OverDrive - OverDrive - September 24, 2025 - Hour 1 - Steve Phillips

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Dave Feschuk for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Blue Jays losing to the Red Sox, the Yankees beating the White Sox and the Jays AL East lead dwindling to one game, Alek Manoah getting DFA'd and we welcome TSN MLB analyst Steve Phillips to the show to discuss everything MLB and Blue Jays related. We discuss the Leafs losing to the Senators in the preseason as well.

The newest tracks and the next big thing. Look what we found. And your first place to hear it all. It's IHeart, new music. Your digital station for brand new drops, fresh finds, and tomorrow's bangers. Updated daily. IHeart, new music, powered by All Things Go Festival.

For the first time ever at Budweiser stage, October 4th and 5th, featuring Renee Rapp, Casey Musgraves, and more. Stream now, online, on your smart speaker, and on the free IHeart Radio. app this hour of overdrive is powered by fan duel fan duel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score all right here we go overdrive off and running tsn 1050 on the tsn app your home smart

speaker up on tsn four brian hayes dave fes chuck in here for the o dog and jamie noodles mcclennon what's going on guys how we got it well i've got a question right off the hop what is your level of concern here with this with jay Yes. I mean, driver seat. Did Jonas jinx it yesterday saying, what did he say the wild card? What was his wild card? He used the term wild card or something. You're like, don't use that term. Now, he was talking about the leaves, and we were doing that bit about wild card players on the leaves. But I did say that that is, that's a term that really shouldn't be used in Toronto very much, right? No one wants to hear about the wild card. But level of concern, it's Rick Bushwood at this point. It's got. to be, I think. I mean, the Jays have lost five or six. They cannot hit. They do not produce runs. The Yankees, like, naturally,

I flip over to the Yankees in the ninth. Of course the White Sox screw that up. Like, of course, they're going to screw that up. What was going, like, it was a wild pitch, wasn't it, that brought in the tying run? Like, it was crazy. It didn't matter if it was a wild pitch or a pitch right down the middle of the plate. The Yankees weren't going to lose last night.

They didn't look worried either. No, they had no point that they looked worried. No. They're like, we are, and that just, that tied the game. I know. But you're right, though. That was just a terrible, like, what is that? Where is he throwing it to?

He's starting to hit the mascot. Like, that was nuclear lusch. That's really what it was. Terrible. Look at this play, though. Yeah. Not exactly selling out to get that one. Half-ass effort.

That guy had reservations in the Lower East side at 10.30. He wasn't going to extra innings. I might die. Nah. I'm not going to run. I'm not going to have an extra innings, man. I got a date. tonight. Downtown Little Italy,

no chance. I'm catching this fall. Yeah, we're in New York. I don't even blame the guy. You think the White Sox care? What do they care of? The Js have to go through the wild card. It's no difference to them. But yeah, it's amazing how the mood can change because, again, they've lost

five or six. The one game they hit and produced was when they partied on Sunday. That's right. They hit and they run, they produce some runs. They punch a ticket. They get their 90th win and they party and everything's all good. And then you have a day off, and, you know, Gossman was okay battle, but he got hit last night. Like, Gossman got hit, and you roll the page over, and Schneider's trying his best, which you have to.

Mandatory, you keep calm. Yes. You can't have the manager coming out, ripping his hair out, saying, we're screwed, this is big trouble. He's got to play even keeled. But Scher, I have no idea what Max Scherzer is going to bring tonight. Yeah. No idea. I got a pretty good idea what Garrett Crochet is going to bring.

That's the problem is you got Crochet on the mound who outside of Scoobel has been the best arm in the American League this year and you can't hit. Yeah. And the Yankees probably aren't going to lose. That's the scary thing. You got to win ball games here. Yeah.

That's the scary thing. You got to win games. It's amazing how suddenly the 2025 Jays, the band of brothers, the comeback kings, they're starting to look like the 2020. 24 Js, the team that couldn't hit when it mattered, the team that left runners in scoring position, the team that could not

produce offense, the team that had the small ball offense in the big ball American League yeast. And this is not a good time to look like a small ball team in the American League east when you're trying to win the thing. Right. And the thing is like Boston's playing for something. Yeah.

They're playing for something. They're likely going to the playoffs. You know, like they're looking for a party themselves. Right. And yeah, I mean, It's a bad time for the bats to go ice cold. It's a bad time. And like the arms haven't been great. They haven't been great.

And again, I'm very curious with Scherzerzer. I could spin it both ways. I could spin it. It's the worst time to see him or it's the best time. Because he's not, like the lights will not be too bright for Max Scherzer. This is why you got him. For a game like tonight, give you six innings clean and he looks great. He's a bulldog and he's staring guys down.

This is why you spend $15 million on Scherzer. And conversely, this is why you give Vladdy $500 million for him to show up tonight and say, I'm going to three for five, and I'm going to hit a home run, and I'm going to have a double, and I'm going to make sure everyone's dancing in the clubhouse because we're going to find a way to win tonight.

Jump on my back. Scherzer Guerrero. Those are the two guys. What is it now? 16 games, the $500 million man does not have a home run. Yeah, and he's got one extra base hit. Yeah. And he's hitting like 180 in his last 13, 14 games.

That's most expensive singles hitter, as Griff, or good boy, Griff, rightly put it. He's been hot at times, but they have 23 home runs at this point in the season. After you get that contract, there's like 50-plus guys in Major League Baseball that have more than that. And he's been healthy, too. He's been playing, man. That's the thing. I pointed out fast to the guys the other day that Barger's got 20. Yeah.

