Toronto analyst roasts Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay after sweep
The Toronto Blue Jays swept the New York Yankees in a four-game series at Rogers Centre, their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in Toronto. In doing so, they delivered a powerful statement to the rest of MLB and to one broadcaster in particular, Michael Kay. The emphatic series win vaulted the Blue Jays into sole possession of first place in the American League East.
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After the sweep, Sportsnet analyst Jamie Campbell fired back on-air, broom in hand, saying, 'I can think of a certain Yankee broadcaster who is going to have to go on his show tomorrow and admit that the Blue Jays are a first-place team because the standings prove it.'
The series wasn't just pivotal for the standings, it came with a personal edge. Earlier in the week, Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay questioned Toronto's legitimacy. He pointed to their modest +4 run differential and said, 'They're not playing great baseball. I'm sorry.' That comment seemed to light a fire under the Blue Jays. They didn't just respond with wins, they did it with swagger.
The series opened with a tight 5–4 win. But things quickly escalated. On Canada Day, the Blue Jays erupted for a 12–5 victory and finally broke into a positive run differential. In Game 3, the Blue Jays rallied from a 9–3 deficit to win 11–9 in dramatic fashion.
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That set up a decisive finale. In Game 4, George Springer crushed two home runs to help secure an 8–5 win. The sweep pushed Toronto to 49–38, one game ahead of the Yankees at 48–39.
Campbell's jab resonated across fanbases, reminding everyone that standings, not stats, ultimately determine a team's fate. Despite missing All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette, Toronto's clutch hitting, timely pitching, and bullpen depth carried them through the series.
The message was clear: the Blue Jays aren't just here to compete, they're here to lead. Now, with momentum firmly in hand and the standings on their side, all eyes turn to what comes next, specifically, whether Kay will acknowledge what the scoreboard already has: that Toronto is, for now, the team to beat in the AL East.
With momentum on their side and first place in hand, could the Blue Jays be shaping up for a serious World Series run?
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Related: Why Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn't playing vs. Angels
Related: Blue Jays makes Anthony Santander roster move
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USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Athletics' Nick Kurtz 'shocked' to be MLB rookie sensation a year after college
WASHINGTON — Nick Kurtz's dominance has been so startlingly sudden, so consistent and enduring that it's challenging to pinpoint exactly when the Athletics realized just what they had on their hands. It'd be understandable if that moment came in spring training, when the 6-5, 240-pound Kurtz showed up just seven months after he was drafted fourth overall out of Wake Forest and immediately displayed a mindset beyond his years, and a plate approach more suited to a player a decade into his major league career. It'd be obvious if that ah-ha sequence came July 25, when Kurtz became the first rookie in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, a 6-for-6 night in which he also tied the major league record with 19 total bases. Or perhaps by month's end, when Kurtz had tallied 25 extra-base hits, one shy of Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx's franchise record set in 1932, earning him American League rookie and player of the month honors. For Brent Rooker, though, the jaw dropped for good over two nights in June, when his young teammate's greatest attributes – the gorgeous swing, the inner calm, the prodigious power – came together in a manner that turns bad ballclubs good. The Athletics – housed in Sacramento for the moment – might have been swept in four games by the Houston Astros if not for Kurtz. He hit a pair of walk-off home runs in that four-game series, coming off Astros relief aces Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader, moonshots that sent thousands of fans gleefully into the Yolo County night. 'He was good before that,' Rooker, the A's two-time All-Star outfielder, tells USA TODAY Sports, 'but everybody realized how good he could be. Those were two of the better relievers in the entire league. He had great at-bats against them in crucial situations and hit two home runs to win two games. 'As impressive as he was prior to that, those two nights kind of shined a light on how special he is.' How special? Special enough to debut April 23 yet still post 23 homers by early August, to go along with a .307 average, 1.035 ERA and 61 RBIs, leading all rookies. Special enough to mark that epic four-homer night in Houston (the kid doesn't like the Astros, it seems) not as an apex but rather the midpoint of a 20-game heater in which he batted .480 with nine homers and a 1.575 OPS. And special enough to earn the esteem of a young yet salty clubhouse with his quiet yet significant presence. 'The joy of all of it,' says A's manager Mark Kotsay, 'is the humility that he shows day in and day out.' 