Speaker 1: This is the Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 2: It is opening gate tradition here on Sports Talk seven nine.
Speaker 3: In the Matt Thomas Show with Ross, we have to
start with the Spring in the air. No basketball team
that I can think of in this town that we
don't have to talk about them. We have Hunter Brown
on the mound. We have Jeremy Paniel in all likelihood
leading off, we have Astros baseball back in Houston, Texas.
Speaker 2: And who cracked this up? Jonathan Today? All right with
this kind of.
Speaker 3: Cliched, Maybe it's a little tired, but sometimes cliches are
cliches because they're good. Ross Viory out with you on
the Mat Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 2: Without Matt Thomas live from Street.
Speaker 3: Vets with a huge Brown making tons of noise.
Speaker 2: Yes, and Adam and Adam.
Speaker 3: The a team you guys are gonna be pushed off
for Astros on deck is the Astros versus the Angels,
Game number one of three ten start here on Sports.
Speaker 2: Sucks, Haven't I how you know?
Speaker 4: Guy?
Speaker 2: You guys getting up a little early? All right? You
normally up around this Tom.
Speaker 5: I got this guy over here has already been at
it for like ten hours.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Russ and I already saw each other today.
Speaker 2: That's actually true.
Speaker 3: I'm I decided I'm gonna put at least a one
segment moratorium. I'm talking about the Rockets game and literally
the worst overtime collapse in NBA history last night.
Speaker 2: If you guys stayed up for that.
Speaker 3: But yes, Adam Westar working Rockets radio network, I was
on Rockets Rap taking angry callers until after one am.
Speaker 5: After a game like that, you know where I was,
right where I needed to be, in a dark, dark.
Speaker 3: Room without we're not talking about it. No, at least
a one segment moratory. Okay, it is Dyke in Park,
it is the Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 2: It's opening day. Guys, how we feeling? I feel great,
I feel well.
Speaker 5: Hope Spring's eternal this time of year for every team,
even the bad ones.
Speaker 6: Well, the good news is this should not be one
of them, right, The Astros the other team that's here.
Maybe we probably won't talk too much about them other
than today's matchup. Four games against the Angels, three against
the Red Sox. Astros fans who just absolutely blew the
roof off of DIYK and Park through the World Baseball
Classic now Major League Baseball arrives here for a seven
game homestand Hunter Brown is the ace of the staff.
He gets the baseball today, Jose Soriano the opposing pitcher,
and as Ross mentioned that they were doing their weekly
interview with Brian bogas Sevic yesterday when the Astros announced
their opening day twenty six man roster and Jeremy pane
Is on it, which looked like it was gonna be
that way when he returned to Houston and participated in
exhibition baseball, launching one over the fence, having no trouble
in the field, and then acknowledging I feel great. It's
a matter of how do I feel at the plate.
He feels fine, he's active, he should start. He should
see the first pitch of the season for an Astro batter.
While we wonder, because everybody's healthy, how they gonna fit
everybody into the lineup. The most popular offseason conversation lives
on Yeah.
Speaker 3: We're gonna talk about some off season stuff. First of all,
phone lines open for you guys, seven to one three
two one two five seven ninety if you want to
get in seven to one three two one two five
seven ninety as we are with you on opening Day
from Streetfest. But that is certainly one of the things
in one of the talking points to where if you
had to talk to us a month ago, we would
have thought maybe there would have been some sort of
solution to the infield logjam. We've been talking about it
all off season and really from the start of it,
from the end of last season, and really even at
the deadline when Krag came over, We're like.
Speaker 2: What's gonna happen? When he saw Paradis comes back, and
then he did.
Speaker 3: He played he DHD a little bit at the end
of the season, but it was always gonna be this
is gonna be fixed, This is gonna be addressed, this
will be the trade will be made. This is not
going to be an opening day storyline. And here we are,
it's opening day and it's an opening day storyline.
Speaker 2: Why is that claiming?
Speaker 5: Well, because that's how the roster is constructed. And until
I was saying this yesterday, and I have to be
very careful because you even I was very careful yesterday
the way I said it, and you still were.
Speaker 2: Like, you're wishing injuries upon the Astros. But I said, I.
Speaker 5: Think the problem will wind up taking care of itself
one way or the other.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that injuries are gonna happen.
Speaker 5: Is certainly not to the extent of last year, because
I think by like I don't know, August, all of
us were just emotionally drained with really another one another
one's on the il, and that's how we would wake up,
like almost it seemed like every day for a minute there.
But you know, Gordy asked us for our predictions, and
we saw it. That's what this kind of shows about.
I actually said that esoch Peretis is going to be
the Astros home run leader this year.
Speaker 3: Really, yeah, yeah, because April or the whole season.
Speaker 2: The whole season. Oh really, I.
Speaker 5: Mean, you're you're not geared tee that the guy everybody
always picks is gonna stay healthy.
Speaker 3: You you know what, if you're looking for a long
shot odds, it's not the worst pick I've ever heard of.
Speaker 5: It's I'm like, well, everybody's gonna say you're done if
that's what I did.
Speaker 2: But I keep it simple, stupid Listen, I sat Paradis
before he got hurt last year. Am I wrong?
Speaker 6: He was on a tear, he was the astro's home
run leader for parts of the season. Obviously, injury took
him away from that, as did everybody else. So as
we all predicted, Christian Walker led the team in home
runs last year.
Speaker 2: And that's what I said yesterday. I said, the one
guy I'm not.
Speaker 5: Saying who you would want to see on the io,
but if everybody was going on the i L last year,
the one guy who answered the bell every single time
out was probably the most disappointing Astro of last season.
Speaker 2: And that's saying something, and that was Christian Walker.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Uh, it's not the craziest I'm going with or what
I put yord On Hope health exactly.
Speaker 2: I think that's one of the keys to not one
of the keys. I would say.
Speaker 3: That's outside of course, you know Hunter Brown and Mike
Burrows and the rotation and the obvious stuff. I mean
jord On alva As he needs to be back in
MVP conversations for the years if they're going to get
close to winning the AO WES.
Speaker 5: If jord On Alvarez is healthy last season, or even
if he just plays one hundred and twenty games, let's
go low end, they probably win the division.
Speaker 2: That's the thing.
Speaker 5: Everybody's picking Seattle this year in rifuley so and they
got better in the offseason then Da da, but they
barely won the division.
Speaker 2: And the Astros were a mash unit last year. That matters.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you hit stretches where he is bailing you out
of games two three times a week. That's that's what
the impact that he can have, he's one of the most.
Speaker 2: He is by.
Speaker 3: Ops plus, he's the greatest hitter in Astro's history. Now,
of course he has to have a longer career. He
will have to hit his decline at some point, but literally,
by that metric, right now, he's the greatest hitter in
Astros history.
Speaker 2: Keep your hands you need him out.
Speaker 3: They keep your eye on his hands, his knees, his ankles.
Can we wipe down home plate? That was so before
he scores it? Is he the first person to ever
score in the first inning as a home team? Why
was he's sliding on there like a slipping slide and
then falling in his ankle?
Speaker 2: Was at a ninety tore angle.
Speaker 5: I was in the stadium that night and I hadn't
even made it to my seats yet because we were
upstairs eating and you could hear the hush in the
stadium from there. I was like, because like, at that
point in the year, injuries had just torpedoed this team anyways,
but they were still competitive. You had a shot, you
were in the division race. And then Jordon puts his
foot on backwards coming home to score and You're like,
I can't I give.
Speaker 2: Up the I don't know, it was just it was
just everything last year that piled up.
Speaker 3: And that is interesting. You're talking about worrying about the injuries,
because I mean, especially when it comes to pitching. I
think Dana Brown was worried about it. I mean, look
at all the options we talked about is starting pitching,
and as of right now, you you're at a surplus
to where we're talking about Sincer Arraghetty being down with
Triple A and Jason Alexander and Ryan Weiss right now
was a possible thought of as as a starting pitching option.
Speaker 2: So, but.
Speaker 3: Your closers on the AI also, yeah, you're you're hurt
there and this is a a vastly reconfigured bullpen from
last year. But it seems like injuries are not only
on the mind of us but also Dana Brown when
he built this team in the offseason.
Speaker 6: That was smart what he did. Don't know how it'll
work out, nobody ever does. But you run four or
five deep with options today of who could be in
your starting rotation. In addition to the five man rotation
that they will start the season with. I'll start with
Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Emi, and Lance mccullors go four to five.
Mike Burrows Christian Xavier take the next two games after
Hunter Brown, and those are the five they start the
season with. Spencerraghetti is obviously a starting pitching option. He
begins the year with sugar Land. Colton Gordon made a
bunch of starts, pitched a bunch of innings for the
team last year. He's here. Weiss Pearson both added expected
to compete for starting spots, which Ryan Weiss did. He
made the opening day roster, but he will come out
of the bullpen as a necessary long man. Pearson unfortunately
hurt and unable to throw it all during spring training.
He begins his season on the il AJ bluebaw is
somewhere in the middle. He makes the opening day raw
because the expectation they will need multiple inning relievers and
he's actually one of three likely multiple inning relievers they
open the season with one of their other additions. With
Tang being a part of this bullpen, he can give
them length, which I think it goes without saying. They're
almost certainly going to need that on this homestand it's
the beginning of the season. You have pretty much nobody
stretched out to a beyond seven innings ninety pitches or so.
And that's probably on the very very heavy end for
the guys at the front of real rotation. But it's
the same story for every team in baseball. And as
we're all noting, Dana Brown's done his part.
Speaker 2: Of the job.
Speaker 6: I've given them the opportunity to make their way through
the season as a forty man roster so they don't
have a second consecutive season where they need sixty guys
to get through the season.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just ridiculous last year.
Speaker 3: And you know what, if those four or five guys
you're talking about that are options for next man up,
you don't have to use them. You get what was it,
twenty eighteen, use five guys up until September or something
like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's go with that.
Speaker 6: I'm okay with it also means the guys you have
out they're successful, and there clearly have to be some
questions about that. After Hunter Brown, Lance McCullers junior as
a starter, the hope is that he can get guys out,
and he pitched here a couple of nights ago and
his stuff look good. He obviously was not facing major
league hitters, so we'll see if he can throw strikes
against major league hitters and get them out in efficient
fashion and try to make his way obviously through the season.
EMI's gonna throw his first major league pitch ever when
he takes the mound for the last game of this series.
Mike Burrows is a relative rookie with the work he
got for Pittsburgh a year ago, and he pitched so
well and has such a good arsenal, he's your number
two starter. And obviously Christian Xavier would love to have
a healthy season where he's much more efficient, much more
capable of locating this year than when he was last
year coming off of the injury, a full healthy off
season leading him into this year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels like I have a lot of question marks,
and a lot of them that you brought up, But
I feel safe in that it's not like, oh my gosh,
what's gonna happen because you have the backup plan and
the backup plan to the backup plan to the backup plan.
So I'm feeling pretty good about this starting pitching rotation
and where the Astros are going to end up this season,
even if you suffer the random couple of injuries. But
I do feel confident in this. I think with Hunter Brown,
Mike Burrows, I'll throw aj Bluebond there, and you know
Lance mccullors Junior likes to make it up, mix it up.
If there was an Anchorman style brawl with pitching staffs,
I feel like the Astros.
Speaker 2: Would be a pretty good spot.
Speaker 5: I mean I would take I would take Brian a
Bray you and yes, all Planet.
Speaker 2: I mean that.
Speaker 3: I like that little wiry Hater.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but but I feel like he's scrappy.
Speaker 3: I feel like he's like, if he ends up in
the bottom of the pile, he's not scared to bite
some ankles.
Speaker 6: Well, I think everybody else on the staff is doing
everything they can to make sure Josh Hater's not in
the middle of it.
Speaker 2: That's true, Yes, that's what you mean.
Speaker 7: To do.
Speaker 3: But I think Hunter Brown's ready to scrap. Mike Burrows's
got an edge to him.
Speaker 6: It's funny you mentioned that he has had word with
Angels shortstop Zach Netto right in the lineup today, and
that might be something to look ahead to sometime after
three to ten this afternoon.
Speaker 2: Probably a good time to dust off my baseball hate list.
All right, you dusted up. It feels like you manicure
that thing daily.
Speaker 5: Well, baseball hate does take it off season, all right.
So I mean the guys last night that is right
near the top of it. That is impressive. The amount
of strikeouts in one game. For picking up right where
he left off in the World Baseball Classic, Arson a.
Speaker 2: Judge must have thought he was a World Series game.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I guess we're probably a little late now that they're
already one to oh, but a bold prediction might have
been said all around the country. Well, I like the Yankees.
I think this is the year they carry Aaron Judge
to the World Series.
Speaker 2: Gat sentence. He was good in the playoffs last year.
Speaker 3: But anyways, we're gonna take a break here on the
Matt Thomas Show with Ross Without Matt Thomas, We're with
you not only till two o'clock. You're getting bonus coverage
with Astros on Deck for open Day. We are out
at street Fest. So if you're heading out here, make
sure you come by and say hello. We are in
what left field around here under a Dikin sign. Let's
go with that under a near the Budweiser sign in
left field Astro street Fest with you till two o'clock
and Matt Thomas Show with Ross mode. Then we'll go
into Astros on Deck mode Adam Wexer, Adam Clinton, Ross
Vioreal seven to one three two one two five seven
ninety is the phone number seven one three two one
two five seven ninety. When we come back, I'm gonna
ask both Adams a very important I'm gonna put them
on the spot.
Speaker 2: I love it for a prediction about.
Speaker 3: Something I'm I'm kind of worried about as the season
starts here for the Astros.
Speaker 2: We'll get to that when we come back here on
Sports Talk seven nighty ten twenty am.
Speaker 3: Here on Sports Talk seven ninety the Matt Thomas Show
with Ross broadcasting live from FanFest. It is the Matta
Show with Ross without Matt Thomas.
Speaker 2: We've borrowed two Adams.
Speaker 3: They call themselves the A Team normally on two to
six here on a sports Talk seven.
Speaker 2: Ninety and they're joining me out here. We're gonna have
a lot of fun.
Speaker 3: We're gonna be in on deck mode starting at two pm.
We're out here under the Budweiser sign in left field
at street Fest if you guys want to come by
when they open it up, I believe coming up at noon.
Speaker 2: What do you think Matt is doing right now?
Speaker 3: I'm gonna say he's actually listening for us to mention him.
Speaker 2: And you just did.
Speaker 5: It, well you yeah, But it's the name of the show,
so he's gonna get that mentioned built in on this
very program. He does NonStop all especially this time of year,
all season long. Talks about all the time we miss
because of Astros games.
Speaker 2: Yes, wow, he's not here.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, he's got his number one job. That's what
he's doing right now. He's number his number one job
is his priority. He's the Rockets play by play man.
So this is the secondary lighting. I mean, he's not here.
Speaker 2: Is he? It's Astros opening day? Are you hearing this?
Speaker 3: We are the we are the Astros station. We carry
the Astros. Where's Matt Thomas if this is not his
number one gig?
Speaker 5: And he'll tell you he's earned this for all the
times that he did West Coast postgame shows when we
still did those after nine pm.
Speaker 2: Well, if it was your number one gig, I figure
you'd be here. I don't know. That's just me, all right.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety is
the phone number.
Speaker 3: By the way, our opening day coverage is presented by
Trajan Wealth Management. Seven one three two one two five
seven ninety. Okay, So something I'm it's something we kind
of assumed was going to happen. We're not surprised, but
I feel like there are there's such a wide range
of outcomes, and most of them are bad. I'm speaking
of Lance mccullor's junior at the end of the Astros
starting rotation. Now on its face, if we changed his
name to like Tom Jones or whatever, Tom Jones, he's
a he's a veteran guy.
Speaker 2: This is the Matt Thomas.
Speaker 6: Shit.
Speaker 3: It's not a usual for him, all right. You see
what I did there, I do it's for him to
underperform or get injured or whatever. But your fifth starter
you're not really that worried about in theory, but because
the name is Lance mccullor's junior, because he is one
of the two holdovers along with jose Al Tuv from
the twenty seventeen championship team, all the trials and tribulations
and injuries and all that type of stuff, and the
fact that if he's not making eighteen million dollars, he's
very possibly not on this team, probably not on this
team as of the middle of last year. I'm curious
what you guys are feeling, if anything, like any sort
of strong feeling or just how this could go WEX
with Lance mccullor's junior.
Speaker 2: At the end of the rotation.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's a major concern, just because it's about getting
guys out and it's about giving this team an opportunity
to win on the day that you pitch, and you
just didn't see much of that last year. Again, there's
a lot of reasons why, and it's the same thing
I said about Javier. I believe the an off season
of health, which for this particular time Jones, it hadn't
happened in such a long period of time. He's always
trying to ramp up. He's trying to stay healthy. He's
trying to strengthen the arm rather than refining anything, rather
than you know, working on the shape of his pitches,
working on an arm slot, things like that, because he
was just trying to get to the mound. He was
just trying to find a way to get there. And
then he obviously got some work in last year and
you know, a lot of innings were twenty twenty five,
twenty eight pitch innings that he was working out of
trouble and he's put runners on base and he found
a way to at least get out of the innings.
It's a lot of strain on him to help this
team in a way. You need a starting pitcher two.
You can't go to your bullpen in the third inning
and the fourth inning throughout a season. It's just very
difficult to accommodate for that, no matter how you put
your bullpen together. So that's what it's about for me
for him this year, how does he get hitters out
and do it much more efficiently. He needs fifteen pitch innings,
He needs to not be working with traffic so often,
and if he can get swing and miss, which we
just haven't seen in a while. Then that's what we're
gonna see. That's the biggest question mark. I don't I
didn't gain confidence from what I saw in the spring
from him, and just I gain confidence that I know
he can answer the belt. I just don't know if
he can get major league hitters out with consistency yet.
Speaker 3: I like how the bar is low. You said fifteen
pitch innings, Like that's a that's a good pitch.
Speaker 6: You're at ninety through six innings and then you go
to the bullpen.
Speaker 3: No, I know that's great for him normally a good
inning for a pictures like he went out there through
eight pitches.
Speaker 2: Lance with Colors fifteen, that's what we're doing. Great, baby,
that's illy. Fifteen is the bar.
Speaker 6: That's fromber getting a rope line drive single followed by
a double play ball and a six pitch strick.
Speaker 2: Right, we have a lower bar for Lant with Colors.
You're year fifteen. We'll take it.
Speaker 5: It's so, I mean, it's sad that it's gotten. It
is this guy was I mean again, this guy got
you through what was it, seven shutout innings in the
clincher against Seattle in twenty two. On your way to
now we know what happened in the World Series that
year and he hasn't really been the same since. But
it's like, what level are you talking about when you
talk about this guy. You can't just say, well, I
hope Lance mccullor's bounces back.
Speaker 2: What does that mean? Does that mean he's healthy at
all to pitch?
Speaker 5: And then if he is healthy, well that doesn't necessarily
mean he's gonna be the Lance mccullors that you know.
Is how much traffic is he gonna put on the bases?
Is he gonna be effective? His stuff played once upon
a time is nasty. I mean he called it effing nasty.
He's right filthy.
Speaker 2: But is that the.
Speaker 5: Guy that you get and then translate that into a
game situation that's not a spring training outing.
Speaker 2: There's just a lot of question.
Speaker 5: Marks, and it's it's a sad state of affairs for
him individually because of what he was and what we
knew he was and what he has already done for
this franchise. This guy was on the mound for some
of the biggest moments in franchise history. And I always
remind wex of this, not that he needs reminding, but
this guy carried the rotation for a World Series team
just like five seasons ago twenty one when Justin Verlander
had Tommy John and everyone else was on the like
he was the ace of that secon and then it
just like went in the toilet, and then you know
when it comes back, it.
Speaker 2: Goes in the toilet.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's that's the thing too, because as you
kind of hinted at, like, it's hard for me to
emotionally divest from lancemik success as well, because I tend
in general, first of all, we all you all hear,
love sports, and one of the things we love about
it is is storylines.
Speaker 2: It's these human beings.
Speaker 3: It's redemption arcs, it's comeback stories, it's stuff like that.
