OverDrive - OverDrive - July 22, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Frank Corrado and Jonas Siegel for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Blue Jays' series opening win against the Yankees, the trade deadline options for the team and the race for the top of the American League. They also go around the sports world in the latest edition of Confirm or Deny diving into the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner's point totals, the Blue Jays' role in the standings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s stardom in Toronto.

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Alright, here we go Overdrive off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app. Your home smart speaker up on TSN 2, Brian Hayes, Frankie Corrado, Jonas Segal, all in studio, all feeling good this afternoon. What's up, boys? I was a little surprised JP didn't come in with a little crazy train today. Yes, RIP Ozzy. Yeah.

Ozzy Osborne, passing away at the age of 76, and was really suffering by the end of his life. But one of those guys, I think it's kind of a borderline miracle he got to 76. It feels like he's been 76 for 15 years. Right. Like Ozzy Osbourne at 50 was probably like a 76 year old. He's probably like realistically 101. Yes, he's lived like in dog years. Yes.

Like 500 years. Yeah. Because like the Osborne's the reality show and that was one of the true originals. Like that'd be a great list of like the different avenues of like the initial kind of reality shows and there was that one on MTV that was like real world. Real world. So real world was like the first first one that I would say American Idol kind of launched this whole different genre. Survivor. There's five or massive.

Sure. Oh, that was absolutely first started. But like you got the keeping up with the Kardashians. You got all these different things. And it was the other one in his show. Right. Lee Jules. Remember that one? The Osmonds were first that I can remember. Like that was the first one where they were in the house and you learn, you would-

You're like, this guy's a goof. Well, you couldn't understand a word he said. That was more than anything. You'd listen to Ozzy 25 years ago with, you would not have a clue what the guy was saying. No clue. Yeah, so he passed away. I thought you were gonna say,

play the major league theme song because the Jays Usually we have a rule on the show. You got to win five in a row They've won four in a row, but they've won 11 a row at home so it could have been maybe a mash-up of like something Aussie and something major league theme song because The Jays have a real mojo going right now man Like if you can't pick up on Blue J Fever right now, you are just simply never gonna catch it. No, and you're never gonna be into it.

And coming out of the All-Star break, you're like, okay, which way is it gonna go now? Four in a row. And then, yeah, and then it's just, it's routine business as usual. And then last night, the pitching matchup with Gosman on the mound, there was something about that. I know it's, you know, late July, but that had a playoff feel to it with Kevin Gosman, the way he was kind of

doing his business and the Jays, like Rodin was a little scattered and the Jays eventually found a way to break through. It was just one of those nights where they just chipped away at it and then eventually they broke through. And that is, you're right man it's it's Blue Jays fever right now it's incredible they're they're so much fun to watch we talked about it on the show yesterday you just have this belief that they're gonna win and same thing last night you know Stanton hits a home run they're down one nothing and at no point that I think they were not gonna find a rally they did in the fifth inning they worked road done over like he you know he walked five guys last night that Schneider at bat

that became a famous at bat, even though he didn't end up getting to hit. My dad just sent me a text like what an at bat. And that was after Bichette hit that clutch double. Yeah. And it was after that. Did you see the reaction from Rodin after? Kind of tips his cap.

Yeah, it was like, he just kept grinding. And then they scored and Springer in the dugout with Schneider is just like, that was all you. Absolutely. And that's when you know like the vibes are. Everything's coming together. Yeah. Because that like what happened in the fifth last night like Bechette batting clean up is significant right. They're batting like 400 with runners in scoring position that's insane. Literally 400 with runners in scoring position. Is it now? I believe it's on the nose which I'm I'm I have to believe is the best number of baseball I mean who would who would possibly be more clutch and all he does is hit doubles

That's fine And he's capable of hitting for power and he's hit some home runs and he'll continue to but that double last night But I think what was more significant for me is you talk about the fundamentals of the team What's more significant for me is you talk about the fundamentals of the team. Vladi going from first to home on a double to left field. Really significant. Big time. Like you watch him, he takes his lead and he took off and he put his head down and he's flying in the air and there's some great pictures.

I'm sure you can post them Joe. TSN too, like every camera in the building has different angles of him like in the air flying. Well and his reaction afterwards. Absolutely and Springer's waiting for him at home and and Vlad E like it just it was such a monumental moment and then they just continued with the reality rally and then the throwing error and yeah Gosman was phenomenal last night and Hoffman was great last night and look at that picture like that that right there if you're listening on TV on radio on podcast or whatever like you know what you saw the highlights, but Vlad E

Going like Superman dive into home Think about this just an incredible look last night think about the difference between that picture and what Vlad E did when he got called out on at Second base a couple years ago where he's like waving his hand around like that and I think that's what is so different and so likable about this team. There's like a lunch pail mentality to it where and we talk about it with hockey all the time but it applies to the Blue Jays I think where they're bringing this blue collar attitude and all of a sudden now the players are having fun and it's organic and it's not forced, it's not goofy, and they're having success.

