OverDrive - OverDrive - July 30, 2025 - Hour 1

Episode Date: July 30, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Frank Corrado for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys examine the Blue Jays' afternoon victory against the Orioles, the trade deadline in-depth look, Bo Bichette's response performance and the series against the Royals. Former MLBer Pitcher and Baseball is Dead Host Dallas Braden joins to discuss the Blue Jays' perspective at the trade deadline, the top teams in the AL and NL and the possibility of a salary cap in MLB.

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Claudia was leaving for her pickleball tournament. I've been visualizing my match all week. She was so focused on visualizing that she didn't see the column behind her car on her backhand side. Good thing Claudia's with Intact, the insurer with the largest network of auto service centers in the country. Everything was taken care of under one roof, and she was on her way in a rental car in no time. I made it to my tournament and lost in the first round.

But you got there on time. Intact Insurance, your auto service ace. Certain conditions apply. This hour of overdrive is powered by FanDuel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Alright, here we go Overdrive off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker and up on TSN 4, Brian Hayes, Frankie Carrotto. Man, JP bringing the heat.

I love this. Dude. I have, I'll tell you what, I was never a huge Van Halen fan, like never it was not, you know, I always liked a couple of their songs and it was always nostalgic for me. I remember going to the gardens as a kid and for whatever reason the song Jump sticks out to me. Like whenever I think of the gardens and the music that they would play almost every break in play, felt like all I heard was Jump. Like I just, I'd hear Van Halen so I'm always like all I heard was jump like I just I'd hear Van

Helen so I'm always like all right I've got a good history Van Helen I've always loved going to the gardens as a kid and I remember jump being played down there a lot but I'm I guess six months ago eight months ago Frankie I read something about Eddie Van Halen and his brother and I thought I got to get into the archives here and I had hold a complete 180 I love Van Halen. I'm all over Van Halen now. Van Halen on a summer day windows down which Admittedly, I saw you and Jonas talking. I'm not a huge windows down guy when it's above 25 degrees But for Van Halen back country road, what was that? that what yeah that's a what a tune he could have come in with like Panama

which I think we do sometimes when the Leafs are playing well or Panama that's another one devil but yeah unchanged like that's a bit of a it's a bit of a deeper cut there from JP it is that's like a really you know your stuff Van Halen type of track is you're right right, like that, the album that came out, I think it was called Jump, wasn't it in 1984? That was Panama and Jump was on that. And that was like their number one, like biggest album ever. I want to say Hot for Teacher was on that album too.

It might have been, like Running with the Devil was their first single. That was off their Van Halen one. That was their first album. And it, that thing is a great track to start your career and and never like okay to start with that and then you got eruption and the cover of you really got me on the same album great track great color that's got to be one of the best debut albums in the history of rock and roll I'm willing to put it out there I totally agree but then I've

like again because I've gotten knee-deep into this over the last six months I've done a lot of reading and like Rolling Stone magazine is great at this because they always do rankings but if you're ever looking for rankings and I'm a big ranking guy I'm sure you are too Frankie I want to read someone that knows the catalog top the bottom and you tell me what you think like which are the best albums the sneakies under the cover songs and Van Halen too they came out with pretty quickly because the first album was so popular and it's got like Dance the Night Away which is like such an underrated tune

an all-time great that track comes on like you mentioned in the summer on a dock if you're golfing and you're feeling it and that song comes on you were going birdie birdie birdie uh beautiful girls is on now which is that's the one i'm thinking of yes what an unbelievable starting riff beautiful girls finest beautiful girls to start the next segment right out of the game you know what i appreciate about van halen they weren't afraid from doing a cover yes they had you really got me and then they had the Roy Orbison one what am I thinking of pretty woman pretty woman that's right dude pretty woman cover are you kidding outstanding stuff so good we're going Van Halen all day we could go Van Halen all day but if

JP slips up and goes Van Hagar I'll have something to sign all david lee roth all day by a hundred i have no time as a marzol i have no time for salami i'm all david lee roth all day uh... yet eighty four album was called jump as just that's mike tweeding in shout out to mike you know mike is such a huge van halen family that's the beauty of referencing any reference any any group any artist and the beauty of social media is you're gonna connect with someone Who's been waiting for us to play it and bring it up so that they could jump in and be like I? Saw them at the gardens in 86 and then I went yeah, I love it love it

