OverDrive - OverDrive - March 24, 2025 - Hour 2

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Analyst Bruce Boudreau joins to discuss the coaching perspective around the NHL, Craig Berube's line philosophy and the Maple Leafs' team mentality. GriffsThePitch.com Columnist Richard Griffin joins to discuss the Blue Jays' roster set for Opening Day, Mark Shapiro's contract negotiations with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk's extension with the team.

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Made in Canada, played in Canada. On the free iHeartRadio app and at iHeartRadio.ca. It's gonna get loud. Hour two Overdrive continues powered by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. Love is in the air, guys. Love is in the air. Oh yeah? Yes, Tiger Woods man. Tiger is revealing

to the world that love is in the air. Why on earth would a guy looking for privacy announce to the world that he's in a relationship as high profile as it comes and then to ask for privacy are you insane like it doesn't make sense. And then post pictures of him on a lounge chair it's just the the bernie lomax picture is really strange man like he's got glasses on his sleeves he looks like Bernie Lomax. He looks passed out. Yeah he looks like who took that picture. He had to say to somebody can you take a look like who?

Like a wax figure looks like he's a dead body she's like laying beside. It's a mannequin of Tiger Woods. He would have had to say to somebody, take a picture of us on this lounger. And then, just be Tiger Woods, man. Everyone's going to find out about the relationship. Once he sees you holding hands, going to a restaurant, whatever it is, I don't understand that post. I think he looks great outside of his salad.

Well, yeah, the salad, and it's also waist up, right? He had the Achilles, so he's probably got like a leg brace on. But he looks jacked he looks in great shape. He is jacked. The salad is very concerned. He's always got arms, he's always got pecs. He's just got tiny little legs that are just basically falling off. They've taken such a beating. And his hair's gone. Yeah, his salad. His salad. But it... The salad was in on the weekend that you sent that picture to.

The Liberty headcoach, the head coach of the Liberty men's team. What is his name again? Richie McKay is his name. Oh, you've got to lay eyes on this guy's salad. His hair, because your belief is, Noodle, is that it's paint. The middle part is paint. Who was Trump's old lawyer there? Julie Julie that's Julianne paint on his salad who are we referring? You gotta take a look at this picture

Oh, where is the picture here? We got a post that we're not even up right now So I don't I don't know if we can get it. We'll get to it. We'll get to it at some point here Okay, we're working on there. There it is point here okay we're working out there there it is all so the ninety percent of that is real hair in the front is like a little it looks like it took a piece of paper yes and had the line and then spray painted

i think it's great and at the top that's that's a spray paint job yeah over top of the hair that's kind of that is like someone's ball landed in the rough uh... and they took a chong k out made not a sand wedge out and the guy just came along with some fertilizer and sprayed over top of the uh... there's just that's no way that can be but he'll but uh... that's a pretty nice little careful nowadays cuz there are a a i generated stop that's not a i general my knowledge that that is this guy richie mckay the head coach of the liberty men's team that's his real

and i don't know that is to be scientifically proven and you're right that could be a i hope it's a i right i hope for his sake and for anyone else that even contemplates a haircut like that because that could be what tigers got coming in the future what i can they decide we gotta get a little bit crazy here because what he's got a new girlfriend what if he shows up with just like the agassi harris i like just i don't understand that lebron kd tiger they could disappear for two weeks and come back with brand new hair and

they're so cool and so popular and famous no one would know. Well you'd have to. No one. But you can't if you're LeBron like you're not playing with a helmet on. Football players, hockey players can do it. I get it, I get it but you just disappear in the off season. No one sees you. That's the move.

In the off season you show up day one at Camp Picture Day and you have a completely new hair. And that you can pull off. They're so rich. They're not flying to Turkey. They're flying somebody from Turkey. That's right. To their house. To stay at their house.

Yes. Turkey's on the way in. Turkey's flying in. Because you can get stuff within the States. There's a place. Scalpel sewing kit off the bird in LeBron's basement. I have a buddy who's very proud of it and he went to Calgary. Apparently Calgary Alberta's got a place. Okay. And I, you know, he actually, once he got it done

and he told me the story, it was incredibly painful and all of that. They cut like the back of his scalp and then attached to the front. He said it was like re-sodding your lawn. Yeah. Well, it's reconstructed surgery. But he always bugs Struddy. He's like, Struddy, you've got to go down. He's not fun. No, I'm not lying. They cut the back of his scalp, let it heal, and then put it on the front, like a new sodding, and he's got a glorious head of hair. And he always gives it to Struddy. Every time he's like Struddy, you've got got to I'll give you the name of the guy and everything Some guy in Calgary that but it's not it's not heading to turkey. It's not going to san diego where

