Latest / Foul Territory / Kevin Pillar on AL WC picture, Blue Jays frustrating fight for a playoff spot, What’s wrong w/Vladdy?

Transcript

Kevin Pillar on AL WC picture, Blue Jays frustrating fight for a playoff spot, What’s wrong w/Vladdy? · Foul Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, it's time for Light Takes presented by Miller Time.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Kevin Pillar joining us right now for a little extended chat.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: KP, good to see you.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Let's get right into Toronto. Where are we at here?
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: And also, what's the pulse of the city? From what
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I've heard, they're not as pissed off as maybe some
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: other fan bases would be. Of course, you'd like to
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: be in a great, cozy spot. The point I'm trying
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: to make is they appreciate how deep the run was
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: last year and just the fact that you know, they're
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: hanging around here, is garnering fan support.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: Your thoughts?
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: No, I think it's very accurate. And I was up
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: there a couple of weeks ago when I think they
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: hit rock bottom as a fan base. They started booing
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: the team and specifically Vladi. That was two weeks ago.
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: And then they went out and it's just been weird.
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: The Blue Jays season has been an absolute roller coaster.
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: And at some point you think the ride's going to end.
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: And once again, this last road trip they're on, they
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: go into Cleveland. This is the games they have circled
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: on their calendar, trailing the Guardians by two games. You know,
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: they go in, they win the first two, they lose
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: the second one.
• 1:12
  Speaker 5: Okay, check.
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: Then they go into their next series, Kansas City, a
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: team that's playing pretty well. They go in, win two straight.
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: Then they lose the finale. And then you're like, man,
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: they're going into Sacramento. They got a chance to really
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: go into a place and.
• 1:26
  Speaker 5: Sweep a series.
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: And they go out and, you know, they lose two
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: out of three. And despite that, all being said, you
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: look at the standings and nothing has really changed for them.
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: Like this has been their season in a nutshell, the
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: ability to go out and win like three in a row,
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: but not three against the same team. They have not
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: been able to sweep a series. And it was, it
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: was a tough series in Sacramento. You know, they, they
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: had Dylan Cease on the mound for the first game.
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: And at this point of the season, it's just, you
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: cannot lose a Dylan Cease start. He's just been so
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: good and so valuable and, and it's been so hard
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: to win games for them. He doesn't pitch great in
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: that game, and the offense finally picks him up, and
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: then they get a big home run in the top
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: of the ninth inning. Andres Jimenez hits a home run
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: to tie the game. They bring in Louis Varlin, and
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: he gets the loss, and as you guys know, bringing
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: a closer into a game in a non-closing situation is
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: always a little bit of a mystery, and Louis has
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: been so darn good, you can't blame him there, but
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: that Sacramento series was definitely an opportunity for them to
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: really gain some ground in here. Fortunately for them, no
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: one is playing any better than they are, and they
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: find themselves after going into Cleveland, winning two out of three,
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: they find themselves six days later in the same exact
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: spot they were at.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the soft underbelly of the schedule that they
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: were hoping to take advantage of. They didn't. Now, like
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: you said, they're a game out.
• 2:49
  Speaker 5: Let's be honest.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: If this team makes the playoffs somehow, some way, are
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: they actually a good team? Is this fan base, like
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: you said, like, hey, you know, such a great run
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: last year. We're still happy, like, blah, blah, blah. Are
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: they a good enough team to knock somebody off in
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: the playoffs? And you can't give me the answer. Well,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: anything can happen in a three-game series.
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: Well, man.
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: Okay, I was going to say, they are suited to
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: position well in a three-game series because if you're rolling
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: out Dylan Cease for game one, You have Jose Soriano
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: in game two. And believe it or not, the 42-year-old
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: Max Scherzer has actually been throwing the ball really well.
• 3:27
  Speaker 5: But the other starter that's been.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: Really, really good for the Blue Jays this year has
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: been the TBD, the bullpen day. I think there's something
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: like 18-5 this year, which is incredible, the amount of
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: bullpen games they've rolled out this year.
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: It's been really good at Ann.
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: A guy like Spencer Miles taking the ball for some
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: bulk innings. Braden Fisher usually is the opener. But the
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: one thing the Blue Jays have had all year that's
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: been a strength of their roster has been their back
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: end of the bullpen and their bullpen as a whole.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: This bullpen is running on fumes a little bit. Do
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: they have enough to win that three-game series in the wildcard?
