Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Mariners Take Game One And The Inbox Is Divided

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

In hour one, Brough and guest host Jamie Dodd look back at a busy weekend in sports, including a Game 1 ALCS Blue Jays loss to the Mariners and a Canucks dud versus the Oilers (3:00), plus they look ahead to Game 2 of the ALCS later today, as Sportsnet Jays analyst Ben Nicholson-Smith (26:44) 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.

You're listening to Haldan-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. Randy is there to make the catch. The Mariners win at 3-1, and they take the opening game of this best of seven America League championship series. Darnold has time. fly. J.S.N. is out there. J.N. has it. Put down. Seahawks. We are so strong physically, so I trust this team. I love this team and we will go for it. Good morning. Welcome to Halford

and Brough here on Sportsnet 650. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone tuning in an hour later than normal. That's one of the differences on the show today. And other differences, I am not Mike Calvert. I'm Jamie Dodd, filling in for my Calvert. It's like a really easy get, you know those like spot and differences pictures the kids get? It's a really simple version of that. Well, I'm glad to have you in. I love those pictures, by the way.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jamie. Happy Thanksgiving, A-Dog. Good morning. How are you, buddy? Good morning. I'm very full on Turkey. You are? You had it yesterday or was it still full from? Yeah, I had mine on Friday night. Oh, wow. I had such a busy weekend. Oh, okay. I had Friday and Sunday.

You have like a Friday warm-up? Yeah, so two Thanksgiving dinners. I've never, until this moment, I've never heard of anyone having Thanksgiving dinner on the Friday night. It was a Christmas warm-up dinner. Yeah. It was going to stretch that. It was an exhibition game. Yeah, exactly. Just to make sure I was ready for Sunday. Laddie, good morning. Happy Thanksgiving. How are you, buddy? Hello, hello. Good morning.

Okay. We'll talk about your Blue Jays show. No, we won't. There will be no Blue Jays decision. We sure will. We'll text Ben and be like, no, I don't need to come on. Never mind. I think you should. Glad he's sad. Don't come on.

We are broadcasting live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. 650, 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. 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 Dunbarlumber.com. Halvard and Brough brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. visit sands dash trustee.com.

And this hour of the show brought to you by jason. Dot Mortgage, if you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's Jason. Dot Mortgage. So it's an abbreviated show today, but it was a very, very busy and eventful sports weekend for fans locally around the landscape as well, of course, with the Canucks playing, the Jays and the Mariners getting going in the ALCS, the White Caps,

full NFL Sunday, the Canucks play again today. So there's going to be a lot to get into. On the show today, the guest list, Ben Nicholson Smith joins us at 730 live from Toronto. Of course, Sportsnet, Blue Jays insider to talk about game one, what we saw yesterday. And they're right back at it today in not that long, about I think seven hours, if my math is correct. So we'll get the preview on game two as well from Ben Nicholson Smith. At 8 o'clock, we will chat to Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and in Gull. magazine about Thatcher Dempco's

incredible, albeit futile performance on Saturday for the Canucks and what that might mean going forward. Hoffer would be like, a loss is a loss. That's how I judge goalies. Does he have an L or a W and Demko? I guess he just wasn't good enough.

That was my main complaint about the Canucks. Great goalies find a way. That's exactly right. He should have kept all of those goals out. So Kevin Woodley at 8, Ben Nicholson Smith at 730, and of course we will do what we learned as usual. at 830 as well so you can start sending those texts in hashtag WWL what you've learned in the last 72 hours in sports over the weekend so that's what's coming up but before we do that

laddie let's tell everyone 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 is that 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.ca.ca.a. And Laddie, I apologize, but we will start in the ALCS where the Mariners took game one in Toronto over the Blue Jays, 3-1, the final score.

George Springer. Went deep on the first pitch of the game, but that was all the Jays would manage. Cow Rowley tied the game with a solo shot of his own in the six before Jorge Polanco drove in Julio Rodriguez for the game-winning run. Game two this afternoon at two. Trey Y Savage takes the mound for the Jays against Logan Gilbert for the Mariners. So I have a theory that there are some starts that are too good to be true.

Sure. Okay. Okay. So my theory, I first started working on this theory all the way back in 1994 when I attended personally game three of the Stanley Cup final and Pavel Burray scored early in that game and it was like, man, we're going to win the cup. The Canucks last that game 5-1 and Pavlo Burry got thrown out of that game. That felt like a too good to be true moment by George Springer, first batter, first. pitch Homer, everyone's like this is going to be like the Yankee series it's going to be party time

again at the Rogers Center I wonder what the odds would have been at that time that that would be the only run the Jay's score and that they'd only get

one more hit that's the most amazing one more hit after that and it was the home run is obviously the headline of course I mean, first pitch of the ALCS, that's incredible. As you said, a dream star. You literally cannot start any better than that.

