OverDrive - Special Edition Reaction Show following the Jays Game 7 loss in the World Series

Episode Date: November 2, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan, and Jeff O’Neill for the Special Edition Reaction Show. The guys discuss the Jays’ heartbreaking game seven loss, all the moments that led to the Dodgers win, their experiences watching the game, and how they are digesting the loss.

From tariffs to trade deals, the markets are changing. Is your portfolio ready for what comes next? For all your questions, you need a money guy. Kelvin, the money guy, will help you develop a financial plan that includes the right levels of diversity. The best way to navigate uncertain times. With strategic advice from Kelvin, you can not only protect your investments, you can grow them. Don't wait. Call 416-457 plan or visit ask kelvin.cai.a.

All right, here we go over, drive off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, up on YouTube live on you on TSN's YouTube channel. It's a Sunday morning. Sunday morning, first time we've ever done this, 9.45 a.m. Eastern Time. But I think it's fitting. I think it's fitting. If we're going to come up and do a reaction show, it's got to be based on what happened last night. Guys, I feel somewhat responsible.

I feel like an idiot, and I just saw an awful tweet before we came up. here and it said Toronto sports is for people that hate themselves and that's a tough one to read but I feel awful I was got ahead of myself and I was discussing handing out the trophy and I think that that was completely

inappropriate and I hate myself for doing that. I shouldn't have done if I was from Los Angeles and I was watching that I would have said what a jerk that guy is why is he getting so far ahead of himself and now I completely regret it and I don't know about you guys

I'm having a tough time I slept very well last night Win or lose I don't take Toronto sports home with me to bed with me

whatever but I can't get into that was a great display of baseball that was one of the best world series ever man that really stings for those Blue Jays guys

because you just you wonder what the sustainability is like I don't think they're just an automatic guarantee to be back there anytime soon so it's a really difficult loss. That's it. You got to reset, right?

Totally reset. You're back at the starting line. Brian, you were there. I mean, take us through it. I mean, you're, you know, like I said, I watched it. We all watched it. But you're in the building. Like, you know, walk us through the mood, walk us through everything. I think you got to, I think I have to start before the game even started. So I actually, in anticipation of them winning or losing, and understanding I wasn't going to get out of there for hours. after, you know, the final pitch, whether the Jays won or the Dodgers won, which was accurate. Dodgers one, I was there for about two, two and a half hours, you know, after the final pitch. I parked at my Maple Leaf spot.

Like, I was across the city, and I did that for a couple of different reasons. One, I didn't want to be parked anywhere close to the Rogers Center thinking if they win, there's going to be a million people down here. I'm never going to get out. Did you cab it to the Rogers? No, I didn't. So another reason why is because I actually wanted to take in the city before first pitch. So I probably parked my car 45 minutes before the game, I guess it was 720, something like that.

And I walked from basically the Esplanade all the way to the Rogers Center. It's about a 20-minute walk, past Union down front. I've never felt like more electricity in my life downtown. I couldn't get enough of it like it was intoxicating it was incredible everyone was in Jay's gear everyone had a place to go those that didn't were scrambling and like I was like people watching and eaves drop eaves eaves uh dropping because you're hearing people say well maybe we got to go here I don't think we can get in there and this place is full and I'm walking down front every bar had a lineup of what seemed like 50 to 100 people like the Boston people

pizza on front there were at least 100 people and i'm thinking of myself how are you getting in no one's leaving now dude there was there was places with a hundred person lineup five hours before first pitch right like i'm talking cafes where people are lining up to get in if you had a tv on and you were serving drinks last night you had people at your door knocking so walking into the stadium it was incredible it was incredible and you got got in there the anthems were great the place was packed like i probably walked in 15 minutes before first pitch 20 minutes and there was no one outside the dome waiting to get in which that's such a rarity you guys know what it's like you go to a game there's lineups you know through the first

inning people are still trying to get in no one was waiting to get in everyone was in wrong hayes i don't think anybody sat last night either i talked about canadians not standing they stood the whole game the whole game so you get in there the anthem are going crazy, you know, Scherzer comes out, and then just the build-up, and the game itself was incredible, just like the series was. Like, there were so many things that happened during the game. Like, the bench is cleared. That was insane.

The bullpins are running in. It gave seven of the World Series. I know. Like, what if the amps decided we're going to toss some people here? And it could have been critical people, too, like that? The bench is clear. What was that? The third inning?

Was it third? It was later than that, because the bullpen was in for the Dodgers. I don't remember the inning. It was after the Bichette home run. Yeah, it was crazy. Crazy. And John Snyder came out flying, dude. That's a foxhole guy.

Or the nine hitter hitting hit. Menes gets hit. And he was in a three-point stance, like ready to barrel over Dave Roberts or whoever else was going to get in his way. But, yeah, this is really, it's an interesting mentality because, you're on to something there. Oh, you know, I had my commentary postgame last night. We're going to talk about it today. The truth is we're never going to forget this.

