Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 8/12/25

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

Guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe and Jamie Dodd discuss the Blue Jays' top prospects and whether Hoffman should be replaced as the closer. Plus, Blue Jays PxP voice Dan Shulman joins the show. Dan talks about the vibes in the clubhouse, Max Scherzer's presence, and looks ahead to the next series. Then, BC Lions QB Nathan Rourke joins the show. 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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-na. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Swung on, blasted, high in the air to right, Marte, looking up, and that ball is gone. Kyle Swarber with a towering, home run. Swinging to drive down the left field line. If it's fair, this game is over. It's hooking. It is fair, and the Rangers win.

Jake Berger with a walk-off hits. We call it the Good Morning, Burger. Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough. It's Josh L.A. Wolf, and Jamie Dodd, here with you coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Jamie, good morning. Good morning.

Elon and Paradeau. Good morning. Lattie, good morning. Hello, hello. So you managed to find the Simpsons clip to insert, but you missed the other burger reference of the Simpsons. Of course, Homer salivating at the mention of former Chief Justice Warren Burger. Of course.

Well, he loved burgers of all kinds, including the Good Morning Burger, too. Halfernoberuff is brought to you by Sands and Associates, B.C's first entrusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit sands dash trustee.com. we are coming to you live from the kintech studio kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step a lot to get into on the show today so much to get into so much and we'll get into it in what happened and more as the show goes on i promise we we just have so much to sink our teeth we might have to move some topics till tomorrow yeah i mean it's a busy week uh so on the show today guestwise

though at 6.30. Dan Shulman is going to join us. Blue Jays. You know what? I'm trying to take extra time. Okay. You know, so I'm going to mess up some words on purpose. Make it seem like an accident. And then talk about it. And then talk about it. Yep. Yeah. Veteran move. Blue Jays play-by-play voice. Dan Shulman will join us at 630. The Jays

did not play last night, but they do open up a series against the Chicago Cubs tonight in Toronto. So we'll get into the road trip for the Jays and what's to come for the Blue Jays. They look to keep their spot atop the American League at 7.30, Nathan Rourke. All right. BC Lions quarterback is going to join us, and we'll talk about his season. What's going on with the Lions?

They got a big win coming off a buy. Are things trending in the right direction? And how are things going for Rourke on a personal level so far this season? So he is at 7.30. and then at 8, it's Mike Sando covers the NFL for the athletic, had a recent piece up at the athletic. The thing hockey fans,

and Kanox fans, I think, specifically get most mad about every season. Oh, right. It's the tiers list, right? That the athletic puts out when it comes to hockey. And so there's an NFL one for quarterbacks as well. That's been going on for a while. Mike Sando, he has a panel that is,

comprised of 6 GMs, 6 AGMs, 6 AGMs, 6 former GMs, 5 other executives, 8 head coaches, and 19 other coaches, including 15 coordinators. So 60 people in total within the NFL that vote on this, there are some surprises, there are some big risers, some big fallers from last year. So we'll get into all of that with Mike Sand. I wonder who it was at The Athletic, who really settled on. tears as being their thing. Thomas Strand. I don't think so. I think he inherited it from someone else with the athletic.

Anyone that works at the athletic has to be a tear guy. There's like every piece is tears. That's true. And it works. I get it. I get why they do it. But they really love their tears. They sell rankings and they were like, let's do it.

Power rankings. Not for us. That's ESPN's thing. Get out of here with that. We do tears. Yeah. We're more sophisticated. And you know what?

They're right. It is more sophisticated than power rankings. So working in reverse. 8 o'clock, Mike Sando, from the Athletic, 7.30, BC Lions quarterback, Nathan Bork, 630, Blue Jays, play-by-play voice. There you go. Dan Shulman. So that's what's happening on the show. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was. We know how busy your life can be.

What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit BCCSA.ca.com. Nothing happened. I don't know what to tell you. Okay. So the Jays and the Mariners, they both had the day off yesterday. The White Caps obviously did not play. The PC Lions did not play. Neither team made any news.

either. The Vancouver Canucks, if you're wondering, they did nothing yesterday. So, we find ourselves in a fun spot on Tuesday, August. Well, okay. Some stuff didn't happen. Neither the Mariners or the Blue Jays played. However, if you're really looking for the silver lining, the teams chasing both of them, or I should say, the Mariners are chasing the Astros, the Red Sox are chasing the Jays, and the Astros and the Red Sox played. So at least that's like incidentally interesting. to both primary sets of baseball fans. Yeah, exactly.

Both primary sets of baseball plans, fans who listened to the show. We're stretching a little bit, but that's an important result. It's August 12th year. We're in the stretch run. We're in the race. The division race is in full swing here. I'm trying to sell it. I admire the effort.

I'm really invested. I admire the effort. I'm really invested. No, the Astros, they did win. They beat the Red Sox seven to six in Houston. And so what that result means for both the Blue Jays and the Mariners. And we can dig into this fully. The Jays are four and a half games up on the Boston Red Sox.

Now, Seattle is one game back of the Houston Astros for the American League West lead. And we talked about it yesterday. I have a lot of hope in the Mariners, but I am worried about the Astros kind of running away with it. Because in the AL, those two teams, to me, are the most intimidating at the moment. Yeah, I think the Astros are maybe the team with the most upside, the team that scares you the most if you're the fan of another potential playoff team.

