Halford & Brough in the Morning - Blue Jays Baseball Is Almost Here

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with Florida Hockey Now's George Richards (2:11) ahead of the Panthers road matchup this evening versus the Canucks, plus the boys talk Blue Jays spring training with Sportsnet Jays writer Zach Worden (24:20). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

702 on a Tuesday, happy Tuesday, everybody. Happy St. Paddy's Day, everybody. Halford and Brough, SportsNet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Do you have payday loan debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands.

Dash trustee.com. This is the music that Pee listens to when he's on the bike riding. riding. Yeah. We are now in hour two of the program. George Richards from Florida Hockey Now is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program, Brad to by Jason Homanoch at Jason.

If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Dot Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio. I knew you were going to do that. Step strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. That last part was bad.

Wasn't great. Wasn't great. Well, the first one was good. I feel like we should not. I feel like we should not do any accents. Why not? I don't know. Just call me.

crazy. Maybe we shouldn't. What about a so different accent? That's not better. In many ways it's worse. No? We've angered so many people listening to the show. We used to make that joke. It's like, how come some of them are okay and some of them aren't?

Maybe we just shouldn't do them. Why is supposed to walk around? He's not offending anybody? And here's Halford doing his Chinese accent. This is how I'm supposed to live? I'm supposed to live? I'm supposed to live like this? You are listening to the Halford and Brough show on SportsNad's

650. A reminder, it is the Canucks and the Panthers tonight. 7 o'clock from Rogers Arena. You can hear the call right here on SportsNet 650 for a preview of the Florida side of things. From Florida Hockey now, Panthers beatwriter, George Richards joins us now on the Halford & Rough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, George,

how are you? Morning, boys, how are you? We're well, thanks for taking the time to do this. I want to start with looking at the entirety of this Florida Panthers season, because on one end, you could say it's a disappointment. They're not going to make the playoffs. They're going to fall probably well short of them to be sure, but in the same

token, it's hard to call this a disappointing season. It's hard to call anything disappointing in Florida when they're coming on the heels of two consecutive Stanley Cup championships. How would you classify this season for the Panthers, George? Well, I think a little bit disappointing just in the fact that they really, I don't know. I mean, when they go into the winter classic, you know, on January 2nd, they're a point out of the playoffs. everybody's saying right the panthers are going to make it right they're just they just are going to make the playoffs and and they'll figure it out you know once they get there oh we lost george

okay we're going back as soon as possible george richards florida hockey now here on the alfred and brosho on sports net six can i just can i just say that um this isn't and i told you so but i didn't really understand all the people that were just assuming that the panthers were going to make it maybe he was talking pre-barcove injury maybe me because Barcoff Has been out the whole season I know but I think he was saying like going into this season everyone

No no no he was talking about they got to the the winter classic and people are Oh I didn't hear that part People were still like oh they're gonna They're gonna make the playoffs No problem I'm like they're gonna they're gonna fight I heard that a lot

Yeah I'm like what are you talking about Like there there are a bunch of points out And they're missing Barkoff Yeah I did I do agree with you like flipping the switch Was gonna be way more difficult than anyone Anyone assumed it was gonna be Do we get George back now we're gonna try this again George Richards, Florida Hockey now,

joins us on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. We lost you mid-answer there, George, but I believe you were talking about that. That's okay. The Panthers potentially flipping the switch, and that flipping of the switch never really happened. Yeah, never did. You know, they lose Seth Jones in the Winter Classic,

and that just seemed to be, you know, and then the schedule got tough, and it was tough for everybody, but it was so compressed, and when you're missing that many guys, you know, and then Brad Marchand goes out for, you know, 10 games or what have you. They just ran out of steam.

So I don't know if it's disappointing. I mean, anytime you miss the playoffs, it's disappointing. But I think, you know, anybody that's, you know, been around the Panthers or has covered the, you know, you remember those bad old days where, you know, they'd go five, six, seven years without making the playoffs. It's hard to complain when you've had the summers that this team has had, not only the last two years, but, you know, three years ago they went to the, you know, three years ago they went to the, They were the eighth seed, and they went all the way to the Stanley Cup final against Vegas. So it's been a really good run for Florida. And, you know, looking ahead, you know, they're still a contender. This just wasn't their year.

This is, you know, they hope just a blip on the radar. Look, we all know the Panthers are going to win the draft lottery now, right? Like, that is a possibility because... A lot of people think the Rangers will, but yeah, sure. Well, it won't be the Canucks. even though they should. But, you know, I guess it was reported or discovered a month or two ago. Maybe you can share a little bit more on this,

that the first round draft pick that they sent to Chicago, Forsat Jones, was actually top 10 protected. So if the Panthers do win the draft lottery this year, they will get to keep that pick. Yeah, I think a couple years ago in 2020, too, the Panthers made a deal for a Ben Chirot with Montreal, and they didn't put that protection on it. And that's the year that they almost missed the playoffs

and would have given Montreal potentially a lottery pick. So on all the other ones, yes, they have put the protection on it. So, yeah, that is one of the bright spots about what's going on right now with the Panthers. They're coming off a big loss, you know, 6-2 loss in Seattle. They do, would have a top 10 protected pick. Now, where that ends up, I mean, if it's 11, it goes to Chicago. That's part of the Seth Jones-Spenser Knight deal. But if it's inside the top 10, Florida's got a first-round draft pick to do with whatever they want to do with it.