And a guy like Vladdy who gets paid more than anyone is leading the charge that way. Where it was always like, George Springer's got to bang the drum for the group. And then you have like the little cliques around the dugout. Everyone's just kind of, it's like they're just grinding away and then you know obviously your skill breaks through as we're seeing with you know whoever it is, Gozman or Bichette or... That's the amazing thing like we were we were discussing it yesterday when you look at their lineup card like it's a lot of guys you look at now last year basically it's not any different that's what i don't understand did you you heard Keegan yesterday mention that, he said something about like the vibes being different

and like there's more of a, I don't know what the right word is, like supportive atmosphere. And I was thinking that exactly when you're talking about it. It's the same team basically, like why is it so different? That's what I don't totally understand. These are the intangibles, Jonas, you and I. We butt heads all the time

and this is a perfect example of it because there's mojo when you're winning like there's Confidence that comes with winning. There's a feeling of contribution. There's a it's sports is tough Baseball is incredibly tough to go to the park every day when you're losing all the time. It's a chore It's got to be it's got to be very difficult to get yourself up for every single game when you're winning all the time It's got to be the coolest vibe ever. Dying to get in, find out where you are in the lineup, go out and play your position,

go up and try to, you know, professional at bats and move the chain and move the line. And that's it, man. And I referenced the movie Major League way too often because I know I'm dating myself. It came out in 1989. What's a better reference you can use? I don't think there is one because I think this is the perfect encapsulation of that major league

team when you consider the vibes early to begin the season and again I know it's it's my favorite sports movie of all time I think really absolutely and baseball is the best sport for sports. I need to hear your top five. I can come up with one I'll give you one by the end of the show. Dynamite drop in money and broadcast school has really paid off. I'll tell you what, I think I'd have the sequel in there too. Major League Two does not drop much off Major League One. It's a brilliant sequel. But the beauty of like the beginning of that movie is the montage where you can place Blue Jay fans and people in the city and the media in the shoes of those actors in the movie where they're looking at the lineup,

they're like, who the hell's Ernie Clement? Who's Miles Straw? They got Leo Jimenez playing, Lou Profito. And early in the season, you'd hear that and you'd be like, man, these guys stink. Like this team is gonna win 65 games, they're gonna be awful. Then all of a sudden you catch a heater like this,

11 straight home wins, you've beaten up on the Yankees now five times in two weeks at home, you're 16 and five in your last 21 and all of a sudden you get pictures like the one we just showed where Vlad is flying in the air and it's like the pendulum's completely swung like now everyone's back on board everyone the stadium's rocking and it's contagious it's completely contagious right like last like you referenced going to the ballpark and things aren't going well.

Misery loves company. One guy's having a bad year. He complains to someone else and that just kind of like floats around the clubhouse. Whereas this, it's like, no, everyone's having fun. I got to bring a good attitude because I'm a part of this thing and I want to contribute. It's like, it can go either way and it's like completely swung

now and this is permeating from the dugout to the clubhouse, obviously on the field now. Big time. I wonder like if you're in the front office, if you're like with the deadline so close, if you're like, man, should we kind of just leave this? Like the vibes are so good. Or do we add like one piece, two, like how much do you do? Well, this is again, the ultimate, it's a conundrum, but it's a positive one. But it comes up all the time.

Now the Jays are not a juggernaut team in the sense of how they're actually built. Like they are punching above their weight. They're clearly playing very well. And I think they continue to prove that this is likely gonna continue and they're gonna be a very competitive team. But that is the question.

Like do you infuse talent? How do you consider the kind of, the character of the room and the clubhouse and the dugout? And I think Bassett was talking about it yesterday. Like you need guys to come in with the right attitude they're gonna fit in properly which is a whole another level of due diligence that you have to do like you can look at a spreadsheet you can watch game tape and say all right this guy does this against lefties that against righties or this guy can play

this position or he's got speed on the bases or whatever you know or get lefties out get righties out pitch wall against the Yankees there's all these different things that you can look at from anyone's resume and make up your mind on how you feel about the player when the ball is in play. But you're referencing something very different, which is very important. Like who are you gonna bring in that's going to jump on the train with these guys and have immediately the same attitude that they seemingly all share? Well, and there's like a trickle down effect. You know this, like you know this as well. Like

when you bring someone else in, it's not just that player that's affected. It's like someone's losing a job losing a job. And then like, how does that change your dynamic? And like, it's almost like it's same with, with hockey, where when you get the big fish at the deadline, it doesn't guarantee that you're going to have success and win a championship. But if you get the big fish at the deadline, it doesn't guarantee that you're gonna have success and win a championship, but if you do the purposeful thing, like in your heart of hearts, you would know if you're in that lineup and you might not have like the spots solidify.