So to see them maybe start to round into form, I know they're only five and five in their last 10 here in Seattle's been able to make up a lot of ground over that stretch. Of course, since they're red hot, at the very least, I think it's shaping up to be an extremely competitive race in the AL West between the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros. the Red Sox, that's their third loss in a row.

And they were really red hot there for a while. It looked like they were going to be neck and neck with the Jays. And of course, that could still materialize. We got a lot of time left here before the end of the season. But three losses in a row now, they've cooled off a little bit. And despite the Jays not really catching fire over the last couple of weeks here, you know, yeah, they sweep the Rockies, but it's the Rockies. And we all know the story there.

You know, still with a very comfortable for this stage of the season, and four and a half game lead over the Red Sox still six games up on the Yankees who also won yesterday. So the J's for some of the ups and downs and the questions and all that, they're still in a really, really good position. And the Mariners, they've fought to put themselves right there in the AEL West race as well. Yeah. And it does feel like the Mariners, they are, it's very possible they go on a run as well and try to challenge for that ALS spot. But even if, even if they don't. It does feel like they're pretty comfortably in a wildcard spot

unless things fall apart, which is never out of the question. You can never write that off. Yeah, but we'll see what happens with the Mariners and the Jays. The Jays making other news, by the way. Their new top prospect because new prospect rankings came out. Really? In Major League Baseball.

So do you want me to run through... From baseball America? From baseball America? I'll run through the top 30. Sure. Okay, yeah. We'll do in-depth scouting reports on the top 30. Yeah, absolutely. No, but Trey I Savage is up to number one. He was number two for the Blue Jays.

Okay. Arjun Nimila was number one. Now he's number three behind Jojo Parker at number two, the recent first round pick. So that's the top three. Ricky Tiedeman number four, Johnny King, number five rounds out the top five. That's all the analysis he got.

Very exciting. But Trey is Savage. He has been flying through the miners. Yeah. So this is going to be his fourth level, started below the Canadians, came up to the Canadians, was here for like two games.

And they're like, yeah, you're way too good for this level. Moved him up to double A. And now still turns out he was way too good for double A as well. So he's going all the way from low A to triple A in a season is really,

really impressive. And now he was drafted at a college, so a little bit older. It's not as if he's a high schooler coming out and doing this in his first full professional season. But still really, really impressive. And the word is that,

you know, it might not stop here, right? He's AAA in the middle of August, but if the Jays need an arm out of the bullpen and especially an arm with the ability to miss bats, you know, the strikeout capability that he has and that he's shown in the minor leagues, he might be an option for the Jays bullpen down the stretch. Yeah, even into the playoffs has been something

that's come up for the Blue Jays because he's, you mentioned the strikeout rate in his last three starts in AA, which is 13 innings pitch. He has 23 strikeouts, which is just an insane amount. I think he's struck out 42% of batters he's faced in the minor so far, something along those lines. He has been really, really good,

and he's been deserving of the call-ups he's gotten so far for the Blue Jays. It's going to continue as he gets the call to Buffalo. His strikeout rate is higher as a professional than it was in college. It's incredible. There you go. But to make that jump, He just turned 22. So he was a young guy coming out.

Usually they're 24 coming out of college. Just turned 22. So that's pretty impressive numbers. When he was here in Vancouver, he struck out 33 and 17 in a third inning. So that's almost two strikeouts an inning. And it's exciting if you're a Jays fan, the idea of this kind of young flamethrower with electric stuff coming up and being part of the bullpen. I'm always curious about how quickly can he establish the trust to be used in anything

approaching like a high leverage situation and that's always the question with your bullpen going into the playoffs is who's going to take the leverage opportunities who do you trust that you can bring in in a jam he's got a long road to cover still even with all the promotions he's received and now going to AAA to be a guy that you're like hey

you know six inning in a playoff game and we're clinging to a one run lead and there's two runners on base let's bring in you savage like that's asking a lot of a young player but who knows maybe he gets to that stage because his talent is just undeniable a lot of it probably depends because often these kind of prospects get called up in September when the rosters expand and all of that so I do wonder if they looked at the timing of where he's

out right now and they're like okay let's give him a few weeks in Buffalo see what happens there and then by September if he's ready he'll he'll get the call and then you have all of September for him to be like to show how much you can trust him in the postseason it would still be like hey it's a tough spot to go into as a 22 year old as a rookie but again we talk about the strikeout rate and by all accounts his stuff in the minor leagues has been really, really good. We'll have to see how it translates to the majors, but he has been the best prospect for the Blue Jays by far this season and hopefully it continues into Buffalo and then into Toronto as the season goes on. 650, 650, Dumbar Lumber Tech's line. Keep the text coming in there. It is Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors.

and rental warriors for over 50 years, visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dumbar Lumber.com. If you text something in, we might get to it. I'm not going to say the odds are zero. They might be high. The odds are higher than zero, for sure. They might be high.

Elsewhere, in hockey. Hold on. I'll just say this. If you've ever complained about Halford and Brough not reading your text, we're your guys. This is your opportunity. This is your moment to shine. Send your text in. Yeah.

