OverDrive - Dempster on the Blue Jays' pitching construction, the playoff outlook and the league landscape

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

MLB Network Analyst and Off The Mound Host Ryan Dempster joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Blue Jays' winning stretch, the team's pitching construction, Max Scherzer's role on the roster, the difference between the regular season and playoffs, the Blue Jays' bullpen impressions, the AL landscape and more.

From managing successful careers to raising families, women today are busier than ever. Thinking about their needs, including their own financial planning, often falls by the wayside. Yet at some point in their lives, 90% of women will have sole responsibility of their finances, whether they're divorced, widowed, or single. It's never too early or too late to start planning for your future financial security. Call Calvin the Money Guy, 416-457 plan, or visit askkelvin.ca.cai. Breaking story from Alpine News Network. Firefighter Finn McHose, that's a nickname, right?

Needed help contending with a blaze of debt. He called Alpine Credits and a superhero was sent his way. Summoning water, she extinguished the fire and consolidated his debt into one low monthly payment. His floors may be wet, but his debt is under control. Own your home, need alone, Alpine Credits can help. Alpine Credits, where homeowners get approved. Fisrael License 12-6-16-1-6.

Bring in Ryan Dempster now, MLB Network, and intentional talk host on MLB Network as well, and also from Gibson's BC. Ryan, how are you? I'm doing great, guys. Thanks for having me. Our pleasure. So take us through your assessment of the Jays. I mean, obviously we're all excited here.

Where does this go? Yeah, I mean, hey, that's what it's all about. And the excitement is what you want this time of year, right? And the Toronto has it. I think you've got a really good ball club, you know, make some good pickups, getting Shane Beavers, a nice pickup. I think, you know, adding depth to your rotation and just a solid nucleus of veteran guys and young guys and all this kind of stuff, good right-handed hitting, left-handed hitting,

and they're getting it done, and it's really exciting because there's, like I've said, multiple times, there's nothing better than the Rogers Center, you know, being packed, and I know it's going to be electric the next few days as the Cubs come in town. Ryan, we've talked a lot about the six-man rotation being an option for the Blue Jays once Shane Bieber returns. We're expecting possibly as early as mid-next week. How does that change the mindset and routine of a starter

when you're getting the ball every sixth day instead of every fifth? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's interesting. I think there's a much more. adjustability now than there used to be guys used to be so set in their routines but i i think you know that extra day sometimes um can help you know looking back my career i'm sure there's times where i probably could have used that extra day i think if a guy is making sure i don't like a six-man rotation then you keep a guy at like 90 pitch limit or a hundred pitch like let him go a little then if you're giving them a whole extra day's rest um you know just why not let it eat for that week um it's

but also, you know, it can be effective. And then you can kind of play with it. If somebody's not pitching, well, you can move them out of that spot. But, yeah, I was just such a creature of habit for me to think outside of that, you know, was tough in the time. But I remember, you know, Bob Boom when I was in the Reds in 2003, you want to go back to the four-man rotation. So, you know, it's interesting how people want to go about it.

And, you know, hopefully it works out for them. and then you don't have, because you do have qualified starters, qualified starters. Every one of them is throwing the ball well, so they all deserve to be in there. Ryan, one of those has been Max Scherzer, and we've seen the best of him lately. It took a bit of a weight in Toronto.

He was dealing with that thumb issue through the early months, but his last few endings, he looks like vintage Mad Max. What is it like for you to not only watch him do this, but watch him do this at 41 years old, and most pitchers have been retired for a while at this age. He seems like he's still got it. isn't it crazy that teams shied away from him because they didn't like his arm action because we didn't think he'd stay healthy and here he is still at 41 and his issues if you look at the history of his career haven't been his arm it's been back you know a hamstring now a thumb and you know and for him when the thumb happened you got to remember like his start first few starts after that that's basically his spring training you know you can say oh we have a time but get back facing big league hitters and big league situations and go through all that. It takes a minute. Now he's got locked back in the velocity. I mean, he's still

94, 95 when he needs it. And he just knows how to pitch, man. You can't, if a guy still has stuff, you can't substitute experience. It's just too valuable. He's seen too many swings. He's seen too many offenses. He knows what's going on. And that's why, like, if they continue on this route and get to the postseason, he's a guy that I'm considering putting as my number one starter in the postseason because he's pitching those situations where the adrenaline's going where guys try to do more. I remember that. I try to do more than I should

have done in a postseason start because I thought it was the end-all be-all where somebody who's been in that so many times, they just have a steady calmness to them and yeah, it's got to be a really nice thing for the Blue Jays that you take that gamble on Max Scherzer and for now, right now

looks like it's trending in the direction of paying off. Ryan Dempster with us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. So Ryan, just to continue that thought. Sort of take us through the difference between starting in a playoff game and a regular season game. What is the difference? You know, honestly, nothing.

