Dan Shulman on why this Blue Jays team could make a serious run

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Thank you Dan for not texting me the whole time.

00:00:02
Speaker 2: All Right, I'd like to go to Cratsky and Alana and I'd like to say, how much of that story do you guys think is actually true?

00:00:13
Speaker 3: And Toronto is on fire lately? The AO East is an interesting race. We talked about the Yankee struggling. Albeit there's still you know, three games back or in third place or whatever. I'm still very close at the top. But are the Toronto Blue Jays, Eric? Are they for real? They won on Sunday, they swept the Angels. They extended their winning streak to eight games.

00:00:33
Speaker 1: Yes, they're for real.

00:00:35
Speaker 4: Why I say that because the last two years I've said this lineup is good, they just haven't hit. I can't figure out why they haven't hit. Haven't figured out how to hit in Rogers Center. They haven't figured out how to hit as a lineup together. This guy had an off heear that guy. I've felt like this lineup has been good the whole time. They just never have gotten it done. Now they're doing it. Now they're doing it with the added I mean, their their defense is some of the best defense in the game at multiple positions. And guys that come off the bench and their pitching has benefited from that. And you sit there and you go, is that what a complete team is? The starting pitching isn't quite as good as the last time they made it to the playoffs, but it's veteran guys and know what they need to do in Barrios and Gosman and Bassett and an approve it year for free agency. You sit there and you go, this team is doing what I feel like they should have been doing for a while. So that's why I think they are for real.

00:01:38
Speaker 1: They only have one problem that I see right now. They need a better play by play guy. I'm not gonna lie. They need a better play by play guy. He's handsome. He is handsome. We're gonna get into this when he comes on. He is the biggest jinks in the history of sports. And I'll tell you why when Dan Shulman joins.

00:01:57
Speaker 3: Us, Really the biggest jink and the history.

00:02:01
Speaker 4: Of love a teaser, what a test?

00:02:04
Speaker 3: Yes, I mean that is that's quite the that's quite a big realm history of sport. We'll be right back. As Aj mentioned, Shulman joined us nuts And speaking of mister Shulman, Dan is so gracious to be joining us today. We appreciate it very much. Dan, good to be with you. I'm sorry that I interrupted your dining time with Boog Chiambi of the Chicago Cubs, but I do appreciate you coming on. Is this team for real? And man, they've been playing well. The last we can.

00:02:37
Speaker 2: Change, they really have And great to see all you guys. I'm looking forward to hearing from aj Y. I'm the world's biggest jinks because there's not a lot of facts behind that, but we'll get we'll get into that a little bit later. But great to see all of you guys. And they're playing great right now. They're actually twenty six and ten, I think in their last thirty six games, and they're doing it in such a fun I don't think I've ever seen a team where one through twenty six and beyond really are contributing so much. And I heard Kratzy talking kind of going through the team and he was bang on. The defense is great. The starting pitching, You've got the three veteran guys at the front now Max Scherzer's back, Eric Lower has been a godsend for this team because they really needed somebody at the back end of the rotation to give them innings the bullpen, they just keep filling in with guys as guys get hurt. Jeff Hoffman's been great lately, Ariel Rodriguez has become a huge part, and Braden Fisher, a rookie, is pitching a lot of high leverage innings. Chad Green's pitching as well. And then offensively, like some days it's the big boys Guerrero or Bisheed or Springer or Kirk, and then some days it's other guys. Addison Barger has been phenomenal, Ernie Clements had a great year, and it could be Nathan Lucas or Tyler Heineman or Davis Schneider or on and on. It just seems like in the big moment in a tie game, they make the play. It could be a catch, it could be a hitch. It could be a hit, it could be a bunt, it could be all kinds of different things. But they're finding a way to win close games day after day.

00:04:08
Speaker 1: By the way, Ken, the Blue Jays are playing the White Sox, not the Cubs. So why on earth are you having lunch with bood boog works at the Cubs. I know sometimes you Canadian fellows, you get confused by who you're playing against.