So actually, you know what? Before we move off of the Jays, we got a question in. All right. On the 650, 650, Dunbar Lumbert's Ex-line, good morning, guys. What are your thoughts? Good morning. What are your thoughts on Hoffman losing the closer job to Luis Barland?

That's from a superintendent, Steve. I have really liked what Barland has done. I think the upside is high in Varland, but I do think that it would be too much this year. I think next year, and we talked about it yesterday, next year you can go into spring training, you can go into the season, especially if Hoffman continues to have some issues down the stretch,

and I do think his issues have kind of been overblown. Like, he was good up until the last game, but I do get it. There are some inconsistencies in his game at times, but you can go into next season and be like, hey, we brought this guy in. He has a lot of team control. We can get him in the closer spot.

Yeah. It would be interesting. Well, they've even talked about trying him out as a starter going into next year as well, which would be really interesting. Now, another text comes in right on the heels of this from Jay. Any concern they are rushing you savage because they don't trust Hoffman after the third game against the Dodgers. I look at Hoffman and he's done enough this year to be, I don't think he's in danger right now in this instance, in this instant of losing the starter's job.

But I also don't think he's so established that it's beyond the realm of possibility. going into the playoffs like there's definitely a world if he continues to struggle where they look at other options and i think they've got you know bringing in dominguez bringing in varland they've got other plausible options for that type of role and in the playoffs especially it's also it's less about like okay who's going to pitch the ninth inning and it's more about who can we bring in a jam right who can we bring in those key moments where there's runners on base so it's fair to have questions about hoffman but i think the bigger picture is who do they trust in the those key moments. And you're hoping it is Hoffman, certainly Varland with what he's shown so far.

I think Dominguez as well can be at least, you know, maybe third or fourth in the pecking order of that role. And then it's, you know, can Rodriguez get back there? Is there somebody else who can kind of jump up and be in that mix for those high leverage situations? And I think with Hoffman, they're not in a situation where they're in a panic mode here, where it's like, oh, man, we are neck and neck to make the playoffs. We got to win every game. They've got a bit of a cushion. they can afford to have at least a little bit of a patience before they start shuffling guys out of different roles and kind of officially, officially demoting Jeff Hoffman. Yeah, you do have time for him to iron it out to an extent before the postseason.

And again, like, I don't think he's been too bad lately. It was a bad showing in L.A. I will fully admit that. But I think before that, he had been on a decent run. He's still missing bats. Yeah. He's still missing bats aside from the strike zone. When he hits the strike zone, he misses bats, which is what you need from a closer. It is. It is.

And, yeah, so I'm not taking him out of the closer spot yet, but we'll see. If it continues, then yes, of course, it will be a bigger conversation going into the rest of the season and into the playoffs as well. Okay, moving on, minor NHL news. That's right. We all live for. The dream. Yeah. The Ottawa senators.

That's right. We're talking about the Sends. Get Pumped. Have officially bought the land for their proposed downtown arena in La Breton Flats. Huge news. Get pumped. And it's especially big because, let's all be clear, this is not like an official groundbreaking. This is not, you know, they haven't got approval to build it.

They have bought the land. So it's actually not even, it's not even happening. They had like agreed in principle, I think like six months ago to buy the land. Now they've bought the land. Okay. But I do think it's notable because for so long with the Ottawa senators, even baby steps like this towards a long-term significant goal coming to fruition seemed impossible. Right?

Like in the Eugene Melnick era, with the Ottawa senators, especially in the later years, it was always basically what's going to go wrong. And it really, for as long as they've talked about this LeBretton Flats project, and we all know the story, right? The building's way out in Canada. It's in the middle of nowhere. It takes forever to get to. brutal location. When you're already in a smaller market, it's really tough to kind of have an

anchor like that around your franchise's neck as well. So it makes so much sense. But the Meldick factor was always just preventing it from even taking these little steps forward. So I think, you know, I look at this story. And again, still a lot of hoops to jump through. But the fact that they are starting to actually take the steps. They're going through the process. And it seems to be going orderly. It seems to be going how you would expect it to be going with a competent franchise. There's no reason this shouldn't eventually happen. And it seems like it is, even if we're talking four or five, six years down the road for them to actually move into the new building. It is really striking to me just how completely new ownership has changed

the vibes. And really, I think the trajectory of the Ottawa settlers. And obviously, you know, the players that were excited about or Sons fans are excited about, right? Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzel, it's not like that was Michael Landlauer putting that together or anything. Those guys have been in the system there percolating for a few years. But I think with previous ownership, even if you had this talented young core and you take the step forward and you make the playoffs and Travis Green looks like a good hire there, in the back of every NHL fan's head, it would still be,

well, how are they going to screw this up? Like Eugene Melvick's going to find a way to mess this up. And now at least it's, hey, they've got competent ownership. So, hey, they have an exciting young core and maybe Brady Kuch will stay now that things are going in a different direction. Maybe they will get the new rink built, and all of a sudden it feels like instead of being, well, this is a nice story, but it's going to go off the rails. At some point, it feels like they can actually build this out. They can actually accomplish something significant, which is not a conversation we've had about the Ottawa Senders in a long time.