And that's the problem. It's controlling that and realizing that it is the same. It's just about making pitches. You know, because you can get caught up in it all, that it means more, that it's more important. When the reality is, it just comes down and you just got to execute pitches. I think the biggest thing, if I have to pick

one thing is you're just, you're playing a really good team who's also locked in at that time. Like you got to remember that, all those teams that are making the playoffs, those are the best teams going right now. So you're facing a really good lineup usually, and the deeper you get into the postseason, the more that becomes evident. So you really have to be focused. Don't take pitches off and just make sure that you're executing one pitch after another. And that's all that matters. And, you know, when you try to make it grandiose, you try to make bigger than it is, you can tend to get hurt by that. And then how do you fuel the adrenaline, especially your home crowd? Use that adrenaline, use that energy in a positive way instead of

getting the best of you. So to kind of keep on that that line of thinking, and you noted that earlier, the six-man rotation, well, you can keep it going because everyone is pitching well, which is the case. But come playoff time, we're going to shorten that rotation. And someone's going to get squeezed out. And, you know, you were in a situation in your career. where you ended up having to be converted into a reliever option for the team come the postseason, like how difficult was that to kind of grasp and how different did your routine get when you had to be a reliever as opposed to a starter?

Yeah, I think for me at that time in my life, I was 36, 37 years old, 36 years old when it happened. I had been pitching for a long time. My number one priority, my only goal is to win a World Series. That's it. I immediately, I mean, our team in itself, we checked our egos at the door. It was never about me. It was about we.

And so when I was approached by John Farrell, he called me in the office, probably thinking I was going to do my best. Ricky Vaughn throw something to Lou Brown imitation. But I was like, oh, I get it. Jake PV, we got him in the trade. He was throwing the ball better than I was at the time. And Felix Dubron hadn't pitched out of the bullpen. And I closed three seasons. So it made logical sense, and I said, listen, all I want to do is win.

And so I would like to pitch. I would like to contribute. I don't want to just go down there. But also at the same time, you got to remember the guys who get you there are the reason you're there. So I knew I wasn't going to be pitching in these high leverage situations out of the bullpen because we already had a closure. We already had to Zal one. Craig Breslo was throwing the ball really well.

We had guys in Matt Thornton that were pitching well. So that wasn't my spot. You know, when you're younger, you want to be, well, this doesn't make sense. How could you take me out of the rotation? But at the end of the day, if you check yourself and go, they wouldn't be asking me to go out of the rotation if I was throwing the ball lights out right now. That's just not how it is. Every team's trying to win.

So I think, you know, that's the one nice part with the Jays. You have a lot of veterans. So I think you're going to get a lot of that sentiment as well. We all want to start. I want to start a postseason game. I want to start a World Series game. I dreamt of that as a kid, but more importantly, I wanted it to win, and that's the only thing that matters.

And if you put the Wii ahead of me, good things happen. Ryan, coming out of this weekend with the Blue Jays, they match up with the Dodgers. This was a big one, a big test for them. Now another one coming with the Cubs, who you know just as well as about anyone. What do you think this series is going to tell us about the Blue Jays with a challenge that the Cubs present to them? These are a couple of real heavyweights now in the majors.

Yeah, I think it's a good, you know, it's a good look. barometer, right? But at the end of the day, too, you're feeling good about yourself. You don't really care a lot about what the other team or how good they've been or what they've done or where they're in the standings. You at this point in the season, when you're in first place and you're feeling this good, you feel like you can beat anybody on any given night. You feel like you can, you know, you can do that. You go into L.A., you put yourself in a position and Flaherty comes in with bases loaded in Otani, gets out of that. That's a confidence boost. So now you feel like it doesn't matter who you got. I just got a

show Hey Otani with the bases loaded and won out in the bottom of the night inning. Who are you going to throw against me? Pete Gromstrung? Who are you going to, Kyle Tucker? Cool, awesome. Those are good players, but I got out the best of the best. And so these are, you're at this point in the season

where that doesn't concern you as much. I think maybe like when you look at like end of May beginning in June and you're playing, okay, how do we bash up against the other good teams? Now you are one of the good teams and one of the better teams, you know? You're sitting there at the top of the American League. You feel like you can beat anybody and rightfully so.