Like, you know, barger's right on his heels. And listen, you don't, it all gets washed away if, Vladdy has a big game. They win. You know, naturally, we want them to win. We're a little bit, you know, a little tighter than we were the last couple days. Now, the Yankees, didn't they party last night? Yeah, they made that.

They punched their ticket last night. They might be a little hungover today. Like I say, you got to, you know, take care of what you can control. And what you can control is, you know, Scherzer's got to have a good, good outing. I think Springer shows up. Like, you know, I look at, when you're just saying, you know, we need Vladdy $500 million, And all I thought about is, like, I think Springer's the guy who's just dragging him through. Like Springer might be that, that emotional guy that drags him into it tonight.

I think you're on to something. And last night, listen, he got job in the second inning. There's no, he got job twice. Yeah, he did. Like the one down the third baseline, it's a bang, bang human element play. Like, that's what it is. And you know where I stand on replay, so I'm not, that's the call. And if it was over the edge of the bag, it was over the edge of the bag by like an inch or two.

It wasn't an egregious miss call. The third strike was egregious. That was Leslie Nielsen behind the plate. That was a guy who was not paying attention and just said, ah, strike? Like that was absurd. You're right. The third strike call.

You know, the dribbler down the line, it's a tough bang, bang, bang. That's one of the toughest calls in baseball. It's a tough bang, bang, when you're in that moment. Actually, I think that's the call that should be reviewable, the line call. Like the foul on call is, it should be reviewable.

It's not yet. I bet it will be in five years. But, you know, you're Mr. Human Element. Yes, I am. Last night would have been a great time for George Springer to be able to tap the helmet. The ABS. Next year, you're going to be able to tap the helmet. You're right.

Let's see that on replay. It happens fast. I'm so excited about this like ABS system. Automated balls and strike. It's going to be a lot of fun. I go to a lot of minor league games and it's fun. The crowd gets into it, right? noodles like it's like tennis where it's just like in tennis where they start clapping

when the when the video waiting to see if it drops in the line or not and it's exactly the same as that there's a video that comes on that shows you where the ball went in in terms of the strike zone people get excited and it happens fast it's not like video replay at second base did he tag him did he not it's a quick bang bang but i think what's going to really shine a light on is how you know these um ums they miss a lot of call they might they're not just going to miss one a game Like, they miss a lot of pitches. Like, you know, they're on feel.

And if somebody's doing the tap to them and they're having a bad night, like how many times is there an amount of times that you can do the tap? So each team gets two. But if you get it right, you don't lose your challenge. That's what I mean. So you could challenge 25 times. Yeah, some guys back there half asleep. You could be tapping your helmet every other pitch.

That's what I said. What was the, who's the umpire? Was the Angel Hernandez? Angel Hernandez. Hernandez. Like, there was times where he had like seven and eight missed calls or missed strikes or balls. And again, you imagine the guys will be getting concussions tapping their head with this guy. Well, yeah, you're right.

And now, there is some blowback from some of the players, not Nathan Rourke levels of blowback, but there's some blowback from like veteran pitchers who are saying, I deserve the, I deserve the benefit of the doubt when I'm rolling. Yeah. And I'm going to lose that, right? and catchers who are saying, I frame that beautifully, and that's an art form, and I'm going to lose that. Yes. So there are parts

of the game that we're going to lose for this entertainment, or for the purposes of being perfect, which again, I think are being lost in the shuffle here. Like, there is something to a catcher that frames a pitch beautifully. Like, credit to that guy. Brilliant. Yeah. Credit to the vet

who's been hitting that corner all day, and yes, this one he missed by two inches, but the previous 10 he hit perfectly, and that guy's going to the Hall of Fame so that guy gets the pitch. That's going to be taken away. That's going to be gone. And like there is something

to that that I think fans appreciate. There's pros and cons but I just think in the in the video age the high definition 4K video age is just, you know, last night was an egregious situation. Yes, it was with the spring one in particular. You've got seasons on the line. You've got

you know, massive stakes at play. And, you know, you want the right call ultimately. You're not always going to get it. going to have those ones and the human element will always be a part of the game because I don't think there's any way to take it out of it completely. But I do think balls and strikes to me, it's just one of those ones where, you know, it's doable, right? It's like we can do it. We have the technology now. Like, it's a lot tougher on tags at second. Like, that's, you're going to have to look at video on that and that's tough to call. I don't think you're ever going to have a robot

that can do that. But I do think this is, this is a spot where you can correct a lot of the wrongs. You're going to lose something, but I think what you'll get, you'll get a little bit drama with the video itself because it's cool. And then you've also got the whole gamesmanship of who is allowed to challenge. I'll tell you what. Because guys get mad and they want to challenge every pitch but there's going to be managers to say

these five guys on this team cannot challenge a pitch because I don't trust your eye. Right. You're not allowed to challenge. You're not wasting more challenges because you're mad. And there's another component to that. Like a pitcher or a catcher can call for it and there could be some beep between those two. Catcher calls for it and the pitcher

doesn't want them to or write And he's like, hey, don't call for it. I know it was a strike or I know it was a ball. Yeah, you're right. There's potential for that. There's strategy there. So I think you're going to lose, I don't doubt you're going to lose some things. I mean, catchers framing pitches, that's just fraud, right?

