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All right, here we are on Atholetters Thursday, March 12, 2026, Van Nicholson Smith here

with you.

And I am joined by sports nets, David Singh.

David?

How you doing?

What's up, man?

You know what?

I am home.

I am here in Toronto.

You, I know exactly where you are because we saw each other briefly after I wrapped up my

stint of digital coverage in Florida and just as you were beginning yours.

But set the scenes before us.

How are you doing there?

Where are you at here as things get started for you in in Florida?

I'm doing well.

I've just had my hotel breakfast, which I know you've had many times before.

It was a good breakfast.

It's a cloudy day here, so it's the morning.

But I've got my coffee.

The hotel coffee here is really, really good.

So I'm good to go.

I'm ready.

I love it.

Now, are we talking cool brewers?

Is this a hot coffee?

This is the hot coffee.

I don't do cold brew until the temperature gets to 27 degrees.

That's a personal rule of mind.

There we go.

Well, you know what?

Hopefully we can get to some more personal rules and personal takes from David Singh

who, of course, is a big part of our Blue Jays coverage has been now for a few.

How many, three years, David, since you, since you were a feature writer for a long time,

you've been on ETL before, but it's how long has it been since you've been fully on Jays

coverage?

I believe this is the third or fourth year now of full-time Jays coverage, but this

is my first time on at the letters since 2017, so I know, right?

So a lot has changed in both our lives and in Blue Jays baseball since then.

I think Curtis Granderson was on the team at that point, and I remember just us in the

sports net studios talking at length about Curtis Granderson, so that's how times have

changed.

Well, safe to say we're probably not going to spend too much time talking about Curtis

Granderson today.

Hopefully we go in some different directions, but we are going to cover a lot of ground

here because you, in the course of the, you know, this week when you've been down there,

you've seen a lot of what's been going on with their pitching.

There are a lot of big questions there, so I want to ask you where things are at with

guys like Traeus Average and Jose Brieos and Eric Lauer.

We might get the chance to talk a little bit about the division because I know you've

seen some of the, some of the teams that the Blue Jays will be competing with in the AL East.

I might throw a few other questions at you, and then I also want to get to some WBC thoughts.

So we're going to, we're going to cover a lot of ground here.

Arden, obviously not with us today on this podcast, but you can listen to his solo podcast

from earlier in the week, some great stuff there.

He also wrote a great piece about Chase Lee, Blue Jays Reliever.

That's up now on the website, so check that out from Arden.

And yeah, in the meantime, let's, let's get to it, David.

So what has stood out to you?

I'll throw a big picture question at you first.

What has stood out to you so far?

The first thing is Dylan Seas, you know, the biggest signing of the off season for the

Blue Jays.

I had never seen him pitch live, and this was the first time.

And I would say that he's, he stood out just getting to watch him pitch, but then just

also getting to watch him operate within the clubhouse and getting to know him as a person,

how he interacts with media, what he's like as a speaker.

But that's been the biggest standout for me so far.

And what are you, what are you taking away from that?

Like what, what for people who haven't seen Dylan Seas up close?

What kind of vibe are you getting from him?

Um, honestly, he reminds me of Kevin Goss, been a little bit super chill, uh, also very

curious.

I mean, you, you talk to him, you talk to people around the Jays, and one of the first

things they'll say about Seas is that he's, uh, very, very curious.

He's a intellectual soul, if you will, someone who is constantly seeking, um, methods to

get better.

And I wrote about that a little bit the other day, just about his mechanics, a little

tweak he made, uh, but that just kind of underlines the fact that this guy is really curious,

willing to try and do whatever he can to improve on the mound.

Yeah.

No, that's, that's a great place for him to be at because I mean, you wrote about this

on earlier in the week, um, as well, but the Velo, I mean, he was touching 99, it sounds

like, I mean, that's, that's when you compare, when you combine that with the curiosity,

the willingness to listen to the coaches, you know, you have the raw stuff, you have these

other, you know, ways to try to get better.

That seems to put him in a really good spot as he starts his first Blue J season.

Yeah.

The velocity stood out.

And then also just like in writing that story and, you know, diving into Dylan Seas, uh,

from, from the ground level, I guess, I didn't realize how much of a strikeout monster

he is.

Yeah.

I was looking up the stats.

Since 2020, no picture has more strikeouts than Dylan Seas.

We're talking, uh, 1,150.

And the second place is Kevin Gossman, third is Zach Wheeler, but my goodness, that's

a lot of strikeouts.

And this guy, the thing is he doesn't even log 200 innings a season, like he'll usually

log like 150, 160, but the strikeout numbers are just so high.

Yeah.

No, exactly.

He's the kind of guy that can go strike out eight in five innings, um, strike out nine

in five and a third.

And sometimes there are going to be moments where J's fans are frustrated that, why can't

he just get through the sixth inning?

And that's where you have to rely on the bullpen.

That's where you have to have relievers who can bridge that gap because, you know, Seas

probably, you know, unless something drastic changes, he probably will have some of those

outings where he's only giving you five, but in today's game, that can work.