I I saw Eddie Van Halen do eruption for like the on the first tour yeah Buddy I got something for you. Okay. What do you have? tour buddy i got something for you kai what do you have so if you play in a slick a scramble and it was in a tournament but we missed you out there yesterday that's right like bad back and that is a fact i have not played in over a week it's trouble right now when you have

the cart or starting hole one a chances are a couple things may have happened you've got some kind of clout with someone in the shop and you're like hey you know it'd be nice I got some guests coming out can you put us on one day we don't feel like starting on 12 and doing a whole you know wrap around of the course but then when people started to see like people look at who's in one a like they it's like a curiosity thing they gotta be like well I'm starting on seven who the hell's one a and then they're driving by and They see me and sloss and Jay and they see the name Brian Hayes and they're like what's up with hazy B

hazy B got 1a And we're here to know the course. Where is this shit deployment? I was worried about that because he told me about the whole setup and what was going on that day and I was worried about that if you have the names in the slot, it can ring out. I owe everyone up to her a deep, deep apology. A deeply rooted apology that is sincere. There were some old Italian guys giving some serious side eye saying, first of all, these guys that are younger, been a member the course for like two years and this guy's starting on 1a because

Brian Hayes is coming Just driving by with disgust that that is worthy of disgust too Like if I was there they'd probably spit on my shoes and be like how dare you because you're right I mean it is 1a is very very special like very very special and yet I was not I was not there I was not there I am I am feeling better I am feeling better I'm already getting car people are saying the album was called 1984 in 1984 so now I pissed off not only Mike Derek Lee all these people are tweeting and saying you're an idiot Mike's an idiot. I misquoted Mike that's my apology, but I owe everyone up there an apology. I got to get up there soon

it's got to happen got to get out and Listen whenever I'm out. I'm sure it's just like you were talking Jays right now Like I've got buddies texting me constantly like I'm right back in on a bandwagon. Then the Jays, last night was particularly ugly. Hoffman again, Bichette's at bat the ninth was one of the worst at bats you will ever see from a professional. That was like someone was pulled out of the seats. It was just a horrendous, horrendous at bat.

But, but, and we're gonna play it up here on TSM4. I mean, that swing is just horrendous. Completely redeemed himself this afternoon completely redeems himself man on second and thirty comes up in the sixth and uh... even dribble one up the middle but he got one through his cash is two runs and then lucas here obama three run home run later that inning and they held on for dear life because rodriguez got hit their bullpen got hit burrios got hit again today but

the jays did stop the bleeding. And man, is that a significant win. You had to pick up one in Baltimore, Frankie. You could not head home day off, trade deadline tomorrow, losing five in a row. You couldn't do it. Dude, 100%. And it's just one of those things where there was a couple ugly losses. It wasn't like it was tight for the majority of this little skit that they were on.

It's 10-4, 11-4, that kind of stuff gets out of hand. You just need to bring it back to some kind of semblance of what was going on. They did that and Bushett gets the redemption. I think now that we head into the trade deadline, not far away, the rotation comes to the forefront. It's an old rotation. The average age is 34 on that rotation. That's an area of significance for them that they'll need to address. The fact that they got a win, and it doesn't matter how you get it done, now you have some

games that you can still keep yourself in the driver's seat. Because their, like their chances of winning the division right now are still pretty high. Absolutely. Fan graphs, it's like 70% that they're gonna win the division. They just gotta keep kinda trucking, nothing crazy, but just, you know,

keep plucking off wins as you go. Yeah, if you're the hottest team in the league for a month, month and a half, that you've done enough damage where the rest of the way you just you have to stay above water you know you and that's what was concerning about the previous four games in the four-game losing streak was there was some ugly baseball in there like they were getting pumped you know and then like last night was discouraging because it was kind of a lower scoring

battling game and again Hoffman gets hit and we know what happened in the top of the ninth last night. But today would have been very disappointing if they threw away this game. You know, again, they were kind of chasing it. They had that big seventh inning with Bichette and Lucas and they're up nine five at that point. And then they had to hold on for dear life,

but they got it done. Like you had to get it done. You had to find a way to get that win. You're gonna lose games. There's gonna be blips You know There's gonna be different times where you know the rest of baseball is waiting for this blue j team to show their true colors Which is not an awful team. I don't think anyone's looking at them and thinking that they're just gonna fall off a cliff It's not gonna be an 18 wheeler

but I don't think anyone in baseball was of the belief that they were going to run away with the AL East or Potentially finished with the best record in baseball and that is something that they have held in recent weeks So there's gonna be challenging there's gonna be challenges. There's gonna be people coming at you now You're the pace car, but we're looking at his challenges. They got they got injuries Yeah, like you're you're you're just trying to pluck off these wins and you're facing some adversity and thank God that you won all those games. You were the hottest team in baseball because like you said, you do have a little bit of a cushion here.