San diego, I've heard is great I've heard it's great You can play tory pines because it's it's like la jolla. I think is the name of the town which is where tory is right? That there is a famous famous scalp guy down there, but he costs a fortune Of course like that. It's probably like well over a hundred grand i would guess getting back you're paying a lot of money for this but apparently it is you you get spotless yes i could just perfect hair and i think this guy from the liberty men's team and possibly tiger

i just wish i knew more about this tiger photo shoot because he's got glasses on in a hat the second one of It's so uncomfortable. It looks awkward. It looks like Bernie Lomax. Like he really doesn't look like he's alive in the picture. All right. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's our TSN hockey analyst, Bruce Bujro. Hey Bruce. Hey guys. How are you doing today? Well, we're doing very well. How are you doing today? Well, we're doing very well. How are you doing today? Well, I'm doing well.

Anytime I get a chance to come back to the city, I'm doing well. All right. I love it. You're up in Toronto. Well, the weather, can you believe it was snowing this morning? It's so disgusting. No, it was snowing in the Don Valley when I was driving up here. I know.

And I'm like, what the hell is going on here? Gross. Ridiculous. Gross. I was disgusted. I was disgusted i was disgusted by the way i woke up in all the ground was uh... was white and i went up and i will find mother of the fact that you'd damn

cities dot no one and i think that that it is that it's a travesty cuz we were all what we were out we were out it was beautiful last week it's the worst when it snows late march uh... it is a travesty but uh... anyway it's great to have you on Bruce. We appreciate it.

And we were obviously we were discussing the Leaf game the other night and maybe what to expect tomorrow night. And no one expects this. No one's going to win every single game. It's not going to happen. Florida is going to lose. Tampa is going to lose. But for me, I understand why Leaf fans were disappointed on Saturday night.

I would have been as well if I was in that room because you're up to nothing against a terrible team that is Really waiting to throw up the white flag and they let them get back into it in the second period Not only get back into a takeover the game and eventually winning regulation What's that like if you're in the moment like if you're playing the role of Craig Barube and you're in the you're in the room In the first intermission you think we've got this like we're a better team or a veteran team we're up to nothing had a great first period how do you possibly explain what happened the rest of the way well you really can't but it's a game that when you're sitting down because all coaches are

doing this they're they're writing okay their next games where they think you know they're gonna be what they have to do to finish where they think you know they're going to be what they have to do to finish where they want to finish and they've got this game in the bag they're playing a team that is in last place basically that has been no good all year you got a two-nothing lead you don't give up leads very often and you come in and you let them win and it's a it's to me it's a two points wasted or lost and and you know what they are it's, to me, it's a two points wasted or lost. And you know what, they are gonna lose games,

but you don't, you count on those games to win. Those ones that you have, not you have to win, but that you're much better than, that if you come to play, you're gonna win. And they didn't come to play, and now they gotta make it up with a game against Philly, and I'm sure they'll play so much better, and because Philly, looks like they're not even trying anymore but that's how

Nashville was and it would be a terrible feeling in your gut if you came in and you played Philly and you lost this game. So Bruce we were in the last hour talking about the goaltender rotation and you had 12 games left you know how would you handle this scenario in your mind would you already have an idea of who you wanted to be your starter in the playoffs or would you kind of play it by ear as to who was maybe hotter or you felt more comfortable with as the playoffs approached in that last week well I think you would you you would already know in your mind who you want to play.

Like you've been watching these guys for 70 games now. And I mean, you know who you think is the better goalie. And I mean, at some point, they've got to make a decision that I'm running with this guy. And like I remember when I was in Washington, we came down, we had Crystal Ball, Huey after the trade deadline and Ole Kolesig. And I went game, each one a game and then the last seven games, Huey looked really good in the one game. Then the next game Ole lost and then I ran with Kolesig or with Huey the rest of the way and through the playoffs. So I mean, coaches do pick the one guy and you want to give them a

couple games to realize that he's the number one guy, that he's the guy that's got to be able to do it. So I think at some point Craig is going to do that. I mean and pick that one guy and tap him on the shoulder and say okay buddy you're the guy that we're going to run with, but, you know, I mean, and then you go tell the other guy, be ready, because I know you're just as good. And if there's a chance that we have to play you, we're going to play you. So don't think of this as something that you're out and gone. We're going to need you at some point in the playoffs. So, but I would pick somebody and run with that guy. Brucey, how much would you be pressing for this Atlantic division title? Would this be something that would you would be on the guys every day and

Do you think it would come across as almost panicky if it was like we've got to win this division or how do you think? you'd approach that Well, I I would not approach it that way or say we've got to win it because you're right, it would be panicky. But in my mind, I would say I would really like to win it because I think it's advantageous for us to win it. You're not coming into the dressing room and saying, boys, we've got to win the Atlantic because we're not good enough to beat Florida, Tampa, and then Florida or Tampa again. And so, I mean, that would sound like you have no faith in the team.