You're not 100% like him. There's at least one guy that's like, I probably shouldn't be slotted here, but I am right now. But everybody's being used right now. That's the thing. That's it. Like tonight Lucas is leading off. Like they won that game last night without Barger. Like Barger's been probably the most positive story on the team at Homers. Yeah. Doesn't hit lefties. They don't even put them out there against lefties for the most part. And you know, tonight, obviously he's back in the lineup, he'll hit fifth. Clement moves down,

Clement's going from third to second tonight. You got Will Wagner back in the lineup, he's gonna play third base. Like it's a real, there's a revolving door. But you're so right, Hayes, like this is a weird example, but I'm reminded of it while you're talking about like intangibles and chemistry. So like very early, this is way back,

the David Clark scenario. And you remember how it started, did not start well. And then he comes back and I remember this so well and it was in Columbus. I don't know if it was like a preseason game or what game it was. And like he was just chatting with the reporters and he brought up that he wasn't, I'm just trying to remember it, but I think he brought up that he wasn't happy that it wasn't on the power play. And I was like, oh man. Not a good start. This is not good. Not good. It's like this guy's already mad I'm just trying to remember it, but I think he brought up that he wasn't happy that he wasn't on the power play. And I was like, Oh man, not a good stuff. This is not good.

Not good. This guy's already mad that he's on the power play. It's like, Oh boy, this is not going to be an issue. Yeah. And that's it, man. Like you, you, you, you've got to consider all of this yet. This team has proven to the general manager that they are worthy of getting help

because that's also the opposite side of things. Like we had John Gibbons on last week and give you reference, I think it was in 14 where they were a pretty good team and they were in the hunt, didn't make the playoffs that year but they chose not to do anything. Was that the Bautista said something?

Yes, and Bautista and I think Casey Jansen maybe, they both got to the All-Star game and said well if we don't do anything now like this is basically a joke and we better go out and do something and they didn't so is it is it equally as deflating if you don't go out there and bolster this team. Personally I look at the bullpen like I know a lot of people looking at starters Gosman was phenomenal last night like that I think that was a statement start against the Yankees coming out of the break again they've won three in a row he was challenging them all night he looked great Hoffman's been a lot better the last month like he

really was pitching like well last night clearly challenging guys throwing heat say if you can hit it go for it which I like that attitude in the position he's in Rodriguez had a really good year but if for me I just don't know if they're going to be able to find a starter that's going to give me more confidence than what Gazman, Barrios, Bassett are going to give me. And I think you just look at the way it sets up, even with those three guys, no one's going six, seven, eight innings in the playoffs starter anymore. It just doesn't happen. You're looking at twice through the rotation tops, and then you're going gonna move it over to the bullpen So if you can give me an arm or two and like elite you're talking like leverage

Or absolutely give me give me a 10 out of 10 bullpen arm that can give me three outs every single playoff game I'm chasing that that's what I'm going for you and I'm all in on that I think the the thing with the rotation is you're probably set up well for the playoffs. It's just getting there. You're still probably looking for some Scherzer insurance. Well, just in case, because you just don't know that feels like that could go at any time right now. And even though you are set up well for the playoffs, you just want to know that whenever

that starts coming up, you have a chance to win because when he's healthy and he's pitching, well, you do when the other guys are pitching, you do have a chance to win because when he's healthy and he's pitching well you do when the other guys are pitching you do have a chance especially if Gosman's pitching the way he did last night where he went talking about going after guys he went after judge yes he did he did not back down at all he was throwing fastballs right down the middle he reached back hit 97 at one point like that was yeah he had a lot of time stuff against judge last night big time big time but to your point like every time you hear from sure sir he's like if my thumb holds up if my thumb holds up he knows what's what's up

like he's he is equally as concerned as everybody else right and you know eric lauer's for the magical story is that going to continue can you get ten more starts out of him i don't know i think it about like aseth lugo type who's I think a free agent after this year and it's like is he better than Gazmin Berrios? Yeah and it may not be about that like if you're gonna go on a D-Player run. I think he's better than Bassett. Yeah maybe you just you need four guys anyway. Yeah so maybe you just get someone like that. And listen the history of

this front office would suggest they put more emphasis on the rotation. That's where they've invested money. It started with the Hun Jin Ryu years ago. That's more off season. Panna Roark. No, I know, but my point is when you're talking about like investing, not only money, but also what capital you're gonna give up to go get guys. The way Ross Atkins and Shapiro have built their pitching collateral has been an emphasis on starters and spending on starters and trying to get as deep into the game as you possibly can. So I would not be surprised at all if that's the route they end up going down, is try to

find a starter that can match the other three, steps right in, maybe they go with a six-man rotation for a while to allow Scherzer a little bit more rest. I think it's fitting he's going tonight. Like Jay's posted the pic of the lineup card and like the guy looks crazy. Like he's got the two different colored eyes. He's looking over his glove and he looks like he's gonna absolutely mow down the Yankees tonight. And I think it's a perfect setup for him because of the heater that they're on, for him to contribute.