They're just selling a lie. But you played baseball growing up. It was a cool part of learning baseball. I played catcher for a time being as a kid, not for a long time. But it was, I remember it was one of the first things the coach said, you got to learn to frame pitches. You got to learn. I was like, oh, this is cool. like when you're a kid it's out right like it's way outside and you're trying to bring it back it's like dude

what do you think you're doing like it right you know but a 15 year old umpire behind you that's like oh yeah exactly but there was nothing that made you feel more like a big leaguer in a way than trying to frame a pitch that's like it was like the coolest thing as a kid now again the a system to my knowledge is not coming to lee's side field or north charliebara you know it's not coming to like not yet yeah it's not go to christie pitts so i don't think we have to worry about it But, yeah, I mean, listen, Springer got, Springer, he got job last night in the second day. There's no dancing around it.

What I've always found this funny is when the DH is the guy who's really angry. It's so funny that he's got to stay in the dugout. Yeah. Because he's standing there beside Schneider. You know, they go out there for the bottom of the third or the top of the third. And Snyder's still in there barking. And Schneider's like, you could tell trying to calm him down. But that's one I'm sure Snyder would prefer.

or like, can you get to right field and just get your mind off and get the hell out of here? I can't listen to you anymore. Because he was the agent last night. He's sitting in the dugout complaining about it. Just squawking. Just squawking the whole time. And you know the ums could hear him, but I think he got the benefit of the doubt. They're like, well, we're not going to, it's George Springer.

Like, we're not going to throw him out. That's a scenario where if that's Ernie Clement barking, they might look at him and say, I can hear you, keep it up, I'll toss you. But they're not going to do it because it's springing. He had plausible deniability. If they were saying he was arguing, he was arguing balls and strikes, what you're not allowed to do and can get ejected for. You can say, no, I was arguing the line call.

Right, exactly. I'm not about that. I'm yelling at someone else here. The terrible balls is a straight call, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't dare do that. I wouldn't dare bring that up. News down at the park.

Steve Phillips in about 20 minutes. Keegan Matheson tweeting out that Shane Bieber's being pushed back to Friday. He was supposed to pitch on Thursday. I wonder what the thought is, is that health-related? I don't know. No, noodles. That's a good question. Strategic, strategic, like, hey,

we want him on Friday type of thing right so he was supposed to close the series against the socks and now it's TBD tomorrow and this is going to get interesting kegan pointing out that Jose burrios is an option tomorrow well how the jays will see out tonight you didn't look he doesn't I don't think he's happy noodles I mean you could speak to it as a pro athlete when you get demoted and that's what it is you're not going to be happy about it I remember when you know when he got you know put in the bullpen I think he can tweeted out and even talked about it saying like he was a pro about it, but you can tell he was pissed, obviously. You're going to say the right things.

You're not going to go, what the hell. But, you know, that's a, that is, it's disappointing. So maybe they're, you know, giving him a little ray of sunshine to jump back in. I don't know. I mean, would that be a good call or maybe a hunch call there by Schneider? I think it's clear. It's got to be more about Bieber. Like, for whatever reason, Bieber needs a day.

And, again, I don't know what the reasoning is. we'll see if we can get an answer between now and the end of the show. Yeah. But, and they're not committed to Burrios yet. You know, they're going to see how it goes tonight. Because, again, what a Scherzer last time out, he couldn't get through the first inning. Yeah. That happens.

Burrillo's going to pitch three innings tonight. That's right. You know, so he may not be available tomorrow. So that's something they have to consider. But I guess Beaver's going on Friday now, and then you Savage will go on Saturday. Right. And hopefully it won't matter who pitches on Sunday. Right.

Again, this was the whole point of having the lead and the tie break here, win games, you can't bank on the Yankees to lose, and put yourself in a position on Sunday where Eric Lauer gets the start. Yeah, flexibility, right? Go out there and give us six, seven innings, you know, pitch, give Flew Hardy three innings, who the hell cares? Yeah, right. But we're weird.

It's weird with Bieber, though, because, you mean, he's had five days rest of he pitches tomorrow, you know, because he pitched Saturday, so it does make you wonder. about what's really going on there. Like I was just about to say before we got that breaking news from Keegan that this is the whole reason you got Max Scherzer for tonight, a game like tonight, you bring in a guy who you know is a doc. He may not have his all-time stuff. We know he's a Hall of Famer, 3,000 strikeouts,

the whole nine yards of how good this guy is. We know he's not that, you know, at what he was at his peak, but you know he will compete like the best of competitors that we've ever seen in this sport. And this is why you got Shane Bieber at the trade deadline. Because he's a Cy Young award-winning guy who has been among the best at his position for an awfully long time. And he may not be at his peak anymore, but you know he's going to compete. And so to me it was like this was a great kind of example of how the best laid plans of the front office are actually kind of coming true.

Like you've gotten to this point and now you've got these two guys that you've lined up as your marquee guys. That's like Gossman in a marquee spot. Well, this was perfect. Osmond into Scherzer and to Beaver against the socks to close out the American League East. That was the plan. That was the plan. It came together beautifully. Should have been.

And now they've lost game one. Scherzer will go tonight and Beaver's not going tomorrow. Well, when tonight and, you know, it relieves a little pressure? Like, you got to just take care of what you can control. And that's the, you know, yes, it was disappointing to watch that because it didn't feel like they were in that game that much. Like they were, you know, they were chasing it. I mean, chasing it. But even after the same thing.

second inning, like, you know, this is the thing, if you start worrying about the umps being against the conspiracy theories, like that's not a good sign of the mental state of a fan base, because they tied the game up, like shortly thereafter, and it's one-one. You can't, like, you can't, you're not going to win games with one run. Yeah.

