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The World Series is all set. The end-of-year team payrolls, according to the reliable Cot’s Baseball Contracts features the Rays (20) vs. the Brewers (23). Though both teams entered the post-season as their league’s No. 1 seed, neither was expected to still be standing, heading to Friday’s Game 1 of the Fall Classic in Milwaukee. This series promises to be interesting and well played but casual fans will be watching football, basketball or hockey.

Sure, the Brewers vs. Dodgers, in the NLCS, averaged over 7-million viewers per game, which was more U.S. viewers for that round of playoffs than any year since 2015. But, of course, we all know that NLCS ’26 viewership was about the presence of the big, bad, much-hated, much-loved Dodgers. Now, the betting favourite is gone, joining those other marquee playoff teams, the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox. The TV ratings will suffer.

With the 2026 World Series here, the FOX network is left with an unappealing, unglamorous but terrific match-up of two throwback baseball teams playing similarly interesting, thought-provoking styles … call it old-school chess as opposed to analytics checkers. The two managers, Kevin Cash (Rays) and Pat Murphy (Brewers) are among the best in MLB at combining new metrics, with old feel for what’s happening in the moment, mixing them together and coming out of that concoction with the right decision … most of the time. These mixed elements are human and volatile, not off any periodic table.

There is more than meets the eye. The way it’s played and eventual outcome of this World Series is important to the future well-being of the sport. Baseball is a copycat industry and both these teams are showing that money doesn’t always buy scrappiness. Consider that over their nine playoff games, the Rays have seven homers and 11 steals, without being caught. The Brewers have 10 homers and 10 steals in eight post-season games.

Is ownership going to have to change its PR campaign with fans? The understood premise from the ownership side of the ongoing labour negotiation is that a salary cap is a necessity to ensure a healthy and competitive MLB. An unexpected argument against the need for a salary cap is that baseball, to attract fans outside its normal tent, needs a Goliath, a dastardly villain, an Evil Empire in order to draw in the casual viewers for the game’s marquee events in the post-season, capped by the World Series. Good vs. Evil always plays. If there is a payroll floor and a ceiling, at that point of competitive balance, where anyone can dream of making the World Series, MLB will likely end up with more Panic-Room-matchups for TV ratings and streaming dollars like this.

Consider that among highest payrolls, Nos. 20 and 23 remain alive. It seems that already disproves the owners’ argument of the game being dominated by the big markets. But don’t feel bad, we all know that the owners concern for the 30 fanbases being able to compete on a level playing field has never been the real reason there will likely be a lockout on Dec. 1. The quest for a salary cap is all about teams’ bottom lines and their “cost certainty” heading towards expansion. Bidding ownership groups will be inclined to pay more for a new franchise, with the increased fee then divided among existing teams. By the way, you can be sure owners never will offer to split with players the millions and millions of dollars in appreciated value that franchises accrue each and every year. That will always go to the owners, whose careers and money-making abilities don’t end in their late 30s, like players.

The players’ union has already proved its point about the need for increased competence from front offices with regard to player acquisition and development and that being far more important to fair competition than regulating team payroll with a cap. At this point, it has become unimportant which of these two teams wins the Fall Classic. The advocates for no cap have made their point. Sit back and enjoy.

Statistical Observations: The unhealthy reliance in October on bullpens, encouraged by so many built-in off days, the reluctance to allow non-elite starters to go a third time through the orders and that so many middle relievers are now throwing 100 mph-plus, reflects in some telling numbers that have depressed offence. Starters, through 35 playoff games, have logged a total of 292.2 innings, averaging 4.1 IP per start. Relievers have more innings than starters and are credited with 26 of 35 wins. Yeah, we know, wins are so 20^th Century.

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2026 World Series

(1) Rays (98-64) vs. (1) Brewers (103-59)

G1 Fri. Oct. 23 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

G2 Sat. Oct. 24 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

G3 Mon. Oct. 26 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

G4 Tues. Oct. 27 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

*G5 Wed. Oct. 28 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

*G6 Fri. Oct. 30 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

*G7 Sat. Oct. 31 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The top-seeded Rays were never truly challenged for first-place throughout the second half, competing in the toughest division in baseball. The Brewers were chased all the way home by the Dodgers and managed to hold them off, to the surprise of everyone outside of Wisconsin. The fact the Dodgers could not get the job done in September to earn home field advantage should have been a warning sign that these Dodgers were not the same as the group that magically beat the Jays in ’25. The Brewers turned the tables on the Angelinos in ‘26, sweeping and celebrating at Dodger Stadium. The Brewers are now favourites of all fans of the underdog, except FOX. The Brewers are 0-1 in WS history, in 1982 vs. the Cardinals when the Brew Crew was a member of the AL.

These World Series survivors emerged from the two toughest divisions in baseball. The AL East had a combined 5-team record of +64 games above .500. The NL Central, for its part, as a 5-team group, was +42.

The Rays earned a bye in the first round, swept three games against the disappointing Yankees, then won the final three games of the ALCS vs. the Guardians to take the series in six. The Brewers took down the Padres in four and swept the Dodgers. The Brewers were 2-1 in the regular season vs. the Rays, outscoring them 16-7.

PITCHING: The Rays lean more into their rotation than do the Brewers, despite the fact Milwaukee has the best individual starter in RH Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers do not have a win from a starter since Sept. 27, the final day of the regular season, 26 days ago, yet here they sit in the World Series. The Rays, under Cash, have pushed RH Drew Rasmussen and RH Freddy Peralta beyond what some critics believe he should, but it has helped his key leverage relievers remain strong and, seemingly, avoid fatigue over a 7-game series.

The Rays have a more traditional starting rotation, able to trot out a four-man group that can be expected to reach up to 5-7 innings and just over 100 pitches, led by Rasmussen, Peralta, RH Nick Martinez and RH Griffin Jax.

The Brewers need more than the heat-seeking missiles of Misiorowski, but that doesn’t always work out. They need either RH Logan Henderson or LH Robert Gasser to step up. The Brewers have a defined bullpen with CL Trevor Megill and loose cannon setup man RH Abner Uribe, but the best of them all this October has been long man LH Aaron Ashby.

The Rays bullpen counters with the trio of CL Bryan Baker, often Jax, formerly anonymous LH Cam Booser, RH Kevin Kelly and RH Tyler Wells, plus swing-man LH Ian Seymour.

HITTING: The Rays had what is arguably the best Top 3 in any order in the AL -- DH Yandy Diaz, 1B Jonathan Aranda and 3B Junior Caminero. Lately, Cash has inserted Canadian C Liam Hicks into the three-hole, but the gauntlet is still there to run at the top of the order. The Rays have had surprising contributions from 2B Richie Palacios and RF Victor Mesa Jr. But the straw that stirs the drink and casts a shadow over an opponent’s apparent calm on defence is LF Chandler Simpson whose skill set on offence could be an area copied by 29 other MLB teams moving forward. Simpson usually bats 5-6 in the batting order, allowing him to steal bases without fear of taking the bat out of the hands of the big boys or opening a base for their stars to be pitched around. The Brewers will have to be at their best defensively so as not to give any extra outs due to the pressure of Rays smallball.

The Brewers in the ’26 regular season featured just three of 28 position players 30-years-of-age or older. The Brew Crew is a role model for an emerging style of modern baseball that eschews the all-or-nothing style that has heretofore been ruled by launch angle and exit velocity. They define success as moving runners, stealing bases, laying down bunts, fielding their positions, respecting that day’s batting order, not playing with feelings of privilege and understanding the situational baseball of MGR Murphy.

INTANGIBLES: The National League was by far the better league this year.

Rays fans have been showing up at the Trop for the playoffs, but truth is the fanbase doesn’t deserve it. Pre-game television shots of the stands at Tropicana Field for ALCS G6 showed very few fans decked out in Rays swag, meaning these are new fans that weren’t invested in their team on their way to 98 regular season wins. The Rays averaged 17,468 per game at the Trop, which ranked 14^th out of 15 in AL. Advantage Brewers.

These are two managers, Cash (Rays) and Murphy (Brewers) who are expected to finish 1-2 in Manager-of-the-Year voting in their respective leagues. The Rays are 0-2 in WS, losing in 2008 and 2020. The Brewers are 0-1 in World Series, back in ’82. The Brew Crew featured three Hall-of-Famers at the top of their ‘82 order, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ted Simmons. In Game 1 vs. the Cardinals, Molitor had 5 hits and Yount had 4 in a 10-0 win. The Cards won in seven.

This year, the active players in baseball and the union itself, prior to the potential Dec. 1 lockout deadline, the expiration of the current CBA, are cheering hard for the Brewers. However, with these two teams facing one another on baseball’s biggest stage, it is already mission accomplished for the anti-cap group.

PREDICTION: Brewers in 7

With four top-seeded teams battling for a World Series championship, we examine how they got here, whether the Los Angeles Dodgers have the motivation to win a third consecutive World Series, and why bullpen management has become such a dominant factor in October baseball. Are built-in off days giving elite relievers too much influence over playoff outcomes? Could changes to the postseason schedule give the best teams over 162 games a better chance to prove their superiority?

💰 MLB SALARY CAP: IS IT ABOUT COMPETITIVE BALANCE OR MONEY?

MLB owners have proposed changes that could benefit baseball, but those proposals are tied to implementing a salary cap. With three of the final four teams coming from the bottom 11 MLB payrolls, does this postseason undermine the argument that a salary cap is necessary to create competitive balance? Or is the push really about cost certainty for owners and the potential expansion fees from new MLB franchises?

🔵 TORONTO BLUE JAYS: WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE FOR 2027?

The Blue Jays’ offensive struggles cannot be ignored after finishing as MLB’s lowest-scoring team. Could Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s reported laser eye surgery lead to a resurgence in 2027, or does that optimism risk overlooking the team’s bigger problems?

Griff and Mal break down what Toronto needs to change around the diamond this offseason, which positions require upgrades, and whether the Blue Jays should pursue another starting pitcher to slot behind Dylan Cease and ahead of José Soriano in the rotation.

From the MLB postseason and World Series race to salary cap controversy, competitive balance, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2027 offseason, it’s another wide-ranging episode of Exit Philosophy!

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Major League Baseball’s Final Four, end-of-year, team payrolls, according to the reliable Cot’s Baseball Contracts include the Dodgers (1), Rays (20), Brewers (23) and Guardians (25). There is more on the line for baseball this year than just crowning a 2026 champion. The combined payrolls of the three contenders seeking to take the crown from the looking-for-a-three-peat Dodgers is, contenders $293.4M compared to L.A.’s 2026 calculated payout to players of $366.0M. Fans want a salary cap, but don’t understand that the players have fought 60 years to avoid that restriction. They are not about to give up now, in exchange fro scraps thrown their way. Winter is coming!

