Speaker 1: It is seven o'clock our hour early or the normal.
Speaker 1: He's got an event he has to do. We're great
Speaker 1: for him. I know it was a long trip and
Speaker 1: back here and to get up this early. We appreciate
Speaker 1: Steve Sparks Astros broadcasts here on our radio Sports Talk
Speaker 1: seven to ninety for those Astros games every single day.
Speaker 1: Good to have you on, Steve. We appreciate, we appreciate you.
Speaker 1: I weekends like this you learn to me. You learn
Speaker 1: a lot about your team. And I, Steve, I know,
Speaker 1: ten to two wins and all that are fun. But
Speaker 1: I kind of like when I see Gusto have to
Speaker 1: fight through and get through it, when he scattering some
Speaker 1: hits and they're scoring some runs, and you know when
Speaker 1: somebody else different dubon yesterday, Christian Walker starting to get
Speaker 1: a little hotter, and the way pain is energy, it
Speaker 1: seems to be there's always somebody different. But when yesterday
Speaker 1: or when the pitching staff starting pitching struggled, the bullpen
Speaker 1: was there. But more importantly, the hitting seems to have
Speaker 1: picked up, even though it hasn't been consistent. It starts
Speaker 1: to look a little different from my optic Steve.
Speaker 2: You know, you look at that series, and I look
Speaker 2: back at the day before that because Brandon Walter didn't.
Speaker 3: Pitch that well, right, but he pitched.
Speaker 2: Six innings and they only had to cover eight innings
Speaker 2: losing on the road, so you only had to use
Speaker 2: two relievers the night before. So I think you're always
Speaker 2: going into those road series, in particular Sean, trying to
Speaker 2: win those series. And you win that first one, it's
Speaker 2: certainly a luxury. But what Walter is able to do
Speaker 2: as far as get deeper into the game despite not
Speaker 2: having his best stuff, he got them six innings and
Speaker 2: you had a loaded bullpen for yesterday's game and you
Speaker 2: needed them, yep, And that's the reason why they won.
Speaker 2: I mean, what Walter did the night before is the
Speaker 2: reason why the Astros won yesterday.
Speaker 4: Steven, are we on pace?
Speaker 1: You've probably looked at the metrics or the analytics of
Speaker 1: you know, the innings and usage and stuff, which you
Speaker 1: do very well, the fresh leg starting pitching, I know,
Speaker 1: with the injuries, but also the bullpen. Are we on
Speaker 1: pace to say we're not giving them too much usage?
Speaker 1: Are we on pace right now? Do you feel good
Speaker 1: about the way they're being used?
Speaker 3: I do? You know?
Speaker 2: I think if you're able to keep a little bit
Speaker 2: of a cushion, you're going to get creative, I think,
Speaker 2: and that's what the Astros did in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2: They were more fresh and livelier than anybody else, especially
Speaker 2: in the pitching department, because they went to that six
Speaker 2: men rotation for more than half the season, and it
Speaker 2: was very evident that the.
Speaker 3: Astros were they still had a lot to go.
Speaker 2: Remember the extra inning in Seattle, there was a famous
Speaker 2: line by the Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said, Hey,
Speaker 2: we still had one hundred pitches left in our in
Speaker 2: our chamber.
Speaker 3: They really did, you know.
Speaker 2: They still had Urkidi and they had somebody else, and
Speaker 2: I think they felt very comfortable that they could have
Speaker 2: played another five or six innings. So I think that's
Speaker 2: the goal for the Astros is to build this lead,
Speaker 2: continue to play good baseball. Despite Jordan alvarezby an ounce
Speaker 2: it's May third, I believe it is in Houston, still
Speaker 2: ten games over five hundred in its absence.
Speaker 3: But if you can continue to.
Speaker 2: Increase that lead, I think you got a chance to
Speaker 2: get creative. Maybe skip a guy, start keep a six
Speaker 2: man rotation. I'm not sure how this looks right, but
Speaker 2: maybe be creative with that injured list.
