Halford & Brough in the Morning - Thomas Muller + MLB Race

Episode Date: August 15, 2025

In hour one, guest host Jamie Dodd and Josh Elliott-Wolfe discuss what happened in the previous day of sports and are joined by Adnan Virk to talk across MLB including the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners depth.   This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. He's swinging at the first pitch. Hits it to left-center, and he's robbed. Absolutely robbed by Davis Schneider. In the air to left center, and well hit. Gone! Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend.

Good morning, welcome to Halford and Brough. No Halford, no Brough. It's Josh Elliott-Wolf and Jamie Dodd here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Howford & Brough is 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-Trustee.com. me good morning.

Good morning. Lena, good morning. Hello. Laddie, good morning. Hello, hello. Wow. Yeah, I won up here. You have a double here.

Way to go. Tough start to the morning. I'm not even going to call you Ladi. I'm going to call you Greg. I say that every morning. The permanent morning show, extra layer of polish that Lattie brings. The fillins just can't match.

An extra hello. I'm going with a sup next week. A sup? Are you going to show next week, too? All right. I'm sorry. Yeah. I'm excited because I'm on the show.

show next week. I am sorry for you, Lina. It is going to be Jamie and Dan Riccio, yeah. So get pumped. By the way, we are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech, Footwear, and Orthotics. Working together with you and step, I stole your read, but I kind of did things out of order. So that's on me. Well, whatever. I'll roll with the punches.

It's fine. We can restart the whole show. No, no, no, thank you. Jamie's like, oh, no, you did my read. You took work for me. Oh, nuts. Okay, what's happening on the show today at 6.30. We're going to talk to Adnan Verk from MLB Network. The Jays.

Get a big win yesterday and I have some questions about the playoff rotation. What's going on with Vladdy? Because it's in a good way. He's been awesome. And he was awesome again yesterday for the Jays. At 7.30 Alex Gange Rzeek will

join us and we will talk about Thomas Mueller's introductory press conference. What a personable fella. He is awesome. Seems like a good dude. Seems like it. It's up there making goat noises. That's great. Never seen that before. Yeah. That's awesome. So we'll talk to Alex at 730 from one soccer and a few other publications as well about the Thomas Mueller introduction. What's going on with the white caps? And then at 8 o'clock, it is the Moge. And we'll talk about the BC Lions as they get set to take on

the Montreal Alouettes tomorrow looking to make it back-to-back wins after a wild win in Hamilton. We're calling it a wild night in Hamilton. Yep, last Thursday. I've seen a few of those in my day. Yeah, I'm sure you have. At the Forge Games?

Oh, yeah. You know it. Oh, man. It gets really crazy at Forge games. Especially in the white caps. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know it. So at 8 o'clock, we'll talk to Moge about that.

So working in reverse, 8 o'clock, it is the Moge 730, Alex Gungay Ruzik will join us and at 630 it is Adnan Verk from MLB Network It's also an Ask Us Anything By the way, ask us anything Friday So text in 650-650

On the Dunbar Lumber text line And when I say anything I do mean anything No holds barred Now we don't have to answer it but you can send it in Yeah exactly text in whatever you want See what happens And there's a prize attached yes

Oh yes Okay yes there is a prize attached Thank you, Lattie. So the best ask us anything, if you throw a pizza emoji on it, we will award a $100 a.J's gift card by the end of the show. So get some good Ask Us Anything's in. And we will hopefully. Put that pizza emoji for the gift card to AJ's Pizza on East Broadway to be eligible to win.

Yeah, you won't win. It's not automatic. No, we're not giving away like $50, $100 gift cards here. So many gift cards. But hopefully you win. Poor AJ. We made a mistake, AJ. We messed up really bad.

Okay, so that's what's happening on the show. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. 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? What happened is brought to you by the B.C. construction safety alliance it's going to be one of those days it's going to be one of those days making safety simpler by giving construction companies

the best in tools resources and safety training visit bccsa dotseye i'm a day away from having a week off so part of what happened here is that young reckless brash Josh went to a movie last night it was like i'll be fine reckless and brash

i don't need that sleep i went to a seven o'clock movie to be clear. I didn't push the envelope with a nine or ten o'clock. Now, that would have been truly that's if you'd done that. Was it gone with the wind? Were you there till midnight? Like, what are you watching? I was, I saw weapons. Weapons. Okay. It was pretty good. That's understanding. So I was scared. Can't sleep after that. You were shaking, pulling the covers up to your chin in bed. That's what was happening. And that's why I'm off to a rough start this morning. Also my last day before vacation. So that's on me. Okay. So what happened yesterday? We will start.

With the introductory press conference for one Thomas Mueller. We mentioned goat noises. He said more than that, though. He did actually, he said words, English words, to the media in Vancouver. And again, I mentioned he is a very personable guy. He is an easy guy to like, I think, for anyone who's getting their first taste of Thomas Mueller. And he did say all the right things. Yeah.

And really that is. my number one takeaway. We can get into some of the other specific commentary, right? You know, not worried about the turf, which is really refreshing to hear, I think, for a lot of Vancouver soccer fans, you know, but overall, it's just, he just seems so comfortable. And he

doesn't, there doesn't seem to be any trepidation or any uncertainty about this. He just seems very self-assured, very comfortable, very engaging and I think he has, he seems to have a good perspective about the fact that yeah, look, I'm Thomas Muller, so I'm coming

here. This is going to be a big deal. I'm not going to pretend it isn't. I'm not going to be reticent to talk about it. I'm going to embrace that side of things. But also, I'm going to keep the focus as much as I can on what I'm going to do on the pitch and the fact that I'm here to win. And there is just something very refreshing about seeing a professional athlete, especially an extremely high profile professional athlete, be so comfortable in the spotlight and not kind of try to shy away from the questions, not, you know, lock their personality away. And, of course, I'm referencing hockey players here.

