The Kevin Karius Show - Mar. 11th, 2026 - Ben Nicholson-Smith

0:00We welcome back Ben Nicholson Smith from Rogers, sports that good morning, Ben, you with Kevin Kerry, thanks for jumping on sports 1440 this morning. Really appreciate it. Yeah, my pleasure. Happy to be joining you and talking a little baseball. Ah, it's that time of the year. Can't wait for it. Can't wait for it. And we've had some great ball already. And we have to start with the, with the world baseball classic and the Italy USA game, the upset last night, Ben, is this, can you draw a parallel? Is this like, you know, hockey at the Olympics, Italy beating the Americans, I'm trying to figure out something comparable, but that was massive last night for Italy. Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's a real surprise and it also has huge implications for Team USA because it appears that the Americans thought they had already advanced. And so they weren't necessarily going into that game with the mindset that they had to win or at least not get out scored by a significant margin. So when they did lose by a significant margin, this now puts them in peril of being knocked

1:03out of the tournament. And honestly, this is really embarrassing for Team USA's management because, you know, it's not just Mark DeRosa, the manager, but it's everybody behind the scenes who's feeding information to the players and the coaching staff. And that really can't happen. You have to understand the rules of the tournament and it seems that Team USA did not understand that. How does that happen between the management? And again, you saw DeRosa's clip, everyone did, you know, saying that we've wrapped up a playoff spot still on a win, the players, the broadcasters even been, you know, at the game last night, they had no concept of how things were progressing moving forward. Well, you know, this is where like in a front office for a major league team, you have people who are responsible for the administration that not only the analytics, but it's the rules of the game. It's making sure you're compliant with all of the rules. And this is usually the job of an assistant GM or two and they are going to go over everything.

2:05They're going to make sure that you're following the rules. And this is just basic. I mean, there's no excuse for it. It's a massive error on the part of Team USA. But we'll see, it might not cost them because, you know, that depends on some of the events of tonight's game between Mexico and Italy. So we'll see how that unfolds. But either way, it's embarrassing. You can't be one of the top baseball programs in the world and then fail to pay attention to details like this. So, you know, we'll see where it goes, but it's a really bad look for Team USA. Yeah. Ben Nicholson Smith with us from Roger Sportsnet on the Kevin Carey Show in Sports 1440. Canada, great, great performance, great win yesterday over Puerto Rico 3-2. And we'll play Cuba today with everything on the line and the chance to advance for the first time. And never in the five previous World Baseball Classics has Canada advanced to the quarter final round. How big of a game is this for Canadian baseball here, Ben?

3:07Well, I think it's huge because at this point, we've seen Team Canada in pool play many times. And they have had their chances. They've had some big moments, be it a win over Team USA back in the day or, of course, there was a brawl with Team Mexico, but ultimately, it's about success. It's about, can you advance? And they haven't done that once in a tournament that's now 20 years old. So this is a big chance for Canada for Ernie Wet. You know, he's been managing every single one of these tournaments. This is a chance for him to say, hey, I am the right guy to be doing this. And this is a way to add to a legacy that's been decades in the making for him and his role at baseball Canada. So for the players too, I mean, this is a strong position player group. They have a chance to not only advance, but potentially do some damage in the next round. So it's an exciting time for Canada, but they need to take advantage of this chance and come out and beat Cuba tonight against some tough ditches.

4:10Yeah, for sure. What have you thought? The play of Owen Casey here. I mean, this is a guy that was traded in the off season to Miami from Chicago, but he's really hitting the ball well so far in this tournament. Yeah, he's been great, hasn't he? I mean, you look at him as kind of that powerhitting corner outfielder. And he's, you can really see what his pathway is to being an impact majorly player. He's got that great left-handed swing, that powerful frame. And probably not going to win gold gloves the way Denzel Clark might in center field, but, you know, this is a hitter. This is a slugger in a young guy, but someone who has a lot of potential to change the game with one swing, which is a nice thing for team Canada, because they have a bunch of guys that are more contact oriented, whether it's, you know, your Julian or your, your Abraham Polaro, Denzel Clark himself, probably Bo Nailer's not going to go yard, you know, as much as some of these other guys. So to have the powerbats of Nailer and Tyler O'Neill and Owen Casey really add some balance.