Yeah.

No, actually, I think the bleaches are aware of that.

I mean, John Schneider talked about it that, yeah, of course, you know, because he strikes

out so many batters, I mean, his pitch count is going to get high.

But one thing he's working, Dylan Seas is working on with Pete Walker to kind of counter

that is first pitch strikes.

So that is something that they're kind of over exaggerating to you, Schneider's word,

in that the goal for Seas is to get to 80% first pitch strikes.

Now that is a very, very high percentage.

He's not going to meet that every start.

He might not meet that ever, but that's his goal.

And the point of that is, okay, first pitch strike and then hopefully walking less batters

and keeping the pitch count as low as possible so you can get deep in games.

Nice.

Yeah, that's the goal.

They're going to need it.

So from Seas, you've also written about Jose Barrios, Treyis Average, Eric Lauer.

I mean, yesterday, because I'm, you know, again, I'm home now, so I kind of have the luxury

of following along on social media, by David Singh is, that's your Twitter, right?

That's correct.

Okay.

By David Singh, that's where you can find these updates.

So I'm kind of seeing this from your feed, from Arden's feed.

And it's like, there's a lot going on yesterday and this is kind of, you know, one of those

spring days where there's stuff going on in the backfields and then there's a game in

Tampa.

So can you kind of walk us through what that day was like and what you learned about the

Blue Jays pitching staff on Wednesday?

Yeah.

So the day starts off in the PTC, you know, clubhouse time.

We had wanted to talk to Jose Barrios, because the night before news broke that he would

not, he was denied from insurers.

Of the WBC to pitch in the tournament.

So didn't get a chance to talk to Jose Barrios.

We saw him go into John Schneider's office with Ross Atkins, with Pete Walker and, you

know, came out, wasn't able to get him at that point.

So from there, go down to field number two at the PTC and then there's Traeus Average.

He is pitching in a minor league sim game.

The turnout was insane.

It felt like everybody in Blue Jays camp was there to watch it.

John Schneider was right there seated right behind in the desk behind home plate there.

And yeah, you want me to go into Traeus?

I can go into what the performance was like.

Yeah, let's hear about Trae a little bit, because I watched you and Arden talking about

this for your hit for Sports and Central and, you know, I'm getting, I'm kind of,

I know you guys, right?

So I'm kind of getting the vibe that like Traeus Average might not look that great.

And again, we don't want to read too much into that.

This is the point of spring.

So, you know, I'm not here to try to set off alarm bells, but I do want to hear from

someone who is there in person what it looked like.

Yeah, he didn't look good.

It was a lot of loud contact, two homeruns, three walks.

And he really didn't, he wasn't as sharp as we've seen in the past.

He was having a lot of trouble finding the zone.

There were a couple of times where maybe a little bit of frustration kind of set in.

And that's normal.

He's a very competitive guy.

I mean, look, we all know that.

But you could see a little bit of frustration.

And you could see that, you know, he was having trouble finding the strike zone.

I think it was one out recorded on seven batters.

We spoke to John Schneider afterwards.

Well, first of all, we spoke to Trey.

And Trey said, he didn't disclose too much.

He said he was just happy to be back on a baseball field.

Happy to be on a mound with defense behind him facing an actual lineup.

But Schneider actually said later on that the results didn't matter.

And I asked him about the results and he said, no, we're just going to discard that

because, you know, at this point, they just want Trey to get his workload up.

He threw 35 pitches.

That's what the blue days wanted to see out of him.

And Schneider even quipped to Trey that, you know, I don't care if you give up 10 home runs

today as long as you get your work in and move on, that's good enough.

Right.

Yeah, so, okay, I mean, that's, that's what they're saying.

I mean, 35 pitches.

So now there are essentially two weeks remaining before spring training or before opening day

as we record this.

So if Trey is average, we're to go out next time, let's say it's 50 pitches.

Next time after that, maybe 65, this is in the most, you know, the most aggressive ramp up

scenario.

And then that would mean if he were to be, you know, out of the rotation to begin the

season, at most, he would probably be 80 pitches.

That's the absolute max.

More likely it's probably something like 70 pitches.

If that progression continues, I mean, now he's only a 35.

So, you know, to get to 80 actually would be pretty aggressive.

So me looking at this and I've been away from it for a few days now, but me looking at

it just objectively, you know, clearly he's not going to be built up to a full workload

when the season begins.

For sure.

I mapped it out a little bit.

I mean, the J's want to keep him on rotation or on his turn.

So every five days.

So if you look at that, the 16th against the Miami Marlins, that could be a potential

trace start.

If the J's decide to put him in a great fruitly game, if they don't, if they do what

they did this time, maybe a minor league sim game or live VP or something like that, just

to get his workload up.

Five days after that, they have a split squad.

One day is Buddhist prospects against Philly's prospects, the Spring Breakout game.

I don't think he qualifies anymore as a prox.

Like he might.

He might be the one dude who could play an either one.

Wow.

Yeah.

Well, that would be fun.

Or he could go to Bradenton and play the pirates.

So there are options to get him into a great fruitly game.