Like, this is a sports reference for the rest of your life. You know, people are still referencing Kerry Fraser from 32 years ago. That was in the semi-final. Like, this is Game 7 World Series. This will never be forgotten. But, you know, some people are saying, I can't believe it. Woe is me. It's awful.

I'll never get over it. And then the other mentality is, well, It was a great ride. And it's a testament to how many different viewpoints there are out there. You know, that some people think it should just be pat everyone on the back. Others, you've got to break down what happened. I think in the end, the Dodgers are a great team. They're a championship team.

Like, the Dodgers are a great team. They have their backs up against the wall, man. If you think about all the things that they did, like the timely homers last night, the catch out. and left center. Robert's putting in Podges to make that catch in center. That was a wily move, man.

Yeah. Almost kill Kikei Hernandez. Yeah. But had to to make the play. But that alone, because I kept thinking Clement, like, there's our guy. Like, that's the,

he's going to single or it's going to be a sack, you know, like a, it'll bounce and they're in. That's it. It's a walk-off. But it was, like, the subtle little move. And then again, let's be honest, Yamamoto, like, back-to-back, that's ridiculous. That's the story of the series.

I mean, obviously he won the MVP, and there was no debate. I mean, Yoshiyamamoto won game two, six, and seven. And he's a starting pitcher, and all three of them were at the Rogers Center. He won three games in the World Series on the road. And we did our post-game hit, Hedge Gigan and I, after game six. and I said, well, at least you don't have to worry about that guy again. You know, like, oh, well, at least he's out of the series. So, you know, if you're the Jays, you're thinking this is great.

You know, you're going to get to Otani and Glassnow will come out, and Snell might come out, but you feel good. I disagree with you. I thought he was going to start yesterday. That's how scared I was of that guy. He's a freak, man. I'm telling you. I know.

I didn't think he had that in him. I mean, I think he could have done four more innings. Like, if it went four more, he just would have kept nodding for Dave Roberts and said, don't even think about pulling me out of this game rubber arm animal he was an animal machine he's an absolute machine and you got to give credit words too you know like the dodgers paid them it wasn't like they drafted and developed them but they paid him and he's shown up for them and he was phenomenal but you know for me it's it is about heartbreak like that these guys have already established themselves as you know a beloved team they worked their asses off all year

They shocked the world. I know Schneider was, you know, offended by the David versus Goliath. But that was about the expectation and the hype. Not about the actual individual players. You know, the Dodgers are the Dodgers. They spend more money. They win all the time. They're L.A.

It's Showtime. It's Hollywood. The Jay's had 74 wins last year. No kidding. That's what David and Goliath was. It was about the expectations before the season. Yeah. And no one, not even before the season, when the season the first month of the season,

I don't think anybody had any expectation for the Jays where you're like they might be able to do something, they might not. And it kind of goes back to one of my big picture thoughts on sports guys when it comes down to getting it done because I lived it. And it seems like it always happens. It's like the Cinderella, man, they get there and they make people fall in love with it. It seems like they don't get it done at the end a lot of the times. Like if you can give me some examples of them getting it done, give it to me.

It just doesn't seem like it happens. This one was so much different than the usual ones. Like, I'm not goofing on you. I agree with you, but you guys lost in five, right? No two? Yes. This, Jay's had a three-two game, a three-two lead coming home. And not only that, it seemed like they were playing better.

They were doing better things more often. They were, like, the Dodgers, I think their average in the series was like 203. The run differential favored the Jays, ironically. I'm sure Michael Kay is. probably stunned by that. But remember, that was the big Michael Kay thing. Well, look at the run differential. This isn't truly a team that can win the American League East.

You know, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. But the Jays played very well. And I think they outperform the Dodgers, but that doesn't get you a banner. It doesn't make a difference. The L.A. Dodgers won the game. The Dodgers are World Series champs. Now, what I did take away last night, I felt watching the post game,

obviously Hayes watched you. I watched, you know, some of the interviews. is I felt bad like Clement was crying. Like, you know, like, did the Js find themselves some players? Like, you know, can they sign Clement? Can, you know, they found Barger? Like, moving forward, they've got some players in place. I kept thinking, okay, they've got some players here that have shown up.

Your Savage is just on the scene, that type of stuff. But I also thought, is Boa out of here? Like, that's what scared me, you know? Possibly. And that's what sucked about last night. Like, when he hit that home run, you know, You know, having been there for the Springer home run in Game 7, you know, the big home runs. Exactly.

Like, it's not the exact equivalent because it's the third inning. And you always kind of knew that Dodgers were going to chip away to an extent and make it difficult. But, you know, they walked Vladdy. He comes up in the previous inning watching Bichette run the bases. He was wincing. Yeah, anyone else on base, they're up on nothing after two innings. Anyone else. But he couldn't do it.