The stated premise of the ownership side of the ongoing labour negotiation is that a salary cap is a necessity to ensure a healthy and competitive MLB. Consider that, contrary to this assumption, what we pointed out earlier, that only one of the top 19 payrolls remains alive into the semi-finals. Really, we all know that the owners competitive concern for the 30 fanbases has never been the true reason there will likely be a lockout on Dec. 1. The salary cap is all about “cost certainty” heading towards expansion, so that bidding ownership groups will be inclined to pay more for a new franchise, with the increased fee being divided among the existing teams.

The players’ association has already proved its point about more parity coming with increased competence from front offices, with regard to both player acquisition and development. Those are far more important to fair competition than team payroll, nevertheless, it would be important to fan perception and their taking sides if one of the three non-Dodgers contenders should win the Fall Classic.

Statistical Observations from early Playoffs:

The unhealthy reliance in October on bullpens, encouraged by so many built-in off days, the reluctance of non-elite starters being allowed to go a third time through the orders and that so many middle relievers are now throwing 100-plus, reflects in some telling numbers heading into LCS play. Starters in ’26, through 25 playoff games, have logged a total of 207.2 innings, averaging 4.1 IP per start. Relievers have accumulated 230 innings and are credited with 19 of the 25 wins. Yeah, we know, wins are so 20^th Century.

*The top two seeds from each league are competing in the League Championship Series, all four having played just 3-5 five games in 14 days since Sept. 27. This become the first time in the past eight seasons that the final four has not included at least one team from the wildcard round. The last time was in 2018 when there were just two wildcard teams and they played one game to advance to the final eight.

Now the series previews.

2026 AL Championship Series

(2) Guardians (85-77) vs. (1) Rays (98-64)

G1 Mon. Oct. 12 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

G2 Tues. Oct. 13 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

G3 Thu. Oct. 15 @ Cleveland … 6:00 p.m.

G4 Fri. Oct. 16 @ Cleveland … 6:00 p.m.

*G5 Sat. Oct. 17 @ Cleveland … 8:00 p.m.

*G6 Mon. Oct. 19 @ Tampa Bay … 5:00 p.m.

*G7 Tues. Oct. 20 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The top-seed Rays were never truly challenged for that first-place standing throughout the second half, despite competing in the toughest division in baseball. The AL East had a combined 5-team record of +64 games above .500. The Rays earned a bye in the first round, then swept three games against the disappointing Yankees, who, now, have just one WS ring in the past 26 years.

The Guardians were chasing the Chisox in the AL Central for most of the summer in what seemed like a mortal lock for the Sox, at one point, with the blessing of Chicago native, Pope Leo XIV, but the Guardians under MGR Stephen Vogt are forever relentless and ran them down, then beat the same Windy City boys in a dramatic 5-game Division Series, after having dropped the first two at home. It was the first such “lose two at home then sweep the next three” sequence in any 5-game series since the Jays beat the Rangers in the bat-flip Game 5 in 2015.

The Rays were 5-1 vs. the Guardians in the regular season, outscoring them 20-8, with the teams averaging just 4.67 combined runs per game.

PITCHING: The Rays and Guardians both have more traditional starting staffs, with each team able to trot out a three-man top starting group that can be expected to reach up to 6-7 innings and just over 100 pitches. This construction is a welcome sight for baseball traditionalists who had, in years past, set their interest-meter on October starting pitcher matchup. The Rays have RH Drew Rasmussen, RH Freddy Peralta and LH Nick Martinez, while the Guardians can counter with LH Parker Messick, RH Gavin Williams and RH Tanner Bibee or LH Foster Griffin. The Guardians leverage relief pair of CL Cade Smith and RH Hunter Gaddis appeared in all 5 ALDS games, combining for 1 ER allowed in 11 innings, with 7H, 1BB and 17 Ks. The Rays counter with the trio of CL Bryan Baker, RH Griffin Jax and LH Ian Seymour. The entire Rays staff posted a combined WHIP of .704 vs. the Yankees and a 1.67 ERA, overall.

HITTING: The Rays averaged just 3.3 runs per game, but all three Tampa Bay homers they managed vs. the Yankees, over three games of the sweep, gave them the lead in the game, by Jonathan Aranda, Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr. The Rays had what is arguably the best Top 3 in the order in the AL -- DH Yandy Diaz, 1B Aranda and 3B Jose Caminero, who has yet to heat up. The Guardians looked destined for defeat after losing the first two at home to the White Sox, but after opening the series 0-for-7, all-star 3B Jose Ramirez came alive going 5-for-11-.455 with a double, a triple, two homers and 7 RBIs, adding up to a 1.864 OPS. He needs to stay hot.

INTANGIBLES: These are two managers, Stephen Vogt (Guardians) and Kevin Cash (Rays) who are expected to finish 1-2 in AL Manager-of-the-Year voting. The Rays are 2-0 in ALCS and 0-2 in WS. The Guardians are 3-3 in ALCS and 2-4 in WS. I was at the ceremony on the outside concourse at Fulton County Stadium in 1991, when the Native American elders placed a curse on the Braves and the Indians that they should never win the World Series until they changed their offensive team names. The Indians became the Guardians and having reached the ALCS for a second time with their new name, they have a chance. Rays fans have been showing up for the playoffs, but truth is the fanbase doesn’t deserve it.

PREDICTION: Guardians in 7

2026 NL Championship Series

(2) Dodgers (100-62) vs. (1) Brewers (103-59)

G1 Sun. Oct. 11 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

G2 Mon. Oct. 12 @ Milwaukee … 5:00 p.m.

G3 Wed. Oct. 14 @ Los Angeles … 8:00 p.m.

G4 Thu. Oct. 15 @ Los Angeles … 9:00 p.m.

*G5 Fri. Oct. 16 @ Los Angeles … 9:00 p.m.

*G6 Sun. Oct. 18 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

*G7 Mon. Oct. 19 @ Milwaukee … 8:00 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Dodgers beat the Braves in four games, outscoring Atlanta 14-8. The Dodgers averaged just 3.5 runs per game, but the pitching carried them and eight homers powered the way despite a .203 team BA. Is this a better Dodgers team than beat the Blue Jays in WS Game 7 last year? The Brewers are the favourites of all fans of the underdog, except for the TV Network carrying the World Series. Milwaukee downed the Padres in four games in the NLDS. The Brewers are 1-3 in ALCS history and 0-1 in the World Series, that in 1982 vs. the Cardinals when the Brew Crew was AL. The Dodgers are going after a three-peat of World Series titles, a result that owners who favour a hard salary cap are cheering for, under their breaths. The new Evil Empire West, other owners will tell you, is everything that’s wrong with players being allowed to earn what an employer is willing to pay them. Some might call that a free enterprise system. The Brewers play the game right, showing that money can’t buy scrappiness. A small-market warrior, Milwaukee held off the Dodgers for the top overall seed which very quietly shows L.A. is vulnerable.

PITCHING: Game 1 is what we were talking about earlier, a primo pitching matchup that will have fans tuning in for a potential classic, with LH Tarik Skubal vs. RH Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers need to count on winning every game that Misiorowski starts, but that doesn’t always work out. They need either RH Logan Henderson or RH Dustin May to step up. The Dodgers rotation can go with Skubal, RH Yosh Yamamoto and RH Tyler Glasnow and still have in reserve LH Blake Snell, RH Justin Wrobleski and RH Roki Sasaski. The Dodgers use the bully pulpit of unlimited payroll to manipulate the regular season Injury List as a holding tank for an overabundance of mound talent. Keep ‘em October fresh. L.A.’s bullpen is anchored by CL Edwin Diaz, who is still at times questionable, with help from LH Tanner Scott and LH Alex Vesia. The Brewers have a more defined bullpen with CL Trevor Megill and loose cannon setup man RH Abner Uribe. The best long man in the NL was Brewers LH Aaron Ashby. Brewers are up against it.

HITTING: The Dodgers lineup since beating the Blue Jays last year, added RF Kyle Tucker and made regulars out of CF Andy Pages and 2B Tommy Edman. The key to the Dodgers offence is always the consistency of Freddie Freeman. They would love for DH Shohei Ohtani to become Shohei Ohtani, but is he maybe playing through an injury? The Brewers in ’26 used just three of 28 position players that are 30-years-of-age or older. The Brew Crew is a role model for an emerging style of modern baseball that eschews the all-or-nothing style that has been ruled by launch angle and exit velocity. They choose to move runners, steal bases, lay down bunts, field your position, respect your slot in that day’s batting order, don’t feel privileged and play situational baseball under MGR Pat Murphy.

INTANGIBLES: Other MLB owners want the Dodgers to win and go on to capture the World Series. The active players in baseball and the union itself, prior to the Dec. 1 deadline, are cheering hard for the Brewers in order to shut down the argument that fans seem to have bought into, emotionally, at least on social media, that the only way to level the playing field to allow small markets to become competitive is a salary cap. The Brewers, Rays and Guardians are hoping to disprove that.

PREDICTION: Brewers in 6

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(4) Yankees (93-68) vs. (1) Rays (98-64)

G1 Sat. Oct. 3 @ Tampa Bay … 6:30 p.m.

G2 Mon. Oct. 5 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

G3 Wed. Oct. 7 @ New York … 8:00 p.m.

*G4 Thu. Oct. 8 @ New York … 8:00 p.m.

*G5 Sat. Oct. 10 @ Tampa Bay … 8:00 p.m.

OVERVIEW: The Tampa Bay Rays, in this ALDS, will be darlings of the MLBPA heading towards the Dec. 1 expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If MGR Kevin Cash’s underdog team can win this series, it will lay waste to the main ownership argument that small-market teams cannot compete unless there is a salary cap. Of course, we all know that, for owners, it’s really about cost certainty, not competition

PITCHING: With key off days before this series begins, plus off days after G1 and after G2, the Yankees bullpen will be all-hands-on-deck to log multiple innings if needed after RH Gerrit Cole, RH Cam Schlittler and LH Max Fried. The Rays counter with RH Drew Rasmussen, RH Freddy Peralta and RH Nick Martinez, plus CL Bryan Baker and a no-name bullpen

HITTING: The Rays have what is arguably the best Top 3 batting order in the AL -- DH Yandy Diaz, 1B Jonathan Aranda and 3B Jose Caminero, who should receive strong consideration for AL MVP. The Yankees have a lefthand-heavy batting order geared for the short porch when they get home to the Bronx. But the Rays have little in terms of shutdown lefties in their pen. The Yankees will likely be missing RF Aaron Judge (calf strain) for another series, but there is the spectre of post-season legend Giancarlo Stanton coming off the bench with Ben Rice as DH.