So I just think what we're going to see is a really good series with two really good ball clubs and you're going to see a lot of execution. And then when you don't, you're going to see other teams pay for it. And that's just you're going to see guys stealing bases. You're going to see guys making great defensive plays because you have those kind of players on each roster. Well, we all have that image of, you know, the strikeout by Otani

in the ninth inning that saves the Jay's Bacon, basically, and the next place the fielder's choice that ends it. Where do you rank the Blue Jays bullpen? What are your thoughts on them? Yeah, I think it's been really good. You know, I have a little concern with Hoffman with the walks, you know, and you're just going through that. But I also get that, I've been in that situation before.

You're trying not to, you've got to be careful because you've got a lot of guys in that lineup that could hit homers. I did set a major league record by walking four straight batters as a closer and still getting a save. So I can literally say I've been in the students. But I like, you know, I like the lefties they got. I like Rodriguez. I think that I was hoping, you know, I stated it beforehand,

I was hoping that they maybe try to make a run at Duran or make a run at, you know, a top line reliever, whether it helps leave from the Cardinals, but they didn't get it done. And that's their choice, right? Like, they're running their team. Just because you need more good arms. Like I said, when you get in the playoffs,

you start winning it down, you get to 12 teams, and then eight teams, and then four, you need to swing and mess stuff because the guys just get that. much better at the plate and so hopefully you know they got that and I feel like they do it's just a matter of not as much experience in those roles

but that doesn't mean you can't get it done Ryan since the MLB trade deadline is there a team in the American League they think it started to separate themselves like going into it you know it was very wide open and then pretty well every team

made a move to better themselves the Js included but is there a team that separate themselves or is it still kind of wide open for you in the American League? I think the team that made the best moves in the American League was the Seattle Mariners. I think adding Josh Naylor, you know, he's not a huge 40-home run guy, but he is an RBI guy. He drives and runs. Look what he's done in the stolen base departments he's got over there.

That's kind of been unexpected. He's a good defender at first base. He's a great teammate. I play with him in the WBC. He's fun. He brings a lot of energy. You go get Eugenio Suarez, who hasn't even really done what they were expected. him to do yet.

I think that will come. They get Caleb Ferguson and nasty lefty from Pittsburgh and all that while they already had a good bullpen. They got a lights out closer and Munez. They got Matt Brash. They got a starting rotation that other teams are envious of. So yeah, and they were already starting to swing it well. It was like they took

momentum and ran with it. And so I look at them as a ball club that is very dangerous going down the stretch because not only GI players, you have experience. You know, look at Josh Nailer. He had a chance to go deep the postseason last year before being traded to Arizona when he was

with Cleveland. Yeah, I just I think that to me when I graded the trading deadline of teams that made moves, I think they addressed every issue that they needed to address for the first time, really. So, yeah, they'll be interesting to see if they can overtake the Astros. Ryan, when you look

a bigger picture in the league, I think last week it was when you were on intentional talk, you were saying that you thought the Blue Jays had a chance to pop a little more champagne than the Dodgers. And if I'm Remembering right, Malara said you sound like a Leafs fan. I don't know if that's a compliment these days or an insult. But when you look at the Blue Jays and their odds, not just to make the postseason, but to make a real run here,

who else are you looking up as the big powers? It has to be the Brewers at this point. What they're doing is incredible. But who do you think are there big hurdles to make another World Series run? Yeah. First of all, shout out to Kevin, the fact that he even knew the Leafs were hockey. I was impressed. I was very impressed with that.