Speaker 1: Steve Sparks Astro's broadcasters Weekly visit an hour sooner today,
Speaker 1: got an event to go through and we'll we'll change
Speaker 1: days or schedule for him anytime. Joined us here on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven ninety Sean salisby show, Steve, you've been
Speaker 1: in playing it and covering it all these years, You've seen,
Speaker 1: you know, managers that have.
Speaker 4: To make tough decisions in games.
Speaker 1: I was just thinking, you know this morning, how often
Speaker 1: you know, somebody reminded me of that.
Speaker 4: How often in a game, in a series throughout the season.
Speaker 1: I'm talking about those tough, tough decisions that come within
Speaker 1: a game. How often do you see managers hapen to
Speaker 1: make tough tough decisions in professional baseball?
Speaker 3: You know, in a game to game decisions.
Speaker 2: I think it varies just because you know your personnel
Speaker 2: better than anybody else. And that's what that's probably my
Speaker 2: favorite question is to ask a manager of the day after, is.
Speaker 3: What was your toughest decision yesterday?
Speaker 2: But when you think about toughest decisions for me, if
Speaker 2: I was a coach or a manager, I think the
Speaker 2: hardest part for me personally would be releasing guys, you know,
Speaker 2: especially in the minor leagues.
Speaker 3: I was thinking about this yesterday.
Speaker 2: I played in the California League for three seasons, and
Speaker 2: one year I had a minor league coach who had
Speaker 2: five kids, and the last three weeks of the season,
Speaker 2: his wife decided to take his four youngest kids back
Speaker 2: home to Arizona for the rest of the season, and
Speaker 2: his oldest kid was nine years old. He ended up
Speaker 2: staying with his dad for the rest of the summer,
Speaker 2: so he would be at the ballpark every.
Speaker 3: Day, and we had a great time with him. But
Speaker 3: he just became part of the team.
Speaker 2: And I remember one day in Bakersfield, California. We were
Speaker 2: stretching before batting practice one day and Ben, the oldest son,
Speaker 2: he was nine years old, was just kind of sifting
Speaker 2: through the rest of the players. Now keep in mind,
Speaker 2: he was around his dad in the hotel rooms. He
Speaker 2: heard all his dad's conversations on the landline back in
Speaker 2: the hotels in those days, talking to the front office.
Speaker 2: But he was running around with the guys on the
Speaker 2: team and they were punching him and knocking him down
Speaker 2: and just having a good time.
Speaker 3: He finally he goes up to this one guy in.
Speaker 2: Our team who was stretching, and he shook his hand
Speaker 2: and he said, hey, John, Hey, I'm gonna miss you.
Speaker 2: And John goes, oh, Ben, are you going home with
Speaker 2: your brothers and sisters? He goes, no, I'm not going
Speaker 2: anywhere you are. He goes, what, Yeah, I heard my
Speaker 2: dad on the phone.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, getting released after the game. Oh my god,
Speaker 3: look at him.
Speaker 2: We're going getting released after the game. And he goes, yeah,
Speaker 2: you and Scott both, and then we all looked at
Speaker 2: Scott and literally, these two guys got up out of
Speaker 2: the stretch, went into the coach's office and got released
Speaker 2: and we never saw him again. That's how they got
Speaker 2: released from professional baseball by a nine year old in
Speaker 2: front of their whole team.
Speaker 4: Gosh, dang.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's one thing find out on the internet, but
Speaker 1: the nine year old's got it before you do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I get the conversation. It's like, hey, breaking news. It's
Speaker 1: not Jeff Passon. Happens to be the nine year old
Speaker 1: who's the son of a kid out there during batting
Speaker 1: practice and you guys are gone. And it's also part
Speaker 1: of when you lose teammates like that, to go somewhere
Speaker 1: else you never see him again.
Speaker 4: David Craig.