I mean, if it's, you know, if they obviously win the lottery, you know, they probably keep it. But if it's eight, you know, maybe they eight, seven, eight, nine, you know, that's a nice trade chip for Bill Zito moving, you know, into the off season. You mentioned Spencer Knight there. They don't have them anymore. What is the plan in goal going forward for the Florida Panthers because Sergei Brobroski is number one, kind of getting old, and number two, appending on restrictive free agent? Yeah, I mean, that's something that Roberto Luongo

and his goalie department is going to have to figure out. You know, when they traded Spencer Knight about a year ago, we talked to Paul Maurice, and I asked him that. I said, okay, what's the future now? I mean, Spencer Knight was the future goalie of the Florida Panthers. And Paul Marie said, the future is Sergei Bavrovsky. And we looked at him, he goes, no, no, no, hear me out. He goes, this guy can play five more years at a high level.

So maybe we're going to find out if that's true or not. I mean, Sergey Bobrovsky has looked really good. The last couple games, you know, his numbers have not been good at all. I mean, that is just true. But there have been flashes of brilliance with Sergey Bobrovsky. throughout this season where he's just kind of survived this thing as well, maybe. So maybe an off, see, a full summer off for Sergei Bobrovsky will be beneficial. But again, like you said, he's unrestricted.

You've still got to come to an agreement on a new contract. But, you know, I would expect that Sergey Bobrovsky is, you know, Florida's starting goalie next year. We're having a lot of conversations, George, here in Vancouver about leadership and culture and where it all starts. Where does it all start with the Florida Panthers? And is his name Alexander Barkoff? I think it starts there, yes. Sasha Barkov's been Florida's captain, I believe, since 2018.

When they gave him the sea, they took it away from Derek McKenzie and gave it to Sasha. And there was a lot of criticism down here about that because Sasha Barkrov is just a quiet guy. And I think a lot of fans and, you know, hockey people, you need that rah-rah guy, right? You need that, you know, and Sasha Barkov is certainly not that. He is a lead by example type guy. And, you know, he's the first guy in in the morning at the gym and he's the last guy to leave, that kind of thing. And then Florida adds Matthew Kachuk. And you get that rah-rah thing.

So I think between Matthew Kachuk and Sasha Barkov, you've got it all covered. And then you've got Brad Marchand, you've got Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett. There's a lot of leadership, a lot of veteran leadership, Aaron Eckblad, Seth Jones. There are a lot of guys in that room who are going to hold everybody accountable. And that's just not, you know, leadership is not a problem within the Florida Panthers. Perhaps it was back in the day. But now that they've added all these guys and they all, you know, the adage, you pull the rope the same way.

You know, they're all pulling the same direction. There's just, there's never a problem with these guys. They're very close. I know every team says that, and we just heard about Buffalo and the guys going out for beers and all that. The Panthers have that. These guys hang out together. You know, they're there, you know, if they're in Vancouver, they were all at

dinner together last night, you know, they're all together, they always hang out together. They do everything together. And, you know, there is a lot. a, you know, brother ship within the Panthers. So anytime somebody strays from, you know, they find out about it pretty quickly. How is Matthew Kachuck just from a physical standpoint? He always seems to be somewhat hurt. And I know there has been talk about once the Panther season is officially over

or eliminated from the playoffs, maybe just shut him down for the rest of the season and give him, you know, even more than a full off season off because he's played a lot of hockey and, you know, he plays a certain style and the Panthers are going to need to be healthy again next season and hopefully that includes Barkoff. Yeah, yeah. Are we talking about Barkov or Kachuk? Well, we're talking about Kachuk now,

but I just kind of went into Barkoff because I asked rambling questions. Yeah, because Barkov is, you know, on the ice. Is he going to come back for the final two weeks of the season? I mean, well, I don't know. I mean, as far as Kachuk goes, you know, he had the sports hernia injury surgery in September or late August. You know, he had the groin saying he seems to be really healthy. I mean, I think that him getting those four months of rehab, you know, leading into the Olympics, did him a world of good. But, yeah, I mean, Paul Maurice has been resting individual guys, especially the guys that meddled at the

Olympics, the Finnish players, the Canadian players, you know, the Americans, obviously. So I would think that there's maybe a game or two that Matthew Kachuk gets a day off, but just like, you know, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett and, you know, those guys are getting a day or two off. I don't know that they'd be shut down for the rest of it, but I'm sure that they're going to get a couple days off here and there. We're speaking to George Richards from Florida Hockey Now here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650.