So, well, you know, there's nothing, there's nothing worse to me than bandwagon hopping fans that start shouting conspiracy. Right, the umps are against the base. Guess what, guys, if you've watched baseball for any amount of time, there's bad calls for everybody. Yeah. It, if All year long.

Later in that game, I think it was Gosman, got a third strike. It may not have been him, but it was a rageous strike call. Yeah. That was, it was not a strike. I think it was Durand, it was up, and he was like, are you kidding? He looked at the hump, like, are you nuts? You're right it out. That's where the taps.

Next year, that's where the guy just looks at him and just gives a subtle little, like, sorry, we're going to have to look at that again. The tapping's going to be funny, man. It is good, man. It's good theater. That's where I was like, like, thinking. to myself because you guys were talking about it you know the challenge flag you know the sidelines was it it was years ago but somebody threw a challenge flag and hit somebody in the eye it was a

rap in the eye or hit it off like you imagine if you have a challenge flag or something or the tap what if the guy's so pissed he just looks at him and it's like a subtle like you know like that's what's coming that's what it is exactly what's coming a slow turn eye contact and a tap so you know It's good to be so great. When you watch, I don't know, like, I love it at the minor league games because the umps have to announce, you know, the call essentially, whether it's reversed or not. Yeah. And, of course, the, if it's a ball strike call, you know, and the, and the, and the, and the batter challenges, the, like, the, the ump has to say, essentially to the entire stadium, I was wrong. I apologize.

Yeah. And so, like, there's, like, these subtle, you can kind of get some body language off of that. Like, yeah, this damn machine keeps making me look bad, you know? It's a funny moment, but, and then, you know, on the other side of it, ah, these guys think I stink, but ha, ha, ha, I got that one right. Exactly. It's going to go, it's going to go both ways. And I'm still going to get, they're going to get a little cocky, too, man.

Yeah. Like, they'll be, they'll be belting out when you get it wrong. They can't wait for that. Oh, yeah. All right, Steve Phillips in 10 minutes. What's up with Shane Bieber? Why is he being pushed back a day? We'll try to find out.

We'll get into that with Steve. It always could be worse. You could be the Tigers. Oh. You could be to. That is an 18-wheeler. Forget off a cliff, dude. That was like airlifted up into the sky and dropped.

What's going on with the Tigers? It is absurd how bad they are. And Cleveland just picking up the scraps, winning ball games. They're now tied in the Central. So more on that with Steve. And the Leaf's losing in overtime last night. Noodles, you're on the panel. We'll get into what we saw out of that game last night.

And another 10 pack of players revealed in TSN's top 50 list. Roleplay level of concern just over an hour from now. Best bets still to come. Bruce Boudro coming up today. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. All right.

Overdrive continues. Powered by Fanduel, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. I love that Leifson sends Twitter or in mid-season form. Are they fighting? I haven't even seen that. They've both been so annoying this week. Like the Leafs won on Tuesday.

All the Marleys, they went there and beat. And then the Sends, you know, they had some pros, but a lot of minor leaguers last night. oh look at that you know belville or wherever that they play yeah bellville oh belville beats the leaves so like both parties are just like it's preseason the leaves blow a lead yeah exactly

it's preseason and neither game matters at all no you know what the the biggest thing for me watching these games is when you see a regular go down and you're like that didn't need to happen Like OAL goes down early on, NICE goes down, you know, it was clevering the other day for the Sends. Like you don't want to see anybody, you know, get hurt in a game where it doesn't have any factor on the regular season. So, you know, you hope everybody's all right. I mean, NICE came back. I think OEL was fine, but, you know, it is. That's the biggest thing.

Veteran guys don't want to get hurt. That's why they're not blocking shots that kind of run their routes a little bit different. some of those guys, there were a few guys last night. I don't think that needed a shower. Did not need a shower because they didn't break the sweat. Yeah, it's tough to gauge. Like it's not, it isn't. Like the guys, the veteran guys,

yeah. You just know, you know, Matthews and Tavares. Like, they're just out there floating around. A little bit of timing. Yeah. Like Matthews, I thought he's, that was kind of a cheeky shot. Like, that was kind of a vintage, like, deceptive shot last night.

And I think it's good for a goal score to get on the ball. board for sure, but yeah, I mean, ultimately it's about younger players and it's about avoiding injury. And I think we saw that last night. And Ottawa was an interesting case. Like we were talking about this prior to coming in here where there's a lot of anxiety with a lot of teams in the country. Like you look at the seven Canadian teams. The two spots that I think probably have the least amount are Ottawa and Montreal. Like Toronto has it because Mariner's gone and it's what is, what are they going to be without them? Right, right.

Winnipeg's got it because Eelers is out. Lowry's hurt. Lowry's hurt. What's going to happen with Kyle Conner's deal? Everything went perfect for us last year. What happens this year? Edmonton, obviously, McDavid. What's going to happen with McDavid?

Calgary, maybe not as much, but I don't think the expectations are very high for them. So maybe there isn't a ton of anxiety, but it is, I think, like Anderson wants out possibly. Are they going to trade Cadry? Do they rip the band-aid off? Yeah, they're a little bit more internal storylines, like you meant. And in Vancouver, Quinn Hughes, what is this guy going to be here in two years? Right. Is Pedersen going to show up and play like $11 million player?