He couldn't run. He couldn't move. and it was very similar to the Bautista home run in the manner of the second it hit his bat, the millisecond it hit his bat, it was gone. He knew it, and the whole place knew it. Like, you talk about a pop, like a wrestling pop. You know, it was like Stone Cold's music just hit.

When that thing left his bat, that place went crazy, and it's 3-0, and it's off the bat of Bichet, and you're thinking that, like, what if he's done? What if they move on? or he moves on, and ultimately, now it's business. You know, like there's emotion and there's ties and it's business time. And that's going to be on Shapiro and Ackis to figure out where they want to spend and how they want to spend and how they want to build.

And it's going to be on Bichet to negotiate a deal. You know, I'm sure he does want to stay, but he's also a problem. He said all the right things. He was like, I've always wanted to be here, but I don't know. That's going to be secondary to the pain that those guys are going to feel like. Just to get that close and have so many opportunities. And you just think of like the, like how small the margins are. Like, IKF sliding into home plate.

Like, if it was just, I know, the shoe came up. I was just like I wanted a little bit more oomph on that run home, a little bit more of a lead. But he even said he's like, they didn't want us getting doubled off. They didn't want that lead to be big. But it just see, I don't know why he was sliding to begin with. You know what's wild about that, oh? If Barger doesn't get doubled off the night before, they're not nearly as nervous.

They're not nearly as nervous. Not even talking about it. They're probably telling them, get a lead. Let's be aggressive here. Like, let's go win this thing right now. Not that you'd ever want to get doubled off. Like, those are fundamentals. You've got to be careful.

But I think they were so gun-shy because of what happened the night before. They went over the top. Probably. With their conservative nature. Safety. As a result, he couldn't make it. Let me ask you guys this. when we always look back and go TSN turning points.

Like the ball getting stuck under the fence. We've never seen that before. You know what I mean? Yeah, but it's still a second and third no outs, though, noals. I get it. I get it. Like, that's not why they lost the World Series. No, I'm not, but I'm saying the TSNN turning points,

things that stick out for me, that, Barger getting picked, the home plate, like they've got bases loaded. Yeah. And you can't get one off the cross. And you can't walk it off. Like, you know, something. like obviously the pages or pages catch like there there's so many different things within that series that stand out but you know in the negative way like the barger getting picked that might be the one i would circle well that's what i think again makes it um particularly painful of your blue jay fan is that they had multiple opportunities and in game six yeah like you know they're they're right there right there right ready to pounce and win that game.

You've got second and third, nobody out. And, you know, it's whether you think Dean could have played it or not, he immediately threw his hands up. And generally that's going to go the direction of the defending team. The ball's lodged, so be it. Clement, unfortunately, he was so phenomenal. He swings out of pitch up and in from Glasnow that he regrets, I'm sure. I'm sure he's going to go into the offseason saying,

Why did I swing at that? Like the place is going crazy. They got him on the ropes, and he immediately hands him effectively a free out. And then Barger makes a massive base running mistake. There's no other way to put it, overly aggressive. And then the next night, you know, it's a lack of aggression, where you miss it by an inch, like an inch. And that's what's – and even in the bottom of the 11,

Vlad's on third base with one out. You know, he's right there to at least tie the game and push it to 12 innings. Dude, no kidding. Like, he hits a double to start the inning, and it's like, okay, like, this is tie ball game, at least at minimum. And with the ebbs and flows of the whole series, that felt almost predictable. Like, of course, they're going to come back and score again. Like, credit to Will Smith for hitting a home run, but obviously the Blue Jays are going to tie those. Yeah.

And that's the thing, like the whole series, which you can appreciate just as a sports fan, was the theater. Like, it just had everything. Well, what about we haven't even talked about Rojas. don't think that guys hit a home run and yeah i don't know when his last one was but for that guy to hit that home run is insane oh that's tough though the giving up the singular home runs you know what i mean like beber that's well and you savage too right that's being lost in the shuffle moncy but moncy got him and you thought okay he's still he's out it's all good bring in hoffman for four outs yeah if you give hoffman maybe a two run lead it's different

but he didn't and listen the jeffman experience was always going to be a psychedelic ride man like it was always going to be a psychedelic roller coaster it was him against his home run problems were they ever going to creep up again yeah could he avoid giving up a homer and it looked like smooth sailing it looked like he was dialed in throughout the playoffs and then he came up a damn homer it's so unfortunate because he really had redeemed himself he was so good in september really good in October.

Great to close out the series against Seattle. Remember game six? He got them six outs. And then game seven, he got them the final three outs. And as he pointed out, it's almost like it was a trap at bat. Like Otani's on deck and you're thinking, I just, okay, Rojas, move.

You know, like get out of the way. So I can figure out what I'm doing to this guy. And Miguel Rojas, of all people, hits the biggest home run of the season until two innings later Will Smith tops him. And just watching that was

it was crazy. Like it was a crazy experience. I feel very fortunate that I was down there for the whole ride. And that's what sucks about today. Now it's going to end anyway. If they win or lose, there's no more games. That was going to be the end.