And and this would be perfect for Lance Pecullors junior,
especially for someone who I tend to gravitate towards people
who I think don't get a fair shake from the
public and from and especially from the fans or whatever.
And when it comes to Lance Peculor's junior, I mean,
if you go on to like Astros Twitter, they act
like this guy is like a five time felon and
he's making forty five million dollars a year and he
punches his manager and other teammates in the face, and
he's the worst human being.
Speaker 5: On the planet, so allegedly going after his family and
things like that. Yeah, come on when we do that
on opening Day? Can we like that with on Twitter
this year?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Come on, gamblers from Sri Lanka, I mean better.
Speaker 5: I know you're a gambling degenerate in another country, but
can you not threaten members of an athlete's family?
Speaker 2: Is that too much to ask?
Speaker 3: But like, oh, this guy's trash, or he's the worst,
or I'm sick of him. I want him off my team,
Like Lance mccullor's junior more than anybody wants to be
out there. Yeah, he lives breathed, I mean bury me
in the ah was literally coined by Lance mccullors.
Speaker 5: Can you share what you told me off air about
somebody who said something about Lance mccullor's being one of
his best teammates. I don't want to put you in
a If you don't want to share that conversation, well
just say somebody.
Speaker 6: Well later today, we mentioned a couple of things on
our show yesterday. If you were unaware some of the
festivities today, which will lead me into that story. Dikin
Park was the host, one of the hosts for the
World Baseball Classic Team Venezuela in Miami where it ended
They Want It All. That was a team led by
Astros bench coach Omar Lopez and the Astros bullpen catcher
Javier Bracamante. That will be the ceremonial first pitch battery
here before we get things started today, and the playball
call today will be from schn's pre and postgame analyst
Ryan Presley. That is who Ac is talking about. Ryan
Presley obviously spent a ton of years here with Houston.
He will fill in on pre and postgame coverage for
SECHN over the course of the season. He had one
spring training game earlier in the campaign. I happen to
work that with him. He will be on with them today.
He will have that playball call before the game, obviously,
will do that after he handles broadcast duties. And yeah,
he's been in the clubhouse with Lance mccullors for many,
many years through this golden era of Astros baseball and
everything that we say. You just heard Adam talk about
all those things. He worked so hard bury me in
the h which Rash matched. Again, that's not just for us,
that's who he is to his teammates, that's what they
see with the work he puts in sadly every offseason
to just get out there and try to help this
team and be a part of what was a great era.
He was a part of it on the field. He
was not a part of it, but too much of
it on thee. And it's got a lot of respect
inside that clubhouse for those very, very reasons. And I
guarantee you there are players here, most of whom have
spent very little time with him, with the makeup of
this current roster, that really believe he can't help this
team this year, starting with his first start four days
from now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's just the thing.
Speaker 3: Like he he is just I mean, he's he He
runs charities with his wife for like dogs and cats
and taking care of people. He does charitable stuff around
the city.
Speaker 2: What has he done.
Speaker 5: I had a personal experience with him where he did
some really nice things for a family that was going
through just a horrific time in their lives.
Speaker 2: And I mean that kind of stuff.
Speaker 5: That's why I'm always I know, I know why people criticize.
I'm not saying that it's okay, especially the stuff we're
talking about.
Speaker 2: I get all that.
Speaker 5: It's it's hard for me to say a bad word
about Lance mccollors and know some things, he's just he
is a good dude. Does he have his quirks, Yeah,
every athlete does, and obviously the stuff we're talking about
health wise.
Speaker 2: And and that kind of thing.
Speaker 5: But it's like I said, it's gonna be hard for
me to say a bad thing about Lance mccallers from
here on out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he loves this city, he wants to be out there.
He represents the Astros better than just about anybody, and
I hope he's successful coming up of this season. And
that is something one of the many things we're gonna
see play out this year in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2: As we sit here on opening Day at dyke In.
Speaker 3: Park, Ross Vie Real, Adam Wexer, Adam Clanton on The
Matt Thomas Show with Ross. You guys want to get
in talk about Lance McCullers junior, anything Ashros related, you
can seven one three two one two five seven ninety.
Is the phone number seven one three two one two
five seven ninety we have a jam packed.
Speaker 2: Show for you today.
Speaker 3: We're with you until two o'clock in Matt Thomas Show
with Ross Mode. We will go to Opening Day on
Deck Mode at two o'clock.
Speaker 2: Eleven thirty.
Speaker 3: You guys be ready for an I just don't get
it Baseball edition, preferably Ashtros. But you can keep it
to baseball since it's opening Day, don't. I just don't
get it about overtime with the Rockets. We don't have
to talk about that. Twelve thirty. We'll have Chandler Rome.
One o'clock Brian McTaggart, one thirty Jeff Blum. I mean
it's a star studed edition of The Matt Thomas Show.
It's the Honestly, it's the most star studed edition of
the show, I would say in its history without exactly
without Matt Thomas. Here with you until two forty pm
out at Astros Street Fest.
Speaker 2: Come by and say hello. If you're making your way
over here.
Speaker 3: It is the Matt Thomas Show with Ross in Sports
Talk seven ninety ten thirty six eight m here on
a Sports Talk seven ninety The Matt Thomas Show with
Ross without Matt Thomas. He is or was traveling late
night with the Rockets. Just a brief mention. I don't
know when I'm lifting this moratorium on the Houston Rockets,
but we're out an opening day thanks to Trading Wealth
Management at dyke In Park. If you want to come by,
we're at the street fest next to the Budweiser sign.
We being Adam Clanton, Adam Wexer, and meet Ross Viial
phone lines open at seven one three two one two
five seven seven one three two one two five seven
ninety so talking some in the last segment about the
Astros starting rotation.
Speaker 2: We of course have Opening Day. We have a million questions,
a million.
Speaker 3: Different ways that this team that this season can play out,
and another one that I find interesting, And of course
we know Tatsuyuimi will get to that and Mike Burrows
as well.
Speaker 2: Hudder Brown. Thank goodness. We're just gonna set and forget there.
Speaker 3: Christian Xavier, I'll repteel if we're getting the crystal ball,
which we're gonna be in crystal ball mode a lot
on the opening day coverage. Guys, I mean, same thing,
uh Clanton, Like, as far as gut feeling, if you
have no feeling, like, how is this Gonna go came back,
had Tommy John He was a little bit up and down.
Speaker 5: How are we feeling, Christian Javier? I, well, I've said
this on our show many many times, and uh, it
might be the death of me. I'm just I kind
of look at Christian Hobby the same way looked at
jose Erkeidy.
Speaker 2: For a long long time. And let me explain.
Speaker 7: That's good.
Speaker 5: Well, let me explain, okay, please, what did jose Orkidy
do his rookie season.
Speaker 2: He went to Washington in the World Series and pitched
his balls off.
Speaker 5: And if that was his peak as an astro, and
it probably was, if we're being honest, then you know
Christian Hobber's peaks laugh in the face of that, and
I think that guy's still in there somewhere. The problem
has been much like Lance mccullor's, only much less sample
size of this. The problem has been getting that that
version of him to you know, bear itself out or
show its face for the And you know, injuries have
been the biggest reason for that. But then even when,
as Wex has pointed out, he's been healthy at times,
you just haven't had the same velocity. You haven't had
the same ability to find the strike zone, which I
never thought you could talk about with Christian Hobber.
Speaker 2: That guy was dotting him up.
Speaker 5: And by the way, we haven't we haven't talked about
how ABS is gonna affect into everything this year.
Speaker 2: I can't wait to see that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but if that guy's in there still and you
can unlock him, obviously, I mean, I'm speaking the most
obvious statement possible, You're gonna be okay as a rotation.
Speaker 6: Pitchers, pitches are off the plate that guys swing at
for strike three, and I'm not so sure it's gonna
happen quite as often this year. As says, some element
of ABS may play a role in that. I don't
think it's gonna change the game dramatically, and I do
think teams are gonna be a lot more judicious with
it then clearly what we saw during the spring, because
there's really no reason to be judicious with it when
you're trying to get a feel for it. I like
the astros idea of essentially leaving it up to the
catcher when they're the team in the field and clearly
kind of trying to keep the pitcher out of it.
I think most teams will realize that's almost assuredly the
way to go. But I do think it's gonna be
used once you're into the fifth sixth inning of the game,
and obviously it's competitive. You're gonna try to take advantage
of it, and I think the players will be right
and the additional challenges that go with it will be
maintained over the course of the remaining innings of the game.
I think it's a good thing. I think most I
think most people that listen to this show have to
believe that because of how Ross has been preaching over
the years, we have the ability to get it right.
How come we don't want that. I hope people realize
we should want that, and we just saw the World
Baseball Classic, where evidence of not having it in place
is clearly something you would have liked to see change.
So I think it's going to be impactful, not to
any one specific pitcher, but the two pictures we've talked
about the most today often are the two pitchers with
the most movement on their pitches, and I think in
Lance's case, it was difficult for him to throw strikes
because the pitchers have so much movement on it, and
they're flying out of the strike zone, which when he's
going well, that's great because hitters can't lay off of
them and they can't do anything with him. He wasn't
going well, so hitters were just waiting for him to
attack the plate, which he really just didn't do enough
of because I just don't think he was who I
think he can be this year. Confidence level on those
two pitchers is probably a little bit higher for Hobby
than it is for Lance, but you got more question
marks after Hunter that they're all going Some of them
are gonna go on the high end, maybe one goes
on the low end, And I think you're gonna be
able to navigate your way through the season fairly easily
even if something doesn't go your way. But I'm pretty
confident that Hobby will solidify his spot in the rotation.
There will be hiccups, but I think he's also gonna
have what he really didn't have last year. Good starts,
six innings, one run, six innings, three hits allowed, which
was common for him before injury.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and the same thing with Lancel Colors juniors.
Speaker 3: You get it, you get a full offseason, so hopefully
he can be ready to go and yeah, it is interesting.
Speaker 2: I mean the LANCEM.
Speaker 3: Collors Junior I think of I like, honestly a little
bit of Spencer Aarraghetti as well. Who's gonna be waiting
in the wings come April tenth when they have that
stretch of thirteen games in a row, and you're gonna
probably go to a six man rotation of where you'res
out there spinning as hard as you can and even you're.
Speaker 2: You're not exactly sure where it's going.
Speaker 3: So you're gonna get walks, you're gonna get strikeouts, you're
gonna get high pitch counts, and hopefully if you're under
control that day, you can still be effective and get
five six.
Speaker 6: What's your thought on dad strength as applies to Spencer Arega,
That's true left the team late in spring training. It's
real fiance had healthy baby twins.
Speaker 2: Yes, so he returned to.
Speaker 6: The mound here at Dyke And Park obviously during the
last two exhibition games, pitching on Tuesday. We'll start the season,
as you noted, with these Space Cowboys, probably at the
front end of that rotation Colton, Gordon, Jason, Alexander Spencer
and he'd probably get some form of their first three
starts starting on Friday, and I don't know how that
lines up to where they need a six starter. But
aside from all that nuts and bolts, Dad strength, is
he coming with.
Speaker 2: It this year? He's got to.
Speaker 3: I mean it comes from just lugging the baby around
all day, right, That's exactly, and that feels like that's
what happened.
Speaker 6: Now we note that sometimes you try to do your part. Hey,
my wife, look at all the work she put in.
You a just need to do my part. Well, now
it's doubly with two and he's trying to carve out
a nice, healthy, productive major league season. Sometimes, like the
flu game, when maybe you're you're a little tired, maybe
you're not quite mentally all there, you lock in and
you fire bebes.
Speaker 3: All right, let's go Dad strength for Spencer Araghetty. I'm
on board with it. That sounds good to me, all right.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety is
the phone number if you want to get in. Seven
one three two one two five seven ninety. Time for
another break here on The Matt Thomas Show with Ross
As we are broadcasting live thanks to Trajing Wealth Management
from opening day at dyke In Park we are at
the street Fest. Uh, sounds like the band's getting warmed up.
I believe we're gonna have Adam Clanton on the key
tar coming up in the second set of the band
as well, so make sure you guys stay tuned for that.
Speaker 2: With you until two o'clock, at which point we'll go
to on deck mode.
Speaker 3: It is Astro's opening day, so we're talking all things
Astros with you here on Sports Talk seven ninety ten
forty nine and the am here on a Sports Talk
seven ninety.
Speaker 2: Ros Viria, Adam website, Adam Planting with you. It is
the opening of day.
Speaker 3: A street Fest Spectacular on The Matt Thomas Show with
Ross without Matt Thomas thanks to Trade in Wealth Management.
With you until two forty pm, we're talking all things Astros.
We can mix in a little bit of rockets, I
guess at some point, but I'm trying to put it
off for as much as possible, so let's keep it going.
Talking some about the Astros. You brought up the abs
last segment WEX and I'm already getting the feeling and
maybe I'm biased, so Matt Thomas and I always argue
about this, so I'm seriously but oh, we love it.
You know, it's fun. It's a good time. And I
will say time usually is my friend in these long
term arguments, and I think time's gonna be my friend
again in this one.
Speaker 2: Do you think this is now?
Speaker 3: I'm not saying it's gonna happen next year, the next
five years, the next ten years, the ABS possibly a
gateway drug to full ABS or is this gonna stay
at the midway point? Because I think you're gonna end
up with a situation where a team is out of
challenges and you continue to just say the technologies in place.
Speaker 6: Do you mind if there I jump in there with
the Astros opening day.
Speaker 2: Lineup, go ahead.
Speaker 6: It does not include Jeremy Pania. I'll get that out
of the way for me. He's hurts.
Speaker 2: Give him a couple of days. He looks really hurt
when he went out of the yard the other night.
Speaker 6: So Jose Altuve will be the batter in the batter's
box for the first for the Astros in the bottom
of the first inning, followed by designated hitter yord On Alvarez.
Esach Perettis over at third base. Carlos kore is your
opening day shortstop. Recently acquired left fielder Joey Loperfido bat's fifth,
Cam Smith and right field bat sixth. Your first baseman
is Christian Walker. Opening day lineup for him, batting order
spot is number seven, followed by catcher guyner Diez and
your center fielder batting ninth, Jake Myers Hunter Brown on
the mound.
Speaker 2: All right, I'm gonna get on day one.
Speaker 6: One of the things we talked about yesterday, Well, let's
let's talk about what is in there. First, christ Walker
and Jiner Diaz batting seventh and eighth. That's that is
an again correct, not correct opinion, whatever. That's where he
should they should be to start the season.
Speaker 2: That's correct.
Speaker 6: That's what you should do based on the information that
you have last year, plus spring, plus how you feel,
plus at least trying to mix in the two left
handed hitters you have in the lineup. One of them
is in the two spot, the other one is in
the five spot, and then player for player. Again, this
is one way to alleviate the log jam one of
them is not in the lineup. I imagine when Joe
Spotta talks with the media, this will be partly. I mean,
I would assume entirely due to the situation of him
not having too many at bats, although he can't get
any more at bats. If he's not in the lineup,
there's no way to get comfortable or become more comfortable.
I'm hopeful, very hopeful that they didn't miss diagnose where
he was.
Speaker 3: Oh no, so no, Jeremiah Reynall's gone. No more misdiagnosing.
Speaker 6: I don't think that's the case. But he made the
opening days. If you had to tell me who's going
to lead this team in war and I told you
it's Jeremy Paynia, you would say, yeah, that sounds just
about right.
Speaker 2: So if he's healthy and active, he was the leader
last year, was he not?
Speaker 6: It just yes. It seems like he would be make
a lot of sense to have him in the opening
day lineup. But a three o'clock start today, two evening
games Friday and Saturday, and a Sunday afternoon game, doubt
much of that should really go into it. But Jeremy
Pania will open the season, I hope, available off the
Astros bench. But until the clubhouse opens or Joey spot
It acknowledges something, I can just tell you he is
not in the opening day lineup.
Speaker 5: Everybody's gonna feel better if and when he gets into
the game today, and if he does, if he doesn't,
like in a pinshit situation, I don't know what's gonna happen.
Speaker 2: It's the Angels hopefully don't need that.
Speaker 5: But if it doesn't and he's in the starting lineup
tomorrow night, again, this will be a nothing burger by
the time it gets there. Okay, let's see if he's
not though, that's the other way of the pendulum. Now
you're gonna be like, what what's going on?
Speaker 6: And let me add one little item to such. Chandler
Roame is inside the Astros yard. We're just outside the
Astros yard. Jeremy Paygnatt in Sugarland this morning, taking live
AB So there's just a mechanism you have. You have
two options. Either he's active or he's out for ten days.
Even if you backdated a little bit, he probably wasn't
ready to play today. But he doesn't need ten days
to get ready. So maybe a handful of games, maybe
one game, is what it will take before he's out there.
But rather than have him out for whatever number of
days they could have gotten out of a back date,
or simply the ten days that a ten day else
stint would require. That's where we're at.
Speaker 3: So if he is the lineup tomorrow, who's in left
field and who's your DH.
Speaker 6: Well, to me, you're here at home. You're here at
dyk In Park. We have this beautiful out of town
scoreboard and the Prawford boxes right behind us. These games
at home, with however much trepidation they still have for it.
You got to play yard On Albarez in left field
in the home games when it makes sense. And if
six other players are healthy and you need to fill
those six spots with designated hitter left field and the
four infield spots, then that's how you make it happen.
You put jord On Alvarez in left field, because I
just don't think we're gonna see Jose Altuvan left field
at all this year. And obviously Esoch Peretis is not
going to learn two new positions this year or three
second base, first base and left payl second. He is
an infielder.
Speaker 3: He is an infielder, and well, well we're already got
the ball rolling. It's easy with Jeremy Pania out to
figure out how things are going to be configured, but
he's not on the IL, so that'll be a question
that I'll have to be answered very soon. On hell
has been waiting patiently on the phone lines on head
go ahead.
Speaker 8: Yeah, good morning, guys, Happy opening day.
Speaker 2: How you guys doing feeling good? Good? Good?
Speaker 8: Hey, So I was listening over a conversation about the
rotation a few minutes ago. I know this has probably
been a topic of conversation before, but just want to
get your input. I know, uh, you know, Ronellelo and
Wes Nevsky will be back at some point midway through
the season, probably July or early August. That's going to
be a starting rotation.
Speaker 2: Log gem there.
Speaker 8: Just want to get kind of your input on what
you think a SPOTO will do at that point or
what the rotation might look like when you have two
starting pitchers coming back, maybe Blanco as a relief pitcher,
but you know, just want to know what your thoughts
would be. Bring out your crystal ball again and see
what you think.
Speaker 6: It's interesting. Just the last name you mentioned, Ronel Blanco
obviously has plenty of experience out of the pen, but
you're dealing with arm injuries, long term arm injuries. Pitching
out of the bullpen is an uncertain day to day operation.
Is he available two days after he pitches three days,
four days? Is that too much strain on their arm,
getting hot in the bullpen, getting up on days they
ultimately don't get used. I don't think you'd forecast Hayden
was Nesky, Renel Blanco as bullpen options, but more you're
pitching on this day, and you're pitching on that day,
and take it back a year, not to remind everybody
about how things went. They have these rough timelines for
a Luis Garcia return, a Christian Xavier return, obviously, the
Lance McCullers junior return, and it's just very hard to
believe in it. And I don't mean believe what they're saying.
I mean you just never know with injuries like this,
do they need full thirty days worth of rehab starts?
Can they really get ramped up? It really is a
good problem to have. Think about how many additional arms
we mentioned they already have that are healthy, like Ryan Weiss,
and like Colton Gordon, like Spencer Araghetty, and if we
get to July and August and those two other pitchers
we're talking about are also healthy and have made rehab starts,
then you really do have good problems. It's just really
tough for me to forecast Tommy john injured pitchers when
they make their return, and they were starters before. I
don't think they enter mid season or part of the
way through the season as bullpen options.
Speaker 3: All right, time for a break here on The Matt
Thomas Show with Ross. Our number one at street Fest
at Dyke and Park is in the books, and our
number two is coming up. You guys can get in
seven one three two one two five seven ninety if
you would like two seven one three two one two
five seven ninety, we have I just don't get it.
Speaker 2: Coming up.