But then Nathan Lucas follows it up in the two hole with a really impressive, I think it was a 10-pitch walk. So all of a sudden, Bryce Miller, who is the least impressive of Seattle starters, has thrown 11 pitches without getting it out. A couple of hard hit balls that go for outs in that inning, but you still think, all right, they're driving the ball, they're seeing it, they're getting contact. Another walk, I think he threw 25 pitches in the first inning. that's the ideal game script for the Jays, right? They're coming off that 15-inning game where they had to use a ton of pitchers to advance over the Tigers on Friday

and you think, hey, if we can get to them, if we can chase this guy early, get into the bullpen, this could snowball, 25 pitchers in the first inning. That's an incredible start. And then they couldn't replicate that at all for the rest of the game. It was like a lot of sub-10 pitch innings

from that point on. Why do you think that was? Do you just have to, you've got to tip your cap? Yeah, I mean. To Bryce Miller? because that's what the Jays were kind of saying afterwards. They were like, yeah, he pitched well. Yeah.

What are you going to do? And I also think it is, from my perspective as a Jays fan, a little bit of the concerns I had about this team going into the postseason coming to bear because the whole like, hey, we're going to put the ball and play a ton thing. That can work. And when we saw it work against the Yankees, we've seen it work and, you know, throughout the regular season. But I think you're also prone to games like this where it's like just a lot. A lot of quick outs, right?

You're like, oh, hey, I'm going to try and swing and put the ball in play. That was the ground ball to the short stuff, and they didn't boot it away. They made the light. Oh, that was a can of corn right there, yeah. And so I think you're, when you don't have the most power necessarily or your identity is, yeah, we're going to put the ball in play a lot. It can work, but I think this is kind of the flip side and the downside of it. Feels like a real blown opportunity by the Jays. Full credit to the Mariners.

I know a lot of you listening right now are cheering for the Mariners. the Mariners who had to go 15 innings on Friday to eliminate the Detroit Tigers in one of the best postseason baseball games I've ever watched and I'm sitting there watching it and I was very happy that the Mariners were able to get it done because I'm kind of agnostic on this series like I'm you know I was I was saying last last week like I kind of got over the hump with the jays in the 90s right and so now I I'm happy if they win but If they get to the ALCS, that's great. But I'm also, frankly, happy if the Mariners make their first ever appearance in the World Series.

I know that's a very un-jason-bruff-like opinion to not have, like, one thing that I'm rooting for. It was tearing the market apart this weekend. Oh, my God. What a fascinating debate, too. A lot of new, fresh opinions there. Yeah. How about, cheer for the team you like. Just don't apologize for it. So that was an unbelievable game.

It was both incredible, but also infuriating, if you were a fan, I would say, of either team of the Tigers and the Mariners. Because you're like, how have we not won this? Some of the missed opportunities. I mean, the pitching was at the same time incredible. That Flaherty guy that came on for the Tigers, he fell behind every at bat. It was like three in one. It's like, here it is. Nope, it's not.

All he throws is curveballs. And it's like, they're missing the zone. And he's like, okay. And he's out there talking to himself. And it's like, I guess he's saying time to lock in. And then he would strike the guy out or get the out. The Mariners pitching was amazing too. It was like not, was there a fastball throne?

No. It was like splitter. Splitter. It was it was incredible theater to watch. They get it done. And then I'm thinking, man, the turnaround time for these guys. Like, did they even have time to tape up the room afterwards and party? Like, did they have the same.

But I don't know. Probably wasn't as latehear as wild. They're like, you got 10 minutes to drink some bud lights. And then we're on the. playing to Toronto. I did see they were scheduled to leave that night, and I think they postponed it till the next morning for that reason. But you speak about too good to be true

from a Jay's perspective, that's what that game felt like, the 15 inning one, right? Because you're like, this could not script better. They're bringing in starters, they're burning arms, and that's why game one felt like such an opportunity and such a now missed opportunity for the Jays. By the way,

on the 15 inning game, I saw someone put out on social media because of course they don't use the ghost runner, which they use in the regular season. You start every extra inning with a runner on second. But as somebody said, they're like, these teams are like manually observing that rule

because every inning, they're threatening, but they're still not scoring. Yeah, it's crazy. We don't have the ghost runner rule, but there's a runner in scoring position every half inning here. That just didn't matter. That is pretty good.