So you have a little bit of leeway to even play 500 ball for the next little bit, get everyone back at your reinforcements from the trade deadline. They could not have put themselves in a better position now. And the reality is, unless the Yankees or the Sox go on a heater the way the Jays did you're playing 500-550 ball you tell me you should be fine yeah absolutely absolutely for them yeah I'm not looking at you know the Yankees made another acquisition today they're they're gonna try to continue to bolster their lineup but Aaron Judge is gonna determine what happens there in terms of how many wins that they can possibly end up with the Sox have

Been very very inconsistent all year. They've had their ups and downs So you're right I mean you got a four and a half game lead on the Yankees a five game lead on the Red Sox and You've got the Royals here this weekend. Then you go to Colorado now Baltimore just proved to you You can't play down to your competition you know and it's it's still you got to show up you got a pitch you got to have fundamentals you got to have big hits and that was lacking for the first three games of the series but you're in a very good position like you couldn't ask for a better position now

for your GM to do something and over the next he's got less than 24 hours to do it right the trade deadlines tomorrow and I do believe that they're going to And over the next, he's got less than 24 hours to do it, right? The trade deadline's tomorrow. And I do believe that they're going to acquire another bullpen arm. I think that's been proven over the last 48, you know, 48 hours or so that they're going to need help. They might need more rotation help. Like you just pointed out, they're an older group. Now the three older guys in Gossman, Barrios and Bassett, they pitch every fifth day.

They never get hurt. Like you knock on wood, but they're always available to you. I thought Lauer was pretty good last night. Like Lauer did what he was supposed to do. There wasn't, Eric Lauer didn't lose that game for him. So I think he can rely on that. You know, Scherzer's gonna be a wild card all year, but once you have to get beyond those five guys, if you do for any reason, that's where it gets scary. Like you don't want to be going to Lucas or whoever else in a big game in September where you've got to make up games if there's rain outs or if there's you know double headers or

whatever it is or injuries for that matter so they got a lot of work to do here but it's it's worth doing the work and that's what makes it such a positive trade deadline is that you're looking to bolster what has proven to be a pretty good team and a pretty resilient team and that was I think the significance of the win today I mean you could not leave Baltimore getting swept you couldn't know you could not leave there not for straight and the fifth game obviously on Sunday in Detroit you are licking your wounds coming home now you got a win today you stop the bleeding it's all good you reset you get ready for Friday night yeah, and what the J's need to avoid is if any time

we're going to go and check what their record is and what they've done in their last 10, we can't go and see that they're two and eight or three and seven. That's not going to work for them down the stretch. At least things that were issues last year are not issues, seemingly this year. We'll see what happens with the rotation. We'll see what happens with the bullpen. I like the fact that the bullpen arm that they added, the guy throws heat. Yeah. They look good last night.

He can hit triple digits. Yeah. Yeah. He gets guys to swing and miss. That's one thing that I always want to see the Jays try and add when it comes to the bullpen is someone that's going to come in there and hit 98 on his first pitch. And you know, like this guy can do that. And it's like, listen, they're in a good spot. They just, they have to avoid the slides where it's like, you just went two and eight in your last 10.

Well, and the best way to avoid that is starting pitching and the fact is the starting pitching was not very good in Baltimore you know like it just Obviously Easton Lucas is not a guy that you intend on pitching again in the future, but it wasn't good Bassett was awful. Barrios really struggled today. So, you know, there's something about Baltimore. They're in your division Sometimes there's something about certain parks in certain scenarios where you just don't feel right Sometimes there's something about certain parks in certain scenarios where you just don't feel right But the best way to keep that consistency going is you can just turn the ball over every single day to another starter who you feel Good about giving you five or six innings Because the bats have been there like even when they lost the first few games of the series they were they were producing runs

You know, they were they were registering hits and producing hits and getting on base It was just the game was so out of hand because the arms weren't holding up. But Yeah, I think you look at Bichette in particular Might have been the most important hit he's had all year today in the afternoon I don't think you can overstate the significance of that that you know, RBI Singly hit in the seventh inning today, cashed two runs, gave them the lead, they were down 5-4 because of the game he had last night. Like he goes 0-4-5 last night,

three strikeouts, a couple of them were terrible, the one in the ninth was horrendous, and a 3-2 count to chase that pitch with Fladdy on deck waiting for him was absolutely unacceptable. But he's been so good, so clutch all year. For him to step up in the scenario that he was in today and the cash those two runs i think that we have huge for the shatman that was high level i kinda wonder haze if you'd like he has been what the best hitter with runners in scoring position in the a l that would be a major league baseball period right in

right so case so he's he's up at the dish he's probably think alike i I've got this, like I can make contact on a ball that maybe I normally wouldn't or shouldn't swing at, just because he's had the hot hand in those situations. And you get burnt last night, and then today he gets a pitch that he can make contact with, and there you go. It's like, he didn't let the one incident turn like cascade into this negative thing He was right back in it and that's exactly what you want to see and that's what he did like you've been

