. Important.
Last offseason there was rumors that this team was on the cusp
of trading these guys, but the guy who instigated and got and
got involved and prevented all that and make sure this team has
to win and build for the future,which George freaking Springer.
(13:00):
To me that that contract for George Springer's worth every
bit of it. I don't care what people say,
because one look at the year he has done this year and look the
guys 36 and he's still playing at a high level.
He should get MVP people this year, George Springer, George
Springer has risen to the occasion.
He should be comeback player of the year.
(13:21):
And also the fact that when you're playing at an elite
level, he he sets the tone in his off.
You always said this to me, Rob,every year that George Springer
is the table setter of this offence.
And sure, he adds and you know, I had my doubts that moving him
back to the lineup would would take a step back, but he did not
take a step back at all. He's a he's definitely a table
(13:42):
setter for his office. And this is the George that you
need if you want to go far in the playoffs.
Yeah, hello George is he's been incredible this year.
I mean, he's he's the biggest bounce back of them all, man.
Like, I mean, he probably I would say his second best season
(14:03):
of his career after the one the one year I think he put up like
38 or 39 home runs that one yearand was one of the best players
in the playoffs. So I think, you know, he's a
playoff performer, man. And he's another guy who's risen
to the occasion this playoffs. And and like you said, you
(14:23):
brought up, you know, you brought up flat earlier.
I just want to say I'm glad likea flag has showed up and in a
big way, like you said, and he'she is proving to himself right
now and proving to everybody else that he that he can be that
playoff performer man, that he'sthat he's up for the occasion
(14:44):
when the bright lights shine. He's he's ready, man.
So you know, that's that's a bigthing.
You still so young. So hopefully we have many of
these moments going forward in the future, but it's a good
start to to get things going this year and hopefully things
continue the way they're going. So.
(15:05):
Absolutely. Who would you?
Say were the biggest X factors in the ALDS pitching wise Where
they, I, we, we could talk abouttrade Savage.
We have to talk about trade Savage, right?
Yeah, there, there, there's, there's, there's what?
Yeah, he comes. Sees.
Number I wanna I wanna leave Trea Savage on a separate
(15:25):
conversation, but who would you say were the Act X Factor is for
for the Jays pitching wise? Uh, let me see here.
I mean, I would probably say, I mean like Eric lower pitched
(15:47):
pretty good today. Yes, he did.
Yes, he. Did really good Mason Fluid.
He's done a good job when calledupon.
Like a lot of them are bullpen guys, right?
I mean, like, you know, aside from yesterday in the home, I
thought Louis Varland's pitched pretty well in this series,
aside from the one mistake he made to Aaron Judge, right?
(16:10):
Hoffman showed up in the big moments.
Now he's he he's he's another guy batting, pitching well.
I mean, the first two games were, were were such blowouts
that, you know, but I mean, Gosman pitched well in the first
game. So I say Gosman setting the
table the series, getting thingsstarted the right way.
(16:30):
I thought he pitched pretty wellin the first game, so but yeah,
he he'd be the guy. I would think that that would
that would stand out in the rotation aside from you know
who. But you said you want to keep
that as a separate topic. So.
So if I had to pick, I mean, there's so many guys you could
(16:53):
give a shout out to in this in this whole head man, because
George Ryder picked his right moment to pick and choose the
right situation where they want to go.
And I think more importantly, men, I mean, like you said,
Sorrentino Dominguez was a factor in this series.
Yurio wasn't used as much, but he did his moments when he
needed to shout out to Mason, Florida man from working his way
(17:15):
from being sent down to the minors, being called up and he
came up, he came up big in certain situations.
So shout out to me. I know he gave up that home run,
but that home run was just like,how did that go right in that
short porch, right? So, so I mean, that's the thing.
Right. But I mean the bullpen itself
would, I mean you could name anyX Factor of this team that came
(17:35):
through big and stepped up in a in a big way possible, but so
many things could you could consider.
I mean. Brayden Fischer, I mean.
I mean, they, they, I mean, it'sa collective effort at the end
of the day. But let's get to the the big
name, the guy that made a historic.
(17:58):
Start for the Jays, who's going to be potentially the next ace
of this rotation for years to come, and that is Trey, you
Savage. I don't know if he has what kind
of blood he's he injected in or what kind of mutation his
parents heads out genetically gave him, but damn it, the way
(18:18):
he pitched that game in game 20,my goodness.
That was one for the ages. Man, that was like, is there any
start in Jays history? Does does it did it remind you
of because one the fact that he broke the Jays record for Borse
(18:39):
most strikeouts in a playoff game.
Like I think he broke like SteveSteve and Juan Guzman's records
with eight and that was a time ago.
We're not even talking about like, like Mark was Strada or
whoever, because it's like, I mean, I mean, those guys, those
guys were big factors of 50, butbad Trey, you savage.
From. A college pitcher who was
(19:00):
drafted last year to the major leagues is.
It's historically stupid bad. It's like you don't see stuff
like this ever, man and. When you watch that game, Rob,
in Game 2, what was on your mindwitnessing a renaissance of that
(19:25):
performance? Um, they couldn't hit, they
couldn't hit the splitter, man. They, they, I just, I just saw
like Yankees players going back to their iPads on the dugout
trying to figure this pitch out and they just keep coming and
they keep. And it's just like, Trey you
(19:46):
Savage again, strikes out the side, strikes out the side
again. And in the third inning, 4th
inning or whatever. And it's like, man, this guy is
just this. And, and I asked you this
question the other day. Do you think the Trea Savage
splitter is better than Kevin Gosman's when it's on?
(20:10):
My answer is yes, and here's why.
His whiff rate is 52.7%. That is insanity like and when
you when you have stuff like that and his slider is something
else too because it goes to a different direction like.
(20:32):
Like I said, like his fastball is good too.
Like, like the three pitches he pitches and he monitored it.
They they, I mean, the Jays organization monitored the whole
process. They knew what they were doing
with this. I said this from the get go.
The Jays front office when it comes to pitching is the least
of my concerns. It comes down to how they
(20:55):
develop these guys and they finally develop like they did it
with Manoa and unfortunately that didn't work out in the end,
but they developed another guy and this is the best as you can
get. You will.
I don't know if I'll ever see a performance like that.
We might down the road as we getolder and we see the Jays in the
playoffs, but this is something,it's one for the ages like this
(21:19):
is something like. 11 strikeouts, no hits, and five
and a third. You can't you, you can't teach
that like like this guy, this guy's this guy and this guy is
gonna be this guy's gonna be in this protein.
I have him as favorites for rookie of the year in the ale
(21:39):
next year. Now he's the favorite.
There's the guys in ace, the guys stupid.
Like give me another picture right now.
Who's going to pitch like trade you Savage in that kind of
situation in the playoffs? There's only one picture that's
done that, and that was Cam Schlittler.
(21:59):
And but he's not, he's no longerclassified as a rookie.
I I don't think because he's already surpassed by Trey
Savage. The command.
Have you seen this command? The movement is wicked.
Yeah. So.
So The thing is, like with him, it's like he's got, I said this
(22:20):
the moment they called him up and he pitched away, he did.
He might be in the rotation for the playoffs and not only that,
he's going to be part of this rotation.
There's no looking back in. It's an incredible story about
what he's done for this team andfrom being in a ball to the
majors in one season. Is unprecedented.
(22:42):
You won't you won't see anythinglike that ever again, I don't
think. Maybe, maybe we might, but not
not to that. So it's being drafted in 2024
and then being in a playoff gameas a starting pitcher.
That's that's stuff you don't see.
And I'm just glad the bleachers have it because if it was
(23:04):
anybody else in that division, good luck with that, man.
Yeah. And that's, that's the thing,
right? So.
You broke. You broke some record too, Trey
Savage. I think it was like the youngest
player to like ever go like 5, no hit innings or some or six,
(23:25):
no whatever. I think it was a 5 and would you
throw 5 and? 55 and a third or five.
OK, I know what you're talking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 5.
Like the youngest player to likethrow 55 in like 5 or more, no
hit it, like no hit innings in the postseason or something.
Like, yeah, yeah. Just start his postseason
(23:46):
career. Like, I mean, the splitter was
so nasty, man. Like, you watch this thing and
the sinking out. He threw one pitch, man.
That was the slider. And yeah, it backed up.
It went the other way. And Dan Schulman's like, that's
his slider that would Statcast registered that pitch there as a
(24:07):
slider. And the thing backed up.
It was like it it you know how slider goes, you know the other
way, like it went it went to theright man and it's like it
almost looked like A2 seamer, right.