5:14And, you know, this, this team Canada lineup is good. It's, it's a good lineup. It's not to the level of a team USA, it's not to the level of the Dominican, but it's a very serviceable, capable, um, majorly lineup. Maybe even better than that. What about the pitching? Last night really, really impressive. I mean, Jordan Bolasovic was a little, um, maybe a little bit wild to start. He settled in. Then the guy, what did they come? The big doctor to finish it out. Man, oh man, there's some guys that really pitched well last night. Yeah, it was good. And this is what team Canada needs, right? If they are going to advance, if they are going to, you know, continue to win and continue to advance, the uncle might, then they're going to need to put it together with the pitching staff. They don't have that one dominant pitcher, like a tarot school board or a Paul skiing, um, a Yamamoto. That's, that's not how they're built, um, you know, ideal world. You have a Nick Povetta, you have, um, you know, a team ace like that, but it's just not how they're built this time.

6:14So they're going to have to do it as a team. And we saw that last night, um, which is really encouraging. And now it's, now it's time to do it again, you know, less than 24 hours later. They, they have to step up and put it together with that pitching staff. Uh, let's switch gears to the blue jays and Ben Nicholson Smith, uh, with us on sports, uh, 1440. First, uh, I mean yesterday's game seven, nothing over Atlanta, Ben and Dylan Seas looked really good in that one. Now, what did you, what did you make of his start? Yeah, it's great to see. I mean, one of the things that stood out to me is he touched 99 miles an hour. And I don't like to read too, too much into what, you know, spring results are. It doesn't matter if he lives three runs or doesn't matter if he strikes out six. I mean, those are those, you can read too much into that. But when it comes to something like velocity, I think that it's a little bit more telling because you just can't fake 99. They're not a lot of players in the major leagues, uh, who are starting

7:14pitchers who are ever going to catch 99. So it's a big deal. And he said that he's been working on his mechanics to kind of make sure that his command is where it should be. So if she can throw 99 and he's working to come in them all a little bit better, that's really where you start getting into the eighth type discussion for, uh, for Dylan Seas, which is why the Blue J sign of a $210 million. Yeah. I think you reported yesterday, Ben, about Treya Savage and, uh, his usage, uh, or maybe lack the rub here in spring training. What can you tell us about, um, how things are going to evolve over the next little bit with you, Savage? Yeah, it's really interesting. I mean, he pitched nearly 140 innings last year when you include the playoffs. And a lot of that was in the playoffs. He pitched 28 innings in, uh, in the post season. Obviously, it was great. And clearly, the Jays want him again to be healthy and productive, um,

8:16you know, as the season ramps up and at the post season, um, comes around. Now, they're also mindful of the fact that that was really his first professional season of any kind, um, because he was drafted the previous season. So that was his first chance and professional baseball. They don't want to just throw him out there without any kind of break. So what they're doing is they're ramping him up slowly. He's got plans to go up to two innings in a simulated game coming up. But, you know, we're only a couple of weeks away from opening day. So I think at this point, we can pretty safely say that it's highly unlikely. He'll be stretched out to five innings when the season starts. And now we'll have implications for the rest of the staff. So do you think he's just starts in the bullpen then or what do you think? I think he starts as a starting pitcher, but in tandem with somebody else. I think he probably goes 50 or 60 pitches, three innings to begin. Maybe four if he's really efficient. And then, you know, after three innings, it's, it's the fourth inning.

9:20Time for Eric Lauer to come in or maybe it's Cody Ponce, you know, we'll see how they arrange things. But I think that he is going to be used in tandem with someone else. Does Max Scherzer fall into that category too to maybe possibly use and used in tandem? Well, I would have thought that if we were talking two weeks ago, but at this point, you know, I was there on the weekend when Max Scherzer pitched against the Phillies in Clearwater and he was really good for four innings, 40 pitches. So if he's already at four innings, you know, you add one more. And you're pretty much where you should be to start the season to be a five, six innings. So Scherzer says he's ready. I think the Jays, you know, are going to start the season with him in the location. Yeah, what about Ricky Tiedemann too, as well, Ben? Well, exciting young prospect, but as of now, he's, he's just building up. I mean, there's, there's clearance for him to throw and build up, which is good.

