Weekly Takes - Monday, October 13th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, October 13th Edition 

1. Connor McDavid signing the greatest discount in NHL history sure sets the stage for future stars.

Do you want to cash in, even if it hurts your team’s chances of winning a Cup? See: Mitch Marner and Kirill Kaprizov. Or do you take a discount to try and win a Cup?

It is officially a black and white answer at this point.

2. My three stars from the Leafs awful loss to the Red Wings on Saturday…

1. Anthony Stolarz

2. Nicolas Roy

3. Max Domi

Just an awful performance from the top-six. Awful.

3. My thoughts on the Blue Jays’ heartbreaking game three loss to the Yankees on Tuesday…

• I completely agree with John Schneider pulling Shane Bieber, who looked awful. He had zero swing-and-miss and was getting crushed. The Jays lost because their defence decided to play their worst game of the season and Aaron Judge hit an improbable home run, not because they pulled Bieber.

• I like that Schneider kept the pitch counts low for his relievers, allowing them to pitch Wednesday. It was always going to take a miracle to record enough quality outs to win game four. No point in making things more difficult than they need to be.

•  I would put George Springer in right field over Anthony Santander for game four. Yes, you would not be able to sub Springer out for Myles Straw late in the game, but I would rather risk it with Springer than start Santander in the outfield ever again.

• You cannot pitch to Judge in another situation where he can flip a game on its head. Period.

• George Springer needs to have a game at some point. Everyone else has stepped up. He has to be next.

• If you are going to win the World Series, you are going to deal with adversity along the way. Choking away an opportunity to sweep the Yankees (and embarrass them in the process) is the highest form of adversity. Let’s see what the Jays have in their hearts.

4. My thoughts on the Jays historic game four win against the Yankees…

• A masterclass from John Schneider and Pete Walker. A bad manager would have let game two against the Twins in 2023 define him. A great manager would respond two years later by managing the greatest game in franchise history. John Schneider needs to be considered a great manager.

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has cemented himself among the franchise’s all-time greats. He put the team on his back in not just a playoff series, but in a playoff series against the New York Yankees. He went blow for blow with the best hitter in the world and came out on top. He is truly one of the best hitters in baseball.

• Between their pitching and defence (game three aside), clutch hitting, not striking out, and getting contributions from everyone in the lineup, the Jays played exactly how they have since late May. The only difference is they did it on a national stage for the entire baseball world to see. A fundamentally elite ball team, after being the exact opposite a season ago. Full credit to Schenider and Ross Atkins for adapting (and for hiring David Popkins).

• The Yankees are exactly what Buck Martinez said they were a month ago – a bad baseball team. The home runs are amazing, but their middle-infield is bad defensively, their relievers are largely made up of guys who are not as good as they once were, and they strike out way too much. Living and dying by the long ball can make you look very good or very bad. It has made the Yankees look very bad for yet another season. 

5. For as refreshing as it is to see the Blue Jays bring the sport of baseball back to its roots, it is equally frustrating to watch the Tigers pull Tarik Skubal in a winner-takes-all game five despite throwing under 100 pitches.

Back in my day (can I say that?) the ace would have finished the game, even if it meant his arm falling off.

6. My thoughts on the Jays’ awful game one loss to the Mariners…

• I would have left Kevin Gausman in to face Jorge Polanco, who is worse against righties. And I would have gone with Mason Fluharty over Brendon Little as my lefty to face Josh Naylor. No doubt a fumble by Schneider.

• At the end of the day, it does not really matter when your offence looked as lifeless as it did. You have to hope it was a one-off and a bit of offensive regression after an amazing series against the Yankees, rather than a sign of things to come against an elite Seattle pitching staff. We are going to find out very soon.

• An upsetting loss, wasting an amazing Gausman start and not taking advantage of a tired Seattle team who has their number four starting pitcher starting on short rest. But their game three loss against New York was upsetting, too, and they responded. Now they have to respond again.

7. I cannot buy enough Chiefs stock. Patrick Mahomes is playing his best football in years, their defence and coaching remains elite, and they are about to get Rasheed Rice back.

I do not love their run game but they are absolutely the team to beat. They look better than they did at any point a year ago.

8. Unfortunately, I think I have to be out on the 49ers. Overcoming a Fred Warner injury seems impossible. I also think I have to be out on the Chargers, who are simply not playing well enough at all.

The Bucs, though? I can make the case they are the third best team in the NFC, after the Lions and Packers.