Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best Of Halford And Brough 8/8/24

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

Guest hosts Jamie Dodd & Israel Fehr look back at the previous day in sports, plus they talk the latest baseball and movie news with MLB Network & Cinephile Podcast's Adnan Virk. 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.

You're listening to the best of Halford & Brough. You're listening to Halford & Brough. First pitch, driven the other way to right. Son of Todd Dale! Whoa! Out to center field. That one's well hit. Going back is Pahez.

It is gone! It's a three-home run game! He has exploded tonight. We know that they're going to be coming all over us. Splooge. Oh! They're going to be coming all over us. Splooge. Good morning, laddie. Come on, man.

Come on. I had to do it. I had to do it. Clearly, you had to do it. It is Halford and Brough here on Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Israel Fair, filling in for Halford & Brough for the remainder of this week. Izzy, what's going on, man? Good morning, Jamie.

Good to be here. Only one more early wake-up for you. You're almost there. That's right. I can see the finish line. That's right. I'm back doing the shift next week, so a long ways to go for me, but congratulations to you. Halford & Brough brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers.

Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest delari honda dealer today we are of course coming to you live from the kintec studio kintec canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star google reviews sore feet what are you waiting for and 650 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. So always a good time to get your What We Learn submissions in. We'll do that, of course, at 830. Before we move on to the guest list and everything, of course, I referenced Laddie, but I should officially welcome the dogs to the show. Hey, dog.

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. Laddie. Hello. Hello. Good morning. Wait until i say good morning you screwed it up a dramatic pause i know i was i was testing you and you failed you're too eager

to get your catch you got your own brand of it'll only take us uh two more weeks to get this down and then yeah by the time we get it down jamie won't be here so i was waiting you know how we like you hold the treat out for the dog and it's like no don't jump up wait until i say i was that's what i was doing wait until i say good morning what can i say they do that to me with cereal sometimes just torch a bowl of cereal right in front of you it's true uh anyways good morning to the dogs a big big show coming up uh another show packed with guests here uh today on a th at 630. Talk a little hockey. Jason Bukala, a regular on Canucks Talk.

He's covering the Ivan Hlinka Gretzky Tournament in Edmonton, the U18 Tournament. So we'll talk a little bit about that. Also get Bukala's thoughts on some of the Canucks prospects, what to expect from them in the upcoming season at 7 at Nanver. Of course, from MLB Network and the Cinephile podcast, will join us. We'll talk baseball, maybe some Olympics as well with Adnan.

7.30, big baseball hour in the 7 o'clock hour. Ben Nicholson-Smith from Sportsnet is going to join us. Blue Jays lost again, no surprise there, to the Orioles. We'll talk more about that in what happened. Also, president of the Jays, Mark Shapiro, had a media availability yesterday. So we'll talk to Ben about his takeaways from that.

Jays fans reaction, what to expect going forward from the Jays. And at eight o'clock, Ian Furness from KJR Radio in Seattle. Very, very interesting practice for the Seattle Seahawks

at training camp yesterday, Izzy. Very chippy practice, up to five fights, including some helmet swinging from DK Metcalf. So we'll see what Ian Furness has to say about that and maybe a little Mariners chatter as well. Maybe even a Kraken question for Ian,

because I know he's a hockey guy too. So working in reverse order at 8 o'clock, Ian Furness from KJR Radio in Seattle, 7.30, Ben Nicholson-Smith from Sportsnet. 7 o'clock, Adnan Virk from the MLB Network and the Cinephile Podcast. And 6.30, Sportsnet's own Jason Bukla.

Before we do any of that, Laddie, let's get into what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? 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.

We'll recap what Canada did at the Olympics yesterday, starting with the good news, a bit of a surprise podium appearance for Canada. Alicia Newman wins bronze in the pole vault, and this was her third Olympics. She'd never even made it to the final before. So for her to not just advance but actually end up on the podium, she set the Canadian record for personal best also, which is always cool to see, right? You've training so hard.

And then in this moment where it matters the most, you're able to do your personal best, something you've never been able to achieve before. I know she's had a lot of injuries in her career as well. She was talking about that, but pretty cool story, right? Your third Olympics, your third shot at it to not just go farther perform better than you ever have but set your personal best a canadian record and you end up on the podium as a result as well very cool story late in the games here for canada yeah absolutely pole vault getting a lot of

attention at these games on the men's side on the women women's side. And that was, yeah, that was a pretty cool way to close it out for a Canadian. Who knew pole vaulters were so spicy? It's very spicy. Absolutely. So shout out to Alicia Newman winning bronze in the pole vault. Also on the good news side of things for the Canadians yesterday at the Olympics, the beach volleyball team,

Melissa Humana Parodies and Brandi Wilkerson. They advanced to the semifinals in beach volleyball. They beat Spain. They'll take on Switzerland today. But of course, they get to the semifinals. They will have a chance at least to play for bronze. They're into the medal rounds of things. Now, on the less good side for Canada, Andre Degrgrass fails to make the finals for the 200 meters.

This is a tough one. Won't be able to defend his gold medal. Didn't make the finals in either the 100 or 200 meter. And apparently he says he has a hamstring injury. Now, it's not a total loss. He did compete in the semifinals of the 4x uh relay race for canada that was earlier this morning they advanced to the finals and my understanding is because it's a bit of a running start in the relay it's it's not as tough on his hamstring but still really disappointing olympics tough to see

the injury there's the situation with his coach as well not even making the finals in either of those two events is uh wildly disappointing i'm sure for andre degrasse no doubt the the 200 is his specialty obviously the one that he that he took gold at at the the last olympics so really tough i think in this go even going into these games taking out the potential of an injury he was going to be in tough in the 100 just get the age that he's getting at uh being someone who uh thrives on on picking up speed throughout the race he's never been known as being a guy that starts super well so the 200 does play into his strengths yeah and there was going to be a little bit more challenge certainly he wasn't going in as the favorite like he was uh or at least you know

among the favorites like he was in tokyo so this was yeah this was tough and when you're dealing with some kind of injury even a minor injury when the these races are being decided by tenths of a second you know he ran an okay race but in these heats in these semi-finals you've got generally from what i've seen there's usually a couple of people at the out front and he was well behind the couple of people that were out front in, in his, in his semifinal. And he,

you know, he's, he's not like he's coming in last or anything, but the expectations for him are, are pretty high. Yeah. And as you said, like we all know how,

how thin the margins are in these events, right? In the sprints, any little thing that's throwing you off, no matter how serious the injury is, if it's bothering you, if you're noticing it, that's going to put you in a really, really tough position. And as you said, he has the rep as somebody

who picks up speed throughout the race, especially on the bend, on the curve of the track, and the 200 meter has been a strength of his. And the people there observing it just said he looked noticeably off. Right. Especially uncomfortable, uncomfortable in that segment of the race. Yeah.

