Chapter 1: What challenges do the Blue Jays face in their current series against the Mariners?
Yeah, there should be some passion. This doesn't have to be boring.
Hey, this is John Lester. Baseball isn't boring. Welcome to Baseball Isn't Boring. Here's your host, Rob Ratner.
Hey, Jeff. You know, coming into Seattle now... What's the feel around the team? How was it getting in yesterday and when you guys got to the ballpark today?
Yeah, pretty much the same every day. It's one of the things I love about this team. We take every challenge for what it is, which is its own thing. We don't drag last night or think about what's gonna happen in the future. We stay in the now and
Chapter 2: How does Jeff Hoffman reflect on his past experience with playoff challenges?
you know, go out and put our best foot forward.
Yeah, we'll go to Mike in the second row on Jeff's left.
Hey, Jeff. We've heard stories about drawing on, like, George's experience of being a World Series MVP and in the playoffs all the time. Two years ago, you were on a team that was up two games to none in the NLCS and didn't win it. Are there any sort of... Any way you can apply that to the situation to talk to the group about maybe this isn't such an insurmountable disadvantage?
Yeah, it's not. I mean, you got to win four. We're going to go out tomorrow night and try to get one back. And all we can do is take it one game at a time. So yeah, I mean, I remember being on the other end of that a couple of years ago. The series is not over until it's over.
So we just gotta go out and play our game and focus on the now and execute our game plan and we'll be in a pretty good spot.
What do you think from your vantage point in the bullpen has been the biggest thing that has prevented you guys from playing your game in the first two?
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Chapter 3: What mindset does the team maintain during tough playoff situations?
I mean, I've said it since the beginning. I mean, it's going to come down to how well you can execute your game plan. There's not going to be any secrets, not going to be any, you know, new pitches you're bringing out or anything like that. Everybody knows who you are at this point in the year, and it's going to come down to how well you can execute.
So, you know, I haven't gone back and looked, but I would imagine that some of the pitches we've been heard on are pitches that could have been executed better or potentially, you know, a different pitch and a difference in the same count or something like that. But, you know, we got to go out and just be us and execute, you know, the pitches that are being called.
And if we do that, we'll be in a great spot.
Other questions for Jeff?
Jeff, when you get to the postseason, there's a finite amount of games in a way that's different from the regular season where there's always another tomorrow and this is a small sample, but everything means so much more. Just mentally, what is that dynamic like shifting from the regular season where you know there's runway versus to now when it's going to expire?
Yeah, it's different. Obviously, it feels a little bit more like your backs are against the wall with there being kind of like a finish line in sight. But we, like I said, we don't look ahead.
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Chapter 4: How does Jeff Hoffman describe the importance of executing game plans?
We don't look behind. We stay right here where we're at. And, you know, we understand what the task is and what the challenge is in front of us. And it just is what it is. It's black and white. You got to go out, you got to play good baseball. You got to play clean baseball. You can't beat yourself. And, you know, the other team is here for a reason too. It's one of the best four teams left.
So, you know, It's not going to be a cakewalk. It never was going to be a cakewalk. And we got to go out and play good baseball.
What does that dynamic do to the maybe the emotional swings within a game?
Chapter 5: What role does team chemistry play in the Blue Jays' performance?
Do you feel that the emotions rise, the highs are higher and lows are lower in a postseason game versus a regular season game?
I think our guys do a great job of not letting it get that way. I think we stay pretty even keel. I think the crowd and stuff like that does that for us. We don't add any extra on top of the atmosphere and the intensity that it already is in a playoff game. So I think our guys do a great job of just kind of going with the flow and staying in the game and not getting too high or too low.
We'll go to Hazel.
Jeff, this crowd will be as loud, if not more so, than Rogers Center. As a visiting team, can you guys also draw from the energy of the ballpark as well and maybe use that to your advantage?
Yeah, absolutely. the atmosphere of the ballpark is something that could be used by both sides. It's not necessarily, you know, the home or the away team that gets the advantage in that. It's whoever's going to be able to kind of block that out better.