Like this is the statement game for Scherzer. This is, you've invested 15 million, which for fans it doesn't matter, it's not your money. What you want out of a guy like that, a living legend of the game, is you're into a moment like tonight. You got a chance to win a series against the Yankees. Night two, you got a chance to bury the Yankees

in many ways tonight. Go out there and, you know, look at that picture of Scherzer. Like just send that right to Aaron Boone. Just text that to Boone and say, what do you have? Someone put it in Judge's stall, the club host. Like he is a big version of that intense and ready to rock and there's a huge discrepancy between maybe the largest

you'd ever see in baseball Max Scherzer against a kid named Cam Schlittler which I'm gonna mess that name up I know I'm gonna carve that one up and you know exactly what's coming later on just call call him Cam. Scherzer versus Cam tonight. Yeah. Cam's second career start I believe it is up against Scherzer. Dude the thing with Scherzer though is you didn't bring him in for maybe not the consistency is probably not the right word but longevity within the season. You brought him in for exactly like, it's a big game against an opponent

where you need someone to go in and have a moment and give you a performance where in a one game, he can do that. It's just how many one games does he have left and can they hedge their bet and kind of minimize the risk of what is potentially around the corner for him. Even if he was healthy getting through camp, I think there was still gonna be that worry like, okay, is there something coming around the corner for him. Even if he was healthy getting through camp,

I think there was still gonna be that worry, like okay, is there something coming around the corner? Is the shoulder popping? Is the elbow soreness? Is there something flaring up? He's been having to deal with something, but at least if he's available, you just wanna know that he can give you one game

where he can get some outscoring. Like repay the investment. You've had a long time off now. You just had the all-star break. You haven't pitched in a while. Go get these guys. Like you've got a mismatch on the mound. Again, we'll see. The Jays don't know this kid, so who knows what he brings to the table. But you're going to have a raucous crowd. A lot of Yankee fans. Like there were Yankee fans there last night. They'll be there again tonight. But a Dome will be open, packed house. Like Bichette was talking about it after the game. Do we have that clip? Why don't dome will be open packed house like Bichette was talking about it after the game

Do we have that clip? Why don't we play this? Here's bo Bichette Speaking on the Rogers Center the dome the crowd the vibes and what's going on in Toronto Yeah, this is the best You know this fan base I feel like has been for us since I've been in the big week so At least in regular season games. So yeah, it's been amazing.

I mean this is what I remember watching on TV when I was 17 years old at home watching Batista and Donaldson and all of them. So yeah, it's been, they made it really fun to play. Alright, there you go. It's a good show with Donaldson and Batiste. Yeah. That's what people are trying to pick up on. The glory days.

The 15, 16 glory days. Was it 15, 16 when, which was the year they went on at the deadline? 15. Remember how like much excitement that brought to the city and brought to the team? Like you wonder if they try to do something similar just to kind of capitalize on this and keep them I'd like to believe it I just don't think the names are out there that can possibly match price to Lewicki unless like you I don't know you pull something off that's not expected well and that that is possibly out there you know like

is it is it possible there's some teams that are just having down years are willing to give up on big names you you know, willing to punt, you know, completely on this season and readjust where they're going to go next year? I don't know. I mean. We would also go against what these guys do. Like these guys are not all in type managers. And in the past we've criticized them for that, but it turns out they kind of knew.

No, they really so. No, come on. They kind of knew what they were doing. Look at the team this year. Like they've put themselves in a pretty good spot. Their additions are not to reason though, right? That's what's hard about this. Well, it still is their team though. They've been here for a decade. Like, Sharmar and Atkins, you've got to be fair to them. Like, yes, maybe this has surprised them a little bit. I would think it probably has. But this isn't someone else's work that they're getting along enough they've been here a long time all of this whole roster is

their responsibility and their pieces there and their manager and they kept shiner and obviously he's got good things going they finally moved off the hitting coach which should happen years ago you ask this question i think it was i think you ask the question is this kind of save everything for them? I don't think we're, I think we got to get to the end of the road. I don't think so either, but.

I think we got to, you got to close now. Well, you got to win some playoff game. Yeah, exactly. It's July 23rd. You still, there's a lot of baseball left. We haven't even hit the trade deadline yet. So you still have, you still have a lot of games left, man. Like they.

But dude, they survived the worst. But these guys, Shapiro and dude they survived the worst but these guys Shapiro and I can survive the worst of it like things are trending upwards now if they got through the the tumultuous times where everyone was calling for them and saying they don't know what they're doing I will remind you of the Leafs remember like but it you kind of got to let it play out in terms of how people are gonna react to it yeah like you're not gonna're not going to crown anyone in the middle of the season. But the fact that they are where they are, it kind of would suggest that whatever

they were looking at under the curtain, they kind of knew what they were doing. It can't just be a, unless it's a fluke, unless it's just a heater and it's a complete fluke. It's hard to say that. But you could also say that last year was such a fluke the other way, and now it's kind of evening out. I don't know.

Yeah, it was particularly awful last year. And the year before they made the playoffs, they're 189 games. Year before that, they made the playoffs. So, you know, that was the kind of counter argument that they have made the playoffs. Now they haven't done anything in the playoffs, which they have to own, and they've been here for a decade

But there's 62 games left. That's a lot of time to go either way You know, like if you go right down the middle you're you're in the you're gonna make the playoffs You go 31 and 31 your 90 wins. That's in you probably won't win the division But you're in you're gonna be one of the wild cards teams for sure With 90 wins so you got 500 the rest of the way you go above that you're gonna win the division and that takes you In a completely different, you know Category but there's also another wild card and that is what's happening with the ownership of all these teams and the solo owner of The Jays is the guy that now has punted on Masai and punted on Shanahan. Like Keith Pelley is the guy that has to go out and answer for it. It's not Keith

Pelley. It's Edward Rogers that's making that call. Yeah. Like there's there's one sheriff in town now that owns all of the teams and it's him and if you're the Jays if you're Shapiro-Dackinson in particular it might be different because it's a different team, it's a different business, it's a different compartment, but Masai, Shanahan, they were told thanks for coming out but see you later. I don't know, that would be more of a concern than wins and losses if I'm Shapiro and or Atkins. Yeah, like are they gonna keep both? Just like this is our new philosophy and we're gonna restructure things and we think that that position is redundant.