He just he didn't have it. I mean, even going back to his qualified trying to qualify for the 100, he actually had a good start and did not have his his usual his usual. Yeah. Even even in the race yesterday, you could see that he was trying and that was where he was that that's what made him among the recent memory canadian olympic icon you know he was the guy that could actually keep up with usain bolt who is the best ever at these races and the best ever at having that burst and that was where you know, the memes in Rio 2016 of him actually keeping up with Bolt where no one had really ever done that.

And here it was very much, you know, a muted version of that. Him trying to find that separating speed and just not being able to find that gear. Now, as I said, he's part of the 4x100 relay team for Canada. They are in the finals and this is a competitive team.

I believe they medaled in the last Olympics, medaled in recent world championships as well. So it might not be a total loss from Andre de Grasse's perspective at these games. Still got a chance to medal as part of the 4x100 relay team for Canada. Something else just to keep an eye on today, and I think it's going to be getting underway any minute here, is Mod Charon, who, of course, was one of the flag bearers for Canada in the opening ceremonies. She's competing in weightlifting today.

Interesting that the weight class she won in in Tokyo, not a part of these games. So she had to go down a weight class. I know she's been dealing with some injury issues as well. So we'll see not necessarily a straightforward path for her to defend a medal, but still gold medalist competing today or gold medalist from Tokyo competing today for Canada, Mod Charon in weightlifting. All right, we'll keep

you up to date on anything else that happens while we're on air here. We've got men's diving and artistic gymnastics or rhythmic gymnastics. What do they call it? Rhythmic or artistic? Rhythmic, I believe. Because they switch the name sometimes. Have you noticed they've switched synchronized swimming to artistic swimming? Yes.

And we're all supposed to know. Why do you switch? We're all supposed to know that it's, oh, okay. Rhythmic gymnastics. Anyways, we got rhythmic gymnastics and diving on. So if there's an incredible dive or an incredible rhythmic gymnastics, I guess we'll tell you about it. Yeah. That guy did's an incredible dive or an incredible rhythmic gymnastics, I guess we'll tell you about it.

Yeah. That guy did so many spins. That was incredible. You have to say spoilers first, though, because there's three guys in the inbox that get very upset when we talk about live sports on a live sports show. So you have to say, but you have to also say it not sarcastic, because Alfred tried this.

He said, spoilers. And I guess they didn't like the tone of that, so that didn't work either. They're very hard to please. There's somebody out there who's like, PVR'd just to watch what the Slovenian diver is going to do. It's like, no! How dare you tell me that he got a 7.3? Yeah. So I'll definitely make sure to say spoiler alert, non-sarcastically.

Yeah, you got to watch the tone. Sure. Before I give you any Olympic results. Moving on from the Olympics, I did want to just update you on the Whitecaps quickly. We talked to Vanni Sartini yesterday. Tough matchup against, you know, anytime you're taking on a Mexican side as an MLS team,

it's always going to be difficult. They beat Tijuana 3-1 on the weekend, but Pumas a cut above, my understanding, is in Liga MX. So Whitecaps lose 2-0 to Pumas. That means they're out of the League's Cup. And I got to say, you never want to lose a match, obviously, but probably not the worst thing in the world for the Whitecaps, right? Like the League's Cup, this is a relatively new competition, kind of a new invention between MLS and Mexico to try to promote both of their leagues. It doesn't have that prestige that really gets the players and the clubs and the fans into the tournament.

You saw the attendance at BC Place yesterday. Now, I don't want to dump on the Whitecaps because they've had really good attendance this year. And this is a match added to the schedule only as a result of the win on Saturday. Right. So just a few days notice to get people hyped about it. It's a midweek thing. That's always going to be a difficult draw. Right. Pumas, good Mexican team, but not like a name draw. But what it illustrates is that fans care more about MLS.

Right. Fans care more about getting results in MLS. They care more about the Canadian championship. They care more about all of these things well ahead of the League's Cup. So look, would it be cool to go on a run to rack up some wins against Mexican teams? Yeah, sure. This way, you get some time off. I think there's a little bit of a gap in the schedule now before they resume

MLS play. Ryan Gould can get fully healthy. Hey, you get the win against Tijuana. Tough to see a 2-0 loss, but at the end of the day, how often do European teams talk about this, right? Like, oh-0 loss, but at the end of the day, you know, how often do European teams talk about this, right? Like, oh, hey, well, at least our fixture schedule is not quite as dense now, right?