I know you've mentioned Seth Jones a couple times during this hit already, but I did notice that with all the injuries that the Panthers had this season, it felt like the Jones one. I think Paul Maurice called it the straw that broke the camels back. What was it about Jones in particular, the injury and also what they lost in terms of his presence on the ice that was so costly to this team? Yeah, I think it was as much as just, you know, here's another one, right? I mean, here's another, you know, all-star kind of player that's just not available.

And you look at what Seth Jones since coming to the Panthers last year, what he meant to Florida. Yeah, he's on the second pairing with Nico McCola, but that was Florida's best defense. I mean, you know, you talk a lot about Aaron Eckblad and Gus Foresling, but Florida's best defensive pair in the playoffs was Nico McCullough and Seth Jones. And, you know, Seth Jones is quarterbacking the power play. he's, you know, one of their top penalty killers, and all of a sudden he's out, you know, on a fluke play, a blocked shot that, you know, fractures his collarbone, you know,

in an outdoor game in Miami. I mean, it's just one of those weird deals. And that did. That seemed to be the end of the Panthers, as we, you know, as we knew it this season. Again, they were one point out of the playoffs, you know, four points out of third in the Atlantic, and then you just see that drop off towards.

they are now. Seth Jones was certainly a big loss for Florida and, you know, there's where it is, he might be back tonight. So we might see Seth Jones back in the lineup tonight in Vancouver. Oh, little news for Canucks fans out there. Mind you can hear that game right here on SportsNet 650 tonight. I did want to ask about the offseason plans and then going into next season, in particular with how Matthew Kachuk could forge those plans because I know with regards to Sergey Barovsky, he said, quote, they're going to whine and dime Barbarowski to try and get them back to resign with the Panthers. And I laughed because Kachuk is a good recruiter.

He knows how to get guys into the idea of either staying in Miami or going to play in Miami. I couldn't help but notice that after U.S. won the gold medal at the Olympics, it was right back to Miami where they went to go party and celebrate right in the, you know, Banthers' backyard. How big. It was a nice commercial for the Panthers. Right? I mean, I thought right away, I'm like, there's a recruiting trip for Matthew Kachuk that doubles

as a party for the U.S. how much of a role does he have in recruiting players to the Panthers? I think to a certain extent. I mean, you know, last year, you know, it was the big three and none of them wanted to leave. I don't think Matthew Goodchuck had to talk Sam Bennett, Brad Marshand, Aaron Ecklead into staying. And I don't think he has to, you know, talk Sergei Bobrovsky into staying either. Sergey wants to stay here. This is, you know, become home for him now.

this is, you know, this is where he started a family here in Fort Lauderdale. So we'll have to see, but there's no doubt that Matthew Kachuk is a very good recruiter. Like if, you know, if he was, you know, a college football coach, you'd like to have him on your staff because he's the guy, everybody just kind of, you know, wants to, you know, he attracts people to him, right? To his order, just his attitude and everything. And he seems to be a guy that likes to have a little bit of fun there at the elbow room in Fort Lauderdale Beach. So everybody wants to be part of that. You know, as far as Florida's offseason goes, yeah, they've got to get Sergey done, but I don't

know how much of a concern that is. I think it's going to come down to dollars and term and that kind of thing. It's not that Sergey wants to go somewhere else. It's just can they work out, you know, a financial deal, you know, but there are going to be, you know, maybe some changes. Florida is going to take advantage of this rising salary cap. And they've got to, you know, for the first time in a couple years. The Florida Panthers are going to have money in the off season, and then we'll see what they do with it. Hey, George, one final question. We just had Greg Wosinski on the show, and we asked him a question about new arenas. And after Calgary gets their new arena, I asked him, which is the next

NHL team to get a new arena? And he ended up saying the Florida Panthers. Has there been any talk of a new arena down near Fort Lauderdale for the Panthers? No. He's wrong about that? No, that was, there was talk before COVID that the Panthers wanted to move everything to Fort Lauderdale. And there was talk about building an arena and for, there's just no place to put it. And that talk has certainly died down. The Florida Panthers, actually last year, their team president before he left for the Minnesota Timberwolves signed a deal with Broward County, basically saying that they're going to stay in sunrise for the next.