I mean, what do you think?

Can you see him not getting into great fruitly action, just throwing minor league sim games

and then his next official start coming with the big league team in the regular season?

So I could see so that that game against the Marlins, it's as you know, because I think

you've made this trip before.

Right.

It's all the way across the state.

Oh, yeah.

He's not right.

Is he riding that bus?

Probably not.

I don't know if he is.

I mean, someone's got to.

So there's a chance that he would.

But it's equally imaginable to me that he might stay back on a backfield, get his work

in in a controlled environment instead of spending all that time on a bus.

So that it would be the 16th.

Now I could see for the maybe the 22nd, the final spring game against the raise.

Does he get in for three innings and 60 pitches?

I could see that.

But there's they've they've kept it pretty close to the vest with radius average.

And the fact that he hasn't gotten into a spring game.

I mean, look, we've seen spring's past where Kevin Gosman has literally gotten into

one game, but Kevin Gosman has a lot more big league experience and a lot more spring

training experience than Treyis Avich does.

So I would think that they would want to get him into at least one game.

You kind of have to.

I would think before he makes his regular season debut.

Yeah, again, but this is the beauty of all of this embarrassment of riches that they

have in terms of rotation depth, right?

The big conversation point, maybe a couple of weeks ago was, oh my gosh, the blue just

have too much pitching, too much pitching, where's everybody going to fit?

As they say in baseball, as you know, Schneider has said, I mean, things just kind of work

themselves out naturally, right?

Yeah.

And if they end up not starting the season with Trey, I mean, they'll be in fine shape.

They've got four five healthy starters right now who can do the job.

Okay.

So now that that brings me to Jose Maria's because you were there yesterday and I you

can kind of share for the listeners exactly how this unfolded, but you know, some very

interesting news from John Schneider that his start on Thursday wasn't exactly guaranteed.

And this had to do with Puerto Rico, World Baseball Classic roster and insurance and whether

that was able to get cleared.

But can you tell us how that unfolded and what you know about Jose Maria's and his status

right now?

Yeah.

So basically the blue jays that Schneider said that Barrios is, I asked him if he's going

to start tomorrow.

Well, the conversation even began with just how Jose feeling.

You know, obviously we all know that he is a proud, proud Puerto Rican and he had been

hoping against hope to pitch for his alienation in the WBC.

I mean, that's the reason why he's been ramped up so much.

I mean, I think he's far ahead of every other pitcher in terms of pitches thrown at this

point just because he wanted to get in on the second round.

So when that news broke on, I think it was Tuesday night, you know, obviously it's got

to be disappointing for Barrios.

Like I said, we didn't get a chance to talk to him, but spoke to Schneider and Schneider

said that Barrios is disappointed, obviously bummed, but he understands.

His focus is on the blue jays is on the here and now, and I followed that up just by asking

Schneider if Barrios is in line to pitch in clear water on Thursday, which is today.

And Schneider said, we'll see.

They are going through some medical testing based on the medical testing that was done

for insurance purposes for Barrios and Team Puerto Rico and the WBC.

And they need to go through further medical testing to read, to understand, well, why

was Barrios not allowed to pitch in that tournament?

What is wrong?

What's going on?

I asked, I followed up and asked Schneider, does that mean Barrios is hurt?

He said, no, Barrios feels fine.

They just need to understand more information medically before he takes the amount of gain

for the blue jays.

Yeah, interesting, really interesting.

You know, it's not every day that you see a fully healthy starter kind of pulled back

from, oh, he's definitely starting.

Normally, these things are decided a few days in advance.

Even the media knows a few days in advance.

So definitely unusual for a player who is set to start, then to be kind of put aside

for a moment as some of that testing and some of those conversations continue.

So that's pretty interesting.

But then that evening against the Yankees, Eric Lauer was on the mound.

So what did you take away from Lauer and his performance and what he had to say?

Yeah, Lauer was cruising through the first couple innings.

It was interesting.

You could see the shift for Lauer.

I think the first two innings he was trying to establish his fastball and change up.

And if you go back and look, he had a really pretty at bat against

Giancarlo Stanton.

It was two change-ups on the outside corner and then through a fastball at in the exact

same spot in the outside corner.

And made Stanton look kind of silly.

Stanton was lunging at the ball, we'll late on a 91-mile per hour fastball.

And obviously we can get it to Stanton and the monster home running hit off Lauer later.

But basically, yeah.

And then after that, it looked like Lauer was trying to mix in his curveball a little

bit more.

And Stanton took one of those curve balls, deposited it into left field, pure, you know, classic

Stanton bomb.

But for Lauer, he said afterwards that this game for him was just working on the change-up,

working on the curve ball.

And it was interesting to get his viewpoint because he said that, you know, maybe at this

point last year, when he's still trying to prove himself, he's unable to work on things

in this manner during spring training.

He said, given the regular season he had last year, now he feels he doesn't have to prove

anything to anybody.

He can go into Pete Walker and John Schneider into the office with them and tell them, hey,

guys, I want to work about work on this.

And I want to just try things out, I want the freedom to do it.