No, no, not just the Canucks, specifically. Hockey players generally, right? Like, there's very few NHL players who have that same ease in front of cameras, in front of microphones that Thomas Mueller does. And again, it's not like he said anything groundbreaking or it's like, oh my gosh, this is so insightful. Wow, I can't believe it. It's just he was comfortable.

He was himself. He was funny. He was engaging. he was natural and that goes a long way and i i do think over the last couple of days seeing him arrive at the airport seeing the hype you know the the videos on social media and then his introductory press conference i think we're really getting a sense of just what a big deal this this has the potential to be in terms of raising the white the white caps brand and stock and kind of visibility not just here in mancouver but around the world because this guy is as you said

easy person to root for and an easy person to have fun watching. Yeah, and so when we talk about like the stock of the white caps, I think it's, it's definitely going to raise one thing Axel Schuster was talking about yesterday was like, we've never sold this many jerseys before. This is awesome. Yeah. And they have to like restock jerseys and all of this. So there is obviously a financial benefit for the Vancouver white caps as well, but also just

from a reputation standpoint, like this is probably one of the biggest things the white caps have done to raise their reputation ever. Yeah. Because like even when Schuster was talking about bringing in Mueller, he was like, really us? You sure? The Vancouver White Caps? And obviously it all worked out.

But this does go a long way for the white caps when it comes to raising their stock. And then a big part of it that Mueller was talking about yesterday as well was he does want to win. And he did look at Vancouver and the White Caps as. a place where he legitimately thinks he can win and part of that is you know look they've been having a really good season so far he had a lot of talks with yesper sorensen and i think he believes a lot in what yesper sorenson is doing has the ties to schuster and probably has a good idea of what the plan is moving forward for the team as well so you put all that together and i

think there are a lot of reasons to be excited about where the white caps are going and and And feel like a win, like going on a run in major league soccer is not out of the question and is probably more realistic than it's ever been. Yeah, absolutely. And as you said, that's partly because of the season they're having right now. Also partly because of the respect he has for the key people in charge in Axel Schuster and Yesper Sorensen. And another really interesting wrinkle to come out about the white caps. I think it's kind of related to what we're saying about the good vibes around Thomas Mueller and the potential. he has to lift the profile of this organization.

But really interesting report, Patrick Johnston, talking to the ownership group of the White Caps. And of course, we've known for a while now that the White Caps are for sale, or we understood that they were for sale. And PJ reporting after conversations with the White Caps ownership group that actually, yeah, maybe not. Maybe, in fact, they're willing to stay on board in some capacity or interested to stay on board in some capacity, but maybe bring in a partner if it can help fund.

finance a a new stadium and be some of the bigger investments a la thomas muller that are going to be required as mLS continues to develop and continues to grow in the united states but i think it's there's two things going on here one probably is the excitement around thomas muller and also for the outgoing management i don't know what they're paying him what kind of you know deal they've agreed to pay him next year but it would be a little odd to commit to that and then just be like oh bye yeah have fun did the biggest signing in team history and now we're going to sell the team. Yeah. But the other thing, and this is per again Patrick Johnson's article in post media, is it sounds like now that there's no concrete plans or anything official or anything

like that, but it does sound like there's a legitimate possibility of a soccer specific stadium possibly out at the P&E or on the Hastings racetrack somewhere around there. And apparently that possibility is pretty enticing for the owners. So it looks like they're saying, you know what, actually, this might be a pretty interesting situation. If we get a soccer specific stadium, this could be a club poised to have a lot of success. And we want to be a part of that. We just need someone with some extra financial muscle to come in and partner with us. So much of the Vancouver Whitecaps future in general in Vancouver comes back to like, can you get a soccer specific stadium built? And so if they are, if current Whitecaps ownership is willing

to stay on and potentially help in, in bringing someone else in and helping them build a new stadium, I mean, that's a good sign, I guess. But again, it comes back to like, as long as someone is willing to build it. Yes. Then that's a good sign. But it sounds to me, this is a positive report. And there's never really been an indication that the white caps were truly in danger of leaving. I understand anytime ownership is changing hands, you always have that concern in the back of your mind. But if now they're saying, actually, we don't even really want to completely divest here. We're interested in just bringing on a partner. That makes it even more likely, but they'll stay in town. And it also seems to suggest to me that there is a very clear path to getting a soccer-specific stadium built. Anytime you're talking about a big construction project in Vancouver, it's expensive. But I also don't like, we're not talking building a 50,000 foot, 50,000 seat football stadium or anything. 50,000 feet would be way too hard. It's like, why do they build it up there? What were they thinking?

We can't even, like, we can't get there. You know what I mean? There are ways to make a really nice MLS appropriate soccer. or specific stadium that are not completely outrageous when it comes to price. So I think this should be a pretty enticing offer for somebody who's looking to get in with MLS. I'm not going to say the ground floor because they're past that, but there's still a lot of growth potentially ahead for the league.

