Brad Treliving is not the best or worst candidate for the Maple Leafs’ GM role

A wise man once said, “Get busy Treliving or get busy Tredying.” It seems the Leafs might be interested in the former, as they’ve reportedly begun their search for a GM at Treliving. Treliving, due to the nature of his contract, wouldn’t really be able to join the Leafs until July 1st as his contract with the Flames expires at that time, but best case scenario is he is able to come in sooner but is kept from the Leafs draft table as his knowledge of Calgary’s draft plans is something the Flames would like kept from the Leafs. (I’d imagine the Leafs would have identical objections if/when Kyle Dubas lands in Pittsburgh.)
The first person connected to a vacancy makes them worth examining, but to some extent, Treliving is in many ways the convenient candidate. He does have connections to the MLSE board through his Dad’s Boston Pizza empire, he is that rare blend of being an expired NHL GM who isn’t quite Jim Benning, Peter Chiarelli, Dale Tallon awful, and, from MLSE’s point of view, he’s a good fit due to his willingness to appease a highly involved owner in Calgary. Respect for the chain of command won’t be a selling point to fans, but it will be to a group rumoured to be put off by Kyle Dubas’ push for greater autono …

Read More

Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Help the Maple Leafs, Mike Gillis, you’re our only hope

To be a bit of a broken record to what I said yesterday to my small but elite followership on Twitter, there are few phrases scarier in hockey than “looking for an experienced General Manager.” The current selection of retreads available would include Jim Benning, Peter Chiarelli, Dale Tallon, Marc Bergevin, Ron Hextall, Brian Burke, Cliff or Chuck Fletcher, Brian Lawton, and Dave Nonis. There are a few other less concerning options that still don’t excite like Brad Treliving and Jason Botterill, but generally experienced GM means a commitment to chaos.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve landed on my favourite of the experienced group, Mike Gillis.
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely despised Gillis while he was in Vancouver. A big reason for despising him though was based on his success. He re-signed the Sedins on great contracts, he maximized the term available to him with Luongo, added smart pieces all over Vancouver’s roster, and took the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals. It wasn’t until they took a modest step back from that high that he was chased from Vancouver and the Canucks became the comical mess they are today.
Since that poin …

Read More

Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Aaron Judge hits home run No. 61 as Yankees spank Blue Jays in series finale

Kevin Gausman said after Monday’s game that he didn’t want to be the answer to a trivia question regarding Aaron Judge’s (potential) 61st home run of the 2022 season. While Gausman avoided that label, there is finally an answer.

That man is Tim Mayza.

61 years since 61.
Aaron Judge has written his name alongside Roger Maris in baseball’s record books. pic.twitter.com/1V4Gums34C
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2022

Judge battled through an 8 pitch at-bat with Mayza, and eventually deposited a 94 mph sinker into the Blue Jays bullpen. While he has only tied the record for most home runs in a single season, it absolutely sucks that this happened in Toronto. Glass half full, I think we can all look at the silver lining in all of this and be grateful that Zack Hample wasn’t able to collect the home run ball.
Judge also put Roger Maris Jr. out of his misery, as every camera shot of Maris Jr. showed a man who couldn’t wait to be home.
Judge’s legendary moment came amidst some glaring momentum shifts throughout the game. The Yankees were in complete control through the first five innings. Mitch White walked the first two batters he faced en route to allowing three runs in the first inning. He pitched 3.2 innings total, only allowing those three runs, but eight baserunners.
His opposition, Gerrit Cole, cruised through five perfect innings in only 54 pitches, as the Blue Jays only managed to produce two batted ball outs in the air.
It was the sixth inning, however, that Cole imploded and let Toronto right back int …

Read More

Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays take series behind a strong start from Jose Berrios

Like Cam said on the podcast last Thursday, the Blue Jays have been getting extremely consistent starts from Jose Berrios. The Jays got another one from Berrios on Sunday afternoon, heavily contributing to a 4-1 win over Detroit. With that win, Toronto took the series, and are now 7-2 since the All-Star break.
Berrios went 7 innings, giving up only 3 hits, one run, one walk, and striking out six. His only blemish was a 4th inning home run by Javier Baez, which honestly turned out to be predictable; in his 1st inning at-bat, Baez hit three consecutive pitches to deep left field. All three were literally just foul, inches from being homers. Berrios eventually walked Baez in that at-bat, but he got Berrios back with a solo shot later on. It also just so happens to be that Berrios is Baez’ brother-in-law. Baseball is incredible sometimes.
Berrios fought through an inconsistent strike zone, and only needed 80 pitches to get through his outing. With this start, Berrios dipped his ERA down to 4.96. It’s the first time his ERA has been below 5.00 since June 15th.
Today‘s scoring was started by Matt Chapman, who has been on an absolute heater the last several weeks. Chapman hit a 2-run h …

Read More

Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation