(upbeat music) So nothing accomplished. Austin Matthews does not hit 70. The May believes have the worst second period, maybe full period of their season after blowing a 2-0 first period lead. The Florida Panthers score four unanswered goals and then get one into the empty net. - And we'll win this game by a score of five to two. - Yeah, I thought to, yeah, you never know what you're gonna get for sure. But I thought it was a good physical, competitive first period. Yeah, I know, I thought we were probably sitting right there and then we controlled things in the first period. Then, you know, they got going in that second period and, you know, the crowd gets into it. They get life, and my math on, you know, I didn't, that, but we had to get to another level in the game emotionally and then we didn't get there, I didn't think, you know, so that's part of the cut. That's what you're gonna get in this kind of game. (upbeat music) - All right, bad day for Luke Fox. Fan Morning Show Sportsnet 590, the fan, Ben Annis, Frank got a good morning to you. - Yeah, good morning to you as well. Yeah, bad day to be like an expense account related to Luke Fox as well. I hope you can expense some pants for the man. - I mean, can you expense your own mistakes? I don't know. - I don't know. - Well, not you and I in radio world, but that's in TV land. So, I love that Joe Bowe would call there. Like, we should play that at the end of every show. So, nothing accomplished. - There's nihilism, brain supreme. - Oh, I love bonesy, that was perfect. God, honestly, some people just like, they just have the pulse of a nation and like that man with Leaf Station. God, he just gets it. - Rough for the Anis household. Well, one, it was an insane sports day and obviously locked in, didn't have enough screens. - Purple Tunnel is in full fledge on the thumb. - Yeah. - Just in the clicking. - Got back to bed in the evening. My wife's like, "I haven't talked to you in hours." I was like, "Yeah, no, sorry." Like, all I have to say is like, "Congrats to you, Jessica." And then, yeah, the late start, the 7.30 start for the Maple Leafs, my poor child. Wanted to stay up to see Austin Matthews score goal number 70 and no lack of effort. Like, no fewer than three grade A chances for Austin Matthews to pot goal number 80, but the career high eight game goal scoring streak ends for him. So, what's up to game 82? If, in fact, he plays, which we'll get to tonight. But, yeah, the headline item, obviously, is that, I don't know where. After weeks and weeks and weeks of discourse around a first round series involving the Maple Leafs and the Panthers and our rematch of that second round series is season ago, not gonna happen. - Wait, what? - No, Leafs blew it. - I know, I was told. We have been doing it for seemingly 100 years. - Throw out all the research you've done, breaking down that potential first round series. - Okay, here's the research. - Yeah, well, okay, so what, the research for the first round series against the brothers is, yeah, you just get to carry it over. It's awesome. It's like when you just get to, like, copy your work. It's like having an older brother who's gone through the class already. It's like, yeah, just give me that assignment here. Hand it in, C plus and a loss in the first round, exactly the same, so. - Yeah, okay, so let's talk about a hockey game of sorts. - Yeah, there were some things last night. - It started off, first period, I was like, oh yeah, this is how I expected this to look. A bunch of goals, like not a lot of defense, but like some physicality. Everybody taking some extra shots after the whistle. That's probably the way this is gonna end up. It's gonna be a six, five score line, either way. I did not anticipate that second period, which has been like, relitigated statistically three separate times. - Yes. - When it first ended, it was like 32 to four shots on goal. And it was like 30 to four. Now, I guess after some extensive pouring over the video footage and forensic analysis, it is officially 29 to four. The most shots anyone's ever registered in a single period in the NHL this season. And yeah, the Leafs get embarrassed in that period, end up losing five to the Panthers. - Yeah, it's the biggest thing that I thought watching that game was, oh my God, this is game two all over again. It's not the same of game two of the series. - I thought the same thing. - Yeah, with the quick success of the goals in the second period. - I went back and looked it up. It was two goals, a minute nine into that. Now, this was even worse last year 'cause it was off the start of a period. So it was two goals, a minute nine seconds into the period. But you get two goals in nine seconds last night. Or if you want, you get three goals in a little over three minutes. That's the game. I mean, the Panthers played great throughout that second period, but you survive that stretch. And again, like it's, I guess it's not an apples to apples comparison 'cause they're gonna play Boston now. But if you just transport that game to the first round of the playoffs and you get one save from Joe Wall in that minute, in that minute, three minute stretch, you get one in there, he's able to find a way. And look, it's not to sit here and say that all of those are bad goals, awful goals, but you've got-- - The fourth one was. - The fourth one was, but you have to find a way to stop the bleeding. - The fourth one, exactly. - Yeah, the fourth one. - Yeah, but you have to-- - The fourth one in. - I know, but you have to find a way to stop, stop the bleeding and he just couldn't do it there. There are gonna be moments that happen like that in the postseason. And I suppose they're starting with Samsonov and that's why you feel better about him 'cause he's done better in those kind of flurry moments. But that was all I could think of watching that game. There's so much more to take out of it, but oh my God, this was game two all over again. - It was, it's not lost on me that there was absolutely nothing to be gained for the Toronto Maple Leafs in that hockey. - I don't think you can make that point enough and talk about the guys that weren't there. I think all that stuff has to matter. That's not to say you give them a complete pass, but I do think you have to mention that there were no stakes and the guys who were missing. There were limited stakes for the Panthers though it should be stated as well. Like, and Paul Murray's before the game did say, "Hey, you know what? There is factually something to play for so nobody rests." Like, we're gonna play this thing out. - What do you think, truth serum, if they like, and obviously every guy on that team maybe has a different opinion of it, but Florida, just given their druthers, if this is the PWHL and they win the