I think you've got to be feeling pretty good about the future and certainly the ownership future of the white caps at this point. Yeah, the storyline has really changed around them in the last few months. And so a lot of things have gone into it, obviously. And hopefully it continues for the white caps moving. for Thomas Mueller making his debut with the team on Sunday. And again, we'll talk to Alex Gangay-Rizek at 7.30 about everything going on with the white caps and what to expect from Mueller and the team moving forward. Okay, moving on to the world of baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago Cubs two to one and they win the three game series two to one as well.

Max Scherzer was great I want to have a conversation about him and kind of where his spot in the rotation is is moving forward especially come playoff time but I do think we should start with Vladdy

because he hit the two run home run they were the only runs of the game the game winning runs and we've been talking about this it feels like for months now it's like yeah the Js are good and they're in a really good spot

the team has a lot of depth but they do need Vladdy to just, like, hit a few more home runs. He's been good, but can he be awesome? Yeah. Can he take that next step? Can he be great? And so in the last 28 days, he has eight home runs, 21 RBI.

He's batting 375. He has an OPS over 1.1 and a slugging percentage of over 700. He has been awesome in the last 28 days, essentially since the All-Star break. Yeah. And that's really excited for the Blue Jays. And it really adds to like, okay, now it feels like they have that. That's kind of what they've been waiting for. It is.

And as you said, it's not like this is just like he broke out of a slump or anything yesterday. This has been going on for almost a month now, really since the All Star break. He's been the best hitter in the American League. Maybe in baseball. I don't know. I don't pay attention to the National League. But certainly in the American League. He has been the best hitter.

and you always know Vladdy is going to get on base a lot. He's going to hit for a decent average. The thing that separates him from being, you know, all-star level of Vladdy, he was an all-star this year to MVP candidate Vladdy, which we saw back in 2021, is the power. And that's what's come around recently.

Eight home runs since the All-Star break. That's a 50 home-run pace. He's got 10 doubles on top of that as well. So a ton of extra base power finally coming around for Vladi. And as we're saying, He's been doing this for four weeks, really, at this point. I do feel like it's flown a little bit under the radar almost. Maybe there wasn't that signature moment.

Yesterday kind of felt like that signature moment where the bats were cold again for the second straight game, right? They only managed three hits in the game, but it was the big power moment from Vladdy that gets them the win. And it kind of puts a punctuation mark and exclamation point on the month that he's had and gives everyone a big signpost that says, oh yeah Vladdy is red hot right now and man just having Vladdy at that next level if he can sustain this for the remainder of the regular season potentially going into postseason to me completely changes how you have to look at the Jay's lineup

having that red hot bat that MVP level bat in your lineup it just makes everything else feel so much better it gives you so much more confidence and what they can do going into October yeah I completely agree it does change what kind of how you feel about the Blue Jays going into the postseason and it has felt

like I think you've mentioned it where it's like it kind of feels like they're punching above their weight class with where they're at in the standings if he legitimately keeps this going into the post season it's like okay you know what I don't think they are punching above their way it's so much easier to buy into a lineup that's like we're scrappy we do all the right things

we put pressure on the on the teammates or on the opponents if you're building it around one of the best bats in the league you know what I mean it's like okay then I love that if it's anchored this guy If it's anchored by one of the best hitters in the league, that's awesome. If you don't have one of the best hitters in the league, I'm going to be skeptical of that approach. Yes. So it was a, it's been a great month for Vladdy.

And hopefully it continues moving forward as well. But the other guy I mentioned, Max Scherzer, he goes seven innings and gave up one solo home run. And that was it. He's given up four runs in 19 innings pitched this month. and he's pitched at least six innings in each of his last four starts. So he's going deep into games. He's pitching well deep into games. And all of a sudden, the conversation comes up of, okay, so in the postseason,

most teams tend to lean on three starters, sometimes four, but mostly three, especially when we're talking about the ALDS, which is only a five-game series. So the Blue Jays are in a weird spot because throughout most of the season, their pitchers have been decent, but nobody's been outstanding, right? And they make the acquisition for Shane Bieber. We don't really know what he's going to be yet, but he is going to start today for AAA Buffalo and potentially come up to Toronto rather soon after that.

So we'll see how today's rehab starts go for him. But the conversation of who should start in the postseason comes up. And to me, Max Scherzer is undeniably one of the three I would rely on. and maybe the game one starter for the ALBS, in my opinion, at the moment. Well, it's kind of funny. You talked last year to a Jay's fan and say, yeah, the Jay's probably going to the playoffs again next year. And then who's the starting pitchers in the playoffs? Max Scherzer in game one and Shane Bieber in game two.

Oh, okay. What happened? Yeah, you're right, because like Gosman and Burrios have been good but not spectacular. Yes. And so you don't feel as much as those are kind of your one-two or they have been looked at as your one-two. to and they're veterans and they've done a lot for you. You don't necessarily feel terrible about taking one of them out of the playoff rotation. I guess a lot of this comes down to what does Shane Bieber give them and how

quickly can Shane Bieber kind of build up that trust, build up his durability, his comfort level and all of that to be inserted into the playoff rotation. I mean, when you think about what they did at the deadline and what they didn't do, if Bieber doesn't claim a spot in the playoff rotation, that would be pretty disappointing. Like, that's why he went out and got him for the upside, for the potential that he'd be one of those three starters. So I think at this point, you're right. When you consider just the incredible career resume of Max Scherzer, and we see the mentality and the intensity that he brings to every start, let alone postseason starts. Like, this is a guy who's been there, who's done it, who appears to be completely unflappable and just locked in at all moments.