INTANGIBLES: The Yankees shocked their MGR Aron Boone by playing solid defence vs. the Red Sox. The Sox believed they would have an advantage vs. the Bombers with all the tough lefties on their pitching staff, but LF Cody Bellinger and the rest of the southpaw swingers stood tall and spoiled the BoSox AI assisted plan … and, oh yeah, also surprised MGR Chad Tracy.

PREDICTION: Yankees in 4.

AL Division Series-2

(6) White Sox (84-78) vs. (2) Guardians (85-77)

G1 Sat. Oct. 3 @ Cleveland … 1:00 p.m.

G2 Mon. Oct. 5 @ Cleveland … 5:00 p.m.

G3 Wed. Oct. 7 @ Chicago … 4:00 p.m.

*G4 Thu. Oct. 8 @ Chicago … 5:00 p.m.

*G5 Sat. Oct. 10 @ Cleveland … 5:00 p.m.

OVERVIEW: The White Sox endured 3 seasons of 100 losses in a row, so when the season started very little was expected. The Sox were 1-5 under MGR Will Venable before sweeping the Blue Jays in Chicago in early April, previewing an unexpected season turnaround. The Chisox looked like a mortal lock for the AL Central at one time, but the Guardians under MGR Stephen Vogt are forever relentless down the stretch and ran them down.

PITCHING: When it comes to White Sox pitching, they’re like the poker player who goes all-in every hand and somehow is still alive at the final table. The Sox feature a bullpen start to open the series, while the Guardians line up LH Parker Messick, RH Gavin Williams and deadline disappointment LH Foster Griffin. While The Sox bullpen plays “rock-paper-scissors” for whose turn it is, that night, Cleveland has one bullpen “rock” in Canadian RH Cade Smith.

HITTING: The Sox have Canadian CF Tristan Peters and former Jays OF Randal Grichuk with whom fans should be familiar. The one major addition credited with the Sox newfound belief in themselves is Japanese rookie 1B Munetaka Morikami (.207 Avg. 35 HR; 77 RBIS). It can be argued that Jays’ 3B Kaz Okamoto had a better rookie season, but the Sox are still alive and Morikami’s hot season start has carried over. Cleveland received huge clutch moments from SS Brayan Rocchio and others in the supporting cast, but they need 3B Jose Ramirez to step it up offensively in October.

INTANGIBLES: One of these two 84-85 win teams is going to the ALCS. The White Sox are playing with house money and Pope Leo XIV’s blessing. Just an observation, but the Pope’s big hat that he wears on road trips already looks like a rally cap, which is what they will be needing against a Guardians team that they battled hard in the regular season, going 7-6 outscoring Cleveland 58-57. But, face it, any team with LH Anthony Kay as a key hurler will not win.

PREDICTION: Guardians in 5

NL Division Series-1

(3) Braves (94-68) vs. (2) Dodgers (100-62)

G1 Sat. Oct. 3 @ Los Angeles … 4:00 p.m.

G2 Sun. Oct. 4 @ Los Angeles … 8:00 p.m.

G3 Tue. Oct. 6 @ Atlanta … 6:00 p.m.

*G4 Wed. Oct. 7 @ Atlanta … 6:00 p.m.

*G5 Fri. Oct. 9 @ Los Angeles … 8:00 p.m.

OVERVIEW: The Dodgers are going after a three-peat of World Series titles, a result that MLB owners who favour a hard salary cap are secretly cheering for, under their breaths. The new Evil Empire West, they will tell you, is everything that’s wrong with players being allowed to earn what an employer is willing to pay them. Some might scratch their heads call what they object to as the free enterprise system. That being said, the Braves do have a puncher’s chance given their deep lineup and Chris Sale.

PITCHING: The Dodgers can go with LH Tarik Skubal, RH Yosh Yamamoto and RH Tyler Glasnow and still have in reserve LH Blake Snell, RH Justin Wrobleski and RH Roki Sasaski. The Dodgers seem to use the regular season IL as a holding tank for an overabundance of talent. The Braves reflect what has become of today’s modern pitching staffs, going with a G1 opener and the bullpen to open a playoff series. They will likely follow with ace, Sale, and RH Tyler Mahle. The bullpen may well determine this series, with neither being total lockdown late in games.

HITTING: The Dodgers lineup since beating the Blue Jays last year, has added RF Kyle Tucker and made regulars out of CF Andy Pages and 2B Tommy Edman. The Braves have an effective and relentless lineup, with surprising SS Mauricio Dubon, healthy RF Ronald Acuna Jr., reliable 1B Matt Olson and sparkplug 2B Ozzie Albies. No lead either side is safe.

INTANGIBLES: Braves’ GM Alex Anthopoulos has history with the Dodgers, the team to which he fled, upon his departure from the Jays. Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman is facing his original team which he departed under a cloud of controversy. The Braves were 5-1 vs. the Dodgers, regular season, outscoring them 26-15. Dodger Stadium is predicted to be hotter than Death Valley this weekend.

PREDICTION: Dodgers in 5

NL Division Series-2

(4) San Diego Padres (91-71) vs. (1) Brewers (103-59)

G1 Sat. Oct. 3 @ Milwaukee … 8:30 p.m.

G2 Sun. Oct. 4 @ Milwaukee … 4:00 p.m.

G3 Tue. Oct. 6 @ San Diego … 9:30 p.m.

G4 Wed. Oct. 7 @ San Diego … 10:00 p.m.

G5 Fri. Oct. 9 @ Milwaukee … 4:30 p.m.

OVERVIEW: The Brewers play the game right, showing that money can’t buy scrappiness. Another small-market warrior, Milwaukee held off the Dodgers for the top overall seed which very quietly shows L.A. is vulnerable, so don’t concede them the championship, yet. The Padres are not to be trifled with, finishing as the hottest team down the stretch for the new ownership group. The Padres were 4-2 vs. the Brewers, outscoring them 26-21.

PITCHING: The Brewers are counting on winning every game that RH Jacob Misioroski starts, but that does not always work out. The Brew Crew also has RH Logan Henderson and RH Dustin May, but can their secondary starters match up to Pads LH Robbie Ray, RH Michael King and RH Nick Pivetta. King is the ace and necessarily goes in G2. The Brewers bullpen can’t match up with Padres CL Mason Miller and setup LH Adrian Morejon. The Brewers counter with CL Trevor Megill and loose cannon setup man RH Abner Uribe.

HITTING: The Brewers used just three of 28 position players that are 30-years-of-age or older. They are role models for an emerging style of modern baseball that eschews the all-or-nothing style ruled by launch angle and exit velocity, choosing to move runners, steal bases, lay down bunts, field your position and play situational baseball under MGR Pat Murphy. The Padres, meanwhile, have a lineup studded with stars, led by RF Fernando Tatis Jr., 3B Manny Machado, SS Xander Bogaerts. The Jays lost free-agent 1B Ty France after last season and he has been a huge contributor on both sides of the ball for the Pads.

INTANGIBLES: If Misioroski holds serve for the Brewers in his two starts, they can win, but if the Padres jump out to early leads, they can bridge that momentum to the late innings and it’s lights out. Players union is cheering for another low budget team in Milwaukee. The built-in off days help the availability of both teams’s bullpen big boys.

PREDICTION: Padres in 4

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Jays’ President and CEO, Mark Shapiro has gone through seven labour crises through the course of his 35-year career, so, even though he claims to have no inside knowledge of where ownership’s salary-cap hardliners are headed, he and GM Ross Atkins will soldier on with business as usual, until notified otherwise.

“The way you go through it is you prepare under the current system and then you adjust along the way,” said Shapiro, who began his MLB career with the Indians in 1992, before moving to the Jays at the tail end of the 2015 season.

“So that’s what we’re going to do. We always prepare for multiple scenarios, so we will be prepared to adjust and adapt. Any new system, there will be a time frame for adjusting in that system, that’s understood.”

In this space over the past two seasons, ever since the Rogers Centre was renovated and has shifted its raison d’etre into being a money-making “pleasure palace”, we have consistently pointed out that the risk and thus the benefit of all that money spent on the stadium, with bars, restaurants, family areas in the outfield and VIP restaurants behind the plate, including closer access to the players, that the Blue Jays can never again afford a traditional 2-3 year rebuild of their roster. Just win now, baby.

“The level of appreciation and engagement between our fans and the players was clear, it was palpable, you could feel it,” Shapiro said of a season that ended in disappointment, but not abandonment. “If you could drop in on those (last three) games, with no context to what was happening, you would have thought we were playing for a playoff spot down to the last out. That was what the energy felt like.

“Think about the fact that we finished the season with 60 straight sellouts. That over a million people (each game) were finding a way to watch us, either streaming or on Sportsnet throughout the season, across the country. And I’m left with a couple of overwhelming feelings. First, is just gratitude for our fans. For how engaged they are. For the job our staff has done renovating this ballpark to create opportunities for them to have fun. Even with the ups and downs, it was remarkable to see.”

So how do they go about reaching this goal of retained relevance and getting the Jays back to post-season contenders. Sure, one can argue that at a certain point this summer the Jays were 10 games below .500 and still battled back to being mathematically alive with five days left in the season. But one can argue that was only because of a moon-walking American League and a third wild-card availability.

The Jays are the 10^th team in MLB history to have a three-year sequence that went sub-.500 — World Series appearance — sub-.500. They have not broken any new ground in terms of disappointing their fanbase. Even the Dodgers’ 1988 upset of the A’s with Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 pinch hit blast vs. Dennis Eckersley, was sandwiched between a couple of dud seasons. So how do the Jays plan on taking the next step?

“When I got here (in ’15), I was told players won’t come here,” Shapiro recalled. “That you’re going to have to pay them more, give extra years, and how far we are from that, now, as a desired landing spot for some of the best players in the game. I think that’s because of our fans and because of how unique and special it is to play here.”

Possible Changes for the Blue Jays in 2027

Given the hopeful, almost defiant tone of Shapiro’s “business-as-usual” comments, moving forward into an uncertain to-be-negotiated financial and salary-cap future, what can Jays fans look forward to, in team-building priorities, at least prior to Dec. 1, and the expiration of the current labour agreement, then into early next year when a new CBA must be settled on to allow for anything close to a full 162-game season?