10:21He was on pause for a little while earlier in the spring. So they had him kind of controlling his workload, just to build up slowly. You see a Tommy John surgery last year, but it's going to be slow with him. I wouldn't count on him to begin the majors in the first, you know, month or two of the season. Yeah, what's it been like? I mean, this, you've done gone through this before, but when you're covering a team in spring training, where, you know, you know, I don't know how many players are at the World Baseball Classic totally, but some are in and out and things like that. But how do you evaluate and assess maybe the Jays going into a year like this, maybe compared to last year or something like that? Yeah, it is different because you certainly have a lot of the star players away, like Ladi and Okamoto and Clemente and Clemente as Kirk. It is different, but at the same time in spring training, you're kind of used to seeing all kinds of different players.

11:22And it's not that different. There's still so many people around. It's not like it's quiet, like there's still dozens and dozens of players, some of whom are big personalities. You've got all the coaches, you've got all the support staff. So it's still a very busy time. There's still dozens and dozens of players trying to make an impression. It's slightly different because you don't have Ladi and Okamoto as a big personality. So you do notice when he's around. But, you know, someone like, a Kirk, he's quiet either way. So it's not like you're, you see a little bit more of the Brandon Bellens-Oilas of the world. You see a little bit more of Tyler Haneman, the backups behind Kirk. But it's not a huge difference. Yeah, I saw that picture of Kirk. You just mentioned him. That's with, I guess, Luis Saraz, who they've been friends since they were 10 years old. And they show that picture the other day, man, they just look so, so young. And Kirk still kind of got the big, you know, the chair of cheek look on him. I don't know if you saw that picture, Ben.

12:23Yeah, I have, I think I've seen one with Kirk and Jonathan Aronda of the, of the race. Yeah, Aronda, sorry. Yeah, yeah. So it's, you know, that's, it's a lot of stories like that at the World Baseball Classic, where you have some, you know, some really, you know, just, just guys who've done it for a long time. I mean, you think about Paul Schienz and some of the, you know, Junior Team USA, or was that seen? I mean, it's wild. These guys, people are Armstrong. You know, like, they were playing on the 12-U team USA. And now here they are, it's kind of remarkable that they've still got it. And they, they're still on the same team. No kidding. I mean, such, such good stories, for sure. Ben Nicholson Smith with us on the Kevin Kerri show here on Sports 1440. One more J's question, then I got to double back to the World Baseball Classic. But how do you see the bullpen unfolding here? You know, we've had several guests, you know, that are, you know, your colleagues down in Dunneedon saying,

13:23well, maybe it's a little more bullpened by committee as far as the closer role goes. How do you see things panning out with what they have to offer in the panning or Ben? Yeah, I do think Jeff often's the closer. I don't think there's a lot of ambiguity there. But I think with that being said, the J's are going to try to manage his work clothes just a little bit differently. I mean, there might be times that instead of using Hoffman three days in a row, or, you know, we saw them early last year. They would use Hoffman for two innings in the match for innings games. And it worked, but, you know, it might have got him out of the rhythm a little bit. So I think they might use them two days in a row. And then the third day, you close it out with Louis Barlin, for example, or, you know, let's say Hoffman's been down for three days. They're going to get him into games, but they're going to, they don't want him sitting on the sidelines. So, you know, if you're up six one and he hasn't been used in three days, he's coming into that game. So I think we'll see that through the green. But Barlin, she could get five to 15 saves wouldn't surprise me.

14:26But I think the main guy is going to, is going to be job off. Yeah. I lied one more J's question for your story, Ben. But just with Oloy, him and as do you think he makes the opening day roster? And is there, man, if he could get even close to where he was as a rookie, I mean, that would be just a massive, massive signing. It really would. I mean, especially on a minor league deal. I think as of now, no, I don't see him in the opening day roster. I do think we see him in the majors at some point this year. And I'll be really intrigued to see what he can do, because there's a pretty big range of what the possibilities are. What about Jose Barrios? And that's the last one I got for you about. He thought he was going to the WBC, then not going, what, what happened there? I think it comes down to insurance issues where, you know, when I've talked to Barrios in the last couple of weeks, you know, he's indicated that he hasn't really known. It's been unclear to him this entire time, whether he can go, whether he can't go. He wants to. He was building up with that in mind.

15:29So he really wanted to contribute to Team Puerto Rico, and it seems like the team wanted him, of course, but it doesn't seem like they could get the insurance paperwork cleared. And so as a result, he's staying in Lujuez camp. Ben, great update. Thanks so much for this. Enjoy this Canada Cuba game today. And hopefully the Canadians can win this one and move on to the quarter finals. It's going to be awesome. Thanks a lot for coming. That would be awesome. That would be really fun. Thank you so much.