division, they get to pick, would they have wanted the Leafs or would they have wanted Tampa, do you think? - I mean, I have to take what evidence we have, which is that they gave it their all and had the most shots in a period to beat a team. And you don't think that looking at the out of town scoreboard after the opening 20 minutes may be impacted? - Entirely possible there. - Their effort level in the second period, they're like, "Oh my God, the Bruins are gonna lose to the Senators." I think the Bruins had four shots on goal in the first period. - It was dreadful. - Against the Sens and boy, we can talk about, yeah, the Bruins also going through a swoon at an interesting point in the season as well. And maybe there's, man, the argument you can make for, the Panthers wanting to avoid the Maple Leafs, the same argument would be made to the Bruins trying to end up with the first round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. So it's all either beholder or stuff, but I don't think it's far-fetched to talk about, or think about, and maybe it's not necessarily the individual matchups, maybe it's just, hey, we have a chance to win a division. - Yeah, I think it's more of that than anything. - But yeah, it was jarring to see two teams clearly with two different motivational factors in that second period, and we heard the clip from Sheldon Keefe, this is a game that, yes, skill is a huge part of it, and we see it in the postseason, and over the last seven years, how a differentiating factor it can be, who cares more, who wants it more. The emotion of it all can be the difference between a win, and a loss was the difference between a two-one, or two-nothing lead after 20 minutes, and then a five-two loss. Like, that's just, that's what I saw. It's hard for me to say, well, there's the loser Leafs for you, and here's the reason why they're gonna bow. In the first round, I have a tough time taking massive takeaways away from a 60-minute hockey game in which one of the two teams had literally nothing to play for, other than Austin Matthews trying to get goal number 70, which we can also get to. - Yeah, and that's what they were playing for, I think also must be said. You see the, I mean, how many times did they have a freeze frame of a guy sitting in the slot with a wide open lane to shoot, and passing it into Matthew's skates, where he already is wearing a guy. There's a guy water skiing off of him. There was overpassing to Matthews, and I have no problem with that. We all know what they wanted to take out of it. I think it's interesting the emotional, you know, intensity stuff that Keith talked about there, because I think the, if you're one to worry about this, and I agree, I think there has to be limited worry if you would all want to worry that come out of that game. But if it's there, it's that you once again saw the guys who are maybe not gonna have as big an impact bringing the emotion and bringing the intensity. Like, I mean, Noah Gregor, like he's probably not gonna play in this series unless things go wrong. He looked like he wanted to play in whatever series is coming up, but it's the- - Although, like there was also the Jake McCabe and Joel Edmond said over there. - Those are the two guys I was gonna mention, but when I'm talking about that, I'm talking about the forwards. It's Tavares, who's okay, he's in there, but it's like, am I doing the thing that I did with Mitch Marner-Lasher? I'm like, you, good job standing in there in that scrum and getting your helmet ripped off, Leafs captain. I can't sit there and give him a ton of credit for it. I think the bottom of the lineup, or the guys who are more on the fringes of it, and it's not fair to love Jake McCabe in there. He's like, the most important defenseman on the Leafs, but Edmundson brought that. The other, if Domie was in that game, he brings that in spade. You saw that under Bertuzzi, but it's just, it's Marner, it's Kneelander, it's Matthews, it's Tavares. Like we just, we've seen a million times. And I don't think you can have wide sweeping statements on last night's game, 'cause I don't want John Tavares foaming at the mouth in game 81. I think it's harder for him to gin that up the most, so save it, save your bullets in that regard. But it was interesting to me that it felt like the bulk of the team didn't have an issue, meeting Florida's intensity emotionally or whatever other way. It was just, once again, the kind of guys that need to lead the way the most. Yeah, and Austin Matthews stuck on 69 goals. He does not play 20 minutes, he plays 1929, but I mean in a game, we've seen games up. Were you watching that closely, 'cause you were like pounding the tail, like he will, he's shunt, play more than 20 minutes. I think he was like, at 10 minutes going to the third period, though, like all the minutes came in the final period. We've also seen at times the season of games of limited import. Sheldon Keith, like, not even pull the goalie down a couple of goals? We have seen that. You pull the goalie not just once, but then after having the empty nether scored against them, again, in a game not of limited import, like I've no import. He had to work on their six on five and that's what he said. That's what he said. And then six on four. He said that exactly, he's like, look, it's a little, I believe the exact words where it was a little about Austin, but mostly about that. Yeah, I do, okay. I'm not sure. Sure. I'm not saying that this is the wrong tack to take, but it's just hilarious that this guy a week ago said, we care about one thing, it's the postseason, it's getting this guy ready, healthy, 100% ready for game one of the postseason on Saturday, play some 24 minutes, including a three and a half minute shift. And then yesterday, plays them almost 20 minutes, but yeah, you keep throwing them out there. Six on five and then six on four with a minute left down three goals. Like it's, and like you said, everybody's trying to get it to a stick. Yeah. I mean, it's fine, it's fine. There's just something a little untoward about it. Like back to when he didn't have an empty netter as part of this incredible rocket run, you're like, wow, and then he doesn't, and then he has a couple, but that's okay. Like that's part of the game. This is not part of the game. It must be said that this is not part of the game. So it's really not. So I was thinking about this last night and obviously like different sports, different, I mean, just manners of the way they're played, but I was sitting there and I was watching and I was thinking, I don't want Matthews to get it on this. So like six on four with the goal lead pull and the loss. But if Aaron judge would have hit, I don't know what, what number Homer did he, did he finish at his one? Okay, 61. Yeah. Okay. If you