That's where the whitecaps are at. Certainly, yeah. I mean, this is a recent initiative by, as you said, Jamie, MLS, and the Mexican League to sync up a little bit and have some of these matchups, but ultimately, it's going to probably have a bigger bit and have some of these matchups but ultimately it's going to probably have a bigger impact in los angeles in the texas cities where there are you know huge

fans of these mexican teams and they're going to be able to capitalize on that it's i think for hardcore footy fans in the city cool to have a mexican team come in with something at stake but yeah with this new and i mean even people that are in the know have either negative opinions on this league's cup initiative just because they don't like the way that it's been rolled out or are ambivalent about it right so i think getting a win is a good one for the Whitecaps, as they were keen to say, their first win ever over, you know, a Mexican side on the weekend. Pumas is, they're not quite on the, like, the Chivas Club America level in Mexico,

but I think they're firmly a second tier Mexican side that's competitive. And, yeah, not, you know, the best performance by the Whitecaps, but that's kind of where and um yeah not not you know the best performance by the white caps but that's that's kind of where they're at right that there is some of that fixture congestion to steal a term from the brits and i think that you know if they it's one thing if you make the semi-finals right or something and then all of a sudden you're okay well let's go win a trophy let's go maybe we're not the biggest fans of the league's cup but let's go get it done this is the round of 32 right so there there's only so excited you're going to get

about this tournament at that stage. So Whitecaps lose 2-0. Bigger story is, and this is something Vanny touched on yesterday with us as well, this is the MLS transfer window for Canadian clubs closes today. Vanny said fans could expect some news either yesterday or today. Haven't really seen any official reports from the Whitecaps. I know there's rumors out there about them adding at least one player.

Vanny also kind of said, hey, it's transfer day. You never know what might happen. Last year, we got some last minute business done. So again, we'll keep you posted. We'll keep an eye out to see if the Whitecaps make anything official before their transfer window closes today. I want to talk a little bit of baseball here, and it's going to be a fairly baseball-heavy show, I would say, with Adnan Virk and Ben Nicholson-Smith coming up later on.

But first, I'll just give you the results. So as I mentioned, Jays lose 7-3 to the Orioles. No big surprise. Jays aren't very good. They've traded a lot of their players. Orioles are good. So yeah, Jays lose 7-3 to the Orioles. Mariners lose 6-2 to Detroit. Their bats go cold again. As a result of that loss, they're now out of a playoff spot. They're a half game behind the Astros. They're four and a half out of the wildcard, right? And

that's always been a big part of this story is it's really a battle between the Astros and the Mariners for the AL West because the AL West is so mediocre this year. Whichever team finishes second is probably not going to have a chance in the wildcard race. They're only like three games above 500 now. They're just kind of a mediocre team, and that's a really tough position to be in. Now, another interesting thing that happened yesterday in baseball was Jays president Mark Shapiro talking to the media. And it got me thinking a lot about the Jays and the Mariners, where these teams are, where these fan bases are, and especially where the fan bases are in terms of what they think the kind of the opinion they have about the people running the team. Right. And, you know, Mark Shapiro, I think you can look at it and say he's done a lot of good for the Jays overall. Right. Like he's helped them build a new spring training facility in Florida.

He's overseen some renovations at Skydome, whatever it's called now. Rogers Center. You should probably know that. I know it is, but I just want to call it Skydome. I keep calling it Skydome. Skydome. It's Skydome. Like, come on.

Anyway, like you said you were there, and it's made a difference. It has. Right? It's made a big difference to an old building that needed a facelift. But there's just something about whether it's Shapiro, whether it's Atkins. And I think this extends to Jerry DePoto in Seattle. Right? They struggle to really connect with fans and kind of explain the vision in a way that gets fans excited.

Now, of course, it doesn't help that the on-field product is disappointing, right? Like management teams are inherently at a disadvantage when they're trying to communicate. If the team's not winning, you're always going to be subject to criticism. Then your words are going to get picked apart. But it feels like both fan bases are just increasingly frustrated, not just with the product, but also with the messaging that they're hearing from their front offices. And I wanted to play this clip from Shapiro.

Of course, one of the big questions that he was going to be asked yesterday, it was, is raw is GM Ross Atkins. Who's, you know, increasingly under fire for his performance from fans. Is he going to be back next year?

Didn't give a direct answer but here's what Shapiro had to say I mean I I can I very rarely am unequivocal about anything commenting on job status during a season throughout my entire career when I've been asked about those things it's not something I have or will ever do that being said contextually I'm a huge believer in stability and continuity and that those are competitive advantages in professional sports that reacting and change don't necessarily mean improvement. So we need to be better. We have to be better.

And, you know, again, I think stability and continuity and making adjustments are where I'm focused right now. So that's Mark Shapiro talking about the future of Ross Atkins and kind of answering the question while saying he's not answering the question. Right. It doesn't take a lot to read between the lines there and think that he's going to bring Ross Atkins back as general manager. And, you know, look, I get it. On the one hand, you're not going to fire your GM randomly. You're not going to throw him under the bus at a press conference a couple of months before the season ends. I understand that. But there's also just that kind of it's like almost like a corporate way of talking about it, right?

Where you're saying, wow, we couldn't possibly make a knee jerk reaction and we have to preserve continuity. And it's like, OK, but do you think he's doing a good job? Can you just give it to a straight? Is he? Why are you keeping him? Rather than using the kind of corporate buzzwords and the you know continuity and oh yada yada can you just tell us straight why you think he's the best person for the job and it's something that i think the jay's front office struggles with but i think that's something that the mariners front office struggles with and they're not the only two

teams in baseball that have this issue right this kind of they almost come across sometimes as trying to prove how clever they are rather than they almost come across sometimes as trying to prove how clever they are rather than just trying to be honest and trying to put a winning product on the field first and foremost i fully believe the uh especially in the case of the blue jays the the two the two clever that they they'd almost rather win 88 games their way than win 90 games a traditional way and seattle's part of that and jerry depoto even if the mariners end up making the playoffs the 54 comment from the offseason is gonna stick with him forever the other part of this and this certainly applies to both is that they're almost

buying into the narratives about their market and their teams like that's what mariner fans are upset about is that they they all know the story that you it's it's tough to get good hitters to sign in seattle and that you're going to have to overpay and things like that and they've got the reason that they're frustrated right now is that they've got a great pitching staff and it feels like if they don't make the playoffs for a second year in a row with this pitching staff it's it's a huge huge waste and you've got the front office basically regurgitating the talking points and the league wide perception to the fan base yeah it's really hard to get good hitters to come to seattle your job is to change that your job is not Your job is not to buy into what people are talking,

the way that people are talking about you. And the Blue Jays have that a little bit as well. When they were not competing, it was, well, it's so hard to play against the Yankees and the Red Sox. And I get it. They've got huge payrolls. I'm an Arsenal fan in the Premier League. It's easy to sit here and

say that manchester city doesn't have a huge competitive advantage because of their payroll and how much they're willing to spend on transfers it's the reality but ultimately what you have to do is try to find a way to to to beat them it's not enough just to say, well, they spend more money than us and we can't compete. And when it comes to Seattle, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a huge blow because fans want to hear the opposite of that.