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: I think they do if it lines up where... You
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: can get Dylan Cease on somewhat normal reps, Jose Soriano,
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: and like I said, you decide to go Max Scherzer
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: on a short leash or you just implement a bullpen day.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: But how do they fare in a long series? That's
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: the question. I don't know if they can get out
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: of a long series because, like I said, they've had
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: 20-some-odd games, bullpen days. I know you have some more
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: off days in the postseason, but the amount of innings
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: that bullpen has had to log at some point there's
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: going to be some regressions. Some fatigue is going to
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: set in. They can't be that good for that long
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: of a period. But offensively, it's just, it's.
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: Been a rollercoaster all year.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: What happened to Vladdy, I think it has to be
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: studied this offseason. And as you guys know from firsthand experience,
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: if you guys want to be a great team, your
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: great players have to be your best players. And this year, Vladdy,
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: who is their best player, has not been their best player.
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: And without him, it would be very difficult to win even.
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: A short series.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Dehydration is real, people. So are quince electrolyte stick packs.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: All of a sudden, you don't need some big bottle
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: to carry around. Just these little packets if you suddenly
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: feel like you need a little hydration. Raspberry salt, delicious.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Citrus salt, my personal favorite. And watermelon salt for those
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: watermelon lovers out there. Very solid. Just in your water bottle.
• 5:33
  Speaker 6: I'm a watermelon guy. It's quick, easy in the morning,
• 5:35
  Speaker 6: wake up, feeling a little down, throw some in there,
• 5:38
  Speaker 6: feeling great, throw some in there because it'll keep that
• 5:40
  Speaker 6: high going. So stay on it. It hydrates you because
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: of that fermented rice, great tasting, and it makes you
• 5:47
  Speaker 6: feel better.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: They're made in the USA, rigorously third-party tested. Give your
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: body what it really needs to stay hydrated. Quince.com slash
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: fowl gets you free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: That's quince.com slash fowl for free shipping and 365-day returns.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: or prevent any disease.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: KP, I can't believe I'm about to ask you this question.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: Are they better after the trade deadline? Are they better
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: with Soriano and some of the moves that they made
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: than they were without Varsha, than they were bringing up Bateman,
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: than they were before the trade deadline, even though people
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: are like, oh, they sold, but they also bought for
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: the future. I know you Savage went down, but Scherzer's
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: been great.
• 6:30
  Speaker 6: Are they better than they were?
• 6:32
  Speaker 5: Yeah, they're better.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: I mean, if you just look at the numbers of...
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: And look, you've got to take out the emotional component.
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: Kevin Gosman was a huge part of that team over
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: the last five years. Not only what he did on
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: the field, the things he brought off the field, he
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: is going to go down as one of the most beloved.
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: Blue Jays of all time.
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: He's the guy who lived up to that five-year deal
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: above and beyond two times over.
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: But if you look about in terms.
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: Of where they're at in their career, the stuff that
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: they possess, giving your team the best opportunity to win,
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: even if you call that a wash, Jose Soriano for
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: Kevin Gosman, and we're talking about the right now, and
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: obviously Jose Soriano is the better pick for the future
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: moving forward. You have him under team control for two
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: more years.
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: He's younger.
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: He has the potential of having more dominant stuff than
• 7:20
  Speaker 4: Kevin Gosman. But what they found in Brett Bateman has
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: been a godsend to this team. He's been their best
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: player offensively. He's been the spark at the top of
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: the lineup offensively. If they had been able to get
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: constant contributions from the guys hitting behind Brett Bateman at
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: the top of the lineup, we wouldn't even be talking
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: about any of this right now. The Blue Jays would
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: be two or three games up in the wild card,
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: and we'd be talking about, is this team good enough to.
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: do some damage in the post season.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: But right now with the lack of offensive production outside
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: of Brett Bateman and Nathan Lucas has been probably the
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: second most consistent guy. Okamoto has been great for a
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: first time Japanese player coming over 30 home runs. I
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: think 84, 85 RBI. He's not necessarily hitting for a
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: high average. He is striking out a ton, but is
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: this team better in my opinion?
• 8:13
  Speaker 5: Absolutely.
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: All right. So basically the season is going to hinge on,
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: how they match up against the Orioles. The Orioles obviously
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: have like a thin chance of getting in, being three back,
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: but with two teams in front of them. Do they
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: match up well against the Orioles? And I'll couple that
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: with Anthony Santander, an ex-Oriole, coming back. Does he automatically
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: slot into a spot in this lineup as a, ooh,
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: it's a better fit, or it's a, ah, man, I
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: guess we'll just try it.