Where in Ottawa, it's just kind of, hey, really quiet offseason, good young team still growing. Montreal, really good offseason, pick up no adoption, young teams still growing. Like in Ottawa, Montreal, it's pretty much exactly what you would want, I would think. They managed expectations really well. Really well in both markets and not a ton of anxiety in both places. You're right until the games play and you have a rough first 10 games. Then anxiety comes in because I've said this all along and I want to be consistent. The Atlantic for me is a juggernaut because it not just like the teams in it,

but the quality of competition. I think it is the most competitive division in hockey because of the teams. Again, somebody's going to finish last in it. Probably Buffalo. might be Detroit, but those teams aren't Chicago from last year or San Jose. Like they are, you know, teams that are going to be maybe 80 points, 85, could be, you know, like that type of stuff, which are taking points off of teams. I think the Atlantic is the most fascinating situation for me.

Where is Florida? What's Boston going to do? Boston's getting healthier. They looked awful last night and all of a sudden they win a game in overtime. Like, again, it's preseason, nobody cares. But I just, I look at it from top to Boston. bottom there's really good teams you just mentioned it guys there are teams that have taken another step in the ottawa and montreal what is buffalo and detroit and boston going to do are they

going to push and just try and steal points or are they going to is one of them going to have a surprise season and and slide in in a wild card spot like that's the most fascinating situation for me well it's a great point noodles because i mean there are there are teams at different levels to the game here right like with florida it's going to be like that old kawai 82 practices kind of thing with the Panthers, right? Like they, they're just trying to get in. Like, I don't think they care what their seat is. They went on the road every series last year, won the Cup.

They just, they're about self-preservation. How do we have enough steam in the engine to go through the play out of gauntlet again after we've been to the Cup final three times and won it twice? I mean, Tampa's, you know, they're near the end of the line for some of those guys. Like, you wonder how much Vasilevsky has left. So they're kind of pacing themselves, too, but they can't get too cocky either. Because even though they led the league in scoring last year, they, you know, it ended in a pretty big thought against Florida. The Leafs are obviously,

they have more to prove, I think, because they've got to prove they can play without martyr and score without Marner and get Matthews teed up without Marner. So there is some internal stuff there, but it's still about the playoffs, let's face it. But those other teams do it's like, to me, those teams should benefit from the fact that those, the big dogs at the top, do kind of slow play it a little bit and maybe take it for granted a little bit

because they should be hungry and they should be able to steal wins off these guys. Yeah, I agree. I just don't see a team getting from the Atlantic like 125 points. I see it more lumped in the, hey, we're in the 100 range, and there's three or four of them right there and pushing each other right to the end, which is great, but that's where I spun with this, Brian, was the anxiety. Right now, you know, everybody's a little uncertain, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, you name it, Winnipeg. and hey, it's fine in Ottawa, Montreal. Both those teams made the playoffs.

The expectations are to be playoff and higher next year, and that can create anxiety if they're a slow start. Very good point. Because now you're dealing with a different mentality. Now you have a pace car, an internal pace car, that is much further down the road than anything you're used to. Yes. If you're Nick Suzuki, if you're Brady Kuch and everyone else behind them.

Like now those markets are like, well, playoffs, clearly. Yes. And in Ottawa, I think more so than Montreal, because they were steadily in the playoffs all year. Like they pretty, it wasn't an easy run, but you knew by the Four Nations like, okay, they're in this. And then with 10 games to go, it's like they're in the playoffs. Like they're definitely in the playoffs. The Habs had to go on a miracle run almost post-Fournations to get in. A little bit different, but you're right.

And that's Montreal. I mean, it's Montreal where they're a playoff team now, and that's the expectation. How's that going to affect the psyche of the coaches, the players? everyone involved. So you're right. Once the puck drops, but I'm just saying right now, they're breathing easy

and everything's all good. Everywhere else in the country, people are wondering what's going on. Including in Toronto, where it's not about the Leafs, it's about the Blue Jays, who have lost five of six, and they cannot produce any runs.

And he got Max Scher's on a mound tonight. Last time we saw him, he couldn't get out of the first inning. The tee up the game tonight, among other things in baseball. Here's our TSN baseball insider. Steve Phillips. There he is, looking good, feeling good.

Steve, what's going on here with the Js? man. What is your read on the run production issues, and who do you look in this lineup, or who do you look to in this lineup? If you were John Snyder, who are you going up to saying, we need something out of you tonight? Yeah, I think that, look, I think you're right.

The offense has sort of disappeared a little bit right here, and you know, I want to go back to the stars. So, you know, I'm going to Springer. I'm going to Guerrero. And I want them to lead the way, and I think they then pull the supporting cast in. Now,

You know, a lot of times this year, it's been the supporting cast that has pulled the stars along with them, you know, the Nathan Lucas is in the Ernie Clements of the world, and Alejandro Kirk. But I do think, I think Springer's that catalyst. He's been that guy from the first half of the year. And even at times in the second half, when they've needed that production, he's been the one to step up. But Vladdy, drive one to the wall, through the wall, or over the wall one time for me, right? I mean, you know, be that guy to put them out in front, give them an early lead. because I think for Scherzer, you know, he, if he doesn't have confidence in his stuff and he wants to nibble, then he's going to fall behind it. He's going to have to throw it over the plate, and it's not good enough right now to get a lot of swing and miss.

