OverDrive - Phillips on the Blue Jays' triumphant streak, the team's collective unit and the resemblance to 2015

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joined OverDrive to discuss the Blue Jays'' winning streak, the sweep against the Angels, the overall collective unit contributing to the roster, the resemblance to the 2015 team, George Springer's dominant stretch, the Nationals cleaning house, the Yankees ceiling in the AL East and more.

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The station that champions Canadian music. Loud, proud, and all yours. No passports required. Just press play. Tap into Made in Canada now on iHeartRadio.ca. Or the free iHeartRadio app. Joining us now on the Maple Toyota Hotline is Steve Phillips. Steve, welcome.

How are you today? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. Our pleasure. So looking for context here. I mean, obviously the J's are on a run here. What jumps off the page for you? I mean, what is surprising to you over their

last, I want to say what, five weeks when before that they were just struggling as they had for the previous two years, but this is different now. What makes it that way? Yeah, I think, I think really it's the, and I dare say it, the internal improvements that have happened with the hitters in this organization, right? I mean, we kept hearing, you know, we're going to have to get better internally. These guys are going to have to be better. You know, it's not the answer is not outside. It's these guys will be better. We have to make them better.

We believe they're going to be better. And now you've got Ernie Clement, you know, swinging the bat. You've got Addison Barger really swinging the bat. Alejandro Kirk is better. And, you know, you're getting contributions from a broader list of players that's that's making it not come down to you know Bashet and Guerrero and hopefully somebody on either side of them and so you know they've gotten late. I think we lost them there we're gonna have to

reestablish contact. Seems to be a pattern Jim. Hope this isn't a regular thing. I'm gonna have to double the invoice. Very abrupt. It's just like, you know, it's not like a cell phone click or like a cell phone cutout where you sort of hear them for a second and you don't hear them. That's just like somebody cutting the line. The dropout. Yeah.

A dropout. You don't want to have dropouts on a radio show generally. It's nobody's fault. There's nothing we can do. I like that, Luke. Thank you, Luke. Luke comes us out. have dropped on a radio show generally. It's nobody's fault. There's nothing we can do. I like that, Luke. Thank you, Luke. Luke helps us out.

I think it probably is somebody's fault. Who should we blame? I'm not sure. Oh, I don't know. But internal improvement is, you know, at some point when he comes back, we'll figure this out. Maybe that's the way to go for a lot of things because I just get the impression in a lot of sports,

there's only so much changing you can do. I mean, sooner or later, you have to look yourself in the mirror and make the improvement and maybe, you know, to Brad Treeliving's point about the DNA of the least, maybe that's where you do that. So, Steve, welcome back in. Our apologies for the technical problems. I don't know where we were, but maybe just talk about, again, the internal improvement and how difficult that is normally.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's just one that it just, there were so many question marks. And look, I'm not completely sold that Ernie Clement is gonna hit like this, that, that Addison Barger is gonna hit like this, but they're hitting like that right now. And I think Springer bouncing back is a huge part of this, not only for his own production, but for the,

it allows him to really be more of a leader and like he's a leader anyways, but when you're not performing, it's really hard for you to believe and speak with conviction to make your words matter to everybody when you know you're struggling, you're going to say if you need to do this, this, this, and they're like, well yeah, but what are you doing? And so, you know, I think they've got, you know, and I talked a little bit about this already, that they're in a rhythm right now that, you know, good teams have a way that they play when they win. And, you know, they go out there and they get good starting pitching, which means they're not chasing and playing from behind all the time.

They're scoring early, they're getting a lead, they're adding on runs, they're playing good defense, they're being more aggressive on the bases, which leads to more runs and creating more holes and pressure on the defense. And then you make them play defensively, which rallies the pitchers to throw it over the plate more, which means that everybody's excited when they come in off the field. And so there's just this momentum that starts to roll where it impacts every component of the game, and they're in it right now. And look, at some point point they're going to come out

of it and the key will be that they just weren't a streaky team but that they're a good team and that a loss is only a loss and not the start of a losing streak but I would say that they're playing some inspired baseball and you know you see them rooting for each other even more instead of their heads down and the introspection that comes when everybody's struggling. Steve, we've been sort of debating who the MVP of this team is and that's just the feeling around town. People are looking to give credit for this incredible run they've been on here. We've heard on this station in the past handful of days a bunch of different choices.