I think you pretty much have to have him in the rotation. Yeah, I think so. And the other part of it is like, are you going to go up to Max Scherzer? especially when he's pitching like this and be like, you're going to the pen. Go to the bullpen, buddy. Have fun. Yeah. Well, we'll maybe need you for a couple of innings. And then like, hey, maybe he buys into it.

Maybe he's, he knows where he's at in his career. But again, I just don't even see a reason for the Jays to do it, especially considering where his game is at. And you do bring up a good point with Shane Bieber. Like a lot of it depends on for him where his game is at when he does come back to the major leagues and makes his debut for the Blue Jays. Because then if he's not good, he's probably not. on the playoff roster and then you're you're starting

Gosman and Burrios as the two and three in the postseason but if he is good then it's like well who's your third guy it might be a I could see it being like a you start Jose Burrios but he's he's kind of had issues with giving up a lot of runners so maybe

you have a short leash on him and Kevin Gosman is in the pen I don't know I don't know how I think I'd go Gosman I think I'd go not necessarily in this order but I'd go Scherzer hopefully Bieber and Gosman right now just I don't know Burrios always makes me a little nervous. Yeah, I would agree.

I could go either way on Gosman or Burrios, but as of right now, I do think Gosman is kind of in a better spot. How do you guys think the Cubs feel, you guys, about losing a series to the most mediocre team in baseball? It's true, true. Sorry, Robin Surrey. Does Robin Surrey want us to talk about... Are you Robin Surrey?

Does he want us to talk about how the Mariners lost a series to the Baltimore Orioles? The 55 and 66 Baltimore Orioles? They're scrappy, laddie. They're scrappy, laddie. Happy. So you bring it up, the Mariners did lose. They lost 5'3 to the Baltimore Orioles. They did try. Well, they obviously tried. They tried to win really hard. The lowly Baltimore Orioles. I mean, we don't know that. We assume we're not there. They threatened in the 9th is what happened. They loaded the bases, but they couldn't get it across against the Baltimore Orioles. Well, their offense is a concern. Cal Raleigh was up with two on and down three in the nine. and you think, oh, it's a big moment.

Now he takes a walk, so it's not like he struck out or anything. But I was wondering, okay, is this going to be like a signature Cal Rally moment here? Well, you talk about the J's having, you want the anchor to be Vladie and have that scrappy team around them. Well, Seattle has that anchor in Cal Rally. Do they need the scrappiness around? Is that what they're missing? Because seven runs in a three-game series against one of the worst teams in baseball. That's tough.

That's really tough. So Seattle now finds themselves one and a half games back of the Houston Astros for the American League, West, lead and Houston didn't play yesterday. The Red Sox and Yankees also did not play. So for the Blue Jays, when it comes to the standings, they are now five games up on the Boston Red Sox, six and a half games

up on the New York Yankees, not even thinking about that. So we're here on August 15th. Jay's five games up in the division. Is it officially a choke if they don't win the ALE East? Yes. Are we at that point? 100%. I don't think it's enough of a lead. I think it's a big enough lead.

You got a month and a half left and you can't on to a five-game lead. If I can count the lead on one hand, that's not a big enough lead to go out. Okay, I respect the standard. I'll say this. I don't know, like, choke is harsh. It's going to feel really bad for JIS fans if they blow the lead. Like, it's going to be, you're going to be like, oh my gosh, I can't believe it. We had a five-game lead on August 15th. Again, we see, you know, it all it takes is you get swept in a three-game series and the Red Sox sweep someone and then the lead's pretty much gone. Play six times a week. Yeah. So it can happen in a hurry, but I'll say this, it's going to be a massive, massive disappointment.

and tough to swallow, I think, for Jay's fans if they blow it from here. It really would be. Okay, keep the text coming in. Ask us anything's coming in. Pizza emoji them up if you want to be entered for a chance to win the $100 A.J's pizza gift card. We'll get to more as the show goes on. But on the other side, we're going to talk to Adnan Verk from MLB Network about the Jays,

about the Mariners, and more from around Major League Baseball. This is Halford & Brough, Josh Elliott Wolf, Jamie Dodd on Sportsnet, 650. It's time to chat with Atnan It's Adnan It's on the show We're going to talk some baseball And take a trip to the silver screen That's right

It's time for Atnan Yes Adnan Berkey joins us now Now we'll head out to the ball game and talk about all the films he's seen. Welcome back to Halford and Brough. No Halper, No Brough. It's Josh O'A. Wolf and Jamie Dodd here with you. Halford & Brough is brought to by Sands and Associates, B.C.'s first entrusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit sands-trustee.com. I'm hoping to connect with Adnan, Verk. Because we played the whole intro

The song says he joins us now I know so he's not joining us right now We're hoping to talk to him Very shortly though And we will hopefully go to the hotline Power West Industries Right when we came back from break Jamie

Did a big stretch And then he was like Oh good stretch I'm a big fan of a good stretch Yes Especially in the mornings But you did it You said it in the way of like

What I say to my cat Oh good stretch I had a great stretch What can I say? Fair enough. Okay, we go to the hotline now, powered by Power West Industries. And we welcome in Adnan Burke from MLB Network. Appreciate it taking the time, Adnan.

How are you? Josh, Jamie, always a pleasure. Nothing wrong with a good stretch. That I don't mind. But when I picture a cat doing it and then a human doing it, what I don't like is the accompanying yawn. And I really like my biggest pet peeves, number one in the world, people that yawn and don't cover their mouths.