And so I think that they need to get a lead to take the pressure off of everybody. Steve, any concern that Beaver's been bump a day in his start rotation to Friday? No, I don't think so. I think that, I mean, listen, everybody's got the things that are going through memory. coming back from Tommy John, they want to get the extra time on it, and maybe they want to line them up for the matchup on the weekend as part of it, too. And so I don't read too much into it right now. I mean, listen, with Bassett out and Burillo's going to the bullpen, you know,

they're sort of picking and choosing as they go down the stretch here. But, you know, this is a tough matchup tonight. I mean, you know, I mean, crochet is a beast, and it's going to be a tough one. And then, you know, over the weekend, we know that the race played them very tough, and it's going to be a tough matchups so everybody'd be at their best. Yeah, the Beaver News caught us off guard. I mean, it just happened a half an hour ago.

He's only being pushed back a day. He doesn't necessarily lead to red flags, but if it goes anything beyond that, then you do wonder what's going on. But it opens up an opportunity for tomorrow. It could be strange that maybe they've got to go back to Burrios, Steve. Like, it's to be determined. If Scherzer can't get out of the first or second inning tonight,

I think we'll see Burrios. But how does that come? conversation go down because Prius is not happy nor should he be he's a he's a proud guy professional he's played every fifth day he takes a boy hits the mound they've they've moved him to the bullpen and now a week later a less than a week later they might go to him and say not only do we need you to start we got to win dude we need you to give us something especially if the bullpen's got to go heavy tonight with shurs are on the mount yeah so it look it's the nature of the beast that you know remember david price used to have that that note in his locker that he got from joe madden

if you don't like it pitch better uh and so like i look and think i i know he doesn't like going to the bullpen but if he had put himself in a different position he wouldn't have been the guy they chose to go there now i would have handled it differently i would have moved him to the bullpen with the idea that he could be a solution instead of you don't qualify as one of our top four starters i just think it's a different mentality that could have been you know putting him in a different mindset. You know, you've got Lauer to be a guy too to protect you and give you some length. And so they've got a couple options where they can go. But I'm with you. Like tonight's game can wipe them out for the next three or four games. If Scherzer doesn't give them some

length. And it's a repeat of what happened in Kansas City. And they've got to go early. They'll have to get length out of somebody. And whoever that somebody is might have to take a licking for the team just to eat up innings. And so, you know, in the ideal world, you need Scher to get it through five, and then piece it together from there. You could even piggyback, you know, Burrios or Lauer on the back end of a five-inning start by Schurzer, protect the bullpen to keep them rested for tomorrow or the next day. And so they've got a number of different ways they can go. But, you know, I think that it's unfortunate, but, you know, sometimes you make a decision

with all the information you have at a time, and things change. And players need to understand that. And Burrios, I like that he's not happy about going. there, but I also like that he's a good teammate, and he is. He's a good dude, and he'll handle any role. And he has to come back and start, he'll go out there and probably shove it, which is probably a good thing.

Steve, you've been in these shoes that Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro are in. It's a time of tough decisions and a decision the Blue Jays made yesterday to get Anthony Santander back onto the roster. The DFA designated for assignment, Alec Manoa, essentially cutting ties with a guy who

not too long ago was an All-Star, was a young candidate, And, of course, now has been trying to rehab from an elbow surgery for the past 14 months. And I guess the Blue Jays deemed him, you know, not a recoverable asset at this point. Let him go for nothing. What was your level of surprise? And what do you think of the move in general? So, you know, I think that part of the question is, you know,

would he have been a candidate that they would have non-tendered this offseason? Because he was going to get a raise, because everybody gets a raise. and even though he hasn't pitched and he's arbitration eligible so you know he would have cost you you know three three and a half million probably in that range and you know

they clearly have their evaluation that he's not a functional major league pitcher now remember he was that Cy Young finalist but he also was a guy that was getting crushed and sent to the minor leagues prior to the injury

and and so you know, I think that you end up having to make these decisions and what you can't do is make the wrong decision twice, right? So the idea is, oh, let's keep him just because of what he used to be. Let's let somebody else go who could help us right now. And so I think you have to make those decisions and not look back. You trust your judgment, hope you're making the right thing. You don't wish bad upon him that he doesn't fulfill and get himself back on track. But I think that when you look at how he fit short term and long term and the progress that he's made and how he's throwing,

they just didn't see the fit. Yeah, I can't blame them. I mean, it's been basically three years where Manoa has not been a factor on this team. Like he said, the last time he was pitching, he wasn't an option for him because he couldn't pitch. The pitch clock affected him. I don't know what it was, but he fell off a cliff.

And I think at this point, I'm not sure it really was as difficult of a decision. It's because of the name value. Because of who he was. Yeah. Right? It's because he started game on a wild card rounds. It's because he started the All-Star game. that's why if this is anyone else it's not much of a story but with him going santander arrives and he makes his debut tonight or he's returning to the lineup he obviously played early in the season he will dh tonight that pushes springer to left field this evening but he's hitting fifth in the lineup are you surprised that you know where he is in the lineup tonight and what does he have to do over the final five games for for you to be comfortable with him being a part of the playoff roster yeah i think I think run production. I mean, I'm okay with him being in the five spot in the lineup.