And we can discuss that and how that works afterwards.

But, you know, that speaks to the fact that he feels a sense of freedom now in what he

can try and not try.

And I think that played out during the game.

I mean, you look at the pitching line, it wasn't great, but Lauer wasn't trying to get

results yesterday.

Yeah.

Now, honestly, that's really good that he has that freedom because he is a major league

pitcher and he's not trying to prove himself in the way that he was last year.

So flies under the radar when there's so many other Blue Jays starters and pitchers in

the spotlight, but good to see that he's building up.

But, all right.

So you mentioned Giancarlo Stan.

Let's hear a little bit of the David St. Yankees scouting report here because, look, this

team, it's the biggest threat.

They were the biggest threat to the Blue Jays last year.

Obviously, the Orioles are a team to be reckoned with.

The Red Sox made some really good moves.

So you can't overlook either of those teams.

Jordan would say you can't overlook the race either.

And that's probably a fair point too, but certainly the Yankees are at the top of that

list.

So, all right.

Giancarlo Stan is hitting bombs.

Like, what else are you seeing from the Yankees and what's your read on them?

Yeah.

I mean, first off, we both love talking about Stan and the bombs.

I mean, it's just something.

He's an Alzheimer.

He is such a fun player.

Yeah.

I mean, two home runs yesterday.

He looks, he's been mashing this spring.

I mean, three home runs already in 11 at bats.

Just if he, last season, he had the issues with the elbows, the tennis elbow that kept him

out until mid season.

And when he returned, I don't know if you looked up his numbers.

My goodness, 24 home runs in 77 games from the mid season on.

I think if the Yankees, with him, with Stan, he's always going to get hurt.

I mean, that just seems to be the thing.

The last time he played more than 130 games was 2021.

Last time he played anything above that was 2018.

So in New York, they kind of bank on Stanton getting hurt at some point.

But if this is the year, one of these years, he's going to put together a season where

he just gets up to 120, 130 games again, just by a lot of averages.

If he does that, the power potential in that lineup with Judge, with Jazz, with Cody

Belinger, with Trent Grisham, with 35 home runs last year, I mean, it's a lot of power

in that lineup.

I think you could make the argument for the Yankees, they led MLB in home runs last year.

There's a chance they increase that number by a decent amount given what they have in

place.

Just one more note on the Yankees.

Jose Caballero got into the game yesterday as well.

I mean, he was a starter.

He's back from WC.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Look good defensively and look good, look good at the plate as well.

So I know that's a player that you like and you've highlighted as well.

Great player.

Jose Caballero, very, very underrated, very useful.

There's so few games in the course of 162 that a guy like that can't help you in some

way.

You know, Stanton, yeah, this guy, this guy has just so much power.

Let me throw because Arden and I are bringing back overunders this year.

So that's, that's, you know, just a little nugget for the listeners to look forward to

that.

Let me throw an over under at you for Giancarlo Stan.

He hit 24 homeers last year for 2026.

If I set the over under at 23.5 home runs, what are you taking?

I'm going over.

I'm going over.

Yeah.

The belief is there.

In 2024, you had 27 home runs, so I'm taking the over.

Well, that's, yeah, I can see it.

I can see it.

And with Ben Rice coming around with, I mean, they have so much, so much power.

Well, I didn't even mention Ben Rice, yeah, like a full season of Ben Rice, who's now been

around the league, seen American league pitchers.

I think there are big hopes for Ben Rice as well.

So my goodness, a lot of power in that lineup.

Yeah.

It's a team to be reckoned with.

The Yankees are going to be a power team with some really good pitching.

The Blue Jays, I think, have a chance to be a pitching team with some really good power.

It's going to be, it's going to be intense.

I mean, this is not one of the central divisions where you have some teams you can, you can

walk all over.

It's, we know what it is.

We know what to expect.

And it's, it's going to be a lot of fun once it gets started.

So all right, David, before we step aside for a second and, and return with some WBC

thoughts, you know, I want to get a sense of as things are moving ahead here in spring

training and you're still down there for another, you know, long while here, what, what

is the biggest question that you have is you're moving, you know, forward covering this

team, asking questions, what are you trying to kind of figure out about the Toronto Blue

Jays right now?

I think the most intriguing thing and we talked about this is just a starting rotation

and how it plays out.

There's so many pieces like we talked about, there's seven pitchers for five spots.

Just how that all shakes out, you know, including Trey, what happens with Trey, what happens

with Jose Rios.

I think that for me is the biggest question.

And then tied into that is, you know, we haven't mentioned with Shane Bieber.

He's still progressing probably not, won't make it back for opening day, but just how soon

does he get back as well and how soon does his ramp up begin?

So I think for me, that is the number one question.

That's something that during my time here, I think will become a lot clearer.

Yeah, that makes sense, for sure.

Now, okay, so this is almost like a little meta, a little insight, journalism question,

but what was it, what's it been like for you, because I know what it was like from my

standpoint, but you go from covering the World Series where, you know, we were lucky enough

to be there covering the Blue Jays and Dodgers in the World Series, seven games were there

every single game for me, definitely the coolest professional stretch of my life to be covering

a World Series and not just a World Series, but one between the Blue Jays and Dodgers,

Bar None.