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I don't know how much time he
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: would need to get healthy, but I think amongst many
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: other things that the Blue Jays have struggled with this year,
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: it's being able to roll out a lineup that is
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: capable of hitting left-handed pitching. If you see Anthony Santander
• 9:06
  Speaker 4: playing left field, is he a better option than, say,
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: Charles McAdoo at this point, who's not technically an outfielder
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: but has learned to play the outfield, who's still a
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: young guy in his journey, and I do think is
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: going to be a pretty solid Major League Baseball player,
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: but does Anthony Santander give this team a boost, putting
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: him in left field, hitting from the right side against
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: left-handed pitching, potentially slotting him to the DH role, which
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: is usually occupied by George Springer during those games, so
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: I guess his best position would be left field.
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: If you feel like he's ready, why not?
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: I don't think you're... gambling a whole lot, kind of
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: trading out Anthony Santander for Charles McAdoo. And for people
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: that aren't watching a ton of Blue Jay games, Charles
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: McAdoo had a period of time where he was leading
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: off for the Blue Jays against left-handed pitching, and he
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: was actually their best hitter for a period of time.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: He has, you know, since kind of come back to
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: earth a little bit, but I could see him fitting
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: in nicely in left field in that kind of platoon role.
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: And as far as how do the Blue Jays match
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: up against the Orioles? I think they have, I think
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: they match up great. I mean, If you could keep
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: Pete Alonso in the ballpark, if you could keep some
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: of those guys that have the ability to run the bases.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: And that's been another Achilles heel for the Blue Jays
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: is their ability to kind of keep runners at first base.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: They haven't given their catchers and they happen to have
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: a tandem of two pretty good catchers in Valenzuela and
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: Alejandro Kirk. They're not giving them a whole lot of
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: opportunity to throw out runners. And I think that got
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: really exposed in this last series in Sacramento where the
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: A's had the ability to get to first base whether
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: it was getting a hit or a walk or hit
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: by pitch but they were turning those into doubles and
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: triples and was making a lot easier for them to
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: score runs but it's clearly going to be a big
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: series you talked about the Oreos having an outside shot
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: being three games back but what is it a three-game
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays do for the Baltimore
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: Oreos it kind of flips them in the standings a
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: little bit and It's not like the Cleveland Guardians are
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: really running away with this, and I know that they
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: are closing the gap on the.
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: Chicago White Sox.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: The wildcard picture is just crazy right now, because I
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: think right now we're looking at just a small picture.
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: We're looking at Guardians potentially being the last wildcard. We're
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: looking at... you know, the Blue Jays battling for that spot.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: But what happens in a scenario where the Guardians overtake
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: the White Sox and then they fall down or the
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: Rangers overtake the Astros and they fall down? I don't
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: know the current tiebreakers in those scenarios. I know as
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: a Blue Jays guy, I knew the Blue Jays do
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians. So if they end
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: up tied, you know, they would get that last wildcard spot.
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: But there is a scenario where we do see two
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: of these division winners switch with some of these teams
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: chasing the wildcard. So In recent history, this is one
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: of the wildest last couple weeks of the season I
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: could remember. There's a lot of teams really kind of
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: jockeying for that last spot.
• 12:13
  Speaker 6: KP, one of those teams you should worry about is
• 12:17
  Speaker 6: the Guardians because they ain't catching the White Sox. Even
• 12:22
  Speaker 6: though the White Sox aren't playing great, the Guardians are
• 12:24
  Speaker 6: playing worse. You can go ahead and cross that one
• 12:26
  Speaker 6: off your your wishlist for this Christmas. I know we're
• 12:29
  Speaker 6: only in September. You can go ahead and cross that
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: off your wishlist for your Christmas. You better hope.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: The Rangers catch the Astros. I do want to tell
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: you it's not on my wishlist. I am a big
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: fan of what the White Sox have been able to
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: do this year. I know I publicly spoke about maybe
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: me not having the best experience there, but I did
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: like a lot of the players that were there.
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: It has nothing to do with me.
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: I love the fact that they've been able to kind
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: of build around this year core group of young players.
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: I love Miguel Vargas.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: I got an opportunity to play with him in Oklahoma
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: City before he got traded over, and he's a special
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: human being. I felt like he was always capable of
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: doing the things that he's doing and the world's finally seeing.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: This guy had such a mature approach as a young 21,
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: 22-year-old in AAA, just kind of waiting for his opportunity
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: to get to the big leagues with the Dodgers. He
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: got his opportunity, and then really he's gotten his runway
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: with the Chicago White Sox, so I love what they've
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: been able to do.