He's been clutch man, and and that's been like of all the things that have happened for the Jays this year We talked about it so much last summer But runners in scoring position cashing in runs depth scoring Joey low profito with three hits like all these things Add up and get you wins at the end of the day Absolutely little profita leading off today three hits Clement hit in second He had two hits today and you're right. Listen Bo Bichette's one of the most aggressive Hitters you're gonna see in a game that he gets up there with a green light Internal green light every single time. He's up, you know at the dish. I mean, that's just the way he operates so yes I think you're right you know he was on his toes

way too much last night but if there's anyone that's going to be given a free pass or should be granted an understanding that at some point you're gonna kind of kick it around a little bit it's Bichette because he's been so clutch for them and especially the last month month and a half and again he was today and again then Lucas hits a three run home run later in that inning the Jays hold on to win nine eight so they're off tomorrow trade deadline tomorrow then at home against the Royals on Friday Dallas Braden later this hour on what the Jays have been doing

recently what he makes of Dominguez joining their bullpen and what he thinks the Blue Jays still need to do between now and tomorrow's trade deadline uh... we'll go around the MLB also with Dallas. We've got a lot of things cooking today. The Nail Gun coming up in studio. Dave Naylor has been doing a lot of NFL training camp runs. He's been all over the East Coast basically. He was down in Baltimore yesterday. He was in DC the day before. So the Nail Gun will be in studio at 5. We'll catch up with him. Roleplay level of concern today as well. Frankie Corrado is in here on Brian Hayes. Overdrive continues DSN 1050N on

DSN 4. It's estimated the amount of personal savings needed to retire comfortably is $756,000. 77% of Canadians between 55 and 69 are worried they won't get there while 32% nearing retirement have nothing at all saved. Are you on track? Time to book a retirement checkup with Kelvin the Money Guy. With an investment strategy and solid advice, you'll feel better knowing your retirement years will be golden. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca.

All right, Overdrive Continues powered by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. This song just has to be in the rotation now, basically every day. One of the great opening riffs you're going to find. Van Halen all day for no other reason than JP decided to play a Van Halen song to start the show. So we're just going to continue with that. Yeah, he came in hot, man.

I respect it. JP is a... He's a... I guess he's a part-time DJ now. I don't know. I wonder what JP gets up to on his spare time, man. I don't know, man. I don't know what JP's up to. I gotta be honest. I'm not sure what JP's doing with his spare time. He's doing something. I'm not sure anyone really knows. Not sure anyone wants to really know what JP's up to. Never know. You never know. You never know a JP

But we got Dallas Braden coming up here in a few moments and there are deals happening C'Brien Hayes traded from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati Shout out your boy. Yeah, it's just such a great name K E Apostrophe Brian Hayes Brian with a Y too, which is beautiful so he's on his way third base with him pirates for a long time gone within the division to the the reds but uh...

yeah i mean there's there's deals happening there's there's gonna be a lot of relief pictures and i saw keegan tween a key in math is in this morning you know the the word is that uh... you gotta pay a premium a stud bullpen arm but it's a seller's market so why would you not expect that? Yeah, I just don't know how much of the price is really going to drop in 24 hours when you've got 7, 8 teams that still think they can compete and... I guess that's the thing.

Yeah, that's the problem, you know? And I guess we're going through that right now in the NHL. Like, didn't all the insiders say, Hayes, that, oh, summer, it's shaping up to be crazy. We could have all kinds of deals because guys, GMs, they didn't think that they got their business done at free agency and now they're going to go via the trade route. We've had nothing. Nothing. Have we had anything?

Dakota Joshua, that's what we've had. Nothing. Yeah, nothing. We've had nothing to talk about in the hockey world. Everyone went up to the cottage and said, I think we're done and all these teams are going to play out the start of the season, see where they're at and eventually we'll get two months in. Some teams will be 10 games under 500 and say, okay, we're probably going to be sellers. But even at that point, maybe we'll hold on to our players until the trade deadline because the prices are just going

to go up. Teams are going to get more desperate. So I don't know when this all this action is supposed to happen in the NHL. I'm not sure it's going to happen. I really don't. I would double down on the NBA. Same thing like the insiders were all saying you're not going to believe what I'm hearing. What's going on out there? Are there the chances of all these nuclear trades and nuclear action?

Nothing. Nothing is going on. There's been a couple of moves here there couple of by out scuplig game goes back to portland chris paul's going back to the west coast like little stuff like that but you're right in a gel it's about resigning guys winnipeg resign dylan samberg today avoiding arbitration three

years and seventeen point two five million poor so he's he's making a pretty penny is good player they're bringing the band back. He's just under six per year. Just under six per year. Still, like six goals and like 20, 25 points. I know he's not counting with Carr, but.

He's a good player, he's like a top four guy for them, and he'll play big minutes. I think that's one of those ones where if I was Winnipeg, I would have wanted to get that done on like a seven or eight year ticket before this new CBA kicks in and you can only do five. Right. He's a really good player. So that I think that's a big win for the player, but they avoid arbitration and there you go.