would have hit that in the fourth inning of a loss to the pirates, wouldn't have mattered any less. Like it would still be a highlight and it still would be. And I understand part of it is that like at bats can only come to you when they're presented to you in the game versus hockey, you can control things more, but we wouldn't hold that back as any lesser than, I mean, would it be better if it came in a walk off at home over the Red Sox for them? Yeah, that would be better. But we wouldn't look at it as any less, I don't think. But you're right. There's something about this that I think it is in the, in the moment thing, like a week from now, none of us will be sitting here going, yeah, 70 goals, but they really force fed it to him down the stretch. But you're right. There is a little bit of, you would just love him to, you would just love him to get it clean early on in the game. You can't get it clean. That's a thing. And he had, like I said, three great a chances in the hockey game proper to score. It just didn't happen to him. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron judge hitting number 62 against them also ran team at the end of the season. It's no big deal. It's still 62. But Aaron judge playing in game 162 with the Yankees clinched and, you know, against the worst team in baseball who has a position player on the mound and like the fifth inning, right? Like God, could they dress a position player tomorrow or tonight, I guess? Yeah. He's on to net for the bolts. Yeah. Get over with really. And also 62 is different than 70 70 is amazing. What? He's already, once you get past 65, right? That's to me. The modern record. Yeah. 70 is nice. It's nice round number. It's not 92, right? Like 92 record. Yeah. Yeah. Not having any types of things. 22 back. But did see the panel last night? It's like, can he get 80 goals? Yeah. I'm like, okay. Yeah. 70 70. And again, like it's, I'm not going to, in a part of the season with no stakes for Maple Leafs, at least they can, they can find something to care about. It's just, it's a little different than the way he's accumulated the previous 69 of these things. Yeah. But I think as, as much as what I agree with you and I do think that, would you agree with me? Please agree with me that regardless of how he gets it, I don't know how long the aftertaste is on it. But it's very short. He's sitting here next year, being like, got 70, but they really tried to feed it down the stretch. Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Just making sure. I'm just making sure. Okay. Here's what I do care about though. All the gold tenders look bad now. Yeah. They're all bad. They're all bad. They're all bad. What happened? Yeah. Samson off. I think his regular season is done. I don't anticipate him playing tonight because he was even there. At least you can, at least you can build off the final 40 minutes of regulation on Saturday. Right? At least that. Ah, okay. Opening 20. Those were bad. Yeah. So longer. But and yeah, if they pull him after the 20 minutes, this must have been part of the conversation is to bring him back for the last part of that game is like, if we pull him, we have to play him in one of these final two games because that can't be the final regular season moment going into game 80 or game one of the postseason. So he does have the final 40 minutes, at least it's something. Joe Wall gets an opportunity to not, hey, enter the conversation for game one, but like, say he faces 29 shots in the second period and turns aside, God forbid, all 29, none of them are 28. Yeah. 27. 26. Yeah. Yeah. We had the point. You're again, your mind does go to least, you know, maybe, maybe Samsonov allows to in the first period and yeah, you can kind of squint and say that's maybe Joe Wall makes those things. Maybe he does enter the equation a lot sooner. Right now, it's, you better get the best version of your Samsonov in game one or else. I'm telling you, I'll be on high alert for it hasn't happened yet. So the Leafs haven't had, I guess for the first time in this tenure, they got the better goal-tending in a series in the six game series against the Lightning. And it would be also much, he said that Andre Vasilevski went under the knife immediately following that series. But whatever scoreboard, they don't dueled him. They haven't had in all these postseason series, like they could have had a goal. He steal them one of these series, but it's not like they were undone because of their goal-attending. I'm now very much on alert for like the first time in this tenure. It hasn't been the goal-attending that sinks them. It's very possible the goal-attending sinks them. Yeah, this is, I don't know, I don't need to do this, but I'm going to. They were never completely undone by their goal-tending unless it was a series deciding game and Freddy Anderson was between the pipes. And then that was like generally speaking pretty tough for him. Yeah, and Jake Gardner, I mean like they were high-fived and like- Yeah, I remember. I remember. You know what I was thinking about- And Jack Campbell also should be said. Yeah, but like he stinks in the American League right now, so we don't need to like- Oh, is he back? I thought he had a good- No, no, not back in the NHL. God, you scared me. I was like, why would they put the pox on themselves like that? No, I thought his numbers were good. Okay. Well, good for him. Anyways, he's in the American League. 9, 20, say percentage with Bakersfield, okay. Good contract, see? That's what you're saying. And then it's hammering home trade for Jack Campbell the summer when the least need a new goalie. But as I watched him wall last night, you know what I was thinking? What? He said exactly to Matt Murray, look with the Marley's when he was- Yeah, that's scary when you're like, going down that route. I'm like mostly joking, but I'm also not the idea that he's poking around now. The problem is the Leafs would have to be on such severe last legs where both goalies had pooped their pants to get to Matt Murray. Well, and then like, how do you jump over Martin Jones in that scenario? Well, okay, like honestly, it's like the way the goalies have been going. It's like, I don't know what Martin Jones doing. Is he poking around as well? Can I see him tonight? Matt Murray, I believe in that shootout victory allowed five goals though? Yeah, okay. Like I said, I need to ask questions that seeing that made me want to ask questions about Matt Murray. What a world. What? You're not the only one. No, I'm not. I mean, Kipper has been like ringing. He's been like Paul Revere like, "Matt Murray is coming, Matt Murray is coming!" But I, it's terrifying the prospect. I think if we're going to talk about how terrifying the proposition is and right now it is, I think that