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: I love Montgomery.
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: He was there in spring training. He's an exciting young
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: player to watch. So I'm not wishing for the White
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: Sox to fall out of this race.
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: I think it would be great for baseball for.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: A team that had 100-plus losses not too long ago
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: to be able to win their division, get into the postseason.
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: I think it's great for baseball.
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: The postseason run is heating up for Major League Baseball teams. Kratzy,
• 13:53
  Speaker 6: you can go see all these games, all the important games.
• 13:56
  Speaker 6: Whatever your team is, they have a great chance, almost
• 13:59
  Speaker 6: all of them, at being alive for the postseason. So
• 14:01
  Speaker 6: you can go on SeatGeek and find whatever team you want,
• 14:04
  Speaker 6: whatever game you want, whatever matchup you want to try
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: to help cheer your team on to the postseason.
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, look ahead of your schedule. Go on to SeatGeek. Essentially,
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: your team's either in the playoffs or the team they're
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: playing has a chance in the playoffs. So all these
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: games in September, you got to get on there, get
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: your green dot, figure out where you're going to sit,
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: do it ahead of time, and use the codes.
• 14:28
  Speaker 6: And of course, I have a code for y'all. You
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: can use code TERRITORY10 for 10% off your next set
• 14:33
  Speaker 6: of MLB tickets at SeatGeek. That's 10% off MLB tickets
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: with promo code TERRITORY10. Make sure you click the link
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: in the description to download the app and have the
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: code automatically added to your account so you can use
• 14:45
  Speaker 6: it later. Get ready for MLB postseason by getting the
• 14:48
  Speaker 6: perfect ticket on SeatGeek. KP, quit trying to kiss up
• 14:51
  Speaker 6: to one of the hosts on the show, okay? You've
• 14:53
  Speaker 6: already got the job.
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: You've already got the job.
• 14:55
  Speaker 6: Quit trying to kiss up to me.
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: It's good.
• 14:57
  Speaker 6: It's all good. But I want to go back to
• 14:59
  Speaker 6: something you mentioned, and it's Vlad. And every time the
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: Blue Jays come up, it's the Vlad.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: It's Vlad.
• 15:04
  Speaker 6: It's Vlad Guerrero Jr. And that's the life of being
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: a $ 500 million man. Have they figured anything out? Where
• 15:09
  Speaker 6: has power been?
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: No, I mean, as far as I know, nothing has
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: been figured out to this point. I think if they
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: had got the answers or they hadn't figured it out,
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: I think he would be doing those things or implementing
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: those things. And it's hard for me to really relate.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: And I think maybe Kratzy can relate to this a
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: little bit more to this than you can, AJ. But
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: when you were just kind of a league average hitter
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: or a mediocre hitter, like it was very easy for
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: me to make changes because I was always trying to
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: get better. Like I wanted more for myself, but when
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: you're a player that has had a ton of success
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: and we're talking about a lot, a lot of success,
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: we're talking about $ 500 million worth of success. When things
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: aren't going well, it's probably not easy to make those
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: changes because you can go back and look at video
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: from a long period of time. And you've probably hit
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: the same way for, an extended period of your life.
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: And it's really hard to sit there and be like,
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: it's not going to work this way anymore because it's
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: worked up until this point. So I think it's very
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: difficult for him to probably implement changes. But if I
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: think if the blue Jays had the answers, I think
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: we would have seen it by now. It's, it's crazy
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: to me that he's at single digit home runs at
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: this point of the year and that he hasn't hit
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: a home run at home. It is pretty wild because
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: there is much worse hitters in baseball, even though he's,
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: And he's having a down year. There's much worse hitters
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: than him, even at this point of the season, that
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: probably have hit more home runs, that have definitely hit
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: a home run in their home stadium.
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: It's crazy.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: Like I said, I keep going back to it. But
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: this season is going to have to be studied in depth.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: What happened to him? Because coming off the postseason he
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: had last year, this was the Vladi that I think
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: the entire fan base, I think Vladi himself was kind
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: of waiting to come out. The whole world saw it
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: in the postseason. And then we saw glimpses of it
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: carry over into the WBC. And then the season started
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: and he wasn't hitting for power and it wasn't a
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: big deal because he was hitting like 350, 360. And
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: it's kind of how Vlade has always been. The powers
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: come a little bit later in the year. He does
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: a really good job going out early in the year,
• 17:18
  Speaker 4: collecting his hits. And there was a point in time.