Yeah, no good player. And they're like in Winnipeg, it's about bringing the band back clearly like that. They lost dealers, they brought in Taves, but for the most part, they're going to be be very very similar team the only player in the league that is still going arbitration is Nick Robertson so we'll get into that a little bit later on but you're right they're just there there's a lot of teams that just think maybe we're gonna be better than people think or we're gonna give it a run we're gonna give it a shot in baseball you know I guess that

applied to an extent last offseason but now we're well over halfway into the year and it's time to get cooking, man. We want more trades and there has been some action, but if you're the Blue Jays, you picked up Dominguez last night and I think everyone's anticipating they're going to do more and they have to do more. To chat about it, we're joined now by former MLB pitcher, host of Baseball is Dead podcast, joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Here's Dallas Brayden. What's up Dallas up Dallas how we doing boy thanks for having me thank you for doing this yeah we're uh we're

excited man the Jays they needed one today like they were they were starting to leak some oil they lost four in a row the arms haven't been great they weren't great again today but they got a big win in Baltimore uh they're leading the American League East they're in a pretty good position um what what more do you think they have to do? What more would you be expecting the Blue Jays to do over the next 24 hours? Well, I think this is the time of year that everybody sort of affectionately refers to

as the arms race, right? And I think just acknowledging what happened with Sir Anthony, right? Pack your duffel bag and head about 100 feet over to that side and things look a little different. Not much, but they're different now. You're wearing a different color. It's all about trying to, I think, reinforce what you already may have in place.

And I think from there also trying to see, is there a way that we can sort of shore up and bolster whether it's an offensive threat where, look, whether we're able to drive the ball out of the ballpark and we're comfortable with our ability to do that. Do we feel like we need to shore up some things defensively and maybe find a utilitarian that we can plug and play down the stretch to help not only alleviate some stress and give guys days off, but, but maybe just be a producer in their own right. Those are the questions that are getting answered right now.

And, and I think as far as the blue Jays are concerned, if you can continue to find ways to prevent runs, as opposed to trying to score runs, I think that might be where they can, I don't know if it's maybe continue to separate themselves in this division, fend off some potential threats that are looming because we know that the Boston Red Sox are looking to be active. We understand that the New York Yankees, even after making their moves, coming out and saying that we are no longer in the Eugenio Suarez market after real ending the man. I don't know that that's necessarily true. I'm not telling you that they're still in the third base market.

But you understand that where the J's are right now, I think for me, if it's about identifying ways to continue to prevent runs, that's probably where they can benefit. What's your evaluation of the Jays rotation? Because if you look at the numbers right now, they're 28th in MLB and starting pitchers ERA this season, but they have, like Brian and I were talking about earlier, Brian made the point, some very reliable arms, some guys that you know can be counted on aren't injured. What's your general assessment of where the Jays rotation is at right now?

Well, I think you just hit it on the head, right? Struggling and in the lower tier league performance. And so it's one thing to have arms that can help get you through a season or through the dog days and down the stretch in September. But if you're the Blue Jays in the position you're in right now, don't you have bigger goals than that? And you have bigger goals than just the division series, I think at this point.

And what do you need to do to get you over that hump? Well, you have to have guys that you can count on to start those seven game series. And so that's where attention to what the starting rotation can do for you, I think starts to come into focus. And that's where, you know, kicking around names like a Mackenzie Gore, who I know things haven't gone well for here recently, but a guy like Mitch Keller as well, now are these guys that are going to be able to take the baseball and make starts in those series outside of what they have right now. I think the answer to that is probably yes. So, um, if, if that's the case,

that's where I think you really do start to have to focus because even if you have guys in that rotation who you don't think can make those important starts for you, well, now maybe they become a bigger part of the equation down there in the bullpen because we understand that that leash becomes extremely short in these postseason starts. Should a guy start to mount traffic early in the ballgame, just looking for a change of pace, whether it's a platoon matchup or just a completely different look,

because one guy might not have it today. That's kind of how these guys who might be on the outside looking into that rotation equation, that's how they start to, to work themselves back into the picture. Well Dallas Braden, and you look at the the bullpen like Hoffman got barreled again last night he's got a 480-70 RA he's given up he's given up a lot of home runs like when he gets hit he gets hit hard how comfortable would you be with Jeff Hoffman being you know your your number one high leverage arm in a in a playoff

bullpen? Well would you like him or Johan Duran? And you know, that's the big fella from Minnesota. And I think that's where you really have to start thinking about how you're going to win those baseball games. And if you're comfortable with the arms and the rotation, getting you to what is probably, I think, you know, safe to say a bit of a shaky bridge to the back end. What will now, how much good is it doing

that we're able to get the first 12, 15 outs, which I just feel dirty even saying that a starting pitcher, that's all they account for. But in moments where they're not flipping that lineup for a third time and maybe even if things are going really really well a third, possibly a fourth time, the top third through then you do have to start to look at who guys are at the back end and is there a way to slide them up forward? I just don't know that you're as comfortable with Hoffman maybe today as you could be with

some help outside of him. When we started the hit you did talk about the arms race and you know if you look at the AL East you're always going to talk about the Yankees. I think if you're the Jays, you've built up this really nice cushion now over a team in the Yankees that probably believes they should be the top team. Do you feel like there would be any sense of, I don't know if I want to call it desperation from the Yankees, but we will pay more than you to acquire what we want to acquire, which they've essentially already started to do because they think the Jays, we can knock