Yeah. And look, as I said, you're losing. It's hard. No, one's going to give you a perfect score for a press conference when you're losing,

right? Cause there's an inherent amount of frustration. You're always behind the eight ball when things aren't going your way on the field. But I do think there's better ways to handle things and to kind of bring the Canucks clumsily into this conversation. You know, one of the things that I think, as you're alluding to,

plagues both the Jays and the Mariners is an inability to admit mistakes, an inability to change course, right? As you said, they have one way that they think they have to do things. That's the smartest, cleverest way to do things and they're not interested in deviating from that path you know i think you look at jim rutherford and patrick alveen and what they've done with the canucks and first of all jim rutherford as a communicator he's able to just give it to you

straight sometimes too straight right and he said himself like sometimes i get in trouble because i'm so honest and i'm so candid in the media. But I think fans would much prefer that rather than, you know, layering everything and kind of corporate speak and buzzwords like you hear a lot from Shapiro and Jerry DePoto. And the other thing is they'll admit mistakes, right? Andre Kuzmenko. Hey, we signed this guy for two years. He's not working out with Rick Tockett. Let's trade him. Yeah, they'll move on quickly if something isn't working and they are less concerned with. Okay, we always have to be the smartest guys. You know, we have to find the most efficient way of doing it. Jim Rutherford just wants to win. And it's like, hey, if I had to overpay a little bit for Elias Lentol, whatever. I think he's going to help us win. I think he gives us a better chance and we're going to do that.

Can that get you in trouble sometime? Sure. But how much would either Mariners or Jays fans this upcoming offseason love to see the front offices just throw caution to the wind a little bit and say, you know what? Is this the most efficient deal that's going to be signed this year? No, but it's going to help us win. So we're going to do it and we'll figure out the consequences later. At a certain point, you have to have that element of understanding that winning is the most important thing, even if it's not the prettiestiest way to get there the most efficient way the cleverest

way to get there you just got to put a winning few uh winning product especially when you're close there's one thing to sign contracts that aren't going to age well when you're in a rebuild cycle and and you're speeding things up in the case case of the Mariners, they have an elite pitching staff, arguably the best starting staff in the big leagues. So feeling that you're not trying to capitalize on that is, is going to sting for fans. And like the baseball example, the Jim Rutherford comparison is Dave Dombrowski.

Yeah. He's an honest guy. He will go out and spend money and sign players. And you can see where the Phillies have been the last couple of years and where they're at in the standings right now. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. It's time to chat with that man.

It's at Nantver. He's on the show. We're gonna talk some baseball and take a trip to the silver screen. That's right, it's time for Adnan. Yes, Adnan Berkey joins us now. We'll head out to the ballgame and talk about all the films he's seen.

Welcome back to Halford & Brough Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd, Israel Fair here. Halford & Brough brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. This hour of Halford & Brough is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime Craft Beer is full flavor without compromise.

Add a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it's made. Of course, we're coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Soar feet. What are you waiting for? We're keeping one eye on the Olympics here. Maude Chiron, of course, one of the Canadian flag bearers at the opening ceremonies, trying to defend

her gold medal in weightlifting. She's currently in second place with a lift of 106 kilos. The leader has 107. So, Mod Charon in position to at least be on the podium and potentially defend her gold medal as well.

We'll talk more Olympics, but coming up right now, uh, joining us from major league baseball network and the cinephile podcast. He is Adnan Burke. Adnan. Thanks for doing this. How are you? Of course,

Jamie, is he going to be with you guys? How are things? Uh, things are good. Yeah. As I said, we're,

we're keeping one eye on the Olympics here. It's nice to have stuff going on live during the morning show. So that's fun. And, lots going on in major League Baseball as well. The news breaking just about 10 minutes ago after they broke their epic losing streak and won a game. Then they lost another one. But the White Sox have dismissed Pedro Grifo.

So unexpected move, obviously, right, with how this season has gone for the White Sox. But what do you just make of where this team is right now as a franchise, the losing streak, all of it, and the direction they're headed in? Well, first off, with regards to Grafful, I don't know if you guys saw the clip, Ozzie Guillen, my old ESPN colleague and, of course, World Series winning manager, had his great moments with the White Sox, and they won and also formed his mark on the story, got dismissed.

He does TV work at the White Sox. I know it's sometimes difficult in our jobs. The Canucks are having a tough season, a tough stretch, having to count material content, et cetera. But could you imagine this situation? You're doing pre and post in the White Sox day in, day out. And Ozzie had a great bit the other day. I'm still laughing.

He was talking about Pedro Grafful and him were up for the job. They were going to bring back Ozzie as the manager, and instead they were going about Pedro Graffoli and him were up for the job. They were going to bring back Antti as the manager, and instead they were going to pick Graffoli. And Antti said, this guy is 100 games under 500 right now. It made him feel so lousy. They're like, we'd rather go with this

guy than you, considering how bad the season has gone. So I don't mean to make light of Pedro Graffoli. I'm sure he's a wonderful guy. Eddie Perez, my colleague and friend at ESPN knows him. I think there's some sort of Florida State fool. I'm sure he's a wonderful guy. Eddie Perez, my colleague and friend at ESPN, knows him. I think there's some sort of Florida State connection. I'm sure he's a good man, but this has just been a train wreck of a season. As you said, this should not be surprising in any reason whatsoever. You can't keep your job when you're 60 games under 500.

And I think part of the frustration for me, if I was a White Sox fan, which thank God I'm not, would be starting to wonder, where is the promise? Where is the potential? Normally, your team stinks. The Astros had their lean years, right? But all of a sudden, it got great, and they're going to be great for years to come, we assume, until they have to rebuild again.