Speaker 3: Baseball Edition at eleven thirty, twelve thirty, channeler Row, one
o'clock Brian mctagger, one thirty Jeff Blum. No reason to
turn the station here. And then we're gonna have the
ass Shows and the Angels Opening Day three ten, first
pitch right here on Sports Talk seven ninety, So do
not go anywhere.
Speaker 2: Our number two of the opening day street Fest Spectacular.
Speaker 3: Is Next is The Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 9: Our number two, Well, The Matt Thomas Show with Ross
without Matt Thomas here broadcasting live from opening day at
street Fest left Field, Ish under.
Speaker 2: The Budweiser sign.
Speaker 3: You guys are gonna be making it in around noon.
If you do want to come by and say hello,
we got giveaways. We have a wonderful promo. People who
are very bored right now and they want to come
see you, So come by at noon and grab some
free stuff.
Speaker 2: Fault lines open.
Speaker 3: It's seven to one three two one two five seven
ninety seven one three two one two five seven ninety
is the phone number. So uh, we have this article
published you can find at sports Talk seven ninety dot com.
Speaker 2: It is of.
Speaker 3: All the Astros, all the talent here in their Astros
and Major League Baseball predictions. Wanted to go through some
of these with you guys, as of course, Adam Wexler,
Adam Clintner here, they made theirs as well. Uh, I
would say, of course, the chalk pick for home run leader,
we went through home run leader, Astros win total Al
West Champ World Series matchup, and it should be World
Series winner as well.
Speaker 2: Okay, both those are in here.
Speaker 8: Uh.
Speaker 3: Of course Matt has Christian Walker as the home run
leader because he thinks Jordan Alvarez is never ever in
the in his career, for the rest for the motives,
for the rest of his life. He's not going to
play one hundred and thirty games, as is his right
to Opine Clanton, you went.
Speaker 2: Off the board. I feel like, uh, with a little
Zach Paradus, explain your logic.
Speaker 5: Well, I mean we were talking about this a little
bit off air. I just felt like before he got
hurt last year, first of all, he was at times
the year of their home run leader. A lot of
that had to do with the fact that I think
Jordan was hurt, but Christian Walker wasn't giving you the production.
So there's a lot of things that went into last season.
But I just felt like, and and by the way
to go with this, I have never ever wanted the
Astros to trade him away this entire offseason when it's
been discussed. I don't feel like I know that he
would be the easier of the two to trade, but
I just don't feel like you should be trading or
talking about trading that guy because of the type of
production he showed last year. This ballpark is tailor made
for what he does, and he was awesome at it
until he got hurt last year. So in a season
in which you have so many question marks, I think
it's out of the question to say that if he
produces similarly to like he did last year, it's it's possible.
Speaker 6: Ten votes casts. As you mentioned the talent here, the
pair of hosts for each of our four hour programs,
are three producers for those respective three programs, and our
p D Chris Gordy, so ten votes cast in these categories.
For the Astros home run, leader Jordan Alvren. Alvarez checked
in with seven of the ten votes. Christian umart I
went chalk one of the ten. Yes, Esak Parritis drew
one of the ten, and Carlos Korea drew one of
the ten.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Jonathan Allen, our producer, Jonathan, explain yourself, Carlos you went,
You went with a deep cut for the Astros home run.
Speaker 2: Later, do you know what I feel like?
Speaker 6: I was gone to the walker and you know all
that stuff. I just felt like Korea had six home
runs when he came in so late in the season.
Speaker 2: I'm you know what, you're mister underdog.
Speaker 3: You're like picking the Pacers to make the finals. Last year,
you said they were gonna win the NBA Championship. I mean,
some of your some of your crazy underdog picks have
have worked out. So maybe I shouldn't doubt you.
Speaker 2: You shouldn't exactly, you shouldn't got me. Yeah, you're right.
That's my bad, all right?
Speaker 3: Okay, So the yeah, the the Esoc Paratis and Carlos
Korea caught my eye. Most everybody has the Astros around
eighty five to ninety wins. The highest total would be
Cole Thompson. He has the Astros at ninety. The lowest
is going to be Dan Matthews with the Astros that
are at eighty six, but also AOS champs.
Speaker 6: Now I can't help myself here. I want to give
one more note.
Speaker 2: Okay, please don't.
Speaker 6: Statistically speaking, the Astros slugging percentage leader a year ago
received no votes. That was Jeremy Panna, Okay. Estoch Perettis
was second. Because he made the roster this year, I'll
include him on this list despite his scarcity.
Speaker 2: Of his bats.
Speaker 6: Bryce Matthews was third, Altuve, who also received no votes,
was fourth. Alvarez Korea Walker were fifth, sixth and seventh
on the team and slugging percentage in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: I'm I'm hoping it's jord On Alvarez. You know what,
I'm gonna say this. If it's not at ord On Alvarez,
the Astros aren't making the playoffs.
Speaker 2: How about that? How about them Apples?
Speaker 5: I mean it goes to what I said last segment
or the segment before about if he had been healthy.
I mean, you had everything go wrong that could from
an injury standpoint, and you still it took the Mariners
coming in and sweeping you on the final weekend basically
of the year for them to win the division, not
you know, go to play all that kind of stuff.
So it was unfamiliar territory. Just huh, we didn't make
the playoffs this year? What are we gonna do with
our hands?
Speaker 6: So the range of victories for the Astros was eighty
four to eighty nine that I saw.
Speaker 3: I believe, Yes, oh eighty four. I'd say eighty six
eighty four. Actually, Chris Gordy's a hater.
Speaker 6: So the number from most people you hear in the
Sin City area is eighty six and a half.
Speaker 2: Yes, And I was gonna bring this up.
Speaker 3: Okay, everybody except for Dan Matthews and Gordy, that's eight
of us have the over. So that's what I was
sure gonna bring up, just as a general talking point.
If you look at the Vegas win total, you look
at I know, Adam Klanton, you're big in the Fangrafs
season projection. Huge love Fangrafs using season projections. They have
the Astros I think at eighty eighty one wins. Baseball
perspectives I think has them at eighty four basically. Anywhere
I look around as far as prognosticators say the Astros
are going to be under the win total or around
basically eighty.
Speaker 2: To eighty four wins.
Speaker 3: So then my question is this, are we being homerrific
here in Houston or do these people are just they're
just underrating what we have. Because it's opening day, Hope,
Spring springs eternal, We're going to be optimistic. But when
I look around at everybody else making predictions, I mean,
they're like eighteenth in a I think a power ranking
that I saw, or sixteenth or something like that, and
everyone thinks the Astros are going to be mid and
possibly if that probably missed the playoffs.
Speaker 6: Well, another Matt Thomas shows staple the expected wins from
a year ago was just eighty three. They won eighty seven,
and I think the same thing will have to happen
this year for them to hit that over. I think
the number is actually very very good. I mean, I
can't imagine it being much lower, even though there's just
so many question marks. Again, we'd spend the entire four
hours only hitting on what's your concern about this? What's
your biggest concern there? We might get ten different answers.
But they did have so many injuries last year to
so many contributors, the three biggest contributors missing so much
of the second part of the season. Paying your paredis Alvarez.
It's just hard to believe that if those players play
fifty out of sixty games the final two months versus
almost none, that they can't have a much more impactful
season as it relates to the win lost total. I'm
not surprised at all that we have multiple or more
majority trying to go for an over eighty five and
a half. But now tie in what the division winner
prediction was eighty four to eighty nine. Wins from the
Astros did not breed a lot of confidence in them
winning this vision based on our prediction.
Speaker 3: And it's yeah, we will definitely address that as well.
But it just I I don't know me. I look
at last year and you have their Their top starts
were Fromberville, this' SR thirty one piece from fromber and
Hunter Brown. Then it's Ryan Gusto, Colton, Gordon, Lance mccollors,
Junior Chason, Alexander Brandon, Walter, Ronel Blanco, Christian Javier. I
think it's gonna be better right now. A lot of
those guys are gone or hurt, but I think I
think it's gonna be so much better this year, even
just in terms of the starting pitching, and then not
even factoring in Jordan only playing forty eight games.
Speaker 5: That's why I when I have eighty nine wins and
them winning the division, it's not to say that Seattle's
not gonna be right there.
Speaker 2: I like, if the Astros.
Speaker 5: Win eighty nine games and win the division, that means
this is the Mariners like won eighty seven, you know,
like and again, how many teams last year won one
hundred games?
Speaker 6: Well, none exactly.
Speaker 5: It's not it doesn't take one hundred wins to win
your division anymore, at least not in the different state.
Speaker 2: Of affairs in the American League.
Speaker 6: Yeah, ninety four wins for both the Blue Jays and
Yankees' top the American League side of things, and just
talking about the amount of use they got from the
group they had here last year. As ross Kina went through,
your top five pitchers and innings pitched this upcoming season
will not include a pitcher who starts the season in
Sugarland it did last year, Colton Gordon. It will not
include your most used reliever, which it did last year,
Steven Okert, and it will not include Miami Marlins starter
Ryan Gusto, which it did a year ago. Three of
the top five pitchers in innings pitched were Okert, Gordon,
and Ryan Gusto. And the player obviously who led you
an innings pitch will make the second start of the
season this year for the Detroit Tigers from bra Valdez.
That is virtually impossible to navigate. And the Astros win
loss record from last year showed you that it's also
virtually impossible to see it happening again.
Speaker 3: Okay, good, so we're all on the same page. We're
not homers. Everyone else is just idiots.
Speaker 6: Like Christian hotair pitches unsuccessfully and gives you ninety plus innings. Yeah,
Plants mccullors junior is relatively successful, and he gives you
one hundred. Like these numbers are so ridiculously out of
whack for almost every single Major League season this team
has played in their history that I just don't expect
it to be repeated. And again there's super big time
hope on what we really haven't addressed over the first
hour and change of this show, and that's the two
newcomers they added not to fill out the rotation, but
to enhance the rotation in Tatsuya Emi, who very well
maybe the American League Rookie of the Year in twenty
twenty six and Mike Burrows.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you can even go to the to the
position players died side when you go to most plate appearances,
like Carlos Kraze was came at the deadline. He finished
tenth in plate appearances for you, and if Victor Carrottini
was eighth, Mariso Dubons seventh. I mean, these guys, even
when you look at you look at innings, pitch, you
could play appearer, you look at everything this would did.
Speaker 2: It was Haywire.
Speaker 3: It was not anywhere close according to plan and not.
Of course, there's not going to be one hundred percent
health this year. But if you just don't get the
abject disaster that was last year, you're gonna be in
so much better of a spot.
Speaker 6: Yeah, no question, there are plenty of things to believe in,
but there's also a lot of science or statistics behind it. Reality.
Speaker 2: Let's go.
Speaker 6: Yeah, we'll get into the rest of the division. Over
the course of the of the four hours, the other
things that happened for the Mariners, Rangers, today's opponent, the Angels,
and obviously the team everybody loves in West Sacramento. But
it's it's usually on you, like it's inside this clubhouse
that likely will determine how things go. You only play
thirteen times against the four other teams in your division.
The vast majority of your schedule has played against all
the teams outside this division. You know, it has changed
dramatically about how to weigh things out. How they perform
against the other teams in the American League matters more,
How they perform against the fifteen National League teams matters
more than just necessarily the head to head with those
four other teams.
Speaker 3: All Right, we gotta take quick break here. Jay, we
see you on hold. We'll get you in the next segment.
You guys gonna get in. We are in Astros Opening
Day mode. We're gonna pretend the Rockets didn't play last night.
Seven one three two one two seven ninety seven one three, two,
one two five seven ninety We have I just don't
get it coming up at eleven thirty, twelve thirty Chandler Rum,
one o'clock, Brian McTaggart, one thirty, Jeff Blum. So it
is a jam packed, super fun and amazing opening a
day street fest spectacular here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 2: Absolutely amazing.
Speaker 3: The Matt tom Show with Ross with you until two
forty pm here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Okay, welcome
back to The Matt Thomas Show with Ross here on
Sports Talk seven ninety. It is the Astros Opening Day
street Spectacular.
Speaker 2: As Matt Thomas is out.
Speaker 3: He was a late night with the Rockets, who became
the first team ever to blow a double digit lead
in overtime.
Speaker 2: About it. They were also up thirteen. You know, we
we've been avoiding it.
Speaker 3: We've been avoiding it, maybe like a maybe the last
thirty seconds. We can just scream into our microphones collectively
for like two minutes and then we'll talk about that.
But a painful loss for the Rockets. So Matt out
traveling with the squad, So Adam Wexer and Adam Clinton.
I would say, you guys are pinch hitting or off
the bench. But doesn't work because I mean you're in
the starting lineup. You're just you're just here a little
bit early to get some early work.
Speaker 2: Would you? Is this it's not BP either, because this
is live action.
Speaker 6: It's like empt is Jeremy Pania Yes, unavailable today. Oh
he's part of the team.
Speaker 2: I got you. I like this.
Speaker 6: We're in for him.
Speaker 2: I'll be sock okay, all right? And who's Adam Clinton.
Speaker 6: I'll be the guy who Well he's a lefty. Why
can't we just make him Joey?
Speaker 2: They throwing bat right. I'm a lefty as well. Uh
just throw me in the left field so I'm not disturbing.
Can you surf? Surf?
Speaker 6: Well, you guys?
Speaker 2: Number that's crazy.
Speaker 6: Well, there's two things about this number story. Shay Whitcomb
drew number ten, got number ten after Joey low Braffito left.
The team was traded away, and so his number ten
was available. Shavee Whitcomb took it. He had used it,
he was there all during camp and Joey when he
came back, said, yeah, prefer to have it again and
I'll wear a number thirty one until we make that
swap and come up with something, and they did, which
was a signed surfboard. My question was, I mean, this
is super mean. So right in my wheelhouse, Shay's not
on the team. Shay's a Sugarland Space cowboy to start
the year. So why doesn't Joy just say perfect my number? Sorry,
I no trade.
Speaker 2: I don't even have a good answer for you, Like, seriously,
why you not just.
Speaker 6: Because they're friends, their boys, their teammates there.
Speaker 5: Well, if that's the friend, would you be extorting something
out of someone, because.
Speaker 6: Yes you would be, because it's absolutely totally commonplace and
acceptable in the sports world.
Speaker 2: But it's a certain it's a word. It's not cheap,
like you had to buy that thing, right.
Speaker 6: Well, they get paid more than we do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess all right.
Speaker 3: If you have not heard Jeremy Panyon not in the
lineup for the Houston Astros, he is on the opening
day rosters.
Speaker 5: So obviously give me a give me a ross how
we feeling like? But instead of how we feeling going
into a you know, game wining.
Speaker 3: Situation like the U the sound effect, Matt Thomas often
asked for like the.
Speaker 5: Man, what's your concern level about pay?
Speaker 3: Is what I'm asking It's yeah, if he he hit
a home run in the exhibition game very day off,
maybe his it's maybe he Yeah, it's it's totally fine.
Perhaps the swelling needs to go down. He's gonna be fine.
My my concern level is low.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 3: I have said my concern level is low with astros
injuries before, and I've been proven wrong. So we'll see
how it goes from here. I would say my concern
level is low at the moment.
Speaker 5: If he hadn't been in the lineup Tuesday night inside
this building and gone over the train tracks, yes, none
of this conversation. It'd be like, yeah, well we figured
he wouldn't.
Speaker 2: Be in the starting line.
Speaker 3: It's good he got a few abs, You get him
some some live action, you get to let him get
the swelling go one hundred and sixty two game season.
You have a great backup plan and putting esuck paratus
out there and sliding Carlos Korea over.
Speaker 2: I'm on board with it, all right, all right?
Speaker 3: Seven one, three two point two five, seven ninety We
got I just don't get it. Baseball Edition coming up
at eleven thirty. You guys want to get in. Jay
on the northeast side has been holding patiently, Jay, go.
Speaker 7: Ahead, all right?
Speaker 10: Three wise man, I missed the lineup. Who's at second base,
shortstop and centerfield?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 3: That would be Jose l Tuove, Carlos Korea and Jakebosh.
Speaker 7: He's what.
Speaker 6: We might have lost him.
Speaker 7: That's a shame.
Speaker 2: All right, appreciate, he said, nobody Like there's a bunch
of nobodies.
Speaker 6: I don't understand if you were not aware. The lineup
looks like this, Yes, go ahead. Jose al Tuove leading off,
batting second. Yourd On Alvarez is today's designated hitter. He
bets second. Esach Perettis is your third basement batting third.
Korea bats clean up. He's at shortstop. Joey Loperfido starts
in left field, bats fifth, Cam Smith Thatt's sixth. He's
your right fielder. Christian Walker your first basement bats seventh.
Yin Diaz will do the catching as usual for Hunter
Brown he bets eighth and Jake Myers, the opening day
center fielder again, he bets ninth.
Speaker 3: And we'll address this again in three hours guys when
we go into on deck mode. But I don't want
to say surprise because we kind of we've already discussed
that it's not the super big surprise but the lefty
Joey Loperfido getting more looks than Cam Smith. Okay, we
can make sense Christian Walker and yaner Diez based on
where we were last season.
Speaker 2: That makes sense as well.
Speaker 3: How much of this is a vote of confidence in
Joey Librafido as a lefty against a right handed pitcher?
How much of this is Christian Walker and Jiner Diez
are gonna Maybe we should just tick down our expectations
for them.
Speaker 6: Are you ready with the lineup in tow to say
who's hitting the astros first homer this year?
Speaker 3: I'll just kid, I'm gonna keep it simple. Jord On Alvarez,
I'm just not gonna overthink it. I want him out
there for one hundred and fifty five games this year,
hitting forty bombs for the first time in his career.
I'm going ord On Alvarez, keep it simple, stupid close
out to bay Uh.
Speaker 6: I'm going with their left fielder Joey Loperfito.
Speaker 2: I like that. Wow, I'm with today right.
Speaker 6: The only astro in the lineup that has a career
homer off of Jose Siriano is their first baseman, Christian Walker. Interesting,
not very many at bats against Soriano and their respective careers.
Speaker 2: Because he just not Walker individually.
Speaker 6: Okay, nobody has ten bats against Jose, so yeah, he's
only a couple of years in the majors. He had
a good season against Houston a year ago. They're also
going to see several arms out of the Angels bullpen today.
I would feel pretty comfortable in saying.
Speaker 2: But give me a over under win total on them.
Speaker 6: Well, they're right near the bottom of the American League
and they belong there. It's I would take the under
because I think not only are Go going to win
a very few games over the first four months, I
think if they have three out of four players that
are having good seasons, none of them will remain with
the team after the trade deadline. It's a shame for
Mike Trout to still be an Angel. But there's no
reason for them to be paying players to win sixty
five games. If those players are good and they don't win,
which is exactly what I expect to happen, they should
find them new homes and they should stockpile their system
with prospects. So I would play the under.
Speaker 3: I just noticed a little note Brian McTaggart, who will
be joining us at one o'clock here on this program,
and of course been following and covering the Astros for
a long time. He put a little something I think
a neuggative information in his tweet with the lineup. Jeremy
Pania not in the lineup today, says Brian McTaggart, and.
Speaker 2: Will be brought along slowly to start the year. So
maybe we should get used to more of this.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he being on the active roster. There's no such
thing as playing for the Space Cowboys over this ten
day period. If they determine he needs to play games
and they can't be here, then he has to go
on the IL and that is not something I would forecast.
But bringing him along slowly when you're only talking about
a ten day period is a bit odd if you're
thinking he could play in five of those games. Or
four of those games he would have otherwise missed by
being on the al as an interesting way to decide
to do this rather than just saying, let's just get
him into rehab games, let him get totally healthy. He
gets twelve fifteen played appearances over a ten day period,
and then he rejoins the team as a presumed fully
healthy player.
Speaker 3: Okay, put in my ten foil hat on how much
of this is because of the logjam, and you want
to slow him down a little bit.
Speaker 2: And this makes it that much easier to say.
Speaker 3: Hey, Jeremy, we're gonna pump the brakes, We're gonna work
you in slowly.
Speaker 2: We want you out there one hundred percent healthy.
Speaker 3: And it makes things a little bit easier in terms
of Joe spot of filling out the lineup card.