Hitting all the wrong notes

“A lot of focus has been on the offence,” Atkins stated the obvious. “We understand that, but it’s never one thing. Offensively we never gained any momentum. We never put the ball in the seats. We’re not walking. We’re not getting on base, nearly enough. When that happens, we’re relying on-line drives in the gaps and that wasn’t often enough.”

So where do the Jays go to improve the offence. Start internally with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That’s a huge start and nagging injuries aside, if he had simply equalled the numbers from his 2025 regular season, Jays would have been a wild-card team.

The 27-year-old, demi-billionaire statistically, from ’25 to ’26, saw drops in all major categories – Runs minus-24; Hits -31; Doubles -9; Homers -14; RBIs -27; Average -.032; Walks -25; OPS -.160. If he can simply return to the average production of every full season from 2021-25, then that would be a huge headstart to getting back to a Jays team playing deep into October. But it’s not a given.

“There’s such an overwhelming level of compassion for (Vlad), because of our belief in him,” Shapiro said about the falling-on-his-face of the franchise with 13 more years to go. “It’s the same belief that led us to the point where we are with him (contractually) and the belief before the season that this clearly going to be one of the most special offensive players in the game and in the history of the franchise.

“Knowing how much he cared. Knowing how disappointing it was to him is just tough. You feel pain, frustration, because you want him to be the cornerstone of what our offence does and that’s going to be part of our challenge this year. But mostly just care for him and desire to help him get back.”

That’s all the right things said and strong support for the player, but nobody will know until opening day and beyond of the ’27 season. But you have to start there.

What about the other negative contributors to a failed ’26 Jays offence? Shapiro and Atkins were reluctant to talk about specifics with regard to the Jays lineup, which parts need to be improved and revamped, but that won’t stop us from making a few suggestions, encouraged by the waffling of the president and GM.

OF/DH: With George Springer and Daulton Varsho gone and with a full off-season and spring training to clear up the outfield plus the DH spot, they are wide open as far as starting position player changes are concerned.

Oft-injured free agent, Anthony Santander should be given the first opportunity to earn the everyday DH job. They need the switch-hitting 32-year-old to be healthy and to be somewhere close to the 44-homer Santander of 2024 with the Orioles.

In the outfield, start with Brett Bateman in centre and think about who should flank him on a daily basis. Holdovers Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw are useful pieces that should be considered for important bench roles. The free agent target to play every day might be 32-year-old left fielder Randy Arozarena who would also bring some veteran clubhouse presence for Guerrero Jr. to lean on. He is a Scott Boras client.

Infield: The corners of the Jays infield are locked in with Vlad and Kaz Okamoto. Shortstop is a defence-first position in this lineup, with Andres Gimenez. As an offensive upgrade at second base with extra-base pop, the Jays could target 32-year-old Brandon Lowe who is a free agent, following one season with the Pirates. After five years with the Rays, Lowe in his lone Pittsburgh year had 35 homers and 96 RBIs.

What then of Ernie Clement? His best role, after watching him every day in 2026, may be the same super-utility, 450-500 at-bat role that was envisioned if Bo Bichette had stayed as a free agent and played second base in ’26. Ernie plays superior defence at second, third or short and given pro sports load management and minor aches and pains of 162-games, a fresher Clement can have a huge impact in any reduced role.

Early suggestion for ’27 Opening Day Lineup: 1-Brett Bateman CF; 2-Randy Arozarena LF; 3-Vlad Guerrero Jr. 1B; 4-Brandon Lowe 2B; 5-Kaz Okamoto 3B; 6-Alejandro Kirk C; 7-Anthony Santander DH; 8-Lukes/Straw RF; 9-Andres Gimenez SS.

The Jays ’27 pitching is in much better shape, with a head start by Atkins at the trade deadline, Jose Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti, with key injured pieces from 2026, expected to return to good health over the off-season.

There’s a potential re-signing of Shane Bieber to a friendly one-year deal. That possibility is something the former Cy Young winner, late in the season, indicated he would welcome, as he bets on himself with the goal of setting up a lucrative, multi-year final contract of his career. Meanwhile, less likely, seems a re-patriation of Kevin Gausman, a free agent after his Cubs were knocked out by the Padres.

Shapiro finished up with his own heartfelt observations, concerning the relationship he has observed among players, fans and country.

“Hearing our players on Sunday talk about playing in Toronto, talk about what it means to be here, what it means to represent a country, knowing that it’s authentic, their appreciation for the support they get, and how their families feel supported, that’s special,” Shapiro said.

“As fans, there aren’t many players who take the time to recognize just how supported they feel, how appreciated they feel, and our players, genuinely, consistently, authentically through the year, especially on Sunday. Not one, not two but multiple players took the time to recognize how special it is. Our fans feel that. Players come here and they recognize how special it is to play here."

“It’s not going to last forever. We can’t have multiple disappointing seasons. We’ve got to correct. But it’s given us more resilience and that’s importance.”

There it is. An admission from Shapiro that they cannot afford multiple disappointing seasons, meaning 2027. It has always been clear for the past three years that with all the huge investment that ownership has sunk into the infrastructure of the stadium improvements, that empty seats are the enemy and competitive teams are their friend.

The Jays best laid plans may not work out as they thought they would, as it did not between 2025-26, but whether Atkins and his group make smart moves or dumb moves, one can be certain that whatever the new basic agreement is stumbled upon, the Jays will be among those teams attempting to add talent, to build a winner.

Warning. It’s down to 60 days until Baseball Armageddon, Dec. 1, when MLB owners can lock out the players, some of them with great glee, upon the expiration of the current CBA. Underlying this one and different than, say the 1994 disastrous stoppage, is that owners need a cap, not for competitive balance, but so that when they expand they can offer cost certainty of a salary cap and jack the expansion fee.

Winter is Coming.

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Ahead of this final victory, Jays manager John Schneider seemed to have prepared more like a Hollywood director than a traditional baseball skipper.

The resulting crowd reaction showed Schneider to be successful in his goal of balancing winning baseball with obvious tugging on the heartstring moments in a memorable afternoon at the yard. The emotion created within the scripted, sometimes hokey sporting theatre came off a little like Field of Dreams, minus the corn fields.

The two headliners on this day were George Springer and Max Scherzer. Springer’s six-year run with the Jays was coming to an end and fans still appreciate many of his highlight moments, especially his huge playoff home run last October, accompanied by an outgoing personality and many charitable works.

His big moments on Sunday included a standing ovation for his leadoff at-bat that brought tears to his eyes and likely helped with a vision-impaired strikeout. Then when he finally reached second base in the fourth, Schneider sent rookie Sean Keys in to run and Springer milked the moment for another huge reception.

With the Scherzer performance, it was less subtle and more in your face. Take the first inning as the rest of the team allowed Max to run out to the mound alone to soak in the crowd noise. He held his arms aloft and turned to all quadrants of the field. As he continued pitching well and efficiently, Schneider unexpectedly visited with two outs in the seventh and the crowd booed. It was reminiscent of the flash of anger Scherzer showed last October when Schneider went out to see how Max was doing.

“You want to try to win,” Schneider explained of the fine balance between sports and entertainment. “Today worked out where you had a Hall-of-Fame pitcher doing what he did. Then the face of the franchise for the past six years, (Springer) playing in maybe his last game.

“It was a tough needle to thread, but you’re always trying to do it. George was kind of easy. A DH being given his moment. But to navigate Max on three days rest and trying to win the game at the same time was tough. I told Max when he was coming out, thank you for letting me be part of your unbelievable career and I wouldn’t want any 42-year-old psychopath on my team, other than you.”

Scherzer sort of knew what the gameplan was for his day, but he showed a momentary burst of anger when his manager approached. He had a momentary flashback.

“I mean, I did,” Scherzer said. “We didn’t have the game scripted. He basically said, ‘You have as long a leash as you want.’ I didn’t know exactly how this was going to shake out. We knew he wanted to take me out in the middle of an inning, so he came out and the whole place was booing and I’m like ‘Man, I want to stay in this game too.’ You hear that. I felt good, he came out and said, ‘Hey, if you get this guy you know you have to go back out for the eighth. I said, ‘Yeah, I feel good, I feel great.’ I will admit the Rogers Centre booing definitely helped me want to stay in that game.”

When Schneider visited for real after a leadoff walk in the eighth, Mad Max hesitated, handed him the ball then hugged his teammates one-by-one. First man that he embraced was his rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who was then asked post-game what it meant to him, personally, and what he would be thinking about five years from now as he watches Scherzer being inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown.

“Jesus Christ, I thought I was going to be done crying,” Valenzuela admitted. “There’s a lot of memories from this year. He’s been a big part of my year. Just from learning from him. Conversations, not even catching. During the time that he was injured, down, there were a lot of conversations, between innings, or when I wasn’t playing.

“It was really fun to be a part of this last year of his career. Hopefully it’s not, but we’ll see. But I’m going to remember his patience in the games. Yeah, I was just trying to hold back the tears. To be honest, when (Mason) Fluharty was warming up right after Max, I couldn’t see the ball (through the tears). I was just catching. I didn’t know how.”

When Scherzer was asked for a reaction to what his young teammate had said in tribute, Max paused for a moment then began.

“Having everybody tell me how awesome it was to watch it, is special,” Scherzer explained. “(Valenzuela) has done such a great job this year. He’s really one of our unsung heroes. I know we didn’t accomplish our goals. It really stinks.

“When you think back on this year and look at it with perspective, it was special for him to be a rookie catcher at this level. I have a lot of details on how I prepare (for starts) and what I think and he does such a great job of working with me. I love throwing to him and he’s had such a good year coming into it. If he said that and to hear that, I think the world of him and everything he’s done.”

Finally, after he left the game in the eighth and had acknowledged the crowd, hugged everyone in the dugout, come back and climbed awkwardly into the stands to hug his wife and four children, he addressed to media his two injury-riddled years in Toronto, including as an important cog in the amazing run to Game 7 last year.

“It’s been awesome,” Scherzer said. “Especially last year, everybody on that 2025 team, to be able to have that all the way to Game 7. That’s just one of my core baseball memories. I’ve pitched 19 years and I’m telling you, hey, what happened in 2025 means the world to me. And I’ve had so many great moments in my baseball career, being in a World Series with all the other franchises I’ve been with. But last year was special and it really meant something to me and my family.