But there's an understanding of the teardown process. For the White Sox, their two biggest ships were Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert, and now their guy got traded. So the White Sox, wait a biggest ships are Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert. Another guy got traded. Wait a second. I still got the two dudes. Robert is flawed. He has great power, but he strikes out too much and he's injured too much. Crochet isn't concerned

about how many innings he's thrown, but the guy's lights out. He's top five strikeout. This is the year he's put it all together. If ever there's a time to trade him, trade him now. He's under team control for years to come. I think it's just a miserable season for the White Sox. year he's put it all together. Like, if ever there was a time to trade him, trade him now. He's under team control for years to come. He said, blah, blah, blah. So, I think it's just a miserable season for the White Sox. I think they're going to set the record for most

losses in a single season. 119 Tigers back in 2003. That's the modern record. That's going back, you know, 120 years. If you go back to, like, the 1880s, I think it's the Cleveland Spiders or someone lost, like, I don't know, 130 games. But it's been just a horrific season for the White Sox, and hopefully Pedro

Graffal lands on his feet elsewhere. It's been an atrocity, no question about it. I read that you mentioned Ozzy Adnan, that part of the reason that they ultimately didn't go back to him is that internally they wanted to move forward, not move backwards. Obviously, other than

trying to get a winning team on the field, there's not much else that they can do to, I guess, curry favor with the fans. Is there something short-term that they can do to signal to the fans that, hey, we get how crappy this is, that

you guys are watching some pretty terrible baseball this season? Yeah, honestly, man, unless it's like free tickets or free concessions, I don't know what you can do because that's one of the things about baseball. I was working with Buck Showalter yesterday, of course, the four-time manager of the year, and Buck is an all-time great guy. And Buck said to me, he goes, you know, no matter what, in any season you're going to win 40 games,

and no matter what, in every season you're going to lose 40 games, and no matter what, in every season you're going to lose 40 games. It's the other 82 that really determine your year. And he's like, I don't think you realize how hard it is to lose 21 games in a row. Like, he's like, I know this firsthand as a manager. Like, so many things have to go wrong. And Butker's, quite frankly, so many things go right sometimes that you have nothing to do with. It just happens to work out.

Like, you're getting a pitcher on getaway day. You're getting a guy after his party the night before. You get a guy after he was up late with his baby the night before. Who knows? You know what I mean? The team's tired. They're jet-lagged. They're poor hotel, travel conditions, field conditions, whatever it is.

You're just lucky to win sometimes, right? Guy, number nine hitter goes deep and, like, all is well in the world. To lose that many games in a row is just unsightly and gruesome. And the only positive can be, and the three of us know this as sports fans, is that when your team does win, that's the vindication for all those horrible years. So, I don't know what the White Sox can do, man, aside from free hot dog

and beer and, you know, try to bring in the kids somehow with Jersey Knights and every sort of giveaway. I'm sure they're still drawing. I haven't looked at the attendance, but I'm sure you're still getting it with 12,000, 15,000 diehards showing up at guaranteed rate, which, by the way, is not a great ballpark anyways. So it's a tough time on the south side, no doubt about it.

But hey, the Bears are starting up soon, a month away. There you go. I think the White Sox are probably just glad that they broke the streak before they were hosting the fireworks night, which I think would have been the night that they tied the all-time record from the 19th century, because that would have been a big downer if you were still losing then. Oh my God. Ray Fireworks has even

lost 22 straight games in a row. Even to go back to Grafful. The fact they didn't fire Grafful in the midst of the losing streak. They're like, let's just see how bad this can get. And then he won one and maybe they were like, let's see if he can pull off a winning streak. If he can win two games in a row, he can lose. He can keep won one, and maybe they were like, let's see if he can pull off a winning streak. If he can win two games

in a row, he can lose. He can keep his job. Nope, they lost again. They've now lost 22-23. We're going to have to get rid of him. Odd timing. If he had started a winning streak, he could have kept his job there at the end, but no, no, no. Another loss. We've got to let you go. Sorry, Pedro. I mean, who knows? There's so many questions,

so many weird things about that organization right now. Sticking in the AL in the AL West Mariners lose last night. And that's three in a row now for them. Another night where their bats go cold, you know, only put up two runs on the board and they're now a half game behind the Astros in the AL West.

You know, they're, they're four and a half, I think out of the last wildcard spot as well. They made a couple of moves at the deadline, right? Randy Orozarena, Justin Turner, but it doesn't necessarily feel to me like it's enough to really move the needle offensively for the Mariners.

What are your thoughts about their chances to hang in with the Astros in the AL West and potentially make the playoffs? No, I'm with you, Jamie. I don't think it's enough either. Ultimately, this could be an incredible season of frustration and a different matter for Seattle than it is for Chicago. Chicago was supposed to be bad, but

not this bad. Seattle was supposed to be good and push for a playoff spot. Instead, they're not going to get that wild card. I believe it's either going to be the division or bust. I'm with you. They didn't do enough offensively. Aroza Reyna has had wonderful moments in the playoffs, and he's certainly, at least among his position, decent defensively. But he's got a league average this year.

I mean, at the time of the trade, I believe he was hitting like 220. So he has had a subpar season by his standards. He's under club control for a couple years. That helps. But it's not exactly like getting Pete Alonso. With regards to Justin Turner, his situation is a little different. He's actually been decent with the average on-base percentage. We've had about 330 on-base percentage,

but he has not shown much power this afternoon, 23 home runs for the Red Sox a season ago. And if I was a Mariners fan, I'd go, that's it? Like, that's what we're doing? Like, this trade deadline in general was rather underwhelming for a variety of reasons, one of which is that because of the extra wallet card, more teams feel like they're in play. Only three teams are truly out of it in the National League, Rockies, Marlins, Nationals.

You have less teams and less players moving. And the White Sox, again, inexplicably didn't trade much of anybody, despite the fact they've got guys they could deal. So maybe for Seattle, guys just weren't available. The asking price was too high. But, God, if I was a Mariners fan, fellas, got guys they could deal. So maybe for Seattle, guys just weren't available. The asking price was too high. But, God, if I was a Mariners fan, fellas, I'd be so frustrated. That pitching staff is amazing. And, by the way, last night, I think a great throwback pitching matchup.