But when you're sitting there, you go, man, I'd really like to end up in first place to be able to play a team like Montreal that is playing at the top of its game, or so much above the top of its game, if they were the team that made it that you had to play, or, you know, that couldn't possibly sustain it. top of its game if they were the team that made it that you had to play or you know, that couldn't possibly sustain it, but it's certainly a better alternative I think than playing the second or third place team in the in the Atlantic, whoever it is. So if I was Toronto, I'd really want to win the, I think would be my advantage to get in first place this year.

With Bruce Boudreaux and you know, we asked about the goaltenders, 12 games out, you know, trying to pick one or have a feeling on one or the other. I'm curious, you know, how that relates to choosing the lines, where I think we've got some clarity in terms of the D partners. Like, I think we know what the three are going to be. Maybe Myers gets in for Benoit, but they seem pretty committed to Benoit playing with Ekman Larson. If McMahon is going to stay stay on that second line it feels like the top six is intact with Nyes, Matthews, Marner, McMahon, Tavares, Nylander. My thing is

the bottom six seems to change almost every shift you know or at least every period or game where I don't get the impression Barube really knows what he wants, loves what he sees, where he's going to fit these guys. How unsettling is that? You know, 12 games out from the playoffs where I'm not sure he knows exactly what that lineup's going to look like. Third line, fourth line going into game one.

Yeah, I think it's almost an ad lib situation. Let's see. Okay, we start off this way. We know who the top six are, but if the game goes a little haywire, we're going to change this all up. And I think the players, they feed off of that. They realize that too. So, I mean, it's unsettling to them as well, more than anything. And I think if I was Craig, I'd say, okay, boys, this is going to be three games to go. You don't have to go over,

this is gonna be our playoff lineup. Let's make sure that, I mean, this is what we're doing, and everybody else has just got to spot in and do it. But these are the four lines, and I'm going with you. I might have to make some in-game movements, but for the most part we're going to practice this way and this is the way we're going to play. These are the units. So when we go into the playoffs, we know what we're doing and everybody knows

that there's no questioning. This is how we're going to do it. Brucey, what's the timeline on a newcomer coming in before you have a not so comfortable meeting? I think Scottie Lawton's come in. I don't think it's gone his way. I believe in the player. I like the player. I like what he's all about. He just hasn't played well.

So when he comes in, you don't want to be spitting fire right away. But how have you handled situations like that in the past where there's a grace period, then you've got to have kind of the coming to Jesus meeting where it's like you gotta play better Yeah, I think again the last four or five games You give him 10 15 games, but you're you know It's not all of a sudden like if you're listening that they're saying I am NOT talking to him from game

20 to game 5 you're talking to him all the time You're building them up building them up And then you start you know if he's if he's not getting it you start giving him a little little bit of crap And then and then when it comes time say hey listen, you're you're unrestricted I mean you you've got five games here. We traded you for you because we thought you'd be the guy You're just not doing the job. Let's get our button gear and start doing it. And I think it's got to come with a few games left to give him a chance to correct himself and start playing better. But you can't wait till the end of the season. It's got to happen at some point.

With Bruce Boudreaux, our TSN hockey analyst. I want to play two clips here. One from a player, Jonathan Kovacevich of the New Jersey Devils Followed up by one from the coach Sheldon Keefe. This was from over the weekend We're in a fight and hopefully that you know gets us in that playoff mentality You know 10 11 games out and we carry that into playoffs. So Yeah, obviously the results are tough, but we're in a fight here and we're not gonna back down. Covers ever just mentioned to us that he thinks the team kind of needs to have that playoff mentality

going down the stretchers. That's something that- Covers have a disease to play better. That would help. Have you ever had any moments like that, Bruce, where a player said something, the media came to you with response and you had a similar response to that

of what Sheldon had over the weekend? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I've heard, we've heard Sheldon, I can't remember or recall having a response like that right away, but I think Kovacevic was saying everything as a team and Sheldon just came up and buried him. And like, I mean, like he did, I recall him doing that to Matthews Marner, Nylander, last year a little bit, but retracting it a day later. I don't think he's going to retract this, but I don't think it does any good when the player is trying, he's getting asked the question by the media and he's trying to say you know, say the right things and then the coach just comes up and buries them. Uh, I don't think that's, that's a positive approach, but I mean, I can