goal-tending is such a, you know, not to go full, not to go full RA Dickey here, but it's like goal-tending is just such a capricious animal. And I think you see the bounce-back period from Samsonov. I'm not saying that's enough to make me feel confident, but it's entirely possible that's enough to make him feel confident and to be perfectly honest, that's the only thing that matters. We'll had a chance to, I mean, if we're looking for silver linings, either we have to squint super hard. They're hard to find, but Samsonov is a guy who's done well when he's not been pushed. Maybe Joe Wall taken the dive for the team here and I'm joking there, but do you get a better version of Samsonov that he's not being so aggressively pushed by Joe Wall? Because this did feel like a chance to not get the game one start for Joe Wall. I don't know that, I mean, if they would have given up the 29 shots and he would have stopped all of them, then maybe we are having a different conversation. So it was there for the taking, but I think that this maybe allows Samsonov to not feel like he's being pushed as much and that is typically when you've got the best version of him. >> I guess, don't look at me like I'm telling you, it's a good thing. If you want to find a small scintilla of silver lining in there, that's maybe, maybe, yeah. There's been times where I've had the same conversation going into the postseason, especially when Freddy Anderson went down with injury and Jack Campbell, he would didn't look all Greg guns ablazing by the end of the season. I wondered if that was going to be the season where they were undone by their goaltending again. >> You can look at the what, the breakaway goal against the Habs in game seven that Jack Campbell gave up and say, well, that's the one say, but I believe in my heart of hearts that may beliefs have not been undone, neither goal attending any of these series. >> No, no, no, no, no, and I'm just, for the first time, very much aware of the possibility of that happening. So there's another game tonight. >> There is. Last one. >> Yeah. >> Game number 82. Keith God, he must feel like it's game 82 every day for the last two weeks. >> Yeah, I think what we might hear at the conclusion of tonight's game is like I'm just glad it's over. >> Again, again. >> How many times could a man under that when it's still going on? >> Maybe he doesn't vocalize. >> I'm glad the game's over. >> Yeah, I'm glad the season's over. Let's move on. >> Okay, so here is Sheldon Keith when asked as to whether Austin Matthews will play in game number 82 in pursuit of goal number 70. >> Will Austin play tomorrow? >> We'll talk about it. We're about to walk healthy forward. >> Okay, so the second part of that seems pretty indicative of, hey, again, like plausible deniability. Have to. How can I, I can't, 11 and say, what are you talking about? You can't do that. >> No, he's, I, maybe they do 11 and 7 and it's somebody else that's sitting, like maybe John Tavares gets to take a seat for tonight's game, but I mean, I'm at 99.9% probability Austin Matthews plays in the hockey game tonight. >> What's more than that? He's a cajillion percent chance playing there, infinity, like just like whatever, we both got kids, like whatever the made up number that they would rip off right now. >> Why is it? >> When I was again, it was like, qua chazillion. >> Okay, there you go. That's a great one. That amount is how sure I am that Austin Matthews is playing tonight. I'm a little jokey when I say this, but like, he would have to fight off a mutiny if that man did not play in this hockey game tonight. You see how bad they want it. I forget where I heard this, the idea, but I love the thought. Well, I don't love the thought, but I think it's a very fair one that it could be a big momentum suck if he doesn't get it at this point in time. >> I don't think the team's gonna have like a morning for the 70 goal, like they're not gonna have a wake for Austin Matthews 70 goal season that never was. But I do think that they all feel like they'd accomplished it already. And I do think it's a team accomplishment and I feel like they thought they'd got there. They're like, ah, three games left, obviously he's gonna get there. Two games left, like obviously he's gonna get there. One game left. And then all of a sudden tonight, it's two periods left, one period left. And then shift left. What are we gonna do? And you don't accomplish it. I don't think it's a, it'll be a reason they lose a series or anything like that. But it certainly isn't a check mark into making them feel good. I suppose you could squint and say, oh, that's gonna have them mad and feeling like they need to. Great. Sure. We've looked for all the reasons this team's gonna come out and be not this team in the post season. Maybe that's it, but that's the, that's the thing I can't shake is how much will it shake this team if they don't, if they don't get it. He has to play tonight. Yeah, he's gonna play. And I, I was on record heading into this that I would have played him in this game regardless. It was last night that I was worried about. And I will say when I saw John Tavares helmet, like hanging from his nose, I was like, I don't, I feel a little vindicated here. I didn't love that. Matthew Kichok was running around the first period too. Yes. Yes, he was. Then Joel Edmondson was like, I'm just gonna cross check. Oh, yeah. Okay. I don't want to do a whole like. But Jake McCain started the, the, the slashing and cross tracking God though that that was a chippy get Pontus Holmberg just, he didn't get a penalty for it. He just cross check the guy's leg and broke his stick across it in the corner. You got it filled in clear in the park on the penalty goal. He did Joel Edmondson. It's really, again, we'll see if this carries over against the Boston Bruins. It's really nice to have a guy on the Leafs that is for whatever reason allowed to just stand there looking at an official and cross check a guy 13 times while trying to clear the net. There was a moment last night where McCabe and I forget who he was engaged with, but it was a battle. Like he's giving it to him. The forward's giving it right back and the ref kind of does the gesture and you see this from time to time. Like, all right, that's good. Like you both got your wax in, keep it moving. And then Edmondson just looked right at him, another aggressive cross check and then the ref just skated away and I don't know that that's always going to hold. But if you're going in, well, not if you're going into a series against Boston, they have traditionally had, I know on the 18 skaters dressing the game, 35 of those guys on the ice at any given time, very, very nice. And the officiating like we don't need to belabor the point, but I like Sheldon