“Being a Blue Jay here has been great. I’ve had so much fun. I tell everybody across the league how much this is a hidden gem, playing for the Blue Jays. You don’t know until you experience it. I’ve got to experience it and it’s been great.”

With Scherzer, Springer, Kevin Gausman and others with proven veteran leadership likely gone for 2027, the Jays will have to add not only position players with pop, but also some strong personalities to take charge of a clubhouse that will be lacking in real leadership. But on this one day, on Fan Appreciation Weekend, full of theatre and emotion, those upcoming problems were not even on the team’s radar.

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Here’s the incident on Wednesday that started this controversial Vlad episode that will become a minor footnote in his major-league career, if, as he promises, through hard work and obvious talent, Vlad is able to turn it around and get back to the peripheral Cooperstown trajectory to which many had predicted he was headed.

The 27-year-old Jays superstar as part of a recent Spanish-language interview in a hotel room in Baltimore, early this week, claimed to journalist, Veronica Batista, that his belief was he was being paid half-a-billion dollars for baseball feats that he had accomplished in the past, not what he is promising to do in the future. What?

He also insisted on Friday in his bilingual mea culpa, via team translator Hector Lebron, that he didn’t mean the dismissive things he said about Blue Jays Nation, one of the most forgiving fan-bases in North American pro sports. Face it, Vlad has led a sheltered life when it comes to fan vitriol in cities like New York, Philly and Boston.

After Friday’s soul cleansing media availability, Guerrero Jr. disappeared back into the clubhouse. Some three hours later, Vlad went out to begin a new chapter, helping key a four-run seventh inning with a nobody-out, two-men on, exit velo single of 63.9 m.p.h. exploding his bat into kindling for an RBI through the right side.

The boos and cheers in his earlier two at-bats could best be described as “smatterings”. At one point came the familiar chant of “Vladdy, Vladdy, Vladdy.” It did not spread. Despite online outrage, the world seems ready to move on.

Also in the pre-game, within manager John Schneider’s daily media briefing, following a meaningless series of injury updates -- that mean absolutely nothing to anyone at this point -- Guerrero’s friend, boss and protector offered explanations for how Vlad got himself into this totally unnecessary jackpot, pitting his personal and fan frustration each against the other … as well as the head-scratching gaffe about being paid for what he had already done with no promises for the future.

“You can’t control how some fans are going to respond or how some people are going to write about it,” Schneider said. “What matters most to all of us are the people in the building (players and coaches). So, for him, or anyone really, it’s not the first time (a problem interview) happened, it won’t be the last time. Whether a guy is high profile or not, you have to handle it with the people you’re going to be with every day.”

Schneider said he had spoken to Vlad, personally, in Baltimore when the interview was released on social media and again on Friday in the clubhouse.

“What you see on the field is a fun-loving guy and a really good player,” Schneider shrugged. “But, yeah, I think he can be misunderstood sometimes. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever seen and he definitely puts in the work to post every day. I think some things can kind of get lost in translation, for lack of a better way to say it.”

That’s a hard argument for Schneider to make when the interview was in Spanish, Vlad’s first language and the initial online translation was not denied by the player as being accurate. Then, even with the advantage of team translator Tito Lebron by his side, Vlad seemed to double down on the veracity of his quotes, confirming in both languages, twice. He started with an emergency avail between the games of Wednesday’s twinbill and then, not walking back too far from those statements, when given the opportunity, Friday. He said he was sorry, not misquoted.

“Misunderstood? Maybe, a little bit at times because he can be an easy target, because of the contract, because of everything,” Schneider said. “But I think what matters to him, most, is what people in (the clubhouse) think. It’s pretty apparent, especially today, that he wants the fans that support him and that are going to continue to support him over a long period of time, to kind of understand what he’s trying to say.”

Which leads to his outrageous belief he is being paid his not-so-small fortune primarily for things he has done in the past. Sure, he can argue that his numbers in his first five-plus seasons are what encouraged the Jays to pay him as the face of the franchise for the next 14 years, but Vlad was quoted as saying they can’t expect him to hit 40 HR every year. This may actually be true for a player that came up as an unparalleled linedrive bat, not even a minor-league home run king, but they are also words that you don’t say publicly in a dismissive way to fans.

“That attitude has never been there,” Schneider defended. “He understands, players get paid for what they’ve done and for what they’re projected to do. I think in a perfect world, he probably would have said that initially, but this is a totally separate instance than some other people that have said some things, that signed some contracts. It’s not like, ‘Okay, I’m having a down year, so tough shit Blue Jays, you’ve already paid me.’ It’s never been that.”

It can be noted Schneider has a long-standing personal bond with Guerrero, having been with him in uniform pretty much every season of his 10-year stint as a pro ballplayer with the Jays’ organization.

“He prides himself on playing every day and prepares that way,” Schneider added. “I gave him a couple of days before an off day. Tried to take care of him a little bit, but we get to that point and I’ve said it all year, where we need production out of him to get to where we want to get to. You want him in there as much as you can. I don’t think he feels pressure to post every day. That’s just who he’s always been. He expects to play. It was nice to hear the honest side where he says ‘Yeah, I feel pressure to perform because of the contract.’ People forget about that. You just assume that everyone’s going to be fine with it, but there’s real stuff that comes with it.”

Even with the one-run victory over the Reds, Friday, the Jays are guaranteed to finish below .500 the year after an energizing trip to World Series Game 7. Searching for any glimmer of Vlad’s importance in the Jays’ overall scheme of things? In terms of how far the team have come with Vlad as the poster-boy, note this was the first meaningless game the Jays played at home since Sept. 29, 2024, some 726 days ago. That final game of a lost ‘24 season was a loss to the Marlins in front of 31,688 fans.

Compare that to Friday, with nothing to play for once again, there was an announced crowd of 42,535 at Rogers Centre. It can be extrapolated by the most optimistic of observers that this 34.2% increase in attendance ‘24 to ‘26 shows the lasting value to the Jays’ brand since Guerrero Jr. signed his contract last April.

The bottom line is, yes, he had a disastrous year, no, he shouldn’t have said what he said, but at 27-years-old, Guerrero Jr. still the 19^th youngest player on the Jays 48-man roster, some two months younger than Davis Schneider. But he needs to be the best player on the Jays and one of the Top 10 position players in baseball.

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Vlad Guerrero Jr. did not have that excuse to fall back on, following his alarming interview, posted on Twitter regarding his failed 2026 season. No excuses. This one was conducted in his first language, with a reporter named Veronica Batista.

Here is a translation into English of the key part of this head-scratching interview that was released on Wednesday and has become even a bigger talking point and more alienating among Blue Jays fans, now that the Blue Jays have been eliminated, following their 4-2 loss to the O’s in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

To those fans and media that defended Vlad as a clubhouse leader, believing it was simply an aberration of a year, offensively, and that, yes, he understood his responsibilities, to those supporters and his teammates, Vlad has now doused them with buckets of spiritual Gatorade that may leave a long-lasting stain on their sporting souls … that may, in fact, never come out.

“The contract I got was based on what I did, not necessarily for what I’m going to do,” Guerrero said in an alarmingly naïve take on lucrative long-term contracts. “I understand why the fans believe it’s the other way around. Sometimes I think that way too, like ‘oh they give me this money and I’m not doing enough’, but you know I try my best and I’m working hard.”

If that Vlad premise of past over future was, in fact, true, if you were paid as a free agent for what you did in the rearview mirror, then pro athletes that reach that stage of free movement would only be negotiating with one team, the one for which they just did what they did. Hey, Vlad, back in April of ’25, with free agency pending, you were being paid for your future, based on past accomplishments and age. Yes, the expectations were that you would hit 40 home runs or more as you improved.

“The fans, I know how they are, when you are doing great, they are 100% behind you,” the Montreal-boen Guerrero Jr. continued. “But when you are not at your best not everybody is behind you, almost nobody supports you. Those are my real fans, the ones that are supporting me all the time.”

A couple of things stand out from this, possibly the biggest verbal gaffe of Guerrero Jr.’s career. Where were his advisors, the people that are supposed to care about him? Where was his father, Hall-of-Fame outfielder Vlad Sr? What about his agents and Jays president Mark Shapiro before the ink had dried, to help him understand in the life-changing moments, what it was that he now represented back in April 2025.

Where was his circle of clubhouse confidants, players and coaches, who should have been aware over the last year and a half and seen how Vlad’s thought process was dangerously spiralling to self-pity. And, if his friends were indeed paying attention, and understood what he really thought of his responsibilities to his team and a half-billion dollars, could they have defused his suppressed anger at his perceived critics.

Were there no warning signs from seven months of shared clubhouse, hotel and charter flight time that Vlad was reaching a point where he needed help from other clubhouse leaders to put his ultra-fortunate life into some perspective. Vlad said between games of Wednesday’s doubleheader that every time he makes an out in a failed at-bat that he thinks about contract. That may be a huge part of his problem.

That constant pressure he puts on himself can surely be fixed. That can only happen if he understands that he was wrong about his original premise of being paid for what he’s already done. The good news is he’s got 13 more years to earn back the fans’ lost affection. The bottom line that the 27-year-old man-child needs to understand that Blue Jays Nation has been more loyal to hime, despite his failures than he would have been subjected to in any other North American market.

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With five games remaining for the Jays, at Baltimore (2) and at home vs. the Reds (3), they are 3.5 games out of a wildcard spot, lacking the tiebreaker against the WC3 White Sox, who trail the Guardians by a game in the AL Central. Even if they win all five games, given an injury-riddled two-man rotation, they would end the season with 82 wins, which likely is not enough. Even if the Jays go 3-2, they would end the year at 80-82, spiralling from a World Series berth one year to sub-.500 the next.

After some heavy research on the subject, via baseball-reference.com I was surprised at how many teams, historically, have followed up a Fall Classic appearance to also-ran sub-.500 status the next. Dating back to the start of the 20^th Century, it turns out 39 other teams, prior to the Jays, have taken that dramatic face-plant, one year to the next, dating back to the 1916-17 Brooklyn Robins (who became the Dodgers). In fact the Dodgers franchise holds the record number of times taking a dive the year after playing in a World Series, in 1916(L)-17, 1963(W)-64, 1966(L)-67 and 1978(L)-79.

As for what it indicates about the job status of manager Schneider, let’s examine history. After his 2026 club option was picked up early in the ‘25 season, the lifetime Jays player/coach signed a two-year extension for 2027-28. Even though this extension does not guarantee his future as manager, history, plus logic, support the belief that Schneider’s role, despite the team’s disappointing 2026 season, is safe.