Speaker 6: It makes it easier filling out the lineup card, but
it makes it more difficult. Even though Joe's used to it,
going into baseball games with twenty five players. He did
it almost to the entire year. Last year you had
Seysar Salazar and the active roster for two months never played.
So Joe's going in, He's going at a game every
day without a full roster which is how they've opened
the season. Yes, it solves the other problem, but that's
not how you solve that other problem. Give your manager
thirteen healthy players when you have the opportunity to do that.
I think for the majority of the games, they're basically
committing to not doing that. For three games, four games,
six games. I'm not sure what the number will be
through this first you know, ten games or so, certainly
through this home stand of seven games before they hit
the road again. I don't run the team. I'm not
a general manager. I've also never been one. But I'd
like to give my manager the best opportunity to you know,
he's got to think about it. With a short bench today,
when do I use this pinch hit? Or when do
I pull Jose Altuve for defense? When do I use
Bryce Matthews as a pinch runner? I'm a man down
on opening day.
Speaker 3: Paradus Watch twenty twenty six is underway Opening day. He
is in the lineup, Jeremy Pania is not. We'll keep
monitoring the situation here on Sports Talk seven Outy as
less heason progresses.
Speaker 11: Do you have something in your life it's just don't
get no heed, do worry no need to. We will
do the facufics to see if we comprehend the things
that may confuse our friends.
Speaker 2: It's time to say.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, folks, it is that time of the week,
Thursday at eleven thirty. You want to get in, you
can do it on the phone line seven one to
three two one two five seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven ninety something.
Speaker 2: You just don't get you don't understand what is the deal?
What's the deal with that?
Speaker 3: Seven one three two one two five seven ninety As
we are here on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross
broadcasting live from Astro Street Fest thanks to Trajan Wealth Management.
We being me, Ros Virial, Adam Clanton, Adam Wexler as well. Uh,
both of you, I imagine are familiar with this segment
and how it goes. Therefore, I'm gonna throw to Adam Wexer.
Let's put him on the spot. I expect him to
be ready.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I just don't get it. It's just too easy
for the topic that we have omitted over the course
of the hour and a half we've been on the
air here and Ross and I, along with mt I
and our friends over to schn or just to our right,
we're all locked in. Last night, on one of the
uglier games of the season, neither team could make baskets.
Both teams looked extremely lethargic, and then ultimately the Minnesota
Temples took an eleven point fourth quarter lead, late eleven
point fourth quarter lead, only for the Rocks to come
storming back with a wildly exciting thirteen to two run
to tie the game. That's where I just don't get
it begins. Nine seconds left, gifted a tie game with
the free throw awarded them because a foul committed before
you inbounded the basketball. So instead of having four and
a half seconds on the shot clock, down one inbounding
with nine seconds left, they hit the free throw and
we're able to inbound the ball in a tie game
with nine seconds left and the shot clock off. They
didn't get a shot off as Kevin Durant received the
inbounds pass and immediately turned it over. The Minnesota Timberwolves
were able to grab it go the other way. Julius
Randall drives to the basket. According to his head coach
Chris Finch, he was found and albre and Shinun jumped
as high as he's ever jumped in the air and
absolutely swatted that mess and fell face first into the
court and bloodied himself, but got the game to overtime.
Where the second part of I just don't get it
was the rockets eighth overtime game. They scored thirteen consecutive
points to start their eighth overtime game after winning only
once in their first seven overtime games, three minutes left
on the clock as they hit a mass a thirteen
point overtime lead, and then, obviously the third part of
I just don't get it. They watched a three pointer
get dropped in. They watched Kyle freaking Anderson get his
only points of the game on an offensive rebound put
back foul, hit the free throw, a very easy layup
on a back cut from the top of the key
for Dante DiVincenzo, and the other necessary points to get
them to fifteen consecutive to win the game by two,
Julius Randall hitting the game winner, and again at the
end of the game, a chance to tie at the
free throw line. Kevin durant I said to our network
producer off air, I'm not going to say it because
I know what's going to happen. The Rockets went into
that Kevin Durant free throw down two, having made one
hundred percent of their free throws in the game. They
were twenty three of twenty three. He missed the first
he was short, and then intentionally missed the second, which
they did get the rebound off of when it went
out of bounds. But with one point one seconds remaining,
they could not get the ball to Kevin Durant or
did not attempt to throw it to Jabari Smith Junior.
The ball was easily battered away and no shot attempt
again was made. In a game they trailed by two,
they lose. I just don't get it. I don't ever
see anything like it is ever a common phrase from
anybody who watched it. The play by player only goes
back to nineteen ninety seven ninety eight. But yeah, it
has never happened before an NBA history. A thirteen point
lead in overtime had been a one hundred percent victory
rate before last night.
Speaker 3: Well and the Good our good friends who do win
probability had it ninety nine point seven.
Speaker 2: Percent for the Houston Rockets at its peak.
Speaker 6: It wasn't ninety eight plus percent for both teams with
three minutes to go, or when the Rockets down were
down eleven late in the fourth quarter. The Wolves had
a ninety eight plus percent chance of winning that game,
and the Rockets got its overtime.
Speaker 3: I thought that we were going baseball on this WEX.
This is we were making me sad.
Speaker 2: You're making me. I don't get it.
Speaker 6: I thought game shows pretty much left things wide over
unless it was a special edition. I just don't get.
Speaker 2: It's okay, it doesn't matter. I'm just sad.
Speaker 3: I don't want to tell we we haven't really been
talking much about the Rockets or training.
Speaker 6: Well, I knew if I brought it up in this
format that would be it. We could move on to
your Adams. I just don't get it.
Speaker 5: Yes, well, I told myself I was gonna get my
blood pressure raised on opening day, so I'm glad that
WEX did that. So I don't have to talk about
that grab assory that happened last night.
Speaker 2: I just I don't understand.
Speaker 3: I well, thirteen oh to fifteen oh.
Speaker 2: I'll know.
Speaker 5: That's the thing, because while I fully believe what I'm
about to say about them, they are the lowest IQ
Rocket squad and probably the past twenty five plus seasons.
But that same low IQ squad made that run to
get back. You're trailing by double digits with less than
three minutes to go in the game. Basically, you make
the run. Why don't you just, I don't know, finish
the job. Instead, I'm gonna give it right back because
I hate my fans and I know they don't, but
that's what it feels like when.
Speaker 2: You're watching this. So we's just mentioned their record in overtime.
Speaker 6: It's one and seven, now, right, is that bad?
Speaker 5: Well, it's not good, and I think you know you're
talking about this is the first time in India history. Yeah,
you know how long an overtime period is five minutes?
You know how hard it is to blow a ten
point lead that you have built within that five minutes already.
Speaker 3: It's honestly, it's it's spectations in ever it's such a
spectacular fail, it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 2: So instead, I mean, we saw NBA history last night.
Yeah that's cool. Yeah, they're now a footnote woot.
Speaker 6: Yeah, thirteenth straight to close our thirteen to two run
to close the fourth quarter, followed by thirteen straight in overtime.
That's a twenty six to two run that covered about
six minutes of basketball in a game where neither team
was scoring any points, and you built a thirteen point
lead off of that. Obviously, it did not come to victory,
and they remained in the sixth spot. They're a game
and a half back of the team they played last night. Minnesota.
Denver was victorious last night. The Lakers were victorious last night.
They're not chasing the Spurs or Thunder. Spurs were victorious
last night. The Thunder did take an l keeping that
door slightly ajar for the Spurs to consider how hard
they want to push for the number one spot in
the West.
Speaker 2: All right, don't get it, guys.
Speaker 3: Were your thoughts on former Major League Baseball umpire Richie Garcia.
Speaker 2: If I say that name, did you ring up? I'd
never even really heard of the guy. I mean, apparently
he was in umpire from nineteen seventy five. This is
the nineteen ninety.
Speaker 6: Nine the stolen home run ball at Yankee Stadium. Yes,
he was out there in the outfield as the ball
was caught by a young fan who reached way over
the wall. And if I'm remembering correctly, Tony Tarasco is
out there in the outfield for the oils, pointing up
and saying, you can't call this a home run. That's
the umpires did.
Speaker 3: Okay, Well, our friend Richie Garcia is not happy with
this ABS season.
Speaker 1: I think it's embarrassing to the umpires that are calling
the game. Nobody likes to be humiliated in front of
thirty thousand to forty thousand people. What Major League Baseball
is saying is I don't trust the umpire strike zone,
so I'm gonna use something that's gonna be operated by
some computer geek who knows nothing about baseball, and he's
gonna be the one to measure this and measure that
because he's got a PhD in physics or whatever.
Speaker 2: The hell he's got a degree in.
Speaker 3: Does he not understand that there are twenty six thousand
missed calls last year?
Speaker 2: Does he not understand? Is he embarrassed about those?
Speaker 3: Was he embarrassed about twelve hundred plus strikeouts that were
called that should not have been strikeouts?
Speaker 2: Did he watch last year? Ranez ever worked, I'll be.
Speaker 6: Okay with saying we don't expect human umpires to be
perfect calling balls and strike has an unreachable goal. So,
in an attempt to get more strikes and balls called correctly,
we're going to add this to the equation. It's not
an absolute affront to umpires. They're no umpires getting one
hundred percent of the calls right even in one afternoon,
let alone for an entire season. So this will make
more of the calls that are made.
Speaker 2: Ipect. I bet he hates guardrails too on roadways. Yeah,
we're trying to help you out. I bet he hates
elevators and escalators. He like stares.
Speaker 3: Do empires get crushed for more than anything, balls and strikes.
Speaker 2: Trying to help you get the calls right. You know
you can far our lives and then you're not gonna
get a bunch of hate. I bet he hates windshields
on cars?
Speaker 6: What about puppy?
Speaker 2: I don't get Richie Garcia. How is this guy? Well,
he retired in ninety nine. It's twenty twenty.
Speaker 5: S found him to even think that people would care what.
Speaker 3: I was actually trying to find out where these quotes
are from. It's just from anes associated press story that
I found. I don't know if they just if they
just interviewed him or what. But he is very upset
with the umpires. They're embarrassing us. It's embarrassing when you
miss calls. You're embarrassing yourself.
Speaker 2: You're embarrassing yourself. You're embarrassing me.
Speaker 1: You're embarrassing me by showing everybody that I got the
call wrong. Everybody knows you got the call wrong.
Speaker 3: Anyways, everybody's checking their their MLB Game Day app in
the middle of the game.
Speaker 2: Anyway.
Speaker 6: You know what also will happen this year, probably today
right here behind us at dyke In Park, a catcher
or a batter is gonna call for a challenge and
they will be incorrect, and the umpire will be proven
to need the right call.
Speaker 3: Absolutely yes, he will be validated in front of forty
thousand people.
Speaker 2: Validated. You can be judged on getting the call wrong
or right.
Speaker 6: Will he be happier if an announcement is made with
a little bit of a chuckle from the announcement, the
PA or the umpire.
Speaker 2: They should throw a jackass.
Speaker 3: This call is confirmed, a confirmed jackass, they should throw
in one of those. That's what I would like, Yeah,
get as sarcastic as possible.
Speaker 2: I want to narrate it like a GPS voice.
Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, twenty six thousand missed calls? Dude, Like,
what is what it is?
Speaker 2: Six thousand? Is that real? Yes?
Speaker 6: It sounds like a ballpark figure. It's more than that,
is it like twenty six thousand, four nineteen?
Speaker 2: Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 5: It's a it's a Diken Park crowd on at.
Speaker 6: A lot of baseball games get played. Two hundred plus
pitches every every time you hit the diamond at the
major league level.
Speaker 3: Twenty six thousand, five hundred and sixty seven. That's crazy,
is the exact number. If you would like that? What
if I told you we had the technology in place
to get every single one of them right and.
Speaker 2: Then we said no thanks, that'd be weird, right, that'd
be dumb. All right? Anyways, Adam Clanton, what don't you get?
Speaker 5: Um, Well, don't break all right, let's go to break
because I've got something.
Speaker 2: Okay, I like this. I see where you're going on
a piece of crap. Jeff Passing is away before lunch?
You sorry, sec crap. Why don't you come down here
and be a real man? All right?
Speaker 3: You're I see the logo that Adam Plant is looking at,
so you don't want to miss what he doesn't get
that is coming up next. You guys want to get
in with yours, you can seven one three two one
two five seven ninety. Is the phone number. Seven one
three two one two five seven ninety. We have the
news at noon coming up as well. Chandler Roam twelve thirty,
Brian McTaggart one o'clock, Jeff Blum one at thirty pm.
Astros on deck at two o'clock. It is the Astros
opening day street Fest Spectacular here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
All right, welcome back to the Astros fan the fest
Spectacular street Fest, I should say here on Sports Talk
seven ninety.
Speaker 2: Doors are opening at noon. If you are making your
way down here street Fest, come by, say hello.
Speaker 3: We are under the I don't even know what you'd
call it, Budweiser awning, inflatable awning.
Speaker 6: We're as close to the entrance as you can get,
just on the other side of the gates. A lot
of vendors out here set up and ready to go,
just like we are. Prizes to be won right here
to Ross's right.
Speaker 3: I need to go get some free stuff because I'm
getting hungry. I'm just saying, all right, anyways, Yes, Astros
fan Fest Spectacular. It is meet Ross vir Reale, Adam Plant,
Adam Wetser with you folks. O phone lines are open
at AH. That's what happened. My WiFi went down. Seven
one three two one two five seven ninety is the
phone number if you would like to get in. Seven
one three two one two five seven ninety Adam Clinton.
Speaker 2: What don't you get?
Speaker 5: Well, you guys know my affinity for Jeff Passen and
others at the Four Letter Network, And by affinity and love,
I mean I despise them and they ate my skin crawl.
Speaker 2: Here's my thing.
Speaker 5: I like, if you want to pick the Yankees to
do well this season, I'm not gonna fault you for that.
I mean, they certainly have a lineup and a guy
in that lineup that can put up crooked numbers with
the best of them, provided it's not a high octane,
high leverage situation, especially with like a World Baseball Classic
on the line or just anything in October.
Speaker 2: But why why?
Speaker 5: What I don't get is why so many people are
a picking the Yankees just to I'm just talking about
the Al East. Forget the World Series, which is just dumb,
or even getting to the ALC, like, let's just talk
about their division and wex and I talked to him
a little bit about this yesterday because because I said,
my thing was, everybody is ignoring a team that was
two outs away from winning the World Series against the
vaunted Dodgers. I might add, and yeah, they've lost some
parts to that team, but they've also gained some pieces
this offseason, and to the.
Speaker 2: Best of my knowledge, they haven't forgotten how to play baseball.
Speaker 5: But yet here we are talking about, Well, we're just
gonna assume that once Garrett calls back, he's gonna be
the menace that he was. He's never been as good
as he's been in Houston, by the way, as a Yankee,
he's been good. He's even I think he want to
cy young since leading, Yes, he did, But I've always
thought his nastiest years were here in Houston.
Speaker 2: I think we would all you could at least make
a strong argument for that. Yes, and it's true.
Speaker 5: Carlos Redon like every year he's hurt, and if he
is healthy, he'll get hurt. And if he gets hurt
and comes back, he's gonna get hurt again.
Speaker 2: Well, that's two fifths of.
Speaker 5: Your starting rotation that's supposedly just gonna just boat.
Speaker 2: Race the entire Al East.
Speaker 5: And again, like I'm not saying Boston's this world beater,
but like I don't think Jeff Passing and a lot
of these people at like the Four Letter Network for example,
in this article and others, because I've seen in other places,
I just don't they just pencil in the Yankees like
it's just automatic this year.
Speaker 2: And I don't get that.
Speaker 5: Because I think that the Al East, and you haven't
even talked about Baltimore. I know they feel like what
we used to say. I would say every year, Oh
the Blue Jays, I think they're gonna be good this year,
and then they would inevitably disappoint me. Last year is
the first year they really kind of fulfilled that promise
of the talent they had, and Vlad was just out
of this world. We've been talking about the Riols like
that for a long long time. Obviously, Jeff Luno's lieutenants
are running it up there, and they just haven't had
the same results from their young prospects that have come up,
at least not as as well as the Astros did.
But I just feel like the Al East in general
because of this, and they Tampa like there's it's gonna
be a little bit more competitive than just ah, the
Yankees got to put him in.
Speaker 2: What is it about the Yankees.
Speaker 5: That's so overwhelmingly spectacular other than just saying, you know,
this could be like two or three horse race in
the AL East?
Speaker 2: And what instead?
Speaker 3: What is it Theyer is gonna be like they led
the league in runs last year? Okay, their lineup is
gonna be really good and their rotation.
Speaker 2: Should be better. Did they win the AL East last year?
Speaker 6: They tied for first but did not win the division
a tiebreaker. Okay, But and.
Speaker 5: Again, it's kind of like the AO West that are
also yeah, well one one game. I just feel like
it's a lot like the AO West in that way.
I just think that it's going to be a very
very tight race and it's might not even be determined
until the final few weeks or days of the season.
Speaker 6: Maybe we could direct you to another sports entity. Okay,
I don't know what all of the ESPN ers have
to say, obviously, I know what Jeff has to say.
Just five randos over at CBS Sports their Major League
Baseball predictions, three different division champions, one for the Red Sox,
three for the Blue Jays, and one for the Yankees.
Five picks, three different teams. They all think the Yankees
will make the playoffs. Obviously, the others that didn't pick
him to win the division as a wild card team.
But I think that's more representative of everything you just described,
and I think the most people. Maybe it is an
ESPN thing, maybe it's just whatever, but I don't think
everybody considers the Yankees' favorites, even they're one of the
best teams in the American League East, which I think
most people expect to be hyper competitive between at least
those three teams.
Speaker 2: And ESPN knows it's not in bed with Major League
Baseball anymore.
Speaker 6: Right, They're on the edge of the bed with two
dogs sleeping in between them and the other people.
Speaker 5: There's no sexual activities happening, right, Sorry, Gardy, Sorry Gordy.
Speaker 2: Sorry.
Speaker 6: The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays all could
win that division. I think that's a totally reasonable pick
that anybody should make. And I'll add they all agree
the race will finish fifth.
Speaker 5: All agree the Red Sox is gonna surprise people this year.
Speaker 6: They better find some offense, and they have to count
on a lot of young players both on the mound
and in the field.
Speaker 2: At least they don't have Est soch Perettis that was
the rumor for a while. That's the rouma well.
Speaker 5: For a long long time. That was going to be
the dance partner in a trade if.
Speaker 2: They don't have Alex Bregmant. That's true, Chicago has him.
Speaker 6: I think the big loss that it was for Houston
is the same big loss it will be for.
Speaker 2: Boston in the clubhouse, more so in the.
Speaker 6: Club in the pitchers, meetings, on the field, calling pitch,
it everything, everything, everything, arguably the most important player in
Major League Baseball to have on your team for all
of the reasons. I'm not saying he's better than show
He or several others, but as a member of your roster,
I don't think anyone carries more value.
Speaker 5: You think they the Astros would find a way to
fit him into the infield glood if he was still here.
Speaker 6: Wex oh, they would find a way if he was
willing to accept their contract offer.
Speaker 3: Okay, time for a break here as the Matt Thomas
Show with Ross without Matt Thomas he was traveling with
the Rockets. He is out today. We are out at
street Fest at Dyke and Park. You guys wanna come
by and say hello with you until two forty pm,
so make sure you swing on by say hi. We've
got some Sports Talk seven ninety giveaways for you. I
know it'll be opening up into just a couple of
minutes when we come back. We will have the news
at noon coming up at twelve thirty Chandler Rome. We'll
say some sarcastic comments and break down Astros like nobody's business.
Speaker 2: So make sure you keep it right here on Sports.
Speaker 3: Talk seven to ninety on the Astros Street Fest Spectacular
is the Matt Thomas Show with.
Speaker 4: Ross spots twelve oh one in h down.
Speaker 3: What's happening now, it's time for lunch, lunch timers, it
is that Thomas Show with Ross without Matt Thomas. It
is the Astros Street Fest Spectacular. It's me Ross Viriel,
it is Adam Weixer, it is Adam Clanton as well.
Speaker 2: And we have been talking all things Astros.