But it's like just like the guysmovement and and I don't know if
it has to do with with his mechanics, how he pitches
(24:28):
directly over over, over over the top, but man, the guy has
elite movement and it's it's it's he's special man to watch.
Like he's just so fun to watch, man.
Like great year from Trader Savage, man.
I mean, I mean, we're in tragus averages world and we're just
(24:51):
living in it. That's right.
I see. Beautiful.
Were you worried about game three?
About the way Bieber pitched it and thinking that maybe there
was a chance we could have sweptthem but didn't happen.
But did you ever thought? That.
That they would, they would try to finish it off yesterday, but
(25:13):
I mean, it was not going to be easy task, yeah.
They tried, but I mean like likeI said to you the other day, the
hardest game in any series, and this goes for any sport, is
winning the final like closeout game of a series.
It's so hard. I mean, you could be up in, just
take hockey for example, three, one in a series and getting that
(25:36):
final game is the hardest thing there is to do.
And the same goes for baseball being up to 131, whatever the
series may be, 5 or 7 game series is still getting like
that close up and it's the hardest thing to do, man.
So yeah, I, I knew yesterday's game was gonna be tough.
I knew they weren't gonna lay down and die when we were up six
(25:57):
one, you know, and they didn't, they came back and won.
Bieber, I thought his leash was a little bit too short.
I would have liked to see him goa little bit longer in that
game. But I, I kind of understand it,
you know, because, you know, sometimes you just got to go by
(26:18):
by the eye test and and he wasn't, he didn't have his best
stuff that day. And, you know, he was kind of
getting, you know, he wasn't located where he wanted to and
he was getting hit around a little bit.
So, you know, I, I kind of understand it from that point,
but yeah. Mixed reactions overall, I say.
(26:38):
I know that John Shiner was played to win this series, and I
get all that. That's as aggressive as it can
get for a manager to pull him after 2/2 and 1/3, I believe.
Or two and 2/3. He only gave up two runs, but
the command wasn't really all there.
But I mean, I wish he would haveworked his way through.
But I mean, it can always vary at the end of day, you just
(27:00):
don't know when the end. But but I thought that maybe you
try to finish the inning off andgo from there and see where that
went because they Jade did end up scoring six runs I think till
the 4th or 5th inning. And then and then obviously use
a bullpen and John Judge Schneider was as ultra
(27:20):
aggressive as you can get. Like you don't see a manager
like that. I mean, AJ Hinch has done this
throughout the playoffs this year as well.
Um, I think, I think Stephen Folk did it in the wild card
round. I mean, there's managers done
it, but he, he, he did it to winit, right?
And it didn't work out. And I think these guys were
(27:42):
somewhat prepared, but not fullyprepared because they thought
that people would have a good game and let him pitch for like
5 or 6 innings, but it didn't happen.
So let let me ask you this that pitch to Aaron Judge and I and
I, I kept replaying looking overand over and over again and and
(28:03):
I was like, is this guy throwing100 mph?
And I said like, OK, he had a home run, but and that's his
bread and butter, the inside. But at 100 mph, you hit the home
run like that, It's like, I mean, you gotta give credit to
the player where it's due. And and Varland even said I
(28:24):
thought he made a good I good pitch into a bad pitch because I
mean, like it was way inside andhe hit it right, similar to Vlad
when he hit that Grand Slam against.
Against world Warren on that 96 opera.
Let's compare those two, by the way.
So so Judge hit that three run shot and I thought, OK, the
(28:50):
momentum's gone there. Is this like how would you
compare Vlad's Grand Slam to Aaron Judge's Grand Slam?
Or I mean not Aaron Judge's grandson.
Hold on. Not with Aaron Judges.
I mean Aaron Judges 3 run shot to Vlad's Grand Slam.
That's what I meant to say. Well, Aaron Judge, Yeah.
(29:11):
Like how? Like, like, what do you mean?
How would I compare? Like how would I?
Compare like the way that pitch was like those two guys were the
2 best players in the in the in the playoffs in that division
for sure. Like when you when you thought
Vlad hit that Grand Slam and you're saying like this guy is
on something and you look at Aaron Judge, he was he was
having his moment. He did something like like
(29:34):
compare contrast. I know there's gonna be some
biased on this. But not not really to me, Aaron
Judges Grand Slam was was I mean, they were both really
important hits. I mean, you look at flat taking
that that pitch and that was a no doubter man.
(29:54):
You just knew it off the bat. We took that pitch deep early in
the game, gave us a good lead. But Aaron Judges was, you know,
to tie the game in a crucial spot to keep their, you know, to
keep their I, I would say hopes alive, but to keep, you know, to
(30:14):
keep their Bojo going, you know what I mean?
So, so yeah, kind of to keep their hopes alive at that point
cause it tied the game. So and that pitch was
impossible. Like they said that like in the
Statcast era, there was no pitchthat was that far inside pitched
with that high of velocity that's been hit for a home run.
(30:36):
Aaron Judge, he's it. He's the guy that like, the
guy's incredible man. Like, I love Aaron Judge.
I hate that he's a Yankee, but Ithink he's a fantastic talent
man. And you know, you gotta respect
what he can do on the field. But to compare the two, I I
really think that, you know, they're they're both great hits.
(30:57):
They're both great home runs in their own right.
So I mean, they both, you know, I don't really know how to
really compare both. I just think they're both
fantastic, man. We ended up winning the series
though, so I mean, I guess Vladswas more important than the end,
right? But.
Yeah, I thought, I thought with Aaron Judges grads 3 run shot, I
(31:21):
keep seeing Grand Slam his threerun shot.
I thought that worried me a bit because once you tie the game,
the momentum has shifted to the Yankees.
But the the Jays stayed, you know, under control and give
credit to this team and the way they they stayed unfazed in the
whole process. Even though they lost yesterday,
(31:42):
they're like, OK, another day ofbaseball.
It's not a do or die game. And let's see how it is and
everything came mentally prepared and and this team had a
game plan and they executed exceptionally well, right?
And Vlad was unstoppable throughout the most part.
(32:03):
Like like I said, three first Blue Jay to hit three home runs
in three consecutive games. First Blue Jay to hit a Grand
Slam, first Blue Jay to hit 600 or something like that.
Like in a series like this guy was on another level.
This is what top players in baseball do and job Flat is a
top player, so big stars show up.
(32:27):
They rise to the occasion and this could be a year that flat
is filing that guy to live up toit and he's just entering into
his prime, which is scary to think what his prime years are
going to look like. So and now, now go ahead.
(32:51):
Go ahead. No, I was just saying Richard
Schneider kind of reminded the team that the sky wasn't falling
yesterday. So, you know, and he, you know,
you got to credit him for keeping those guys focused too,
man, in my opinion. Like he's been a big, big, big
part and he gels with the players very well.
(33:12):
So he is, he is a players manager for sure, yeah.
So heading into today's game, what would your mindset about
like thinking about where thingsgone and where was your mindset?
Because I was, I was nervous andI told you this off the air,
(33:35):
like I couldn't sleep because ofthat loss.
Because that's not Blue Jays baseball.
They caught. They play, they play.
Clock in the morning, man. Dude, dude.
I mean, The thing is like fundamental baseball wasn't
their style yesterday, but todaywas a different day.
Different team, different outlook, different result.
Like what were your thoughts heading to today?
(33:56):
Because people were asking me, is this bullpen, bullpen good
enough to win this game? I was like, you're gonna find
out, and I do think so, but you're gonna find out.
And sure, it's stepped up in a big way.
Like what were your thoughts heading into game four of the
LDS thinking that, OK, they're going with the bullpen game
possibility of Godsman possibility if you're savage,
(34:17):
everything was that in at stake?And there was a report that
Godsman didn't have any pitch sessions and the Yankees were
well aware of that. And then today somebody said,
somebody said I think Shi Davidior or Keegan Matheson or whoever
said that trade savage would sayavailable to come out of pit
after pitching this past Sunday.Like what were your thoughts
(34:39):
about looking at it all that? I was I was nervous because if
things don't go well and you gotta use certain guys or are
they just just say things are really close, OK, and you gotta
bring in your savage to kind of keep things close or to, you
know, to say we have a one run leader, we're down one run
(35:02):
either or, you know, the guy comes in, you're burning him
essentially. OK, so he's not going to be
available for tomorrow. And then if they ended up having
to use Godsman on top of that, yeah, which I don't think, I
think that was an extreme scenario.