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Chapter 6: How does the energy of the crowd affect the players during a game?
I feel like the noise and the loudness can definitely be a negative if you allow it to kind of become that. But if you are able to stay focused on the task at hand and just take it pitch by pitch and stay kind of in your own head, then that stuff won't bother you.
And getting back to 2023, was there anything in particular that the Diamondbacks did that you recall allowed them to chip away at the Phillies during that series?
Yeah, they executed their game plan. Like I've been saying, they totally just zeroed out our offense at that time. and we were chasing at an unbelievable rate. And they used that to their advantage and they didn't throw us any strikes and they won those games and they did what they had to do to get to the World Series. I mean, that's why I'm saying what I'm saying about the,
the executing of your game plan. All these analytical numbers and all this stuff that they put in front of you nowadays, those numbers are what they are for a reason. If you can execute your game plan and use those numbers to your advantage, you're gonna have success. And I think that's exactly what they did.
On your right, we'll go to David. Hey, Jeff. Luis carried a heavy load for you guys out of the bullpen this postseason.
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Chapter 7: What lessons can be learned from the Diamondbacks' strategy against the Phillies?
He's pitched in all five games. He's had some high highs, and he's had some tough moments as well. What, if any, message do you say to him after a game like yesterday?
Yeah, I mean, I think the best thing that you can do is be good at turning the page and kind of focusing on the next task. Louie's got a great arm and great stuff and all that has stayed consistent through the time that he's been here. I think if anything, I would say that let's just really focus on making sure that we're taking care of our pitches in certain counts and to certain guys.
If you're throwing breaking balls to good breaking ball hitters, we're taking care of those locations. And the same thing with the fastball, you're not grooving fastballs to a good fastball hitter and just kind of giving him that. Like I said, these guys are here for a reason. They've played their way to this point, just like we have.
And we know exactly what they are as an offense, and we need to go out and use that against them.
Third row to your left, Jeff.
Jeff, what is it like trying to contain the Mariners' run game? Because they can be very aggressive. Even some of their guys who aren't necessarily the fastest guys tend to be pretty efficient stealing bases.
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Chapter 8: How does the team plan to bounce back after losing the first two games?
Yeah, I think it's paying a little bit more attention attention to the details of it. Making sure we're mixing our looks, mixing our times, that kind of thing. We know the tendencies. We have all the information. It's just about going out and doing it. And if we do that, then we're gonna be great and we're gonna have a lot of success.
Go to the second row with Mike.
Jeff, what do you notice about the players post games in the clubhouse? It feels like this has always been sort of a matter of fact group and they don't get too down or too up. And when you guys lost six of seven there the last week and a half of the season, it seemed pretty steady. What are you seeing now?
And is there anything you're looking for, too, in a situation like this that you would want to talk people out of or away from?
Yeah, I think, well, I mean, the first thing I would say is you have to respect your opponent. Like I said, they're here for a reason. They've played their way to this point, just like we have. So you have to go out and treat them, you know, like they're one of the best four teams left in the league because they're doing that to you as well. And I think, you know, there's no kind of –
There's no room to take anybody lightly this time of year. So I think our guys, when it comes to us kind of losing a couple games in a row and how the mood is in the clubhouse, our guys are very consistent when it comes to that. We show up at the same time every day. The guys are ready to do their programs, their plans, their routines. And those things don't really sway one way or another.
We're gonna be prepared for the next game. And I think our offense and our bullpen are going to feel what has kind of happened already to this point and make adjustments, the adjustments that are necessary and we're going to be good.
And were you surprised at all on a totally different note? Were you surprised that Seattle was able to play so well in Toronto given what they had gone through with the 15 innings and the tough travel and cross country flights and all of that?
Not surprised. I mean, I think when teams are kind of up against it like that, where they've had, you know, some things that they can't control kind of happen and affects their arrival time and stuff and all that, it affects their sleep. You know, you do see teams rise to the occasion when things start to go against them, especially good teams. And these are all good teams. So not surprising.
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