I don't know, like we talked about it with Pelley and MLSC, it's like people from here know hockey or they think they know hockey, might not know basketball. So you're probably looking for a president for basketball. Right, like that's, I think we're all kind of guilty of just kind of knowing or thinking we know more than we actually do when it comes to certain things well that's that is a good interesting question about you know how they make sure collectively m l s c and then this is different the

jay's are not a part of a gap or some entertainment but it feels like there's a merging you know kind of existing or it's going to happen at some point where they're all gonna be under the same umbrella i don't think anyone would be surprised by that. That how does this new ownership set up or it's not a conglomerate because it's really one guy, but I guess it's the company technically. How do they express to the individual fan bases that they're all equally important? You know, like that's what I'm curious about. Like I don't think Leaf fans, Leaf fans have never felt like an inferior product in the

city clearly. Like they've always been at the top, the Leafs, right? They've always got the most pub, they've always had the most support, most resources. All the owners have seemingly been like, we got to do whatever we can to help them when they haven't won. But I don't think any Leaf fan can sit there and say well ownership hasn't done enough to make my favorite team a priority or make it look as if you're doing everything you can to win. The Raptors I'm very

curious about this transition because I think Masai represented that to a lot of Raptor fans that he was the conduit between ownership and whatever ownership was gonna do he was gonna make the Raptors feel important. Like that's what he represented. He was a pure basketball, pure Raptor, almost super fan as opposed to the president. And significant presence around the league. Presence around the league, exactly. He was a guy everyone knew Messiah. Everyone listened to Messiah. He had serious clout everywhere and that guy's gone now. And I'm, I am curious about that.

Like if Raptor fans are looking at this saying, where do we fall in line? Like, are we equal? Are we on the same as the J's and the Leafs? Cause I'm not, I don't know if they can say that right now. It's going to depend on how much money they're willing to spend and how aggressive they're going to be. Because anytime a big name player like John is comes up and it's like,

Masai's got the connection there. Meanwhile, might not be able to make it work, but at least, you know, the Masai connection makes you relevant in those conversations. Now you have to keep yourself relevant in those conversations and not be like the Maple Leafs little brother, because if it's winter, like I would look at it and say Leafs are number one, Jays are number one in the summer, and then the Raptors have to find a way to make sure they have the same kind of significance as the Leafs, which is

hard to do, especially when they're not winning. Like say what you want about the Leafs, they've been very successful, at least in the regular season and they've been going to the playoffs. The Raptors really haven't had that success since they won a championship. So byproduct of that is it's just harder for them to have that same kind of significance, but that'll be like, I think J's and Leafs, because the seasons are separate, you won't have an issue there.

I think it's where the Raptors fall in. They're overlapping with the Leafs. And they were the last ones to get here, right? Like the Leafs have been here for over 100 years. The Jays showed up in 77. Now the Raptors have been here for 30 years. They're also the last team to win here. And they were also absolutely the last team to win here. But Masai was the guy. No one said like, thanks to ownership for that. No. It was all Masai. Because he thought big. Like he pursued big ideas. Like he wasn't, you know what I mean? Like he kind of puffed out his chest and said we're gonna take swings to win a title took the ultimate swing and it paid off

Yeah So yeah, I don't know like I I'm curious to see where that all goes with the ownership scenario and so on especially like ronno He's like the there's like this aura of like how much cost cutting is gonna happen And I guess it's already happened kind of like you get rid of Shanahan don't replace him get rid of Messiah might replace him they're going to replace him right that's the report that's what they say they may just do it internally like I think Bobby was writing about that this Bobby just become that and then he's president general manager but what have you really done you've just given him a new title

and some more money does it and I i don't maybe is prepared for it you know i i don't know i mean we'll see maybe maybe it's gonna be an easy transition for bobby webster well they stepped up and paid body which was a court like a yeah on a money yeah which they they had they had no choice they had to do that andy you know i was thinking about today on the way in like in terms of blotting his significance in his importance and we're doing this kind of quarter century stuff like and we'll get to this in

confirm or deny you know what we could be saying about all these star players who are currently in Toronto in the year 2050 like who's gonna be the face of the next quarter century it very likely could be Vlad but yes he got paid a fortune yes it got to a point where they just met his price and he basically had to take it, but he did stay and it is a different market in the way people view the idea of a player staying. You know like Marner just left and that was the most outrageous one because he's from here and it was hockey and it was the Leafs. Like that's the one where no one really concerned themselves about that forever the NBA was talking about the Rams there they unfortunately they have a long history of

guys like Kawhi won and said I'm out of here the second he could Vince and Bosch and you can go down the list Damon Stoudemire Tracy McGrady the Jays you know always kind of difficult can, the guys want to stay here forever? Yeah, and yes it's 500 million so no one's gonna empathize, you know, be like, hey thanks so much for taking one for the team for staying up here. But he did stay and like Jays, Toronto sports fans have a soft spot for anyone that's willing to do that. I always wonder there's there's like a cynic inside me that,

and I'm sure other people think this way too, well, you stayed, you didn't kind of bet on yourself or test the market, are you afraid of something? Is there something you're afraid of going out there? Let's hope not, right? Down the stretch. Yeah, exactly. All right, confirmed the night coming up. Steve Phillips will join us later in the afternoon.