We've been accustomed to so much mediocrity when it comes to starting pitching and openers, all the rest of it. George Kirby is one of my favorite pitchers. He leads his strikeout to walk ratio. That guy hates giving up walks. I love it. Just pour it in the zone and let's go. And he's facing Tarek Scouble, who for me

is a signed award winner, and Perver cemented that by his performance last night. But night in, night out, they can't score. And if you look at their OPS plus, for those that like supermetrics, very simple. Anything above 100 is a league average. I believe they only have two players above league average.

That's hard to do and to win a division when seven of your nine players are below average offensively. Julio Rodriguez in his brief career has shown he's not a first-half guy, but he needed to be a second-half guy, then he got hurt. So it's really frustrating, man. I was a Seattle fan. Now, again, the Astros have not run away. It's been surprising what's happened to them.

They were really hurt by starting pitching injuries earlier, dug out of a huge hole, but they haven't buried Seattle. Like the Astros are still only a couple of games above 500. So it's going to be Houston, Seattle, even Texas, who's a sub 500 team battling for the division. But I have a hundred percent with you. Seattle did not do enough and I would feel awfully uneasy about their chances of making the playoffs. Yeah. Frust frustration definitely seems high in Seattle, and it seems like some of that is squarely on management at this point. As you mentioned, there's definitely a feeling that they didn't do enough at the trade deadline. That feeling goes back toward the offseason when there was a clamor for them to make a big move.

People knew that this rotation had the potential to be among the best, if not the best, in the league. What's the read on what the future of Seattle's management might look like? Well, I think that's where it gets tricky, because all of a sudden, if you're Seattle, you say, OK, what is the answer? If I'm Jerry DiPoto, who I think is fairly certain he's going to be the guy there. It's not like they're having a colossally bad season. Like, if it was, you know, truly horrific, he'd lose his job. So then Jerry's the guy there for at least a year or two longer. He's made it clear that he's trying to build something here through that amazing starting pitching.

But this is a team that has never won the World Series. It's a team that's never even made the World Series. Like, to me, that's a big deal when you even make the World Series. Like, I always think about, think of your earliest sports memories. It's what, 6, 7, 8, somewhere in there. So I always look at a franchise and go, they haven't made the playoffs since a 25-year-old

hasn't seen his team in the World Series. That to me is a big deal. Like Arizona last year, in 2001, if somebody was 5, they don't remember that moment. But now they're 27, like, hey man, that was, you know, 28, they saw their team go to World Series. That further cements your reputation and your passion for the team.

So I think for Seattle, I don't think the clock is running at all. Like Scott Service seems to be the guy, and DeWaldo's the guy, and ownership likes him. But I was just, God, if I was ownership, I'd be really frustrated and say, listen, we haven't won a World Series, haven't even been to a World Series. With this starting pitching, it's a colossal waste of resources if it doesn't happen within this next two- or three-year window. So we were having the conversation earlier in the show, Adnan,

because, of course, Jay's fans really upset with their team as well. Mark Shapiro talked yesterday. The reaction I've seen from Jay's fans, not overly positive to what he had to say. Which fan base should be more upset and dissatisfied with their management group? And, you know, as much as it seems like the obvious answer should be the Jays because they're just having a more disappointing season than the Mariners, I think there's something from a Seattle fan's perspective about you have this incredible rotation.

You've done almost like more than half of the job to build a contending team, and it's just that final finishing piece or two that eludes you, and it feels like the Mariners fans are almost even more frustrated than Jay's fans at this point. Yeah, and it's funny because they're still in the mix for playoff spots. You're right. I totally understand their frustration. You know, how for them brought to the meet, what's worse,

if you lose the game 2-1 or lose the game 10-8, meaning if your team is consistently pitching well or if they're both in the pitching stinks or losing. So listen, either obviously is not ideal. But I think the more frustrating one, if I'm a fan, is the 2-1 loss. I go, I'm a Seattle fan, I'm more mad. Because at least if I score runs, like, you know what, let's just bash. Sometimes we can just, you know, find a way to win 9-8.

Whereas, like, as a fan, if I'm in there to that beautiful ballpark, and I'm watching George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert is an all-star, and Luis Castillo, who's generally an ace. If I'm watching Bryce Miller, if I'm watching Brian Wu, these five guys are awesome. And by the way, I don't believe in sacrifice and strength for weakness. So I would not deal all those pitchers to go get a bat. I'm saying I'd look at prospects and other ways that I can do it.

I'd spend some money, quite frankly, offseason and make a big overpay and go get Peter Lutz or whatever slugger I feel like, Jorge Soler, etc. That, to me, is the answer because you're not breeding homegrown sluggers. It just hasn't happened. So I'm with you. I probably would still lean Jays and say that's the team that should be more frustrated because I think a lot of people thought, hey, they've made the playoffs the last few seasons.

They should be a 90-win team, at least in the mix for the wildcard. I never imagined they'd be sellers come trade deadline. So I'm still more disappointed in Jay's management. I know firsthand how many people are upset with Shapiro and Atkins specifically, but you certainly make a case. If I'm a Seattle fan, I've got reason to be annoyed as well. The Dodgers are still atop the National League West, but the gap is closing. They haven't played all that well in the last week and a half. The D-backs, the Padres, are pushing the Dodgers in that division. Is there something to see here, or are the Dodgers one of those teams where they'll make the postseason and really that's all that really matters

for them because they've got those championship expectations? I'd be a little squeamish right now if I was the Dodgers. I was not expecting that lead to me. I would dwindle down to three. And they've had so many challenges when it comes to their starting pitching. As of two weeks ago, they had seven starting pitchers in the IL. So it's not like they have this team which they bought and paid for. It's very expensive.