So, you know, listen, the Red Sox are playing great baseball. So that's going to be a little bit of a challenge, and then they go lose three in a row. It's like, you're like, oh, here they come. And they got Garrett Crochet, and then he goes out there and gets hit around by Houston. Yeah, I look at, there's nothing really runaway. Like, to me, I think the Yankees could miss the playoffs. You know, I think Cleveland is playing really good baseball right now. And I think that, you know, they could be dangerous.

because they always just find a way they're sneaky they you know and Detroit like Detroit has hit this lull in their season is that because they're tuckering out or are they just in this low period right you look at the last 162 games they played from you know the trading deadline last year to this year they've been pretty good and then it's like do you keep up that pace so and then there's there's there's other teams but like I've been expecting Texas to make a run and thought that maybe they would pop a little bit so like when I look at it I sit there and say why not the Js? You know, you're sitting here,

you've got the best record in the American League, you've got a fan base that is electric, they feed off of that, you've got as solid as rotation as anybody in the American League, and offensively you're scoring runs without having to hit home runs. And I love that because,

you know, like look at what the Brewers have done since July 1st. As a team, the Brewers are hitting 281. I watch them score 17 runs, one game without a home run. The next day they scored 12 runs without a home run.

I saw him score 10 runs without a home run. It's great. Home runs are awesome. Do they win the game? Yeah. People always say, well, if the team hits the most home runs, that wins the game, for sure.

Yeah, I completely buy into that. But it's also the base hit before the home run, the tough walk before the home run. They're getting on base, so it's a two-run home run and not a solo shot. It's those kind of things that get you done. Andrew Vaughn sat there with a 5-to-1 lead and runners on first and third,

and he's as hot a hitter as they have in Milwaukee, and he's facing a leftie, He rakes left, and he, shoot, he safety squeezed. Like, because the most important thing was winning the game. It's not about my stats. And that's kind of what I love about the Blue Jays. As I look at it, like, what he has 19? Did he get to 20 yet?

I think he has 19. And here we're in L.A. And so we don't have a guy, you don't have a guy in the team with 20 home runs yet. You're the best wrestling. That tells you a lot about the value of putting the ball on play with two strikes, about having tough at bat, about getting a runner over, about getting a runner in. Now you hit the big three-run home run. It's like, well, we hit the three-run homer.

Cool. It was all the hard work before the home run is the reason why you're winning that game. And I just, I see that in their ball club. And I think that they do. They have to see that. And because of that, they're playing great baseball. We had on earlier Chris Colabello talking about how lit up the Rogers Center gets.

Now, he's on the home team. You're in the visiting team. You go into that building. Help us, give us some context on what is different about that building or, you know, the experience of when it's lit up and you're on the visiting team. Yeah, it's an interesting thing, right? It's like home field advantage.

You feel like it should be the same for both ways, right? Like, you have this immense amount of noise and the crowd gets going. But for whatever reason, when it's your home ballpark, you're able to channel that into an extra mile an hour or two on your fastball, or, you know, you're able to treat it as like somebody's in your corner in the ring. And yet when you're on the other team, things tense up.

The ball gets tighter in your hand. I can't speak from hitting there, you know. But as a pitcher, it tightens up a little. Your hand gets a little bit harder on the ball. Maybe you're trying to be a little bit more perfect because you don't want to give up the big home run and have the roof blow off the place, you know? Like all these things can creep in. And it's a real thing.

And not every ballpark has it. The Rogers Center A, it's big. It can have a lot of people in there, and it's loud. It's just louder, right? Just the way the setup is, and it's just, it can be obnoxiously loud for a visiting ball player, and it's a huge advantage. And that's why having, you know, the ability to have home field advantage through the playoffs, man, you're talking about, I mean, legitimate, legitimate, you can go into statistics

and all that kind of stuff, and you can talk, cool, I've been on that mouth. in that stadium when it's loud, when I was at the Red Sox. And, you know, my bad never lost there. But, you know, I totally remember what it's like. And then I've been in there as a spectator. And I've seen it on TV with the big moments that we've seen, the bat flips and all that by Batista and all these things. It's real.

And so for them, I think if they can find a way to continue to play like they are and get home field advantage, you know, man, what a truly big blessing they would have going into the postseason. That's an interesting take on that, Ryan. Thanks very much for your time. Appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely, guys. Great to be with you.

Thank you. There you go. Ryan Dempster, former Major League Baseball pitcher. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar. Hi, this is Brian Adams. Hey, my name's Brett Emmons.

I'm from the glorious sons. Hi, I'm Nellie Furtado. Made in Canada. The station that champions Canadian music. Loud, crowd, and all yours. No passports required, just press play. Tap into Mating Canada now on iHeartRadio.ca. Or the free iHeartRadio app.