Just a quick note. And we'll talk, we're going to talk to Ben Nicholson Smith and we'll get more on the Blue Jays from him. J. Dogg the Carhog text in. That was a game Bo Bichette would have won for the Jays, not having him will prevent them from moving on. Well, I mean, I don't know about that last part, but it sure would be nice to have Bo Bichette

in the lineup, considering at times this year for most of the year, he was their best hitter? Yeah, or certainly I don't want to say best necessarily, because George Springer, but he was a great hitter. He had a great year, and this text comes in from Nate and Richmond. I cry a little every time Kirk comes up in a big spot when it should be Bo. And in the postseason, typically Bo was hitting in the number four spot. It's kind of been either Kirk or Addison Barger. And I like both hitters. Kirk hasn't had the most impressive. Like his numbers aren't terrible, but there's been some moments where it's like, yeah, as Nate and Richmond says, I would much prefer having Bo Bichette here.

Okay. Let's move on to the Canucks who are going to play today, by the way. Is that a, what's the start time? What's that start time on that? 4.30. They're hosting the St. Louis Blues, so a special Thanksgiving start time. If you're going to the game, if you got tickets or you want to watch it, remember, 4.30 start time. Don't show up at 7. Everyone will be leaving.

Well, it's weird because a lot of people do work on Thanksgiving Monday, right? Like, I mean, we're in here working, but there are there going to be people working on Thanksgiving. So just a reminder, it's a 430 start, and the Kinex will probably be looking forward to getting back on the ice and having a game because Saturday in Edmonton they got dominated. There is one positive to draw from that game and

it was that Thatcher Dempco was incredible for the Canucks. If not for Thatcher Dempco, that would have been a blowout. Otherwise there really wasn't much to be encouraged by. I want to play some audio

from Quinn Hughes and he showed some frustration at the end of the game, smashing his stick on the Canucks goal after Drysidal had put in, frankly, a really nice backhand play from like the middle of the ice and put the game away. Now, I don't know if Quinn Hughes was frustrated where maybe he thought he should have been able to make a play on that puck by Drysida or he was just like, that was a tough game and we just lost it. But Quinn Hughes sounded tired and pretty frustrated after the game talking about.

the performance by Thatcher Demko and the fact that, I can't rely on that to happen every game. We better up our game a little bit. The effort by your goalie today, just unbelievable play. Yeah, he's amazing. So definitely kept the sentence with multiple chances. Most goalies, that goes in, and it's 3-1-4-1. So, I mean, he just gives us a chance.

Yeah, he's incredible, seriously. So lost in all that game was that when he's got a point, point and became the leading franchise. The franchise is the leading scorer among defensemen. But he's like, yeah, that was going to happen anyway. I don't really care about that. And we only scored one goal. And, you know, the others could have scored 10 on the night.

I think we start with the top line because, you know, they were a concern for me in the preseason because they didn't do much five on five and you know I know it's tough against the Oilers I didn't think they look very good against Calgary I think that's fair so when the Canucks play today in St. Louis or sorry against St. Louis at home do you rejig that top line they haven't had a practice to try any combinations but you know I think a lot of people that had watched Pedersen and Besser together over the last little while and we'll be like yeah it didn't really work and like last season i don't think anyone was like wow this incredible chemistry between peterson and de brusk and de brusk himself said

you know i you know we haven't really learned how to play together and it was a crazy season last last year right and we were all hoping that okay fresh start three of them together besters happy to be back doesn't have any contract worries anymore the connects have committed to him Had this apparently great off season. He's going to come in, clear-eyed. And it just doesn't look very good. No. And to your question of, do we see them today together?

I think we will because, as you said, they haven't had a practice in between. There's enough there. Like, Brock Bessor scored in both games, right? So if you want to kind of look at it through rose-colored glasses, you can say, well, hey, they've scored a couple goals, you know, there's no reason. to break them up right now. We're going to leave them together. I also think we don't have to

play the clip here, but if you listen to Adam Foote's post game commentary in Edmonton on Saturday, you know, one of the things he said was, oh, you know, we were, we were right there in that game. We just, we could have had some moments there where if we'd executed and he didn't sound too upset with the performance. And I think that is, like Adam Foote saw what we all saw, right? They got massively out played. So I don't think he's out of his mind. I think that's a early season, tactical decision by a new head coach he's not going to bury the team on game too but i think part of that mentality is well hey this top line that we've been investing time in since day one of training camp it's two games into the season they've got two goals why rush to break them up sure right so i think

realistically they're going to get a longer leash and more time but you know time runs out quickly in the nchl right so if they lose two more games and that line isn't stacking up good shifts up five on five, then we could be having a very different conversation next week. What are the alternatives? That's what I struggle with. You know, do you put, do you put Evander Kane up there? Well, I don't think he's looked great. No, but that's, I think that's...

That's probably the one to do. That's the option, really. Yeah, yeah. That was a good hit. Yeah, it was a nice hit. I mean, the other one, I guess, would be Connor Garland and plays a Brock Besser. I don't think that really works either. But, I mean, we talked about this in the preseason, right?