Like, I think I'm so fortunate that I work in evenings and nights. because anybody who works a morning shift who's in there at six and the other person and they're just like they look like to swallow your face like there's nothing more appalling than somebody yawning and not covering their mouth and I'll tell you Bruff hates it when

yeah I was going to say Edna and the first time I ever worked with Brough in on the morning show I talked to some people like hey what's it like and he has a bit of a reputation for being kind of prickly and the one thing everyone told me was like do not yawn and where he can see he will get really angry at you so you and

Brough have something in common. Oh, my guy. Can I wait to bring this up to Brough? I'm just going to have a great time agreeing on this. This is good. By the way, it's not so much a yawn when I stretch as it is like a series of grunts, I think. It's probably more accurate. I wouldn't classify it as a yon.

No, yeah. Some labor noises. As you said, there's some sort of grunting being involved. I don't feel like, okay, that's fine. Yeah, yeah. There you go. It's more the facial I can't take. Go ahead.

That's fair. Okay, so to start the show, we were talking about the Blue Jays, and we were talking about how Max Scherzer is just we were looking at the playoff rotation and it's like okay for most of the season these Jays pitchers kind of haven't really separated themselves from each other

but it does feel like Max Scherer is doing that to an extent now especially when you consider what he did yesterday. Does he have to factor into to being a starter for the Jays in the playoffs? I think so fellas and I think it's a fabulous conversation to have because I was saying it to

Chris Young Yester analyst and MLB tonight I said, this is a potential six-man rotation. And that's what I initial thought was. I'm like, okay, once Bieber comes back, you just go six, that's all good. But as Ben Anis pointed out, our sister station, the fan 590 in Toronto, there's more than a few off-days here for the Js in August. I think three of them. She's like, so six-man rotation is not going to make anybody happy. Like, if there's one thing about pitchers, these guys are creatures of habit, and you're not going to make those guys, especially the veteran salty,

if you're just adding in the app days, and there's an extra pitcher. So you start doing the math on this, and it's fascinating. If you'd asked me a month ago, I would have said, yeah, like Scherzer might be the odd man out. Like, if you start to look at what these guys are doing, just actual numbers, you know, Max feels like a five-and-dive kind of guy. And clearly, maybe he felt the whispers as well. He's been an absolute difference maker. He had a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts going into yesterday. Then he goes seven strong again, only a line in the one run.

And honestly, I love the fact only the one run. Obviously, you're going to win games that way. But I love the endurance. actually pitching seven innings. Like I just thought, fellas, he was a five and dive kind of guy, right? He's 41 years of age. He missed three months with injury. No, if Max Scherer can still go seven innings for me, I'm like, well, yes, this is what I

need for my starting pitcher. So I think it's a fabulous dilemma for John Schneier to have if and when Shane Bieber gets called up. Last time I checked you threw 78 pitches in AAA, so I don't understand what the weight is at this point because you get called up and let's go. But you go through the math on it. Barrios has probably been the weakest, but he's in $130 million, like he's got to be a starter.

Gossman's obviously a veteran Bass that I could see being moved, perhaps to the bullpen, right? Because his home road splits are really strong, meaning he's great at home and he's terrible on the road. Sure, so he's just proven has solidified himself. Beaver, you just acquired from the trade, but obviously he's not a bullpen guy. The guy went to sign up five years ago. So that means

Eric Lauer, who has been great for them. It was an ERA around three since he's the young guy, I think he would then get pushed to the bullpen. Not necessarily on merit. Lauer's been a godsend for that. He's been so critical to that. But I just think with these ornery veterans, you can't just tell him to go to the bullpen, they would refuse or have a major issue.

So good news for Scherzer is he's taking himself out of that situation because of how good he's pitched. One thought, I will say, yesterday there was eight balls hit at hard hit balls. That's at 90 miles an hour or above. So it's not like there's a ton of swing and miss. Max only had three strikeouts yesterday. And see why even made the point to me. He goes, listen, I wouldn't have been surprised all those balls went out.

Like, Max Scher is not, like, he's not picking corners. Like, he'll go center cut throwing 95. You can hit it. You're going to hit it hard. So it's not like. he's automatic, but again, the results are what they are. He looked great yesterday, and he's done that for four straight starts. Well, and the home run has kind of been the weak point for Scherzer this year, and, you know, he's been cut it down a little bit recently, but that has kind of been

the flaw in his game so far this season with the Jays. But as we look ahead to a potential playoff rotation, Adnan, and, you know, we're talking about the six guys they have to choose from, and you're probably whittle that down to three, certainly for the ALDS. And I think with Scherzer, he almost has to be in it partly because of the results he's getting right now and who knows it could change in the time between now and the playoffs the Jays have to get there and all that

but just his resume is so incredible he's an obvious first ballot Hall of Famer. Jay's fans have got a chance to see on a regular basis the intensity he brings to every start even when he's not starting he's intense in the dugout with the rest of the team it feels like you have to give

that veteran player with that mentality and that experience a chance to go and take the mound for you in the playoffs. No, I completely agree. I think you look at the situation and go, what did you get him for? If you didn't get him to start a playoff game, then what are we doing?