You know, I like the switch-hitted, switch-hitter nature of his game, that it doesn't matter what the other team does. He can neutralize a move by a manager. And so I think there's value. There are all the things that he had value for in the off-season to sign. It's all still there. It's just a matter of, did he have enough time at AAA to be able to do it? Now, I think he's still finishing the home run trot. I think the one home-run he hit. I think he's, I think he's, I I mean, that was, man, that was a statement. Crazy, man. And I don't know whether, I don't know that I liked it necessarily.

Like, just get around the bases. You're sort of teaching everybody how to behave. So I didn't love it. But it was a statement made. Like, I don't have the kind of confidence to take a trot like that. But I'm glad he does. But they need run production. I mean, he can't be the, you know, swing.

This is a team that doesn't strike out, the Blue Jays. don't strike out. And so he can't be that guy in a rally that's a strike three swing and a miss because those are rally stoppers. Right, putting the ball in play, moving the runners, getting action. That keeps things going a little bit. And so we'll see.

We'll see if his timing's right. We'll see if his balance is right. And we'll see in big situations if he can slow that heartbeat down to be able to produce. Yeah, 41 seconds. I think is what it got clocked out. And who was that directed at, Steve? Was that at the J's because he was still in Buffalo?

Is that at, like, other, you know, people in AAA? Who was he directing that trot at? I don't know. Like, of course you're still in AAA. Like, it took you forever to get back and come back. And here's the other thing. You don't like it play better. Like, you didn't plow that great before.

So if it's me, I want to make sure your timing's right because it didn't look right before you got hurt. So we want to make sure that when you do come back, you can be a threat for us, especially since we've already cleansed a playoff spot. that's my mindset with it. So, yeah, I don't know. I don't know whether he's like, I don't, I wouldn't mind if he hit a home run of the big leagues and took that much time just because I think it would be sort of a statement

that I'm back. But, yeah, it seemed out of character because he's actually a really good guy. And so I don't know. It had some intent in some way, but I couldn't know who would benefit from a message that that was sent that way. It doesn't make sense. Hey, Steve, obviously some jitters in Toronto right now as the Blue Jays, you know, look for the bats down the stretch here, but describe the feeling in your hometown, Motown, as the tigers do what they're doing

and watch the season collapse before them. All right. So my 85-year-old mother scolded my older brother because he lives in Chicago, but, you know, he had a collection of hats. He had a Bears hat, they lost on the weekend. He had a University of Illinois hat they lost on the weekend. He had a Cubs hat they had lost in a tiger's hat. He's like, it doesn't matter what team they're all losing right now.

My mom said, don't you dare put that tiger's hat on. You're jinxing our team. Stop it, knock it off. So if my 85-year-old mom is scolding and putting my older brother at a timeout, it tells you that they're worked up. I mean, it is, you know, my team's had some. years where we started to hit skids in September. And it is such a helpless and hopeless feeling that you go out there. And as soon as something goes wrong, you think, up, there it is. That's

the thing that's going to cost us today. And you've got to find a way to overcome it. And it's going to, it's going to be a come from behind win to be able to stop it, right? Because they had the two nothing lead the last couple of days and they gave it up. So they need to find a way to rally and to get it going, or they need that great individual performance that outslugs the opposition that gives them a chance to win. Yeah, this is wild, man. Like, this is crazy what's going on in Detroit. And to the credit of Cleveland, they're like, we'll take it. Like, they're winning ball games, you know, including last night. I mean, the thing, how about this? This is, it was amazing to me. So in the last 26 games, the Tigers are 7 and 19. In the last 27 games,

the guardians are 21 and 6. They both are averaging 4.4 runs per game. And the last 27 games, the guardians are 21 and 6. they both are averaging 4.4 runs per game during that same period of time. One team is 21 and 6, the other one is 7 and 19, and they both are averaging the same amount of runs per game. The pitching for the Guardians, they've gone 19 consecutive starts without their starter giving up more than two runs. And Detroit relies upon Scoobel, and the rest of it is sort of mishmash right now.

It's just so interesting. The same production has led to completely different results. That's amazing. And Bieber could be in Cleveland still. That's right. He could be their fifth starter, I guess, you know, with him, obviously returning here with the Jays. Great stuff, Steve. It's going to be an incredible night of baseball.

Enjoy it, buddy. We'll do it again soon. All right. Can't wait, by the way. Hunter Green and Skeens going at it tonight, too. The Reds and Pirates, that's going to be a matchup. Cannot wait. Thanks, Steve.

Great seeing you, buddy. All right, guys. There he is. Steve Phillips, our TSM Baseball Insider. And again, to put this in a perspective, what's happened with Detroit. on August 25th, the Tigers held a 12-and-a-half-game lead over Cleveland. On September 23rd, the Guardians tied them last night. Less than a month, they blew a 12-and-a-half game lead.

Wow. There's got to be case studies done on that. Like, that's not just bleeding, dude. That's like organs are pouring out. Yeah. Like, that's self-destruction that is crazy. And to the credit of Cleveland, though, like Steve just said, man, They're playing really well, and they're winning ball.

They win every night. A month ago, everybody was like, consensus, AJ Hinch, best manager in baseball. Yeah. Look what he's done. What are they saying now? Terry Francona could be the guy now. Like, I mean, it's amazing how it can just flip on you.

Like, they were an overachieving team. They were, exactly. Kind of like the Blue Jays. Like, the Blue Jays have overachieved this year. They've gotten performances out of guys they didn't expect to get them. They've had all these incredible comeback wins, the confluence of events. They've won some games.