see how Jersey is, is feeling at this time because, uh, let's face it, they've been so inconsistent that if they didn't have such a good first half, they would be the last the the second half they've been under 500 so I mean they wouldn't be in the playoff race so I can see how Sheldon's getting a little antsy right about now and and we were talking also Bruce about maybe the player it himself you know it was not the messaging was wrong but it's Sheldon going why is that player speaking for us I mean that that's probably you I'm sure you probably

sat in your coach's room and going you know this guy who's never played a play a game in the playoffs that's probably not a guy who should be speaking for my team type of thing. And if he is Jamie it better he better be on fire. Right yeah like that's kind of what you wonder if he saw something out of Colvin Savage that night he's like I can't hear. No he hated't hear that with after the game. I don't I can't listen to anything from that guy I can't do it, but you know don't don't you think like he's sitting in his stall He's not begging for the media to come over and the media is asking him a question He's just trying to answer it

as politically correct as just trying to answer it as politically correct as he could answer it. But like I'm sure he didn't go over there and give me a mic, I want to talk to you guys like we've seen other people do at some point in their careers. And so like he would, he could have said, well, I really don't think that I should be the one talking, but I don't hear anybody ever saying that. So I thought he was just trying to be nice. So I think that's what he was doing.

Yeah, I think that's what he was doing. It's just, you know, Keefe just didn't, he wasn't in the mood for it, I guess. And maybe he would add the same response if any player said that, but. Oh, yeah. That's a good point I and I agree to that because he was obviously not in a very good mood and

you know what the one great he did a lot of great things but Chuck Fletcher always came up to me after the game no matter when loser draw and he'd say what's your message to the media because he didn't want me to say things about the the players or like call out players or anything like that unless it was absolutely the perfect time for it. So he would calm me down and say, okay, that's a good message or that I don't know if that's the right message tonight and stuff like that. And I don't know if anybody had a chance if Tom had a chance to talk to Sheldon before

he met the media that night. I'm not sure he did with Bruce Boudreaux. How about Sidney Crosby, currently 11th in scoring in the league? Point of game. Yeah. More than that. Like he's got 78. You know, he only needs what? A couple more than he's going to continue his streak. What will that be? Nine, nine team straight seasons with at least a point of game. Yeah. I mean, the guy, he's unbelievable still, Bruce. It is unbelievable. And I was just talking about, it's

going to be a sad day, quite frankly, when him and Alex hang it up. And you know, I mean, they've both played, what, 19, 20 years now. And they're both doing great and when Sydney can do it with that team and if you see half the half the wingers he's had all year they get rid of again so they'll get rid of you know they've at least he's made Raquel back into a 30 goal score and and stuff but I mean I'm amazed all the time at him and how good and how consistent he is.

And listen, to me, he's willing the Penguins, the Penguins aren't going to make the playoffs, but he's willing the Penguins to compete on a nightly basis right now. And that's because he's competing and I've asked so many people, is he like this in practice and that? He says every friggin day and so i mean uh... unbelievable player unbelievable i'm so proud that he's canadian because he'd be treated the game the way it should be in

and he's in these a marvel and i mean if there was a bigger monument he'd be on it but i've been i always thought that that monument should be grown into about six or seven people rather than the four they talk about. Yeah he is something man and and you're right about that like the whole Mount Rushmore thing and it's always been you know Gretzky and Lemieux and Howe and Orr. Crosby's fifth for me if he's not into that top four like he's got to be in that conversation in terms of you know legends of the game and Canadian grades and all the winning in the

production and i can i was a judge it just doesn't seem reasonable to compare the way sydney crosby plays hockey to bobby or or gordie howe it's hard because they're a just yeah i was just like has again there by person and you could have absolutely ridiculous as a player it's in and bruce you can speak to it you've seen all the different generations but it's it's in and Bruce you can speak to it you've seen all the different generations like it's hard to bring Bobby Orr into a conversation in today's game it's just you know because of he was

that dominant back then but the game was so different back then wasn't it yeah and he changed the game though but that's why when I keep it getting asked this question whether it was Gordie Howard whether it's uh... bobby or uh... the the mount rushmore and because there was the four presidents up there we talk about that but the mount rushmore somebody's gotta go out and build another president head behind it so we can have five or six because this is the every era there's new new generations of great players maybe