Yeah, it is crazy how much of this comes back to ownership. And it's like, hey, if you get competent ownership in there, it can change the difference. It can change the vibes and they can actually get stuff done. And now there is a sense of legitimate belief in what the auto west. senators can do on the ice because it kind of trickles down into everything. Do we know what they're doing with the old stadium, Canadian Tire Center? Oh man, what a question. I can't imagine a need a practice facility. Short commute. We did get attacked. I can't imagine that there's a lot of demand for events out there. No. Maybe I'll just sit vacant. Maybe they'll blow it up. Maybe I love a

good demolition. It is fun. It's pretty cool. It is fun. No, but when it comes to a, I do, I always like, we have this conversation a lot with certain teams in a bunch of different sports where it's like, well, the arena or the stadium or whatever isn't downtown. So we don't actually know how good of a market this is. Like with Atlanta, we've talked about like four different places in Atlanta. And it's like, well, that's not the right place. No. Don't want to have it there.

You want to have it over here. I always, that always made me roll my eyes with Arizona. Yeah. Where it's like, well, you can't build in the West Valley. You have to build in the East Valley. It's like if that's what's preventing people from coming to your games, you're not a good hockey market. And I've been to Arizona.

I'm like, dude, it's not a lot of traffic. I know it's easier to get to certain places, but it's not hard. Having said that, I've been to Ottawa and been to Senators games. It's like, man, this is a long way. This is a bummer. This is a drag to get to. I know its location is a big reason why they want to move, but it's 30 years all we get from these stadiums now?

Well, that's my other... Like, 1996 is when it opened. So... When did Rogers Arena? 1995. It's like a month away from its official 30-year birthday here. And Rogers Arena is the eighth oldest building in the NHL now. And when, of course, the Calgary Flames have a new one coming in relatively short order.

So that's going to be newer, obviously. And then there'll be seventh oldest. And all of a sudden there's this big, as you say, like, are we talking about a 30-year time frame? There was a massive number of buildings opened between like 1993 and the year 2000 that are all going to be either 30 years old now or coming up on their 30th birthday. And I think with Rogers Arena, it's fair to say if you go there, like, I still think of it as the new Canucks building. It's showing its age. I think it's fair to say that it's showing its age. And that was my other thought seeing this news about Ottawa, you know, going down the road to a new arena, like

Calgary's getting a new one built. Edmonton opened a new one not that long ago. You know, Toronto, Montreal, they're older. They're more of the Rogers Arena vintage. But, you know, when Calgary's opens, Vancouver will have the oldest building of any of the Canadian teams in the NHL. And somebody texted in, Rocket and Langley, better question is, have the Aqualini's bought the land for the practice facility? And as much as we focus on the practice facility side of the facilities equation for the Canucks, I think the question of what does the, not the short term, right? Like, I don't think anyone's saying, you know, the accolingies are going to be out there agitating for a new building or if a team desperately needs a new building or anything like that. But I think in the short to medium term, given the age of Rogers, relative to all the other buildings in the NHL, like, what does the future of that building look like? I think to give the Canucks credit, the way they've been handling it recently, which is basically pouring a ton of money into it, right?

New screen, new seats this year, improvements to, you know, the restaurant downstairs where you can watch the players come out, all these sorts of things. I think that's probably the way to handle it because you're not beating the little. location. So I think anything that's like, we're going to build a new rink over here. It's like, no, you're not. That's stupid. You're definitely not doing that. Don't do that. So if you're not beating the location, which as Laddie said, that's the whole reason the senators wanted to move is because the location was terrible. I think your best bet is just every summer, you're picking a new projects. You're like, okay, what can we do to the rink this year? How much money can we pour into it? That's what the Js did with the sky don't know. Yeah, because it is showing its age, but you can't do a

full tear down and move somewhere else either. Yeah, that's the, the only way you would be able to do that is if you found a temporary home somewhere demolished Rogers Arena and built a back down. The practice facility maybe. It's such prime location like you said.

That's the thing. You don't want to move out of you. There's zero chance you're getting a better location. Yeah, you have to keep renovating it. The Canucks are in kind of a they're in a tough spot I guess where there's no other options.

We talk about teams like San Jose who's building open a year before from what I've heard about San Jose. I say P Center is like trash. It's bad. Because they have not been doing renovations. It's not just the Canucks that are going to be going through this conversation, right? As I said, there's a whole, like a ton of buildings opened in a very short span in the 90s.

And sometimes at San Jose where it's like, you know, I don't know the geography of San Jose. I bet they could find a different location to build a new building. And it would just be just fine. But, you know, Boston's in a similar situation. They have a big downtown rank that they built in the 90s. They're going to have to make decisions. It's going to come up a lot, I think, for different teams around the NHL. Like, hey, we were loved this building for a long time.

We love the location. What on earth do we do now, but it's kind of really showing its age? The Rangers have been in the same place since the 60s. That's crazy. That's honestly like the template, though, I think. Because they're like, well, we're in Midtown Manhattan. It's not getting better than this. You're never moving away from MS2.

We're just going to try to do what we can to renovate and make it as nice as possible, but we're not moving. And it is Madison Square Garden. Exactly. There's history. You can do it. It's fine. Okay. 650, 650, Dumbar Lumber Text line.