The NFL camps are opening and there's some big names who decided they're not showing up. They're waiting until they get paid. They want a new contract. They want new money. Jerry Jones was speaking yesterday. Always entertaining when he does that. We'll tell you about what Jerry was saying.

We'll get into that a little bit later this afternoon. Overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. Seasoned gamer or just video game curious? This Week in Gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games, from basics to beyond. The hottest gaming news, insight and industry leaders and more weekly.

Join me, Naomi Kyle, and stay ahead of the game with all the latest updates. Even if you're a total newbie. Stream This Week in Gaming on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. I can neither confirm or deny that this is in fact a segment. Austin trades Andrew Raycroft to Toronto in exchange for the rights to Tuca Rass.

It's been my honor and a privilege to serve as the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. It's time for Confirm or Deny. Do you regret giving all those gentlemen the no trades or no movement clauses? I can either confirm or deny that. I can't confirm or deny or denied i can confirm or deny i confirm that i statements are made we have to confirm the more we deny them very simple stuff yesterday we got into a matthews and mariner

total i'm gonna continue with this confirmed that i austin matthews is more likely to score fifty goals next season than mitcharner is to score 100 points. Confirm or deny? Just love needling this eh? Go ahead Jonas, what do you got? More likely to happen, 50 snipes for Matthews or 100 points for Mitch Marner? It's a deny. Mitch Marner is more likely to get 100 points in Vegas than Matthews is to get 50 goals next year. Is he?

Is he? Yeah. Best goal scorer in the world? Best goal scorer in the world? He can have a 48-goal season now. You're denying this. I'm denying it. I'm not convinced at all Marner hits 100 points. No one hits 100 points in Vegas. That's not how they play. It's not the way it operates there. I'm thinking he's going to have a bit of a difficult time at

some point transitioning into that team. It's a huge change for him. Massive change. I think Matthews is going to have a huge bounce back here. I am all in on Austin Matthews saying, all right, you think I'm going gonna fall off cuz one guy's left my wing or left my team watch watch yourself I'm confirming it I think I agree with Hayes you're allowed to do that Jonas you know it's really it kills him to have to agree with you. Yeah, it does. This is terrible, but I mean, how many times has Marner hit 100 points in his career? Once. One time. And that was playing.

He's been close. Like he's at 99, 97. And that's not going to cut it. He had 97 in seven, or I think 97 in 72 games. Like he's been at 100 points. Yeah, he had 99 points one year. But that was playing for like high scoring. And guess who was scoring for him?

Yeah. The big dog. And like Jack Eichel wasn't that. I guess that I go is not gonna score 40 50 goals No, he's not he could if he stays healthy I this is the big like Michael needs to stay healthy the same way Matthew's needs to stay healthy That's guys have had a hard time putting together 80 82 game season But Matthew's had a down year last year. How many did he score was it 30 30 something and then Years ago or three years ago. He had the down year that was 40. Yeah, so we went 40 69 30 something so what does he do now? It's almost like you know, it could be it could

He could have 48 though. Yeah, cuz he could and M he could have 48 though. He could. And Marner could have 98. He could have 48 in 72 games. Like let's say Austin Matthews misses 10 games next year. It would be a decent clip for him. But I don't know. Is it unrealistic to expect Austin Matthews to be a 60 goal guy every single year? We talk about it all the time that this guy's gotta be, or guys can't have career years all the time. I get it. 50'ss not so that's not what we're asking I

know I know I get it all right tonight I'm denying it I'm denying it let's so wait do you think you think Marner will hit a hundred points or I think Marner's more likely to hit a hundred points than Matthews is to get 50 goals next year and I probably eat my words no listen April April I don't know. I don't think that it's not an unreasonable like at all I mean Marner is more than capable they're a very good team in Vegas he's not going to a team that doesn't have but they don't again it's not they don't have a lot of pure goal scores in Vegas like not in the top six and even we assume he's playing with Eichel maybe he's not. Okay maybe he's not but maybe he's playing with Eichel maybe he's not okay maybe

he's not but maybe he's playing with Hurdle maybe who's passing to Matthews in the slot between four guys next year? Neil Ender. I hear you. Well let me ask you is he is Willie doing that because Willie likes to shoot it a lot. Domi's connected with him before, Michelli I don't know. It's a fall off. Domi's connected with him because he's had Marner there as well to facilitate with it. I'm just thinking, you can tell me this is crazy. Is there any world in which Marner is a candidate for the heart? Yes. I could actually see that. Because it's a cool story. Like if you go to a new team, you have a great year, you score 107 points, you win the division, he will absolutely be,