not as as great as the the four Mount Rushmore but this is definitely a fifth one when you look at what he's gonna he's gonna end up playing 19 seasons with over a point a game and that's like I scored a little bit in the minor leagues but I mean this is incredible at that pace on a good team and a bad team and it doesn't matter in the way he's held the mantle for hockey has been unbelievably outstanding and I think there should be another president's face on that Mount Rushmore and it should be Sydney's. Yeah I'm with you there Bruce thank you for doing this we'll do it again soon. Sounds good you guys have a great night there's bruce rudra joining us in the

maple toyota hotline drive the built-in canada fuel-efficient fun to drive toyota route for gas or hybrid models available is in a full tour the dot com and cities averaging twenty minutes and twenty one seconds if you still plan a time he's playing like a true number one and he's ridiculous i watched him play yesterday he was one of the only noticeable penguins Brian Rust had a couple goals rust had that one-handed beauty

where Sid floated it into him but like Pittsburgh's not you know they're not a very good team but Sid is ridiculous still yeah still playing man levels through the roof it's looking it's retrospective analysis but looking back on it if said and pittsburgh was going to continue to work they needed to not hang on to everybody and they needed

adjacent robertson to come through and and other young players to kind of steal the spotlight and Sid be amongst them like the Dallas Stars or the Washington Capitals. They just don't have that. They don't have anything close to that. That's how it would have to work now. But it's just they hung on to everybody and them as the band staying back together alone had no chance to do it.

You're not going to grow old together in that league and still win and compete and make the playoffs, let alone win series. They needed some underneath support, some young guys. Wyatt Johnson. They drafted defensively. They're not there. They're years away. The cup is a bearer, that's right, because they went all in like I don't think they have to apologize

They don't have any regrets they want all their all in they won But now you're seeing the remnants that you know and it's unfortunate that said I don't know if he ends up finishing it or not here Lebron. I made a comment to us And saying that his contract is backloaded. I blow our front Jamie you had to have the vision and the stones to realize the year after you won back to back cups, you got spanked in the first round. And I believe it happened again the next year. That's when you turn the tables.

Yes. And it's forward thinking and it's very difficult to do. Same thing happened with Chicago Blackhawks. First round spanked. So there's something different here and it ain't gonna work continuing to go forward. But it's so difficult when you have those legacy players and you're trying to make the fans happy

and the people happy and the players and you feel like you owe them because they brought you championships. Soon as you start getting spanked in the first round, look out. Yeah. I agree. Yeah, that's true.

And this is what you're gonna get, and likely for the next couple of years in Pittsburgh. But Sid is pulling his weight, he was great at the Four Nations, he'll be at the Olympic Games next year. And honestly, you look at the best centers in the league, you know, we should do that one day, like just rank it and just find out

where we would still have him. Because he was obviously at the top of that list for 12 years, 13 years, close to 15, basically until McDavid showed up. But it's McDavid, McKinnon, Dry Settle, let's say Matthews, Barkov, Eichel, I think is in that group now. Yeah.

And Sid there, is he like number seven, number six? Yeah, I mean- Like everyone's playing at their height. I mean, Matthews again has not had a great year. So Sid's been better than him this year, which is kind of amazing to say. Yeah, I mean, we're missing one or two, but you're right. You just named the primary suspects. We'll call them

Yeah, and say, you know, Sid has to be right in there because he's been that effective But you know the top ten for sure. Absolutely still in top ten for sure. He is All right, Richard Griffin later in the hour Chris Johnston still to come Jesse Marsh in about an hour Overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 2 every once in a while you get a really helpful tweet that just you need it yeah you need it yeah Al sending us a tweet why are we putting the top four or five players who appear to be all Canadian on an American mountain we have a mountain of our own called Mount Logan the highest peak in Canada thank you Al good stuff Al good stuff Al good point mount rushmore you're out where the

hell is now logan are gonna start calling at the mount logan list and people will totally understand what we're talking about now i mean now all points everyone knows what the power rushmore is we should be sure to draw a little bit amount logan okay mount logan shout out where is a lot of looking it up right now yeah it's in the uconn you have to know that kind of stuff no i don't know i don't know mountains very well but the fact that it's in the uconn there we go and now giving us some thank you al

from now on that is how we will uh... further things if you try to turn the tb on and we're not where you'd like it there's nothing we can do about it I like how you always go ask JP like they got JP is a television and radio program director but don't ask us say what the hell is this we tennis get the tennis off it's out of our control yes it's out of we show. We put the mics on and we talk for three hours You can find us everywhere right wherever usually we're on TV radio. You can find the podcast you can find us on

YouTube on TSN dot CA you can find everything all right We're out there just a matter of where you want to find us. We're available for you. We got to do a Mount Logan Mount Logan all right, we'll start doing a Mount Logan very high we gotta do a mountain logan now logan i was also doing a mountain logan very high well not lo i've got uh... i got my list of it to a six o'clock before cj ban experiences throughout the country the seven canadian teams the mount logan list that's going to come up at six o'clock i want to give us a little hint on who's

not the most upset yeah i'd i'd i'd think you guys can figure out number seven who's pissed? Who do you think, which fan base in the country right now? Number seven, Vancouver. Yes, Vancouver for me is a clear cut number seven. And Pedersen went home, did you? I don't know if you saw that.