Keep the text coming in there. On the other side, we're going to speak to Dan Shulman, Blue Jays, play-by-play voice about everything going on with the Jays as they get a series underway against the Chicago Cubs tonight in Toronto. That's next on the Halpertam Brough Show, Josh Elliott, Wolf, Jamie Dodd, Sportsnet, 650. Ernie Clement on the first pitch he sees, puts the Blue Jays back on top. Boy, you talk about a team that's got a lot of character and never gives up. I'm out the Blue Jays in this performance today. Welcome back to Halfer and Brough. No Halper, No Brough.

It's Josh Elliott-Wolf and Jamie Dodd here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, and Halpern & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn out a Consumer Proposal reduces your dad. by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit sands dash trustee.com. You heard him on the call there. We go to the hotline now powered by Power West Industries. It is Dan Shulman, Blue Jays, play-by-play voice. Appreciate you taking the time, Dan. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you guys doing? We are doing very good, and we are very happy to hear Buck back in the booth, like you heard on

the call there. And also, was it a playoff-like feel to the game? game on Sunday in L.A.? Absolutely. No question. I think the Yankee series at home over Canada Day, that four-game series felt like it. And part of the Dodger, you know, certainly the third game of the Dodgers series felt like it as well. The first two games, not as much, although the first game was very close through six, Scherzer, Kershaw.

So I think most of that game felt like a playoff game. But that third game on Sunday was as intense, about as intense a regular season game. I think as I've ever done, like, I don't want to be, you know, embellish it too much or anything, but, you know, the back and forth, Lauer getting knocked out early, the bullpen having to keep them in, and then Guerrero and Barger go back to back, only to see Hoffman walk in the tying run, then you just heard the Clement Homer, then what happened with Flew Hardy in the bottom of the ninth, you know, that felt like a game where nine times out of ten, the Blue Jays lose it, and they just found a way to win it, and it was pretty fun.

Yeah. And as you laid out, there was a lot of people who contributed to that win, Dan. And of course, it wasn't just Flew Hardy coming in and getting the final two outs. But striking out Otani in that situation, especially with that final punchout pitch, right? Challenging him, not just throwing a strike and kind of praying and then getting mooky bets for a guy who is not always called on in those type of situations. And I mean, those types of situations don't come up all that often. That was pretty special to see. it really was it was a nine pitch at bat to show hey otani and i thought flew hardy eight of the nine pitches were great i thought he kind of got away with one that otani ripped foul but he just kept throwing strikes kept getting otani in swing mode and just had the confidence and the guts and the poise and the the heartbeat somehow to get it done because the ballpark was loud you know you got otani in bats you got maybe the best player in the game and then another uh you know former MVP, a guy who would have been swinging the bat well, the entire series. And there's no bigger situation.

And I think I said something like Mason Flew Hardy just got the two biggest outs of his life. And there's no question. Like, you just, that was a huge moment for a guy who was, you know, one of seven relievers to pitch in that game and really picked up Jeff Hoffman, who really needed to get picked up. But there, as you said, there were so many guys who helped. Louis Varland got five big outs. It's Brendan Little had to bounce back outing. Braden Fisher, who just keeps taking the ball, keeps getting out.

It's like all kinds of guys who at the beginning of the season, we didn't know about, or they weren't Blue Jays, or you didn't think they'd be big-time contributors. They're all contributing now. What does it say about how expectations have changed for the Jays when you look at the month of August, and I think some people are maybe underwhelmed with how the month has gone so far, but you do have the Rocky series in there that was obviously a really. really big high, but what does it say about the way expectations have changed when you can look at it as underwhelming, but then you look at the standings and the Js are still at the top and

still have a comfortable lead on the Red Sox right now? Yeah, the goalposts have moved, that's for sure. I don't know anybody, like literally I don't know anybody who thought they could win the division this year if you go back to February, March, and start asking opinions. So, but now it's August 12th, and they got a four and a half game lead, and so expectations have changed, and that's good. but I still think most Blue J fans understand this is not like the Bautista and Carnacion teams. This is not like the 92-93 teams. This is a team that has exceeded expectations, in my opinion, overachieved a little bit. And it's because of the Flewhardy's and the Clements and the Lucases and the Lopperfitos and the Davis-Snyders and Braden Fischers, all these guys who have had bigger roles or opportunities and have done.

a great, great job. I think people see that this team, you know, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Like they don't have outstanding starting pitching. They have starting pitching that will keep you in the game. The offense has been great for the last three months, but again, it's so much about these complimentary players who have helped out the big bat. So I think expectations have changed, but I think and I hope that most people, even if they lose two out of three to the Dodgers, like there's no shame in going to L.A. and losing two out of three to the Dodgers. They might be the best team in baseball. I think most people still understand that this team is fighting like crazy and giving its all and still in the big picture, I think, exceeding expectations a little bit. And there's going to be a lot of stress coming. There will be a lot more emotional ups and downs over the next six or seven weeks. Yeah, we certainly hope so, right? Because that means they're going to be playing in some big games. And, you know, Dan, anytime you're talking about a team that's greater in the sum of its parts, really exceeding expectations in any sport, I think you're looking at the coach also.

as a big part of that. And as someone who's around the team all the time, how have you seen John Schneider develop, grow in his role and what's made him an effective manager for the team this year? I think two things. I think he's more confident and assertive in his in-game decisions. I think he's less by the book and a little bit more by feel and what he sees. I think it's a balance. And all managers use a balance. But I think he, you know, he's less by the book. If he says hey, this is the guy I think I should use in this spot, whether it's a pinch hitter, reliever, whatever, should I put a bunt on? Should I let him hit away? I think he's more assertive in his decision making. And I think by his own admission, the communication from him

and the coaching staff to the players has improved a lot. And I think that's a big reason why the vibes are so good. Now, winning helps the vibes too, obviously. But I think the communication has really improved in the last couple of years. I don't think there are any, you know, big egos or bad personalities or guys on their own program in the clubhouse. I think it's 26 guys playing for one common goal. And I think John Schneider deserves a lot of credit. And I think the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit, too. You know, Pete Walker's been around forever.