I don't. Yeah, I think everybody, with
everybody being available, I think that was the most extreme
(35:24):
case, is that you're going to use Godsman today because you
would have to pick in Game 5. But you just essentially burning
everybody today. And that I, I can't lie, that
was in the back of my mind. And then if we lost this game,
where would we be? Not to going into Game Five, it
(35:45):
would feel like the Yankees had a major advantage on us
considering who they, you know, who they sorry, who they might
have used or didn't use or whatever today.
But yeah, going into this this game, I, I can't lie, I was a
little bit nervous about that. Thank God we got the wind done.
(36:07):
We don't gotta worry about it. How did you feel?
Up and down, um, heading today, heading to today.
I was like, let's see where thistube goes.
I just hope they make it close it out.
And my mind at first, I was a bit numb about it and I was
thinking about like it when they're gonna go with they're
(36:28):
gonna mention names with everything with mysteries in the
Yankees didn't know what their game plan, which was kind of
unorthodox thinking that OK, they brought.
Goldschmidt and and bench. Right and they wanted to let you
ready left already left you ready and that's that's the
tactics that Jays used to balance this whole lineup and it
(36:52):
just turned out to be that it worked out for the Jays.
It favored more with the Jays because one give credit to Pete
Walker and John Schneider for communicating the whole process
thinking when do you pull this picture?
Where do you use the picture? How do you want to utilize what
matchups you want to use and on top of that, it's the balance of
(37:12):
how you want to manage the bullpen overall on a first
inning to the 9th inning process.
So at the end of the day. You look at it this way, let's
see where the things go and but I just hope the offence step up
and you know, it started off, itstarted off to a good start.
(37:34):
It was more anxious for me and it was just it was just like oht
man, a nerve wracking game. I like I haven't felt playoff
baseball like this in a very long time.
I'm I'm not even talking about the wild card series.
Forget all that, because like they didn't get to the ALDS.
(37:54):
I'm talking maybe even 16. The LDS like they dominated the
Rangers, like I think it was more like 15.
I would compare, I would comparethis to game five of the LDS in
2015. The bat flip game.
I don't know if I put that, but I mean, just look, I mean
everything at stake. You do not want to give
(38:14):
momentum. You do not want to you do you do
not want to get handed to the Yankees till you come back to
Toronto for Game 5. Because we seen this story in in
the other spectrum when the Jayswere down to nothing and they
came back to win three straight.We don't want reverse history to
repeat itself. So, and that's right.
(38:37):
This team showed their resilience today, man.
They showed that they they got it done and a lot of people
picked the Yankees to win the win, win this damn series, but
they did not win the series. So give credit to the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays should get their respect at the end of the day,
so. That's right.
(38:58):
Let me let me tell you this Who?Who is the player of the series?
I would say Vlad. It's gotta be blind, right?
I mean, it was incredible, yeah.He.
Yeah, he was incredible, man. He had like 10 hits or something
like that in this series with like.
(39:19):
Guy had three home runs a guy had.
Yeah, like you said. 10 or 10 RBI's, man, like, yeah, like,
like it's gotta be glad. No, no doubt about it, man.
Like, yeah, there were a lot of guys that, you know, that really
stepped up. But when, when, when he got to
New York, he continued, you know, you know, a lot of guys
stepped up in the first two games is what I'm trying to say.
(39:41):
But you know, cause VAR show andyou know, had a great, great
first couple games and but he went when they got to New York,
flight continued. You know, glad, glad stayed hot
throughout this entire series. So it's gotta be glad for me.
Do you have anybody else in mind?
Trey Savage probably has to be in that conversation of dude.
(40:05):
Sure. Dominated.
No, he had no hits in the playoffs.
How about that? Like.
And he he he was the game changer of this series as a
pitcher, in my opinion, because what if Bassett pitched a
series? What if Scherzer pitched a
(40:25):
series? What could have been the
outcome? I don't think we win this series
if it were for Jerry Savage. Like even if Bieber didn't have
a good. I'm dead serious, right?
Like, it's it's, it's that he could be the reason why this
Jazz team could get to get get to the point where the sky is
the limit. I mean, special, special.
(40:46):
Those are the two guys calling centre.
But if I have to bring honorablemention mention, I think Ernie
Clement has to be in that conversation.
Varsho has to be in that conversation and Nathan Lucas
has to be in that conversation. Those are the guys that come and
and him him and everything with the production.
Also, I wanna say this quick that I know that Anthony
(41:10):
Santander hasn't been Anthony Santander, but those are bad
like professional at bat like wesee a lot at the pool.
I think that's just something important.
I know the power hasn't really shown it yet, but I think he I
feel like getting there. Like hopefully these next few
days he can. He can talk about, um, he can
(41:33):
talk about uh, like him being inthe lineup, maybe half the
power, right? So we could, we could do that
for sure. Like, I mean, let's, let's,
let's, let's get to the preview of the next series, the ALCS.
So right now, the Tigers are playing Seattle Mariners.
Who would you rather face? I'd, I'd rather probably face
(41:59):
Detroit just because I don't know, man.
There's some weird voodoo that goes on between the Mariners and
the Blue Jays. I don't wanna be, No, I don't
wanna, I don't wanna be a part of that, that shit, man.
So I will say, I will say Detroit.
I think Detroit's aside. I mean, they got the best
(42:20):
pitcher between both teams, but aside from from Tariq Scuba and
you're playing A7 game series now.
You're not playing A5 game series.
So, you know, you might. Yeah.
I still, yeah. I still, I still think Detroit.
Even with school. I I still think Detroit.
(42:41):
Detroit's probably the team I would rather face.
So Cow Rally kills the Jays, too.
I, I don't want to see him, but I think we can beat anybody
though. I think we can beat anybody.
So I'm confident either way. Your thoughts, Rockford?
(43:03):
I don't know F other team is going to make a difference with
this team. The Blue Jays if thinking your
bowl back, they'll be big deal like he says, getting better and
better. Let's see what what happens by
Saturday or Sunday morning. I'll start at the same time.
You gotta look at it this way. You look at AJ Hinch as a
(43:26):
manager. And the way he's managed games,
he's been through the situation before now.
So they're playing game five in Seattle and it's right now
Schuble is potential Game 5 starter for Detroit.
But Seattle, they haven't mentioned it yet.
If I had to take a guess, it's probably gonna be Kirby, but I
(43:46):
wouldn't rule out Castillo. So I think the Jays match up
well, both teams, man. It doesn't matter what the
lineups up. Seattle lineup is just as good
as New York Yankees. It's and they do.
Let me ask you this quick. Sorry.
Sorry to interrupt you, Rocky. So scuba pitches Sunday or, or
sorry, pitches Game 5. Does that mean that he they're
(44:11):
pretty much burning him and he'sonly gonna be able to be pitched
once in that final series? Potentially.
I don't know yet because you have to remember it's best of
seven now, right? Yeah, correct, correct.
So I I don't know how this it all depends but.
Just thinking out loud. While with Seattle, it all
(44:35):
depends what Brian Woo is, he's The X Factor on all this.
If he comes back healthy and they advance to the LCS to face
the Jays and I think I think theJade Jade matcha will either one
of they both have to season series.
I do think if blast comes back, that's going to help the Blue
Jays for sure. Uh, Scherzer's Scherzer, I don't
(44:58):
know if he's, I doubt it, but ifhe wants to pitch a bulk of an
inning or so, maybe. But I doubt that either.
But let's see, because I don't want to see Bruel in this
series. So I don't know.
It's a good question, man. I, I think they're fine either
way because John Schneider has overcome his mistakes.
Not only they want playoff games, they want a playoff
(45:18):
series for the first time in nine years.
And that's a long time for baseball standards, right?
So right like that so doesn't matter to me I but.
How do you think we match up pitching wise on our side for
this series? So you think goes game 1-2 and
(45:39):
three. It's gonna be Godsman.
You're savage. Same thing.
Fever. I think doing the same thing if
if they wanna if they wanna alleviate the pressure on
Bieber, he could go Game 4 or they could go with them three
and they go bastard 4. I don't know what's I mean you
Savage was a available as a pet in game four of the LDS, but.
(46:01):
You think bastards in the rotation in this series then?
I believe so, because apparentlyhe was getting pitch sessions.
So they they're ramping it up and they have more time now to
work him back because they don'tplay Game 3 till next Wednesday,
which is the 15th. So yeah, so I could see Bass.
(46:22):
I mean, that should give enough time for Bassett because he was
on the IRL, they arrested him and I'm pretty sure he's working
his way up and try to be as healthy as he can.
But I'd like to see Bassett in LCH, which I think they will.
And they could probably get Thaifriends back too.
So they're getting some guys, but he would be such a platoon
situational guy because moments like that, it makes sense.