Keith was losing my mind early on in that game. Like there were bad calls all over the place like this isn't the least we're undone and then lost that game because of the officiating far, far, far from it. But I guess get used to that because we see this all the time. And if you think it happened, it would have happened in a series against Florida, I got news for you. It's certainly happening in the series against Boston. Yeah. Interesting that, yeah, Sheldon Keith mentions the lack of intensity from his hockey team in the middle period. Not from him though. Like he's, he's in it like a meaningless game for him. I mean, I guess it was more like with a surprise smile on his face, giving it to the officials, but he was, he was not shy. He was teetering. He was like, right smile, but it's like slowly turning into the Joker. So. All right. Last, we're going to obviously do lots of preview of the Bruin series, but just like quick thought on it because there's been times throughout the course of the season. And I think, you know, we're kind of back to that point and maybe it's coping, but you look at the Bruins as a better matchup for the main beliefs. I mean, certainly if you're looking at the Leafs finish to the season as not being ideal, Bruins have been arguably worse, lost three of the final four because they had, they had actual stakes. They had, you know, the division at their fingertips, lost three of the final four of the season, scored one goal in the final two games against a cap team that had someone to play for, but a send team that had nothing. Yeah. What is your initial thought about this matchup? And we'll talk. Don't talk with the close. Oh, that's after seven o'clock. We talk about that. Yeah. I honestly, my initial perception is thank God, not from a Leafs perspective, but from ours. We have been slowly soft pedaling and like, you know, I say this is us. It's like, this is everybody in the business. It's like we've been slowly soft pedaling the Panthers thoughts for two weeks here because we know we have four or five days of sitting here talking about a Panther series. This is just such a breath of fresh air and it will not feel like at the second I delve into this and really sit with what's happening, but you just went from being locked into a Panthers matchup and I think it is such a 180 and not that I think it helps the team, but I do wonder if they were sitting there and it's just, all right, playoffs, who are we playing? It's a completely different team. It just not that they're in their head or they were sitting there worried about Florida, but this allowed them not to be sitting there worrying about Boston and they think that's as good a thing as any. Yeah. 2019 was a long time ago. Okay. It's five years ago. What are you looking at me like trying to convince me? No, no, no. I'm not even. This is not ghost stuff. This is just like matchup stuff. It's like, yeah. And I know it was only five games and was the second round last. Yeah. It's cool. Something different. Yep. I'm interested to see it until it starts. Yeah. This is my nightmare. All right, we'll get back into the Leafs obviously after seven o'clock, but when we come back, Blue Jays have a chance to sweep the New York freaking Yankees. I mean, he talked about starting pitching regression. How about it being better? Because there's a couple of guys at the top of the Blue Jays rotation that actually do look better a couple of weeks into the regular season. That more next fan morning show continues, Ben Dennis, Brent Gunning, SportsF590, the fan. Hey, it's Alish for a fire. And I'm Justin Cutsford. Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the fan pregame, 6 p.m. weekdays on sports stats, SportsF590, the fan and wherever you get your podcasts. [MUSIC] Three two pit, swing and a miss strike three. You say Kakuchi strikes out the side in the top of the first. Here's the one to swing and a miss strike three. Handcuffed him on another chain. Torres goes down and Kakuchi has retired seven in a row. Which is the ending with this seven strikeout of the day. Two two. Fastball. Got him. Strike three. Nine. Case today for you, say Kakuchi. He's pretty locked in and, you know, again, I feel like I said it every time with him confidence is a big thing. I mean, he's, you trust him, man. I mean, I think he's being much more efficient with his pitch count. And he's got great, got great ****, you know, his stuff was electric. So yeah, it's, I think he's just in a really good spot. Van Mornik chose 4.7.5. Nine of the Van. Van Ennis. Friend gunning. And like the great Max Homa once said, if I catch myself thinking about what can go wrong, I had parenthetically. Yeah. Blue Jay's rotation regressing. Sure. I let myself dream about what can go right. How'd that work out for Max? Whatever. TVD on there. I mean, he hit the one piece of concrete at the back of the green on 12. Yeah. I know that that existed, but I probably should have probably should have thought about it. Maybe not hit it there. I don't know what you're saying. And for every Jose burrios, you say Kikuchi having the best start of their majorly careers. There's a Kevin Gonsman who starts this afternoon trying to pick up the sweep of the New York Yankees. But yeah, those two guys do exist and then Chris Bassett's look really good in his last two starts. And all of a sudden, Blue Jay's have their first four game winning streak of the season. They have a series victory clinched over the New York Yankees and they have, you say Kikuchi just like slicing and dicing through a Yankees lineup that boasts one of the best middle of the order duos in baseball. Aaron judge off to a slow start, but Aaron freaking judge and you say Kikuchi made him look like a child. Yeah. I mean, Kikuchi stuff is electric. I won't use the words of that potty mouth. John Schneider, you see? Don't you dare. But he loves to be like, don't worry, I'm wanting you like to have a beer, I like to cuss. I'm the common man. I want to talk about this Japanese whiskey with all of you. But yeah, that's, that's exactly what you needed to see. I think the, I think it was totally fair to be of either mind with Kikuchi heading into the season of be sitting there and worrying about the pitching regression monster or sitting there and being super bullish. I think we'd had a literal sample size of each version of him that was a season long. I was a believer that we were going to see something closer to what we got last year. I didn't expect them to build on it though. And it does kind of feel like that's what you're seeing here. The fact that he does it in a overpowering manner, you know, it's a little odd for us after we sung Chris Bassett's pays to say like, this is the way you need to pitch in 2024. Wrong. That's the way you need to pitch