Speaker 1: When I was my rookie year, he wasn't nice to
Speaker 1: me during training camp, and you know what he told
Speaker 1: me after and make a long story short, and he
Speaker 1: became one of my dear friends. He said, Sean, I
Speaker 1: developed these relationships with guys I've learned, and then they
Speaker 1: get cut or they're not here and he goes, and
Speaker 1: it bothers me. He goes, So I'm a little cold.
Speaker 1: Once you make the team. He was the first guy
Speaker 1: to hug me, But during the whole time I wanted
Speaker 1: to fight him because he he wasn't talking to me
Speaker 1: very much. It wasn't because of his job. He'd been
Speaker 1: in the league, but he didn't like that gut wrenching
Speaker 1: feeling of forging relationships and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: the guy's gone.
Speaker 4: So making the team made it a little easier.
Speaker 1: To for forge a long term relationship. Yeah, talk about
Speaker 1: tough decisions and then having a nine year old come in.
Speaker 1: That's not what a manager or teammates want to hear.
Speaker 1: I would imagine, Steve Right.
Speaker 2: It was brutal, though, I mean, losing your buddies, you know,
Speaker 2: along the way through the minor leagues and you knew
Speaker 2: it would never be the same, and you try to
Speaker 2: keep in touch, but it's never the same as when
Speaker 2: your teammates.
Speaker 4: Steve, is this team good enough in your eyes? Right now?
Speaker 1: I'm talking about with the with the injuries they have
Speaker 1: right now, And I said, can you see them in
Speaker 1: the World Series?
Speaker 4: What's your answer?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I can't.
Speaker 2: I mean, I look at everybody, everybody's got warts Sean,
Speaker 2: and I just feel I don't think Jordon's too far away.
Speaker 2: And you say, look at them right now, but I
Speaker 2: don't think they're too far away from getting their best
Speaker 2: hitter back right And I think that's that's gonna make
Speaker 2: everybody better. But you look at three guys in particular
Speaker 2: offensively for this team, and we've talked enough about the pitching.
Speaker 2: The pitching, there's no question they have as good at
Speaker 2: pitching as anybody in.
Speaker 3: Baseball Amen one through thirteen, yep. But they need jord On.
Speaker 2: But but there's three guys in particular, Pana, Myers and
Speaker 2: Paradus have the have three of the top eleven upticks
Speaker 2: and ops of anybody in all of baseball. So when
Speaker 2: you look at those guys and see their improvement. Jake,
Speaker 2: he's got the second best road batting average in baseball
Speaker 2: behind Aaron Judge. I mean, there's some crazy stuff kind
Speaker 2: of going on right now, but you've got enough guys
Speaker 2: in there that are putting together some kind of breakout
Speaker 2: seasons and it's fun to watch that stuff.
Speaker 1: Steve, he's about eighty or eighty or ninety points higher
Speaker 1: than you said when the spring training you said, I
Speaker 1: don't care what he hits, the way he plays defense,
Speaker 1: We're going to be fine.
Speaker 4: And this bonus and blessing.
Speaker 1: So you've covered baseball for a long time and watched
Speaker 1: him closely since he's been here. Why there's got to
Speaker 1: be it's not just always you know the ball's falling
Speaker 1: where they you know where nobody is. Now what is
Speaker 1: You can't keep hitting it like that and it just
Speaker 1: be an aberration at least maybe it can seventy five
Speaker 1: eighty games in, but you see it every day. Why
Speaker 1: is he better? Why is he making so much contact?
Speaker 1: Why is he so confident right now?
Speaker 2: I think he really concentrated on the right things in
Speaker 2: the offseason. I played against his dad in the minor leagues,
Speaker 2: and his dad helped him in the in the off season,
Speaker 2: talking about approach and figure out what you hit best,
Speaker 2: where's your zone, and concentrate on that early in the count.
Speaker 3: I think it's as simple as that.
Speaker 2: He's swinging at better pitches, he knows himself better, and
Speaker 2: he's sticking to a plan.
Speaker 3: He's staying up the middle.