That was, that's number one in my career.

And then you go to spring training and all of a sudden, there's, you know, 70 players

around.

It's pretty chill and there's almost, you know, sometimes you're in a backfield, there's

no one in the stands.

What was that transition like for you in these three days?

I mean, of course, you've done work in the course of the entire off season.

You're a big part of our sports and digital coverage, but when you, when you flip that

switch from World Series to spring training, what has that been like?

Okay.

I look, first of all, I love these meta inside journalism questions.

As you know, and I think one day down the road, we can do like a full podcast on it.

Yes.

Oh, my goodness.

I could talk for hours about it.

Okay.

So I have a great, a couple of great answers prepared for you.

Last night, this is an, this is interesting.

You'll find this interesting.

Last night at the Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, right?

So this is a night game, which is very rare for spring training, as you know, usually

all the games are done by 4 p.m.

The sun is still out and, you know, you're done, you're headed home and back to the hotel.

Last night I was at the ballpark until about 9.15.

The game had finished and I heard the sound of leaf blowers in the stands.

Now for fans who might not know, us writers, when we're done in the clubhouse, and when

we're done speaking to the manager and players after a game, we go up to the press box and

write, and those sound of leaf blowers of staff members in the stadium kind of clearing

out the aisles, that's very present.

And for me, that, for years and years and years, that has been the sound of work, the sound

of the ballpark.

And the last time I heard those leaf blowers was during the World Series.

So I heard them last night and it kind of shook me back into reality.

I had a little bit of flashbacks there, but no, to other, other than that, I mean to

answer your question as well in terms of the chillness and the vibes of spring training,

it is a lot quieter.

I don't want to say like, you have the feeling of, you know, okay, well, nothing matters

because I covered a World Series, right, like the little machinations of spring training

don't really matter, but there is a little bit of perspective in that, you know, last

year, a lot of little things happened with the blue jays that all happened in spring

training that ultimately ended up in the team getting to the World Series.

So I think I'm viewing things from a different perspective now in that, hey, maybe something

as small as Eric Lauer feeling comfortable with trying new things out.

Maybe that helps him this season and sets him on a different path and that, you know,

maybe ultimately will bear fruit in the playoffs down the road.

So it's like keeping your eye on the bigger picture, I think, is something that the World

Series has helped me to do.

Yeah, that's super interesting.

I can relate to that for sure.

And then, you know, the World Series, it was an experience unlike anything I've ever

had in my career to be covering it in the way that we did.

And then spring training, like you flip the switch and it's kind of this unique time of

year.

Like for me, it's the one time of year where, and some people listening might roll their

eyes at this.

But it's true.

It's the one time of year that I'm up at like 6 a.m. and out of the hotel by 7 a.m.

Because of how early the day starts normally, you know, there's a 7 p.m. game.

It's a bit of a different cadence to the day.

It's kind of the one time of year that I'm driving an out like at least an hour every single

day to get back and forth between the different stadiums.

You know, you're kind of on a beach like you're in clear water.

Like it's a really, really nice location to be at and you're surrounded by your colleagues

like 24-7.

It's not just, you know, when you're at work, but it's kind of all the time.

So it's such a unique time and spring is, spring is really cool.

I think, you know, both of us have been lucky enough to do a lot of different spring

trainings.

And it is that unique time.

It's busy as people listening can tell from what you're describing here, but it also

stands out as kind of this one time of year that things are done on it on this different

kind of schedule.

Yeah.

Schedules totally flipped.

I mean, I remember in the World Series, there were some nights where I don't think I

got to bed until 6 a.m.

Oh, yeah.

We would be filing stories at like 3.30 a.m.

And then at that point, it's tough to wind down from what you just witnessed.

So the adrenaline is still pumping.

So yeah, you're right.

In spring training, the schedule is totally flipped.

All right.

So we will take a quick break.

Then we'll come back.

I'm going to throw some World Baseball Classic Hot Takes David and we'll discuss from

there when we continue on Atholetters.

Welcome back to Atholetters.

And first of all, thank you to our producer, Christian Ryan, who is bringing this podcast

and all our podcasts to you as we continue through Blue J Spring training here.

And well, the Blue Jays are preparing for the season.

A lot of their players are still at the World Baseball Classic and it's pretty compelling.

It takes a little while, I think, for the tournament to build momentum.

But I think we're fully at that point where there's a lot of excitement.

And I guess before I get to some of my takes on the tournament, David, I do want to just

congratulate everyone in baseball, Canada, Greg Hamilton, Ernie Wett, all the players

in that team for advancing beyond pool play for the first time in Canada's history in

the 20 years of the World Baseball Classic.

What a cool moment and what a well-deserved win by the Canadian team.

You know, for me, Ben, I had a little bit of formal because it's been very hard to follow

along over here.

I mean, first off, the TVs here in the hotel are just getting, they're just showing the

American games.

Right.

Yeah.