in 2024. I mean, what Kikuchi was doing and look like this varieties of the spice of life. It's the beauty of the Jay's rotation is that you have guys that can give you a little bit of each. But yeah, I think we talked about it yesterday. I would argue that this is the guy who has changed his perception the most. And this is one of the biggest wins this front office can count on. And a big part of it is that they survived the first season when it was so bad. So, you know, if Kikuchi would have just come in here and been decent and built up to this, you would have been excited about it. But the fact that he had the awful start he did makes you feel even like makes you appreciate this even more. But what he has been for this rotation, what he has meant in a year where Gosman has been down and been unable to find it and even Bassett like struggled in the first start. He's got it back since. This is exactly what you needed to see out of this guy. Yeah, I want to get this person's Twitter handle correct because it was a ricky heart on Twitter. Okay. I really thought you were doing a thing where you're like at gunning five 90 and it's just like Kikuchi no good or whatever is what I'm going to do there is a good one. With burials and Kikuchi doing so well, I can only dream what it would be like for them to pitch in the same game for the Blue Jays. Well done. That's amusing. It's a good one. That is funny. No, he looks amazing, amazing, amazing. And yeah, the first Yankee start, he didn't have the feel for the slider. So he's like, I'll just throw a bunch of curve balls and he had them completely off balance. I mean, it was just the filling up of the of the strike zone. It was in crucial moments and then battling through a cramped game to come out of that and and and complete the number of innings that he did. It's it is. You're right. Part of it is how poorly he started his Blue Jays career and how not long for the major leagues he looked to turn into what he did last year was a blessing. And then to be what a top of the rotation starter, which is what he looks like now. I just have I have one qualm. I don't know who was the official scorer yesterday. And I know there is an edict major league baseball to boost offense. This is the literally this is a memo that is on the record came from inside the house. Yeah, they're like, Hey, guys, if it's a 50 50 error hit error on the side of it being a hit, which I know is okay, air on the side of it being a hit like we're going to make more hits up. Yeah. And there's going to be fewer errors. Now you can't do it when it's blatant. I did think the boat, Bishette, ground ball that he missed from, I know John Carlos and hit it hard. Yeah, I thought it was a blatant error. Anyway, and in the moment they called it an error and they're like that, yeah, Joe Torrey, whoever's in charge of major league baseball, I don't know if it's still him, called up the booth. I guess I was like, Hey, we're trying to boost offense here. I think got to add one more to the hip column. Yeah. And that is weird to me though. Like the idea that like that makes you feel it's like the guy was still on base one way or another. He's just as much a chance to score whether you call it in your name. Well, but at the end of the season though, we do look at like the numbers, right? We're like, Hey, well, he's scoring and earned run average and blah, blah, blah. Anyways, that run, he shouldn't have been on base because Bishette should have made the play. Right. But also he should have been gunned out of the plate as Davis Schneider, the couple of plays. I mean, you have that throw from left field and then the final load of you say, Kukuchi's outing. Yeah, laying out, making a spectacular catch and then Dalton Vartio taking over for him for defense. Yeah. Yeah. Nice job by him. Jordan Romano saying thank you very much. Anyways, you say Kukuchi's off to a tremendous start, just over to the one walk, 62 strikes on 94 pitches. It's an incredible start for him and Jose burrios. Chris Bassett, you feel good about it. It's the guy this afternoon here. Like if you could be you and Dario Rodriguez, we only have a small sample on that. But like, yeah, I told you I wasn't afraid of the regression monster. Yeah. Don't be afraid. And I'm still optimistic. B max. Oh my. Absolutely not. I saw, again, I saw that quote of like, when something bad could go happen, it could happen. Think a good thing could happen. I'm like, ew, why would you, how can you even get your head to, to that place? Good on him. I think this is the way I want. I always look at it with the rotation and I'm kind of, as I'm, as you're building throughout the year of what do you have, and I think God's minutes best to just give him basically like a not complete grade right now. I don't think anyone's ready to port dirt on him. But after you had the last start, I, I think there are a few, a few people saying, no, today we'll go swimmingly. There will be zero problems. Like I think this is a very big outing. But okay, if burrios is an ace and I maybe you disagree, I think he can be the ace of a world series team. I think that is totally in the cards. Can Chris Bassett be a two? Can you say Kakuchi be a two? Are they both kind of high end number threes on elite teams? Like how, like, if you just have to remove Kevin Gossman from the equation, I'm not saying to do that. I think it is more likely than not, he's going to come out and have a really solid outing today where we say, okay, good, this is the right direction, but let's just take him away for half a second here. Obviously burrios is one. And then I think Bassett and Kakuchi obviously go after them. But if you kind of look at it in the eyes of his, this guy in number two, is he a number three? What do you look at with Bassett and Kakuchi? I think the Blue Jays told you what they think of you say Kakuchi again, going back to the funny tweet about how burrios and Kakuchi pitching in the same game. Blue Jays were like, yeah, this guy is so good and so dominant that we do. We're going to force feed him into this postseason game. You see it. It's 97 from the left side. Not only can he be like at the peak of his powers, we've seen him shut down one of the most potent lineups in Major League Baseball twice in the early part of the season with some pretty potent right-handed hitters as well, like if he's right, and John Schneider using the potty word, his stuff plays against anybody, yeah, he can be at the top of your rotation. He could be an ace. It's why Blue Jays went out and got him in free agency. And I know we talked to Jeff Blair yesterday, he's like, yeah, Blue Jays are in the run prevention business and that's not so fun. It's not as fun as Dangers, which I generally agree with. I do agree with. But I will say