Like the Canucks have two, in theory, line drivers. Patterson and Garland so you want to put him together but the problem my guess is if Pedersen's not driving not driving he just seems so tentative and it's really sad

I mean it's it's I'm not I know a lot of people expect me to come in and just be like oh Bruff's gonna like rant and rave like I'm so beyond that yeah I just I just see a real he doesn't want to be a difference maker out there you know when the Canucks have

the goal he pulled and they're desperate for a goal you know he's just he's not moving his feet and he's just like he doesn't it doesn't look like he wants to make an individual play it doesn't look like he wants to beat someone he just wants to get the puck and move it on to a teammate the thing that stands out for me more than anything else and it's in all three zones but it's i think it's especially noticeable in the neutral zone is when he gets the puck when he receives a pass or picks the puck up almost immediately he starts gliding and there seems to be almost no

willingness or no intention to make a play with his skating to It's a confidence thing. Skate into space, to put pressure on the defense by building up some speed, and instead it's gliding and immediately looking for a pass. And that you're not going to be an impact player with that mentality. You need to be able to skate. You need to be willing to take things on. And look, I know we don't, like, we don't necessarily want to get dragged down a Patterson

rabbit hole right now. But through two games, has he made a single play that you look at and say, that's top line center play, right? And what I mean to that is the type of play that a number two or number three center is not typically capable of. You know what I mean? Like where you're like, whoa, wow, that's what separates a number one center from a number two or a number three center. He hasn't done it. And he's made a lot of like decent number two or number three center plays. But guess what? Teddy Bluger can do that. Lots of guys can do those plays. God, they're desperate for Bluger now. I know. Honestly.

Good grief. Someone takes some of those face offs. Yeah. Well, it's only been two games, but Patrick Galvin has been under pressure to add a center for a while now. I don't think Coots is ready for a full season in the NHL. And I'm not sure, like that's not a criticism of him. He's 18 years old. This is not where he should be. He might get his nine games, but I think it would just be, I think it's better to, in your mind, keep the fact that, like,

well, you shouldn't be here and he's probably not ready for this. I'm not sure that Canucks have the right players to surround him with either If you have If you have a guy like Coots Who's still got a lot to learn in the NHL Because he's 18 and has just played two games in the NHL

You know You want to have him on a line With two dependable veterans I think I just don't know if they can do that But on the other hand There's a reason why Well there's two reasons

why he's in the lineup right now. Number one, he's been really good. Right? And he showed up and he's been mature and he's done everything that's been asked for. But let's be honest, the biggest reason is that they're like, well, our alternatives are not great. And I keep on thinking like, you know, people are like, well, maybe Alvin, you know, if he sees at the center, he's going to make a move. I'm like, well, wouldn't he even made a move already? Like what move is out there? Yeah. Who's out there right now on the market for the Canucks to go grab? There's no one. If there was that they were excited about.

Or they would do it. They would have already have done it. And the point about the depth, I mean, yeah, with Bluger out right now, and we'll see when he gets back. It doesn't sound like it's going to be long term. But if Coots wasn't in the lineup, you'd have what? Either Max Sasson or Niels Amon as your fourth center in the lineup right now, right? And Max Sasson, probably more of a winger.

Niels Amon doesn't really win draws, doesn't do it much offensively. So that would be a really tough spot to be. And the Coot's conversation is interesting because I think you make a good point about, okay, is it the right environment? And it's almost, there's obviously the question of, is his play good enough? Can he hold up at the NHL level? That's one side of the equation. But I also think if the team is having a poor season,

I'm not saying they're going to, we're two games in, they're one and one, whatever. But if the team is not doing well, even if Coots is playing well you still might want to send them down right I remember when Alvin and Rutherford took over and they sent I think Pod Cole is an N. Hoaglander back down to Appletford

and part of that was well hey go learn some details but part of it was this team's a mess and we don't want you guys around it you know what I mean it was like it was like a family dinner gone wrong and it's like can you guys go to the store kids go up to bed and grab some milk and feel free to stay out for a while

the adults have something to discuss I've got to yell at your father for a little bit. Yeah, and it was, so there's almost that element of, well, how's the environment and whether or independent of how Coots is playing? Like, Coots might be playing really well. But if the team is losing and the team is not a good environment, it's like, just go back and have some fun at Junior. Okay, Ben Nicholson Smith's going to join us in a bit in about five minutes, time. Well, actually about seven minutes. I'm not good with the clock either.

So we'll talk more Blue Jays on the other side. we will return to the Canucks talk at 8 o'clock when Kevin Woodley joins us. If you're listening on this holiday Monday, thank you for listening. We're happy to be here. Text in any what we learns or comments into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650, 650. I know it's just been baseball and Canucks so far. I know the White Caps had a great win. I know the Seahawks had a very good win.