I had to follow along on social media as much as possible.

And just the timing of the games, like, you know, in spin training, we're usually in bed

when a lot of that stuff's going on.

So I haven't been able to pay too close attention.

I've just kind of digested highlights and things like that, but my goodness, I'm so happy

for Canada.

And I hear they're playing the U.S. on Friday.

Oh my goodness.

It's, you know, it's going to be wild.

For a while there looked like they might have a chance to play Mexico or Italy.

Yeah.

Playing the Americans.

It's going to be tough.

That's the U.S. team is stacked.

It's a super team.

But you know what?

Canada's playing well.

And I really, I mean, I was so impressed by what Calc control did to give them five innings.

I was so impressed by what James Paxton did to not even an affiliated baseball right now.

Basically comes under retirement to touch a 95.96 on the radar gun.

A little job by, you know, team Canada to find that pitching and to pitch so well against

a, you know, a Cuban team that definitely got it in its own way.

But it's really cool because Canada has a really strong position player core.

It's a really good group of position players.

But Canada, I mean, going into the tournament at a time that they didn't have Cade Smith

or Eric Sbrowski or Nick Povetta on the roster.

I mean, the pitching did look kind of thin.

Yeah.

I mean, anything can happen in that match against the U.S.

And maybe we've got the, you know, a little bit of revenge for the Canadian Olympic team,

right?

Well, that would, I'm sure, delight the listeners of athletic letters.

And that would be so cool.

It's happened before in 2009.

And maybe it'll happen again.

We have shot of ED and Hazel May covering the world baseball classic.

So make sure to keep an eye out for their coverage of it.

It's going to be really cool.

And I think with that, you know, as long as we're talking about Team USA here, David, like

I have to, I have to offer a couple of comments about the way that things unfolded there.

Because man, and I'm not trying to dunk on anybody, but I do think that it is remarkable

that Team USA thought that they had advanced when they had not yet advanced.

And so they proceeded as though everything was good.

They had clenched.

Mark DeRosa was talking about the fact that, hey, like we're good.

We've clenched our way to the next round.

We still want to win, but we've already clenched.

And yet they hadn't clenched.

And to me, this is clearly, I mean, this has got to be super embarrassing for Mark DeRosa.

You need to know this if you're a manager, right?

Like, yeah, I mean, I think it's super embarrassing for him, but then also for the PR staff

with Team USA, like to not inform him of that, or to not make him abreast of that.

Just for the whole organization of Team USA, that's wild.

It's crazy.

It really is.

And that's exactly my thought on it is like, okay, Mark DeRosa, it's a bad luck.

Ultimately, he's a leader on that team.

He needs to either know that information or know where to get that information reliably.

That's part of the information that he needs to be seeking out with 100% certainty, not

85% certainty, but 100% certainty that they are good.

And if he doesn't have that kind of curiosity or humility to say, hey, are we sure about

this?

Then that's where you get in those situations where Team USA was extremely vulnerable until

Italy actually ended up beating Mexico and US advanced anyways.

So that's, it's a really bad look for DeRosa, but beyond that, it's also Michael Hill who's

the GM of this team, okay, you know, DeRosa, he's navigating the media, he's talking to

his players, he's dealing with pitch counts and the day-to-day rules and operations of

the team.

If you were to kind of apply this to an MLB front office, you know, that is the job of

the assistant GM.

That is the job of the general manager to make sure that you are in compliance with the

rules.

And that applies to every single team in this tournament, you know, if I would say the

same thing about Canada, if they were to make a mistake this big, but, you know, Team USA

is the one that did it.

And so if you're Michael Hill, that is also an embarrassment.

I mean, that is your job.

It's kind of like you had one job to make sure that you're in compliance with the rules

and to make sure that you're giving your manager the information that he needs to succeed.

And Team USA, when it comes to their entire front office, and I don't know who else was

involved in the behind the scenes of that, but anyone who's involved in that process,

like that is, it's just such a bad look to not even know what the rules are and think

that you've advanced when you have, in fact, not yet clinched anything.

Well, and they're lucky that it's going to be a footnote now that the US has advanced

and it's going to be a footnote, you know, in the whole big story.

But if it wasn't and if the US did get eliminated, those guys would not be able to live that

down.

100%.

Yeah.

It would be, it would be something that would stick with them.

So I think, I think that's the right way to put it.

They kind of got lucky and it's just by virtue of Team Italy going on this heater and beating

Mexico, which, you know, is a very good team that the USA avoided just one of the most

embarrassing ways to be knocked out of the tournament.

And look, Team USA, the talent on that roster is incredible.

But as we saw last year with the Blue Jays, so many things have to go right beyond just

the talent.

You have to have a culture where people are trying to do everything they can to get

the most out of their ability and it just seems to me that in this instance, there was

a little bit of a, you know, putting the car before the horse for a lack of a better

metaphor that that Team USA did.

Yeah.

And you mentioned Team Italy just one little aside here.

So haven't been able to watch Team Italy's games.

Are they actually drinking espresso on the field?

Is that happening?

They okay.