Speaker 3: Opening day, lineup, starting rotation, all that good stuff. Haven't
talked much about the bullpen, but we'll get with that.
We get to that soon. We're going to on deck mode.
At two o'clock, we'll bring you Jeff Blumme. At one thirty.
One o'clock will be Brian McTaggart coming up. At twelve
thirty it will be Chandler Rome. We are in full
baseball mode here and right now we go to an
Astros edition of.
Speaker 2: The News at noon.
Speaker 3: All right, guys, we're gonna gloss over the NBA again
for for a second on the NBA on the News
at noon.
Speaker 2: Let's start with the Astros.
Speaker 3: Opening a day lineup which does not contain, unfortunately, Jeremy
Pania I will read it. You got Jose al Tube
at second base. You have Jordan Alvarez at designated hitter.
East Soak Parades is batting third, at third base, Carlos.
Speaker 2: Korea he is. Is that shortstop.
Speaker 3: Joey lo Berfdo batting fifth. He is in left field.
You have Cam Smith in right field at batting sixth.
Christian Walker is at first base, batting seventh. The Ironer
Diaz is your catcher, batting eighth. Jake Myers in center field,
batting ninth.
Speaker 2: Adam Clinton. How we feeling feeling great? It's I mean
it's opening day. How could you not?
Speaker 5: I feel, like I said, I think the Astros are
probably getting a little bit disrespected based on just the
amount of injuries last season as it pertains to predicting
this division.
Speaker 2: But I have no.
Speaker 5: Problems if you're gonna you're gonna predict that the Mariners
are gonna repeat as division champs, especially with the additions
they made over the over the offseason. I just think
you shouldn't sleep on the Astros being I mean, how
can they not be more healthy, at least even by
by a little bit. You know, it's it's not out
of the question.
Speaker 2: To expect that.
Speaker 5: And if you get that, why wouldn't things be better?
Speaker 2: I think they are gonna be better.
Speaker 3: As mentioned, Jeremy Pania is out of the line up,
even though he is in the opening day roster. Here
is Dana Brown speaking moments ago about Jeremy Pena and
his outlook.
Speaker 7: Yeah, very close.
Speaker 12: I'm gonna get Live today and we'll see how he
feels after today, and he could be an air center
at the Vader So that's why we here him on
a roster age.
Speaker 13: Feels really good son other Live.
Speaker 3: Today, So Dana Brown says, Jeremy Pania is very close.
We have the tweet from Brian McTaggart with the lineup.
Speaker 2: He says, Jeremy Pania.
Speaker 3: Not in the lineup today and will be brought along
slowly to start the year. Dan also of course talking
about some live at bets Jeremy Payne apparently in Sugarland
getting those live at bets wex how we feeling about
his season out look at least the first month of
the year.
Speaker 6: Yeah, they got three key components I would say that
aren't ready to go at the start of the season.
The other two obviously are on the IL with Bennett
Susa and Josh Hater. But I'm a little bit concerned
that about the way that they're doing it. But I
think they are clearly, it seems pretty clearly they're taking
a much bigger perspective on this than the importance of
the first handful of games of the season on Jeremy
Payne's long term success this year. He was one of
the players that missed a bunch of time last year.
Very much like this year. He didn't get hurt pull
a hammy running the bases. There was no collision with
a teammate or at a base He got hit by
a pitch last year in the ribs and that caused
him a ton of time, and then this year he
fielded a ground ball during an exhibition baseball game and
hurt a finger. The good news is the wheels are fine.
The body essentially is also totally fine. So I think
I think he plays during this homestand and that's probably
what I would look at it.
Speaker 2: In that regard.
Speaker 6: The door is still plenty opened for him to give
you one hundred and fifty games this year, which is
probably what we would have expected anyway, especially if there
is no trade. Always have that question for me. If
you got a ten day il stint or a player
who can play in two three days, obviously you leaning
in the direction the Astros did. When that's starting to
push towards four or five days, that means you're less
certain about his return to begin with, So why not
just start him on the iel.
Speaker 3: And that's what leads me to what we were talking
about earlier as well.
Speaker 2: I mean, how much of.
Speaker 3: This is making it a convene if you have a
problem that is easily solved, in that being the infield
logjam for the Houston Astros.
Speaker 2: Saying hey, go.
Speaker 3: Ahead is let's just say we waved the magic wand
and Esoparatus wasn't on this roster as a fallback plan
for Jeremy Panya. Are the Astros handling this any differently
because they do have that safe backup plan of Esarkaradus.
Speaker 6: I don't like how that sounds, but I think you're
totally right, and I think we'll probably see it at
other times during the year. It's why we didn't make
a move. It's because we believe in all these guys.
It's because we know these guys can all help us
win on any given day, depending on what things look
like health wise, and maybe other reasons why they might
put this guy out there and rest this guy and
try to get everybody as many at bats as possible,
even though there's too many to fill the spots. I
do think that is a consideration for them. I don't
like it because I try to keep it as simple
as possible. He just played baseball in a baseball game
in a Major League baseball stadium. He's he did not
have a setback.
Speaker 2: And now he's play How does he get to sugar Land?
By the way, see Uber down there probably down going.
Is he going? Is he getting to maybe maybe.
Speaker 6: He's negotiating that into his new contract extension that he
will have rides given to and from any ballparks that
aren't Dyke in part.
Speaker 5: I mean again going back to and this probably annoys
me way more than it does WEX the discomfort thing.
Just the way the Astros have handled injuries in the past.
It just it brings itself to having these conversations when
you do something like this. I go back to what
we's just kind of highlighted. If he doesn't play in
that final game in this the other night, we're probably
and then when we get the same information we've gotten right,
then we're not having this conversation. People aren't all up
in arms, and it doesn't highlight how you've been kind
of wishy washy on certain injuries in the past.
Speaker 2: I don't think that's what's happening here.
Speaker 5: It just might not be the most I don't know.
Speaker 6: What good news is for me on all that stuff.
The Astros should not care one bit about that how
it's been in the past, how people think we handle injury.
They should want to get it right, which I'm sure
they wanted to do last year, they just didn't, and
I'm sure they want to do this year with a
slightly different staff of athletic strength and performance crew and
doctors here, and this is what they feel is best internally,
how they feel its best to get the most out
of Jeremy Painey for the season. It's not like they're
sending out a triple A lineup this afternoon against the Angels.
Everybody else is in it. And if again there's no
trade made, We're going to see more days like this,
whether it's due to a player being unavailable or merely
they don't know where to put all of the healthy players.
So probably a little bit of a get used to it,
and the hope is that it is short termed, it
doesn't extend past longer than when you could have had
him on the IL. And we're trying not to make
too much out of what might end up being just
nothing nothing burger sense a something burger, because maybe everything's
just gonna work out. I'm not. I think I've made
it as clear as possible. I'll try one last time.
I don't like when healthy players or players on the
active roster are unavailable. Well, you don't have to worry
about Sazar Salazar this year, maybe I think the Astros
are kind of up a creek if he plays for
someone else's organization, which he is now free to do,
because when Jiner Diez or Christian Vasquez isn't healthy, or
when they're sick and tired of their backup catcher getting
the seven starts a week and hitting one fifty, that
they have to play somebody else. That somebody else is
not Walkeryanick. He's not at Triple A. He's probably not
ready to play major league baseball, and they might want
to let him get the AB's in at this level
before he's ready to play defensively and ready to handle
pitching staff. But it's gonna be some other, not major
league caliber Triple A catcher if this happens.
Speaker 3: That that's what and we're I think I was talking
about this yesterday with Matt. It's kind of one of
the underreported things. I mean, we have been talking about
it because we've been talking so much more about the outfield.
We've been talking so much more about the infield, I mean,
the catcher situation. And Elems Diaz came into camp with
a sprain foot like you're one oh, he's busting it
down the line and reaggravated, re reaggravated his foot spray
to Christian Vasquez is your everyday catcher? And then who
knows what in the in the in the backup, can
Eastock prays play catcher?
Speaker 2: That's what I want to know.
Speaker 3: When's the last time he put the gear on? Because
that seems like a good.
Speaker 2: Option that has a stretch to put him at first base.
Now you've got him catching, Yeah, why not? He does
kind of have that catcher build. Yeah exactly, he's built.
Speaker 3: Yeah, uh yeah, I think you're you're heavy trunks.
Speaker 6: The jokes can continue if you look at the Triple
A roster.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Carlos, so I don't cry from the pain.
Speaker 6: Carlos Perez is on your minor league roster at Triple
A and he's had major league experience. He's is who
next is in line? And then on the path that
ross is going down. There is someone wearing number four
at Triple A and his last name is Bigio and
the last number four Vigio to play for the Astros
was a catcher. Cavin Bigio has accepted that he will
be playing for the Sugar Lance Base Cowboys. He doesn't
put the gear on either. Okay, but if Ross wants
to play the go ahead, Pops, you know what?
Speaker 2: What's uh? You know what? What's Pops? He's pop time.
Let's get him in there for a couple of weeks.
I don't know. I don't think his knees can hang out.
Speaker 6: Top time is undetermined because he would be he would
once he's in that Crouch's get there is no pop time.
Speaker 3: All right, Well, he's not gonna be throwing anybody out.
What a man can dream. I mean that that is
something that we have a million things to get to
that we have been getting to, that we still have
to get to. That we'll be monitoring, and I think
the backup catcher situation.
Speaker 2: Certainly will be one of them.
Speaker 3: All right, Time for a break here on Sports Talk
ninety The Matt Thomas Show with Ross but without Matt Thomas,
Adam Wexer, Adam Clanton. It is our Astros Street Fest
Spectacular with you until two forty pm. We'll be back
and we will address two of the pictures we haven't
talked much about throughout this program.
Speaker 2: We'll get to those next.
Speaker 3: I want Adam and Adam's opinion here on Sports Talk
seven ninety.
Speaker 2: I mean sig voice Man's kind of right. Matt Thomas
is not here. It is the Matt Thomas Show with
Ross he is.
Speaker 3: You know, I think I think I've made it to declaration,
very last segment of this show before we go into
on Deck full Astros Motor two o'clock, very last segment.
It'll be like an airing of grievances with the Rockets.
We can go there and we can all just scream
into the microphone for an entire segment. But Adam Wexler
is here, Adam Clanton is here. I am here, Ros Viria.
We are at street Fest for opening.
Speaker 2: Day and your use in Astros.
Speaker 3: Three tiny ten first pitch. We'll go to on Deck
mode at two o'clock.
Speaker 2: We'll be with you until then.
Speaker 3: Phone lines open at seven one three two one two
five seven ninety.
Speaker 2: Of course, it's a long show.
Speaker 3: We can rehash a lot of the stuff that we
get to, but we haven't spent a whole lot of time.
Speaker 2: We know Hunter Brown is your ace. We're feeling good
about that.
Speaker 3: Let's just talk about two keys, the newcomers, especially how
we're expecting them to perform. I'm feeling really good about
both of them. Talking about Mike Burrows in the two
spot of the rotation and then Tatsuya Emi in the
four spot. Uh wex When you saw how they were
slotted in the rotation with the season coming up, your reaction,
and then how are we feeling about specifically, especially those
two starting pitchers.
Speaker 6: Not real surprised about Emi being fourth, even though I
think he's probably their second best pitcher, probably has the
second best stuff. I think a lot of it is
the familiarity with how things go in the Major leagues
versus how familiar he is with how things were going
where he was playing pitching every six day instead of
every fifth day working on his regimen, versus getting in
tune with with what's happening here. It's just a matter
of time and the All Star break will come, or
other injuries will happen, or off days will have a
guy bumped for the six man. There's so many things
that will change. There's a point in time where I
do think your top three pitchers will be pitching in
succession before you arrive for a potential postseason game with Brown,
em I and Burrows.
Speaker 2: Rather you're setting the playoff rotation already. I like this.
Speaker 6: I mean, I think there's no doubt we could ask
all these questions, how are you feeling about Hobby, how
you feel about Lands, et cetera, et cetera. I think
there's a there's a cutoff. There's these three pitchers and
then there's everybody else they have as a potential starter.
I think the confidence level for em, Mike Burrows and
Hunter Brown is just at a totally different level than
everybody else. And with the lack of major league experience
for both of them, obviously Emi major league rookie, and
Burrows still he has. He hasn't even thrown a hundred
major league pitches or one hundred major league innings yet
very very brief work one game in twenty twenty four,
and last year he made nineteen starts. That's it. And
now he's a pillar, a nice building block, a front
end of the rotation started for you. And I'm not
worried at all. I think they're in a really good
spot with him. I think the Pirates would have loved
to keep him. I think he would have been slotted
in probably three behind today's pitcher for the Pirates and
their game underway now. Paul skeens, but he's a front
end of the rotation. Arsenal is what it looked like
when he was there. And then you add the possibility
of harnessing some of his stuff here, which kind of
looked like it was already underway. I'm not sure how
many people heard the story relayed from a different person
about it was Steve Spark. He was on with our
morning show, The Morning Drive with Dan and Cole, and
he talked about how Mike Burrows was helped by former
Astros pitching coach Brent Stromp, who was with him in Pittsburgh, said,
if he was willing to experiment with a new armslot,
he thought maybe there was more for him to get
out of his arsenal and maybe a little bit more zip,
a little bit more pop, a little bit more bite.
And so he said, if you want to try to
go ahead, and if it works for you, it does,
if doesn't, you obviously been doing it this way, then
then Jesus keep doing it. We want to put you
in the best spot possible. And he found a little
bit better slot where he felt like the ball was
exploding out of his arm. The ball was just doing
things that he hadn't been able to do before. So
it elevated an already very good pitcher to the one
that sits in an Astro's uniform now.
Speaker 5: Well, So EMI's situation, notwithstanding the fact that they put
him in that second slot in the rotation, should tell
you that the Astros agree with Wex as far as
that's They're feeling very good about not only what he
has done, but what he will do. And I mean
Brent Strom's no longer here, But what are the Astros
known for during this run is their pitching staff, whomever
has been on it, by the way, unlocking the best
version of you if you throw the baseball in any capacity,
whether that be as a starter, a relief guy, or
a closer. They have made guys that are already good
or maybe haven't tapped their potential, become great. And they've
made a habit of it for a long time doing that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what it brings me to kind of
we brush on this earlier really with the wind total
is is.
Speaker 2: Am I just being a homer or is everyone else
missing this?
Speaker 3: And we are here in Houston and we know this
because that's absolutely what I'm thinking as well. You bring
pitchers into here and those guys are going to be successful.
Speaker 2: We kind of mentioned some of the names from.
Speaker 3: Last year, the Colton Gordon's, the Ryan Gustos, the guys
the Jason Alexander's who came out of nowhere and gave
you great innings. And now you're going with guys with
track records, with more pedigree as well, and you're allowing
them to come with it with the Astros pitching's brains.
Speaker 5: Do you want to really feed into the narrative? Where
was Garrett Cole before he got to the Astros?
Speaker 2: Absolutely the same thing, and where has he been since?
As you mentioned, he's been good. You want to saw young,
but he hasn't been as dominated as was and he
came from Visburg like a spider tack.
Speaker 3: Excuse me, I don't know if you want to use
that as possible The reasons gets, Yeah, things got sticky
over here, and he was great and he was dominant.
But you come over here, you're going to be successful,
and especially from a pitching standpoint. Now you also might
get some elbow discomfort at some point, but before.
Speaker 2: That happens, you're going to be successful.
Speaker 3: And so you know, our friends over Fan Grafts has
the Astros of the seventeenth best rotation in baseball.
Speaker 2: The Athletic has the Astros at eighteenth.
Speaker 3: And I'm not saying they're gonna be you know, the
the uh like an all time the nineties Braves or
something like that, but I feel like they're going to
be in.
Speaker 2: A pretty good spot. Couldn't agree more.
Speaker 3: All right, Chandler Rome is waiting patiently, and he is
such a big dog we cannot.
Speaker 2: Make him wait anymore. He's he's he's tapping his watch.
Speaker 3: So we gotta go ahead and get to a quick
break here because the superstar himself is here. Chandler Roam
joining us Astros Street Fest Spectacular here on Sports Talk
seven ninety with you until two o'clock and right.
Speaker 2: Back with Chandler Rome twelve thirty pm.
Speaker 3: Here on Sports Talk seven ninety It is the Matt
Timas Show with Ross from Astros. You can cheered, It's okay, yeah,
Astros Street Fest till two o'clock, at which point we
will go into Astros on Deck Mode. Matt Thomas out,
Adam Weser is here, Adam Clanton is here, and their
regular weekly guest, Uh what time what day today?
Speaker 6: Usually Friday, five o'clock.
Speaker 3: Usually Friday's usually five o'clock. Chandler Rome of the Athletic
covering the Astros for a long time. Chandler, I know
you're nobody is more excited for Opening Day than you.
Speaker 12: Oh, I'm called this is great. I love them. I
do like Opening Day. Opening Day is awesome. I think
there's a little too much. Uh, there's a little too
much scrutiny on it'll be there'd be too much scrutiny
on the game, regardless of outcome. There's too much scrutiny
on the opening day roster because it'll look different in
three days.
Speaker 7: But the pop in the circumstance is fun.
Speaker 2: I like it. Yeah, well that brings us to the
opening day raw in I get.
Speaker 3: I guess as we call it in the radio business
topic A today, Jeremy.
Speaker 2: Pagna not in the lineup.
Speaker 3: Esock Paratus is also not on the IL, so that
tells us Jeremy Pania probably pretty close and something we
were talking about earlier. And we can get delve into
some other things in a minute. But how much of
this is okay? Jeremy Paye is not ready to go,
and how much of this is okay? We have a
great backup plan in estock paratus as well, so we
can kind of treat Jeremy Pania more with kid gloves
because of the great backup plan.
Speaker 2: Slash a log game.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 12: You know, Jeremy Payne, you said in spring training that
he wanted to play one hundred and sixty two games,
so it's obviously this is not part of his plan.
I think there were probably some some conversations out were
had that were like, look, we can do it this
way to appease all involved, because look, Jeremy Payne wants
to be out there. He wants to playe hundred and
sixty two games. He's arbitration eligible again this winter. How
do you get money and arbitration? You're available, you accumulate stats,
and we play every day. I think the fact that
he is not on the IL and the fact that
he is in Sugarland as we speak, taking some live
that that's a constantution field shows you how close he is.
I would imagine he plays at some point in this series.
But I will say this, like the guy they're facing
to day, who's a Sriano, he throws a hundred he throws.
It's one hundred mile an hour sinker coming in on
a right handed hitter. I don't think that's the ideal
matchup you want for a guy that is coming off
of a finger injury, a guy who's gonna run one
hundred miles an hour inside on you. So, yeah, they
have a good backup plane. They were able to get
ysoc paratus in the lineup today. I don't know how
much you're going to be able to do that going forward,
but today they were able to do it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, there's so many different things we could ask, like,
is there a big concern level here, a big concern
level there? I think we could spend the rest of
the show on it. Let's go the complete opposite direction.
What's the area of least concern or player of least concern,
someone you really expect he's gonna match or exceed expectations.
Speaker 12: I'll say, I mean jord And Alvarez is kind of
the guy that pops in the mind. I mean just
when he's been on the field the last three or
four years, he's been one of the best hitters in baseball,
and you know, last year there was just some freak occurrences.
He sprained his ankle scoring from second base. He had
a medical staff that completely mismanaged his diagnosis and everything
about the hand fracture.
Speaker 7: So they've fixed that.
Speaker 12: You know, if they keep him on the field, I
think this can be a guy that can single handedly
carry this team to where it needs to be. But
I think the other thing, and it's probably doesn't jive
with kind of the national public stuff that you're reading,
Like I feel very good about this rotation, Like I
just I do, and I understand why the public kind
of national metrics don't love them, because tatsuoa Emi is
an unknown. Mike Burrows, for how good he was in
spring training, he has only thrown ninety big league innings.
Speaker 7: Christian Hobbier has not been good.
Speaker 12: I mean he's not been on the field, and when
he has on the field, he hasn't been good the
past two years.
Speaker 7: So I get where the skepticism comes from.