I think if the BC lines win out now, they host a playoff game because Winnipeg lost over the weekend. So there are all sorts of other things going on in the world of sports. We've only got a two-hour show, and there are two big stories right now in this mark, and that is the Blue Jays and the Mariners and the Vancouver Connect. So we're probably going to stick to those. Don't get too upset with us. We're trying to do our best. Ben Nicholson Smith is going to join us on the other side of the Halford,

abrupt show on SportsNet 650. And before we chat to Ben, I got to tell you about one to watch brought you by Limitless AV. As I mentioned, the Jays and the Mariners going in game two of the ALCS at 2 o'clock this afternoon, Trey Y' Savage getting the ball for the Blue Jays and already losing this series one game to nothing. You've got game two at home. You blew the opportunity in game one. Absolutely vital for the Jays that they're able to manage a win.

We all remember what Yassavage did in his postseason debut against the New York Yankees. They need that version of Trey Yassavage again. They need somebody who can come out and really shut down this Mariners lineup and give the offense a chance to get going. He's got the stuff. Can he replicate or come close to replicating what he did against the Yankees in this start? That's one to watch. Brought you by Limitless AV Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces,

book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessav.com. And we don't have our Monday morning quarterback on today, but they are, as always brought to you by the Clayton Public House, pre-game to post game. The Clayton Public House is your home of football. Catch all the action on 15 screens and two giant projectors. The Clayton Pub.com. More Halford & Brough next here on Sportsnet 650.

It's Canucks Central with Dan Richel and, at T.R. Shaw, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the postgame show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. Long tail on this one, hell outy. All right, there we go. There we go. Welcome back to Halford and Bruff. Jamie Dodd here filling in for Mike Halford, live from the Kintech Studio.

650, 650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. Halford and Brough brought you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free. In just two weeks, visit sands-trustee.com. This hour brought you by jason. dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason.morgage. We now go to the phone line from SportsNet, joining us to talk Jays and Mariners in the ALCS. He is Ben Nicholson Smith. Ben,

thanks for doing this. I'm sure it's been a very, very busy few days for you and we'll continue to be. How are you today? Well, doing well, excited for game two here. I mean, what a, what a ride these jays have been on, obviously, a pretty tough start last night to get two hit. But exciting times, for sure. Yeah, we were talking about it in the first segment, you know, from the dream opening, first pitch, George Springer goes yard, and then as you said, one more hit the rest of the way. And even the rest of that first inning, right? The walk from Lucas, a couple hard hit balls.

The pitch count gets up for Miller, and you think it's going to be a dream start. What went wrong after that point from the second inning and on for the Jays? Yeah, ultimately just not. hitting. They hit some balls right at the Mariners, and then other times they couldn't make good contact. And Bryce Miller was really good, pitching on three

days rest, so he gets some credit there, but also the Blue Jays hitters need to do better. I mean, you can't get two hits in a postseason game and expect to win. It's pretty much a guaranteed boss, especially when the Mariners were able to get just enough

going against the Blue Jays pitchers and score a few runs. So, yeah, it's going to be frustrating any time that your offense just delivers so little and especially so little after the first pitch or the first swing of the game from George Springer. So yeah, ultimately

this is on the offense. They lost this game because they didn't hit and to me it's pretty much that simple. Ben, what were the Jays and maybe the manager, John Snyder? What were they saying after the game? Were they tipping their cap to Bryce Miller or were they saying that there were things that they can do differently?

Yeah, I think there was an element of both. And, like, to be fair to Miller, I mean, to go on three days' rest, his Velo was up. He had one of his best starts of the season. So he deserves some credit. But I think mostly, if you're a team at this point in the playoffs, you have to look inward. And so the Js know that they have to be better. They know that they have to find ways to just make better contact, have better at-bats, to put them in a position to score a lot.

more today on Monday than they did in the opener. So, yeah, hearing from David Schneider, George Springer, Vlad Guerrero, Jr., after the game, no one was saying that what the Blue Jays did was enough. They all realized they have to be better. But I think at the same time, there was kind of a tone of, you know what, it's one game. We're going to move past it and just try to do better tomorrow. So obviously, Boba Chet, not in the lineup yesterday, and it won't be in the lineup for this series.

What is the latest on Bo Bichette? Because I think it goes without saying that he'd sure be a welcome addition to the batting lineup. Well, it's a great point, right? Especially after a game where they get two hit. And Bo Bichet tried to do a running progression on the bases a couple days ago, ended up, you know, stopping and sitting down. I'm sure you guys have seen the footage of him, you know, pulling up between second

and third base. and ultimately just wasn't ready to go. So it's been weeks now. Clearly, this is a significant injury. This is not just a day-to-day thing for Boba-Bichette. And recovering from that will require him passing more tests as far as doing a running progression on the bases, sprinting, probably doing it a couple days in a row.