you know, I don't think he'll win it never come close That's gonna be a Matthews that's getting posted and it's gonna be clickbait on Twitter later Jonah Sartor for the heart This is I just could see a world where that happens like they're gonna be a good team It's it's more difficult with players like that hat that applies all the time the coach of the year all the time Goes to a new coach totally team that wasn't great unexpected success, blah, blah, blah. But that won't apply here. Vegas was really good before Marner arrived. Like they're not going to get exponentially better in my opinion. They're not going to, I don't picture 125 points and they dominate. I think they'll just continue to be a steady

ship that's really good and he'll continue to contribute to that. But you're talking like right now I think there's a clear separation. I think there's a clear number one is McDavid. Yeah. Dry Settle. And then I think it's Dry Settle, McKinnon, McCarr, Kucherov, which is a clear number two in my opinion. And then Matthew. And then I'd have Matthews at six personally, which he has the capability of getting back into that second group But he's got a he didn't play well last year like based on his stats his numbers weren't good enough to put him in that that category and then you got the Barkov's and the past and acts in the Quinn Hughes's and like that's the Chuck when he's healthy

Yeah, Matthew could Chuck like there's an in next love. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Like there's So and Marner's not in that group either in my opinion Marner's not in that third group either he'd be in the fourth group. He's always just been in Matthew's shadow that's been part of this and now he's not. So you think it was a perception issue as opposed to actually a performance? I think the 21-22 season he was unbelievable he had 90 I think he had 35 goals goals ninety seven points in seventy two games he was awesome two-way stuff you scoring all the time in the second half remember you i don't remember this he came back from an injury

and he was i think he was third in the league in goals after he came back was that when he couldn't score a power play goal like he had a hard time scoring power play goals and all of a sudden it just that was a playoff thing i think there was a no there was a run where he didn't score for a long time season he had a power play goal in the wild then all of a sudden he started scoring but that season too just to close it off like that season he didn't come close to the heart because matthew scored 60 goals he didn't like i don't think he had a top 10 like he hid nothing right it's like he was unbelievable 35 goals you had 97 points in 72 games and like a top five defensive forward but he was playing next like it's like when you're a supporting actor

in a movie with a star it's like you're just overshadowed and my guys course 60 yeah I think a lot of the for the goal scoring for Austin Matthews he's gonna have to be a little bit of like he he's going to have to chug along himself here and be a little bit of a self starter, right? Like he can't just lay in the weeds and wait for the past to just appear on his tape in a perfect situation unless Mattias Michelli is all of a sudden going to be like the poor man's version of us or of Mitch Marner, which you can't bank on either. But I think Marner is surrounded by skill that he can facilitate in Vegas,

and Matthews is gonna have to be like, okay guys, someone's gotta get me this puck on the power play. Someone's gonna have to get it to me at five on five. One of the things that happened last year was they played a different system under Craig Berube. And I don't think it was super conducive to Matthews, honestly, like I don't think it worked perfectly. He didn't have, honestly. Like, I don't think it worked perfectly. He didn't have to puck as much.

He didn't get as many great looks. He wasn't being set up as much. And now he's losing Marner. So, like, what does that look like? Well, and that's, listen, Mitch Marner, I think, can be dropped into any lineup, any system and be comfortable in play. I think that's been a part of their issue with, in the playoffs in the past, they've been easier to defend because Marner's easier to shut down when the when the ice

shrinks and you know the the playoff style of hockey comes alive and Matthews has been very reliant on that you know is you got it you got to fight get him a lane he'll get it off quicker than anybody and better than anybody and he'll put it in a spot that nobody can but you got to get that to him that's that's a legitimate concern I might my why I'm bullish on Matthews is because of the injury and the really now they can basically the way his career is jockeyed from down year great year down year great year like that alone would lead me to believe this guy should be launching into another stratosphere year two at Barubei year two as a captain

And more pressure on him to perform because again Marner's gone like now you real who are you like ownership? How are you wired? And what do you what do you have in the tank? And I'm I'm but I think he's gonna have a big year I think the one thing is like how healthy will he be well now? We don't have an answer for like because like he gets gets hurt at training camp and it's just like it never goes away. Yeah, that's valid. All right, confirmed or denied, Vladie Jr. will be the face of Toronto sports for the next quarter century. So if we get, if you jump in a time machine and head to 2050 and we're saying who has

been the man for the last 25 years in Toronto sports, confirmed or denied, it'll be Vladie. That's too far away. You gotta cut down. You're playing the field. Vlade of the field. It's denied. It's a hundred percent denied. Okay. Based on the fact that you're playing the field but also if the Maple Leafs in the next 25 years win a Stanley Cup and Austin Matthews is the centerpiece it'll be Matthews mania or whoever it is. Yeah. If Matthews is gone and some player who's ten years old eventually gets drafted by the Leafs and he's the that's the guy It's whoever wins with the Leafs is gonna be the guy no matter if the Blue Jays win or the Raptors win again