20-something years. So they're going to renovate this arena that they've got in sunrise. It's still a great arena. Maybe not the best location in the world, but it works for them. And no, I don't think that, I think all that talk has kind of died away. Okay, I'll let wish know. George, thanks for this day, but let him know. We appreciate this. Enjoy the game tonight. It should be good one. All right, guys. See you, George. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Have fun. You too. George Richards from Florida Hockey now here on the Halford & Bruff Show on Sportsnet 650. I can't believe I told him

Enjoy the game tonight It should be a good one That's a lie You're listening to the I did everybody Alvin a rough show on Sportsnet 650 It will be a game tonight

Oh you know what I'm gonna do the one to watch Brought to you by Limitless A.V right now You set the table for this nicely Because it's very obvious What tonight's one to watch is And that will be Niels Hoaglander

Who's gonna return to the lineup tonight After a two game absence I want to say two game absence A Healthy Scratch for two games So you can sit and watch and learn some things, is they try and reprogram Nils Hoaglander to do the things

they want them to do to be a successful hockey player. The last time they reprogramed a player it worked really well. It worked beautifully. Yeah, he was riding. You can see. He's on the bike now, right?

You can see any of the fruits of those labors. No, look. Just dump it in, Nils. He's one that I think in the off-season they're going to have to make a concerted effort to try and move. And I've had to, again, more people were pushing back on this on social media

that Halford and Brough suggest that Nils Hoaglander should be treated. I'm like, I don't think it's just the Halford and Brough show. I think at this stage of his career, there are a few players that would be welcome to a change of scenery more than Nils Houglander. He's still getting healthy scratched. Yeah.

We're talking about, what is it, five, six years into his professional career. And it's still going through this with this organization. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the decision makers in Vancouver are not super enthralled at this game. That being said, this is also part of the decision-making group that signed him to the extension to stay here. Yeah. You know who else is pushing for a Nils-Hoglender trade? Nils-Hoglinder.

Probably. I mean, it's overdue when you consider how long ago they cut bait on Vasili Pops-Kolsen. I mean, it's been a long time since it feels like a long time since they've moved on. It's still this endless song events. And also if you're Holglander, you're sitting there, okay, who am I going to play with? Who are my sender's going to be? Because there's the bro line now, right? The Rossi's got Besser and Ogrin, and Besser and Ogrin are like, we're not leaving this line.

We're bros. And then, you know, PD is what PD is, but Hoaglander doesn't get all that many opportunities to play with Pedersen and other guys, frankly, I think, have done a better job, whether it's Drew O'Connor or Linus Carlson or, you know, I guess Jake DeBresk is going to be up there tonight. on Pedersen's line, but, you know, Holglander never gets power play time, really. He doesn't get much special teams time. Maybe there's a better fit for him elsewhere in the league.

Well, you know, and I know we got to wrap up this read, but I just want to say, like, this narrative, at least for me anyway, and I think you're probably going to be on the same brainwave here, this narrative won't go away.

And the narrative of they need to fundamentally change this roster and try and remove as many guys that have been associated with the organizational rot of the last two years. Have you touched this franchise for more than three years than you're out? You're stained.

And stained, don't go away. You have to go somewhere else now. You might be awarded legal compensation. Seriously. Do you have a rash? Yeah, we could move you to any of the 31 other NHL franchises if you're willing to waive your no trade clause. I just can't reiterate this enough.

the cuts need to be deep right down to the bone. They need to be torn right back to the studs. And there has to be an understanding that most things that were affiliated with the last three years were not good. And that includes the blip, which we can all now definitively call it a blip of getting to the playoffs in 2020, 23, 2024. Because from the highs of that came a cratering low in which everything fell apart. And there's just too many residual scars and scar tissue, whatever you want to call it. To honestly, honestly keep guys around. You can't tell me that there's guys right now that might be saying the right thing publicly

and saying how they want to be behind this thing. And privately are like, I would love to be anywhere else other than Vancouver because the last few years have been crap. I bet my life savings that DeBrusc has traded this offseason. I would, you know, I, it's not a big. You bet $8? It's not a big bad. It's mostly crypto. Right.

Okay. That was, in a very roundabout way, your one to watch, brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts, specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces.

Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessavie.ca. Coming up on the other side of the break, we're going to do some baseball talk here on the Halford & Breath Show on SportsNet 650. Zach Worden from SportsNet is going to join us.

We're going to talk World baseball classic. We're going to talk J's who are now just 10 days away from the start of their 2026 MLB campaign with a home opener against the Sacramento Athletics. You're looking at me funny there, Greg. I don't think they call them that. They do. I do. I'm willing to call them the Sacramento Athletics. Now, you're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. It's Kinnock Central on SportsNet 650. From exclusive interviews to insider scoops and post-game breakdowns, We've got it all. Tune in weekdays 4 to 6 p.m. on radio

and on demand through your favorite podcast app. On a Tuesday, happy Tuesday, everybody. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Are you getting collection calls? If you are, Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80% and stop those calls. This is them today at Sands-Trustee.com.

We're an hour two of the program. program. Zach Worden, MLB writer for Sportsnet, is going to join us in just a minute here. Hour two of this program is about to have Jason Homonock at Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason. Dot mortgage.

Busy times in the world of baseball. Early, early busy times in the world of baseball. It's only mid-March, the 17th, of course, at St. Patrick's Day. But we are right near the end of the world baseball classic and right near the start of the MLB regular season. Joining us now to talk some baseball. Zach Worden from SportsNet Now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Zach. How are you?