Yeah, he's hurt. Off the draw. And homeowner. Well, but he got hurt off like, off the draw, yeah. Something fishy there. Something weird happened there, but Demko is playing tonight.

Which is a good sign, but I mean overall, like I would I here's my guess and I don't want to get into it but I think Montreal's won and I think Vancouver's last I just think that that's where people's head go to that's where my head goes okay now having I can't confirm or deny but I do believe that's you gave me a little smile I think that's where it is you might be onto something but Vancouver has to be seven like that date yeah they're miserable in Vancouver absolutely it's been just a it's a year they can't recover

from like it sucks well and you're not going to you don't suck enough where you can get you're likely going to get a top end player in the draft right like there's nothing worse than thinking you're a playoff team not being a playoff team and picking 12th. Right. Like, but if you find you'll get a decent player, but you're not getting the Schaeffer kid or but if we said at the start of the season, like Vancouver was a playoff lock for me, but there it felt like it. I thought they got better. They didn't get worse in the off season. They got on paper. They got better. Yeah worse in the off season the guy i think on paper they got better yes but injuries miserable inconsistencies and then the whole

miller peterson thing i said today i i felt like if management has to bear any type of responsibility for this they didn't deal with that nonsense earlier that that dragged out for a long long time you know you know what the big thing now is you see some tweets where people are like it so that wannabe attire fire now they start worrying about quinn-hughes

because they're like if they continue to be a tire fire what is the sky up in two years yeah you still have them for two that's like the the nature of a superstar on any team is really you negotiate the summer before. Right, right. Right? Like that's like this summer McDavid can negotiate with Edmonton.

You know that's the top story. For sure. Is he going to sign? When's he going to sign? How long is the contract going to be? So you want to go ahead and be a tire fire next year. How do you think the combo is going to go with Quinn Hughes because he's going to say, I'm on the back nine now. What the hell do you think I want to stick around

here for absolutely but you have to give him a clear pathway what you're gonna do that's that's you know fair to the player but the player has to give some intention of what they're thinking as well yeah and two years team to exactly two years out is that is an eternity in sports like look at the last two years in Vancouver like you could not have two polar opposite seasons agree so I'm not even sure how you predict what's gonna happen in the future if you're Rutherford and Alvin and company he's only 25 yeah he's he's still he's so good like he's trying to carry that team as much as he can and it just it feels

like with every loss and st. Louis keeps winning well I say Louis won again yesterday like there might be really good tonight Kovac Kovac, I'm watching that guy iso cam against the Canucks tonight I need him to have the best game of his career might he might because someone's head is going to pop off either Sheldon kiefer rick tockett somewhat like demko is going to give up a soft one early Or kova savik is going to you know pinch and he early, or Kova Savick is going to pinch and he shouldn't. Something's coming tonight. Well, Jersey's right on that cusp, man, where if things get a little bit hairy.

18-wheeler, man. There's some gas going in that 18-wheeler. Yeah, they are at the en route, let's say, and filling up for a long run. The Jersey turnpike, I think they call it. It's getting a little dicey down there. All right the Jays are they're home they're here they're ready to rock. Thursday home opener against Baltimore and the 26 man roster has been revealed there are a couple surprises in terms of who made the team we'll catch up with Griff get his take on all of it start setting the scene for Thursday and

Alejandro Kirk got himself a five-year deal. What does Griff think about Kirk getting paid and what do we expect out of him this year? That more still to come. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. All right, I'll get to my list of the seven Canadian fan bases. Who's having the most fun? Get to that in about 20 minutes. I nailed two of them can't wait. Oh, it's a lot of anticipation and I think blue jay fans. They're having fun right now because the Grapefruit League was a resounding success How much heavy jays how much weight you're taking that though? That's like winning the free seer. That means absolutely nothing I know but it just it is nice I guess it's better than being like at last and losing being awful