them off if we make the right moves here. Well, see, this is where the postseason picture opening up here recently as it has starts to impact this very conversation we're having. Because if you're a Yankee fan, wouldn't you like to think that that is the approach of your front office who for all intent and purposes, in my opinion, is still writing the coattails of what the boss, Mr. Steinbrenner, rest in peace would be doing or how he would typically be behaving, going out and quite literally buying his way, should it need to be that way,

buying his way into the postseason and to hell with it, buying a ring while we're there. Well, that sounds great, that's super exciting, but if you feel like you're on the verge of being able to enter the dance and you don't have to bring a new dance partner along, meaning you're comfortable with what you have and you might not have to spend and commit to something that is on the outside of what you're

trying to do in the moment. I think that's where front offices are, I don't know if it's a deliberation that's occurring or maybe it's just an acknowledgement of, hey, we're here to get to the postseason, this is where we're at, do we feel like we can compete? Yes. Do we feel like we're just one big spend away? Now that's where that conversation starts to get interesting because of it's the Yankees who feel like, Hey, we've got things figured out from a run prevention standpoint.

Maybe it's run production that we need to turn an eye to. And while Ryan McMahon provides the incredible defense that he's going to do, they say, you know what, we need to revisit a Eugenio Suarez conversation to plug in some power here. And that might be where you see the Yankees overspend or outspend just to keep up with the Joneses. I don't see that happening, but I think it'd be really interesting to watch the Yankees get back into a corner per se and feel like, hey, we have to make a move and we have to spin in a way that

nobody else can right now and if they do that then i think that signals uh... a very interesting future for the yankees outside of just the twenty twenty five campaign with dallas brady you have a clear cut best team in the american league all you know i i i i just don't know if it is as clear. It's funny. We were having this conversation, uh, today during our podcast.

Is there a clear cut best team in baseball as we sit right here today? And the conversation kind of centered around, you know, who do you think the Dodgers are, uh, in the face of a lot of their injuries and what they've dealt with? Who are the Toronto Blue Jays is a conversation we had and I pointed to kind of what we're talking about right now with what the starting rotation has struggled to be able to do because I think you have to give real credence to what the Detroit Tigers have done. It feels like from pole to pole the way they started the season, the run that they have continued to maintain. So if it's the American League and where we're at right now,

if you had to put me on the chopping block right now, I think that Detroit Tigers are still at the top of that list. Yeah, I mean, we talk about it daily because the Jays have put themselves into the conversation naturally. I mean, they've got just as many wins as the Tigers. Three or four days ago,

they had the best record in baseball uh... and i guess what separates the tigers especially the short series is you got scoob on the mountain game one but he puts that that's such a that's a huge separator something the the jays can't compete with with the injuries of the yankees they can't compete with i guess crochet could in boston you know that's that's the question mark you know you look at houston houston's got that history

right for a decade they've been the most successful team in the american league i don't know today would they scare you but i guess i guess what i'm getting at is like it could be the jays they're not they're not saying it's it's definitely us but it does seem like it's kind of it's kinda wide open i guess is the point of Like it's wide open in the American League. No, boys, you're right.

There is absolutely, I say this kind of tongue in cheek, but I mean, if you close one eye and squint with the other and maybe kind of look through a foggy glass, you can see how that starts to shape up. And I think the direction you're headed speaks to that, because what do the Tigers go out and do? They had to go out and get a little help in their rotation, right? With, with Chris padded, because unfortunately for Reese, it doesn't like things are going to be bouncing back anytime soon.

And so now you do have scoobal at the tip of the spear. You've got clarity. And then from there it's, uh, you know, it's, it's a young guy in, in Troy Melton, I believe his name is, and then a, uh then a bumpy road as of right now for Casey Mize, who has otherwise been great for the most part, but that's why we start to think about the seven game series, and that's where I think even if there is just a slight bit of depth advantage

in the rotation, you have to consider what that does in the best team for the AL conversation. If you're a fan of the Jays, how concerned are you with their home versus road splits? Because you can look at it this way and say, oh man, the Jays are two games below 500 on the road, but if you look down the standings in the AL East, it's like, well, the Yankees are one game below, the Sox are five game below on the road. So the teams that you're really trying to compete with, they generally tend to struggle on the road.

So does it turn out to be an equal playing field or is it just one of those things where like if the J's can find some more wins on the road, that's just going to do them so many more favors? That's exactly why we talk about trying to play at least, at least boys, if we can come off the road at 500, we really like where we're at just simply because at home they're given. So it's how do you find those wins on the road? How do you win those, those one road? How do you win in 15 out of 16 when you're playing 20 out of 21, 22, whatever it may be, are you able to piece together those,

those getaway day W's where you're really relying on the bullpen. You're really relying on some guys who might be, you know, more role players than everyday guys to step up and put together a decent at bats over an entire game or two in a row so that you're able to come away from those road trips, feeling a little better about yourself. If you can do that, then absolutely. Again, you're adding to that separation,

but I don't know how much of a, just based on what you're talking about, how close it is, you know, the gap between the lack of success on the road, it is absolutely something that they can shore up that will put them in a much better position. And the confidence that you come off the road with, having been able to win the majority of the games that you just experienced.