(46:46):
If you want to look at the rotation, I mean, the Jays don't
play well against Flaherty, but Flaherty's been having his ups
and downs. Troy Melton they haven't really
pitched against, so he's a new pitcher because he got called up
I think after they played him inDetroit.
Then you got Casey Mines. I think they can hit and
(47:08):
schoolboy, I mean y'all's been versus Scooby earlier this year.
That was a. Prolific bad trip.
That was an HH matchup. So I don't know man.
Both lineups are very somewhere.I think Detroit's lineups more
pestered in Seattle. Seattle reminds me a little bit
of the Yankees lineup because look at it this way.
Trade Torres is a trabajadores historical acid Riley.
(47:30):
I mean they have guys for days where Seattle they're more right
headed like you. Said yeah.
Danglers. Another one.
Wenzel Perez, I think. Wenzel Perez, I think is another
one. Yeah.
Perry Carpenter is another one. So I mean if you if you compare
both lineups. Cookies.
Call Keith, but compared to bothlineups who do I compare Seattle
(47:56):
lineup to is a little bit more like Yankee.
They do strike out a ton and theBlue Jays are top 3%.
Sell it on the power too. Correct.
And then and then with the Detroit, they they have a little
bit of Toronto in them, not the big names.
They don't have the Vlads, they don't have the bows in that
lineup, but they do have they dohave the tortoises who having a
(48:20):
breakout year, former world number one pick Riley Green is
breakout year. Phenomenal, right.
So but I mean Park Meadows is another name for a long time.
Yeah, sure. So I mean.
Yeah. Yeah, just like saying like
whoever faces between the Yankees and the Red Sox earlier
this year, like I still think The Jets were better, but I
(48:42):
think the Jags are better than both Seattle and and Detroit.
But my, but my worrisome about Seattle.
They might have a better rotation in Toronto, but the
Jays bats have proven that they could be really good pitching
and that's the ultimate outcome of all of this.
So. Yeah, we'll just have to see how
(49:02):
it goes. But do you have any final
thoughts before we wrap this up?Not really.
I just think, you know, we us asBlue Jays fans, man, we got to
enjoy this and just, you know, it's reminiscent of, you know,
back in the 1516 days. There's have fun and you know,
(49:23):
be safe out there, enjoy baseball and let's see how far
we can take this thing. Man, it's a great time to be a
Blue Jays fan so. Sure.
Yeah, definitely. My final thoughts is.
So this is that I said every time the Blue Jays have won the
division, they've been to the ALCS in all 7 appearances, every
(49:48):
time they win the division. So that tells you a lot of stuff
about, you know, winning the division is such a big deal.
They had to win the division andthey got it done.
So kudos should his Blue Jays organization and shout out to
the front office for fixing it, fixing this organization,
(50:08):
revamping the farm and everything, everything from top
to bottom was improved altogether.
Remarkable year, remarkable year.
And look, if let's just say the Blue Jays lose in the ALCS, it's
still a success because, yeah, no, without a doubt.
Like I thought LDS, yeah. I mean, if they lose or, you
(50:29):
know, like, but being up to nothing.
But if you, if you blew that lead that that that would have
been a somewhat of a failure, even though they wanted to be.
But going to the LCS and holdingit down, remarkable big deal.
So, and you know what? I'll say this before we wrap
this up, if you think the Toronto Blue Jays are fraught,
(50:53):
and I'm telling this to people who've said that.
Yankees. Fans, well, I mean in general
there was people that came in said that the Jays were allowed
place. Yankees fans, I'm just.
Kidding. Wait, I'm gonna say this.
Guess again the Blue Jays windows just opened and they are
(51:14):
built for a really long time. And if you don't believe me, go
look at where the farm is at andlook at the way this team is
built with homegrown talent. And you know what?
Until it's otherwise, this is now the Blue Jays division to
own until proven wrong. So till next time, take care, be
(51:37):
kind to each other's signing offfrom the ALDS champions, the
Toronto Blue Jays on the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Thursday, October 9th, 2025.
(51:57):
No. Yeah.
This is the special edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. The reason why you're doing this
because the Jays are LCS bound the first time they've made it
in nine years. What a time to be a Blue Jays
fan. And Rob, you could go off with
this. Did you expect the Blue Jays to
make it to the ALCS this year? Say no.
(00:52):
I mean, I mean, you go into thisseason and after the season we
had last year, it was a disasterwhere we just sold off
everything we could. And really you didn't really
have Matt much expectations thisyear at all.
You know, you were hoping for some bounce backs, but they
literally got bouncebacks acrossthe board and some.
(01:14):
So it's like you got guys like like like bow bouncing back
George. But then you also got like guys
that you're like unforeseen contributions by like guys like
Lucas Clement, Joey Loperfido, Davis Schneider bounced back in
a big way. Nobody was expecting that.
They go up and pick Eric Lauer, you know, off the scrap heap,
(01:38):
essentially. He comes in pretty much saves
the Blue Jays rotation in the middle months of the season.
We're not even thinking about playoffs without Eric Lauer.
I just want to set that record straight.
Like, I mean, just so much good things happen in the bullpen.
Getting contributions from Fluerty, um, Brayden Fischer,
(02:01):
sorry, just, yeah, but just Brandon Little had a great year
until, you know, he was a littlebit overworked in the end, but I
mean, they're getting a, you know, they go out and pick up
those guys at the deadline and everything else.
So no, I wasn't expecting this at all.
The fact that we're, we're, we're going to the ALCS, man is,
is, is something that Blue Jays fans, man, they should be proud
(02:25):
of, man. I expected this team to be a
playoff team, but not winning the division and going to the
ALCS mean ALCS was a thing that OK, you get to the playoffs, you
never know what's gonna happen. Like you said, you credited a
lot of guys with this team. Give credit to what this front
office has done. A lot of people dogged him in
the offseason. The fact that they didn't go get
(02:47):
that marquee * esque player because they've been having that
issue recruiting players for years.
There was reports about Corbin Burnes signing with the Jades
associate. There was reports that the Jades
made the highest bid on one Sodoand they ended up doing what
they did with getting Santander,getting Jimenez, getting Hoffman
like had nearly gritty guys likegetting guys thinking that they
(03:09):
would make sense You make Garciawas a.
Part of this locked up don't. Forget.
Well, I was gonna get to that. I was gonna get to that.
But and sure, we still had uncertainty of what this state
of the franchise was gonna be because Bo said to become a free
agent. Vlad was said to become a free
agent. Like there were guys who were
(03:32):
who were going to be free agentsand we just didn't know.
Romano got cut loose and he ended up going to Phillies and
just wasn't healthy like guys like that.
Eric Swanson was cut. But I think the biggest thing
that has altered the franchise was signing glad to that monster
deal, a cornerstone lifetime contract for a guy like him that
(03:53):
you can have. And look, it has been proving
that franchise players matters, especially when they're
homegrown talent. Vlad started this team.
Or signed with this team when hewas 16 years old in 2015, July
1st or July 2nd. And he's been in this
(04:14):
organization for a decade plus. And he will continue to be with
this table forward. And now not only they won the
division and now they're in the ALCS and both did not play.
And I do think both gonna get extended out.
But I mean, they'll be another story we'll talk about.
But looking at this team now, they are built for the long
(04:36):
haul. This team has finally have a
direction. Not only they have a direction,
this team is relatively young and they have a lot of
flexibility with this team. And I'm excited that this team
is built for right now, for the tomorrow and and for the future.
But let me ask you this. When was the moment when the
(04:59):
Blue Jays, Blue Jays were getting their gear up, meaning
when you thought that this team had a chance to win the division
and you think this team could besomething special?
What time of the year you thought the moment was there for
you like when you thought like when?
When did it open your eyes for you for for the Jays this year?
(05:21):
When they took the four-game sweep of the Yankees at home,
that was that was when it reallyopened my eyes and said this
team, this team is like, not only has has the Yankees number
this year, but this team has what it takes to get the job
done. And from that point forward, it
was, it was winning in multiple like a multitude of different
(05:45):
ways. They would win with small ball.
They would win with the long ball.
They would win with pitching. They would win with, with, with,
with defence. They would win with, you know,
they, they, you know, moving runners over sack flies, you
know, like, like the small ball aspect, like I said, like they
(06:05):
just wanted so many ways and they got the job done.
And you know, John Schneider, credit to him.
He said a great years manage your man when a lot of people
were doubting him and wondering if he's really the guy that
should have that should be taking over this team.
He kind of silenced all the doubters this year.
Like you look at the game tonight and we'll get we'll get
(06:28):
into that soon. But you look at that game
tonight and he managed a master class.