Yeah, and you know the relatively healthy varsha was gonna start on the i l i don't think that's a surprise but relatively healthy pretty positive news on sure sir right i think we're gonna see him game three of this opening series uh... let's ask a guy that's been going to spring trainings for a long time yeah he puts any weight into the grapefruit league championship which is what we just witnessed here's our friend uh... richard griffin griff do you place any value whatsoever

in a positive win-loss record for the blue jays in the spring and then you know there's going to be a i believe the golden grapefruit victory parade goes from booster juice on day at the boot camp in the end bay i like it i like it upstairs or something like that like that idea uh... i think i think in researching their history the blue jay's history of spring training their to world series when they were well under five hundred spring training

and their worst seasons have been that had winning records so this is not bode well if you believe it uh... but it really means nothing i, you have guys coming from nowhere like Alan Roden and making the team. You have Ryan Yarbrough showing up at camp and the J's counting on him to be a left-hander out of the bullpen and a long reliever. And he opts out on the last day and they say that they were going to cut him but I think he just wanted to go to the Yankees, that's all. And so it's the first time since 2019 that they've opened at home and it'll be the first

time that any of these Blue Jays have opened in Toronto. Gref, before we get into the details of the roster and the expectations, just a quick comment on Shapiro coming out and saying they're going to be optimistic that the Jays and Vladi will get something done. What do you make of the stances from both parties here? Well, it's obvious to me because in October at the end of the season, he said Vlad was a good player, but he's not a generational talent. And now six months later with no games being played, he says that he's got a chance to be a Blue Jays legacy player. So somebody's pushing him in this direction. And my belief is that it's Roger's ownership that's going to be here a lot longer than Mark Shapiro

is and that would coincide with the length of a contract that they would give to Bloodhound. I think that it's pretty simple. They're either going to do it or they're not and if they're going to do it, why not on Wednesday morning before the Thursday opener and create such a big splash. And it's simple to do. You've got, and these numbers are ridiculous to begin with. We all agree with that. But 38 million per year for 14 seasons after this one.

So it's got his 28.5 lined up. And that adds up to 560.5. Offer him an opt-out after the 2030 season, because that's when our friend Alejandro Kirk's contract runs out. So, obviously, setting that as your window of competing. And then see if he'll defer at least some money down the road. I mean, if they're gonna do it in November, they might as well do it now. Yeah, I think this is a window of competing with Alonjo Kirk.

I don't know if you're being serious or not, Griff, but this is a front office that is generally not, they don't love the idea of long-term contracts for really anybody. I mean, they gave one to Springer, they gave one to Burrios, they gave one to Rando Grichick somehow. Yeah, they gave one to Springer, they gave one to Barrios, they gave one to Rando Grichik somehow. They gave one to Kirk of all people. And that's it. Like this is I think the fourth one where they've given a guy a

deal like of multiple years like three plus years on a contract, four plus years on a contract. He gets a five-year deal. He's the guy though, right? Like he outlasted Jansen. Marino really never arrived here. Heineman, if you're wondering, is going to be the backup catcher this year. But they believe in Kirk. And I understand why behind the plate. I think pitchers love throwing to the guy. But if his bat doesn't return to where it was a couple of years ago, how do you make sense of this commitment to Alejandro Kirk?

Yeah, the caveat with Kirk is that he's never started more than 89 games. And you don't just say, we're gonna give you this money and you're the number one starter. And all of a sudden your endurance and your ability to catch 120 games shows up. That's just not the way it works.

But the funny thing is when Alejandro Kirk showed up in 2020 during the COVID summer camp at Rogers Center, nobody knew who he was. And the coaching staff was looking and suggesting, you know, this fat little Mexican, he's got the best back to ball skills in the clubhouse. How can we get him on the team? And now, five years later, everybody's worried about his offense and raving about his defense. And so the ability to hit has been there. He just needs, to me, to be able to catch 110 to 120 games. And that isn't necessarily a given. And when you've got Tyler Heineman behind him, you know, that'll be 73 games if he only

does the 89 that he did last year. 73 games where you're worried about production and defense behind the plate. Yeah, that's not not ideal. I mean, you do not want that. You don't want to see Heineman that many times, if he even sticks it out throughout the whole year. I mean, there was some competition in terms of that position coming out of camp we're chatting with Richard Griffin but what did you make of Max Scherzer's comments

over the weekend where I'll paraphrase but he was asked if he feels like they got a good club and he basically said I don't know and we won't know until we get into the season and it wasn't necessarily a shot at like the roster or the depth chart he was pointing to his experience where you gotta get into the year to know how professional guys are how guys show up how guys react to losing streaks of a bribe or a world series to contender he would say