yesterday, that's entertaining baseball for me. It would have been nice for them to instead of coming up with the base hit up the middle to score two runs. It's like over the wall. God, how much different would today's show be? Not that much, though, because yeah, that was a huge hit in that moment. And they had a slow start defensively with the bow and Jansen of it all. But playing the defense that they did in that baseball game, I think if you just give up the ghost on them being a team that scores 10 runs a game by bludgeoning people with the home run power that they showed in 2021. If you just accept that, if you just open your heart to a team that, and I know this is crazy to say two games after we saw some egregious base running mistakes, a team that can figure out how to play clean baseball, smart baseball, move runners along. Choose their whole bench, have defensive replacements, play great defense, work walks. The Blue Jays now have two guys in the top 10 in walks in Major League Baseball. And while the ball hasn't flown out of the ballpark for either Vlad or George Springer, they both have 13 walks, which is again, aside for fifth in Major League Baseball, only three back of Mookie Betz is 16 and he's played two extra games. Like if you're going to work, pitchers, part of it is the last two starters have been wild to get it, but yeah, you don't just luck your way into seven walks against Carlos Rodone. I think there is beauty to be had in watching this Blue Jays team if you just squint hard enough. Yeah, it is a, it's a different type. It's not like, you know, like to take this back to like when I was 22, it's not the one where we're all like slapping each other like, Hey, mouth closed, like your mouth is too a game right now. But it's more like, Oh, I see it actually. Yeah, you're right. There is something there. I guess she's all that like, just take the glasses off. It's like, except with this team, it's like, put them on Davis and I were so good in those glasses. They should all be wearing them. Danny Jansen too. But I think that you're right. There is something to this and, you know, I know that this isn't where you're going with it. But even last night, it's like the ninth inning is this high wire act and you need a great Varsho play. I know. And that's not what you're saying is great aesthetically, but it does add to the enjoyment factor of the game. The thing is, is it just you need to be so much more perfect and fine when you do it this way. And when you're the team that can play great defense and do all the right things and run into one, it's like, then you win the World Series is what is what happens there. And this team just, they are way closer to the team that's going to have to play perfect and be good pitching and defense. And that just means that every mistake you may you make is going to be magnified tenfold. Well, and it should get everybody's attention. That's why they should be really good at that stuff because they know they have to be every day, although they've had to be that last couple of years and hasn't, how's that gone? No? No, that's a great. So you mentioned the ninth inning and Jordan Romano, what he said at the conclusion of the game is, job done, right? The lights are back. Mission accomplished. Yeah. Yeah, he didn't say that, but he could have said that because that's all that matters is you got the job done. Okay. Doesn't matter that you gave up a run, doesn't matter that it took like an incredible diving catch by your left fielder to get that job done. It doesn't matter that Alex Ferdugo came within a couple feet of a game tying to run home run. Yeah. Good thing it's not an old Roger Center. All irrelevant. I did think that was a curious spot to throw a guy in who had like one, I believe, rehab appearance with the Buffalo Bisons that didn't necessarily go so well. And you had a guy who's been going so well and he didn't have any strikeouts yesterday, but another clean inning for Jimmy Garcia. I thought it was a tough spot for Jordan Romano to make his season debut, but I mean, you paid all that money for that light show. So I guess you have to use it. I don't look at it that way. I think if you think this guy is your closer, these guys come back and that's what they do. Like if you think he's your closer and he's the 24th best closer in baseball, then yeah, just slow play them and you give him a spot in the seventh and oh, maybe here's a leverage spot earlier in the game and you try to get his feet wet. But if he is who you think he is, Jordan Romano, like the Canadian kid who deserves his big light show and it's his job. And don't you dare try to take it from them. Then you put him in that spot and I think they think he's that guy. He's an all star. He's been, you know, laid into the season, leading the league and saves. I am less bullish on him than most. So I can hear the argument you're making of just flip him, put him in the Garcia spot like Garcia go when he goes, Garcia's been so good. That is how I would have handled it. But if this guy is your closer, mentality is so important to that role and having, and you can message it, of course, and message it publicly and message it with him. But if he thinks that's his job and that's supposed to be his role and you think it is well, then you do just kind of have to throw him out there. And I suppose the argument is, well, what if it goes badly and you ruin him? If he has that elite closure mentality, it's not going to do that. So I think you, again, would I have done it the way you're saying yes. But if you're treating this guy like he is a top 10 maybe better closer in baseball, then that's what you do. You put him in that spot and sick light show. What do you do? >> Yeah, it's good light show. >> No, it's good light show and yeah, like the music, it's good, yeah. And I guess you could conceivably do it in the evening. No other reliever, I don't believe has anything, I mean, they all have their own music. And Jimmy Garcia's is not a song that I'm familiar with. >> I don't know. >> But yeah, maybe in the end it's good that that's the way it went. >> Survived. >> Yeah, he survived and that he had the heart palpitations of being on the verge of blowing a two run lead in the ninth inning and he didn't. And yeah, the stuff looked pretty good, like Slider was moving a lot. Maybe used it too many times and Alex Firdo go at bat, which is, that's his want. >> Yeah. >> He does that a whole bunch because that was not a bad slide or I didn't think it might have been in the dirt and Firdo goes like, yeah, no, I know that it's coming. >> Oh my god, senior here. >> Yeah. And the fastball looked like 97. So yeah, job done from Jordan Romano, a couple other things for the game. From Varsho had some really good played appearances against