But the shared experience that everyone had for the last five weeks, six weeks really, because even the last week of the regular season was a playoff race. They were chasing that top seed in the American League East. It's been a six-week, like, binge of just on-your-edge baseball. It's been incredible. There's no question of how awesome it is, Hayes. The only thing about it is when you don't win, it fades so fast.

Like, it just disappears to. Remember that run? That was a great run. Like, it's just crazy how amazing it was for people, bar owners, everybody that got together and kind of got united and galvanized the whole city and country, but it's amazing how quick it disappears when you don't win. It just became like a moment in time where it was like, man, that was a ton of fun. And I hate it for people.

Like I said, I don't really care who wins and loses, but I watched that, like Will Smith hit that homer. And I literally said to myself, I cannot believe I'm watching this right now. Well, I felt the same way. You know why it disappears, though? Because there's no parade. There's no, you know, like, if. If they won last night, this would go on for weeks. No kidding.

There's no parade, Jamie. There's no World Series championship hat. There's no World Series championship. Yeah, that's what it is. That's what it is. Because you're right. The next phase, if they won last night, the next phase starts, right? Is the hats, hey, you've got to go.

We're going to the parade. What are we doing? There's a watch party for the parade. You know, like it'll keep going for weeks. Now this will slowly fade out in the next week as these guys, This isn't hockey where there's year-end meetings in three or four days. Oh, they're gone. These guys are gone today, if not tomorrow.

Like, a lot of them, and you won't hear from them. Like, that's the difference between baseball and other sports, too, right, Brian? Yeah, no, you're right. And the guys who are free agents and not coming back, that's it. You're gone. And, like, I had an experience I was walking out, I don't know what time it was, probably around 2 a.m. or something. The clock's going back of just completely throwing me on. I know. It's like completely jammy. I have no idea what time or day it is right now.

But I was walking out, and Chris Bassett was walking out. And he and I were in the elevator together to go back up. And all I'm thinking to myself is, like, shut up and look forward. You know, like, don't even think about looking at this guy. Dude, if you had a tossed out of that was a tough one, I would have strangled you myself. I had that out-of-body experience where I'm like, Did it did it cross your mind just put your hand on the shoulder and say tough one man, or say something stupid?

No. That's what happens. People get around celebrities or sports people and they think they have to say something and they ultimately say something stupid. It's like being out of funeral. Exactly. They just blurt something out and it's stupid. And it's innocent because you can feel the air.

I could feel it. He was so dejected. And, you know, he's a free agent. That could be it for him in Toronto. um and i'm in the elevator and i'm saying that to myself i'm like just look forward and shut up like just look forward and shut up don't say a word to this guy and you know he walked by one of his teammates who was going the other way and there wasn't an interaction which was kind of funny and then he saw i think it was Jimenez on the way out and they embraced and hugged and you could

tell they were you know it was tough like there were just players kind of scattered all over the place and then he walks out the building and there's still fans there because they know where the players come out and they gave him a big round of applause and he kind of fist-bumped I thought that was really cool and I went the other way

he went the other way but just the feeling like that was two two and a half hours after the last pitch I think something like that and there's still players walking out and just it was so heavy the air

you know it was so heavy and then the other side of it I'm on the field, which I always find funny. Like, I'm posting stuff on Instagram. Blue Jay fans are like, screw you, no one wants to see that. I'm like, what do you want me to do, man? The Otani. Yeah, like I get it.

The Dodgers won, but you want me to pretend like they didn't? I didn't play the game. You know, like, people are going nuts. So like, take that picture down of Otani. I'm like, all right, sorry. Like apologies. Take the picture down of Otani. People are going crazy.

Yeah. And I get it. Everyone's sensitive right now. but it was the most kind of amazing experience where the Dodgers have the celebration and they're all kind of going different places. Kershaw's walking around with the definition of a dad bought. Like he had no shirt on. His body is hilarious walking around.

He's like me with no shirt. That's what he looks like. He's like my age. He's got kids. Yeah, he's just cruising around with no tarp on. But I'm standing 10 feet away from Mookie Betts. his wife and I think a few family members and he is laying down as if he's

having a picnic at Christy Pitts and just talking and not and I'm like there's a guy who's won four world series and it's actually not even like he's excited his business as usual but I couldn't take my eyes off the interaction where he's just sitting there laying down on the field and he and his wife were talking another

guy comes over shows them a picture they laugh a little bit they're talking i can hear them and they're talking about you know oh when we're going to get out of here and i'm like this guy just won the world series no champagne no beer no in the background going crazy just laying there like having a picnic on the rogers center field and i'm like that's a guy who has won four world series been there down he makes 300 he's got 300 million dollars and it's just that's the way it goes if you're in L.A. Dodger. I was in awe of it. It was like an incredible experience. But yeah, the whole scene was something. And like Shohei Otani, the media down there. And what was

also weird was having been down there for game one, two, six, and seven, I didn't see a lot of Dodger fans. Like I saw very few. Dude, I didn't either, man. Yeah. Compared to what was in L.A. as far as Jay's fans? Exactly. Tons of Jays fans. And I, like, when the Yankees were here, I saw a fair amount of of Yankee fans. You know, like, not a ton, but you could tell they were here, you know, whether they're from