we have as good a chance as anybody to win a world series probably basically knows what the hell is okay to you and enter how do you interpret that Griff I I interpret it as not sure they're finding it difficult to give a thumbs up because his thumb is killing them very true but at spring training I mean here's a guy who's showing up for his first camp with the Blue Jays and no from spring training from having been to so many spring training this is my 53rd opening day in the Major Leagues having been to spring training all those years you know that at camp these guys never if they're not pitching they very rarely stay for the game they were very

rarely get to interact with everybody else. And so he's right. Until he travels on charters, spends time with the same 25 guys in the clubhouse, he won't know. And so he's just being honest about it. He doesn't want to pump, especially if he thinks he's not going to be a big part of it. And I heard you guys last week discussing an over- on Scherzer starts 15 or 20. I think if he could give them 25 they'd be thrilled. Oh I think they would pounce on that Griff. I think if you offer 25 starts they

would they would absolutely jump. I think they might take 20 from him right now. I sent Pete Walker before spring training, I sent him an out, I sent him my version of the six-man rotation and it allowed for an extra day for every starter, every start and through the all-star break they still had basically a number that would put them at 32 starts at the end of the year and there were fewer for the third and fourth guys and that would be Max Scherzer. So if they can get Yariol Rodriguez in the mix and push everybody back a day, I think that that could benefit Scherzer. That first day he'll probably have his hand on ice trying to get the swelling down on his thumb. But yeah, I mean, he didn't want to give an opinion

because he doesn't know how big a part of it he will be. Something that you want brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy a $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. We've been asking online, Griff, I'm curious how you would answer this who

is more likely to return to form for the Blue Jays this season closer to you know the prime versions which is not realistic for either guy but who do you think you could say by the end of the year wow that guy actually looked like himself more often than not Max Scherzer or George Springer? I think Scherzer. I think Springer is, Springer was part of that, you know, we talked about earlier about the signings,

the big pre-agent signings. I think Springer and Hungeon Ryu were both ripple signings where the club was showing Major League Baseball that they were back in business, that they wanted to compete with the big boys. I think they maybe didn't expect that Springer's performance would last as long as his contract did, but it had the effect. When they signed Ryu in 2020, it had a ripple effect and people looked at the Blue Jays differently and same

thing with Springer. But I think his best years are done and it's going to be what we saw last year, the rest of the contract. And so to me, Scherzer, if he can go out there 20 to 25 times, you know what you're going gonna get from him because he's got unbelievable competitiveness and savvy and i think that that can carry him through uh... diminished fastball which it was down to ninety two point five from ninety five ninety six i think there's no doubt in my mind that uh...

the return to form would be easier for Scherzer than Springer well griff uh, it's been a blast catching up with you. I mean what else can we say? Always great catching up with you and we're closing in on go time here on Thursday. Are you feeling optimistic at this point? Like where's your head at in terms of a kind of a prediction for the season before we get you out of here and before they start the season? I had a learned friend say to me that the blue jays are to bus crashes away from contending in the a l e

so okay and i was at baltimore boston the yankees who are we including a react the barry had their accident yeah but and then you know you get to play the orioles without donna anderson and rickson rodriguez And then, you know, you get to play the Orioles without Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez. And, you know, so there's an opportunity for a good start, which obviously we all agree they need an April.

I think that they've got a chance to win anywhere from 74 to 88 wins. Okay. That's a big gap. That's a massive gap, but somewhere in there, we will be correct. Right. He is Richard Griffin from griffstithepitch.com. Thank you Griff appreciate it. Okay guys anytime. There he is. Yeah listen the Yankees are they got issues with the rotation right now. Baltimore's a bit banged up. I don't

think there's a superpower in the American League. The Central's you know the Guardians are always pretty good. Royals, Tigers were good down the stretch made it in. Houston feels like they're gonna take a big step back and you gotta play the game you gotta play the game that's right you can do something like what the guardians and the Tigers did last year as a Jays fan Toronto sports fan you're always asking yourself why can't that be them that just do it like KC got on a little bit of a run and it was just it wasn't

that big of a deal but it gave the fans some excitement they could do it that's possible that's what they need exactly health and a good start in a perfect world what 91 wins well yeah i don't again i don't think that's you're talking wild card right now ideally you're chasing the division but they never seem to do that i feel feel like 86, 87 gets you in. What I can't do after 10 days or even after the first couple series is just watch dribblers in the infield and we can't be looking at them saying they

just can't like runners in scoring position that story is so that's two years worth. Yeah it is sickening the numbers that they've had with runners in scoring position, you see it all the time and it's got it has to come to an end. It's got to be better. Yeah. All right. CJ coming up, Jesse Marsh and our best bets over Drive continues. TSN 1050 in on TSN 2. Something to Chew on is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports

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