'They fly through the minor leagues' It would be easy for Kurtz to carry the traits of an entitled young baseball bro. In short, he's always been elite, even after he left the snowy climes of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in search of greater competition. Kurtz made enough of a splash to earn a spot on Team USA's 12-and-under team in 2015, a squad that won eight of nine games to claim a WBSC World Cup title in Taiwan. Kurtz was a slugger and also the top pitcher on that team, but it was as much networking opportunity as it was youth baseball nirvana. A handful of teammates went on to attend Baylor School, a college prep boarding school and hothouse for baseball development in Tennessee. As Kurtz schlepped through the uncertain weather patterns of Central Pennsylvania in spring, his pals' recruiting efforts finally paid off. 'I was playing in the snow and bad weather in Pennsylvania,' says Kurtz, 'so I decided maybe going south was the best thing for me as a player. It just kind of worked out that way.' And what a squad. Christian Moore went on to star at Tennessee and was chosen four slots behind Kurtz in the 2024 draft; he also made his major league debut this season, for the Los Angeles Angels. Infielder Henry Godbout went on to Virginia, was drafted in the second round in July and signed with the Boston Red Sox. In his junior year, Kurtz said, almost the entire lineup was committed to Atlantic Coast or Southeastern conference schools. Kurtz went to Wake Forest, a school better known for its 'pitching lab,' yet whose rep for churning out sluggers is about to grow significantly. It was there that Kurtz, under associate head coach Bill Cilento and assistant Matthew Wessinger, took both his mechanics and approach to a higher level. 'That's stayed true from my freshman year in college,' says Kurtz, 'to where I am today.' By his junior year, Kurtz's statistics were predictably video game variety – a .531 on-base percentage and 22 homers in 54 games, and the A's snagged Kurtz fourth overall, two picks after teammate Chase Burns, a right-handed pitcher, was selected by Cincinnati. Yet consider this: Barely a year later, Kurtz has already hit one more home run in the big leagues (in just 75 games) than he did his senior season at Wake Forest. How has Kurtz made the game's highest level seem as simple as a weekend series at Duke? He points to the A's most recent draft pick – left-hander Jamie Arnold, chosen 11th overall out of Florida State – as an example of how the college game is, perhaps more than ever, an express lane to prepare young players for the big leagues. 'You see more and more guys getting called up earlier than you've ever seen before,' says Kurtz. 'More kids, very talented guys are going to college, especially with NIL – more guys are getting to school. 'We picked Jamie Arnold this year. I faced him many times and that's as pro-ready an arm I've seen. I think he's one of the best. Every school in the SEC, ACC, they might have a guy or two like that. 'The advancements we've made internally at the school have prepared all of us.' The A's will certainly vouch for that. Kurtz is now the overwhelming favorite to earn AL Rookie of the Year honors, but until he suffered a fractured forearm, A's shortstop Jacob Wilson – drafted in 2023, debuted in 2024, an All-Star in 2025 – was the choice. 'Those guys, it seems like they fly through the minor leagues and are ready to compete at the big league level,' says A's catcher Shea Langeliers, drafted ninth overall out of Baylor by Atlanta in 2019. 'The college game is advancing and those kids are more mature. 'The talent level is getting closer to the minor league level, so you're almost playing minor league baseball in college.' A big week for 'Big Amish' Yet Kurtz, Langeliers says, is different. 'Seeing him for the first time in spring training, being around him, thinking of when I was 22, compared to where he's at at 22, it's just a massive difference,' he says. 'Maturity-wise, how he sees the game, how quickly he's adaptable and adjustable, it's been really impressive.' Kotsay, in his fourth season as A's manager, hints at an extremely high ceiling for Kurtz based on the dispatch with which he adjusts to pitchers. Kurtz's 11.4% walk rate is well above average, but as he matures as a hitter, he should cut into a 29.4% K rate. 'It's really eye-opening to see a young player make adjustments almost pitch-to-pitch in an at-bat, and he's got that ability, which is really special,' says Kotsay. 'When we talk about classifying big league hitters, I always say, guys in the Hall of Fame make adjustments pitch-to-pitch. 'Guys that are All-Stars make adjustments at-bat to at-bat, and guys that are everyday players, it can be a game or a series before the adjustment's made. 'I think he's leaning on that top one - where he's got a knack to make an adjustment pitch-to-pitch.' Kurtz is enjoying a big week in the Mid-Atlantic – he had roughly 40 family and friends roll down from Lancaster to Nationals Park; and no, despite Kurtz's 'Big Amish' nickname teammates bestowed upon him, they did not travel by horse and buggy. A larger throng is expected this weekend at Baltimore's Camden Yards, where Kurtz attended countless games as a kid. Success came quickly then and, somehow, it's coming even faster now. 'I would say I'm a little shocked, surprised,' says Kurtz. 'I knew I was a good hitter, but having a really good rookie year is pretty cool to see.' And there's still two more months for Kurtz to expand what seems to be a limitless horizon.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Here in 2025, and after four World Series titles, it's time to name our All-Quarter-Century Red Sox team