Let’s look at the history of teams, this century, that have advanced to a World Series one year and then dropped to a losing record the next. There have been seven such teams. How many have replaced their manager after the failed follow-up? Zero.

Here’s the list of seven teams that have gone riches to rags, including managers that survived. There have been seven in the past 25 years, beginning with the Angels in 2002(W)-03 (Mike Scioscia). The Rockies in 2007(L)-08 (Clint Hurdle, replaced in ‘09 by Jim Tracy, following 18-28 start). The Cardinals in 2006(W)-07 (Tony LaRussa). The Giants in 2012(W)-13 (Bruce Bochy). The Red Sox in 2013(W)-14 (John Farrell). The Nationals in 2019(W)-20 (Dave Martinez). The Rangers in 2023(W)-24 (Bochy).

In terms of Schneider and his team’s dramatic drop from 94 regular season wins and a World Series appearance, to 77 victories with five to go in ‘26, the reasons for the downward spiral and the logic for 17 fewer wins are there and have been discussed to death. So we will continue.

One of the inescapable handicaps under which Schneider has operated has been the injuries to his pitching staff, especially to key starters, that has led to 40 pitchers being used, including 15 making at least one start. Mound chaos. Consider that the current Sept. roster includes 14 of those pitchers (plus Myles Straw), meaning that 25 other pitchers have been used that are no longer here, or are on the IL.

Not many will remember the Jays having earlier leaned into this list of eight random pitchers, from among the 40. There’s Laz Estrada, Connor Seabold, Matt Waldron, Tanner Andrews, Hayden Juenger, Tyler Heineman, Josh Fleming and Austin Voth.

Fully aware that it’s a different era for major league pitching, consider that when the Jays won the World Series in 1992 they used 17 pitchers in 162 games and the next year, just 16 were called upon by MGR Cito Gaston for an entire regular season.

Let’s examine the busy comings and goings by GM Ross Atkins and his staff.

BLUE JAYS INCOMING TRANSACTIONS IN ‘26

Trades or claims involving MLB Players

4/13 IF Lenyn Sosa (CWS)

5/16 LH Eric Lauer sent to (LAD)

5/27 RH Connor Seabold (Detroit)

6/3 RH S. Woods-Richardson (Min)

6/20 IF Luis Urias (AZ)

7/10 RH Tommy Nance sent to (Min)

8/2 RH Kevin Gausman (to ChC) for OF Brett Bateman +1

8/2 RH Jameson Taillon (from ChC)

8/3 RH Jeff Hoffman sent to (Min) for 3 MiLB

8/3 RH Spencer Arrighetti (Hou) for OF Dalton Varsho

8/3 RH Jose Soriano (Ana) for SS Arjun Nimmala + 2 MiLB

8/3 IF Josh Smith +1 (TX) for LH Adam Macko

8/5 RH Matt Waldron (SD waivers)

8/12 RH Paul Sewald (AZ waivers)

8/27 RH Michael Lorenzen (FA Rockies)

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Players Recalled from option

3/31 RH Laz Estrada … 7/18 RH Estrada (2) … 8/3 RH Estrada (3) … 8/5 RH Estrada (4) … 8/13 RH Estrada (5)

4/4 C Brandon Valenzuela

4/7 IF Tyler Fitzgerald

4/7 LH Patrick Corbin

4/27 RH Chase Lee … 5/19 RH Lee (2) … 8/5 RH Lee (3) … 8/11 RH Lee (4)

5/11 OF Yohendrick Pinango … 6/27 OF Pinango (2) … 7/22 OF Pinango (3)

5/17 LH Adam Macko … 6/26 LH Macko (2) … 7/23 LH Macko (3)

6/12 OF Davis Schneider … 7/23 OF Schneider (2) … 8/21 OF Schneider (3) … 9/14 OF Schneider (4)

6/17 RH Chad Dallas … 7/7 RH Dallas (2) … 7/29 RH Dallas (3) … 8/25 RH Dallas (4) … 9/21 RH Dallas (5)

6/19 LH Brendon Little … 7/18 LH Little (2)

7/1 OF Jonatan Clase

7/22 RH CJ vanEyk … 8/28 RH vanEyk (2)

8/10 UT Charles McAdoo

8/15 LH Ricky Tiedemann … 9/1 LH Tiedemann (2) … 9/5 LH Tiedemann (3)

9/1 IF Sean Keys

9/14 LH Brendon Cellucci

Contracts purchased

4/5 RH Austin Voth

4/5 LH Joe Mantiply

4/6 RH Josh Fleming

4/12 OF Eloy Jimenez

4/25 OF Yohendrick Pinango

5/11 RH Yariel Rodriguez

5/25 RH Tanner Andrews

5/27 RH Austin Voth

5/28 IF Charles McAdoo

5/30 RH Hayden Juenger

6/4 RH Chad Dallas

6/22 IF Luis Arias

6/27 IF Sean Keys

7/12 RH CJ vanEyk

8/7 OF Brett Bateman

8/10 RH Simeon Woods-Richardson

8/15 OF Daz Cameron

8/19 LH Brendon Cellucci

9/11 OF Rudy Martin Jr.

9/18 RH Jose Rodriguez

Actvated from IL

4/28 RH Trey Yesavage … 9/21 RH Yesavage (2)

4/29 OF George Springer … 7/6 George Springer (paternity)

5/9 OF Addison Barger

5/25 OF Nathan Lukes

6/8 RH Tommy Nance

6/9 RH Dylan Cease

6/10 RH Max Scherzer

6/12 C Alejandro Kirk

6/20 OF Daulton Varsho

6/20 RH Laz Estrada

6/23 RH Shane Bieber

7/10 Braydon Fisher (bereavement) … 7/31 RH Fisher (bereavement)

7/27 RH Max Scherzer

7/31 OF Jesus Sanchez

8/16 LH Brendon Little (paternity)

8/21 RH Spencer Arrighetti

8/22 1B Vlad Guerrero Jr. (concussion)

9/1 LH Joe Mantiply

9/1 UT Josh Smith

9/4 RH Jameson Taillon

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Following Thursday’s off-day in Texas, the Jays have just three series of three games each remaining – at the Rangers, in Baltimore and, finally, at home vs. the Reds.

In addition, with the final wild card spot changing hands from the Guardians to the White Sox, the Jays no longer have the key tie-breaker, leading manager John Schneider to perhaps give up on his scoreboard watching and just focus on his own team. A tie with the Guardians and they were in. A tie with the Chisox they’re out. And don’t forget about the Rangers. They could be WC3 or even win the AL West.

“I’ve been scoreboard watching for a while,” Schneider admitted following the Jays’ 5-1 win over the Tigers in the series finale on Wednesday. “I may take a break and just try to focus on going 1-0 every day with the Blue Jays and whatever’s going to happen is going to happen. There’s a lot of moving pieces and there’s going to continue to be a lot of moving pieces and if we can just worry about us, that’s the best thing to do. The most important thing is to think about Friday. That’s it really.”

Schneider, as has been the case every day of his tenure with the Jays, has been critiqued, sometimes unfairly, on social media, mostly for his handling of the Jays’ bullpen, which has become even more liquid, overworked and unpredictable since the Jays have been forced into a three-man rotation – Dylan Cease, Jose Soriano and Max Scherzer. It shows what they truly thiunk of Spencer Arrighetti and Michael Lorenzen. Sprinkled in to the current five-game rotation, out of necessity, are two bullpen days that necessarily affect the way Schneider’s relievers are deployed.

Two examples of bullpen-inspired fan anger, that resulted in defeat, from the past week have been when the manager called upon lefthander Joe Mantiply in the eighth inning with a one-run lead vs. the Tigers on Monday and then, the following day, when Rockies-released righthander Lorenzen entered in the fourth inning of a 0-0 game allowing four runs. Two key losses in a row not managing for the moment.

“It’s tough,” Schneider said. “Each one of those (bullpen starts) affects the day before and the day after. Each day there’s certain options that are best for that day. They may not be the best in the world, in a global picture, but in a vacuum that day, those are your options. I always say, too, you have to score. It’s always easier when you score.

“But it puts pressure on starters Max, Dylan (Cease) and Jose (Soriano) to kind of get some length and when the guys are throwing that much, the workload catches up to them a little bit. You can kind of see that over the past week or so, with some of the bullpen guys. It definitely has its effects on bullpens.

“It’s delicate, but it puts some guys in spots where they may not be accustomed to. It puts some guys trying to get a little bit more length. The score may not dictate them being that lengthy, but, yeah, it’s a puzzle to solve every day.”

It’s easy to forget that when the trade deadline came and went on August 3, many in Blue Jays Nation were ready to write off any reality of competing in 2026, looking ahead, instead to 2027. The Jays had replaced RHP Kevin Gausman, CF Daulton Varsho and RHP Jeff Hoffman, with RHP Jose Soriano, then-injured Arrighetti, UT Josh Smith and a Triple-A outfielder sent to Buffalo, named Brett Bateman.

Now, 45 days later, the fanbase is bemoaning the cautious strategies. What they are clamouring for would be like a NASCAR pit crew not making one last pit stop to refuel with six laps to go, praying they can finish and win the race on fumes.

Schneider was asked if with nine desperate games remaining, he might, in fact, go rogue on the front office analytics crew and break some of the usage rules for relievers seemingly already working on fumes. After all, it’s “pedal-to-the-metal” time.

“First of all, we’re all in this together,” Schneider said of the Jays’ stats nerds. “But I think it’s always trying to do what’s right for the player. They know how they feel and we’ve pushed them to a point, up until now, where they’ve done a lot, we’ve asked a lot. Trying to be mindful of what we’ve already asked of them and knowing that there’s (nine) games left, (we tell them) we’re going to need you to keep going. So, we’re being mindful and every single day they can have off is important. But I wouldn’t say I would go rogue.”

Schneider smiled at his own final comment.

The question becomes, taking a step back, how are the Jays even being mentioned in the race for the third wildcard spot. The answer is in the contributions, some season-long, some more recent, of a Jays rookie group that has been arguably better than any since 2019 when Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette burst onto the scene.

“You always want to just keep talent and ability coming,” Schneider said, while mentioning a list of 2026 rookie contributors – Spencer Miles, Brandon Valenzuela, Charles McAdoo, Kaz Okamoto, Trey Yesavage, Brett Bateman, leaving off others that have been back-and-forth on the annual QEW Buffalo Express.