You gave him $50.5 million, right, for one year, and he missed three months with the thumb inflammation. Like, if ever there was a time, he'd go, no, we need Max to be big game, Max. He's that guy. And even if he hadn't shown me this durability, which again, is so promising to see, I would still say, no, even if he was a five-ading guy,

dude, get Shures are out there for five innings. We've come a long way from starting pitchers going deeper, in games. I missed the fact you used to have a guy. He goes to have the endings in the playoffs. Now it's like four and a third, one or the run. Okay, great. It's going to the bullpen. Like, that's just the way baseball is now. And so Scherzer can definitely be that guy. And as you said, in terms of big game moments in the playoffs,

like look no further than the 2019 postseason run. Like it was him and Strassbert together who were marvelous. And you can always say that about Scherzer. He's a massive competitor. He's an absolute gamer. He will give you his best. And yeah, if I start to look at, all right, who's starting three playoff games, again, to me, if

I got Bieber at the deadline, and he's what a sign five years and if he's back to be in that guy, Bieber gets a playoff star, period. And Scherzer gets one

as well. That means I've got one of Gospon, Bass at Brito's fighting for. Again, I think Bassett's a little less on that. I might even put Bass in the bullpen,

by the way, if I had to argue with him versus Lauer. So I would see either Gossman or Burrios gets the other playoff star. But yeah,

Max, Max, Max, I would pencil in there for sure. On the offensive side, we've obviously been talking a lot about Vladdy Jr. Throughout the season,

and since the All-Star break, his numbers have just been great. He's hitting for power finally, and that's kind of what people have been waiting for. Is this the Vladi you've been waiting to see? 100% guys. It's interesting. If you'd asked me a month ago,

the story of this Blue Jay season was just how the other guys have stepped up, meaning the Addison Barger coming out of nowhere in late May, just, you know, he literally transformed their season after Santon, Darren Varser, were out of the afterthought. And then, of course, Ernie Clement and Shaw and Heinemann. and all these guys have stepped up. But ultimately, you've got to have your stars perform. And yesterday was a classic example of like,

no, no, no, have the stars who make the most money perform. And if they do, you're going to feel good. So Max Scherzer, $15.5 million, bam, they're seven strong. Blattie, you're $500 million. How about a key spot, seventh inning, two-run, home run against a really good Cubs team? And against Matthew Boy, who at 34 is pitching the best baseball in his career.

He's been the ace of Cub staff and made the All-Ster team as a result. Like, the only knock against Vladdy is exactly what you said, which has been the lack of power. So in a vacuum, you say to yourself, I mean, it's middle of August, and my man's only got 20 home runs. Where are we paying you $500 million for? But it's certainly come on strong.

I mean, this was not where it was previously. I mean, for much of the first half, there was a virtual absence of power. And even as much as, like, a week ago, George Springer is the guy still leading in terms of slugging percentage. Even Barger is over 500. You know, Varser's been great in limited time. But I look at Vladi's numbers now, fellas,

he's hitting $300, $397 on base, $496 slug. Like that's what I'm talking about. Like if you can go triple slash line, that to me is like in basketball, if a guy is shooting 90% from the free throw line, 40% from 3% and 50% from the field. And Vladdy's right there. He's 300 average, 397 on base, 496 slug.

Like with a few more numbers, they're like, dude, that's almost a 900 OPS. That's what we're looking for. If you're looking for that kind of money from Vlad and a potential MVP candidate. He has been great ever since the all-strow break. Yeah, and it feels like, you know, so much about, as you were saying, so much about this Jay's season is the guy's stepping up, right?

And that's great, but you always are a little unsure, is this going to continue in it? You know, I was saying earlier in the show, Ed, and it just feels like Vladdy going from good to great is really the difference between this being a team that's like, hey, they're plucky and they're scrappy and they work hard, but are they really going to contend come October? Well, if they have Vladdy hitting like this and he can sustain, then all of a sudden I look at them as legitimate contenders. Oh, can I completely agree Because, you know, come playoff time, here's my apprehension with the Brewers. Now, they've been an awesome story. They've won 12 straight games.

They're going to take out a big series here against the Reds. They're the best team in baseball, right? And if you look at their lineup, if they go by OPS Plus, I get anything above 100 is above average. Eight of their nine guys are above average. But they have those superstars. Like, Christian Yelts is a good player.

William Contreras is a really good hitting catcher. He was having, unfortunately, a down season. Jackson Shurier is a good young player. But, like, other than that, like, Isaac Collins, who's in the mix of a rookie of the year, Bryce Terrang. And these guys are all above average, really good players, but no superstars. And my concern is come playoff time, there's a reason why the Brewers haven't won a playoffs

through since 2018. And they've been in the playoffs almost every year. 2020, they lost. 20-201 they lost. Last year they lost. Because what happens is in the playoffs, that's when everything elevates. So you can't take advantage of poor competition. There is no poor competition.

Everyone is above average. And that's where I'm like, no, that's where I'm going to rely on my superstars, because I can't get mad at, you know, Ernie Clement if he didn't come through the big base hit. I can get upset with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. I'm paying him the big dollars to have moments like that. And recently you've seen Vladdy step up in those big moments. How about that series just last Sunday against the Dodgers? Like, key moment, Vlad was the one who went deep, started that rally,

and which you felt like they had to salvage that series finale to save face and leave LA on a winning note. So I completely agree. Like, there's a reason why the stars get paid. It's because can playoff time. That's who you're expecting to deliver. It is Halford and Brough, Josh L.A. Wolf and Jamie Dodd, filling in, joined by Adnan Adlerk from MLB Network. I wanted to ask about the Seattle Mariners who went on an extended winning streak there,

kind of climbed up to almost catching the Houston Astros at the top of the AOL West and then lose a couple to drop the series in Baltimore. But what have you thought about where the Mariners are at over the past couple weeks? Well, it's a great story. There's no question about it. I mean, what Seattle's been able to do. And props to Jerry DiPoto, you know, like what we keep making. mentioning, AJ Preller in San Diego, how aggressive he was for those moves. But like, look at what