Toronto or came up across the border or even up from New York. I didn't, I saw eight to ten Dodger fans over the course of the four games, and then all of a sudden, they're all there celebrating. There was like 1,500 Dodger fans, and I'm thinking, where did these people come from? Yeah, well, they were probably all in suites and stuff, a lot of family members that talked away in different places. Yeah. Because I saw the same thing.

It's like all these people were crawling out of the stands. It's like, where the whole were you? It's all family. They go out to the street and grab people and throw them in Dodgers gear. Do you think they were incognito? What I mean by that is sometimes you go to a hostile building. Not saying the Roger Center would be hostile. But even if I was a fan of the other team, I don't know if I would be a jersey guy

or have a coat over top of it or something. And their colors kind of matters. That's true. So I was like, I was thinking about that last night. You're right. Like they would pan the crowd and it was Blue Jay's pandemonium. And then there would be like a Dodgers fan. Like you could tell the director would be trying to find after a home run.

They'd be trying to find a Dodgers fan or something and they go to it. But the colors kind of match. And I also think if I'm in a hostile environment, like Jay's fans didn't care in L.A. Like I didn't see that as a hostile environment. Everyone there is too cool and it's that Hollywood, you know, mentality where here I think people would, you know, be, take offense. They would be a little bit more pissed to be like, not fights or anything like that, but more like, hey, you know. More edgy a little bit. Egy, that's, I guess, but I just didn't notice it.

You know, the Dodgers, they're somewhat immune to it all because they've won so much. You know, this is their third world series in, I think, six years. and, you know, they've been to the World Series five of the last 10. They basically go there every year. And, like, we're looking at, Fando's already got the future odds for next season. And sure enough, the Dodgers are a heavy favorite. Like, on Fando for the 2026 World Series, the Dodgers are plus 350. Where's the Js fall in that?

The Js are plus 200, yeah, they're, I believe, 10th or 11th on the list. Yeah. Tied with the Padres and the Braves in terms of odds. And I think that's appropriate because the J's, now they've got to reset. You know, they've got to prove they can do it again. That's why you've got to cash when you have one of those magical runs. Like you've got to make it cash. Yeah, I don't know.

That's it. It was right there for you. It was right there for you. It's also, it's a new experience because when you think Leif's Jay's Raptors, 92, 93, the only times prior to this year that Jays have been in the World Series, they won both. Yeah. The only time the Raptors have been in the NBA finals, 19th, they won it.

This is different. You know, like, everyone's trying to compare it to losing in the first round or the second round. This is different. Like, this is the championship series. And it's never really been experienced. And, again, I think it's heartbreak and more so than anything else that I can recall. Like, unfortunately, I think it goes to the top of the list. I think it surpasses everything else.

No kidding, especially because they didn't get their ass handed. to them. It was like they were the better team doing better things, better hitting, better everything, and they didn't close the deal. It's crazy, man. You're right. If they get pumped and swept or lose in five, you're like, all right, hey, it was awesome. It was fun. Good for them. You're probably right. That's really ultimately what makes it sting the most of your Blue Jay fan is you really believed. You really believed and you deserve to believe. You know, we were talking about it on Friday and yes, we got a little ahead of ourselves, you know, But I genuinely thought they were going to win.

Like I was not putting it on. I genuinely thought they were going to win the World Series. I thought they deserved to be favored, which they were after game five. You know, they were favored to win the World Series at that point, naturally. And I really thought they were going to get it done. And even the last two games, you know, they lost by a thread. Like they barely, they had the Dodgers in both games. And ultimately it's all for not.

because the Dodgers are World Series chaps. It is, and the other thing, too, is it sent a ripple effect, like, through the country. Like, this isn't, you know, singular sport. Like, if you're looking at, like, the Oilers have done that twice in a row. But people are like, oh, I'm not an Oilers fan. This is, you know, the Blue Jays were Canada's team. Like, people, regardless of their affiliation with any NHL team or any other sport, it was like everybody rallied around the Js.

and you could feel it like, you know, McDavid gets interviewed afterwards. He's gutted. He's like, they won. He doesn't care. He's like, God, I felt so bad. Like there's, it galvanized everybody. Like, regardless. And the other thing, too, is if you're a casual fan, which a lot of people that I know

were just casual fans, they were invested. That's the other thing. The diehards always be there, but the casual fan, the city and the country grabbed them. Like, it was, you could really. really feel it. Yeah, just from the outside. Easy to do, right? Easy to do because they were a likable team.