I thought of a bullpen game, which he's done a few times this
year. So really it's that was the
moment for me. I don't know what was the moment
for you. Uh, when did George Springer hit
(06:50):
a Grand Slam against Luke Weaveron Canada Day?
Same. I was like, same series.
Yeah, same series. And I thought that.
When you know that the opportunity was given for you
and you know that you had a three-game, you were three games
behind the Yankees to open that spot, right?
And you either can close the gap, either take a step back or
(07:18):
you end up being first place after that series is done.
I thought in my mind, if you cantake 3 or 4, that would that
would have been the ideal situation for them to say that
they closed the gap. But sweeping them for the first
time in franchise history against the New York Yankees,
that's very telling of what thatteam was, the resilience of what
(07:41):
what it is. And by the way, shut out to
Ernie Clementin, Nathan Lucas, man, journeymen have finally
been acclimated in pivotal rolesfor this friendship.
Not for throughout the season, but in the playoffs.
Goodness. Like, if you looked at what
Clement did, if you look at whatNathan Lucas did, I don't know
(08:02):
if the Jays would have won that series without those two men.
Ernie. Oh, man.
And you know what? And I'll say this, credit to
Shapiro and Atkins for finding those guys because those guys
were with the Guardians organization when Shapira was
the president in his final year and.
Ross Atkins was the assistant GMof that time.
(08:25):
And they had guys about where, where, where they came from.
And that's what they were tryingto do and they were trying to
find. And you know what, credit to
them. And at the end of the day, this
team is built to go to go far. Like the sky is the limit for
(08:46):
this team this year. This team showed me so much,
like not only they held it down to win the division, they faced
adversity. They ended up winning, beating
the Yankees too, especially in the ALDS, and everything just
went well. Like when I saw the first two
games of the ALDS, what were your thoughts about like?
(09:07):
Like you thought that there was no way that this Jays team was
going to do something like that or or did you think like?
Well, that was a wedding on on Game 1.
So, but I watched, I watched on.I mean, I wasn't missing that,
you know, I had my device. Or well, well, well, well to
talk about the score, like did you expect him to put?
(09:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spot on.
Them that's why I'm that's what I'm getting to.
OK, OK, OK. Like I watched the game and it
was the way it unfolded. It was like, you know, they
started out getting a couple runs and, you know, the couple
home runs there in the beginningand then it was just, it was
(09:50):
just this onslaught, man. It was run, run, run, run, run.
And it was like, yeah, no, I didn't.
I didn't see this explosion coming at all.
Like we've had our droughts and heading into that final, you
know, week of the season, we cutit was kind of a grip.
I felt like a grind, you know, and and I mean, you, you look at
(10:13):
baseball in general, it's a it'sa grind.
It's a 162 marathon. But that especially that final
week, though, just felt like we were just grinding away.
You know, we didn't clinch the division to the last day, you
know, and it was it was just, you know, the the time off.
I was kind of I wasn't worried about it, but you just never
(10:35):
know how teams gonna react afterhaving a layoff like that.
But they came out strong and they put up huge numbers and the
first two games and, you know, and, and, and it really, really
set the tone for this series, really.
The stars had to show up in thisseries, especially Vlad.
(10:55):
And Vlad showed up in a big way possible.
Not only he showed up in a big way, he dominated.
He dominated this series. Like there's something different
about Vlad. And he is determined to to go do
this. And I know his father did not
(11:15):
end up going to the World Series, probably did, if not not
window win the whole thing. And you know, a cornerstone
player like that, you don't let go.
And there's a big region now, right?
One he's the best first racer toget.
I don't care what people say, like the talent, the magnitude,
his defence, like the complete, like he does not strike out a
(11:37):
lot. Like the guy's gonna be a
perennial 300 here. The guys already has 1000 hits,
by the way, he's already 1/3 away from 3000.
And he's he, he's going to do itas long as he stays healthy,
right. So, so that's important about
what what you got to do, right? Like it's it's fascinating to
see what's the longevity of his situation.
(11:57):
Like, I know his power numbers were down this year.
He had what, 23 home runs? But he showed up where where he
needed to show up the most. Like he is that guy.
There's a reason why when you come and you play at that level,
especially against the New York Yankees, like he said he would
(12:18):
kill the Yankees and he did thatand he's going to keep doing
that. He's going to be a thorn to
this, just like the Jays were there and Judge, just like what
happened, David Ortiz, just likeMookie Betts.
But Vlad is going to be a thorn to a lot of teams, right?
And assuming a Boba Shek resides, he's going to be same
thing. George is doing his thing, man.
(12:38):
George is a leader. He's a big and what I was told.
And this is. Important.
Last offseason there was rumors that this team was on the cusp
of trading these guys, but the guy who instigated and got and
got involved and prevented all that and make sure this team has
to win and build for the future,which George freaking Springer.
(13:00):
To me that that contract for George Springer's worth every
bit of it. I don't care what people say,
because one look at the year he has done this year and look the
guys 36 and he's still playing at a high level.
He should get MVP people this year, George Springer, George
Springer has risen to the occasion.
He should be comeback player of the year.
(13:21):
And also the fact that when you're playing at an elite
level, he he sets the tone in his off.
You always said this to me, Rob,every year that George Springer
is the table setter of this offence.
And sure, he adds and you know, I had my doubts that moving him
back to the lineup would would take a step back, but he did not
take a step back at all. He's a he's definitely a table
(13:42):
setter for his office. And this is the George that you
need if you want to go far in the playoffs.
Yeah, hello George is he's been incredible this year.
I mean, he's he's the biggest bounce back of them all, man.
Like, I mean, he probably I would say his second best season
(14:03):
of his career after the one the one year I think he put up like
38 or 39 home runs that one yearand was one of the best players
in the playoffs. So I think, you know, he's a
playoff performer, man. And he's another guy who's risen
to the occasion this playoffs. And and like you said, you
(14:23):
brought up, you know, you brought up flat earlier.
I just want to say I'm glad likea flag has showed up and in a
big way, like you said, and he'she is proving to himself right
now and proving to everybody else that he that he can be that
playoff performer man, that he'sthat he's up for the occasion
(14:44):
when the bright lights shine. He's he's ready, man.
So you know, that's that's a bigthing.
You still so young. So hopefully we have many of
these moments going forward in the future, but it's a good
start to to get things going this year and hopefully things
continue the way they're going. So.
(15:05):
Absolutely. Who would you?
Say were the biggest X factors in the ALDS pitching wise Where
they, I, we, we could talk abouttrade Savage.
We have to talk about trade Savage, right?
Yeah, there, there, there's, there's, there's what?
Yeah, he comes. Sees.
Number I wanna I wanna leave Trea Savage on a separate
(15:25):
conversation, but who would you say were the Act X Factor is for
for the Jays pitching wise? Uh, let me see here.
I mean, I would probably say, I mean like Eric lower pitched
(15:47):
pretty good today. Yes, he did.
Yes, he. Did really good Mason Fluid.
He's done a good job when calledupon.
Like a lot of them are bullpen guys, right?
I mean, like, you know, aside from yesterday in the home, I
thought Louis Varland's pitched pretty well in this series,
aside from the one mistake he made to Aaron Judge, right?
(16:10):
Hoffman showed up in the big moments.
Now he's he he's he's another guy batting, pitching well.
I mean, the first two games were, were were such blowouts
that, you know, but I mean, Gosman pitched well in the first
game. So I say Gosman setting the
table the series, getting thingsstarted the right way.
(16:30):
I thought he pitched pretty wellin the first game, so but yeah,
he he'd be the guy. I would think that that would
that would stand out in the rotation aside from you know
who. But you said you want to keep
that as a separate topic. So.
So if I had to pick, I mean, there's so many guys you could
(16:53):
give a shout out to in this in this whole head man, because
George Ryder picked his right moment to pick and choose the
right situation where they want to go.
And I think more importantly, men, I mean, like you said,
Sorrentino Dominguez was a factor in this series.
Yurio wasn't used as much, but he did his moments when he
needed to shout out to Mason, Florida man from working his way
(17:15):
from being sent down to the minors, being called up and he
came up, he came up big in certain situations.
So shout out to me. I know he gave up that home run,
but that home run was just like,how did that go right in that
short porch, right? So, so I mean, that's the thing.
Right. But I mean the bullpen itself
would, I mean you could name anyX Factor of this team that came
(17:35):
through big and stepped up in a in a big way possible, but so
many things could you could consider.
I mean. Brayden Fischer, I mean.
I mean, they, they, I mean, it'sa collective effort at the end
of the day. But let's get to the the big
name, the guy that made a historic.