I think Catman and I both were leaning Springer as our MVP. We heard Rich Griffin, our former Blue Jays PR guy and great contributor here at TSN Radio. Griff had Alejandro Kirk as his MVP. We've heard votes for Bo Bichette from others. Where do you land on who the MVP of this Blue Jays team to date would be? Yeah, you know it's interesting that that and there's something that I think is very telling about the fact that you know It's hard to find the one guy And and that's the that's the key is that you are getting contributions that it is somebody different every night doing the job that they are And you know I think right now I would probably say Springer

To this point. I mean, leading the team in home runs, leading the team in RBIs, leading the team in OPS, and 10 for 10 in stolen bases. So you think he's driven in the most runs, he has scored the most runs. And so actually three runs short of Vlad in the run scored category. But and again, I think then the leadership aspect of it added on to it. And so actually three runs short of Vlad in the run scored category but And and again, I think then the leadership aspect of it added on to it I give it the Springer But I I think it's a very the bigger story is that there are a lot of names you can throw out there

And that's the sign of a pretty good team or a team that's at least playing pretty good Now you talked about how all the elements collide. If that was a football term, it would be complementary football. I don't know if that exists in baseball, but I think that's what we're seeing. I want to ask you the sort of a pointed question. How legitimate is the bullpen for you? Can it continue on? I had stats in the weekend, 14 in the third inning, six hits, two runs. That's pretty darn good. It's been it's been good but you know I think that that you know for me I see them as a good bullpen that can get better and Hoffman's had a great month there's no doubt about that a great month of June

but I do think that for me I want another guy that can pitch the ninth inning you know if I'm gonna Ryan Helsley if the Cardinals fall out of it or a blue does from Seattle if they fall out of it, or a Blue Jays from Seattle, if they fall out of it, I would like to get another ninth inning guy or an eighth ninth inning guy that, you know, you can mix and match Hoffman with a little bit at the end of the game. I think that, you know, that's one for me that I just, I want to shorten the game for the rotation and know that if you play the Blue Jays that you better ever leave after five because if you don't

You're gonna get a string of relievers that can shut you down and I think they're probably one Impact reliever away from being able to do that and one Guy that you know can blend in with the rest of that bullpen, you know And I'd like a little more support from the left side there if you can And and then you know, I think you've've got to consider where you are at the starting rotation. I know that with Lowell and Scherzer and certainly there's a little more stability there, but I want to make sure that I'm protecting anything catastrophic. This is not a year to hedge your bet.

This is a year to go for it. You made the investment in Vladdy. This is the youngest he go for it. You made the investment in Vladdy. He's the youngest he's ever gonna be. And you don't have Baschette next year under control. You don't know what, you don't have Bassett next year under control. You've got some decisions you're gonna have to make. And I understand that they don't like to give away the farm.

You remember in the whole marching pile getting on Ross Atkins back in 2015 when they went for it, they went big and they get priced and Tula Litsky and those guys. But you know what? I'm going for it because if you wait for next year,

next year may not ever get here. Injuries get in the way we saw them. Injuries Bichette did for the last several years. You know, you don't know what you're gonna get from other guys, you're gonna get under performance and aging players. You've got the bounce back from Springer. You've got Bichette and Guerrero in the mix of things. If you can get Santana there going. But you know, you've got Kirk, you've got Luke's doing things. You've got a lot of guys contributing.

I think you've got to go for it and do not hedge your bet at the trade deadline. Scottie What do you make of the Yankees, Steve? Like how big a threat are the Yankees to sort of pull out of this swoon they're currently in? Let me do last seven or the last ten and it goes back even farther than that for the Yankees where they've begun to struggle here although they did beat your Mets to finish out the weekend series in Flushing Meadow but like if you're the Blue Jays like how big a threat do you consider the Yankees and what is the sort of factors that are going to swirl around and decide whether or not the Yankees actually

make the charge that the Blue Jays would dread or the Yankees sort of wallow in their sorrow and fall out of the race? Yeah, so just to be clear, they're only my mats when they win the games They're the team that fired me have nothing to do with them anymore Yeah So, you know, I think that that I mean the Yankees have some pitching problems

in the injuries have really hit them hard and You know and and for every team, you team, every team has problems, every team has issues, but they're a team that they were in a rhythm and now they've gotten out of it. Freed's been very good obviously for them. But Rodan had a bobble and now look, they've lost a number of pitchers to injury and now Clark Schmidt is dinged up again right now. And you got Marcus Strowman back in the mix for them.

And they need Strowman. Remember, he wanted to trade because he wasn't going to be a starter. Then he got hurt. Now he's got a chance to start. But he's got a 70 RA. And they're going bullpen days on some days. And their bullpen's getting worn down a little bit And you know, and you look at the end of the game and Luke Weaver isn't been as good as he was last year

Uh, Devin Williams not as good as he was last year with the Milwaukee. So Um, and then you know if if judge and I thought this all along I thought when Stanton came back it was going to mess him up Um that when Stanton came back It was going to take Goldsmith and Ben Rice and complicate their playing time and their positional play. And I think that taking over that DH role means Judge can't ever serve as the DH. You can't give Dominguez a break in the outfield and a DH for a day. And so, you know, I do, I think Stanton messed them up and their pitching has been wallowing. And with the starting pitching and dinged around it, it affects the bullpen too. So, I mean, Yankees can turn it around

and Judd's can put them on their shoulders and lead them back. And if he gets the support from any number of those other guys, they can outslug some of their pitching issues until their pitching gets better. But Brian Casman is gonna have to be really aggressive because they're losing hold of this thing right now and watching it slip through their fingertips.