We know about him. On the pitching side, David Popkins has come in and I think made big, big changes on the hitting side, both in terms of the market. mindset and what each hitter is trying to accomplish. And then you've got guys like DeMarlo Hale and Don Mattingly and Mark Buzzynski and Carlos Fablis. Like I know we don't talk about some of these guys a lot. And I'm not saying this just to say it.

I think they've got an outstanding coaching staff around John Schneider too. And I think that's a big part of the team's success. We're now seeing them have a big on-field impact. But in terms of throughout the season, what kind of impact has Max Scher had on the culture of the Blue Jays? I think it's pretty significant because Max is like set to 11 every single day. There's no, there's no off switch. I have loved the Max Scherzer experience this year.

I knew him a little bit like, hey Max, hey Dan. How you doing? How you feeling this, that? Good to see you. See you next time. That's about it. But obviously, I've gotten to know him better. And he is unbelievably engaged, unbelievably locked in, unbelievably focused every single day.

and I think that has rubbed off on everybody in that room. You know, not just the older guys like Bassett and Gosman, and it can affect them too. But imagine your Flew Hardy. Imagine your Fisher. You know, we'll see him in the dugout. You guys will see him on TV. Sometimes sitting, you know, he might be talking to Davis Schneider

or Miles Straw or somebody like that. I think he rubs off on everybody, and I think he brings an everyday intensity. And baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, but we're getting close to the sprint part now. And I think it's great. I think everybody sees how hard he works and everybody sees how much he cares.

And when a guy who's accomplished what he's accomplished has those attributes, how can you not get in line? Absolutely. We're talking to Dan Shulman, play-by-play voice for the Toronto Blue Jays here, Sportsnet 650, Halford and Brough. And one of the real bright spots for the Js since the All-Star break has been

what Vladdy is doing at the plate and especially the power numbers, right? because the overall numbers have always been pretty solid for him this year. And there was always just the question of, are the home runs going to start coming a little bit more regularly. They are now in the doubles as well. And he had a double in a home run in that win against the Dodgers on Sunday. You know, it's interesting because this is not the first time we've seen this from Vladdy, right?

Where a good first half is then followed by a really red hot second half. What do you think it is about Vladdy that kind of leads his seasons to taking this shape sometimes? that that's a good question that i don't know i'm not sure because if he knew you know sure would start at march 27th island and really there's only been one year where he's been red hot start to finish that was 2021 as you alluded to like he was great last year but a lot of it was in the last two and a half months of the season so we you know we'd all love a repeat right if he if he does that this team has a chance to really do some special things but um you're right. The number, I think some people are still, I know, some people are still down on him. And I'll just, I, you know, I've done some game notes and prep, obviously, for tonight. And I'll read to you off my little game notes what he's doing right now. In his last 21 games, he's hitting 384 with a 459 on base and a 733 slug. So it's not just singles and walks right now. As you said, the power is starting to come. On the road trip, he had 11 hits, seven of the more extra base hits.

four doubles, three homers. I know Colorado was in there, but he had three hits in L.A., two doubles and a homer. The power is starting to come. I think he's being a little more aggressive. It has felt to me, and the numbers back it up, that he's been, you know, much more selective this year. The walks are great, but you want him driving in runs more than you want him taking walks, because he can be special in that regard. I think he's jumping on guys a little bit earlier in the count right now. He's jumping on fastballs. A little bit. little bit more. I still think there's room for more of that, but that's the change I see. But even overall on the season now, you know, not just since the All-Star break. Overall on the

season, he is fifth in the American League in OPS. Fifth, not bad. He's ninth in the majors in OPS. And I wrote down a list of the guys he's ahead of. Bryce Harper, Kyle Tucker, Mani Machado, Rafael Devers, Corey Seeger, Gunner Henderson. He's ahead of all those guys. He's having a very good season. Indisputably, it's his third best season of seven, indisputably. Like 21 and 24, you can argue about which is one and which is two, but there's no doubt this is three. This is way better than 23, noticeably better than 22, and a lot better than 20 and 19. He's having a very good season, and it's getting better at the right time. So, yes, I totally get that he always wants us leaving more. And I've said to Ciddle, Joe Ciddle, when he was

with me a lot of the last couple of months like I'd walk in and I'll say what do you think Vladdy did on the homestead or what do you know and we'll both go and then it'll be like 11 for 26 with three homers and five walks and we're like how did that happen how do we not see that but

it's because he's so unbelievably talented no matter what he does you want more but if he can keep doing what he's been doing over the last three weeks or so this team is in really good shape yeah and it's you mentioned it it's heating up at the right time how important is it for for both him and Bo Bichette, who's also up in a pretty good season, to be heating up going

into the postseason. Oh, it's tremendously important. And listen, the postseason is so short, it can be, that, you know, you can have an incredible year or an incredible September and bang, you're out in two games or bang, you're out in three games. Like, there's no guarantee it carries over. And we have seen in the limited times they've been in the playoffs, they haven't really produced like they have in the regular season.