They probably shouldn't. The run differential hasn't been as good as the run. record suggests, but it's two different levels, right? Like with two different levels of you know, as you point out, like it's, there's 18 wheelers that go onto the shoulder and there's 18 wheelers that fall off the planet.

Yes, and that's what's happening here. Like a 12 and a half game lead, the Jays have had like a five game lead on the Yanke. Right. You know, like not 12. And they're the Yankees. And they're the Yankees. And, you know, tonight's a big offseason night for the Jays. Because Santander's back and playing, right? Miles Strauss playing in right field. Kiner

Falafah, who was not an offseason guy, they just picked them a few weeks ago. He's playing third, and Scherz is on a mount. So, like, a lot of the guys you picked up, Straw, no one thought they wanted. Right. He's actually played great for them this year. Shures are on a mound, Santander playing kinder for Leffa at third. So, yeah, this is going to be something for the Js and for the Tigers tonight and the Yankees, of course, as well. All right, more on this as we move forward. Best bet's coming up in about an hour. Bruce Boudreau in about 20 minutes. Rollplay level concern at 530. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and up on YouTube. Live.

All right, Bruce Boodrow in about 15 minutes. Roll play level of concern coming up. I've been watching the Galt Channel a little bit this week with the Ryder Cup going on. The European gear is so bad. I know. Did you see them walking around today? Like the shirt, what is that?

It's bizarre. It's bizarre. It's like the sleeves are cut off. They're different colored sleeves, yellow. It looks brutal. Not a good look. Well, they're trying to, the more out. outrageous you look. That's the draw attention to it. I just, I don't know. Would you wear that

golfing? Like I wouldn't personally, and I don't know who's picking up that gear. Like the Americans look pretty sharp. Give them credit. It looks pretty good on home soil. I got to think if you're going to Beth Page, you're buying stuff. Right. And I don't know if people in Europe are like that connected to Team Europe. I don't know. Because it's weird. Like you would be, but you're also connected to your own country. You know, if you're Spanish, you'd buy something that is Spanish in nature, but are you buying like a team Europe thing? If you're Italian, I don't know. But it's almost like

Europe hit the road, and they're like, we just no one's buying our stuff over here. So whatever. Let's throw off everyone's equilibrium with this gear. I think that's probably true. But it's also the thing where they wear a different shirt every day, right? So we got, like we got to see the whole... We'll see the whole

selection. Now we might just be one of their practice days. It's like an off kind of weird... And I guess it was. They played nine today. And it was just like, I don't know what we'll be seeing that on Sunday. I don't think we will. I hope we won't. I hope not because I do find the Rider Cup gear. It never ages

well. Never. Ever. Like you see clips from 99, you're like who signed off on that shirt? The Americans had some really bad ones in the Tiger era. Terrible gear. Really bad. And Tiger, you know he was like, really, man. He kept it pretty sleek with Nike and all that. And it was pretty

good looking stuff. But you got to wear it. Well, you're a part of the team. Team uniform. Got to wear the team uniform. Let's hope the hat fits Patrick Cantley. That's the only thing anybody really cares. Well, he's getting paid this time. Yeah, well, remember the hat, wouldn't fit last time. Yeah, wouldn't fit. But this

time, they had two years to figure it out. I think he'll be wearing, I'll bet you wears the hat on American soil. Yeah. I don't think he's going to be protesting much at Beth Page. No. Because they might, I don't think they'll turn on the American side, but if it gets ugly, they might. Oh, yeah. Like, if Europe's like dumbying the Americans,

the Americans will start to hear it. I mean, I think the Europeans have played this perfectly. Like, Rory's been trolling them for months, starting with, like, oh, I would never want to be a playing captain and essentially scared Keegan Bradley away from being a playing captain, period, which I think they could use Keegan Bradley. Absolutely. I'd take him over a handful of guys on the team. And then, and now it's like, European guys are showing up there and making a point at telling everybody, they're not getting a dime and they don't want a dime. And the Americans who've been making a fuss about not getting paid all this time are now

getting paid. Yeah, there's the gear. Like, what is that shirt noodles? I don't know. I mean, the colors don't even match. That's the problem. Is that a sweater? Is it like a Carlton Bank's sweater on top of the shirt?

It might be a sweater vest, but I don't know, man. Yeah, it's rough. The white collar, the blue sleeves, I don't know, tough gear for Macaroid. Not a great lot. Anyway, Europe doesn't care because you're right. They don't care about what they're wearing. They're there to win golf.

Yeah. They're there to win points. I just think they've played it correctly. Yeah, they have great, man. And they kind of put off of more of a team vibe. And now with, you know, Brandl Shambley pointing out that Bryson's a team captain's nightmare and Bryson's all about himself, which may or may not be true, but it's certainly a plausible enough conversation that people are buying both sides of it.

I love it, man. It's going to be a great weekend. It's going to be a great weekend. All right, Bruce Budrow coming up. Rollplay level of concern. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fanduil.

FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Get ready. All Things Go Festival lands in Toronto for the first time ever. October 4th and 5th at Budweiser Stage. 16 artists that define the next generation from Casey Musgraves and Renee Rapp to Remy Wolfe, Raven-Lenay, role model, and more. And with IHard Radio, you've got to. You can win the ultimate festival hookup for two with VIP weekend tickets and $500 cash. This is your IHR Radio experience.

Enter daily at IHRadio.ca.