Related : As further circumstantial evidence that time seems to be accelerating, the century already is a quarter complete — more than that if you count 2000 rather than 2001 as its start, which we do here, since that's when we celebrated the century's turn while exhaling about Y2K. Advertisement With that it mind, it seemed a fitting time to put together our All-Quarter-Century Red Sox team. A few rules : We used Wins Above Replacement as a major factor, but not always the deciding factor, since sentiment and nostalgia must be at play here. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Also, our roster is 25 players, with everyone in their appropriate role. You'll see what that means. Many of the choices were easy. A couple are worthy of serious debate. One I left up to you. And every player selected won a World Series with the Red Sox. Sure couldn't have said that last century. The squad: Catcher: Jason Varitek Who else? The stoic captain of the 2004 and 2007 champs is the only player ever to catch four no-hitters, and few Red Sox have ever had a higher approval rating. From 2000 until his retirement after the 2011 season, he provided 22.3 Wins Above Replacement, more than three times the Red Sox' second-most productive catcher of this century, Christian Vazquez (6.9 WAR). Also, Varitek is the all-time leader in the wildly undervalued sabermetric stat MARETM — Making A-Rod Eat The Mitt. Advertisement Catcher Jason Varitek had a lot of memorable moments with the Red Sox, but none more memorable than when he got into Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's face. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe First base: Kevin Youkilis A.k.a. the Greek God of Walks, or, more colloquially, YOOOOOOOOOOUK! He spent plenty of time at both infield corners for the Red Sox during his 2004-12 run, playing 464 games at third base and 613 at first. His greatest successes came while playing the less hot of those corners. He won a Gold Glove at first base in 2007, finished third in the American League MVP voting in '08 and sixth in '09, and averaged 5.7 WAR per season from 2007-10. Second base: Dustin Pedroia Dare you to tell him someone else is the pick. Actually, based on sentiment, there is no other choice, and based on analytics, he's the easiest call in this exercise. The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year (and World Series scourge of Jeff Francis) and '08 MVP (when he had 54 doubles, 213 hits, and 118 runs), four-time All-Star, and annual Heart Of It All accounted for 51.8 WAR during his 14 full or partial seasons with the Red Sox. Among players who played at least 40 percent of their games at second base, Mark Bellhorn is a very distant second at 4.1 WAR. Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and '08 MVP, and a four-time All-Star. Davis, Jim Globe Staff Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts This might seem a tough call for someone who has spent many words here over the years arguing with great effectiveness that Nomar Was Better Than Jeter*. (*from 1997-2003. Then the world turned cruel). But it's not, you see, because this is a vote for stability over mercurial excellence. Nomar Garciaparra did have spectacular seasons after the turn of the century. He hit .372 to win his second straight batting title in 2000, with 7.4 WAR, and after a wrist injury wiped out his 2001 season, he came back perhaps stronger than we recall in 2002 (6.8 WAR) and '03 (6.1). I trust you know what happened in 2004. Bogaerts, who tallied 34.6 WAR to Garciaparra's 20.8 with the Sox this century, was a picture of poise and professionalism in Boston while contributing to the 2013 World Series victory as a 20-year-old kid and the '18 championship as one of the core stars of the most dominant Red Sox team ever. Advertisement Third base: Gonna leave this one up to you, friendly reader. Welp, the analytics claim the choice is easy: Rafael Devers, whose 24.8 WAR more than doubles runner-up Mike Lowell (10.6). But no one within 100 miles or so of the 617 area code wants to go with Devers after his shenanigans this season, and hey, by the way, here's a fun fact: The Red Sox and Giants with Devers this season: 53 wins, 62 losses. The Red Sox and Giants without Devers this season: 68 wins, 46 losses. Makes you think, right? So if you remain Devers-averse, and I presume you do, take your pick at third base among the steady Lowell (Alex Bregman reminds me of him a lot), Mariano-slayer Bill Mueller, one awesome year of Adrian Beltre, or anyone but Pablo Sandoval, really. Advertisement Chad Finn's all-quarter-century Red Sox lineup, with room for readers to decide on their own third baseman. John Hancock/Globe Staff Left field: Manny Ramirez Seventeen years — yep, it's been that long — after he was traded to the Dodgers, I still miss watching him hit, and I will even beyond the day his 2007 playoff home run off Angels closer Francisco 'K-Rod' Rodriguez finally lands. Center field: Johnny Damon Yeah, yeah, he left to sign with the Yankees after the 2005 season, and helped them win their most recent World Series in '09. (Wow, it's been awhile.) Call him a traitor if you must, but nothing he could have done — or ultimately did — in the Bronx could come close in relevance to his two-homer, seven-RBI all-timer of a clutch performance