Okay.

Yes.

In the dugout.

Yeah.

It's in the dugout.

Okay.

During the game.

Okay.

All right.

Okay.

There we go.

This is wild as you want.

So this, this also, I want to hear your thoughts on this too, because I suspect you have some,

some takes on this, but I find the whole like handshake thing kind of fascinating when

it comes to how players are navigating these like pregame handshakes.

So for anyone who isn't aware, this has happened a few times now, where first it was a check

player that went up to the Australian catcher went in for a handshake and the Australian

catcher was like, no, bro, like we're competing right now, like we're not doing this.

Then that made a few headlines later, Cal Raleigh in a US versus Mexico game is behind the

plate.

His teammate with the Seattle Mariners goes in for a handshake.

Cal Raleigh goes, yeah, no, we're not doing this.

And then afterwards, Rosarena was talking to the media to me and these comments were made

in Spanish.

But to me, it certainly seemed like Randy Rosarena was, was bothered by this.

And then later you see Contreras and Tatees in the Dominican Venezuelan game, they go

in for a hug, that's it, you know, it kind of ends there.

But so you see these different, these different iterations of this pregame handshake.

And I find it kind of fascinating.

And I guess before I go into some of my thoughts on it, like what's your like big picture,

what's your big picture thought on this whole handshake situation?

Man, I'm so split on it because I can see Cal Raleigh's angle where, okay, we're in a competition,

like these games matter, we're playing for our country, we're not friends.

But then to kind of embarrass Rosarena that way, like even the way he had to lean in, if

you looked at the video, Rosarena was leaning in to hear what Raleigh was saying and it was

kind of shocked in the moment.

I think I understand why he lashed out the way he did because he just felt embarrassed.

Like it's like his, his own teammate with the Mariners showed him up.

So I mean, does that warrant him delivering that message, which was kind of cool, by the way,

because I think like he swore in like four different ways.

I think he said he was going to swear Mexican style, Cuban style, and then in English as well,

which is kind of cool, but I feel like, I feel like that's how you would treat your enemies.

100%. I mean, I would learn other languages just to be able to swear in those languages,

but I don't know, I just feel kind of, I'm a little bit split on it.

Like I don't have a hot take for you.

I mean, I know between us, like I'm good at hot takes, but this time I don't really have a hot

table. I can see both sides.

And this is, I don't know if I have a hot take on it, but I do have a take on it.

And I think that fundamentally I can see it too.

And my take is that actually both of them kind of messed up slightly.

I mean, this is all small scale.

This is all, you know, none of this is life and death.

But in my opinion, a Rosarena, like you don't need to go in for the handshake.

You don't need to, you know, you're about to compete.

This is about a competition.

This is competition with high stakes.

And you really want to say hi to Cal Raleigh, send him a text.

You really want to say hi to a woman person, give him a hug on the field during BP.

You know, he's not going to, he's not going to, you know, refuse a handshake and batting practice.

You really need to say something to him, find him in the tunnel after the game.

You know, you have his number.

You have ways to get in touch with him.

It doesn't have to be as the competition is going on.

So that's where I would say a Rosarena, you know what, just, you don't need to do this.

Now, for Cal Raleigh, once your teammate, someone that you know and respect reaches out

with a hand, you kind of have to take the hand.

And you might not like it.

You would have the right at that point to say something to him and be,

take the hand and say, bro, don't do this again.

Like, we're just, we're here to compete.

But I think that from a body language standpoint, like,

you risk really embarrassing the guy at a time that you know cameras are on.

And that's what ended up happening.

So I actually kind of think that Raleigh was put into a tough position there.

But he didn't take the path out that I think would have been simplest,

which is just take the hand, shake it briefly, move onto the game,

say something if you have to.

So I actually kind of think that both the Rosarena and Cal Raleigh made mistakes there.

That's a solid take.

I think the real losers in this are the Seattle Mariners.

Right.

Yeah, like what a, you know, great job they've done of assembling a team that I think is one of

the world's series favorites.

Like, they've got a really good team.

Cal Raleigh is their leader.

And now going into camp that when, when he returns to Mariners camp at the end of the WBC,

he's got to deal with this.

I saw a quote where he had to face time people with the Mariners.

And I think he said something along the lines of, you know, I hate that this is a thing.

And I understand that for the Mariners, this is the last thing you want to see.

Is your two, you know, core members of your team not getting along

in what's supposed to be a good positive vibes camp for a club with world series aspirations.

Right. And I think like if you apply that to the blue jays, like what would happen?

What would it take to be, right?

You know, let's say Alejandro Kirk is behind the plate.

And Ernie Clement goes in and goes in for a handshake and Kirk is like, no, we're not doing this.

Like that would be a big deal.

Well, you know, what a Vladie did it.

If Kirk said, if Kirk stood up Vladie and he was like, no,

we're not doing this.

I'm dialed in.

I care about Mexico now.

I don't care about the blue jays.

Like it's hard to imagine Kirk doing that first of all.

But it wouldn't be good for the blue jays.

And of course, it's a lung baseball season.