“You evaluate what you have and what you need to add externally, every single year or every single deadline. It is nice that young guys have contributed. We’ve missed some relatively young guys this year, too, whether it’s (Addison Barger), or, I don’t want to call Cody Ponce young, but there’s some guys that we were expecting to be here, that were relatively new, that aren’t here. Getting them back will help as well.”

But for now, heading to the back nine of the season, it’s all about the cliches – backs to the wall, one day at a time, etc. While Schneider understands that not all of the same 28-man parts are available that took them to the World Series last year are still here or performing at the same level, the experience of being in the heat of a real pennant race and post-season run a year ago will help, as the Jays enter the final week.

“Yeah, we’ve been through it at really high stakes where your backs are against the wall and you have to win a game,” the fifth-year manager opined. “I think we can have that mentality of, just, you have to win a game tonight, no matter what the outcome (the day before) and then do it again the next day. It’s really important, so I think there is value to (last year’s pressure cooker). There’s guys that have been through it really, really at the highest stakes of the game. That’s the message. Just come ready to play and just try to win that night.”

For Schneider’s crew, “that night” followed by eight more “that nights” begins on Friday in Arlington with Dylan Cease being consulted and moved up a day to pitch on his fifth instead of sixth day. Cease knows. Soriano knows. Desperate times…

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In the fifth inning, after George Springer snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out homer off Trevor Rogers, Vlad stepped in and launched a full-count 94 m.p.h. duck-hook, barely over the left field wall into the home bullpen, with the 41,805 at Rogers Centre losing their minds for the entirety of his face-of-the-franchise 34-plus seconds trot around the bases. Vlad, despite some seeming uncertainty, had stayed in the batter’s box watching with interest, turning to elation as he had finally stroked his 2026 maiden round-tripper, north of the border. Was he so sure it was out that he didn’t run?

“I know my stadium,” Vlad said through team interpreter Tito Lebron, translating right down to Vlad’s sly smile at the question. “I can recognize at the plate when I hit it. That’s an area (of the outfield) I’ve seen balls going out at 80 (mph) exit velocity. So, I saw it, I thought that’s going to be gone.”

The emotional exhale from the fans in the stand was matched by teammates in the dugout and likely equalled by some deep breaths in homes across Canada, from those watching on TV. Never in 54 years in MLB have I seen a curtain call for the feat of a first home run at home, coming on Sept. 13 from a player that had once hammered 92 big flies in an All-Star Home Run Derby. Never, that is, until Sunday.

“I knew (the first home home run) was going to happen, today, tomorrow, at some point,” Vlad said. “But I never had the pressure. I never thought about hitting a home run here. It wasn’t like I’ve got to hit a home run today. Just going through my progressions and everything, prepare myself for the game and whatever happens, happens. I never felt the pressure of hitting a home run here.”

Guerrero Jr. was clearly lying. But he can be forgiven.

The Jays have finally clawed their way back to .500 and remain in the thick of the hunt for WC3 with their win over the Orioles, taking two of three in the series. The O’s have retreated to the periphery of mathematical hopes for dancing in October.

How tough is this to handicap? There are nine AL teams with between 70 and 76 wins, with two division titles and one wildcard still to be decided. The Jays are part of that chaos and all they can do is try and beat the opponent they are facing on any given day. The Jays play the O’s three more games in Baltimore next week, as well as three vs. the Rangers and three against the Tigers who are not burning too bright, coming to Rogers Centre, starting Monday.

But let’s not forget about the Jays’ star starter, Cease, and his five-inning effort that provided him an 11^th win, with a 2.38 ERA and nine more strikeouts. In New York, his main competition for Cy, the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler, worked six innings in a shutout win over the Mets. The Yankees ace is becoming the odds-on favourite.

The first-inning started as a daunting running of the gauntlet for Cease, but became a key turning point for the Jays. The ace righty threw his first 24 pitches without yet recording an out, loading the bases on a hit and two walks. The key came on pitch number 25. A full-count fastball was initially called ball-four by umpire Scott Barry, but rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela tapped his helmet and the challenge reversed the RBI walk to a strikeout. He then struck out the side with no runs.

“That was huge,” manager John Schneider agreed. “It’s kind of an uncomfortable feeling, bases loaded nobody out. You’re kind of conceding a run or two, there. To get that strikeout of (Colby) Mayo (on a challenge), that’s big.

“I think those are the spots you kind of want to use them if they’re close. The next two strikeouts … we know he can miss bats. I think, right there, we had Ricky (Tiedemann) up in the first inning, just looking at pitch count there with nobody out, that shifted the momentum immediately. Good job by (Valenzuela).”

The rookie catcher was asked about the satisfaction he felt in his instincts to challenge and turn an RBI walk into a strikeout and a Houdini escape for his pitcher.

“I thought it was a strike right away,” Valenzuela explained. “I was set up in the middle of the plate and called a fastball. I was trying to throw a fastball to fill up the plate and I thought that was a strike for sure. That was game-changing for him. It was more of a relief (for Dylan), or a calmness after that. He was rushing his motion, just to be quicker to the plate and he didn’t need to be.”

For his part, Cease was asked about whether any negative thoughts had perhaps crept in as his pitch-count mounted with still nobody out for the Orioles.

“Honestly, with pitch clock, there isn’t enough time to think too many negative thoughts,” Cease said in a rare thank you to MLB’s new rules to speed up the game. “It’s more just trying to figure out why the ball’s not going where it needs to, or assess what needs to be thrown. Really no time to think negative.”

To wrap up the big night, it was pointed out to Guerrero Jr. that the Blue Jays back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fifth, by Springer, Vlad and Kaz Okamoto, the seventh three-in-a-row in Jays’ 50-year history, was the first by a trio from different countries. Vlad was asked, with USA and Japan, did he choose to be recognized among the three, for his Dominican heritage or his Canadian birthplace.

“Both,” he said with a broad smile, without waiting for the interpreter. Vlad has a future in diplomacy.

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There’s a full generation that has no memory of that world-changing event, but nobody should ever forget. I wrote this column two years ago and will present it, once again, with updates from a year ago, as the world pauses to recognize, with sadness, the day 25 years ago that changed the way we look at the world and its ability to keep us safe. Baseball has never been immune to the problems of the real world.

Prior to Friday’s anthems, the Blue Jays will ask for a moment of silence before facing the Orioles and even though the terrorist attack that brought down the Twin Towers was 25 years ago, it’s still remembered as a “where were you?” moment, similar to the Nov. 22, 1963 assassination of JFK, the Dec. 8, 1980 killing of John Lennon and the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, dates that live in infamy and continue to be acknowledged annually. We will never forget. Sometimes it seems we never learn.

To place the aging of this tragedy in some sort of baseball perspective, consider that the youngest eight players on the current Blue Jays 40-man roster, Ricky Tiedemann, Brett Bateman, Charles McAdoo, Sean Keys, Trey Yesavage, Jonatan Clase, John Klein and Yohendrick Pinango were not yet born. It’s like 1966 was to Pearl Harbor.

For those readers too young to remember, here are some details of the horrific terrorist attack. The Sept. 11 morning began with two commercial airliners flying out of Boston’s Logan Airport that were then hijacked by terrorists on board and purposely crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, bringing the New York landmarks down in a horrific collapse of burning fuel, pancaked concrete and tangled steel, causing then and later to over 3,000 deaths. In addition, was a further attack from a plane that damaged the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a fourth airliner brought down in rural Pennsylvania, believed headed for the White House.

In the wake of that tragedy, major-league baseball shut down for a week, resuming games, following the original schedule, starting on Sept. 19. The MLB games that had been postponed were then added to the end of the year, Oct. 1-7, meaning that this World Series between the Yankees and Diamondbacks became extended, for the first time ever reaching into the month of November.

A cathartic moment for major-league baseball, New York City and all of America came when President George W. Bush dramatically threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, striding to the mound with a Kevlar vest under his Yankee windbreaker, delivering a perfect strike. I was in the press box for that game and still get chills thinking about the President’s performance. It may be one of the few times from a personal viewpoint that 50,000 people cheering and chanting “USA! USA!” seemed perfect and appropriate.

Almost everybody has a story about where they were and what the anniversary means to them. Here are several such stories among those in the Blue Jays family.

Buck Martinez was in his first year as Blue Jays manager and his Jays had just played a series in Detroit, ending on Sept. 9. Buck had flown from Motown and spent the off-day with family in New Jersey. On the morning of Sept. 11, with a game that night, he was driving with his wife, Arlene, down the east coast I-95 to Baltimore to rejoin his team for a series, vs. the Orioles. He heard details of the terrorist attacks on his car radio, early on in the drive, and by the time he arrived at the team hotel, the O’s series had been cancelled and his coaches were waiting, gathered in his suite.

“It’s funny, (then pitching coach) Mark Connor always sends me and Garth (Iorg) a text every September 11 and he always says, ‘miss you guys’ and ‘a lot of memories together’,” Buck recalled. “I look forward to (receiving) it every year.”

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2025, during Jays BP, Martinez confirmed that the tradition of exchanging text messages with his close friends continued.

“We all kind of gathered and watched it on television in my room. Nobody said a word. We just sat there and watched. Couldn’t believe it. It hit all of us, but it hit Mark really hard, because he was from New York and had roots there with the Yankees. So, he was really affected.

“Then there were thoughts that the World Trade Center in Baltimore, close to (the newly opened Marriott) where we were at the Inner Harbor, might be another target,” Buck recalled. “That had everybody anxious. Our security guy, Ron Sandelli, was there with us and we knew we were just stuck there. Obviously, there were no planes flying (in American airspace). We took four buses (10 hours) back (to Toronto).”

As for John Schneider, he was already back on campus at the University of Delaware for his senior year as a Blue Hens catcher, after a summer playing in the Cape Cod League. The current Jays manager had been drafted in June 2001 by the Tigers, rejecting their offer as a 24^th round pick. Instead, the 21-year-old, Princeton, NJ native, headed back to class, in the hopes of improving his stock in the ‘02 draft.

“That was an awful day,” Schneider, the Jays’ fifth-year skipper began. “My brother (worked) two blocks away from the towers. I remember I was going to class on Tuesday, couldn’t find a parking spot so just decided to shit-can class that day. Came home and my roommate was glued to the TV.

“I had uncles (in New York) … my brother was right there. Cell phones were not working. You’re keeping in touch through instant messenger. Shitty day. I remember going to (Blue Hens) practice that afternoon. All flights were suspended and I heard fighter jets going over our field. It was not great, just because of where I grew up and had a lot of people affected.”