So if the Blue Jays get to a World Series, which is still within their grasp, if they can start to swing the bats a little bit better. It's possible Bichette would come back, but it's also possible that his season is done. We just don't know which way this is going to go. Tell us a bit about the pitching matchup today. Yeah, it's going to be an exciting one with Tray Savage on the mound

for the Jays against Logan Gilbert of the Mariners. A couple really good right-headed pitchers. And In Yassavage, we're watching someone who is only made four major league starts. So as much as he has become a, very known and, you know, appreciated pitcher in the last month. It's easy to forget how little experience he has above the minor leagues. So it'll be a big test for him, just as it was last time when he faced the Yankees and held them hitless and his splitter was just unbelievable.

He was locating his basketball, and he struck out 11. If he can do anything close to that, the Jays will be in a great position to even this series up. but it's hard to say if he can replicate that because this is all pretty new and the Mariners are a different team they'll have a little bit more information to work off of and they'll have a really good starter in Logan Gilbert who did throw a couple innings in that 15 inning game 5

victory over the Tigers just a few days ago but he should be good to go and he's a really good pitcher too yeah Anya Savage as you said I mean the Mariners haven't faced him but I do wonder just considering how high profile his performance against the Yankees was, like how much do you think that changes things for the Mariners, just that little bit of extra information to say, okay, we haven't faced it before,

but here's what the splitter looks like. How does that affect the game plan from the Mariners' perspective? And what does Trey Savage need to do to kind of be aware of that and prepare his own game plan in response? Yeah, I don't think his Savage has to adjust much because right now it's on the hitters to adjust to him. But I do think you make a good point that, you know, after seeing what he did against the Yankees,

the Mariners will have a pretty good idea of how he attacks opposing lineups in a must-win game. And, you know, at this point in this career, when it's so early, each start really does add more information because, you know, his first start, well, it's his first start.

After that, he's only faced like 20 batters. But now the picture starts to become a little clearer for Seattle. Now, it's one thing to intellectually know that he is going to throw splitters and fastballs to left-hand hitters. We all know that, but it doesn't make it any easier to execute and actually hit those pitches. So that'll be a real test for the likes of Josh Nail or Cal Raleigh. Really, anyone who's standing in against Tray Savage is going to have a tough time because that splitter is so nasty. And the arm angle is unique.

It's the highest in Major League Baseball. But it's, you know, there's no guarantee that he can go out there and be quite as good as he was against the game. It would be amazing for the Blue Jays, and I think it's possible. But there are no guarantees this time of year. Brandon texts in to the show and he says, can you ask Ben about you Savage's comments yesterday regarding the online hate? And Brandon writes, I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Yeah, fair question, Brandon. and, you know, what we know is what Tray Savage said,

where he said that, you know, there was some hate seemingly directed at his loved ones and he wanted to use his platform to encourage people not to operate in that way and not to be so critical of people who really didn't ask to be in the spotlight. So fair enough. Now, Yassavage was given the opportunity to elaborate on that, and a reporter asked, hey, can we follow up on this and have a little bit more information, or do you want to just move on? And Yassavich at that point said, no, I just want to move on.

So he didn't take follow-up questions. So I can't really shed too much more light on that other than the comments that we all heard. Yeah, for me, like, I'm not criticizing him at all. I'm just curious, like, was this his like, hey, welcome to being a professional athlete in the spotlight. moment or was there something like specific that was done? I guess what you're saying is like you don't know.

Yeah, because you know, I have the same question, right? Because to a certain degree and none of it is okay. It's not acceptable. Yeah. No, it's never acceptable. But to a certain degree, pro athletes do face so

much criticism online and even their family and loved ones sometimes do get this. Now, again, it's not okay. But we don't know the extent of this and how bad it was or who it was directed at or in what way. So yeah, I can't really

speculate beyond that. Ben, as I mentioned, Tray Savage on the mound today for the Jays. What does the pitching plan for the rest of the series look like? We'll see how long it goes, of course, but the changes from the ALDS roster to the ALCS roster,

both Max Scher's and Chris Bassett added to the roster. So they're both available what's your sense of the plan for using those guys and the rotation generally for the rest of this series? Yeah, I think it'll be game three, Shane Bieber, game four, probably Scherzer plus bullpen, and then it would flip right back to Gosman, you Savage Bieber, for 5, 6, 7,

and those guys would be on regular rest. So Scherzer kind of being the one to get to start where Bassett would be in more of a bullpen role. and if we see Chris Bassett today, it probably means things have gone either really well or really badly for the J. Because if they're winning 8 to 2, I won't say 8 to 1 for obvious reasons,

but if they're winning 9 to 3, then yeah, you're probably going to Chris Bassett and having him cover a few innings, and that would be great. Or conversely, if you're down big, then maybe he's someone who helps you cover earnings. But in the course of a long seven-game series, you really do need some support

and guys who can cover more than a few outs at a time. What do you think about Max Scherzer possibly starting a very, very big game for the Blue Jays? I mean, I kind of love it. As a baseball fan, it's just cool. This guy's 41 years old. You know he's going to be amped up beyond belief, you know, he's going to give them everything he has.