Good morning, guys. I'm doing well. Quite time in baseball for sure. Happy St. Patrick's Day and thanks again for having me back on here. Yeah, no problem. We bring you on it a great time here. Yesterday's game, Venezuela beats Italy 4-2 in the second semifinal at the World Baseball Classic. So Venezuela punching its ticket. Now, a strong and proud baseball nation, but still a bit of an upset run here,

including their big win over Japan and the quarterfinals. What did you make of what Venezuela was able to do? Let's go both games in the win over Japan, and then last night's win over Italy, where they silenced an Italian offense that was racking up the runs prior to last night. Yeah, you know, I think you kind of look at this Venezuelan team, and, you know, they haven't gotten very good starting pitching,

but they have kind of this stacked lineup of their own that's kind of, I think, flown under the radar because of just how strong, you know, the team Dominican Republic lineup was, how strong this team USA lineup has been, and, you know, just how consistent team Japan has always been. So, you know, it's been really cool to kind of see them go on this run. You know, it's the first time that they've ever reached the final of a world baseball classic, which is kind of crazy considering, you know, like you said, it's a really proud baseball nation. They have so much talent, you know, you kind of look up and down, up and down their roster and, you know, they have MVP's, they have all stars. they have this really deep bullpen that's kind of stepped up and had some guys kind of burst onto the scene here in Miami. So it has been really fun to kind of see them, you know, plot their own path here

and, you know, kind of be one of these final two-team standings when, or two-team standing when entering the tournament, you know, it seems so heavily favored that it was going to be the U.S., Japan and the Dominican as maybe kind of the top three teams there. Well, yeah, with all that said, now you look ahead to tonight's game, and it is the U.S. that are decided favorite, it minus 285 on the money line, understandably. So how much of a shot do you give the Venezuelans to pull the upset tonight against USA?

Yeah, I think they've got to stay in it early. Eduardo Rodriguez is taking the ball for them. You know, he's a guy who struggled in the majors the past couple of years. He struggled in his start against the Dominican. So, you know, I think if they're able to kind of survive early against Nolan McLean and keep themselves in it and give the ball to their bullpen where, you know, hopefully they're going to be able to kind of have most of their guys bounce back who pitched yesterday. I think that they've got a shot for sure.

You know, as we've kind of seen, you know, teams have been able to kind of keep up, keep up with the Americans, whether it's Italy beating them. Obviously, we saw Canada kind of keep pace for most of that game. And, you know, there's just kind of the path to beating the U.S. kind of seems, you know, keeping yourself in it, and then maybe putting a little bit of pressure on them late. We had John Morosi on the show yesterday, and he spoke in glowing terms about what this tournament meant to him as a broadcaster and a fan of baseball and the energy and the excitement and how it's surpassed

a lot of World Series that he's covered in terms of passion and energy going into these games. How surprised have you been at the way this tournament has unfolded in terms of how compelling it's been and how much energy and intensity there's been? Yeah, you know, it's funny. So I was at the WBC in 2023 in Arizona for some of those games. And, you know, the Mexico crowd in those and the American crowd. It's just an incredible setting.

I compare it to the World Series crowd in Toronto, really, for, you know, baseball experiences that I've had of being in person. It's really amazing, you know, just the way that this tournament kind of brings out the best in some fans. And, you know, I think you kind of see it just how much it

means to the players. Obviously, you know, there's you know, been a lot of talk about, you know, would you rather win a World Series or win a WBC? And for all these players coming from kind of these smaller, baseball nations where baseball kind of is the way of life for them. You know, this tournament is really important. And I think you kind of see that shine through in the passion that they play the game

with and just kind of how important it is to them to be able to represent their countries on this stage. So it's been so fun and just, you know, a really incredible celebration of baseball and something that, you know, you don't really get all that often in baseball. So it's been really cool to see the tournament develop into this. And, you know, hopefully they kind of are able to give us a nice finale here, tonight. How much do the pitching rules change the dynamic of the world baseball classic with daily

pitch limits, for example? Yeah, a bunch. I think it's not totally kind of the best version of tournaments like this, right? I think of them having to pull Paul Skeens or kind of just the way that you see starting pitching or how important that bullpens really do become in this because you know, you're going to only have your starters for like five innings max. So it definitely does change it. And, you know, I would be really curious what, like, say, the Olympic tournament will look like

if they don't have pitching limits on guys, I would imagine that they're still going to. But, you know, just to the point where, you know, it does kind of hurt the starting pitching and, you know, maybe does prevent you from getting some of the best starting pitchers in the world to be at this tournament. So it definitely kind of does change it. but, you know, I think it is good to kind of see who has the pitching depth. And, you know, I think that's probably a big part in why you look at a team like USA or the Dominican or Japan and Venezuela as, you know, kind of the most baseball-rich nations for being able to go deep in this tournament consistently because they just kind of do have that

that pitching depth that a lot of the other countries don't. Are the limits in place just because it's at the beginning of the season? Or do you think even if they stopped the season or even at the Olympics, they're going to have pitch limits. Yeah, it's definitely like they, the pitching pitch limits are definitely set up because of, you know, when this tournament takes place. It would be interesting to see how they would structure it if they, you know, had it had it in June or July or August just to kind of see, you know, the pitcher's kind of being in midseason form and being able to already have that workload under the belt where they're not trying to, you know, ramp up to 200 pitches where they've already kind of been there. You know, so for the Olympics, I think that'll kind of be an interesting topic.

