Speaker 1: Is the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. Let's spend tennis
right now with Brian bogus Sevic of s c h
N joining us here on the program. He's it do
us every Wednesday on Sports Talk seven. Honey, Brian, we're
down the home stretch. Tell me how much more your
detailed look at the box scores. I know you did
a game on TV that are day. Are we to
make anything out of the increased offense? Are we making
anything out of the better lineups we're seeing? Tell me
what it's like to watch the Astros down the home
stretch of the final week of spring training.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the last the last week of spring is interesting
from a valuation standpoint. I mean, you've got the guys
who are better in guys, and you know they're going
to be on the team. You're just looking for them
to check whatever boxes they feel like they need to check.
If the guys not feeling great, you get them more
at bats, get them on a backfield. If guys want
to get a get a feel for stealing bases or
doing something, you say, hey, go ahead, force the issue.
I don't care what the result is on the field.
The flip side of that is the other guys, the
handful of guys who are in the true competition for spots.
You're almost grading it as if it's the regular season
and there is some process to it, and you want
to see things that are going to be sustainable. But
you want to see guys who are looking like they're
ready to go and who can help the team from
day one. And maybe even if it's you know, if
your feelings on two guys are roughly the same, whoever
is swinging the bat better and can maybe get off
to a quick start the first week, that's going to
be the guy you go with, So you know, you
kind of kind of have to handle it two different
ways depending on individual situations.
Speaker 1: Bogie, I don't want to be hypocritical about, well, are
the bats gonna be good enough for the start of
the season, because I'm watching spring training, But man, on
the other side of things, starting rotation and everything I've
seen buying large cards the last two weeks has been very,
very impressive. I'm talking about the colors all the way
through to you know, even Christian Javier looked better at
a couple of big days back. I mean, so can
I separate pitching and hitting for this time of year,
our pitcher's supposed to be ahead of the game at
this point.
Speaker 2: Well, certainly the pitchers are always ahead, but at the
same time, you've got to look at why these guys
have been successful and what maybe the questions were regarding
them coming into the season. Christian Javier, for example, Okay,
what's what's the v logan to look like? Well, it
ticked up in his last outing and he held it
over the course of a couple of innings, so that
you know, regardless of what the bottom line is, which
across the board pretty much has been good. You know,
That's what we wanted to see from Javier. You know,
you wanted to see frontline, high end stuff from Tetsuya Emi.
He's gotten better every time out. He's sitting ninety six
ninety seven now, you know. Mike Burrows, Okay, he's got
a really good change of what's the other stuff? Looked
like his fastball has been just blowing guys up. His
slider looked really good in his last out, and so yeah,
I'm really bullish on what the pitching as a whole
has looked like, you know, because because the questions that
we had are looking like they've been answered, at least
in a spring setting, from from what the guy's stuff
has looked like, but also just how the rotation and
staff kind of takes form. We know Hunter Brown is
an eight, you know, where Emi and Burrows kind of
a number three number four type or they number two,
number three type. Well, they look like their top of
the rotation guys. And the depth has looked really good.
You know you mentioned Lance. I haven't seen Lance in
you know, a long long time look as comfortable and
confident in his fastball as he does this spring, which
again exactly what you would have wanted to see from
him coming in. So yeah, there's a lot to like
about what the pictures have shown.
Speaker 1: And what about the bullpen? I mean, Josh Hater probably
on ice. So we know it's Brian a bray you
stepping into the closer's role. How are we feeling about
the guys behind him?
Speaker 2: You know, as good as you can. It's funny when
whenever a team loses a closer, you always think, Okay, well,
what have we gotten the ninth? What do we have
in the ninth? Well, I think everybody's comfortable with Brian
a Bray you in the Knight, But it also ticks
everybody else up into you know, one inning later and
that much more pressure. But you know, those guys were
really good, especially at the end of the year. Last
year it was the same situation. They were all pretty good.
I think it's it's a little bit left handed, even
though both all those guys handle lefties and righties pretty well.
I think, you know, a wild card type guy could
be Rideri Munoz, who's looked really good, you know, hasn't
showed any of the control issues that he's had in
the past and looks like a power right handed arm. So,
you know, for for a short spell. I'm good with
it because they've covered you know, import innings in the past.