in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. His time in New York was temporary. His time here is forever. Johnny Damon had two home runs and seven RBIs in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees. Jim Davis/Globe Staff Right field: Mookie Betts Betts's 42.5 WAR is third among Red Sox hitters this century, trailing only David Ortiz (52.5) and Pedroia (51.8). But they were each here for 14 seasons. Betts was here for just six, averaging more than 7 WAR per season, including a staggering 10.7 in his 2018 MVP season, when he hit .346 with 32 homers. Somehow, he's in his sixth season with the Dodgers, and anyone who wants to come out of the woodwork to say his tough 2025 season validates the Sox' foolish decision to trade him can go chew gravel. Designated hitter: David Ortiz 'He is the greatest clutch hitter you, your dad, your granddad, and in all likelihood, your unborn children will ever see. He's Big Papi, larger than life, bigger than the biggest moments.' I wrote that in June 2005, and 20 years, countless highlights, and one Hall of Fame induction later, all I'd change is including your wife, mom, and grandmother, as well. Advertisement Starting pitcher: Pedro Martinez As we said in the '80s: No duh. His 2000 season stands as one of the greatest in baseball history: 18 wins, 6 losses, a 1.74 ERA (in the juiced-hitter era, when the league average was 4.91), 284 strikeouts in 217 innings, and 11.7 WAR, the most by a starting pitcher this century. Following the greatest pitcher I've ever seen in the rotation: Jon Lester (29.9 WAR), Josh Beckett (22.3), Curt Schilling (17.7), and Chris Sale (17.0). Closer: Keith Foulke Jonathan Papelbon actually has the most WAR among Sox closers since 2000, and he closed out the 2007 World Series with style. But Foulke got many of the most tense and toughest outs in Red Sox history during the 2004 postseason. He's the choice. And I'm keeping Koji Uehara on this roster to get it to 25 players, and because he induced the least stress of any closer the Red Sox have ever had. Keith Foulke closed out the Curse-breaking 2004 World Series for the Red Sox. Jim Davis/Globe Staff Others to fill out our 25-man roster: Lefthanded setup man: Hideki Okajima. Righthanded setup man: Mike Timlin. Utilityman: Brock Holt. Player you want fielding the last out of a playoff series: Pokey Reese. Backup outfielder: Gabe Kapler. Pinch runner: Dave Roberts. Stole a base of some magnitude once, I've been told. Designated inspirational speechmaker: Kevin Millar, for the Don't Let Us Win Tonight schtick that proved prescient, and then legendary. Designated series-clinching pitcher and team goof: Derek Lowe. Pitcher who always has his spikes on just in case: Tim Wakefield. Because there's no point in having this team without Wake. Advertisement Chad Finn can be reached at
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Purdue basketball alum back in NBA coaching ranks with Dallas Mavericks
WEST LAFAYETTE ― Dru Anthrop said coaching in the NBA is as much about relationships as it is about X's and O's. One of those relationships the former Purdue basketball player developed during his coaching career was with Jason Kidd. Now, Anthrop will reunite with the hall of fame point guard as a member of his coaching staff with the Dallas Mavericks. Anthrop said after Saturday's Purdue basketball alumni game he'd recently signed with the Mavericks and is eager to work under Kidd's tutelage. Re-live Purdue's run to the Final Four "He's a basketball savant," said Anthrop of Kidd. "When you are around people like that, you can just absorb everything they've got; all the knowledge about the game, the ins and outs of personalities of locker rooms." Anthrop previously worked alongside Kidd for two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before Kidd departed for Dallas. As member's of Frank Vogel's coaching staff, they won the 2020 NBA Finals. Anthrop graduated from Lafayette Central Catholic in 2009, having scored 1,298 career points and stayed in his hometown, joining Purdue as a walk-on. Anthrop was a three-time academic All-Big Ten honoree and a member of the 2010 Big Ten championship team. Purdue men's basketball Lack of size cost Purdue basketball last season. Daniel Jacobsen, Oscar Cluff solve issue After an internship with the Indiana Pacers, Anthrop joined former St. John's coach Chris Mullin's staff as a graduate assistant in 2015 before finding his way back into the NBA. Anthrop worked with the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies before joining the Lakers as a video coordinator and player development coach. Anthrop left Los Angeles to join the Phoenix Suns' coaching staff in 2023. He spent last season coaching with the NBA G League's Stockton Kings, who won the NBA G League Finals. "When you get to work with good people and you have some success, like last year in the G League I got to work with a great head coach in Quinton Crawford and an awesome staff all the way down, and you win a championship with them, it always helps build the resume," Anthrop said. In Dallas, Anthrop will reunite with Vogel, who he's been tied to throughout his NBA coaching career. Vogel reportedly will be Kidd's lead assistant this season. Anthrop also gets to work with players Max Christie, Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell, all whom he coached with the Lakers. Dallas roster also includes Kyrie Irving and 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