So it's no lock, but I think it's, you know, it's better than going in cold. And the hotter you are right now, the better position this team is going to be in. It increases their chances of winning a division. It increases their chances of being at home. It increases their chances of getting a buy in the first round, all those things. So to me, that's why it's really important because then can you set up your pitching? You know, they've played so much better at home this year. They'd love to be at home.

But also, I think there's a big unknown about this team right now. and that's, is George Springer coming back soon? And when he comes back, is he going to look like the George Springer that we've seen all season? Hopefully, the answer to both questions is yes, but we don't know until we know it's a concussion. I think he's close, but a week ago I thought he was close. So I think the fact that Bichette and Guerrero

are really going right now is really important because they're missing a very important bat in George Springer. Yeah, the point about Springer and when he gets back into the lineup and what he looks like is a really good one, Dan. And I know, you know, there's always uncertainty around concussions, but as you said, it doesn't seem like it should be too much of an extended absence still at this point for Springer. And of course, there's also Andres Jimenez,

who could be an option sooner rather than later as well. And one of the interesting things with a team where you're getting contributions from so many players and so many guys have had big moments is all of a sudden you get some of the veterans and the key contributors healthy and you've got some really tough roster decisions to make. If we are talking about returns to play for Springer and Jimenez here over the next week or 10 days, what are some of the big roster decisions looming for John Schneider in the front office? Well, I think Andres Jimenez is going to be back tonight.

That's my guess. I don't know that, but he played five rehab games for Buffalo last week. That's usually enough. You know, he's coming back from an ankle injury. So my guess is he's on the roster tonight. And that move, I think, is fairly straightforward that Buddy Kennedy would be DFA. I believe Jimenez would play against Ritees. I don't think he would play against lefties at this point of the season because his numbers against lefties are poor and they've got other options.

Ernie Clement might lose some playing time against Ritees, but still be in there all the time against lefties, as he should. Or they could put Ernie at third right now and then maybe Ty France doesn't play against Rite's. He's been playing against Rite's the last few times, but again, they've been short-handed. So, you know, maybe you have Barger or Lucas D-Hing, the other one in right, Varsho and center, Loper Fido, and left, Clement at third, Jimenez at second. I think it all works fine when you bring one guy back. When Springer comes back is when it gets complicated because somebody else has to come off the roster.

And I don't know who that is. You know, you look at the guys who have options, the guys they can send down to the minors and then call back in September when the rosters expand. but those are guys like Davis Schneider and Joey Lopofito who are doing really, really well. And listen, it could happen. And it doesn't mean they deserve to be sent down, but one of them could be sent down. Or do they DFA tie France? But he's been hitting well since he got to the Blue Jays.

So there is going to be a tough conversation and a tough decision coming, assuming that George Springer is back in the next few days. And again, whoever it is, hopefully that person can come back, that player can come back in September. and be on the playoff roster if they make the playoffs because teams don't carry 13 pitchers in the playoffs. They carry 11 or 12, so you've got room for an extra position player or two. But so to backtrack a little bit, I think the Jimenez move, if it happens tonight, is fairly straightforward.

But we've been thinking and talking for a while about once Springer gets back, it gets complicated. And it's a good problem to have. It means you've got a lot of guys contributing, but there's no easy choice here in terms of who comes off the roster. I did want to ask you about one of the more underrated deadline pickups, in my opinion, at least. Louis Varland from the Twins, what have you thought of his impact with the Jays so far? He's a beast.

I think he is going to be, for lack of a better term, the number two guy behind Jeff Hoffman. Like they could go to Sir Anthony Dominguez, they could go to Jareel Rodriguez, but Louis Varland is a beast right now. And he's exactly what we were told he was, attack mentality, big fastball, pounding the strike, zone has a presence on the mound, not afraid of anything. And he's going to get big out. Seventh inning, eighth inning, ninth inning. He'll get some safe situations in big games. You know, John Schneider brought him in the fourth inning in L.A. on Sunday.

I think the top of the order or the heart of the order was coming up for the Dodger. I actually was the top of the order. Lauer had gotten through the bottom of the order for the second time in three. And John Schneider was saying, I want to keep this game close. I don't want to let this game get out of hand. and it's Otani and Betts and Smith and Freeman coming up. So he brought in Louis Varlent. And like people shouldn't be fooled by, oh, he came into the fourth inning.

That was a compliment to him. That was at that moment a high leverage spot. Keep the game within reach. He's shown he can get more than three outs. He got five in that game. I think he's great. And I know the Blue Jays were targeting him for a while. I know they love him and they loved him before they got him.

And yes, he's not a big name. But he's going to be. an extremely, extremely valuable and important pitcher going forward. And, you know, as the games get bigger, you always hear about the phrase in the bullpen, the circle of trust, who's in the circle of trust? Like Louis Varland pounded down the door into the circle of trust, and he's right in the middle. Be a terrific outcome. Dan, appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for this.