00:04:21
Speaker 2: We do get a little confused. We do get it. Thanks Versus, thanks for helping me out there with that. AG's always I appreciate your friendship. So Boog and I are great, great friends. We go back many many years, and he's on his way, I think to Minnesota. The Cubs are going there tonight. He did the Sunday night game here and we only get a chance to see each other like once or twice a year. So we went out and had a great kind of pre lunch, a little early lunch, and a lot of texted during that time, and Boog sent a nice video message to her. So it was great to see him. He's one of my oldest, dearest friends and always great to see him whenever I can.

00:04:55
Speaker 1: Nice. All right, now, let's get to the real team in the series, the White Sox. How did the Blue Jays matchup the White Sox, because the White Sox are hot and I don't know the Blue Jays can hold them down.

00:05:04
Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you this. They played two weeks ago in Toronto and the White Sox won two out of three. So, in the interest of objectivity, and accuracy. We should say that, but that's the Blue Jays have won ten of their last twelve series and one of the two series they lost was to the White Sox, so I don't think they're taking them lightly. I don't think the Blue Jays are like that. I mean, they've played really well against really good teams. As you guys know. They just swept for from the Yankees, great scene Canada day, Springer hits a grand slam, roof open sunshining, Cien Tower, the whole thing. But I don't think they're taking the White Sox lightly. The White Sox have some good young arms, and the Blue Jays are going to see some of those. They saw some of them a couple of weeks ago. But it's just such a vibe around this team right now, Like every day the lineup comes out and there have been a lot of roster moves because of injuries, and we all play the game, guests the lineup. I'm never right, but it's almost like it doesn't matter who's it there and where they're hitting right now because everybody's passing the baton and there's just such a collective belief in the guy behind you doing his job. Whether that's a reliever or a position player, whatever it means. This is It's not like there's going a lot of runs. But this isn't like twenty fifteen Bautista Ancarnacion. This isn't like twenty twenty one. You know when Teoscar Hernandez and Lord of Scuriel and Bashett and Guerrero and Simeon and others where there. This is different. This is guy's kind of scratching and clawing and just making the little play in the big moment to win a game. And you know, you know, the chemistry and the unity in that clubhouse is tremendous right now, because, as I said, it's really one through twenty six.

00:06:43
Speaker 5: Hey, let's do a little player spotlight thanks to Arena Club. Aja, give me a player this season that you think is underrated and you might want to try and grab his card.

00:06:51
Speaker 1: James Would. I don't know that he's underrated, but Washington National's superstar in the making, and the first slab pack I ever opened had him in at his rookie card and he's only gonna go up and up and up. And I'm not gonna sell it Kwie yet, Scott. I'm gonna hold on to it because after he continues to hit big homers and put up the stats make All Star teams, it's gonna get more expensive for someone to buy for me.

00:07:11
Speaker 5: This is his first full season in the majors. Keep that in mind.

00:07:15
Speaker 2: I think he's underrated.

00:07:16
Speaker 5: He's on a Nationals team that's may putting enough attention.

00:07:19
Speaker 1: He might underrated. When he makes the All Star team this year, They're not gonna be underrated. That helps.

00:07:24
Speaker 5: He's been intentionally walked four times in a game. Anyway, If you want to try and find a wood rookie card, go check out slab packs on Arena Club and right now you can get twenty percent off your first slab pack. Or if you just want to go with a card purchase, go to Arena club dot com. Slash foul, use code foul. If you buy, sell, trade, collect, go for it.

00:07:43
Speaker 4: Does it feel like we gotta do it for bo so he comes back. Does it feel like there's like a theme like that's driving it or is it more of like a we are sick and tired of underachieving and we need to go out there and win these games.

00:07:59
Speaker 2: I think there's a little bit of number two because they did have a as you say, I think twenty twenty one, twenty two to twenty three, you could arguably say that those teams were more talented than this team. And I think for both Guerrero and Bhashet, who have been here through all of it, there is time and the expectations Cratzy were probably lower for this team. I don't know what you guys said at the beginning of the year. I know what I felt. I think the expectations were lower for this team coming into this year than many of the many of the previous years. I think it's a collective just nobody's worrying about personal stats. Nobody's worrying about personal stuff. They brought in some guys who were on multi year deals, so they're not one They're not all one year guys looking at the next deal. Sure's there's an exception, obviously, but he's almost forty one years old. They've got guys who have grown up and you know, in Gladdie's case, he has signed the deal like now it's time to win, and you know then they've just got grinders, like Ernie Clements a grinder, Ethan Lucas is a grinder, Miles Straw is a grinder, like, They've just got guys who are happy to contribute in whatever way they're asked to do. John Schneider says over and over and over WI in what's important now, and you know, for Straw could be playing a couple of innings of defense or getting a bunt down for Lucas. It could be leading off the last couple of days against Righty's because they've reconfigured their lineup. For Jeff Hoffman. It could be pitching four times in five days and getting to save all four games because so many other guys are down because they haven't gotten enough innings at times out of the rotation. There's just a collective, a real close bond in that clubhouse where they want to do it for the other twenty five guys.