Depoto was able to do. He got literally the two biggest bats available in A. Johanian Swars and Josh Naylor. Now, Gino used to be with the Mariners and wasn't great in his time there. And so far, struggle to really get going. But, you know, he's probably pressing a little bit. That park's not easy. Nailer's been excellent so far. And again, their pitching's starting to get healthy. Logan Evans, that might have been his last start of the rotation yesterday. His Price Miller's coming back soon. George Kirby has looked great in his last couple of starts. Brian Wu is a horse, no matter what, that guy's

going six innings every single time. Luis Castillo is really good. You add in Logan Gilbert, and you go, okay, so Seattle's pitching feels great. A year ago, they were first-in-starter ERA, not the same this year because of injuries and inconsistency, but still really good when they perform for their capabilities. Then offensively, it's the J-Rodd squad.

Like Julia Rodriguez is doing what he does again, which is a second-half power search. He's been awesome for them. A Rosa Rain is an all-star. He's got plenty of power. You know, even the other players are chipping in a little bit. I'd like to see a little more production from Polanco. He had a really good start,

has slowed down considerably, but, you know, the JP Crawford and others. The mirrors are actually 10th and slugging percentage. Like, think about that. The narrative is always in Seattle. You can't at home runs, right? You can never have a good offense. It's been that story for years. No, this year they have a legit good offense.

I know they got that pitching. So I think they're a scary out. Like the amount of people who keep telling me, ah, there's no real favor right now in the American League. It's wide open. I'm like, I think Seattle's really good. Like, I think now with this lineup, they've got six weeks ready to go and they're pitching get healthy.

Like, I think Seattle could be the team to beat the American League. And I hope they dethrone the Astros, just because it's something different, and they haven't won a division since 2001. But I'll say this for Houston. They've had a calamity of injuries, including their best player in Jordon Alvarez, who I think is now taking BP, should be back at some point. And Houston is still hanging around first place. So, like, kudos to those guys.

Great trade in terms of getting Karea there, who's been completely reborn. Looks like the old Carlos Korea. Payne is a great player. Altuvius still really delivers, and obviously their rotation with Farnborough Valva's and Hunter Brown's really good. So it's going to be a dog fight. Houston's not going away, but I'd love to see Seattle snatch away that division from the Stros.

Mariners play the Mets this weekend. They're actually going to play in the Little League World Series game on Sunday night baseball this weekend. And the Mets, I mean, one and nine in their last 10. And it's interesting, it's one of these situations where because of the expanded field now, they've still got a really good chance to make the postseason. But, man, with the way they've been playing recently, you can't feel very good about their chances to do something in October if they get there.

No, and that's the biggest thing. Like, I think the Mets are a playoff team, although right now there's no certainty of that. I mean, excuse me, there are only a half game back right now. The Reds have lost 13 of the last 15 games, only a half game lead right now on them. So, again, one of my bigger concerns for them is they just don't have starting pitching that goes deep into games. Like, Khoda Seng, I guess they gave up two runs in five and two third. Like, that's the first time a Mets starter is actually pitched into the sixth in two weeks. Like, it goes back to my point earlier.

Like, you can't be so reliant in the bullpen. and they've improved with their bullpen. Like, Ryan Halsey was really good for the Cardinals a year ago. What happened yesterday? He gave it up to Atlanta. So these guys are not automatic. You can't just think, oh, like the more relievers, the better. Like, no, to me, the more relievers, the more chance that someone along that chain messes up and things get broken. So first issue is lack of length from their starting pitching.

Bullpen hasn't coalesced, but really offensively, they're not where they should be. Like Alonzo, with much fanfare, now is the Mets' all-time homerun leader. 253, it's a great story. But he's been inconsistent. Lindor has slumped since the second half. Soto has been good, but not great, not near what you're expecting him to be getting for what he's doing for $70 million.

And the rest of their offense gets a little bit shaky. So ultimately, I do think the Mets are a playoff team, but man, the Reds are coming. There's only a half game back. Like New York cannot take this for certain and your overarching point, which is true, which is even if the Mets win, I really can't see them doing much damage

if they keep slumping like this. Hey, Adnan, before we let you go, I did have a movie question to throw your way. I saw weapons last night, and it was really, really good. what have you thought of the horror resurgence in the movie world? Yeah, it's pretty amazing. That's kind of where movies are now. I was so happy to go watch Naked Gun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it,

and it was really funny, and I got to watch it. My 14-year-old son, we watched the original together, and I said, you know, and that's been Seth McFarman's joke, who's one of the producers, is that, you know, there was a time that comedies were actually in movie theaters. You don't see that anymore. Now it's streaming, and you've got to find them somewhere in VOD, and you used to say to yourself, hey, this is the summer of The Hangover.

This is the summer of there's something about Mary. It doesn't happen anymore. And now what it is is it's the summer of horror movies. Like the biggest movies, and clearly the most successful ones are horror movies. And a few reasons for that. One is that generally fairly cheap to produce. Like, you know, if you can do the thrills and chills at a reasonable price, you can get a budget.

It's more built on like how clever the narrative is, how well it's shot, et cetera. And I haven't seen weapons, but 94% rotten tomatoes has got rave reviews. So clearly the critics like it and the audience is like it. And, you know, if something's success like that, you're going to see more of that. So there's no doubt. Like, you've gone from saying, what's the latest Marvel movie, which thankfully that's died down a little bit, although they're still fantastic for it and Superman and all that kind of stuff. And now it's, hey, what's the latest horror movie?

