Weekly Takes - Monday, June 10 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, June 10 Edition

1. With the Blue Jays freefall well underway, with their only saving grace being how awful the American League is, here is a list of potential candidates for general manager and field manager...

General Managers...

• Preston Mattingly (Phillies AGM)

• Ehsan Bokhari (Cubs AGM/Former Director of Player Evaluation with the Dodgers)

• Ben Sestnovich (Atlanta AGM)

• Sarah Gelles (Astros Director of Research and Development)

• Eve Rosenbaum (Orioles AGM)
  

• Ross Fenstermaker (Rangers AGM)

• Carlos Rodriguez (Rays VP and AGM)

• Randy Flores (Cardinals AGM & Director of Scouting)

Field Managers...

• Brad Ausmus (Yankees Bench Coach/Former Tigers Manager)

• Caleb Cotham (Phillies Pitching Coach)

• Rodney Linarez (Rays Bench Coach/Dominican National Team Manager)

• Clayton McCullough (Dodgers First Base Coach)

• Donnie Eckler (Rangers Offensive Coordinator)

• Will Venable (Rangers Associate Manager)

• George Lombard (Tigers Bench Coach/Former Dodgers First Base Coach)

• Stubby Clapp (Cardinals First Base Coach)

• Kai Correa (Guardians Minor League Field Coordinator)

James Click, the Jays' Vice-President of Baseball Stragerty and Mike Budzinski, the Jays' first base coach, would be two great options if the Jays want to stay internal.

Click is a very interesting name, having won with the Astros as their general manager before coming to Toronto. It would not surprise me if he overtook Mark Shapiro should Shapiro eventually be fired too.

2. The Celtics are far from a superteam, but they are every bit as dominant as every non-Kevin Durant Warriors team that we have seen in the modern era.

From start and likely to the finish, they have been the best team in the NBA.

The Mavericks are not in their class.

3. In sport (and in life), it is a lot easier to make the right decision when there are safety nets in place.

After Cameron Dukes' fantastic season debut for the Argos, Toronto has to feel a lot more confident about the post-Chad Kelly era.

And the post-Chad Kelly era cannot come soon enough.

4. My thoughts on Soccer Canada's loss to the Netherlands on Thursday and their draw with France on Sunday...

• Their aggressive playing style under Jesse Marsch was as advertised and I am happy to see it. Canada is not going to beat top soccer nations by playing a "bend but don't break" style. They have to play to win. That will lead to them getting exposed at times (it surely happened in their game against the Dutch) but the approach is the right one, more so with world-class game-breakers in Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.

• With that being said, Davies (and Stephen Eustaquio) are going to have to be way better. I am not worried about Davies (obviously), but Eustaquio's stock has dropped after being Canada's best player during the World Cup window. Marsch needs to do everything in his power to recruit Luca Koleosho ahead of 2026.

• My biggest concern with Canada's roster after the 2022 World Cup was their pool at centre-back moving forward. But between the play of Moise Bombito + the bright future of Luc de Fougerolles, Canada is in good shape heading into 2026.