But there's no question that for this team to work
the way it needs to work, and it's kind of
set up to be a shortened game with that back
of the bullpen, you need Josh Hayter back, you know,
sooner than later, but definitely equiped to handle it for
a short spell.
Speaker 1: Brian bogasvik with us here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and let's just keep with It's been a big storyline,
is the the nfield logjam stuff. But I'm just curious
kind of your insight as far as a former player,
the human elelement of this, because we we just as
as pundits and media fans and stuff. You're just just like, yeah,
just just put them out there, Just sit one guy,
But can you speak to what it's like not only
for the players, but also the manager too, trying to
figure out how all these guys who want to be
out there every day and if you as a personally
as a player, don't know, necessarily going into the ballpark
when you're going to be in the lineup when you're not,
and then having to sit sometimes when, especially if you're
Estoc Paradis, you're one of the best hitters on the team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it just it throws another element into the dynamic
of a clubhouse and a dynamic of a of an
entire season that you would rather not have. You know,
everybody says the right thing, and everybody in theory is
fine with, oh, you get a day off here, you
get a day off there. But eventually guys start to
see it as this is not a day off for
my you know, rest purposes. This is you know, the
other four guys getting chosen to be in the lineup
over me, and it can affect you, and you're not
going to get the best out of people unless number one,
they know exactly what their role is and number two,
they're comfortable with their role. And you know, these are
five guys who are everyday players, have always been every
day players, and should be everyday players. And if it
gets to a point to where one of them feels
like they're not, or you know, potentially multiple feel like
they're not, it's just not going to be a good situation. Because, yes,
everybody wants what's best for the team, but at the
same time, everybody you know to a degree, feels like
they are what's best for the team, and it can
just it can just muddle things up and create a
dynamic that you don't really want to have to deal with.
Speaker 1: I brought this up with you last week, but it's
worthy of repeating just for the different audience. Bogie the
leash for the corner outfielders. When you have a guy
like Jordan Alvarez who loves to play left field, I
know there's a chance of some wet stuff today and Jupiter,
they're going to pull him out and let him DH.
But when you've got a guy who's like I can
do it. I've never been heard out there. Let me
go out there more than once a week or whatever
the case would be. How much of a of an
not necessarily an argument, but a good old fashioned debate
will that be between the athlete, the general manager and
the manager.
Speaker 2: It's it's a real thing that needs to be, you know,
discussed and revisited, probably constantly. You know, a lot will
depend on how how well the offense as a whole
is functioning, if you can kind of afford to give
somebody a little bit of a longer leash, if if
eight other guys are coming out of the gates hot.
But at the same time, Jurdon's made it very clear
that he's comfortable out there and likes playing out there.
You know, it can I think everybody's of the same
mind that if you take the risk of injury out
that having him out there and allowing all the other
infielders to get in with the DH spot makes the
team better. So yeah, I think it's something that they're
going to have to revisit, maybe not on a daily basis,
but quite often to see, hey, because it's risk and reward.
The reason for not having your down out there. He's
not going to be an everyday guy out there by
any means, but having him out there for a significant
amount of time is you're trying to, you know, cut
down on the injury risk. Well, the reward might start
to outweigh that a little bit if you see that
you really need to have all of these guys in
the lineup at the same time.
Speaker 1: Last thing, Christian Vasquez was a late add on to
this roster. I would presume Brian and you and I
are not general managers for a living. But he didn't
come just for giggles to start the season and play
a handful of games in spring. I mean, is he
the leader in the clubhouse of the backup catcher spot?
You think?
Speaker 2: I think so. It's a difficult position to be in
that backup role. You know, it's hard to not play
every day. It's hard to you know, and it's probably
going to be even less of a of a time
share considering the amount of at bats that Yer is
going to get backs there. So, you know, bringing in
a guy who's a veteran who knows how to succeed
in that role, but also who knows the organization and
been there before. They were bringing in a guy totally.
From the outside, you might say, okay, well I could
see that being a fall but back plan and give
Cessar Salazar some run out there and see how that goes.
But I think bringing Vasquez is in. You know, they
feel like he can add something from a veteran standpoint,
So yeah, I think he was brought in for a reason.
You know that being said, I know that they're they're
comfortable with sets ourselves are. It's just you know, who
gives you the best option back there.