I know for the athletics just coming off a, a, a 10 day road trip, longest roadie of the season. And you end it by sweeping in a four game set, the Houston, excuse me, the Houston Astros who are a part of this conversation we're having. I know that the vibes have never been higher. The confidence has, has, is just dripping from the ceiling in that clubhouse right now, and it's because of the success that they had on the road against a postseason bound club.

With Dallas Braden, so famously this week, I guess, Bryce Harper and Rob Manfred went face-to-face over a salary cap and got into it, and Manfred wasn't backing down over a salary cap and got into it and Manfred wasn't backing down and Harper wasn't backing down and I guess Max Scherzer has chimed in and Scherzer said we haven't had a chance to catch up with Rob but I look forward to catching up with him when he decides to join us in Toronto which is just terrifying the idea that Manfred's going to walk in and Scherzer's just going to be absolutely side-eiding him immediately with the two different colored eyes.

Oh, he's just going to be staring right through Manfred, like come get some because I want to have a word with you. You know, take us inside the Union, famously, you know, obviously, unified Union and a very strong Union compared to the other leagues and the other unions in hockey and basketball and football like as a former player yourself Dallas when you hear the term salary cab how do you respond? I would tell you to dust off that old insurance broker playbook dust off that old real estate handbook and get comfy with maybe doing something else for the 2027 campaign.

Yeah, I just don't know. I don't know how at this point in time, I hate to put our sport in, in this situation, but we are at, in my opinion, the biggest impasse that our sport is going to experience because we're starting to talk about for the first time, uh, earning power, earning capability on a multitude of fronts. It's not just about the player on one side being able to earn X amount or the ownership groups being able to control, you know, revenue, revenue sharing, things of that nature. This is how we look at our sport

and a very fundamental difference between our sport and every other sport going. So when you start to have conversations like that, I don't think it's something that, and this is why I would really be encouraged if we were having positive and forward moving conversations in the year of our Lord 2025, that would be fantastic. But it just doesn't feel that way.

And you have to get out in front of this kind of stuff because you don't want to be left on the doorstep on the night of or the eve of and not really have an idea still of where we're at and where we're going in this conversation. So when we're starting to talk about salary cap, salary floor, from there you start to have the conversation about player earning power and how quickly that can become a thing, right? Because the idea of controllability and arbitration and free agency, well, the amount of time that we're spending in each one of those phases of earning power, that is something that has to be addressed immediately.

I know the ownership groups are not necessarily interested in that. And I think you can understand, like, if you just say it's slow, it really starts to make sense. Like, so they want to cap how much is spent, to make sense, like, so they want to cap how much is spent, but do not want to give up any of those controllable years of service, is that how I'm reading that? Spend less, but still maintain all of the control? And so now you might be able to understand

why there's gonna be some pushback. You might start to understand why players are looking at this going, you know, I'm just not quite sure that works. But I will say this for as loud and as vocal as some of those veteran voices are in that room. I think you have to give real credence to the idea that if there's individuals who have made their money, if there's individuals who have already gotten to that place of compensation where they're comfortable and it might be easier for them to just sort of keep things moving along, well that's where things could get very

interesting because it's always been about the veteran presence and the veterans in the room understanding how this goes, understanding what had to be done in years past that has allowed us as players in the current system right now to be where we are at. And I think if there is, if there continues to be a lack of appreciation for that and a lack of understanding on how we got here, well, that is something that the ownership group would love to play a role in negotiations because if you're just that much more ignorant and you're just that much more Uninformed on how we got here

Well, then you might be that much easier to snowball and push over Into the direction that they would like to go and so that's always something that I am I am Aware of and I'm always keenly observant upon Dallas how much like within the player group would you have conversations with guys, you train with guys in the off season, you have friends that you know along the way, how much of you guys talked about the owners that refuse to spend the money? The teams that are like, they're the lower end teams and they're always going to be the lower end teams and they draft this great talent and eventually they can't pay them

and these guys move on and play for the Dodgers or the Yankees or the Mets and whoever. How much of that gets talked about? Because in hockey, what happened when the salary cap came in was the equivalent of the Pittsburgh Pirates. That team could win a Stanley Cup now because they were on a level playing field with the Rangers or the Maple Leafs or whoever. Yeah, it's provided parity within the league, but guys don't sign big signing bonuses. Guys don't make what they should make in comparison to the other four major sports. I'm just curious how much you guys would talk about these ownership groups around the league that just refuse to spend money.