All right, guys, you got it. See it. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. It is Nathan Wark, quarterback for your BC Lions. I appreciate you taking the time, Nathan. How are you? I'm doing well. Thanks for having you, guys. Yeah, no problem. And before we look ahead, we did kind of want to talk about this past game against Hamilton on Thursday. It was a wild game. It was a back-and-forth game. How important was it for you guys to get the win coming out of the bar?

Yeah, I mean, it's always tough to get wins in this league. But obviously when we're playing quality teams like Hamilton, you know, they're leading the East right now. you know that's always big way games are always big but i think it gives you a certain sense of confidence when your team can rally and win close games like that you know we were in a one very similar to that at home a couple weeks ago against hamilton we weren't able to finish it out so be able to you know get some restitution and uh you know close one out with that's big for us hopefully uh we can turn that turn that one win into the street Justin McKinness had the big game at wide receiver,

eight catches for 159 yards, but you did really spread the ball around in that game as well, multiple guys with over three catches in that game. How important is it for you as a quarterback to have that receiving core where you know, okay, maybe I'm throwing it to McKinness a lot here, but I've got those other guys that I can trust and spread the ball around too as well. Yeah, I mean, it's super important. I mean, we, just the way their offense works,

we'll have guys who have big games one week and then it'll be somebody else the other week, And I think just the more we can be able to have guys, you know, everyone touching the ball, I think that just makes it tougher for defense is the key on one guy. You know, we have multiple guys who can have, we can be our leading receiver. And I think that's just, you know, great for us. And certainly as a quarterback, I just want to be able to get the ball on their hands and let them go make plays with it. Not a receiver, but of course, another big part of your offense running back,

James Butler, and he had another really good game against Hamilton as well. And I know you had some high praise for Butler earlier this. week after practice calling him one of the best players you've been around. What is it that makes him such a good teammate, such an effective player still in this league? Yeah, he's got such a great attitude. I mean, he works so hard. He's, he's a guy that, you know, when the special team is going on, you look over on the side, and he's getting, he's getting working, he's doing bad work by himself, he's doing boss-degree stuff. You know, he cares so much about, you know, his craft and getting better. And I think, and also, he's not a guy.

who takes pride in really everything he does. He doesn't really let anything go. He takes a lot of pride in his past protection. He's the guy who can do a lot of great things in the past game as well. And we're just not limited by anything that he does, you know, and that just allows us to do a lot of great things. And, you know, he's dangerous when the ball is in his hand. And we're just very thankful that we get to have someone like him

and be able to, you know, feed him the ball as well. I mean, he's just a workforce, and not anybody subbing in for him on long drive and stuff like that. He's the guy who wants the ball all the time, he wants to be on the field all the time, and I think that's just a testament to him out of person he is. How do you feel about how the offense has kind of progressed as a whole throughout the season? You know, first year under Buck Pearson and maybe some of the changes that come with that? Yeah, I think there's certainly been some learning opportunities, you know, just trying to feeling out, you know, how things work, how constantly.

concepts feel, how they time out, you know, some details, you know, from the receivers and, you know, me getting on the same page with Buck and the receiver coach, Coach, Judge. And, you know, I think it's, I think there's, you know, there's always going to be an opportunity to learn and grow, but I like where we're at. I like that we're progressing. I like that, you know, we're putting up points. We're finishing drives. And I think as long as we can do that and, you know, our defense break and not turn the ball over, I think we can still always do better in that regard. and not turning the ball over and, you know,

keeping, ending each series with a kick, you know, I think we're going to be okay. On a personal level, I know you missed a bit of time with some injury, but how do you feel about where your game is at right now? Yeah, I feel good. I feel like I'm getting better every week. And at the end of the day,

that, for me, as a player, that's what's the most important. You know, outcomes are what they are, but I think, you know, you try to stay close to the process us and try to find ways each week to improve and take a step forward. And I think that I've done that. Obviously, you know, there's, you know, as much as you like it,

your progress is never linear. You know, you're going to, it's going to undulate, you know, with high games and low games. And, yeah, that's just the course of pro football and that's how it works. But, you know, I'm happy before I'm at and hopefully we continue to build and continue to put some wins together here. Yeah, you talk about kind of that, the effort to stay level over the course of a long season from an individual level. And, you know, I imagine that's really important at the team level as well. I think it's fair to say it's been an up and down season for the BC lines, of course,

coming off the big win over Hamilton. From a team perspective, and of course, you're an important leader on the team. How do you go about making sure you're trying to stay level and not get caught up in the roller coaster and the ups and downs of a long season? Yeah, I think it's a big question. You know, I think it's obviously we want to win more games and we haven't, you know, there's been at times that we haven't played up to our standard. And so I think it's about making those corrections and learning. But understanding that it's a long season and we just have to take it day by day and we can keep that approach, I think we're going to be okay.

What would you say the mentality of the team at this point in the season is right now? I think we've, I think we're quite hungry. You know, I think that we've, you know, coming off a game like that, knowing that we can beat one of the better teams in this league and we can be that that team. And there's still room for us to play even better to improve. We know that we're close and we're just working hard. I think our practices have been great to have a lot of energy and we can continue that.

I think we're going to be in good shape. And hopefully, you know, we've got another good team in Montreal coming this weekend. And so another great test for us to see if we can continue to build and play at the level. And we know what capable of.