Speaker 2: He's not pulling off, trying to pull balls up in
Speaker 2: the air, something that he's not really good at to
Speaker 2: begin with. He's just staying in the middle of the diamond,
Speaker 2: staying gap to gap, using his speed, stealing bases, still
Speaker 2: two bases yesterday. He's just doing the things that he's
Speaker 2: capable of. And to learn yourself. You know, three or
Speaker 2: four years in, probably more healthy than he's ever been.
Speaker 2: I think you're starting to see somebody's really starting to
Speaker 2: blossom into who they can be. And and you get,
Speaker 2: you know, almost halfway into the season. Now you figure
Speaker 2: out this guy is not only one of the best
Speaker 2: center fielders in baseball, this guy is starting to be
Speaker 2: a threat offensively too.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt, Steve Sparks. So one final question, Steve,
Speaker 1: I know you've got some stuff.
Speaker 3: To do today.
Speaker 1: Is with this team and the pitching what do you
Speaker 1: do to play the game with you speaking a tough decisions?
Speaker 1: You'd be the manager and the general manager combined right now,
Speaker 1: And we're sitting in a room and all of a sudden, Garcia,
Speaker 1: we start to see, you know, he's improving. I don't
Speaker 1: know how long it's going to be, but let's just
Speaker 1: the what if game and then Arraghetti and then Xavier
Speaker 1: what pumped it up to ninety five last week throwing?
Speaker 1: So it doesn't feel maybe I don't know when not far?
Speaker 1: Is is it fifteen days? Is it forty five days?
Speaker 3: Too much?
Speaker 1: But let's just say the pitching continues like it has
Speaker 1: and these guys are healthy. Talking about tough decisions. How
Speaker 1: do you keep a full roster of pitchers engaged?
Speaker 2: I think that usually takes care of itself, number one,
Speaker 2: But I mean, you love problems like this, right Thinking
Speaker 2: about Christian Xavier at points that like long term for sure,
Speaker 2: and they signed him up and locked him up to
Speaker 2: a long term deal. Long term you want him as
Speaker 2: a starter, but he's he's really excelled as a reliever
Speaker 2: at times, and he's ninety five without adrenaline in a bullpen,
Speaker 2: in on the side fields in Florida. Right now, I
Speaker 2: can't I can't even imagine where he could probably touch
Speaker 2: in a one or two inning stint, you know, in
Speaker 2: game action. So that's a possibility. I mean, there's there's
Speaker 2: limitless possibilities. But I'll go to this too. You get
Speaker 2: a lot of guys healthy, say Luis Garcia, Spencer Arrighetty,
Speaker 2: Lance McCullers, JP France. You mix and match, and you
Speaker 2: can piggyback, you know, on certain days with with with
Speaker 2: a couple of starters and have them go four and
Speaker 2: four and that's another rest day for your bullpen.
Speaker 3: Things like that. I think what you're trying to do
Speaker 3: is keep these guys as fresh as possible.
Speaker 2: While you're winning these games, and then continue to play
Speaker 2: great baseball. The record in one run games is certainly
Speaker 2: flip flop from years past. I think they're fifteen and
Speaker 2: seven now after yesterday's game. So winning close games is
Speaker 2: I think probably a byproduct. You know, twenty two comeback
Speaker 2: wins is a lot of it. That's a great trait.
Speaker 2: We've talked about that. The two outruns that they scored
Speaker 2: this year, they're up among the leaders, and in their pitching,
Speaker 2: I think they've got a lot of good traits of
Speaker 2: good teams.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and at no time in the history of baseball
Speaker 1: or sports anywhere has anybody complained about having too much pitching.
Speaker 4: It'll never happen, So there you go. Good problem to have.
Speaker 1: Hey, enjoy your event today, brother, hit him straight, and
Speaker 1: then we'll do it again next Monday. We appreciate you
Speaker 1: moving it around so you could join us today.
Speaker 3: Good talking to you, you too, brother.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 1: That's a great Steve Spark solid ball striker, Solid ball striker.