And guys have underachieved. They've just been hurt. You know, Walker Buehler wasn't very good, got hurt. Kershaw just made his way back, missed the first four months of the season. Glassnow was really good, a ton of strikeouts. They rested a little bit, a little bit of a back injury,

but you're not sure 100% where he's been because he's never been a guy who's thrown 180 innings in a season. So even with all these arms, there's still concerns. Thank God for Gavin Stone, who's been really good for that. Collinson's been out. May's been out. So I think what's happened for LA, just clearly hard hit by injuries.

And obviously Mookie Betts. I mean, he's one of the best players in the world, and he's been gone for months. Freddie Freeman doing a horrible issue with his son, the illness he had. Thankfully, he's back and producing again. So they've certainly had their depth tested by injuries, and I'm sure they feel like, hey, come play after him. Will we be fine So they've certainly had their depth tested by injuries, and I'm sure they feel like, hey, come playoff time, we'll be fine.

This is certainly a different way to do it. In the past, they've been the behemoths of the regular season, and then Philadelphia has surprised them, or Arizona, whatever, upstart team, Padres. So it's a bit of a different recipe for L.A. right now to kind of not be as great in the regular season. But all they're going to focus on is the playoffs. I'm sure their thought process

is, hey, let's just get in. We still have the division lead right now, but I'd be a little concerned because Arizona's coming on strong. I can tell Marte has had a fabulous season, starting second baseman in the All-Star game for the D-backs. He's been awesome. They're starting to get his arms back. Eduardo Rodriguez signed the $80 million contract

four years, finally made his first start of the year last year. He was hurt, and he got hurt during his rehab. So he's back. And again, Buck Showalter said to me last night, he goes, I think he's the best trade deadline acquisition. Meaning they didn't trade for him, but of all the arms that changed, Flaherty went to the Dodgers.

Now, there was no really major name dealt. If I told you, hey, you're getting Eduardo Rodriguez back to the D-backs, you'd feel pretty good. Montgomery's season-long slump, but Fox's a good pitcher, but Fox is a good pitcher. Zach Allen's a good pitcher. Hopefully, Corbin Carroll emerges from his slump. So I think Arizona's legit, and I think San Diego's legit.

They went in the last night winning 12 of 14 games, and the biggest reason why has been their starting pitching. Michael King's been outstanding. They hopefully get Joe Musgrove back soon. He's been out for a couple months. Bullpen's been lights out. Suarez is awesome. They just got Tanner Scott from the Marlins in a deadline deal.

So, again, L.A. is going to make the playoffs. They probably win the division, but Arizona and San Diego are definitely putting a little bit of a scare into them. Adnan, in the AL MVP race, you know, Aaron Judge having another typical monster Aaron Judge season, just an incredible offensive campaign. But Bobby Witt Jr. for the Royals and what he's doing as a shortstop, his month of July, I mean, he almost hit 500 for the month.

Not 400. He almost hit 500 for the month. Has he pulled ahead in the AL MVP race for you? I'm glad you bring it up because it's certainly a worthy conversation because Witt's having just a banana season. I don't know if you guys have ever stuck to an opinion even after it's proven you were wrong, but last year me and my buddy Harold Reynolds, he was saying,

Bobby Witt's going to get $300 million. I said, you're crazy. I said, he's got a low on base percentage. He strikes out too much. Yeah, I get the fact he's got power and speed, but he needs to improve a little bit. Lo and behold, he did not get $300 million, so I still call that a win. He got $288.7 over 11 years in the Royals. However, there's three years they could chip in there.

It could be 14 years, 377 However, there's three years they could chip in there. It could be 14 years, 377. But there's no question about it. Harold was on to something because Bobby Witt's been incredible this year. And if you look at war, which we all know, by the way, is the number one defining characteristic of MVP. Go back to when Mike Trout beat Miggy Cabrera in the whole Tripper Clown 2012 debate. They look at war. Bobby Witt, I think I checked the other day, is at 7.6.

Judges at 7.7. Like, that's a toss-up. I don't think anyone realizes how great Witt has been. And imagine if he played for the Yankees and Judge played for the Royals. Now, for me, it's still Judge as the MVP. Again, to go to OPS Plus, his OPS Plus right now, Aaron Judge, is at 218 since integration. There's only been three guys with OPS Plus like that, and they're named Barry Bonds and Ted Williams. So I think Judge is having a historic year and is on pace for 59 home runs and is ridiculous. But you're absolutely right to mention Bobby Witt, and he certainly should get some votes.

This should not be unanimous, because Witt's had a remarkable year with the Royals. A year ago, he was 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases. Now he's cut down on those strikeouts. He gets on base more, and he's an absolute fire starter. For a Royals team, which again, we're looking at fan bases that should be pleased rather than the White Sox and the Jays, the Mariners. How do you feel if you're a Royals fan?

56-106 a year ago, 106 losses. And this year you might win 85 games in a wild-card spot. Bobby, what's the biggest reason why? Before we let you go, Adnan, we do have a movie question for you from the text box. It's from Don in Penticton. He's wondering, with your go, Adnan, we do have a movie question for you from the text box. It's from Don in Penticton. He's wondering, with your busy, busy schedule, how do you squeeze in movie watching? And the subtext here is, do you watch at one and a half speed, or do you consider that film blasphemy?

That's hilarious. I love Don in Penticton, by the way. He has messaged us before. I love the fact he's a true fan and a supporter of Cinephile. The easy answer is, you know, thankfully because of my hours. I often do the 6 p.m. MLB tonight. So I get to leave my house around, you know, 2 o'clock. And you guys know we don't necessarily have to work 8-hour workdays here.

So I squeeze in that 6-hour workday. I get home, put my kids to bed, blah, blah, blah. So generally, I'm pretty good for a weekday matinee. Kids are in school. And, again, showtimes have changed. I'm sure years ago in Vancouver, there was just to bed, blah, blah, blah. So generally, I'm pretty good for a weekday matinee. Kids are in school, and again, showtimes have changed. I'm sure years ago in Vancouver, there was just 1 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 10 o'clock. Now, I can go to a movie theater and get a 12.05 show.