Steve without getting into the history lesson of who made the comment and what city he works in the Blue Jays run differential of 12 after 90 games is that a legitimate concern or where are you on that? Yeah I'm concerned about it I think it's I think run differential certainly tells a story and when you're 14 games over 500 and you're just the plus 12 what it means is you've had very good timing That you've scored more on days that you had a chance to win And you've had some blowouts

mixed in there, and when it gets away from you, it gets away from you. But generally, the more difference between how many you score and what you give up is an indicator of the strength of your team or the weakness of your team. And for the days, they have outperformed their numbers. You know, their record is outperforming the way they have performed on the field. It can balance out with a couple of blowouts here and there. But yeah, I do think it's a little bit of a concern because we've seen in the past, Alex Anthopoulos, you know, when he was there back in 2015 and they run to 500, but they had a plus 40 run differential. He looked at it and said we're better than our record,

timing's been a problem, timing always turns around, and we're going to get hot and everybody else has a hard schedule, we're going to come back and make the playoffs and win the division that they did. And so the run differential means something to me, but we'll only know at the end of the year if timing, because timing can last over 162 games. It can't. You can just have good timing where, you know, the days you score, you do it and you win, and the days you don't, you really lose. It's not normal, but I think it can happen. But I'm not going to look at any negative right now for the Jays.

We've been wanting more offense. We've been wanting more production from the bottom half of the lineup, and now we're finally getting it. And I think really it's just more sit back and enjoy it than start to look for a nitpick for reasons why we don't want to like this team. So the All-Star break less than a week away, Steve, the rosters are now assembled for the big game down at Atlanta next week. Who was your biggest snub on the roster obviously Toronto fans thought George Springer should have been considered given he's a fourth in the

American League in OPS who do you think got snubbed the worst in your reading of the rosters yeah I think that that you know you can make a case that that certainly Springer is a snub I think you can make a case that Carlos Narvaez catcher for the Red Sox, a little bit of a snub, but you know, listen, Kirk has played out of his mind and so I'm okay with that. And I think Soto, you know, I think, look, they may get in there at some point and if with injuries and you know somebody not being able to play and perform you can make case trey turner the phillies is a snub a rosa rena a bit of a snub with seattle he's on his way to another 2020 season uh overall but you know here's the thing it doesn't matter

uh and uh you know franbur veldez i mean mean, I don't know. I mean, yeah, I mean, seriously, I mean, he's got a 2.9 ERA and you know, the way I look at it, he's got 115 strikeouts and 115 innings. I guess it doesn't, man, look, we can expand the roster, but it's always going to be that next guy who feels like a snub and not everybody can make it. And you know, with pitchers generally,, you know those that deserve it get in because they're guys who can't pitch for the All-Star game or they're a little sore and they don't want to pitch. And you know so it's easy to get worked up now but let's see what it looks like once we get to next Tuesday.

Dave, wanted to get your take on the cleaning of house that went on with the Washington Nationals firing the GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez they've obviously had some great success with that with that team winning the World Series as recently as 2019 but thought there was time for a change how did you read that situation? Yeah I was surprised that it happened so quickly and at the timing of it, you know, it just seemed odd. Now I know there were clauses in the contract for options to be exercised and that sort of thing that, you know, my initial thought of it was, oh, they had a really bad month of June, owners probably thought the manager should be fired. And Mike Rizzo, the general

manager probably said, I'm not firing the manager. It's not, you know, there's no reason to fire him. And then over that he got fired but I'm hearing that that's not the case that they had an option they had to pick up and they decided that they weren't going to do it and they wanted to have a different direction and in some ways look if you're not if they're not going to be the leadership team moving forward then you want somebody in place to make the draft picks for you to make the trades at the trade deadline for you, who's going to be part of the future of that organization. And so, I don't know, I'm surprised.

I think they've got a nice group of young players there. That Soto trade has been huge. Injuries have hurt them a little bit. I thought this was the year to spend money and bring in a couple of veterans around the young kids that were going to help their development, but they decided to wait a year on that. But man there are worse jobs in baseball than getting that Nationals job with James Wood and Mackenzie Gore and CJ Abrams and the Hasselkid leading the way. They've got a nice foundation of some really good young players. Dylan Cruz, Top Prospect, first round picks from last year. It's a fun

team for sure. Steve, thanks very much. Appreciate your perseverance. Oh, you got it, guys. Thank you too. Appreciate it. That's Steve Phillips. Steve, join us on the Maple Toyota Hotline.

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