• 17:22
  Speaker 4: David Popkins, the hitting coach, talked about he's right where
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: he needs to be early in the season. He loves
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: collecting his hits. He's hitting for a high average. His
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: OPS was in the high 800s. You know, he was
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: driving the ball. He just wasn't hitting a ton of
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: home runs. And then when he wasn't getting hits and
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: he wasn't driving the ball, wasn't hitting home runs, it's
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: become a concern. And you look at this. This doesn't
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: look like a $ 500 million guy to me. This looks
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: like Kevin Pillar type of season with a slightly higher
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: on-base percentage.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: This is kind of where any time a superstar struggles
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: and you don't have a ex-Big League hitting coach, Dave
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: Hopkins got a ton of love last year for all
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: that he did. Sometimes it's hard to connect and figure
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: this stuff out when it's like, I really am not
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: sure what you do because you are a freak. But
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: my question to you is, if Vladdy doesn't do it
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: coming up here, the final stretch of the season, but
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: the Jays still make it, Who is that guy? Who
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: is that guy in the offense that carries this squad?
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: Well, I think lately it's been Alejandro Kirk. And he
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: rightfully gets a little bit of a pass, you know,
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: when he came back because he played, you know, he
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: didn't even make it out of the first month when
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: he had that thumb injury. And as you guys both
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: could attest to playing that position, the left-hand thumb on
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: your catching or your catching hand thumb, the left thumb,
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: It's a pretty prominent part of your guys' game. And
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: it took him a long time to come back. And
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: the Blue Jays were so desperate for him to come
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: back because the offense was struggling so much that he
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: didn't probably get the full amount of rehab at-bats that
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: he probably wanted for himself or the team had probably
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: scheduled for him. They kind of rushed him back. And
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: he got off to a little bit of a slow start.
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: I mean, we're talking about a guy who, like I said,
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: got hurt in the first month of the season, missed
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: a significant amount of time where he probably needed that
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: normal spring training buildup to have his timing back. But
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: it took him a little bit, but he's been swinging
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: the bat great. He's kind of been their best hitter
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: over the last month. So it's got to be Kirk.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: It's got to be Kirk. He's the guy who hits
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: behind Vlad. He hits in front of Vlad. Um, he's
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: going to get pitched to, uh, because even though Vlad isn't,
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: you know, hitting the way he's, I think the whole
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: world expects him to hit. He's still the guy I
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: think teams circle in their game plan.
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: Don't let Vladdy beat us.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: So wherever Alejandro Kirk slots, whether it's in front of him,
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: behind him, and then I'd say the next guy is
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: George Springer. You know, George Springer has the pedigree. He
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: had an incredible year last year, turned back the clock,
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: you know, was at, Honestly, I think he finished in
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: the top 10 of the MVP last year, how good
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: his season was. I knew there was going to be
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: some natural regression, but George Springer has a history of
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: being one of the best clutch performers when it comes
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: to postseason time. Their postseason starts right now. We're not
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: right now, tomorrow, because that's when the game happens. They've
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: got to buy today. But for them to get to
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: where they need to go to, obviously it needs to
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: be Vlad. But if it isn't Vlad, it's got to
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: be Alejandro Kirk and it's got to be George Springer.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Springer was seventh place last year in MVP voting,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: from what I see on a quick look.
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: That's pretty good.
• 20:43
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it was a pretty incredible year.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: I mean, he had a great first year signing with Toronto,
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: and then his next two years were a little bit
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: down years. And then there was even some talks about,
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: you know, is he over the hill? Does he deserve
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: the at-bats? And then, you know, he turned back the
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: clock last year and really... was their best offensive player
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: from start to finish last year and was still really
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: good in the postseason.
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: Just Vladdy really.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: Went to the next level during the postseason last year.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: And I think George Springer's season got, how good his
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: season got forgotten a little bit in the postseason, except
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: from obviously the moment in game seven of the ALCS,
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: which ultimately sent the Blue Jays.
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: To the World Series.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good download on what's going on right
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: now with the Jays and with the AL Wildcard. So
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: first off, to cap this off, that was your Light Takes.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: That is presented by Miller Time. Why not go grab
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: some Miller Light today? Because game time is Miller Time.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Must be legal drinking age. Celebrate responsibly. And if you
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: want to hear more of the Blue Jays AL Wildcard chase,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: then Bluebird Territory is the spot.