Speaker 12: But the depth that they have accrued and watching how
these guys pitched in spring training, I feel pretty good
about this rotation, maybe better than the outside pundits that
don't watch his team daily field.
Speaker 5: Well, Mike Burrows, you kind of stall my bender because
that's where I wanted to go next. If if Hunter
Brown is the pitching version of a guy you don't
have to worry about. And I know that what they're
wanting to do with Emi factored into the fact that
he's going to be your number two guy in the
rotation at least for the start of the season. They've
got to have They still have to have a lot
of confidence in him.
Speaker 7: Oh, Mike Burrows.
Speaker 12: Yes, I mean, and he exceeded every expectation they had
for him in spring training.
Speaker 7: He's throwing the slider to lefties.
Speaker 12: The four seam had more, It was a little heavier
and had more effectiveness than they thought it would be.
Speaker 7: The change up's his best pitch, Like.
Speaker 12: The change up is his calling card and he's gonna
throw that to both rioties and lefties.
Speaker 7: They like it a lot. They working with him. Stop
me if you've heard this before.
Speaker 12: The ass are working with him on a sinker to
throw a sinker more to right handed hitters.
Speaker 7: Look, Mike Burrow is going to be crucial to what
they do.
Speaker 12: But kind of going off topic, like, I think Christian
Hobber has got to be the guy that I think
Christian Hobbier is the X factor for this team for
no other reason that you have seen him in an
asher's uniform be a high end number two starter. He
has done it before. You haven't seen Mike Burrows do
that before. You haven't seen touch E in an MLB
game before. Christian Aavier has shown you when he is
at his best, he can be a number two starter.
I think if they get him back.
Speaker 7: To that level, that just raises the floor and the
ceiling for this team.
Speaker 6: Let me ask you a quick question about Emi. You
were there at spring training, A couple of stops been
here the last couple of days, and we've heard from
multiple different players the same idea about Emi, even though
he's communicating with them through a translator. They all seem
to love him, love his personality, love what he brings
to the table, his charisman, all these other things. How
is E my doing that? And how are they Obviously
they're responding exceptionally well to just having this presence in
this person. Do who they seem to like a lot
in their clubhouse?
Speaker 12: Well, I mean Tetsu He's not gonna do interviews in English,
but tatsu Imai his English is decent, Like he can
communicate with his teammates maybe that you're not going to
see him speak English publicly, but in the clubhouse he
can do that, so that's helped. And he's an outgoing personality.
He's kind of a free spirit, kind of a you know,
you see a lot of Japanese players, and I don't
want to paint with a broad brush, but I've heard
of Otani and Yamamoto and guys that are pretty reserved,
pretty to themselves. They don't they don't really have a
ton of personality like Tatsuya. Imai is completely different. Tatsu
IMA's got a lot of personality. He has really endeared
himself well to the clubhouse. Now he sells to go
out there and pitch. He sells to go out there
and pitch well. But I think you know this has
been it was spring training was like a six week
kind of crash course into learning him. You know, they're
letting him dictate a lot of his schedule. They're letting
him dictate a lot of when he pitches, what he's
going to do before he pitches.
Speaker 7: Because the Ashers, this is all new for the Ashers too.
Speaker 12: They've never had a a player, much less a pitcher
come over straight from NPB. So this is this is
a totally different thing for them, but they're learning on
the fly, and in spring training it went well.
Speaker 2: Chance personality surpassed Christian Walker's.
Speaker 7: I like, Christian Walker is a great guy, a great,
great person.
Speaker 2: I'm ticking on him, I'm picking great well.
Speaker 3: Actually brings me to my question with Chandler Rome, with
the Athletic Hero with us on Sports Talk seven ninety
is we saw maybe it was oblique stuff and he
had a better second half Christian Walker, but not only
just him, Jose L two Ve, Carlos Perea. I mean,
even if we weren't talking about a logjam, we'd be
kind of wondering, like, what about these guys who are
hitting into their mid to late thirties some of them,
and the potential for some decline from from those types
of guys who you're you're kind of counting on.
Speaker 2: Especially if you do end up making a trade.
Speaker 12: Yeah, I put I put little stock in spring training
stats in any event, but it didn't help the narrative
that Christian Walker and Joseel Tuva were not good in
spring training their results or not good, but these guys
were working on time and Christian Walker was working on
like eight different things with his load with maybe experien
me with a toe tap, not toe tapping. Al Twove
was doing some different stuff, so like he can't put
stock in spring stats. But it's I mean, it's not
a secret, like they need these guys to hit, Like
they don't need Christian Walker to carry the lineup, but
he can't have a five fifty.
Speaker 7: Ops or whatever he had in the first half of
last year. Jose al twov is gonna be a big
part of what they do.
Speaker 12: He's gonna hit third, fourth, second the lineup, depending on
the day.
Speaker 7: He's gonna get a lot of at bats.
Speaker 12: And I mean he's one of the best players in
franchise history. Is he at peak al two A levels?
Probably not anymore. H comes for us all, but I
wouldn't doubt the guy, Like he's one of the few
people I'd ever doubt about this. So look these guys,
I think what would help a lot, What would help
this whole conversation and is if Cam Smith shows what
he showed in spring training, if Jeremy Pagna backs up
last season with what he did with what he does
this season, if you see some of these young guys,
even Bryce Matthews when they can get him out there
if he can kind of show that upside.
Speaker 7: This is the year where they.
Speaker 12: Need the next pieces of the next Astros corps. Whether
it's Cam Smith, whether it's Jeremy Pagna he's only here
for two more years, but it's Cam Smith, It's Jordan
Alvarez who's here for a little while, it's Mike Burrows
who has six years a team control left. Like they
need these guys to kind of start announcing their presence
to help supplement what is.
Speaker 7: An otherwise pretty aging position player group.
Speaker 6: Does Carlos Correa play a role in two of those
players you mentioned their progress their development, specifically Cam Smith,
who shares a lot of similarities body type, and obviously
Bryce Matthews. Does Carlos Correa play a role in their futures?
Speaker 12: Carlos Carea plays a role in everybody's like he is
I mean it's a cliche, but like he's he's another
coach on the field, like he's he is the he's
l hefe in the clubhouse.
Speaker 7: He is like unquestionably the leader of this team.
Speaker 12: You know, there's a bregman like effect with him in
terms of he can go to other players and you know,
mentor them, tell them what they're doing wrong, like be
there to help you a sounding board. Without a shadow
of a doubt, Carlos Korea's impact on this team is
going to be felt far more than what he does
at third base.
Speaker 7: Or shortstop it in the matters box.
Speaker 5: How much better did the Mariners get those two teams
in relation to contending for the AO West.
Speaker 12: Well, the Mariners they're a lot better. They got a
guy that the Astros wanted. The Astros were very, very
heavy in their pursuit of Brendan Donovan, who would have
fit in perfectly on this roster. He'd probably been in
left field today, left handed hitter, puts the ball in play,
doesn't strike out. It's what the Mariners needed. Now you
know the Mariner they're starting out. JP Crawford's on the IL,
so they're gonna Bryce Miller's on the IL, so they've
I don't think it's a stretch to say if you
look at the two rosters, and Mariners probably do have
a better roster than the Astros. But how often do
you how often in baseball does the best team win?
How often in baseball does the best team win the
World Series?
Speaker 8: Us?
Speaker 2: How much is the beef between Cal Raley and Randy A. Roseorina.
Speaker 12: Do you want a hot take, I don't think Randy
Roseraino is on that team at the deadline.
Speaker 7: I don't think he's on that.
Speaker 2: They trade it for him at the deadline.
Speaker 7: Well, sure they can trade him again.
Speaker 2: No, I know that's that's that surprises me.
Speaker 12: Randy Rose Raina's makeup has long been questioned.
Speaker 7: And I think you're seeing it.
Speaker 2: He's had a manifest from.
Speaker 7: No I think Randy from what I.
Speaker 12: Understand from people, from other people that have been around
Randy rose arena, he gets Randy's way or no way.
He's very uh individual, He's he's he doesn't really like
and if you even watch like if you watch some
of the Mariners games last year, like he'd be he'd
be trying to steal bases and counts where you just
you're hanging a teammate out to dry. They'd be in
a situation shouldn't where he'd be like he'd died for
a ball when you shouldn't die.
Speaker 7: Like the games, like, he.
Speaker 12: Doesn't really have a team aspect. So that's a hot
take for me that I don't think Randy Roserain is
on that team, which.
Speaker 2: Al I like it.
Speaker 12: I hope he implodes that club now now I say that,
and they'll probably trade Grandy Rose Rainer for a player
that can help them. It's not gonna be like a
df face. It's not gonna be like a DFA situation.
Speaker 5: Now that their GM has started to do things and
he knows that he can do things.
Speaker 12: Oh, Jerry Depoto's he's the last person that's not doing
things that trades more than anybody.
Speaker 2: It felt like for so long they just well that
was an ownership that was an ownership problem.
Speaker 3: All right, all right, well Crystal Ball you had the
hot take, So I guess we have to do the
obligatory season Outlook, how you kind of see it.
Speaker 2: Feels like there are a wider range.
Speaker 3: Of outcomes more than normal for the Astros, especially when
you put it against what happened with the injuries last year.
I mean, just what gut feeling about how this season
playing out for you?
Speaker 7: Like it's a do gut feeling?
Speaker 2: Yes, I look at that.
Speaker 12: First of all, do you think they translated Ackerman's call
last night into Italian for they to the ambassador to Italy?
Speaker 2: Wait, we did this whole segment and you do that
just off. I know what you're talking about. Houston Rockets,
never heard of them good.
Speaker 12: It sounds like Tillman hasn't either, or rafel Stone, who
like ended.
Speaker 2: The You know, I think.
Speaker 7: It's tough for me right now.
Speaker 12: Like I said, looking at the rosters on paper, I
would probably pick the Mariners to win the division. I
do think the Astors are a playoff team. I think
they have. I think they have the capabilities. I think
they have the rotation depth. I think they have the
top end lineup talent to be a playoff team.
Speaker 7: If they stay healthy. They have to stay healthy, they
have to stay healthy. The pitching, if it holds up
the way it can.
Speaker 12: I think this is a team that makes a wild
card and you know what you get in the playoffs.
And if this rotation goes like we think it's going
to go, you get into the playoffs and you have
a one two three of Hunter Brown, Mike Burrows, and
tatsuoa Emi, and if Christian Hobbier comes back to form,
you run those four guys out in the playoff series.
There's very few in the AL that are gonna be better.
So can they win the Division.
Speaker 7: Yes, I think they can.
Speaker 12: I just right now I don't think their roster is
on par with the Marrigers.
Speaker 7: But we'll see how it goes. It's baseball. That's why
they play the game. That's why they play one hundred
sixty two.
Speaker 2: Now, say the Rangers suck.
Speaker 7: I'm not gonna say that.
Speaker 2: Come on, say it for all the fans.
Speaker 7: Hey, you're not gonna say that.
Speaker 6: I'm there, Say.
Speaker 2: There's my dog.
Speaker 7: I'm not gonna say that.
Speaker 2: All right, thanks for the time, Channel, Thank you.
Speaker 3: You will be talking not with me, but with Adam
Wexler and Adam Planting throughout the season.
Speaker 2: On the A team. But right now, this is the
Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 3: It is the street Fest Opening Day Spectacular here on
Sports Talk seven ninety with you until two forty. Thanks Steven,
Thanks Steven or Frank, whatever you want to call him.
Speaker 2: Guess what what Paul Skins is human?
Speaker 3: Well, he's also having O'Neal Cruz apparently is having some
adventures out on the field.
Speaker 6: But go ahead, so weird two games, not even two
full games into the season. Yeah, Logan web destroyed. Pal
Skein's not looking good. They have in common they both
pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic into
the season.
Speaker 2: That's true. And Logan Webb, he's probably still reeling from
losing to Michael B. Jordan at the Oscars.
Speaker 6: What was Jesse up for.
Speaker 2: Best Actor? I believe are you really you?
Speaker 6: You think Michael B was a proper winner?
Speaker 2: Though?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think he was good. I liked Timothy Challomaye,
Marty Supreme. I would have ranked. I probably would have
went Shall mate Jordan DiCaprio.
Speaker 6: But I don't know if splitting Hairs asking you would
you have the most knowledge of the ten nominated Best
Picture Award film our staff.
Speaker 3: I probably saw half of them, all right, I saw
not of them. Okay, Matt is at zero, I'm sure zero.
I think Jonathan Allen might be up there.
Speaker 2: I don't know how many how many of the Best
Picture nominees did you watch? Jonathan? Uh? All of them
from this year? I wats hand me? Uh?
Speaker 10: Oh?
Speaker 7: All of them?
Speaker 2: There you go? It was like ten Jonathan's our movie
buff Why.
Speaker 5: Did they nominate like twenty movies for Best Picture?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 2: Man? I was suppose to that.
Speaker 3: Well, there was something I wanted to have some pointy
discussion with Jonathan about a movie, and then I forgot
I was gonna come in there one break and this
was like weeks ago, and I don't.
Speaker 6: I just remember every other day is not Opening Day.
I'm sure you'll find that's fine.
Speaker 2: All right, we got Opening Day here.
Speaker 3: It is Adam Wexler, Adam Clanton, Ross VIIa with you
here on Sports Talk seven ninety until two forty pm.
We'll go into Ashros on Deck Moode coming up at
two o'clock. We have Brian mctagger coming up at one,
and we've just been talking all things Astros opening Day
as we've been covering a number of different topics. Uh,
and just had Chandler Roman. Great conversation with him as well.
I'm glad he said. We were all kind of thinking,
as I said, we have the Fangrafts with the rotation
at seventeenth, athletic prediction eighteenth, it's.
Speaker 2: Just gonna be better.
Speaker 3: I mean, you bring guys over here to the Astros,
the pitching train, brain trust is going to figure things out.
And I thought it was interesting what he said about
an X factor of Christian Javier and how important he's
going to be to the Astro success.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Look I hope, I hope we get that guy back.
I hope it's this season.
Speaker 5: I hope, you know, coming back, coming back in the
middle of the year from that injury, and that kind
of thing is so difficult no matter where you're at
in your recovery, it's just not the same as having
a full spring, going through the regular off season and
kind of building it not just the confidence in your
in your physical self, but the mental confidence or you're
starting on the same page with everybody else and and
see where you go from there. And I'm hoping that
that's kind of like the final key to unlocking the
artist formerly known as Christian hobby, a no hitting, dominating,
filthy hell, repteel, all the nicknames for that game.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's hard not to talk glowingly about the pitching
staff starting pitching staff without acknowledging clear unknowns every spot
after one. But as you heard from Chandler and I
think you've heard from us throughout the week and again today,
I think there's a tremendous amount of optimism that that
group of pitchers they have in this staff starting the
season air getting likely included in that group. There should
be reason to believe that they can keep this team
in games all throughout the season. They can keep this
team in position to not fall into these streaks of ls.
That's what they really need to avoid. I can't tell
you they're gonna get off to a great start this year,
but I do think they are in a position where, Okay,
they lost this game. They lost this game. It's not
a three and a four and a five game losing streaks.
Because they've gotten this pattern of not getting good starts
consecutively over and over and over again. I think at
the very least, that's that's a kind of a bottom
shelf that I think they can rely on with the
group that they have.
Speaker 3: It's not only Yeah who they have, and we've talked
about this as well, it's the backup plan. These these
Spencer Arraghetty, the the Jason Alexander, the Ryan Weiss to whoever.
Speaker 2: It may end up being.
Speaker 3: Aj Blueball is a guy that started to come around
towards the end of the season. So I'm feeling really
good and that's just gonna be the pillar of this team.
If that's how they kind of wanted to win last
year until all the injuries happened. Is you're gonna win
with pitching, You're unfortunately gonna end up I think with
a lineup that's not gonna be top five in baseball
and run scored or ops, you're gonna end up with
a lot of high leverage innings again, which also brings
me to the bullpen. With Josh haterout, we don't know
how long Brian to bray You and and all of
the guys behind them. I think we are just gonna
see a lot of high leverage usage from these guys.
Speaker 2: And we've seen that from Brian to bray You in
the past.
Speaker 3: He's shown no signs of slowing down, so hopefully that
continues to where what was it two years ago?
Speaker 2: I think he was like eighty one games he pitched.
Speaker 3: It was somewhere in the mid seventies last year, and
you're probably gonna see something like that again with the
usage of Brian A Brave.
Speaker 2: It was like a James Harden of the Astros. Oh.
Speaker 6: Look, he's working on an unfortunate fourth consecutive seventy innings
season out of the bullpen. That's a lot of innings.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a lot of use.
Speaker 6: We know how often he gets hot in the pen
and those are days that we don't count that he
pitches when he doesn't ultimately enter the game. I wish
I didn't. I didn't see it this way, and maybe
I'll turn out to be wrong. I think the loss
of Bennett Sussa is actually large.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 6: I think the way he loves the and the way
he stepped into an additional leverage role when Josh Haterer
was down, when there were days where Brian Abrady was down,
you felt like he has he has swinging missed up,
he throws hard, he's hard to pick up the ball
out of his arm slot, and he's in of all
the players that are currently unhealthy and currently on the il,
his situation is very much unknown. I'm not sure how
much astros know about how long this is going to take.
But a fifteen ail stitch again, it always should be
pointed out that's not usually relative to the length of
time a pitcher is going to be away, you know,
Josh hater Maybe we'll start facing hitters mid April. According
to Dana Brown earlier today, I don't think Bennett Sussa
is doing anything like that, at least until May, if
not longer. I really don't know that for certain, but
Brian King, Stephen Oker, Brian Orau as we get into
the season, man, I think there's a lot of pressure
on them to handle their business with essentially everybody else
in the bullpen being a new arm.
Speaker 2: All right, we're about time to we gotta do the thing,
don't we. Yeah, let's go ahead and do that. Sorry,
I was supposed to remind this is on me, folks,
I gotta do better. I was supposed to remind Brian
mcaggert about his interview about ten minutes ago.
Speaker 3: We got him now, Yeah he can move.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, he saw a surprise.
Speaker 2: I say, you know what a true professional. I just
texted him as reminder ten minutes later. He's here anyways, Okay.
Speaker 3: He is coming up next year on Sports Talk seven
ninety and the Astros Street Fest Spectacular with Me Rosby Real,
Adam Wexler and Adam Klan and the.
Speaker 2: Superstar himself, Brian McTaggart.
Speaker 3: Coming up next here on Sports Talk seven ninety is
the Matt Thomas Show with.
Speaker 4: Ross one o'clock straight up here on Sports Talk seven
and ninety, Hello and welcome into our number four.
Speaker 3: Of the Astros Street Fest Spectacular. It is the Matt
Thomas Show with Ross without Matt Thomas.
Speaker 2: With Adam Wexler, with Adam Planton and now with Brian McTaggart.
I'm not trying to aid you, attacker, but what do
you do? You know what number opening day this is
for you? Uh, twenty something, twenty three? Okay, four, So
that's pretty good. You kind of know your stuff, I hope.
Speaker 3: So we'll see it all right, So a number of
different directions to go go ahead and start with the
somewhat news of the day.
Speaker 2: Jeremy Panyon not in the lineup.
Speaker 3: You tweeted out with that that their astros are expected
to sort of bring him along slowly. How do you
expect that to play out? We know that he got
some live action in Sugarland today. Yeah, I think within
like a week he's probably going to be in the
lineup every day. It was either have him start three
or four games here the first week or not have
him at all available, you know, through the first you know,
seven eight games, however, long when the ile stint would end.
So they just decided he was close enough to we'll
carry him, and hey, they have an extra infielder, so why.
Speaker 6: Not they have an extra infielder. Another long running off
season storyline, Carl's Kurreic like shortstop today obviously, did you
feel like he was able to do all the things
as a leader when he arrived here last year versus
the things we kind of expect him to now do
being here through the off season, all through spring training,
et cetera.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I think so. I mean they had a massive
void in leadership. I think after some guys left, like
Maldonado and Bregmant. I mean, al Tuovey is really not
interested in being that type of leader. I mean, obviously
he did his leadings on the field, but they needed
that voice to come back, and he stepped in right away,
and he got them to change some things in the
spring about how they go about their workouts to try
to keep the guys fresher. He had, you know, he
talked with some of the players about nutrition, watching what
they eat. He eats really clean, really healthy, and he
wants the other guys to do the same. So back
at shortstop, but he looked really good at third base
two in the spring, so it's a good thing for
the Astros to be able to put him at.