It sounds like, you know, the major leaguers really want to be there. And I would imagine that's going to be a priority for them, you know, beyond kind of the obvious talking points of the upcoming CBA negotiations. So we'll kind of see how that plays out. But, you know, I would also imagine, you know, for owners and, you know, the general managers and kind of everybody on the baseball side, they probably wouldn't want, you know, their pitchers kind of going to the Olympics and throw on 140 pitches. or anything like that. All right. Let's turn it to the Blue Jays.

I'm going to ask you this, and you're going to be on the record, and I'm going to take your opinion because I trust your opinion. How much of the Jays going to miss Bichette? I think they're going to. I think we're going to see the biggest, kind of the biggest factor of Bobuchette's absence

come against, like, a lead starting pitching. Last year, they were really good at battling the top starters and having success against, you know, really tough pitchers. And, you know, I think they've done a nice job of kind of filling in Bichette's kind of absence, you know, whether that's defensively with some of the, you know, impacts that they'll make up with having Andres Amede's up the middle at shortstop for a full season with Ernie Clemente 2nd and, you know, kind of replacing him in the lineup with a Kazuma Okamoto, who certainly, you know, has a really high floor as a hitter. But, you know, I wonder kind of what he's going to look like against, you know, the, the best velocity in the world when he's seeing, you know, 97, 98 day in a day out. That's, you know, not something that you see every day in NPB in Japan. So I think that they, you know, kind of have a nice floor as to kind of, you know, getting,

whatever, like 80% of Bichette's presence in the lineup and, you know, getting kind of that, that extra defense up the middle. But I think that, you know, kind of there are certain scenarios where Bichette's, you know, just kind of pure hitting talent will be missed for them against, yeah, the best in the world. So I think we can all agree that last year for the Blue Jays, there was a lot of things that went their way. It was a very interesting group, all sorts of good stories here and there, which lends some people to believe or wonder if it can all happen again. Where is the upside in the Blue Jays roster, maybe some guys that underperformed last season that they will expect more out of this

season. Yeah, I mean, obviously, what's so great last year, you know, I think, you know, pretty much everybody kind of stepped up and had really, really exceptional seasons. I think kind of when you look at what you're looking for for upside in 2025, it's almost, you know, it's Vladimir Garrow Jr. being kind of the version of himself that we saw in October and the version of himself that we saw at this World Baseball Classic. It's getting, you know, it's getting. 150 games of Dalton Varsho, who was hurt for, for, you know, a significant portion of last year. And if he's able to kind of maintain the gains that he made offensively last year and that he's shown so far this spring, I think that would be really important for this team.

And a full season of Addison Barger, who, you know, kind of was a late call-up last year and took a little bit of, took a little bit to get his feet under him at the major league level. I think those three are kind of the ones where you just get more of them. And in Vlady's case, you know, you're just kind of hoping that he takes the leap to be. you know, this consistent regular season MVP candidate type player. But beyond that, you know, I look at the pitching staff. I think last year, you know, you enter the year with Bauden Francis as your number five.

You enter the year with Max Scherzer battling injury. And there was just kind of a lot of, you know, inconsistency in the rotation to start the year. And this year, they've gone above and beyond to protect themselves from any type of, you know, pitching underperformance, any type of pitching injury. You know, we've already seen Jose Burrios. and Shane Bieber and down Francisco down, you know, there's question marks about, you know, what Traya Savage's workload

is going to look like, but they still have a pretty solid kind of top five with Kevin Gosman, Dylan, Cotee Ponce, Max Scherzer's looked good. You can put Eric Lauer into that group and then obviously a Savage will be kind of factoring in there somewhere and I think that's a group where there's certainly going to be a little bit more

upside, especially with a guy like Dylan Seas, who kind of has the potential to be like a top five Sy Young Finisher, a top three Cy Young Finisher. If things really do click for him. So I think that they just kind of are insulated a little bit better entering this year kind of on all fronts realistically. And that'll be a big factor for them, you know, being able to kind of battle any of that regression and just kind of give them a bunch of different options. Do you have a theory on why Vladdy was seemingly able to just flip the switch

as soon as the postseason started? And it was like, whoa, where has this guy been all all season. Yeah, it's, it's one of the most interesting topics. You know, I wonder whatever happened between the end of the regular season and game one of the ALDS, you know, needs to be like a 30 for 30 one day because, you know, he was, he really struggled in September last year and he was hurt down the stretch. And, you know, I don't think that he had a home run kind of for the last little stretch of the season there.