(17:58):
Start for the Jays, who's going to be potentially the next ace
of this rotation for years to come, and that is Trey, you
Savage. I don't know if he has what kind
of blood he's he injected in or what kind of mutation his
parents heads out genetically gave him, but damn it, the way
(18:18):
he pitched that game in game 20,my goodness.
That was one for the ages. Man, that was like, is there any
start in Jays history? Does does it did it remind you
of because one the fact that he broke the Jays record for Borse
(18:39):
most strikeouts in a playoff game.
Like I think he broke like SteveSteve and Juan Guzman's records
with eight and that was a time ago.
We're not even talking about like, like Mark was Strada or
whoever, because it's like, I mean, I mean, those guys, those
guys were big factors of 50, butbad Trey, you savage.
From. A college pitcher who was
(19:00):
drafted last year to the major leagues is.
It's historically stupid bad. It's like you don't see stuff
like this ever, man and. When you watch that game, Rob,
in Game 2, what was on your mindwitnessing a renaissance of that
(19:25):
performance? Um, they couldn't hit, they
couldn't hit the splitter, man. They, they, I just, I just saw
like Yankees players going back to their iPads on the dugout
trying to figure this pitch out and they just keep coming and
they keep. And it's just like, Trey you
(19:46):
Savage again, strikes out the side, strikes out the side
again. And in the third inning, 4th
inning or whatever. And it's like, man, this guy is
just this. And, and I asked you this
question the other day. Do you think the Trea Savage
splitter is better than Kevin Gosman's when it's on?
(20:10):
My answer is yes, and here's why.
His whiff rate is 52.7%. That is insanity like and when
you when you have stuff like that and his slider is something
else too because it goes to a different direction like.
(20:32):
Like I said, like his fastball is good too.
Like, like the three pitches he pitches and he monitored it.
They they, I mean, the Jays organization monitored the whole
process. They knew what they were doing
with this. I said this from the get go.
The Jays front office when it comes to pitching is the least
of my concerns. It comes down to how they
(20:55):
develop these guys and they finally develop like they did it
with Manoa and unfortunately that didn't work out in the end,
but they developed another guy and this is the best as you can
get. You will.
I don't know if I'll ever see a performance like that.
We might down the road as we getolder and we see the Jays in the
playoffs, but this is something,it's one for the ages like this
(21:19):
is something like. 11 strikeouts, no hits, and five
and a third. You can't you, you can't teach
that like like this guy, this guy's this guy and this guy is
gonna be this guy's gonna be in this protein.
I have him as favorites for rookie of the year in the ale
(21:39):
next year. Now he's the favorite.
There's the guys in ace, the guys stupid.
Like give me another picture right now.
Who's going to pitch like trade you Savage in that kind of
situation in the playoffs? There's only one picture that's
done that, and that was Cam Schlittler.
(21:59):
And but he's not, he's no longerclassified as a rookie.
I I don't think because he's already surpassed by Trey
Savage. The command.
Have you seen this command? The movement is wicked.
Yeah. So.
So The thing is, like with him, it's like he's got, I said this
(22:20):
the moment they called him up and he pitched away, he did.
He might be in the rotation for the playoffs and not only that,
he's going to be part of this rotation.
There's no looking back in. It's an incredible story about
what he's done for this team andfrom being in a ball to the
majors in one season. Is unprecedented.
(22:42):
You won't you won't see anythinglike that ever again, I don't
think. Maybe, maybe we might, but not
not to that. So it's being drafted in 2024
and then being in a playoff gameas a starting pitcher.
That's that's stuff you don't see.
And I'm just glad the bleachers have it because if it was
(23:04):
anybody else in that division, good luck with that, man.
Yeah. And that's, that's the thing,
right? So.
You broke. You broke some record too, Trey
Savage. I think it was like the youngest
player to like ever go like 5, no hit innings or some or six,
(23:25):
no whatever. I think it was a 5 and would you
throw 5 and? 55 and a third or five.
OK, I know what you're talking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 5.
Like the youngest player to likethrow 55 in like 5 or more, no
hit it, like no hit innings in the postseason or something.
Like, yeah, yeah. Just start his postseason
(23:46):
career. Like, I mean, the splitter was
so nasty, man. Like, you watch this thing and
the sinking out. He threw one pitch, man.
That was the slider. And yeah, it backed up.
It went the other way. And Dan Schulman's like, that's
his slider that would Statcast registered that pitch there as a
(24:07):
slider. And the thing backed up.
It was like it it you know how slider goes, you know the other
way, like it went it went to theright man and it's like it
almost looked like A2 seamer, right.
But it's like just like the guysmovement and and I don't know if
it has to do with with his mechanics, how he pitches
(24:28):
directly over over, over over the top, but man, the guy has
elite movement and it's it's it's he's special man to watch.
Like he's just so fun to watch, man.
Like great year from Trader Savage, man.
I mean, I mean, we're in tragus averages world and we're just
(24:51):
living in it. That's right.
I see. Beautiful.
Were you worried about game three?
About the way Bieber pitched it and thinking that maybe there
was a chance we could have sweptthem but didn't happen.
But did you ever thought? That.
That they would, they would try to finish it off yesterday, but
(25:13):
I mean, it was not going to be easy task, yeah.
They tried, but I mean like likeI said to you the other day, the
hardest game in any series, and this goes for any sport, is
winning the final like closeout game of a series.
It's so hard. I mean, you could be up in, just
take hockey for example, three, one in a series and getting that
(25:36):
final game is the hardest thing there is to do.
And the same goes for baseball being up to 131, whatever the
series may be, 5 or 7 game series is still getting like
that close up and it's the hardest thing to do, man.
So yeah, I, I knew yesterday's game was gonna be tough.
I knew they weren't gonna lay down and die when we were up six
(25:57):
one, you know, and they didn't, they came back and won.
Bieber, I thought his leash was a little bit too short.
I would have liked to see him goa little bit longer in that
game. But I, I kind of understand it,
you know, because, you know, sometimes you just got to go by
(26:18):
by the eye test and and he wasn't, he didn't have his best
stuff that day. And, you know, he was kind of
getting, you know, he wasn't located where he wanted to and
he was getting hit around a little bit.
So, you know, I, I kind of understand it from that point,
but yeah. Mixed reactions overall, I say.
(26:38):
I know that John Shiner was played to win this series, and I
get all that. That's as aggressive as it can
get for a manager to pull him after 2/2 and 1/3, I believe.
Or two and 2/3. He only gave up two runs, but
the command wasn't really all there.
But I mean, I wish he would haveworked his way through.
But I mean, it can always vary at the end of day, you just
(27:00):
don't know when the end. But but I thought that maybe you
try to finish the inning off andgo from there and see where that
went because they Jade did end up scoring six runs I think till
the 4th or 5th inning. And then and then obviously use
a bullpen and John Judge Schneider was as ultra
(27:20):
aggressive as you can get. Like you don't see a manager
like that. I mean, AJ Hinch has done this
throughout the playoffs this year as well.
Um, I think, I think Stephen Folk did it in the wild card
round. I mean, there's managers done
it, but he, he, he did it to winit, right?
And it didn't work out. And I think these guys were
(27:42):
somewhat prepared, but not fullyprepared because they thought
that people would have a good game and let him pitch for like
5 or 6 innings, but it didn't happen.
So let let me ask you this that pitch to Aaron Judge and I and
I, I kept replaying looking overand over and over again and and
(28:03):
I was like, is this guy throwing100 mph?
And I said like, OK, he had a home run, but and that's his
bread and butter, the inside. But at 100 mph, you hit the home
run like that, It's like, I mean, you gotta give credit to
the player where it's due. And and Varland even said I
(28:24):
thought he made a good I good pitch into a bad pitch because I
mean, like it was way inside andhe hit it right, similar to Vlad
when he hit that Grand Slam against.
Against world Warren on that 96 opera.
Let's compare those two, by the way.
So so Judge hit that three run shot and I thought, OK, the
(28:50):
momentum's gone there. Is this like how would you
compare Vlad's Grand Slam to Aaron Judge's Grand Slam?
Or I mean not Aaron Judge's grandson.
Hold on. Not with Aaron Judges.
I mean Aaron Judges 3 run shot to Vlad's Grand Slam.
That's what I meant to say. Well, Aaron Judge, Yeah.
(29:11):
Like how? Like, like, what do you mean?
How would I compare? Like how would I?