Speaker 5: Short I feel like this is overly simplistic, But I
don't care because I went through last season like you did.
If the Astros are healthy, isn't that good enough for
like X amount of wins?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 10: Yeah, I think people I see the Astros as a
middle of the pack people ranking the middle of the
pack or lower. I mean last year they had a
devastating amount of injuries and missed the playoffs by one game.
I mean, if Jordan Alvarez is healthy the entire season,
I think they win the division. They still led the
division for more than ninety days last year despite their injuries, So.
Speaker 2: That's the number one thing.
Speaker 10: I think this roster is a playoff roster if they
can stay healthy. They need Jordan on to play one
hundred and thirty hundred and forty games.
Speaker 2: They need payn you to be.
Speaker 10: On the field every day, and they need they need
guys like Cam Smith and Zach Cole to the young
guys to take a step forward a little bit, and
Joey Loperfito as well.
Speaker 3: And if that health is there, I mean, two of
the big offseason storylines were Jake Myers possibly getting traded
and then of course the infield logjam in trades, there
what I mean, where do we stand on that? Is
that just everything that's completely cooled or off the table
or just on hold?
Speaker 2: What's the situation do you? Yeah, I think everything's on
hold for now.
Speaker 10: I mean I think teams have the roster set and
maybe as we get closer to the trade deadline.
Speaker 2: I think the issue with parentis, I mean, they tried
to trade him, but.
Speaker 10: The Astros had shut such a specific need that they
wanted back. They wanted a left hand hitting outfielder, and
now you needed to match with another team that needed
a third baseman, a right handed hitting third baseman.
Speaker 2: There just was never a match there. And Myers too,
I mean.
Speaker 10: I think they Dastros asking price on Myers was pretty high,
as it should be so, and they're content to go
with what they have. It'll be interesting once they're back
healthy and pinions back how they work credits in. Joe
Spotts says he's gonna play pretty much every day. They
can play them at all the infield spots except shortstop.
Speaker 2: ND eight, so there's gonna be a batstriend.
Speaker 6: What do you think about the outlook for some of
their younger guys. Two of them are in the corners today,
Joey low Berfido getting the start field returns to the
Astros left handed bat and obviously Cam Smith, he was
the opening day right fielder a year ago. He is again, Hey,
do you feel like he won the job in spring training?
And what do you think the outlook is for those
two young players this season?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think Cam won the job.
Speaker 10: I mean, we all know what Dana Brown said in
November that he's gonna have to come to camp and
prove himself, and he did that. He made some changes
with this swing, trying to keep things simpler. Looked like
he was pulling the ball more. It looked a lot
more comfortable. He just seems a lot more comfortable in
his own skin, which is natural as second year. So
I think he definitely came in and won that job.
Loper Fiedo looks like a different hitter than he was
the first time here. I mean he's not striking out
as much, He's hitting the ball hard. It'll be interesting
to see if he can keep this left field job,
or if he struggles, if they'll start doing a platoon
with christ Matthews, or if Zach Cole comes back up.
But they had to get younger and more athletic in
the outfield, and they certainly did that with Cam Smith
and lower feedo. And his question comes, now, are they
gonna hit enough to stay in this lineup? Cam Smith
hitting six tonight, so they're showing a lot of confidence zone.
Speaker 5: Talking to Brian McTaggart of MLB dot Com, I think
it's probably the surest sign of confidence in a.
Speaker 2: Guy that nobody's even talking about. Hunter Brown. He's going today,
He's gonna be awesome. He's gonna be a cy Young.
Speaker 5: Award candidate right there near the top, because of course
he is right.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 10: I think it was a second third start of the
spring in Florida. It was probably March tenth or eleventh.
He pitched like four innings. No one could touch him,
and I was like, man, you look like you're ready
to go, and he's like, I am. It was just
a matter now of just getting the reps the rest
of the spring. He looked really, really good. Their starting
pitching looked really good in spring. And you can get
fulled by that. I mean a lot of the guys
are facing or double A guys, or guys who aren't
going to play in the big leagues.
Speaker 2: But Mike Burrows looks like a dude.
Speaker 10: I mean he he's the guy that will compete and
works fast. Emi has some crazy stuff. I'm anxious to
see what he can do later in this series. But
they went out to try to beef up the depth
of their starting pitching and they didn't look at look
at his in Triple A. Now you got Eric Geddy, Colton, Gordon,
Jason Alexander who won like nine starts in a row
from him, even a guy like JP Franz. So if
there's injuries their position now with some guys who have
some a little bit of a track record to move
into the rotation.
Speaker 6: You've been basically a West Palm Beach resident for better
than a month for the past several years. This year
was a season at spring training off of no playoffs.
Last year was the spring training off of not winning
in the playoffs, and then all the ones before that
were off of having great postseasons. Is there any vibe
difference that you felt maybe this year with this group, not.
Speaker 2: So much the players.
Speaker 10: I mean, I think Spata has talked about how it
didn't sit well with them for the playoffs last year,
not to be in the playoffs, and you know, I
think bringing back a guy like Correa who was in
an organization that didn't win and started tearing down.
Speaker 2: He's like, I want no part of this. I want
to win.
Speaker 10: And somehow he's back, and I think he's bringing that
mentality as well. And you have guys that have been
here and all they've known is when he mccullors Altuve
and they want to.
Speaker 2: Get back there. And I think, I think that's that's
gonna be something.
Speaker 10: With Carlos at the head of it, I think that's
gonna help drive this team a little bit.
Speaker 2: They're not used to not playing in October.
Speaker 5: Since you brought his name up, you're the guy that
kind of shine a little bit more light on that
story with Carlos Carrea.
Speaker 2: Just talk about how that.
Speaker 5: Story got told to you, how that came to light,
because as you wrote the article, he had already told
that story, but you're the one that kind of put
it out there and a lot of people are like, WHOA,
I didn't know that happened.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I had heard over the winter that he did a.
Speaker 10: Sermon, if you will at a retirement home, which I
was like wow, and also that he talked to this
sermon that he almost drowned, and so I kept it.
It's like, I need to ask Carlos about this, and
I was next thing, we know over at spring training.
Next thing we know, we're halfway through spring training, and
so I finally I asked Carlos, I mean, did you
give this sermon? He's like, yeah, I'd love to talk
to you about it. He's like sure.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 10: It took a little while, and then one day I'm
in the clubhouse. He's like, let's talk. So he brings
me over sit down in the clubhouse, which you're not
supposed to do, but if Carlos Korean tells you to
sit down, to sit down, and so, you know, I
started asking him about the sermon and the way he
sort of found religion, and then I asked him if
there was a point to where something happened, and he
went into detail about this incredible story in the water
that he told at the retirement home a few months earlier,
and just an incredible story, and it ended up being
sort of a life changing event from.
Speaker 2: Him where you know, he thought he might be done,
and you know, he.
Speaker 10: Said a little prayer and and now he's he's he
wants to give more sermons. He's gotten really involved in
his church, and you know, good for him, it was
it was a pretty scary deal and a thing to
change his life off the field.
Speaker 2: Did he bless the elbows of the Astros pitching? So
I don't know if it is that kind of power. Okay, well,
I guess it may take ded. It'll take time.
Speaker 3: But speaking of Carlos Gray and the season out looking,
I also want to talk about Josel two Bay. We're
kind of just setting in forgetting those guys in the
lineup every day, but these are also guys that are
into the thirtiest. Carlos has had some injury history, how
Twovey has been declining for a couple of years. But
two guys with a heart and soul, obviously of this
Astros renaissance.
Speaker 2: What do you think the the the realistic season outlook
as for those two?
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be interesting
because they've you know, remapped their hitting, two new hitting coaches,
actually three new hitting coaches, and we hear good things
in the spring. Again, you don't know how it's going
to translate it at three o'clock today, but we'll see.
Speaker 2: But I think how two Bay.
Speaker 10: Being back at second base and second base only is
probably going to give him a little bit of peace
of mind. And you know, I don't think he was
too wild about playing left field, but he did it
because he was a team guy. But you're right, he's
a guy who's declined now for several years. He's gonna
be thirty six. Can he find a little bit of
an extra gear. I know that he's super motivated, not
only to win. He wants to get to three thousand hits,
of course, and he's gonna have to start stacking up
one hundred and.
Speaker 2: Fifty hit seasons here. So if he can do that,
I think they'll be in good shape.
Speaker 10: Korea says he took more swings this offseason than he
ever has in his life, and again really enjoyed working
with the new hitting coaches. So you know, I think
he's gonna be rejuvenated being back here for a full season.
Speaker 2: But man, you never know until they get out there
and start playing.
Speaker 6: What are your thoughts without definite knowledge of both of
their lefties that start the year on the il ben.
It's Susan's situation and where Josh Hater is at.
Speaker 10: Susan sounds like it's gonna be like a six week thing.
I mean, I don't think he's gonna be.
Speaker 2: Close at all.
Speaker 10: But Hater is throwing a bullpen tomorrow and Dana Brown
said today he's gonna face hitters in mid April. So
we're like two, threeks, three or three weeks away from
him maybe pitching live VP. Then you start that whole progression,
simulate a game, go to sugar Land. So I think
we're looking at probably early May and that if that is,
that's fine. I mean, you want Josh Hater for later
in the season. They didn't have him last year and
that was a big blown out having him. So if
he comes back in early May and can pitch the
final five months, I think you'll take that.
Speaker 3: At this point, all right, we'll wrap up with obligatory
crystal ball time. Brian al West and Astro specifically, it
feels like wide range of outcomes.
Speaker 10: But how do you see this planning? Yeah, everyone's picking
the Mariners. I mean, and for good reason. Their rotation
is great, they have they have some really good players.
But I go back to last Astro stay healthy last
year they win the division, and I think if they
stay healthy that they can win this division. I like
their offense, a healthy Astros offense, better than the Mariners.
But I think it's gonna be between those two teams.
Don't pan out to the A's, They're not going to
win the division. That team can hit, and that team
is gonna be a team you're gonna have to worry
about a little bit. And they beat up on the
Astros a little bit last year. So it's gonna be
a fun division. But I think Astros and Mariner is
gonna be right there at the end.
Speaker 3: MLB dot COM's Brian mctagger gonna be our weekly guest
on The Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Speaker 2: Brian, thanks for the time. We'll talk to you weekly,
all right, I can't wait. All right, appreciate it. I
know you can't.
Speaker 3: His favorite time of the week, of course, joining us.
Appreciate him as always. All Right, we're gonna take quick
break here on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. Adam
Wexler is here, Adam Clannon is here, I am Ros
Via we Ho.
Speaker 2: We're with you up until two forty pm.
Speaker 3: It is basically five hours of coverage on our Astros
Street Fest spectacular here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 5: I'm told it's the Matt Thomas Show without Matt Thomas.
Speaker 2: Yeah, featuring Ross Viial. Hey that's me who is trying
to finish a bite of food like a real professional. Sorry.
Speaker 3: Hey, we we've been out here since nine am. Okay, man,
I gotta eat at some point. I mean, let's be realistic.
I'm a human being.
Speaker 7: Okay. Agree.
Speaker 2: I was on air with.
Speaker 3: That Rockets law until after one am, taking the angriest
Rockets callers you can find the entire city of Houston,
and then I've been here.
Speaker 2: Since nine o'clock.
Speaker 3: Okay, I need a second to eat some delicious Keep talking.
Speaker 2: About this Rockets game. I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3: Okay, good to me either, Actually, now that you bring
it up, Okay, we got Jeff Blum coming up at
one point thirty here on Sports Talk seven ninety. We
do have free stuff over here, guys, if you want
some coozies and cups.
Speaker 2: We are out here at FanFest. There are a lot
of people hanging out.
Speaker 3: We being Adam Wexer, Adam Clanton, and Ross Viria with
you until two forty.
Speaker 2: Will switch to Astros on deck mode at.
Speaker 3: Two Pete m As we continue talking about our your
My Houston Astros and.
Speaker 2: Hunter Brown on the Mounds.
Speaker 3: Jeremy Paynant not in the lineup, Joey Lo Perfido bumped
up ahead of both.
Speaker 2: Janer Diaz and Christian Walker.
Speaker 3: And taking on the Los Angeles Angeles three ten pm,
first on Sports Talk seven Nighty.
Speaker 6: Yeah, not a lot of expectations for the opponent that
comes into town, likely one of the weaker American League teams.
Maybe that is something the Astros can take advantage of
as they go through their first four starters in their rotation,
Hunter Brown today. Tatsui Emi will make his Dyke and
Park regular season debut coming up on Sunday in the
fourth game of this series against the Angels. Mike Burrows
gets the ball tomorrow, Christian Havevier gets the ball on
Saturday evening, and the Astros, again playing the first seven
games here at home, would love to see a start
befitting of what their roster looks like, rather than one
that is something they have to overcome for who knows
how long a period of time. And again, with Jeremy
Pania being the only regular unavailable to Joe a spot
it today he is not on the il, but he
is not in the lineup today, and as you've heard
throughout the day and then most recently with our guests
Brian mctaggard, of bringing him along slowly. The thought was,
rather than seeing him miss all ten games, if he
goes back for three or four games in that ten
day span, they thought that was the best served, even
with a spot on the roster obviously nothing to do
with Jeremy Pania for a couple of days rather than
have missed a full ten The likelihood is he will
be able to play before any ten day period would
have been exhausted, so when they get there, that's something
that they will have to consider pretty stable. Otherwise, I
don't think too many changes would need to be made
on a regular basis over the days that Payne is
not available. Your corner outfielders or Joey low Perfido and
left and Cam Smith and right, with Jake Myers and center,
I don't really see much of a need to make
much of a switch from that day to day. They
would be irregular everyday outfield if there weren't positional needs
from other players, and the same thing with the infield.
Correa is at short paredis is back at third al
two days back at second and Christian Walker's over there
at first base. This if not for the obvious outside
roster crunch, that would be there pretty typical lineup. That
Joe Spott had really never had much of a luxury
to trot out there every day, that maybe as this
year begins.
Speaker 5: He can, And that part at the end right there,
is why I keep going. I know it sounds like
I'm making excuses, but like I think people are actually
if it's possible forgetting just how dire the injury situation
was last year.
Speaker 2: It wasn't like.
Speaker 5: A few, like everybody, but like three guys was hurt
at some point during the season, and a lot of
these guys were either lost for the year, trying to
come back from a season in which they were lost
for the year, or had long term injuries. And it's
not I mean, just one of those guys Jordan Alvarez
or who the East ok perettis doesn't get hurt for
the amount of time they were hurt.
Speaker 2: And I'm with Brian mctaggard.
Speaker 5: I think they win the division last year, and it's
a big reason why I think they're gonna be right
there to win it this year.
Speaker 3: I hope so, and it's obviously gonna deal with injuries.
And that that brings me to a question. I've had
ask you guys a couple of times to get the
crystal ball out, and I will do it one more time.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'll probably do like six more times.
Speaker 3: But this time, I'm gonna say, at the end of
the season, when we we get after one hundred and
sixty two, whether the Astros were the playoffs or not,
I think they're gonna be in the playoffs. Who will
have started the most most games in left field for
your Houston Astrooo. Actually, I'll even put you more on
the spot, give me a one, two three.
Speaker 6: I think number one is today's starter. I really do think,
and I hope what Brian McTaggert is exactly what has
What he said is exactly what's happened. We saw the
numbers in Toronto last year, and granted it's a very
small sample size a shade over one hundred played appearances,
but to have a significant drop off in strikeout rate,
which was probably the number one concern while he was
in the Astros system and with them with the big
club in twenty twenty four, to have that drop to
that level and then see it stay there here during
spring training, hits a lot of ropes. He obviously brings power.
I think there's a good reason to have him out
there in left field a lot, and they have a
super imbalanced group to begin with, very few left handed
batsy and jord On Alvarez basically is what you have.
So I think he's the guy I would say is
number one. All he has to do is he has
a good start to the season. He's your everyday left
fielder because they don't want to play jord On out
there as much. I still don't think he's number two.
I still think there's probably thirty to forty starts for
him at the bare minimum, and I don't know how
many more there your gut left. If low Braffido is
somewhat established and he makes eighty to ninety and there's
thirty to forty for Jordan, whoever's third or fourth on
the list is making such a relatively small number of them,
maybe there's a you know, there's two hundred and fifty
at bats for Sugarland for Zach Cole because he barely
had any taat bats in his career before he joined
the team last year, and he starts to show that
swing and miss profile starting to fade a little bit,
because that's what he is right now. He swings and
misses too often, his strikeout rates through the roof, and
I don't think they can have him learn to get
better at that while he's being blown away by major
league pitching. But at some point during the year, zat
Cole is gonna get starts in the outfield for the Astros.
Speaker 5: I hope everything Wex just said about that particular spot
on the field is true.
Speaker 2: But whether it is.
Speaker 5: Or not, I just want one, two, three, four, four
or five to six of those guys to not be
jose Al Twove.
Speaker 2: Is that too much to ask?
Speaker 3: I wonder where he's gonna sprinkle in, because I mean,
Joe'spatta said it's not going to be zero times out
in left field, hose with Josel Twoba, I mean, is
that the plan? How are things gonna shuffle out, especially
when when you are and the only reason Josel Tuober
will get pushed out is because you still do have
esoc paratus and you still do have the log jam
as we're calling it with the infield.
Speaker 6: Could you see Bryce Matthews factoring into this both playing
left field straight up himself, or do you think there's
situations where they'll bring somebody into play second base as
their defensive replacement, because Bryce Matthews is a better second
baseman than Esoch Paratus and Jose al tuo Ve. Nick
Allen's a better second baseman than Esocparatus in Jose al
Tuove and in that instance, could you see them bringing
one of those players in eighth inning, ninth inning and
keeping al Twove's bat in the lineup by shifting him
out to left field in those influences again at tike
In Park, and I do think that makes a huge difference.
Handful of other ballparks are similar. But playing left field
at dyke And Park, as long as it doesn't take
a crazy bounce, you get a pretty good feel for
how much room you have. There's only so much these
balls can do. Half the time your shortstop is catching
it off the bounce from the scoreboard anyway, there's very
little room to roam. Jake Myers is still the elite
ball chaser in the outfield. He's great glove in center field,
and he helps everybody else that's gonna be out there.
So I do think it's a pretty low number for altuove,
but as you said, it's not likely to be zero.
Speaker 7: All right.
Speaker 3: I was gonna tease this, but we're running glow. We
got Jeff Blum coming in, you know what, I will
tease it. Actually, after Jeff Blum, I have a question
to ask you guys about two hitters in this Astros
probable everyday lineup who are due for some regression and
how we feel about that.
Speaker 2: Jeff Blum is coming up next though.
Speaker 3: Here on Sports Talk seven ninety The Matt Thomas Show
with Ross without Matt Thomas, with Adam Wexer, with Adam
Clanton and Jeff Blum is The Astro Street Fest Spectacular
continues with you until two forty here on Sports Talk
seven ninety one thirty two BM. Here on a Sports
Talk seven ninety The Astros The Street Fest Spectacular continues
on The Matt Thomas Show with Ross without Matt Thomas,
with Adam Watson, with Adam Clinton, and with our special
guest dressed to.
Speaker 2: The nines, embarrassing us all.
Speaker 7: Is it that hard?
Speaker 3: I mean, look at this man, You look at him,
You look at him. Jeff Blum joining us.
Speaker 2: He's so happy it's not June right now.
Speaker 7: Dude, you kidding me?
Speaker 2: Right now?
Speaker 7: You're melting in this chair.
Speaker 3: All right, Jeff Blum is our guest here on the show.
We appreciate you making some time for Jeff. We know
you're very busy kissing babies and take care of people.
Opening day it was like for you, you know, former player,
went through a lot of opening days.
Speaker 2: Now as a broadcaster, you still get those those.
Speaker 3: Feelings of the you get first kind of to me
Astros fan Fest, then spring training pictures and catchers, and
now it is finally here.