So for him to kind of, you know, emerge as like the deliver one of the best offensive postseason that we've ever seen from hitter was was really kind of shocking i think so i i wonder you know just kind of the health factor for him for much of the year you know i know i know he battled the hamstring thing and it kind of you know been beat up a little bit so so i wonder just kind of the health question there um because he had been heating up kind of before before he had that that stretch that that kind of you know took away some of some of that power so you know i i i just think you know the health just kind of a little bit of extra um being locked in a little bit of a little bit and I know that he said that he kind of changed his approach to where he was kind of looking to do more damage.

And so I think if he's kind of figured out an approach that works for him and it's tough to be that locked in for 162, so it would be tough to imagine him being kind of that hitter for the entire regular season. But if he can be like 80% of that and be locked in for like 80% or be locked in at that level for 80% of the games, you know, I think that we're in for a really big Vladimir-Grio junior season. How much do you think it could just be confidence? Like he went up there and he always plays well against the Yankees. So the Yankees were probably a good team for him to start out against. But I mean, that first swing was like, okay, that was different.

I mean, he hit some absolute bombs in the postseason. I remember going back and just watching his swing, you know, 20, 30 times just because it was so impressive. Yeah, you know, I think he's a guy that we've kind of seen. mature and kind of come into his own over the course of his Blue Jay's career. And I mean, you know, we've been watching him since he was like 18 years old. So of course you're going to see him mature. But I think he's done a really nice job of kind of finding his place in this Blue Jay's lineup. And now, you know, he's the face and he seems really comfortable in that.

So I think that there's a confidence that comes with that. I think that, you know, that there kind of was a quiet confidence built throughout the postseason as, you know, where he was just so effective and he just, you know, wasn't straight. breaking out. He was putting the ball and play all the time. He's sitting a bunch of homers. You know, it's kind of tough not to be confident. So, you know, I wonder if he's kind of taken this step to this level where he realizes, you know, who he is as a hitter and what he needs to do to be, you know, amongst the league's very best. And, you know, it'll be kind of interesting to see what he looks like at the start of the year. You know, obviously they kind of have

the soft starting point with the A's and the White Sox and the Rockies. So I would not be surprised it off. We kind of see him coming out of the gate super hot here. How closely were you paying attention to Okamoto at the World Baseball Classic? Yeah, definitely close. You know, he's kind of been like the number one story. I thought for the Blue Jays

in spring training coming into the year because of what he could be offensively and, you know, just how important that he will be to this team in 2026. And, you know, I think obviously he's struggled a little bit for Japan, but you know, coming off the spring performance,

where he was so good for the Blue Jays before leaving. You know, I thought he looked pretty good defensively for Japan as well, made a couple nice plays for them. And that's a big question mark as well, especially for, you know, a Blue Jays team that prioritizes defense so much if he's able to kind of stick there and at least give you an average third base. I think that'll be really important as well. So we'll see when he gets back in camp and kind of what it all looks like.

But kind of really excited to see what he actually does kind of end up being just because there is, you know, somewhat of a mystery element to what his season will look like and how his transition to the Major League lifestyle will go. Zach, this was great, ma'am. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Opening day, just 10 days away for the Blue Jays. Enjoy the 10 days leading up to that.

I'm sure we'll touch base once the regular season gets underway. Sounds great, guys. Appreciate having me on. Always fun to chat. And thanks again. Thanks, Zach. Appreciate it. That's Zach Worden from Sportsnet.

Blue Jays and MLB writer here on the Halford & Bruff Show on Sports It's that 650. Matt and Surrey texts in to the Dunbar Lumber text line, 650, 650, 650 says, Hey guys, as far as the Jays this season, I think we were going to see an absolute monster in Vladig Guerrero. Even though the Jays didn't win at all last year, I think he learned what it takes to win.

I don't think it's a hot take that he wins AL MVP this year. Yeah, I actually just looked up Vladdy's AL MVP odds. And at one book, they're plus 1,600. and he's behind five guys. Aaron Judge. Bobby Wood Jr., Cal Raleigh. Julio Rodriguez.

Jayrod. And Nick Kurtz. All right. Nick Kurtz, the reigning rookie of the year in the American League. All right. I mean, I think there's value there.

Plus 1,600, for sure. Yeah. I'm surprised that he's fifth on the list, especially since he would just assume, given his exploits last year in the playoffs, he'd be right there behind Judge. I'm just curious to see how the Js do this season because so much went right for them last year. Yeah.

And some of the assumptions that you're going to make about some of the younger players, too. Like, Trey is savage, right? Everyone's going to expect him. A young winner. Everyone's going to expect him to be unbelievable. And hopefully he is. But it's harder sometimes. Yeah.