Well, kind of along that same vein, and that is an incredible point to bring up because I always try to maintain enough perspective to be able to look at this thing from both sides so that you're not just finding yourself in a vacuum and reinforcing some absolutely crazy harebrained thoughts that you start to develop it two in the morning up by yourself. So, uh, I think in, in that regard, you do, you would love for there to be that competitive balance. And now what we start to talk about is some of that homegrown talent staying put, right? Because the teams understand that they're now in a position maybe to be able to sign

these guys, sign them for long term, because there's a finite window of fiscal operation that they can project. And that's where the pushback comes from the player side is, I think, understanding that we will be operating in this certain box, but at no point in time is that going to take away the amount of revenue that continues to get generated. So that's where the conversation with revenue sharing, I think, would probably kick back up. But in terms of making sure that the parity, which when you say it like that when you there's it's almost crazy how there can be two different connotations attached

to that because parody implies that there's not a ton of excitement here and that all teams being equal like the season is going to play out almost like an algorithm and you know who whoever's buttons get lucky that day well that's who's going to come out of the computer system with the winner I don't know how much fun it is to watch a league like that unfold year in and year out, because I think there is something to being the underdog and there is something to taking down the juggernaut in route to an unlikely postseason experience and eventually a postseason championship. You know, when you think about meddling teams

who just get hot at the right time, and that's why we always talk about playing well at the right time and what that means, because you can run into a better team who's struggling, but if we are doing all the little things and we're clicking, our starters are going six, seven, we're able to hand it over to a lights out bullpen who with a few guys are on a scoreless streak,

and we've got guys seeing beach balls in the lineup for the last two weeks. I like, I like that. That feels good. And the taste in your mouth after winning in a situation like that, after being counted out at the beginning, before we even threw a first pitch, man, that, that tastes about as good as anything ever does. So, so I, I, the conversation is absolutely there in a long-winded answer. It is absolutely there because I know that that's something that players want to be able

to depend on or to bank on is, hey, you know, I want to know when I'm going to get compensated. I want to know how long that window is. And am I almost, you know, running my entire shelf life as a ballplayer before I ever get to a point where I can really tap into my earning capability Always great catching up with you Dallas. We appreciate it. Enjoy the trade deadline tomorrow. We'll do it again soon Best of luck to you boys. Hold tight. We'll see you up. Maybe we'll see you. Hopefully we'll see you late in October Yes, sir There is Dallas Braden former MLB pitcher and co-host of the baseball is dead podcast joining us here on the Maple Toyota hotline. Yeah, doesn't sound great.

I mean, we're still a couple years away, a year and a half away from having to worry about that CBA. But if the seeds are being planted now, in terms of where the owners are coming from, and the players are going to, they have to stick their, you know, they have to try to at least hold up for as long as they can and push back on a salary cap they're not just gonna wilt and say fine we'll take it let's accept that it's not gonna happen seems like a work stoppage is a borderline lock at this point but that's not a concern right now because the Jays they

won today and they're back in action on Friday at home against Kansas City Dave Naylor coming up in about 15 minutes. Tom Brady with some advice to Scottie Scheffler. We'll tell you about that. Overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 4. It's estimated the amount of personal savings needed to retire comfortably is $756,000. 77% of Canadians between 55 and 69 are worried they won't get there, while 32% nearing retirement have nothing at all saved. Are you on track?

Time to book a retirement checkup with Kelvin the Money Guy. With an investment strategy and solid advice, you'll feel better knowing your retirement years will be golden. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. Dave Naylor in studio in about 10 minutes. We'll tell you Tom Brady's advice for Scottie Scheffler. Get into a number of things with the nail gun, including looking ahead to the new week in the CFL, which will kick off tomorrow night.

So we got a lot to get into with the nail gun. We're tracking what could be happening throughout baseball. The Mets just acquired a relief arm and paid a fortune for him. Tyler Rogers coming over from the Giants and they've given up three different players, prospects, good prospects. So, if you are a team like the Blue Jays and you're trying to pick up relief farms,

might be a little bit concerning because that would indicate the price is incredibly high. But you gotta pay to play. And you can't, what are you gonna do? Wake up on Friday and say, well, we just didn't want to pay. If you're in it, you're in it. And if you want to be one of the big boys, sometimes you gotta be aggressive. And I think that's probably what's gonna happen here. I think it was 10 years ago today they went out and got David

Price. This is the day? Yeah, I believe it was 10 years ago today, I believe. And we were talking about that earlier, whatever it was a couple weeks ago, but that team just skyrocketed from that point. It was like they were, there was a lot of potential there, they just weren't hitting it, and then those moves were made and that was it, man. It was over.

Quick. Price, then Tullo, and the rest was history. So yeah, it's going cost you it's gonna be uncomfortable But your teams put yourself in a position here where you're you're leading the American League ease The the American League is wide open Ross Atkins and company. They got to get active here Something's got to happen here in the next 20 24 hours So more on that in our to overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 4.

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