These things have an ebb and flow to them.

And what's a big story now won't be a big story in two weeks.

We all get that.

But it wouldn't be good for the Mariners.

And yeah, it wouldn't be good for the blue jays as something like that happened.

No, I'm just for a nice little callback.

Our boys standing.

What if he does that with Austin Wells behind the home play?

Imagine how the New York media will handle that.

Right.

No, exactly.

Exactly.

So it's now I will say to me,

like none of this really has to happen.

Like it's all a bit fake because they do see each other

during batting practice.

Like to me, and this might be like,

this might be a bit of an old school,

you know, take from me.

But I kind of think the time and place for that is during BP.

I don't need to see guys like hugging before the game.

And I granted it's not about me.

It's about them.

It's their game.

They're the players.

They make the rules.

All that is fair.

But I don't know.

Do does that really have to happen?

Like can't you do that during batting practice?

And then after the game,

like, does it really have to happen as the competition is beginning?

No, you're right.

And if you, you know, you look at regular seasons

when a player is coming back to his former club,

you're right.

You would see that those handshakes,

those embraces happen during BP.

You would not see it during the game.

Yeah, like in Toronto,

you're not going to see Bobby Shet reach up for a handshake

when he returns with Alejandro Curve.

You're not going to see that.

That's going to happen.

Those embraces are going to happen during BP.

So I understand what you're saying on that point.

Absolutely.

All right, so anything else,

I know, I know you have a full day ahead here.

Anything else from you that you're looking forward to about this,

this weekend about this day ahead here

or any parting thoughts for us here on ATL?

We've got Max, I believe pitching on the weekend.

That will be nice.

That will be a blast from the recent past.

Last time I got to see Max in person

or in a scrum or in the locker room

was games have another world series.

So I'm looking forward to covering that.

And beyond that,

I, you know, if Ladi comes back to camp,

Okamoto,

Jimenez or any Clement,

whenever these guys return to Blue Jays camp,

I'm also excited to see the vibes that they bring

I'm having gone through what they've gone through at the WBC.

For sure.

And John Schneider has said that

he's rooting for all his guys to do well individually

and get eliminated from their teams.

So that they can come back to Blue Jays camp.

And I think that'll be a big moment

for the Blue Jays when they can finally have these guys together

because, you know,

it is an important time for the Blue Jays.

They do need this time and spring training,

it's long, but at a certain point you got to get ready for the season.

Well, maybe there's a story here

and maybe I'll chase this story,

but I'm interested.

I've only been around for a couple days so far,

but I'll keep my eye on it the rest of the way

is how the music and camp has changed without Vladie there.

I know that he's one of the clubhouse DJs along with Springer.

So I'm interested to see what players think about that.

I mean, what vibe does Vladie introduce or inject into camp?

Because this is probably the first time since what, 2019,

where the Blue Jays spring training camp has gone

without Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

for an extended period.

True.

And he's a big presence everywhere he goes,

including Team DR.

I mean, it's fun seeing him do his thing with the Dominican team.

That team, by the way,

that team has quite a vibe when it comes to their celebrations

and everything going on with the Dominican team.

So they have the talent to go far in this tournament.

Well, let me ask you this, Ben.

Let me turn the table on you to the microphone towards you.

Who are you rooting for?

Let's remove Canada from the WBC conversation,

right? Because obviously we're Canadian,

rooting for Canada.

Yes.

Is there a team, besides Canada,

you want to see when the whole thing?

I would say Team DR.

And I would also say that that's my prediction.

But I think they play the game with a lot of joy.

And I think that they're just fun to watch.

And I think there's so much talent on that team,

especially offensively,

where that is the team that I probably gravitate to the most.

And, you know, I've always loved watching Vladie Tatis.

There's so much talent on that team,

really, from top to bottom when you look around the diamond

with, you know, Machado, with Julio Rodriguez.

There's as much offensive position player talent,

depth, Caminaro, as you'll find anywhere.

So that would be my answer.

I love that.

And I sought to tease his bat flip the other day.

I think it was yesterday.

I'm even confused on which day it is.

But I would venture to say

that some players on the DR team

are thinking of different bat flips to unveil

as the tournament gets deeper and deeper.

Like they get to the finals

and there is a big home run.

I think we're going to see a bat flip

that we've never seen before.

A bat flip that will blow your mind.

So that's my prediction.

I think that's a great prediction.

I could see that coming through.

So remember folks, you heard that here first

from David saying sports nets.

David saying thank you so much for making the time today.

Thank you for having me.

This was fun.

All right.

Well, we'll do it again soon.

There will be lots to discuss

as spring progresses.

Look for David's coverage on sportsnet.ca.

Look for Arden and David on sports net

on sportsnet central

as is everything develops.

And again, keep an eye for shy and hazel

at the WBC.

We have all things baseball covered

and we are very excited

to be talking blue jays and talking baseball.

So stay with us here on At the Letters.

We'll be back soon.

With more in the meantime,

thanks so much to you for listening.

Thanks so much to David Singh for joining

and to Christian Ryan for producing

this edition of At the Letters.