When the league does its research on you. And then, you know, you just, it's just difficult. It's not always a linear progression. We've seen a lot of young pitchers have a lot of success when they first break in. And then, you know, things get hard. So you savage is a factor. And then losing Bichette, like I don't want to make the hockey analogy, but I will. But, you know, people in Toronto are we like, yeah, we'll be fine without Marner.

You know, they're not. Okay. I want to ask Lattie. No. That's not an equal comparison. It's hard to do, but he's a good player, man. He's a good player. He was a good hitter.

Baseball's a weird sport, though. You can really pick up the slack in other areas sort of incrementally, and it might not be obvious where that extra offense is coming from, but they can certainly make it work. But like he said in the interview, Zach said, the biggest time you'll notice it is against the star pitchers. The guy, because there's those games where you just can't get a hit off those guys. But Bo would.

Bo would keep it rolling, and eventually the Jays would win. Speaking of star pitching, I got to ask, is the Blue Jays rotation significantly better than last year? By my count, they got six starters, right? You get Cis, Gossmann, Berrios, you savage, Ponce, Bieber. That's not counting whatever Scherzer is going to give them. That's a deep, deep rotation. And you're going to need it because you're going to have guys making spot starts all year long. Scherzer's probably not going to be in there from the start.

I think CIS is the big wild card. If he has an excellent season, he could pick up a lot. lot of the slack, but those other names you listed, they're all a year older, right? Gossmann, Scherzer even is a year older. Who knows what he's going to bring to the table this time around? But let's say hypothetically, the Cs, Gossman and you Savage are your top three.

Having a former Cy Young winner in Bieber as your fourth is pretty impressive. Even if he's coming off an injury, taking the slow road. But I liked the majority of them, I mean, I know he had some rough outings here and there, but I liked what he gave them when they picked them up. And, you know, I'm coming off the Tommy John surgery and everything. I don't know. There's six

legit starters in that rotation where they could, again, health obviously plays a big factor. And like Burrios was a non-factor last year, right? Especially they got down the stretch. That's why they stockpiled, right? That's why they went and did what they did. This is awesome. Like, imagine if he comes back and gives you something. How different was the Jay's rotation in the playoffs

compared to at the start of the season? Completely different. Beaver and you Savage weren't even on the team. Exactly. Right? Yeah. It's just so unpredictable how pitching can go in baseball. Only anything can go in baseball. Okay, I got to do the... That's baseball. That's baseball, right?

Smart decision brought to you by Crow. How about the Vancouver White Capp? So I took a picture of this on the weekend because it kind of caught my eye for two reasons. One, it was Thomas Mueller being used very prominently in an advertising campaign. And two, I think they might have jumped the gun on the advertising because people were saying,

you can't actually find this product in B.C. place right now. So White Caps announced today that they are thrilled, to welcome a quality German brew, Erdinger Weisbrough, as the official import beer of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Now, this is a German beer and not surprisingly, we've got their accent.

Again, we should really stop like this. We should all stop with accents, I think. Just because you're not very good at them. Yeah. Do your Joe Pesci. You know who else isn't good with them? We love the ending of Weissbrough. Everyone affiliated with this show is not great at them. Anyway, here's Thomas Mueller.

I think that's unfair. to me. Here is Thomas Mueller announcing the partnership with Erdinger. Welcome to the Capps family, Erdinger. We are looking forward to celebrating the big moments of our club

with an Erdinger. It's going to be another fantastic season. Prost. I would like to take this opportunity to express my fondness for a Duff beer. Would an air dinger and baseball go hand in hand? You hit an air dinger? You think so.

Oh, there you go. Why is Thomas Mueller allowed to do a German accent and I'm not allowed to do a German accent. Honestly seems unfair. The bit we were going to do was we were going to come back from the audio and I was going to be like, spoiler. That was actually just Jason Brough doing a German accent. Anyway, smart decision because I have noticed that in these trying financial times

in MLS for the Vancouver Whitecaps, they continue to roll out new business opportunities, like the official import beer of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Do you think that could put them over the top? This beer sponsorship is going to get them to that next. level. The very least, I'm glad that they've decided to explore utilizing Thomas Mueller in as

many ways possible, right? I mean, there's a lot of different avenues you could go here. Well, you could definitely change the hot dog game at B.C. Place. You could have the official schnitzel of the Vancouver White House. Yeah, why haven't they done that yet? Instead of hot dogs made of poison. We'll use real meat.

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Yeah, we already buy in bulk from the cardboard factory. No, no, only gray. There's a lot of protein in these formats. Only gray cardboard, please. Okay, we got one final hour to go on the Halford & Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. We're going to talk to Landon Ferraro at 810, and then we're going to do your What We Learns at 830. get them in now. Dunbar Lumber text message in basket is 650, 650 hashtag at WWL and tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.