Like, those are the best movies out of watching the theaters. It's amazing how it's gone. Yeah, it is wild. Adnan, appreciate you taking the time and talk next week. This was awesome, boys. Get a good stretch in. We'll talk to. Yeah, we'll do.

There's Adnan, Verk, from MLB Network, joining us on the Halford & Brough show. Ashley Wolf and Jamie Dodd. I did, I've had to stifle so many yons during, during the show. Not because I'm bored, but because it's early and I'm tired. And I'm bored also. And follow up, I'm bored. This is not holding my attention. It is August 15th.

What did you think of weapons? I thought it was really good. Yeah. I've been trying to get more into like the, because I used to not like scary movies. Sure. Yeah. I'm trying to be an adult now. And I thought it was really good. Is it?

Because a lot of, I find a lot of the. modern horror movies that do well are not. They're not primarily about being scary. You know what I mean? I would, I'd classify it as that. Yeah. It's not like it's like, okay, we're going to jump scary you a bunch of times. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Which is fine. I'm not, it's not a criticism. I'm leveling again. I prefer it

that way. Sure. It's like, oh, it's a good movie. So a thriller. Yeah. Yeah. I like thrillers more than there you go. I guess. Uh, yeah, okay. I've got a list of horror movies for you if you're getting into it. Are you a big? Yeah. I've seen many. What's like your favorite all-time

horror movie. That's so hard to say. It depends on what genre. Well, okay. We're talking micro genres now. Subgenres of horror movies. Oh, my goodness. What's your favorite subgenre?

Honestly, what got me into horror was slasher movies. Sure. Like, scream is an all time. Scream's a great movie. The ring is probably an all time. You could have just said scream. Okay, sure, scream. Why are you forcing scream on her?

Just saying. What if she didn't want to fix me? It's not like you're going to offend the ring if you say scream. the ring's box office is going to plummet jing me i uh i yeah i can't do like the most of the slasher ones i just like can't do like why too scary yeah well i wouldn't even say too scary i don't know it's just like i don't really enjoy them yeah fair and then uh same with like the body horror stuff i hate sure so like saw yeah or or like substance i still haven't watched yet there's that new like dave franco movie together together yeah i'm just not gonna watch it yeah yeah

Saw never had any appeal for me whatsoever. I was like, why would I do that? Why would I watch that? Saw takes it too far. Maybe start with like 80s slasher flicks because you can kind of tell that they're all fakey, practical effects. And then work your way up to like the modern. Yeah, the original Halloween is pretty awesome. That's a good movie.

That's great. I think I've seen that. Evil Dead. I like the Shining. It's a little different, but I enjoy the shining. Yeah, I think I have seen the ring. That might be it. How about the grudge?

No, I haven't seen that. there's a lot of like scary movies i just haven't seen so come october i'm gonna we're gonna be gonna binge yeah i'm a dog too he's big into the yeah i have horror week in in october we can okay we'll talk about it well we'll revisit this in october uh 650 650 dump our lumber text line keep the text coming that i can't even do like medical shows man like you know when they oh really like when they show like the body yeah i'm like ah i hate this you know it's not real right yeah no i'm aware I'm aware. They do a really good job.

That actor has to have surgery for this job. That's wild. That's commitment to the role right there. They do a really good job of making it look real. I'll say that. Josh has that childlike innocence. Yeah. Ew.

That's yuck. Is he going to be okay? It's just a show, Josh. Don't worry. I'm more grossed out at those actual reality shows where they go for like plastic surgery. And they show the real surgery. That is gross. That falls in the same category for me of like,

don't show the inside of body. bodies. It's not meant to be seen. Okay. 650, 650, dumbar lumber tech sign. We'll hit one, ask us anything here, and then we'll hit a lot more on the other side. This one from Woodrow the eligible Bachelor. Ask us anything.

Have you ever purchased an infomercial product? I have not. It always seemed like a bit. Now, I guess it's maybe different now if infomercials still exist. You can go online and buy the product. But like back in the day, was like call to buy i was like that seems insane that is crazy it's just like way too much and first like when they were giving you a great deal to do it anyways but it's just like are people really

doing this people like you know what you're right i need it i'm picking up the phone i'm dialing i'm talking to them i'm giving them my credit card number let's go through the whole process you have to really want the the what is it the slap chop or whatever like you had to really really want that i feel like the magic bullet is one that that worked really i had one yeah exactly yeah and the snuggy Do you remember? Oh, the snuggie epidemic? Yeah. The epidemic.

I don't know if I'd call it an epidemic. Honestly, the idea of a snuggie is a great idea. But I'm also never going to own a snuggy. Because. Yeah. No. The blanket with sleeves. Would be fun, though.

It's genius. I just remember that the texture of it was, like, horrifying. Yeah. I only encountered one ever. I was like, how could anyone wear this on their body? This is shocking. People used to wear it to school. How well?

You're school. really a snuggy at school that's a tough look that's a tough look that's peak deep cove stuff right there you can wear whatever you want in deep cove before we go jam pro from warehouses to washrooms and everywhere in between jam pro keeps

workplaces tidy clean and disinfected for a free quote visit jampro dotsea on the other side we're going to hit a lot more ask us anything so get those in 650 650 throw a pizza emoji on them to be entered to win the AJ's $100 gift card. That's coming up

next. It is Josh Ellie Wolf and Jamie Dodd. Halvind & Brough on Sportsnet, 650.