00:09:41
Speaker 1: It makes total sense that you know, but don't be careful using grinders because crats will yelling you you're not using it properly. So I'm just going to let you know Dan that Kratz is gonna yell you at some point for not y. Although I disagree with his interpretation, I more agree with yours. But we'll go to something else. The Yankee series. You guys just played. You swept the Yankees sports That guy had the broom and it started a fight with Michael Kay. Was that the feeling of all the Blue Jays fans after that series is, Wow, we swept the Yankees for four games. We went in there, we took over first place, and now they have a little bit of a lead. Is that how the Blue Jays fans feel right now that this team can actually do this? Right?

00:10:19
Speaker 2: So, if you go back to twenty one, twenty two to twenty three, and they were good all three of those years, but it was always fighting for a wildcard spot. It never felt real to fight for a division title. And listen, we all understand there's a lot of baseball still to go, but if you're looking to, you know, create all of that. Put all of the ingredients in to make a series huge for Blue Jays fans. This one had all of them. There's no team the Blue Jays fans would love to see the Jays beat more than the Yankees. Plus the Blue Jays were playing well coming into the series. Plus they were three games back coming into the series. So if you wanted to dream a little bit, you could say, okay, well, if they take three out of four, they were only one back or something like that, like you could have those thoughts. Plus it was the can The Day weekend, which, as you guys know, is Canada's version of the Fourth of July. Plus the weather was great, and the roof was open and the sun was shot like it had everything. And then three of the four games were absolute like nail biers, felt like September or maybe even October baseball going right down to the wire. And the other one was on Canada Day, which was five to four in the seventh and Springer hit a grand Slam to make it nine to four. They win twelve to five, and the noise coming out of that building was just crazy. You guys know what it's like when they're good. You guys know what the scene is like at the Rogers Center when they're good. It had all the ingredients. So, you know, I don't know if anybody in their wildest dreams, no matter how big of a fan of the Blue Jays you are, I thought they would sweep the Yankees. But to come out of that series ahead and then to win three more three one run wins against the Angels, now we'll see how they do against the White Sox and the A's end the break. But AJ, honestly, I can't remember the last time there was a regular season here with that much energy and emotion in the clubhouse and in the stands. I think you probably have to go back to twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen to the Boutis Stan Carnascio teams.

00:12:06
Speaker 3: That's awesome, though, that's what you want. I mean, I think baseball's better when the Blue Jays are good. Dan, and I'm going to give your flowers here for just a second first Canadian ever to be named national sportscaster of the Year. That was back in twenty eleven Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Play by Play. I get so much joy, and I mean this truly, I get so much joy listening to you and Buck Martinez in the booth. And I've often texted you not only the knowledge that you bring, but just how good you are at this, not only with this, but we college basketball and all of the things. How much fun has it been doing games with Buck, obviously now that he's back healthy, and just seeing your son kind of following your footsteps, and just this career that you've had it it's just it's remarkable just what you've accomplished in this game.