It 25 years who knows if the Leafs will win in that time They haven't done it in the last almost 60 years But that's like it's almost like that the face is in waiting for whoever wins with the leafs. Yeah, if not, that's assuming they will win in the next 25 years, which is clearly no guarantee. That's almost an 80 year drought at that point. Yeah, like it's happened before the talk to the Cubs talk to the Red Sox like it has happened before. And you know, again, 25 years ago, who would have ever thought who was Kawhi Leonard 25 years ago. So yeah I'll deny it because the field is just so expansive like there's so many opportunities

within the even the Blue Jays like who knows maybe five years from now someone shows up and is a phenom for the Jays. Jojo Parker. Maybe Jojo Parker's that guy. But Vladdy has the inside track clearly even over Matthews because of the contract commitment. Like if he's gonna be here for another 14 years or 15 years, that's 15 in the next 25. Vladdy's a part of it. So you know if he ingratiates himself to the market even more than he already has, if they win a World Series then it's probably over. Like if Vladdy's's the man so he's got the inside track it's just yeah the field is so wide open with the Leafs and Raptors and even the Blue Jays all right we'll come back and continue with confirm or deny we got a few more in the

tank here Steve Phillips in about 20 minutes game two at Jays Yankees tonight after the Jays winning last night they've won 11 in a row at home how long can the win street go? We'll catch up with Steve on that more. Overdrive continues, TSN 1050 and on the TSN app. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar.

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All right, Steve Phillips coming up in about 15 minutes. We'll sprinkle in some confirmedirm or Deny throughout the afternoon. We've got Dave Simms coming up too, Yankees radio broadcaster, host of Hey Now. And yeah, the Yankees are reeling, man. They are reeling and the Jays are taking full advantage. And it's a beautiful thing. Eleven home wins. They've beaten the Yankees now five times in the last two weeks and Jays are in a really good spot and as for confirmed or deny I'll throw

this out to you guys and it's early there's 62 games left we haven't hit the trade deadline yet but confirmed or denied the Blue Jays will finish with the best record in the American League. Confirmed. You're confirming. Wow. It's an uber positive Tuesday. They're gonna. Wow. I can confirm that. Uber positive. Yeah. It's an Uber positive Tuesday. They're going to be a better team after the trade deadline. As long as everyone stays healthy, maybe they add a pitcher, a little bullpen help.

Yep. As long as everything keeps going in the right direction. And I just, I like the fact that it's not just this one, like not little heater. They've won four in a row. They've won an 11 in a row at home, it does feel like this has been a build-up. This didn't just happen overnight and everyone's contributing It's not just one guy you're getting you know, a lot of different players pitching in whether it's pitchers or hitters or It's just a lot of things are going well. I think this is something that's sustainable throughout the rest of the season

Yep, this is a tough one really tough. So they are half game back of Detroit right now. So who do I think is going to be better? Game up on Houston, four games up on the Yankees, and then it's a real drop-off to Seattle, Boston, Tampa. That's the thing, there's like three or four teams we're really talking about here. I think I'd have to deny. You're taking the field? Yeah I'd have to take the field like I still look at the run differential and like some of this is gonna... Okay you and Michael Cain, okay. You're gonna Michael K this one. Yeah you're not confirming it are you?

I'm listen I'm in the there's a storm of positivity right now where everyone is being caught up in it but I look look at the Tigers, they're still really young. You know, like we had, who did we have on yesterday? If you go through their lineup, it's like it's just all young guys. Yeah. And they listen, they had a phenomenal second half last year and they've carried it over. But are they going to keep that consistent? I don't know.

Like the Central is pretty bad. So they do have an opportunity to just keep beating up on the Chicago's and the Minnesota's and the Kansas City's and if those teams trade off even more they're gonna be worse in the second half Which is obviously a benefit for Detroit, but I'll can I'll confirm it based on You know the fact that the Jays are doing this with a lot of guys who also aren't available to them like Like Varsha's going to return at some point. I think Jim Innes will return, which again from an offensive standpoint might not offer much help, but from a defensive standpoint and on the bases is certainly going to be beneficial. And I do think at the trade down I think they're going to be uber aggressive. So yeah, why not Jonas? Why not? Yeah, why not? There's a lot of game

You hate that Hayes is positive today and that you've had to agree with him a couple times? It did kill me to agree with him, but yeah. I'm an uber positive guy. How can you not be positive about the Jaysery? Always have been. Always will be. That seems like a stretch. I remember doing shows last year where it was not overly positive. How about shows in April? Yeah. Listen, my mantra has always been very consistent. You guys play the games. Yeah. You guys play the games and opinions are subject to change. That's the beauty of it.

That should be like in the show disclaimer. Yeah. Opinions are subject to change. Put that on the YouTube live. Yeah, exactly. Get that up and make sure everyone knows it. Alright hour two coming up we'll continue with some confirmed and denial we'll get back into our bracket the most valuable Toronto athletes of the last 25 years. Jay's Yankees tonight. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050N on TSN 2. You've been listening to Overdrive powered by Fandual. Fandual bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score.

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