They were clutch. Like, that's really the ingredient that puts you over the top when you're clutch. And unfortunately, yeah, and the clutch, you know, the, it didn't, I guess it expired. You know, that clutch gene, it just, it expired in game seven at the end of the game. They had some, what was it? Didn't they have like 58 or something come from behind wins this year? and they just this was the one that fell short like that's the crazy thing too yeah yeah it really does and when the dust settles you know you wonder what they're going to do in the future you know

how do you use this as a sales pitch it's definitely better than 74 wins you know it's a lot better than 74 wins now you're you're pitching blotti's here for a long time treya savage is here you've got a framework of a team that's very good um so it makes their lives easier you know i think Toronto as a city was put under the spotlight. I think the fan base was put under the spotlight. I know, but Hayes, all those things you just mentioned, like you Savage and Flattie and

who knows what happens with Bow, is it going to translate into this again? That's the big question mark. And that's what we talked about, half in to cash in. Like, it's just all it's going to be is question marks. You see teams get to the World Series all the times, a Stanley Cup final all the times, but then they just disappear into

the win, man. You don't hear from them for a long time. So that's the key for jays can they convince people or actually pull it off that this is something to build on that where they can be back here i don't know i don't know when it would be but soon but this where brian where i think you're going does this make a free agent want to come now to toronto does it give more of a window it's like okay you've got your savage you've got vladdie maybe they get bow done but somebody that maybe not the otani type of situation but somebody that may have thought differently about toronto watch this and goes

They got something nice there. I like that organization, like the city. Maybe do they get a marquee free agent because of this run? That would be the hope. If this doesn't do it, then nothing's ever going to do it. Nothing will. Ultimately, it's a perfect test. If we get to the winter meetings and they're kicking tires on Kyle Tucker,

and they offered them the same thing that another team offered and he goes somewhere else, then I guess that'll be the answer. It may still be the answer that it doesn't really matter. and that's what made this so magical, oh, to your point, is that everything connected. Everyone, for the most part, had a career season. Even you look at October, like, Vladdy was perfect. The defensive plays he was making last night were crazy.

Outraises. Like, crazy how good he was. And what happens with George Springer next year? He just had arguably the greatest year of his career at 36. Does Ernie Clement just turn into a guy? He just set a record for most hits in the playoffs. I know. Right.

Exactly. Is he just a guy next year? Well, and if Scherzer leaves and Beber leaves and Bassett leaves, what do you do with your rotation? You know, you've got to find multiple arms, and that's the question. That's what makes it difficult, is that a lot, like, internal improvement popped, and everything came together, and they were clutch, and they were the best hitting team in baseball, and they were great playing at home, and their bullpen patched together at the right time. But can you guarantee that next year? Of course not. But how much goodwill did, you know, Shapiro and Atkins just by themselves?

Well, a fair amount. I mean, you get to Game 7 of a World Series. But it was a year ago. And John Schneider, for that matter. And John Schneider. Although there's still people that, like, they lose in extra innings of Game 7. And it's Schneider's fault. Schneider, he poachers are too early.

Shouldn't have gone to this guy. Shouldn't have gone to that guy. Like, I think you got to give John Snyder a lot of credit for the way he handled everything this year. Were there mistakes made? Of course. Dave Roberts made mistakes. Everyone is going to make mistakes. Schneider's not perfect, but I think he's a, I think he represents the team very well. I think he had them ready to play. Fundamentally, they were very strong. But yeah, in terms of Shapiro Atkins, I think Shapiro is due for an extension. I think John Snyder's coming up for one soon

and I would anticipate they're both going to be here for quite some time. And Shapiro in particular like he was heavily involved in the renovations you know getting the money for dun eden and changing all the facilities down there he's the guy who got here first and you know game seven of the world series like mark chaparro is he doesn't match messai usuri which is a weird reference to make because messiah's not here anymore and five years is what masai got and he won i guess that's the answer noodles yeah the guy who won got five years that was what he got so if you don't win what does that mean you got three yeah is it a two or three year grace period for all these guys probably same it's the same yeah it's it's five years right it might

be yeah it probably is for shepiro i get the impression like he's got a job for life almost if he wants it yeah but um yeah that'll be interesting to see you know how people react to the offseason what they can get done you know how quickly it happens they're a hundred days away from showing up for spring training because they're It's November. Yeah. Like, they played into November, and now they got to dust off and get ready to play again.

Grapefruit League starts in, like, 102 days, you know, or 110 days. There'll be guys, like, blowing through that. Oh, yeah. There'll be load management happening. Road management. A few guys may show up a little thicker than expected and have to work through it, all of that type of stuff. But, you know, it's worth the run.