My personal story: I was at home in Oakville, scheduled to fly to Baltimore early afternoon for the start of the Jays’ series. I had just dropped off our two youngest children, Shannon and Patrick, at St. Bernadette’s Elementary and drove home looking forward to a trip to what still is my favourite ballpark. I poured a coffee and glanced up at the TV. The CNN Breaking News report on screen was simply of an airline accident at the World Trade Center. No panic. Sat down on the sofa.

Speculation from that CNN reporter was that a small private plane may have steered off course and flown into one of the towers. As the reporter spoke from the street in the Wall Street District, visible in the background, over his right shoulder, in real time, a second plane crashed into the other tower and, at that moment, the world, as we knew it, ceased to exist. I was frozen in my seat.

Our bosses at The Toronto Star sent out an urgent special request to all employees who had not been scheduled to work that day. There was a special section being produced to be distributed that afternoon.

They were asking all-hands-on-deck to volunteer with writing, production and distribution. It was then that I self-discovered that I would never become one of those grizzled, salty, veteran reporters with the fedora that says “Press” whose goal in life is to get the story first, no matter what. I was a sports guy. Instead, I sat in a daze on the sofa of my living room and watched 15 straight hours of live CNN coverage.

During that eyes-wide-open nightmare, my mind drifted to related memories. There was one experience that I thought was amusing, but now still haunts me. In the early ‘90s, when I was with the Expos, we had flown to New York to face the Mets. The charter landed at LaGuardia very late at night, unfortunately the team buses were parked at Kennedy. Simple mistake. The charter plane took off for the 10-minute flight between the two major NYC airports. The improvised route in a darkened City That Never Sleeps took us across Manhattan and I remember thinking as we banked around, very close to the Twin Towers, low and about the actual height of the building. I remember looking into the lighted office of one of the upper floors, able to see what was on desks and other details, wondering who might work there, marvelling at how close we had flown. In hindsight, it has only become chilling.

How much did the world change and remain changed in the aftermath of 9/11? Consider this. My then-colleague at the Star, award-winning writer Geoff Baker, now a vice-president with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, was already in Baltimore waiting for the series to begin. And, yes, The Star used to travel both a reporter and columnist to many road cities back in the day, as did the Toronto Sun.

The Trade Center had already been hit as Geoff began his day, but when further news emerged of a simultaneous attack at the Pentagon, Baker, whose background was as a news journalist at The Montreal Gazette, negotiated hard to rent the last available car from an Avis counter in Baltimore and drove two hours to the nation’s capital to cover the important news story of an attack at the country’s national defence headquarters.

Without a real plan to work from, Baker parked as close to the Pentagon as he could, hampered by the number of police, fire and emergency vehicles. He somehow worked his way to where he saw the biggest crowd of first responders and news people was and flashed his Baseball Writers card to the police … who then waved him in for a closer view. Unbelievable. The world has really changed since then.

A 2001 BBWAA card gave Geoff from Toronto access to cover an act of terrorism? Now we can’t even get from Rogers Centre clubhouse direct to the field with that same credential. That’s how much things have changed in the way the world works and has never and will not ever be the same. Never forget the lessons of 9/11 and say a prayer in memory of the victims and their families, honouring those memories.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, this weekend turn their attention to the AL Wildcard race, with six games remaining vs. the Orioles and three each against the Rangers, Tigers and Reds. Somehow on this saddest of days, that somehow seems unimportant.

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The unlikely three-game sweep of the M’s concluded Sunday, with a convincing 7-0 win against an offensively challenged Seattle squad. The Jays’ 68^th win was keyed by homers from Alejandro Kirk and Kaz Okamoto, with another solid table-setting job from rookie centre fielder and leadoff man, Brett Bateman.

But the eye-opener was provided by 42-year-old starter, Max Scherzer, who tossed seven shutout innings, allowing one hit with a walk and 10 strikeouts, passing Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry into ninth place on the all-time strikeouts list.

Scherzer, at 57 innings, also moved to within eight frames of his first $1M bonus which kicks in, according to terms of his unique one-year contract, at 65 IP and repeats itself with another cool mill’ every 10 innings thereafter. Mad Max has become the clear No. 3 starter behind Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano.

The Jays on Monday enjoy an off day before a three-game set in Cleveland, then on to Kansas City (3) and Sacramento (3). The Jays are chasing the Guardians, sitting 1.5 games out of the AL’s third wildcard spot, but still in a mix of seven teams that believe they have a chance in this watered down race to be dancing in October.

The O’s are a half game ahead of the Jays, with the Rangers, Twins, M’s and Tigers all within 5.5 games of Cleveland. The Jays remaining schedule of 24 games includes 15 intramural tilts within that competing group of seven.

Buck’s Hall-of-Excellence Ceremony

There is a certain irony to the construct of the Buck Martinez bobblehead, distributed on Sunday at Rogers Centre, as the franchise icon was ushered into the stadium’s glitzy new Hall-of-Excellence, located in the stadium’s right-field corner. All of the names from the existing Level of Excellence have been transferred to the new museum on Level 100 and all the living members were on hand to fete Buck.

The unique, three-tiered bobblehead handed out to fans included images of Martinez as player, manager and broadcaster. The irony is that among the invited guests and previous Hall members who had gathered on the field to help in the celebration, plus the spiritual presence of the late Tony Fernandez, Tom Cheek and Roy Halladay, Buck was not any of the best player, the best manager, or the best broadcaster, but his combination of excellence at all three was definitely unmatched. He’s unique.

“I never really thought that I was that important…and I still don’t think that I was that important, but to hear the fans…” Martinez offered at his in-game press conference.

“I went down to the lobby of the hotel and I just couldn’t move. It’s interesting about Canadian fans. The first thing they tell you is where they’re from. They say I’m from New Brunswick; I’m from Calgary; I came here from Winnipeg. They’re so proud that they came this far to watch the Blue Jays. For people that never played here, they don’t realize what a great place it is to play. I didn’t realize in 1981 and realized it by the time I left in 1986.”

Martinez has always worn his heart on his sleeve and is one of the most genuinely empathetic people I have met over 54 years in and around the major-league game. Every time he walked across the field or stepped into an elevator or sat down in a restaurant, he was available to speak to fans. Never did he use a cellphone as a prop, in fact I don’t ever recall seeing him on a cellphone. He was a fan of the people.

“It’s very, very humbling to be considered …” Buck said of Saturday’s honour. “Today blew me away. I just didn’t have any grasp of the magnitude of today, but it was awesome. The Blue Jays did a hell of a job. The best part of today was having my wife (Arlene) with me. Having (my son) Casey and my granddaughters with me. I didn’t realize that everyone (on the Wall of Excellence) was going to come back. Everybody that was able to.”

Buck’s memories of the past and advice for the future

The younger generation of Blue Jays fans simply know Buck as a TV personality. He began that important part of his career immediately after retirement in the post-season of 1986, sitting in the radio booth as a rookie with Tom Cheek for parts of the post-season. Tom’s wife Shirley was on hand for the ceremony. Since then, Buck has witnessed 40 years of MLB highlights. The one that stands out as a broadcaster, that did not involve the Jays, was as analyst in the ESPN booth for the Cal Ripken game in Baltimore in which he broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played and dragged MLB back from the brink as it emerged from the devastating strike of 1994. Fans were disillusioned and many had sworn off MLB, with a pox on both houses.

“Chris (Berman) and I did Wednesday Night baseball for ESPN for several years,” Buck explained. “That game happened to come up on Wednesday night because they had a rainout. When it got time to decide who was going to broadcast the game, ESPN wanted Joe Morgan. But Boomer wouldn’t allow that. He said ‘This is our game.’ Uncle Bucky, as he always called me, ‘Uncle Bucky and I are doing the game.’

“People remember me for two things, that sort of sums up my whole career. Breaking my leg in Seattle (while making both outs of a double play) and not talking for 22 minutes in the Cal Ripken game. There was nothing to say. He had just broken a record that was unbreakable.

“Brooks Robinson was sitting between Chris and me and we all had tears in our eyes because we just saw something we thought would never happen. Boomer looked at me. I looked at him and we didn’t say anything for 22 minutes. Now that’s impossible for Chris Berman not to talk.”

That broadcast was awarded a sports Emmy. Of course also in Buck’s top three broadcast memories is the 2025 post season, capped by the Jays/Dodgers World Series, considered by many as one of the most exciting Fall Classics in history.

“We got the chance to do post-seasons before, but never Game 7 of the World Series,” he explained. “And Sportsnet allowed us to do the game as if it was a very special regular season game. We had all the bells and whistles. We had all the support. They flew us back and forth on charters. It was phenomenal. To do that game, not knowing it was the last game in my broadcasting career, was very, very special.”

Above all else, as a thread throughout his three-pronged career as player, manager and broadcaster, is the fact that Buck Martinez is a fan of the sport and wants to see what is best for the loyal fans that support it. As such, Buck was asked what advice he might have for owners and for players, with another work stoppage looming on Dec. 1.

“Look around and see how popular the game is,” the 77-year-old Sacramento native said, simply. “This has been the history of the (players) association. I was one of those that signed the (Collective Bargaining Agreement) in 1985. I went to New York, to the players association that had Don Fehr, Marvin Miller, (Dick Moss), all those great players. We had a cadre of wonderful lawyers that knew the business. Unfortunately, the Players’ Association (recently) had too many ballplayers involved and not enough lawyers.

“This (salary cap issue) has always been the case. Marvin Miller told us early in the ‘70s, owners want (players) to control owners (and their spending). You’ve got the Dodgers and the Yankees and the Mets and they can spend whatever they want. But then you have the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers and those teams, surviving and winning championships.

“There’s nothing wrong with the game. Step away and leave the game alone. I mean, look at the crowds (at Rogers Centre). People love baseball. Don’t take that away from them and I think that’s probably going to happen, because (owners) have already admitted it.

“But that’s what I would do. Recognize how popular the game is and in so many different places. Bud Selig did a great job in expanding the playoffs. It has kept so many teams involved in the playoffs for so long in all these cities, as we get close to September. I think you have to recognize there’s nothing wrong with the game. It’s not broke. Don’t try to fix it.”

Hopefully, both sides pay attention to a message of compromise from a man who has been involved since the early days of the players’ union. In the meantime, after that emotional weekend in the city that he admits long ago became his second home, Martinez, who was recently declared cancer-free by his doctors, will head back to Florida to plan a quiet life of fishing, golf, world travel with wife Arlene and enjoying quality time with his three grandchildren.

Congratulation Buck and all of this well deserved.

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