And the home runs have been an issue for him this year against left-handed hitter, so he's going to have to have a really careful plan against Raleigh, who will obviously bat left against him, against Josh Naler, against Polanco, who will obviously bat left against him. That middle of the order is going to be tough, and navigating that is going to be a challenge. I'll have to do that at least once. But, yeah, I think it's a big ballpark.

You know, they can rely on the defenders that they have and try to just locate his pitches, execute his pitches. I think it's going to be really fun, but, man, there's, you know, the Jays can be down to 1 in the series. that point, right? Like, it's going to be a really big game. So, you know, we're going to have to see how they use him and how long that leash it. Ben, really appreciate it. As I said, I know you're very, very busy. Enjoy game two. And thanks so much for doing this. My pleasure, guys. Have a good one and enjoy game two. Hopefully it's a little bit more fun than game one.

Yeah, some more offense. Anyways, thanks, Ben. Thanks, Ben. That is Ben Nicholson Smith from Sportsnet covering the ALCS with the Js. The Mariners. Oh, I thought game one was really fun. I'm sure what he was talking about. I had a great time, personally. It's not like it was exciting, even if you're a Mariners. You know what I mean?

It was like, of course, if you're a Mariners fan, you're happy they won. But it wasn't a great game from any perspective, right? Like, no casual, no neutral fan was sitting there being like, I'm loving this. It was kind of a boring game. Yeah, I mean, I think that would have been exciting for Mariners fans when Cal hit it out. Yeah, that's fair. That t-shirt behind home plate was interesting. What's that about?

I didn't see that. explain it, bro I'm not going to Please go into vivid detail Also the giant Giant dude behind Homeplate as well He was there for the Yankees series Yeah

It was an eclectic group Canty pitch hit home plate Is he available? So we had some news Break during the show The Montreal Canadians Have signed their Young defenseman

Lane Hudson to an eight-year extension With an 8.85 Aavv which right now is a bargain. Yeah. And in three or four years, might be an incredible, incredible bargain for the Montreal Canadians,

assuming he maintains his level and maybe even gets a little bit better. It's a pretty incredible contract, honestly. And I'm a little bit scratching my head from Lane Hudson's perspective. And look, so what? This is over $70 million. So I understand that.

He's played 87 career. NHL games at this point. So if somebody offers you almost a million dollars per NHL game you've already played, I get it. There's going to be the temptation to take that deal. Did he have like student loans or something? I thought he got a scholarship to be you. I'm pretty sure he was on scholarship.

It's, you know, I've already seen people starting to do the math about like percentage of a cap. Yeah. This is a lower percentage of the cap than Quinn Hughes's contract, but he's currently playing out, like way lower than Kale McCars. lower than guys like Jake Sanderson, Mort Cider, right? Lane Hudson had 66 points in 82 games.

All indications are he is going to be a massive part of what the HABs are doing in a position to continue to rack up points. And again, as much as I understand, okay, I've got lifelong security for myself and my children at the stroke of a pen here, it is a little surprising not to see that they didn't have to pay a bigger price

to get eight years. Yes. That's what really stands out for me. Credit to him. Congratulations to him. Credit to the HABs for getting it done. But I do find it fascinating. Other than the McDavid deal, which was only two years, and even he didn't get, didn't

even get a raise, there's been this question that, okay, our NHL player is going to start to really get serious about maximizing their earning potential in their career, right? Whether that's demanding more in negotiations right now, taking shorter deals to set. yourself up for a bigger payday down the road we just haven't seen it materialized they're all just like nope eight years give me eight years right now okay let's go through a couple other

things we've noticed from the NHL I think the New York Rangers have had the most hilarious start to the season I've seen a long time so imagine you're a home team a home fan in any of these games okay so the starter which we talked about last week

the opener for them was they hosted Pittsburgh on Tuesday so it's MSG the Yankees are playing a big game at the same time that was the night that Aaron Judge hit that big one run okay so most people are probably like I wish I was watching the Yankees game anyways

and then they get shut out on home ice by Archer C-Lavs and the Pittsburgh Penguins who are supposed to be one of the worst teams in the NHL so HomeCrow probably upset with that their second game they go to Buffalo and they shut out the Sabres. Sabers fans are already pretty frustrated with life in general. Now, the only thing I will say is that there are a lot of Rangers fans in that crowd.