Speaker 2: You get some of those.
Speaker 3: Same old feelings stirred up for Opening day one hundred percent.
Speaker 13: There's nothing like putting on a big league uniform and
walking out to the line and having your name announced.
And was actually just in the booth talking to Ryan Presley,
who's gonna be working with us, and Juliet you know,
doing her Instagram thing turned around and goes how many
how many Opening days? And I went, holy crap, twenty seven.
It's thirteen as a player, fourteenth as a broadcaster. But no,
it never gets old because it's the one time of
year where everybody is in contention, and everybody has an
idea of what they want their season to be, and
it all starts with opening day. But there's nothing like
putting on a good, crisp, clean uniform and running out
there in front of your hometown fans and having your
name announcement, hearing everybody.
Speaker 5: Cheer Hope Springs of Tara line opening day. So we
got that out of the way.
Speaker 13: Yeah it'll be we'll be game sixty five tomorrow, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Well, I mean, I mean it's that's the positives.
Speaker 7: Yup.
Speaker 2: Did Jeremy Panne situation. What's your concern level?
Speaker 7: I'm not very concerned, to be honest with you.
Speaker 13: You know, I have literally broken every finger on my
right hand, so I know the pain that he's going through.
But at the same time, I've played through, I mean,
I've had to play through some of those injuries.
Speaker 7: He doesn't.
Speaker 13: We want him to be one hundred percent, but I
think what we saw in that exhibition game when he
hit one about four hundred feet up onto.
Speaker 7: The train track, right, that is a really good sign.
And it's just a matter of, you.
Speaker 13: Know, how is he going to bounce back after these uh,
you know, these games He's at bats. That's the only
thing for me. But I think once he's able to
bounce back play every day, that's when you want to
have him in the lineup.
Speaker 3: When you say bounce back, when he just like or recovery, Like,
what is that? Like you said, you've gone through it?
Speaker 2: Is it every day? Is it just last a couple
of weeks? Going to be all season long?
Speaker 10: Like?
Speaker 2: What do you think as far as how long he's
gonna have to make.
Speaker 7: It's right ring finger? Correct? Yeah, So it's not on
the baseball. He's not putting pressure on it when he throws.
Speaker 13: The only thing he might feel is impact at the
plate when he hits the ball because your top hand
usually absorbs.
Speaker 7: A lot of the impact. And it's the next day,
is it sore? How sore is it? Can you play
through it?
Speaker 13: Because I think he's kind of the point where he's
not going to injure it any further. So just go
ahead and figure out what you were able to deal with.
And when I would love saying back in my day,
but back in my day, they had.
Speaker 2: Certain Mackay, you gotta shake your voice when you say.
Speaker 7: Better living through chemistry, you can play through some of
those things.
Speaker 6: How does this feel.
Speaker 7: I have no idea. For the next three hours, I
can do whatever you're asking, But the next fifteen hours
I might be in a little bit of pain.
Speaker 6: Among a pretty sizable group of newcomers to this team,
starting pitchers, you got new arms in the bullpen. You
have players that have returned to the club and left
field today and elsewhere a player or two that's you're
kind of excited to see what twenty twenty six brings
for them.
Speaker 7: Well, I mean, the easy quick question is Mike Burrows.
I can't wait to see him. He's got a little bulldog,
a little Garrett Cole angst.
Speaker 6: Little red ass. I like it.
Speaker 13: Yes, he is a little bit of that red ass
when he's out there, and he does it with ninety seven.
Speaker 7: He's got a great change up. I think that's a
pretty unique mix.
Speaker 13: I think you're gonna see we're all going to be
kind of surprised by the the personality of Emi. I
think that we really haven't seen anything like him. He's
got great stuff. He's got about nine different pitches, but
he's also got a little bit of flash and flare
to him out on the mound. He kind of likes
the spotlight, which I'm kind of anxious to see how
he reacts to it. We've already seen him throw up
the hs everywhere, so he's already on an electric start.
But keep an eye on Ryan Weiss. I think that
he's gonna he's gonna say something this year with what
he goes out and does, being able to be that
maybe extended guy out of the bullpen, but to be
brutally honest, and I hate putting on guys on opening Day.
I am the I might be one of the biggest
cam Smith fans out there, and I kind of expect
him to be a guy this year.
Speaker 7: Maybe figure out that he can be a guy this year.
Speaker 6: Doesn't he look even more like a major leader and
maybe even carry himself more like a major year?
Speaker 13: Well, I think a lot of it had to do
with last year. I think it was a tail of
two seasons for him in one year. First half great,
second half kind of faded out, fatigued. A one hundred
and sixty two game is no joke. He knows what
he's getting prepared for, and I think that's why he's
to be a little bit better this year, maybe maybe
provide a little more thump than we saw last year.
Speaker 5: Have you and Todd settled on I forty five as
the nickname or do you have one for him?
Speaker 13: It could be I mean, there might be something in
the tank, and it could be something that just happens
organically in the booth. But I forty five is a
pretty good one. I mean, it fits, it fits great.
Speaker 5: We were talking about this earlier in the summer or
in the in the winter, I should say, And now
that the actual calls are going to start tonight.
Speaker 7: Yep, haven't you got to have him? Ready? Yeah?
Speaker 5: The Skeins got pulled in the first ding, so hope
does really spring eternal?
Speaker 7: WBC is wonderful, isn't it?
Speaker 2: You're the second Okay he brought that up with I
believe Chandler.
Speaker 6: Who got shelled yesterday Web.
Speaker 2: I know, so, like, what would you know?
Speaker 13: I think it's a correlation causation. It might be an
energy level type thing. But these guys exhaust themselves in
the middle of spring training, take a week off, and
then expect a rampant back.
Speaker 5: So then I'm I'm to understand that if they were
to move it to July, you would be a fan
of that.
Speaker 2: See, that's what I That's what I want to hear
from you.
Speaker 7: Because Olympics are going to create that issue. The next
CBA is going to create that issue.
Speaker 2: I'll talk about that.
Speaker 10: Man.
Speaker 5: You want to be sitting here next year, we will
be sitting y'all enjoy this else going on.
Speaker 3: We'll talk about the season we do have coming up.
Jeff Blumm with us here on a Sports Talk seven ninety.
I'm curious your, of course, former player perspective, because there's
been a lot of talk right now. It's not a
worry because Jeremy Pania has missed some time and is
going to miss some time. But can you take us
through the psychology of if you are a varying levels
josel to A Esac Paradis, Jeremy Pania, Carls Koreb, everybody
wanting to play every day. Some guys want arbitration numbers.
Some guys maybe have incentives in their contract for a
gold gloves or games played or anything like that. And
you want to make an all Star team, and how
Joe Spotten is going to deal with that?
Speaker 2: And then from the player perspective, what is that like
going to the clubhouse every day and not being exactly
sure how things are going to play out.
Speaker 13: Yeah, that's I think it's going to be a lot
on Joe's spotted. Joe's probably already had the conversations, and
he may have had the conversations in the offseason, because
you know, it was it was out there pretty quick
that the Astros have a lot of very good talent
on the infield and guys who are going to want
to go out there and expect to play every day.
So I think Joe had that conversation early. Selfishly, I'm
glad Esak is here because if you didn't, you if
you decide to trade him and you're not getting something
equal or better in return, you're at a loss because
you get rid of Esac, your team gets worse. But
I think the Astros are better for being here, And
so Joe's had the conversations. But you start to go
around the infield. How many games can I get him
at first base? How many games can I get him
at second base? How many games can I get him
at third base? And then how many at dah And eventually,
I think if you're able to, you know, convince Christian
Walker to take a couple more days off and give
Esach some time over there, you might be able to
get him four or five hundred at bass, because I
think that's where these guys want to be out.
Speaker 7: They want to be at least five hundred bats. Where
do you find them?
Speaker 13: So Joe's gonna have to be super creative on how
he's able to do that, and don't I mean left
field's going to have to come into play for either
al Tuve Jordan, who knows?
Speaker 5: Maybe even is it just as simple as it was
a logjam And that's the reason why we're even exploring.
Speaker 2: Trading this guy. But guess I feel like that's for
me and I'm crazy, as you know. That's not good
enough reason.
Speaker 7: No, I make the work.
Speaker 13: No, I'm in the crazy camp as well. We are
a better ball club because of Esak And if Esac
isn't playing, guess what he does. He comes in the seventh, eighth,
or ninth and destroys your game and blows up the
back end of your bullpen. If you're fifty games into
it and you've got Altuve on the bench, Christian Walker
on the bench, all of a sudden you have all
star type at bats going into the later later the
game to blow up some of these games. I guarantee
you the analytic department right now has got some matchups
throughout the course of the season where they're saying, this
is going to be our best probability of going out
there and winning a ballgame. And fortunately, you're in an organization,
you're in a city, you're in a team where the
expectation is to get to the playoffs, and that's always
a pretty good seller to stay on a ball club too.
Speaker 6: How you feel about Joey Lopafito.
Speaker 13: I'm kind of excited about it. Man, He's a different guy.
I know he's the same guy, but he's a different guy.
The swing looks good. His spring training was phenomenal. I mean,
you talk about a guy that was happy to get
back in a situation that he missed by leaving.
Speaker 7: He is incredibly happy to be here. Some of the
swing adjustments look great.
Speaker 12: And I think, you know, just talking to him for
the brief moment that I did in spring training, his
experience with the Toronto Blue Jays going to the postseason,
he got a little bit of taste of that, and
I think he brings a little bit of that taste
with him here. I think it's going to be interesting
to see what he's able to do, because that could
be a nice little one two punch with Cam Smith,
Joey Loperfido.
Speaker 7: He could be right now, he may not be that
left handed bat they were looking for, but he could be.
Speaker 6: You mentioned something when you first sat down here with us,
and we'll see it today over on s EHN. Ryan
Presley is part of the viper and postgame team now
with you guys over there, at the pleasure of welcoming
to the station, you're experience training to the game with him,
and he's pretty fired up about the team. But having
him as part of the team, what can the fans
expect from Ryan Presley, who while he was here, I
handle business and then I'll come back to the ballpark
and the next day and do it again.
Speaker 13: Yeah, there's some recentcy experiency. I think the experience, recent
recent experience that I think is going to vote well
for him.
Speaker 7: He knows a lot of those guys in that clubhouse.
Speaker 13: He knows what that clubhouse was like during those years
where they were absolutely annihilating the American League West, and
I think he has the same expectations in a booth
of these guys. So I think it's gonna be a
little bit more fun to hear his current analysis of
what's going on. Being so recently removed from baseball, He's
gonna have the analytic side of it. He's gonna have
the experience of pitching him back in. He's going to
know exactly what these guys are going through. But of
funny to see see somebody who dealt with high leverage,
pressure situations all of a sudden put on a sport
coat and look doweya hit a little bit and be like,
what am I doing?
Speaker 7: You know, So to be fun. Once he gets comfortable,
he's gonna be great.
Speaker 5: Looking ahead to April third, because obviously that's what we
need to do here on opening game.
Speaker 2: Now, that is the.
Speaker 5: First I think realistic chance we're gonna have with an
eight forty first pitch in Sacramento for Astros after dark.
Speaker 14: Yes right, yeah, I'm just making sure Sacramento adds an
extra level of filthy town. Is it's a gnarly town. Yeah,
And you would, you would, you would, you would love
the fact that TK I mean we're sending this audio
it is.
Speaker 13: All of Triple A over there, and I mean, yeah,
I feel bad going in there because like the expectation is,
we're professionals, we're gonna you know this, it's a game.
Speaker 7: Still big leagues would do. That place is terrible.
Speaker 5: So and that's funny because you used to talk about
the Oakland colisseums, how powerful.
Speaker 7: I would go back to Oakland and a heartbeat.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, did you hear this show talking about that?
Speaker 7: Zero?
Speaker 6: Wow?
Speaker 13: Yeah, all right, we go back in the hearty. The
best part about uh Sacramento is walking back to the
hotel with TK after the game.
Speaker 2: Why because he's talking about an experience?
Speaker 13: What an experience? And your head's on a swivel. Boy,
Oh yeah, some good things.
Speaker 2: I think that guy over there has a weapon.
Speaker 7: Why is the eyeballing TK the way he is?
Speaker 2: You know why?
Speaker 5: Because TKA Secretly, I shouldn't even say this publicly.
Speaker 2: He looks like he might be a don kiss the ring.
Speaker 7: Yeah, exactly, he's got two of them. If he unleashes
that second or third button down the chest, it's over.
Speaker 2: Yeah. On the golf course, he must be a hell.
Speaker 7: Oh he's great, are you kidding me? Yeah? A good
way in a great way.
Speaker 2: All right, that is Jeff Blunt. Yeah, appreciate the time.
Speaker 7: We always appreciate the time. Have me on more often.
Man makes.
Speaker 6: Anywhere else.
Speaker 3: Man, we always have a lot of list of demands,
though Red only skittles stuff like that. The writer exactly
the writer, all right, Jeff Bluff, appreciate him.
Speaker 2: Joining us here on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 3: Ninety Adam Wexer, Adam Clanton, Ross Virial back with you
with the final segment of the Matt Thomas Show with
Ross version.
Speaker 2: We'll go to Astros on deck Mode.
Speaker 3: Coming up at two o'clock here on Sports Talk seven
ninety Your Home four Your Houston Astros. All right, it
is the final segment of the Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
We will go into Astros on the Deck Mode. Astros
Opening Day street Fest Spectacular continues. Ross VI real with you,
Adam Wexer and Adam Clanton as well. I said earlier
we would talk about the rockets in the segment.
Speaker 2: But I no, I don't think so.
Speaker 3: By the way, somebody came by with a tous my
I forty five shirt, so we're going after the nickname.
Speaker 2: So what does that mean?
Speaker 3: He's gonna be a lot of traffic. I forty five sucks. Okay,
I don't want him to be called I forty five.
Speaker 2: It's horrible.
Speaker 3: There's gonna be I don't know, wrong way fatalities, there's
gonna be an endless construction and traffic.
Speaker 2: I don't want him to be associated with any of that.
Speaker 6: So mister problem solver will have an option option.
Speaker 2: Literally anything else. Okay, okay, um.
Speaker 6: No. Actually that was my first impression when we talked
about it during the off season. I thought that very
same thing.
Speaker 2: It's a road that nobody I mean, I get it,
it makes sense. Yeah, going with it. It's like CP three,
We're gonna go with that, I guess, but I don't know.
It feels like maybe we can come up with something better. Fine,
rain on everybody's parade. I'm not well, you know, that's
just that's what I do. That's what I'm here for.
This is uh, this crowd is beastly.
Speaker 3: This crowd is amazing and wonderful and the best crowd
in the history of time.
Speaker 2: That's just what they are. They are ready. I'm ready
for Astros base. By the way, this is flown by. Yeah,
you're welcome. I credit WEX for that.
Speaker 3: Okay, I'm gonna credit WEX, so I'm gonna credit all
of our fantastic guests.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Chandler Rome and Brian McTaggart and Jeff Blum
for joining us.
Speaker 3: We get the heavy hitters on today out at street
Fest or I'm quite frankly getting a little bit tired.
Speaker 2: Only the best here on your home for Astros Baseball Sports.
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna have to get some caffeine to make
this post game show after the after the game, I'm
gonna be.
Speaker 5: Honest, if I drank at eight thirty, Okay, can I
go again?
Speaker 2: Two hundred milligram caffeine By the way, that's a little high.
Speaker 5: Well, I need like a little hot public opinion on this.
Speaker 2: I really want another one.
Speaker 3: You have, I believe, I believe if you're staying under
four hundred milligrams of caffeine to day, that's that's kind
of fine, all right.
Speaker 6: So I mean, so she.
Speaker 2: Must be that's another caffein a haulic. I bet.
Speaker 3: Oh, and she's had because you got a margarita. You
can't trust anything this person said. Just calling out those
lt PO marks, They call out your judgment. Okay, every
nobody knows that. So yeah, maybe one more? One more Celsius.
Speaker 2: I want one. I don't do any of them? Okay,
I really, I haven't met one. I don't like Selsey.
That feels like a clip, Jonathan, I'll do any of them.
I haven't met one. I don't like.
Speaker 3: That feels like that should appear on the Friday Show
tomorrow and the open. Okay, So Astros and Angels three
to ten, first pitch.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 3: We kind of talked a little bit about our our
projection season all that type of stuff, guys, but we
would just lay it out there one more time as
far as next and on deck mode will go the
individual game, but for now the season, I know we
had some of our projections up. I had eighty seven
as a win total for the Astros. I have them
in the playoffs. Have the Mariners as the American League
West champions? Wexler sticking with eighty nine wins for your.
Speaker 6: Stros, Yeah, a little bit over what the prognostiators the
Vegas sites have out there. I don't think that will
win them the division though. Okay, I have the Mariners
winning this division.
Speaker 2: I think so too.
Speaker 5: Sticking with my eighty nine wins and my my Astros
AO West.
Speaker 2: Do you guys both had eighty nine wins? That is
so adorable.
Speaker 5: Well, again, like I said, if they get eighty nine
wins and they win the division, I feel like the Mariners.
Speaker 2: Are eighty seven eighty six somewhere in that range right
behind them. Okay, I'm stealing from something Chandler Rome said earlier.
Speaker 3: He said X factor, we would the chalk pick for
Astros pitching MVP. Would Hunter Brown the chalk pick for
Astros hitting MVP? If they're gonna if they're gonna make
the playoffs, it's going to be yord On Alvarez. I'm
sticking with that, so X factor neither of those two guys.
You can go with a pitcher, or you can go
with a position player. The X factor for the twenty
twenty six uson Astros.
Speaker 2: Is you go first.
Speaker 6: I think he's in the corner tonight.
Speaker 2: I like this. I'm liking some blow Perffedo love.
Speaker 6: I mean that I could take either one, but also
that's another good one too. I'll stick with you. Oh,
as you know, Joe Spotted talked about it a little
bit today. His preference, I guess perfect world preference would
be to kind of have one guy this, this is
our left fielder. This is the guy that's gonna be
out there and doesn't know it it'll play out that way,
but he would love to see it, which kind of
makes me think they're going to give him that opportunity
if he just doesn't doesn't flounder so quickly, just give
him some more time, give him and then all of
a sudden, maybe it is his position. I'll go X
factor at the corner outfield spot.
Speaker 5: Who's more high on Joey Loberfdo Adam Wesler or Jeff Blum?
Speaker 2: I would say the low Berfido fans.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna I'm gonna lean. I'm gonna lean even heavier
into my esac peretis. Let's go, because if he's leading
the team in home runs and he's the X factor,
I got you.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna do that. We're going all in, all right, cool,
I'm gonna go with camp Smith. Okay, I'm feeling I'm
feeling a little. Twenty home runs. What do you think
was the reason for the second half drop off? Mental
and physical fatigue? Both?
Speaker 3: That's all I mean, that's other than that he was
doing great and he still was a finalists in right field?
Speaker 10: Is it?
Speaker 2: We know he's got the pop, he's got the power,
he can show up. I'm feeling pretty good.
Speaker 3: H And everything we're hearing from Jeff Blum and from
all the reports and everybody we talked about, Cam Smith
looks the part. He is talented. Jake Myers says he
is going to be a superstar. So I'm going with
Cam Smith.
Speaker 5: Is it wild that I never really questioned his mental like,
I think he's got that already.
Speaker 2: He's get's fatigue. I'man just tired.
Speaker 3: I mean, he'd never played what was it, thirty games
or something like that with the with the Florida State seminoles.
Speaker 5: The age in the journey because where he came from
and what he had done and more importantly, maybe what.
Speaker 2: He hadn't done yet.
Speaker 3: So yeah, all right, that is going to do it
for the Matt Thomas Show with ross portion of our programming.
Speaker 2: But we aren't going anywhere.
Speaker 3: We're still out here at Asos Street Fest at Dyke
and Park.
Speaker 2: We're gonna be with you for forty more minutes.
Speaker 3: It is opening day for us, and it is opening
day for the Astros on Deck Show presented by Trajan
Wealth Management that is coming your way next year.
Speaker 2: On Sports Talk seven nine, Hey, don't go anywhere