I will often squeeze in a Monday, Tuesday matinee at 12.05 and then go right from the theater right to work. So I'm able to make it work, quite frankly, Don, because I don't have to work an eight-hour workday like you and most Canadians who are very hard at working. TV people are very lazy. That's the long and the short it work, quite frankly, Don, because I don't have to work an eight-hour workday like you and most Canadians who are very hardworking. TV people are very lazy. That's the long and the short of it, quite frankly.

And I do not, never watch a movie at one and a half speed. I find that funny, by the way, because my wife, what she'll do is she'll just kind of forward it. Like she'll scroll ahead by 10 seconds. I was watching, I don't watch, whatever this, Game of Thrones, House of Dragon, whatever the hell it's called. I don't watch that stuff. But I was just sitting with her on the couch while she was watching it. And she started scrolling. She presses the 10-second button. I go, what are you doing? She's like, ah, it's just a boring scene. I go, but you could be missing

pivotal dialogue. How do you know nothing's happening? She's like, ah, nothing's happening. So she does that all the time. I'm like, I don't know how you can do that. I will tell you on podcasts, though, I will never listen to regular speed. I love the one-and-a-half speed. Every single podcast I listen to, I go one and a half speed. I try listening at one

speed, and I'm telling you, fellas, it sounds like they're drunk or slurred speeds. It's way too slow for me. People often tell me I'm the one podcast, by the way, they can't listen to it one and a half. I will never watch it. You're self-adjusting. I'll never watch a movie at one and a half, but podcasts at one and a half, for sure.

You're self-adjusting to one and a half speed at it. I got one more movie question for you. So my co-host this week, Israel Fair, big movie guy, big Michael Mann fan, and Izzy recently, his long-term girlfriend, finally convinced her to watch the movie Heat. She loved it, gave it a five stars on Letterboxd, and then a mere five days later,

Izzy pops the question and proposes to her. So clearly it was the fact that she, and she said yes, by the way, clearly it was the fact that she loved Heat, that she gave it five stars, that sealed the deal for Izzy. Do you approve of this as a way to, a final test to see if you're compatible

to spend the rest of your life with somebody? Without question, I i 100 endorse it congrats to izzy and his very smart lovely girlfriend who has great cinematic taste and i'll tell you the specific story i don't know if you guys were in the movie diner you probably don't before your time 1983 barry levinson film but a bunch of guys in baltimore mickey rourke steve gutenberg daniel stern etc one of the funniest scenes in the movie daniel stern i think it's daniel stern he gives his fiance a similar test. He quizzes her on football.

I believe it's on the Baltimore Colts, on the football team. And there's one scene where they're all waiting, and he comes out and has this look on his face, whether or not she passed the test. So my own wife, she told me she was a huge movie fan. I said, okay. And she said she loved The Godfather. So I gave her a Godfather quiz. It's very informal, three questions. But the third question was, what's the name of the sergeant? You know, the famous scene when Michael pops him in the restaurant,

where he truly becomes Michael Corleone. He kills Barzini, but what's the name of the sergeant? And she kind of paused and she goes, McCloskey? And I'm like, all right, we're ready to get married. So I fully endorse anyone using movies as a barometer. And God, Michael Mance, he's an all-time great movie. I have some quibbles with it. So I fully endorse anyone using movies as a barometer. And, God, Michael Mance, he's an all-time great movie. I have some quibbles with it.

Like, it's not like a top ten for me. And, again, I love it. I love the score. I love the way it's shot. I do think – and Pacino's my favorite actor, for the record. But I do think he's a little too over the top at times. And in fairness to him, by the way, it's not his fault. Again, I will defend Pacino on all things.

What happened is that the character is a recovering coke addict. So he encouraged Al to go really over the top. Give me all you got! You know, you get killed walking a doggy and all that stuff, right? But, like, it doesn't make sense if you don't know that he's a recovering coke addict. If you had someone say that, go, hey, Vincent is prone to these outbursts because he needs cocaine. Oh, okay, I get it. He got crushed for, like, overacting at times. I'm like, well, that's not fair to Al.

But I do think it hurts at the movie at times. But De Niro well, that's not fair to Al. But I do think it hurt the movie at times. But De Niro's fantastic. It obviously has a great soundtrack. And the dialogue is amazing. And I was just thinking about one of the all-time great lines, by the way, from a movie. You know, for Sizemore says, for me, the action is the juice. I'm in. That's an all-time great line for an all-time great movie.

And obviously, Val Kilmer. How about nonverbal body language breaking a man's heart? When Ashley Judd just gives that motion with the hand unbelievable scene and then fantastic i'm really really glad i asked you that question and got you going on heat uh fantastic stuff as always thanks for doing this man all right jamie is the awesome stuff boys thank you and uh congrats again thanks man appreciate it that is that dan burk from MLB Network and the Cinephile podcast. You knew I had to get that question in. You literally waited until she gave Heat five stars.

And then you're like, all right, I guess I can propose now. There's some misrepresentation there. That's how I understand it, plain and simple. I know we got to do a CFL report. Hot take from me, my favorite Michael Mann movie is actually Collateral. I love Collateral. I prefer Collateral. I know Heat is his most famous movie. I actually prefer Collateral to Heat. Heat is fantastic. I like Collateral. I love Collateral. I prefer Collateral. I know Heat is his most famous movie.

I actually prefer Collateral to Heat. Heat is fantastic. I like Collateral. You know what? Michael Mann movie I watched the other day that I'd never seen. I think it might even be his debut. Thief. Thief.

Yeah, Thief's really good. Awesome movie. I've never seen Thief. Awesome, awesome movie with James Caan. Really, really enjoyed it from 1981. So I would encourage everyone to check out Thief. That's a very good movie. My second favorite Michael Mann movie, Manhunter, which he did the Hannibal Lecter movie.

Michael Mann Hunter? Before Silence of the Lambs. Michael Mann Hunter was really cool. It was the original Red Dragon. It's based on, well, Red Dragon is the same story. But yeah, Manhunter was really good. It's awesome. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.