Next, they go to Pittsburgh. They're trying to get revenge on the Penguins. So the Penguins, it's their home crowd now. And the Rangers win that game six to one. So it's been three games, and the home team has scored one goal. Do you know what happened yesterday? at home against the Washington Capitals the Rangers went back to MSG

they got shut out again won nothing by the Washington Capitol so the Rangers have played four games the home team whoever it is has scored one goal

and they host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday before going to Toronto and Montreal for a couple of games so I think the Rangers will be kind of worth watching now is this foreshadow for when they visit Rogers Arena in two weeks, October 28th.

The Canucks will be the home team. Will the Rangers home team curse last that long? That's a long time to hold that home team curse. But like Rangers fans are already on there. They're like, are you going to score a goal at home today or this year? You bums? Like it's wild. The other team that, I mean, this isn't surprising,

but the Sabres are off to another tough start. I mentioned the game that they lost to the range, it's 4-0 at home. They lost yesterday to the Boston Bruins three to one. So it's two games for them, one goal scored for the Buffalo Sabres. And if you're looking for someone else to listen to today, I know Elliot Friedman and Cobbukascus talk a little bit about the Sabres' rough start on the latest episode of 32 thoughts. Yeah, I mean, what is there to say also at this point?

I mean, I don't mean that is a shot at Friedman Bukascus. But if you're a Sabres fan, like, where do they go from here? What's the, I don't even know what the conversation is other than the stock, tear it down and rebuild. But like, how can that be the answer? Yeah. Always in Buffalo. And it never amounts to anything. And you see these teams around them, like Ottawa and Montreal, taking those steps.

And it's like, well, what the heck is preventing us from replicating that, from having a season? Like, those teams are capable of having. And then you see those guys that leave. Buffalo and automatically they go on to like incredible success. And not just like success, but like instantly become heroic success. You know what I mean? The guys we look at is like

they're the ultimate winner. That's someone you can win a Stanley Cup with. It's like what? What we thought about them here when they were here? Do you think the Pagoolos will ever sell? I don't know. If it gets to a point where it's just like we can't figure this out of the time. I wonder if they even remember they own the case. That's the thing I honestly think like

Josh. Those guys. Yeah. Yeah. Because they own the bills too. Are they doing well? No. Kevin Adams is still the GM. That's crazy, man. He's got to be like sending the nicest gift basket to Josh Allen every year, right?

Because if the Josh Allen is like the only thing keeping Kevin Adams in that role, right? Because the Pugulas must just be so like, hey, man, the bills are awesome. Everyone loves them. We've got this incredible quarterback. We're Super Bowl contenders. That's great. The Sabres, whatever. As soon as the bills fall off, I feel like that's very bad news for the front office of the Sabers as well.

Okay, Kevin Woodley's going to join us in about 10 minutes. Our goaltending expert. Sorry, Lattie. You're a goaltending expert, too. We're co-goaltending experts. You're co-goaltending experts. Canucks are starting Lankton in tonight, right? I mean, if they don't, that is a pretty stunning decision, right?

Because the whole conversation about the goaltending has been, you've got this tandem, so you don't have to be desperate and overplay Dempco. And I get it. he's coming off this incredible performance and there's always the school of well ride the hot hand right hey he's playing great let's get him in there you have to set the standard early that we're not going to be

we're not going to let ourselves get talked in to start to playing dempco all these games in a row right lankenen has to take a chunk of the schedule this is a logical moment you've got a back to back coming up get demko some rest get him in there against dallas it makes so much sense i would be stunned and i think if he If we don't see Lankton start tonight, that's a very bad sign for where things are internally already with the cadets. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Halford and Brough listeners.

I hope you've already had a good weekend and I hope you get the day off today unlike some people that's going to work. But we're happy to be in here talking sports. It's a great time to be talking sports. Kevin Woodley is going to join us next. We'll talk about Thatcher Demko's performance. I know Rick Dolly was Rick Dollywell was tweeting away about You don't think that the Americans are watching this

The people in charge is like No one accused anyone ever saying that Dollywell's ability to get mad at nobody is really impressive All those people out there that said confidently No one from you at the USA will notice this performance You don't think they're watching broth I never said that I'm not even thinking about it Rick Happy Thanksgiving Rick

We'll talk to we'll talk to Kev about some of the Goaltending stories around the NHL, including Factor Demko, who was, I would say, the lone bright spot from the Canucks performance Saturday in Edmonton. Hopefully there are a few more guys going tonight when the Canucks host

to St. Louis Blues. You're listening to the Halford-embrough show on Sportsnet 650.