Compare like the way that pitch was like those two guys were the
2 best players in the in the in the playoffs in that division
for sure. Like when you when you thought
Vlad hit that Grand Slam and you're saying like this guy is
on something and you look at Aaron Judge, he was he was
having his moment. He did something like like
(29:34):
compare contrast. I know there's gonna be some
biased on this. But not not really to me, Aaron
Judges Grand Slam was was I mean, they were both really
important hits. I mean, you look at flat taking
that that pitch and that was a no doubter man.
(29:54):
You just knew it off the bat. We took that pitch deep early in
the game, gave us a good lead. But Aaron Judges was, you know,
to tie the game in a crucial spot to keep their, you know, to
keep their I, I would say hopes alive, but to keep, you know, to
(30:14):
keep their Bojo going, you know what I mean?
So, so yeah, kind of to keep their hopes alive at that point
cause it tied the game. So and that pitch was
impossible. Like they said that like in the
Statcast era, there was no pitchthat was that far inside pitched
with that high of velocity that's been hit for a home run.
(30:36):
Aaron Judge, he's it. He's the guy that like, the
guy's incredible man. Like, I love Aaron Judge.
I hate that he's a Yankee, but Ithink he's a fantastic talent
man. And you know, you gotta respect
what he can do on the field. But to compare the two, I I
really think that, you know, they're they're both great hits.
(30:57):
They're both great home runs in their own right.
So I mean, they both, you know, I don't really know how to
really compare both. I just think they're both
fantastic, man. We ended up winning the series
though, so I mean, I guess Vladswas more important than the end,
right? But.
Yeah, I thought, I thought with Aaron Judges grads 3 run shot, I
(31:21):
keep seeing Grand Slam his threerun shot.
I thought that worried me a bit because once you tie the game,
the momentum has shifted to the Yankees.
But the the Jays stayed, you know, under control and give
credit to this team and the way they they stayed unfazed in the
whole process. Even though they lost yesterday,
(31:42):
they're like, OK, another day ofbaseball.
It's not a do or die game. And let's see how it is and
everything came mentally prepared and and this team had a
game plan and they executed exceptionally well, right?
And Vlad was unstoppable throughout the most part.
(32:03):
Like like I said, three first Blue Jay to hit three home runs
in three consecutive games. First Blue Jay to hit a Grand
Slam, first Blue Jay to hit 600 or something like that.
Like in a series like this guy was on another level.
This is what top players in baseball do and job Flat is a
top player, so big stars show up.
(32:27):
They rise to the occasion and this could be a year that flat
is filing that guy to live up toit and he's just entering into
his prime, which is scary to think what his prime years are
going to look like. So and now, now go ahead.
(32:51):
Go ahead. No, I was just saying Richard
Schneider kind of reminded the team that the sky wasn't falling
yesterday. So, you know, and he, you know,
you got to credit him for keeping those guys focused too,
man, in my opinion. Like he's been a big, big, big
part and he gels with the players very well.
(33:12):
So he is, he is a players manager for sure, yeah.
So heading into today's game, what would your mindset about
like thinking about where thingsgone and where was your mindset?
Because I was, I was nervous andI told you this off the air,
(33:35):
like I couldn't sleep because ofthat loss.
Because that's not Blue Jays baseball.
They caught. They play, they play.
Clock in the morning, man. Dude, dude.
I mean, The thing is like fundamental baseball wasn't
their style yesterday, but todaywas a different day.
Different team, different outlook, different result.
Like what were your thoughts heading to today?
(33:56):
Because people were asking me, is this bullpen, bullpen good
enough to win this game? I was like, you're gonna find
out, and I do think so, but you're gonna find out.
And sure, it's stepped up in a big way.
Like what were your thoughts heading into game four of the
LDS thinking that, OK, they're going with the bullpen game
possibility of Godsman possibility if you're savage,
(34:17):
everything was that in at stake?And there was a report that
Godsman didn't have any pitch sessions and the Yankees were
well aware of that. And then today somebody said,
somebody said I think Shi Davidior or Keegan Matheson or whoever
said that trade savage would sayavailable to come out of pit
after pitching this past Sunday.Like what were your thoughts
(34:39):
about looking at it all that? I was I was nervous because if
things don't go well and you gotta use certain guys or are
they just just say things are really close, OK, and you gotta
bring in your savage to kind of keep things close or to, you
know, to say we have a one run leader, we're down one run
(35:02):
either or, you know, the guy comes in, you're burning him
essentially. OK, so he's not going to be
available for tomorrow. And then if they ended up having
to use Godsman on top of that, yeah, which I don't think, I
think that was an extreme scenario.
I don't. Yeah, I think everybody, with
everybody being available, I think that was the most extreme
(35:24):
case, is that you're going to use Godsman today because you
would have to pick in Game 5. But you just essentially burning
everybody today. And that I, I can't lie, that
was in the back of my mind. And then if we lost this game,
where would we be? Not to going into Game Five, it
(35:45):
would feel like the Yankees had a major advantage on us
considering who they, you know, who they sorry, who they might
have used or didn't use or whatever today.
But yeah, going into this this game, I, I can't lie, I was a
little bit nervous about that. Thank God we got the wind done.
(36:07):
We don't gotta worry about it. How did you feel?
Up and down, um, heading today, heading to today.
I was like, let's see where thistube goes.
I just hope they make it close it out.
And my mind at first, I was a bit numb about it and I was
thinking about like it when they're gonna go with they're
(36:28):
gonna mention names with everything with mysteries in the
Yankees didn't know what their game plan, which was kind of
unorthodox thinking that OK, they brought.
Goldschmidt and and bench. Right and they wanted to let you
ready left already left you ready and that's that's the
tactics that Jays used to balance this whole lineup and it
(36:52):
just turned out to be that it worked out for the Jays.
It favored more with the Jays because one give credit to Pete
Walker and John Schneider for communicating the whole process
thinking when do you pull this picture?
Where do you use the picture? How do you want to utilize what
matchups you want to use and on top of that, it's the balance of
(37:12):
how you want to manage the bullpen overall on a first
inning to the 9th inning process.
So at the end of the day. You look at it this way, let's
see where the things go and but I just hope the offence step up
and you know, it started off, itstarted off to a good start.
(37:34):
It was more anxious for me and it was just it was just like oht
man, a nerve wracking game. I like I haven't felt playoff
baseball like this in a very long time.
I'm I'm not even talking about the wild card series.
Forget all that, because like they didn't get to the ALDS.
(37:54):
I'm talking maybe even 16. The LDS like they dominated the
Rangers, like I think it was more like 15.
I would compare, I would comparethis to game five of the LDS in
2015. The bat flip game.
I don't know if I put that, but I mean, just look, I mean
everything at stake. You do not want to give
(38:14):
momentum. You do not want to you do you do
not want to get handed to the Yankees till you come back to
Toronto for Game 5. Because we seen this story in in
the other spectrum when the Jayswere down to nothing and they
came back to win three straight.We don't want reverse history to
repeat itself. So, and that's right.
(38:37):
This team showed their resilience today, man.
They showed that they they got it done and a lot of people
picked the Yankees to win the win, win this damn series, but
they did not win the series. So give credit to the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays should get their respect at the end of the day,
so. That's right.
(38:58):
Let me let me tell you this Who?Who is the player of the series?
I would say Vlad. It's gotta be blind, right?
I mean, it was incredible, yeah.He.
Yeah, he was incredible, man. He had like 10 hits or something
like that in this series with like.
(39:19):
Guy had three home runs a guy had.
Yeah, like you said. 10 or 10 RBI's, man, like, yeah, like,
like it's gotta be glad. No, no doubt about it, man.
Like, yeah, there were a lot of guys that, you know, that really
stepped up. But when, when, when he got to
New York, he continued, you know, you know, a lot of guys
stepped up in the first two games is what I'm trying to say.
(39:41):
But you know, cause VAR show andyou know, had a great, great
first couple games and but he went when they got to New York,
flight continued. You know, glad, glad stayed hot
throughout this entire series. So it's gotta be glad for me.
Do you have anybody else in mind?
Trey Savage probably has to be in that conversation of dude.
(40:05):
Sure. Dominated.
No, he had no hits in the playoffs.
How about that? Like.
And he he he was the game changer of this series as a
pitcher, in my opinion, because what if Bassett pitched a
series? What if Scherzer pitched a
(40:25):
series? What could have been the
outcome? I don't think we win this series
if it were for Jerry Savage. Like even if Bieber didn't have
a good. I'm dead serious, right?
Like, it's it's, it's that he could be the reason why this
Jazz team could get to get get to the point where the sky is
the limit. I mean, special, special.
(40:46):
Those are the two guys calling centre.