00:12:48
Speaker 2: Well, that's very kind of you. And I love when you text me, and I always text you right back. I'm not trying to text aj right back. You text me during a game, but you and Kratzky, you'll get an immediate response. But it's been it's been so fun. I'm a Toronto guy and I was like, I was a math major in college. I didn't have any dreams of this or any of that. So it's been it's been so so fun. Buck is actually offer a little bit right now, but we're going to have him back, we hope very soon. So you know, to work with Bucker now, to work with Joe Siddle, who I worked with a lot as well as great, and then to have my son Ben in the business as well. He's the radio announcer for the Blue Jay, so he's like just one floor down in the Rogers Center and he helps me a lot. He's smarter than I am, and his prep skills they're better than I am. And he helps me understand stuff that the old man can't understand sometimes. So that's all great as well. But you know, being from Toronto, I mean, I hope my whole family Blue Jay fans and so many friends, and I'm hearing from people now a lot of that I haven't heard from in a while, because this team has energized the fan base. Like you guys were saying before, you know, they underachieved in some of those years. They should have been better, they should have gone deeper, that sort of thing. But this is not only a team that may be overachieving a little bit, but that aside, they're just so much fun the way that they're winning right now, when the fans have gravitated towards them. So I love driving down to the ballpark when I know they're going to be you know, thirty seven thirty eight, forty thousand people there, and that this game really matters to people. You know, our games are all national across Canada, so we have tons of people watching from Newfoundland to BC and everywhere in between. We see them on the road. The whole I'm not gonna lie, the whole thing's really fun right now. And I agree with you, it's fun when the Blue Jays are good, and hopefully they can keep it going over the next three months.

00:14:35
Speaker 1: A couple things off that answer. One when I heard we had Showman coming on, I was hoping it was Ben, but sadly we got the lesser of the two. Okay, Yeah, and second of all, I got to tell the Jink story. So Dan Shulman, as we all know, works for ESPN. He does everything, but he mainly does college basketball. So he's doing a game this year Florida at Kentucky. Florida is up like fifteen points. Dan texts me, Hey, Florida's really good man, I think they're gonna pull this one out. They end up losing by twenty points. They lose by like thirty in the second half. So then Dan, every time Dan would do a Florida game, Dan, do not text me during the game. So Florida's, you know, making their run to the national championship, and Dan's like, can I text you? I'm like, no, do not text me. You're the biggest Jinks of all time. And then when they finally won, I was like, Dan, not even you could jinx that run. So thank you Dan for not texting me the whole time.

00:15:27
Speaker 2: All Right, I'd like to go to Kratsy and Alana and I'd like to say, how much of that story do you guys think is actually true? All of it. I did, know. I don't think I did the one where they got blown out by Kentucky. I think I did the one where they I think they beat Kentucky in the one I did well. Whatever. And then do you remember the SEC tournament in Nashville, all those games?

00:15:51
Speaker 1: I do, I do. Do you remember who won the tournament? I do?

00:15:54
Speaker 2: Do you remember who was calling the games?

00:15:57
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't.

00:16:02
Speaker 2: Guys, you're either with me. Choose your size here, team carefully.

00:16:07
Speaker 3: Here, that's a given. I already I'm on hashtag team Shulman all the way. Don't let the facts get into the way of a good story.

00:16:15
Speaker 2: By the way, the National Championship, it was really cool. I got a chance to do a bunch of their games, and it was a really cool story. What a team, I mean, what a you know, it's a team that I don't know at the beginning of the year how many everybody thought they'd be good. I don't know if people thought they would be that good. But you know, in AJ you watch every game, so I know you know this. They just found a way, right, Like one of the big guys gets hurt and another guy steps in, one of the guards gets hurt, another guy steps in, and they they just had guys who made big shots and made big plays at big moments, and it was really cool to be along for a little bit of that ride.

00:16:49
Speaker 1: You're right ahead and Todd Golden's of the USA coach. But before I let you go, Dan as one of the few Canadians that I talked to on a regular basis. I have to know what's on oak Island, what's in what's on Oak Island. I can stop watching that show because I've.

00:17:05
Speaker 2: Watched I don't know, twelve years.

00:17:07
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:17:07
Speaker 2: I'm all in on baseball, man, I don't. I can't answer any questions about anything other than baseball.

00:17:13
Speaker 3: There is nothing on Oak Island. They have been doing this for five, six, seven, eight years. My husband watched There's nothing on oak Island. Please tell them that the Bobby Dazzler that they're never going to find. They have spent so much money on this show. My word, they're never going to find anything. Stop it.

00:17:36
Speaker 2: I like, al Alana can put you in your place. I gotta I gotta text her after and find out how I can do that. I don't have much success with you.

00:17:43
Speaker 3: Dan, It's been great talking with you as always. Best of luck the rest of this season with the squad. Like I said, it's great when the Jays are doing well and it's always nice to catch up with you anytime.

00:17:53
Speaker 2: Guys, I'm glad to see you