left handed. >> Having a moment here. >> Yeah, and I would just say, okay, you can pick, it's six and one half dozen the other as far as the defense between he and Kevin Kiermer and Sutterfield. And Kevin Kiermer is getting into plenty of games at the end of them if the Blue Jays are leading. Because that's a great option to have when you can throw two of the best five centerfielders in baseball into your outfield on any given day. But at the moment for me, and I know Kevin Kiermer has the longer track record of success in last season. He played, he was the best offensive version of himself. But Dalton Varsho has passed Kevin Kiermer and on the depth chart for me. If you're only playing one of these guys, and I think even against righties, you should only be playing one of these guys. For me, it's Dalton Varsho for now, and that could change in a week. But for me, it's Dalton Varsho because he's gone right now. That's exactly you, you nailed it. I don't think this is a definitive. He has jumped Kier Meyer and this is like a QB depth chart. There's like no way for Kier Meyer to get it back. No, it's going to be plenty of opportunities and quite honestly, I expect Dalton Varsho to hand the opportunity to Kier Meyer at some point in time. But baseball is a game of runs. It's a game of streaks. Like very few people wind up with the batting average they wind up at or the OBP they end up at because they do the exact same thing every day. Like guys go on streaks, guys go on runs, use it when a guy is hot. And I think that with him specifically, I don't think this is going to be some catching fire. And he remembers who he is and we're having like, you say Kakuchi conversations this year about Dalton Varsho the way we had of his second year. But I think it is important too, if there's any way you can get the best version of this guy, it is leaning into it when he's playing like this. You have to use him. Yeah, and hitting ninth. Yeah. My God. I don't think it's everything there are some people that work in this building who do think it's a very important part of the conversation as to why he got off to a slow start offensively last year. Oh, being in the far hole. Yeah, being the clean up man and then this year, that was too much. You hit him fifth like that. But it's, he looks right at night, just like factually, what Kevin Kiermeier said going into his incredible offensive season a year ago, I want to be the best nine hole hitter in baseball. Like, I want to just set the table for the other guys. I don't want to be the guy that we're relying on to provide the offense if Dalton Varsho has that mentality, right? And it's not a guy that like, well, I don't have to hit the grand slam that he also hit on this only step. Job done. Yeah. He's a guy that, you know, he has the drag bond in his arsenal, took a nice walk, had the nice double against the lefty yesterday, I think he's in a nice spot. And then lastly, Vlad with the huge RBI base hit up the middle. But also tied, as I mentioned with George Springer for fifth in walks in Major League Baseball, the on base percentage is 346 despite the fact that he's only hitting 209. And I guess the counter argument would be like, we've seen Kevin Bijo at his worst just be a guy that's up there begging to be walked. Yep. I don't think that's where we're at with Vlad. I do think this is incredible process. I think eventually opposing teams are going to be forced into the zone and eventually this guy is going to figure out how to hit a middle middle fastball or we've already seen him hit middle middle breaking balls or take his base hits up the middle. I think this is the, yeah, this is the calm before the storm that you run up your walk count, try and turn yourself into Juan Soto. And then eventually pitchers cave in and they give you meatballs down the middle of the plate. Yeah. And as well as just the nature of the game and the law of averages. And he, you know, if I'm not of this belief, I don't think you are either. But if you're somebody who's like, not worried about the amount of like ground balls he hits into double plays he hits into, it's that is the proof in the pudding last night of just keep hitting him hard. Doesn't matter if they're on the ground. Doesn't matter if they're on the air. I'm not a believer in that as much, but you did see it kind of come through last night. And yeah, that's, I have been, I feel like I've been pretty steadfast in this belief that the road to Vlad hitting better is not him hitting better, at least not at the beginning. It's this. It's making himself be, it's reasserting himself as having the best eye or among the best eye in the game. And it's not lost on me that the guy we all think of as the best hitter in baseball right now has unequivocally the best eye and it's Juan Soto. That's it. Like it's not lost on me or anybody else. Yeah. And I think the most important thing is that it's not lost on Vlad. It has been at times and it's not right now. And I love that he's talking to a guy who'd love to take walks a whole lot on the bench and Edwin and Carne Acion. Also like. That's just good to see. Like you just love the, like it's just good. Yeah. You get the feels. Mm-hmm. Do you think he'll ever drink from a $3,000 bottle of whiskey in your life? And yeah, will you, will you be able to tell the difference? I would not be able to tell the difference. I for sure can 1,000% say that. Like in the like way before times when like, you know, like content, like it's like, could you imagine like, we should like expense this and like have a tasting on the. Oh, sure. Back when like, yeah, you could do all kinds of stuff. Money was just flowing through sports media. Just like sports media. Money guns like. Yeah. Remember that? God. I don't. I was a child. But we should, you know what, send an email to our boss yesterday. But only actually if sometimes they like regal us with their like, they like will come spend time with us after the show. It's like, I only want to send that email to our boss if I can watch him read it. Yeah. Like it's no fun for him to be like, no, yeah, that's not what fun is that. No. Seeing the face. Yeah. I mean, we could split it with other shows. Anyways. Right. Yeah, exactly. People aren't don't know what I'm talking about. He's revealed on the broadcast yesterday about Hazel made that at the conclusion of these victorious starts, he and the rest of the starters, they will taste from a $3,000 ball of whiskey. You're Mathison revealing that he will have one post game Japanese whiskey for every you say. Kukuchi strikeout. So nine. Yeah. He's a he's Mr. Leahy from the show. It's funny. We come back back into the Leafs ghost time. Let's talk about him. Fan Morning Show continues. Ben and his friend gunning sports at five ninety the fan.