But if I have to bring honorablemention mention, I think Ernie
Clement has to be in that conversation.
Varsho has to be in that conversation and Nathan Lucas
has to be in that conversation. Those are the guys that come and
and him him and everything with the production.
Also, I wanna say this quick that I know that Anthony
(41:10):
Santander hasn't been Anthony Santander, but those are bad
like professional at bat like wesee a lot at the pool.
I think that's just something important.
I know the power hasn't really shown it yet, but I think he I
feel like getting there. Like hopefully these next few
days he can. He can talk about, um, he can
(41:33):
talk about uh, like him being inthe lineup, maybe half the
power, right? So we could, we could do that
for sure. Like, I mean, let's, let's,
let's, let's get to the preview of the next series, the ALCS.
So right now, the Tigers are playing Seattle Mariners.
Who would you rather face? I'd, I'd rather probably face
(41:59):
Detroit just because I don't know, man.
There's some weird voodoo that goes on between the Mariners and
the Blue Jays. I don't wanna be, No, I don't
wanna, I don't wanna be a part of that, that shit, man.
So I will say, I will say Detroit.
I think Detroit's aside. I mean, they got the best
(42:20):
pitcher between both teams, but aside from from Tariq Scuba and
you're playing A7 game series now.
You're not playing A5 game series.
So, you know, you might. Yeah.
I still, yeah. I still, I still think Detroit.
Even with school. I I still think Detroit.
(42:41):
Detroit's probably the team I would rather face.
So Cow Rally kills the Jays, too.
I, I don't want to see him, but I think we can beat anybody
though. I think we can beat anybody.
So I'm confident either way. Your thoughts, Rockford?
(43:03):
I don't know F other team is going to make a difference with
this team. The Blue Jays if thinking your
bowl back, they'll be big deal like he says, getting better and
better. Let's see what what happens by
Saturday or Sunday morning. I'll start at the same time.
You gotta look at it this way. You look at AJ Hinch as a
(43:26):
manager. And the way he's managed games,
he's been through the situation before now.
So they're playing game five in Seattle and it's right now
Schuble is potential Game 5 starter for Detroit.
But Seattle, they haven't mentioned it yet.
If I had to take a guess, it's probably gonna be Kirby, but I
(43:46):
wouldn't rule out Castillo. So I think the Jays match up
well, both teams, man. It doesn't matter what the
lineups up. Seattle lineup is just as good
as New York Yankees. It's and they do.
Let me ask you this quick. Sorry.
Sorry to interrupt you, Rocky. So scuba pitches Sunday or, or
sorry, pitches Game 5. Does that mean that he they're
(44:11):
pretty much burning him and he'sonly gonna be able to be pitched
once in that final series? Potentially.
I don't know yet because you have to remember it's best of
seven now, right? Yeah, correct, correct.
So I I don't know how this it all depends but.
Just thinking out loud. While with Seattle, it all
(44:35):
depends what Brian Woo is, he's The X Factor on all this.
If he comes back healthy and they advance to the LCS to face
the Jays and I think I think theJade Jade matcha will either one
of they both have to season series.
I do think if blast comes back, that's going to help the Blue
Jays for sure. Uh, Scherzer's Scherzer, I don't
(44:58):
know if he's, I doubt it, but ifhe wants to pitch a bulk of an
inning or so, maybe. But I doubt that either.
But let's see, because I don't want to see Bruel in this
series. So I don't know.
It's a good question, man. I, I think they're fine either
way because John Schneider has overcome his mistakes.
Not only they want playoff games, they want a playoff
(45:18):
series for the first time in nine years.
And that's a long time for baseball standards, right?
So right like that so doesn't matter to me I but.
How do you think we match up pitching wise on our side for
this series? So you think goes game 1-2 and
(45:39):
three. It's gonna be Godsman.
You're savage. Same thing.
Fever. I think doing the same thing if
if they wanna if they wanna alleviate the pressure on
Bieber, he could go Game 4 or they could go with them three
and they go bastard 4. I don't know what's I mean you
Savage was a available as a pet in game four of the LDS, but.
(46:01):
You think bastards in the rotation in this series then?
I believe so, because apparentlyhe was getting pitch sessions.
So they they're ramping it up and they have more time now to
work him back because they don'tplay Game 3 till next Wednesday,
which is the 15th. So yeah, so I could see Bass.
(46:22):
I mean, that should give enough time for Bassett because he was
on the IRL, they arrested him and I'm pretty sure he's working
his way up and try to be as healthy as he can.
But I'd like to see Bassett in LCH, which I think they will.
And they could probably get Thaifriends back too.
So they're getting some guys, but he would be such a platoon
situational guy because moments like that, it makes sense.
(46:46):
If you want to look at the rotation, I mean, the Jays don't
play well against Flaherty, but Flaherty's been having his ups
and downs. Troy Melton they haven't really
pitched against, so he's a new pitcher because he got called up
I think after they played him inDetroit.
Then you got Casey Mines. I think they can hit and
(47:08):
schoolboy, I mean y'all's been versus Scooby earlier this year.
That was a. Prolific bad trip.
That was an HH matchup. So I don't know man.
Both lineups are very somewhere.I think Detroit's lineups more
pestered in Seattle. Seattle reminds me a little bit
of the Yankees lineup because look at it this way.
Trade Torres is a trabajadores historical acid Riley.
(47:30):
I mean they have guys for days where Seattle they're more right
headed like you. Said yeah.
Danglers. Another one.
Wenzel Perez, I think. Wenzel Perez, I think is another
one. Yeah.
Perry Carpenter is another one. So I mean if you if you compare
both lineups. Cookies.
Call Keith, but compared to bothlineups who do I compare Seattle
(47:56):
lineup to is a little bit more like Yankee.
They do strike out a ton and theBlue Jays are top 3%.
Sell it on the power too. Correct.
And then and then with the Detroit, they they have a little
bit of Toronto in them, not the big names.
They don't have the Vlads, they don't have the bows in that
lineup, but they do have they dohave the tortoises who having a
(48:20):
breakout year, former world number one pick Riley Green is
breakout year. Phenomenal, right.
So but I mean Park Meadows is another name for a long time.
Yeah, sure. So I mean.
Yeah. Yeah, just like saying like
whoever faces between the Yankees and the Red Sox earlier
this year, like I still think The Jets were better, but I
(48:42):
think the Jags are better than both Seattle and and Detroit.
But my, but my worrisome about Seattle.
They might have a better rotation in Toronto, but the
Jays bats have proven that they could be really good pitching
and that's the ultimate outcome of all of this.
So. Yeah, we'll just have to see how
(49:02):
it goes. But do you have any final
thoughts before we wrap this up?Not really.
I just think, you know, we us asBlue Jays fans, man, we got to
enjoy this and just, you know, it's reminiscent of, you know,
back in the 1516 days. There's have fun and you know,
(49:23):
be safe out there, enjoy baseball and let's see how far
we can take this thing. Man, it's a great time to be a
Blue Jays fan so. Sure.
Yeah, definitely. My final thoughts is.
So this is that I said every time the Blue Jays have won the
division, they've been to the ALCS in all 7 appearances, every
(49:48):
time they win the division. So that tells you a lot of stuff
about, you know, winning the division is such a big deal.
They had to win the division andthey got it done.
So kudos should his Blue Jays organization and shout out to
the front office for fixing it, fixing this organization,
(50:08):
revamping the farm and everything, everything from top
to bottom was improved altogether.
Remarkable year, remarkable year.
And look, if let's just say the Blue Jays lose in the ALCS, it's
still a success because, yeah, no, without a doubt.
Like I thought LDS, yeah. I mean, if they lose or, you
(50:29):
know, like, but being up to nothing.
But if you, if you blew that lead that that that would have
been a somewhat of a failure, even though they wanted to be.
But going to the LCS and holdingit down, remarkable big deal.
So, and you know what? I'll say this before we wrap
this up, if you think the Toronto Blue Jays are fraught,
(50:53):
and I'm telling this to people who've said that.
Yankees. Fans, well, I mean in general
there was people that came in said that the Jays were allowed
place. Yankees fans, I'm just.
Kidding. Wait, I'm gonna say this.
Guess again the Blue Jays windows just opened and they are
(51:14):
built for a really long time. And if you don't believe me, go
look at where the farm is at andlook at the way this team is
built with homegrown talent. And you know what?
Until it's otherwise, this is now the Blue Jays division to
own until proven wrong. So till next time, take care, be
(51:37):
kind to each other's signing offfrom the ALDS champions, the
Toronto Blue Jays on the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Thursday, October 9th, 2025.
(51:57):
No. Yeah.
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