Like, you wake up today regardless. Of course. you'll take it every time you'll take that run you'll take the excitement all of that but it was it's again living with somebody who grew up here the gut punch like i you know hayes you weren't at home oh you were surrounded by family i'm sure but like you know seeing the emotion all of that built up and you know i had oh my wife had a rally towel on her head at in in the ninth inning and didn't take it off till the end of the game like i was yeah over going You'll never experience anything like it.

The emotional roller coaster of being up 3-1 and then going, okay, they chip away. And you can feel the Dodgers just chipping away. Yeah, that's how they operate. Like, and the Js had so many chances to pad their stats and put up more runs. That's what it was. Like Dol Varshow came up in game 6 and 7. Every time he was up, it seemed like there were multiple guys on and guys in scoring position. And he could not cash any of them.

like Varshot just could not give you one last big hit for his season. And you're right. That's, you know, I said it a lot. I've never seen this before. I've never experienced that before. This will never be replicated clearly. You know, the ups and downs of the series, the fact that they went through the Yankees,

the Mariners, played the Dodgers, Shohei Otani, Yoshi Yamamoto, you know, the nature of it. The 18-inning game and game three, It's an all-time great moment. They lost that game. But it's, yeah, it's unprecedented, you know, heartbreak if you're a Toronto sports fan. It just, it tops everything else. There's no other way to put it.

You can't sugarcoat it. It doesn't mean you don't love the team. That's not putting the guys down or anything like that. It's just a reality that in the end, everyone thought they were going to win. You had to believe, wow, this is actually going to happen for the first time in 32 years. And now they're back at the starting line. And I don't know, hopefully it's not a 32-year gap, but it could be. Dude, it's even a tough comment to listen to back at the starting line.

Yeah, it really is. Yeah, it really is. It really, really is. But, hey, the Leafs got themselves a win last night. And that was another thing. I was walking down Bremner, like I took a different route. And I'm leaving the dome and, you know, people are cleaning up. And, you know, the atmosphere was such a, it was heavy, like I was saying.

It was a really kind of heavy vibe around the park. And even all the staff that worked down there, like it's a grind, a baseball season, man. Yes. And a playoff run. Like they played 10 home games in, what, four and a half weeks, whatever it was, five weeks. But all the staff down there and everyone's engaged

and everyone's pulling for them. And then it's, you know, these tearful goodbyes and what a season and we'll see you next year. And I'm leaving the dome and it's like 2.30 in the morning. and most people have scattered, and I actually see one of the Dodgers buses get, like, a police escort to whatever hotel they were going to. So I see that kind of go out, and it leaves,

and as it turns left, like Scotia Bank opens up, and I'm like, now it's the lease turn. Now you guys are on the clock. Now the Leafs are on the clock. You start paying attention now, right? Exactly. I did. Obviously, you guys know me.

I had the game on. I watched the Leaf game from start to finish as well, but obviously had the Jay's game on. And I kept thinking they need to win this game regardless of what happens just because they wake up today, they're on the clock. They needed to do what they did last night. It was convincing fashion 5-2, and now we're ready to rock, and there's nothing to see here.

Now the rallying cries had down the street to Scotia Bac Arena. You want to know what kind of stupid random team I thought about a little bit during this World Series. It was the Angels. I was like, how did you have Otani and Prime Trout for all those years? And you did nothing. Nothing. And this guy just won back-to-back World Series.

And you had Prime Trout for a bunch of those years. What were you doing? Like, what were you doing? It's one of the more fascinating fumbles in sports history. It's as much. It will be a great dog. They never made the playoffs, though, right? No, they never made the playoffs.

No, brutal. You could understand if Otani and Trout made it to the final, like, you know, deep into the playoffs, had some runs or something. There was feathers. Nothing. Mike Trout's played in three playoff games. Which is crazy. He lost all three of them. They made it to the ALDS, and they got swept.

That's three out of five. He's never won a playoff game. And you look at Otani. you know, just the vibe around Otani and it's always it's kind of a fascinating experience like being in the press box because for such an international event

I know it's a North American League and it's the World Series but it's you know world is a little bit liberal right? It's more about the U.S. and Canada but the amount of like Japanese media there

and as big as like Sasaki is and as big as Yamamoto is like this Otani cad is just a completely different beast but even i was sitting right beside a couple of media members from uh mexico and they were up here effectively covering alohando kirk you know and it was pretty hilarious because the one guy was literally watching like reality shows and facetiming people the whole game and then kirk would get up and he would dial right in to get the video out he'd lock in on Kirk. Kirk would pop out and he put his headphones right back in and press play

this reality show. Like this guy, it's only Kirk. Yeah. Like, it didn't matter what else was going on. Like, this guy was here to report on Alejandro Kirk, right? And then the Japanese media, of course, it's still covering the game, but it was about the Japanese players. And I'm sure, you know, every country that was represented around the world with a specific player, they were here kind of covering that and kind of except the one guy that slept through the whole game except for that guy was that game one that was game one that guy was out like a light beside hedge for three hours that guy had gotten on a bird that day I think so up for 24 hours and got to the game and was exhausted yep right and I saw him yesterday you've been down to the jays shop

and picked up a bunch of stuff so happy ready to fly home wherever he's going Yeah, exactly. But, yeah. Showway, yeah, he's an international star. And they got to him, right? Like, what was the vibe, Brian? Like, I saw Schneider pissed off that he was taking his time getting back out to the mound, right? Which was valid.

Like, the first inning, now, you know, he gets to third base, I think it was. He gets on, he's running the bases. But he went into the dugout and was resetting. And there's a clock that counts down. where the pitcher is supposed to have warmed up, and you'd be ready. The batter's coming in, and it expired, and the Ump still gave him a chance to go through his full routine warming up for the inning. Yeah, I think the normal time is like two minutes. Yes, it's two or three minutes, and it expired before he even started throwing, and the Ump made an exception for him.

So Schneider came out naturally and said, hey, what's going on here, knowing it's Otani, knowing they're going to give him leeway. You know, it's game seven in the World Series, and this guy's pitching and hitting. There was no way they were doing anything to him. But then he did the same thing, the second inning, I think it was, or the third inning. He slow-played it again, and Schneider, you could see him yelling. You know, he's like, let's go here. This isn't fair, blah, blah, blah. But they weren't going to make a difference.

But ultimately, you're right, it wasn't the Show Hey, Otani show. Game three was. You know, game three was a masterpiece, but they didn't lose because of Show Hayotani. No, I remember, I think it was on this show asking you, Brian, like I said, because we were raving about him maybe six months ago, eight months, whatever it was, saying like at some point this guy could be hitting and pitching in a game seven of the World Series and dominate the way that he has been dominating because he did have what that was in his last series. Yeah, I guess Milwaukee, game four, three home runs, 10, 11 strikeouts.

Which is one of the greatest performances of all time. Yes. And I kept thinking to myself, this guy might pull this off. And he didn't. He just didn't have, you know, the. Jay's got to him, he didn't have his good stuff. But that's another amazing thing about this, is that game was so crazy that Shohei, starting on short rest, is like story number 12.

Yeah. You know what I mean? And that's what was going to make it so magical if the Jay's won, is that Bichette hit the home run off Otani, and there was another picture, ice cold of Bichette watching it go and Otani watching it go, just like Vladdy got him earlier in the series, just like he's savage when he struck him out in game five and ultimately those pictures they still exist but they don't have the same meaning you know it's not the same meaning because shohay got the last laugh and that's you know it didn't matter who's on the other team if the jays won parades

people millions of people into the streets greatest experience ever for the rest of your life you look back on it and just say i can't believe we got to go through that but it would have been a cherry on top the fact that it was against the Dodgers and Shohei Otani and Otani was on the mound and ultimately they couldn't pull it off all right well listen we're going to be

talking about this team for a long time talking about this game and this series for a long long time and you know credit to Jay's they had a great great season there's no other way to put it they had a great great season they just fell short credit to the Dodgers you know the Dodgers

are champs and they've done it again but this was fun look at us look at us on the fly here sunday morning the special edition reaction show on a sunday morning i love it and we got bills chiefs coming up later this afternoon what's your are you you look exactly i feel bad i actually felt bad for you brian you probably had four hours sleep last here's the thing i was on the ice at eight a m this morning with my youngest my wife tried to let me sleep she came flying in my youngest through an elbow drop like jimmy and said, you said you're coming. So I rolled out of bed and was like, all right, I said I'd be there because I wasn't there

yesterday and I've missed a lot of hockey over the last month. Dad of the year, man. Dad of the year, that's basically why I'm telling you the story. I'm looking, I want everyone to realize I'm such a great guy. Well, then you can lay on the couch all day, in and out of consciousness. Now my oldest has a game in about an hour and a half, so I'm back off to the ranks. We're playing Belleville today. It's a big game, a home and home.

in Belleville yesterday. I drove to Belleville before the game. Jesus. So, yeah, I'm tired. I'm exhausted, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It was a blast. It was so much fun to be down there. The last five weeks, six weeks have been incredible. And we roll it over. Now it's for the Leafs. The Leafs and the Raptors to pick up the spirits of the city. I know it's going to happen. It has to happen. All right, boys. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for coming in on a Sunday and helping us out too. J.P. Ryan, Joe, everyone behind the scenes. This will be podcasted online.

You can find it wherever you download your podcast, tsn.ca, tsn.c50.ca. We're going to get it up on YouTube, YouTube live, if you want to listen to this or watch it. We've been streaming. We've been on the radio. We've been doing it all. It's been an awesome, awesome morning.

It's too bad it wasn't a different result. But it is what it is, as they say. Good stuff. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in this morning. TV, radio, podcast, web, course up on YouTube live on TSN's

YouTube channel. We're out of here. Enjoy your afternoons. Enjoy your evenings. We're back tomorrow at 4 p.m. We'll chat then.