Speaker 1: We are going to look forward to talking for the
next twenty six weeks. I like it to be thirty
two weeks or so with a manager of the Houston Astros,
Joe A Spot at twelve thirty Tuesdays here on seven
I skip. It's Matt and Ross, happy season opener, happy
three game winning streak. How are your friend?
Speaker 2: I'm doing well, man, How are you guys doing? No?
Speaker 1: I got no complaints. Hey, a little old school. Last
night you got al Tuov with a couple of home runs.
Lance gave you seven. I mean water is making plays, Corre.
It's like it's like twenty nineteen all over again.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Coorey, I'm making those plays that sure. Let's not
take away from that bomb that you're done. Hid glad
that this one did not hate the roof almost you know,
it almost looked like it was going to hate the roof.
And getting also contribution from some of the young players man,
you know, Bryce Matthews, just just everyone putting putting a
little bit in there, just to contribute and help us
win some games with really happy the way we are
we're playing right now. Lance the Colors, My goodness, how
phenomenal he was last night really pick us up. We
really needed an outing from him like that, and he delivered.
Speaker 1: You know, when we were down in West Palm with
you in February, he was very reflective about his season ahead,
his fit as past, and his future. What has it
been like watching him in that month of spring training
gaining the confidence for you to put him in that
opening starting rotation.
Speaker 2: Uh, you know what, I think Lence understands the pitcher
he is today right for him to have success, he
needs to be the guy that controls the game from
the very first pitch. And how you do that is
attacking the strike zone. It's when Lance's attackes out the
zone like he did yesterday, He's able to command the
a bat, He's able to control the game. I uh
fast both for strikes, really good, change up the sweeper
effective because everything was looking the same right, everything was
coming out from the same lane, executing pitches, heading the count,
effrasient from the very get go. I think he knows
that that's the picture he needs to be to be successful,
and he's not running away from it. No.
Speaker 3: One of the reasons I really roofer Lance is obviously
because he's been here for so long and part of
these championship runs. But just to me also seems like
such a great dude and teammate. So if you could
just expand on that and just give us your thoughts
on what type of person he is.
Speaker 2: Yes, and you know, we all we're all rooting for
him because what he what he has done for this organizations,
what he's done in our community, and what he means
to to the club. Now, you know, great teammate, great father,
man of faith. This guy's pitched some big games for us.
I've been here for nine seasons right now. This guy
has been in the biggest games. Uh, this organization has
had since I been here. And also I see it
from the other side when I was with the Yankees,
how we dominated in the LCS. So he's still in there.
That guy's still there and just getting that out of
them because he's fully healthy and he's frame of mind.
He's such a really good place that I think he's
going to HELPO was winning now is you know, build
him from this outing, right, not try to do anything different, right,
I get ready for his next start and build from
this and because the stuff is there.
Speaker 3: Astro's manager Joe Spotted, was here on Sports Talk seven
nine let's go to the other holdover from the twenty
seventeen championship team, Jose al two a couple of home runs.
I mean, obviously we've talked about a lot about him
over the years, but just just at the play it
approach seems like some more patients from him. How much
of is it is it the same old Josel tuove
and how much of is it kind of a new
slant on things?
Speaker 2: You know, I think it's the new slam Zone things.
I think, you know, patient, you know, we we've been
seeing a lot of pitches here the last three games,
and then that's been something that we highlighted in the
off season. We're preaching to our hitters, let us control
the bat like, forcing the pitchers to make pitches. We
know our strength, Stay within yourself. We have a really
good lineup. If you don't do the damage, the guy
behind you will do the damage. If they don't, if
they choose not to pitch someone, we are capable of
having enough definitely our lineup that the next guy is
going to do it. And that has been the theme
here for the first few games. Contribution from the guys
in the bottom. So when al Tuobek comes up to
the plate and Jordan comes to the plate. There's traffic
on the basis, there's people on the basis, and we've
been carrying out our game plan very very well the
last couple of games.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this. You know about Jeremy's finger,
and you've used him a couple of times day off
here and there. What have you been told. Do you
visit with him on the daily? How much does he
want to test it? How much do you want to
see it tested at least early on.
Speaker 2: You know, we all want to see Jeremy in there
every single day. He wants to be out there every
single day. But we're doing best for Jeremy in our
club right now. We want to build his body. You know,
this is not about the finger right now. It's about
his full body. You know, his legs, he's you know,
he's all for body. We want to make sure that
eating really had a long like it's springs training, to
really build off. There was a little post even though
he was on the basis, he was in the weight
where he's taking ground balls, but heating't really had a
big build up towards the NF camp. So we want
to make sure that we do that. We were hampered
about injuries last year guys, and I want to be
really smart about, you know, the volume of games that
this guys are getting. And also we've been playing some
long games here in the last few days, so we
want to be smart to make sure that this guy's
stay healthy throughout the season.
Speaker 1: You mentioned a long games. I don't mind long games
when you've head back to back games where you've overcome deficits.
The reality is this, that's something Joe, you hopefully can
use in your back pocket, is that if a team,
your squad falls behind four nothing or gives up a
four nothing lead like a day the other day, that
you have the comeback ability. That is something that is
not you're not stopping the game and yelling the guys
in the middle of the dugout. Where does that come from?
Speaker 2: Absolutely not? Absolutely not, absolutely not. And you know, I
think what's what's very really important to recognize is that,
you know, we we have we had gotten some of
their starters that we faced. They're being out of the
game before the fifth end. Now, when you do that,
that trickles down and pushing a really good spot for
game two, game three. Overseers, right it's showing the Angels
who lost the first two. Uh so Rihanna went out
seven innings first game, and then we started, you know,
having some longer up bats. We're starting, uh you know,
passing the baton further down the further down the lineup,
and now all of a sudden Game three, Game four,
the same relievers that pitched Game one, their stub was
not playing to say, because they've been using twice maybe
three times doing a series. And I think that's something
that we are we are talking to the guys in
points of it. It's when our lineup, it's does that
it helps everyone in the lineup and also allow us
to to win games and win series.
Speaker 3: You've had now five games of live action games that
count with the ABS system. How are you liking it?
Speaker 2: We know, we we like we like it. We I think,
you know, every seemed the umpires really locking it in
and really trying to get every call right. All right, right,
that's the point that we are. We're making awareness of, Hey,
this system is here to help everyone get every call right.
Conversation with the umpires in between innings and the eaters.
You know, it's been it's been really good. The system
has been good. We haven't been very successful early on,
but we always you know, looking over our decision making
when he comes to what to use the ABS, just
to make sure that we're using at the right time.
Not only just you know, we don't want to be
you know, we have him not been too sceppible, but
we want to make sure that we are successful using
it at the right time. So when we have moments,
especially dating the game, we still have some of them least,
so we can execute.
Speaker 1: Last one from us skip a brave you second performance.
The velocity was down, and I trying not to make
too much of that because it could be a gun,
it could be the tired arm, you were quoted as saying,
and like you'd interpret it for us a little bit
that it's more of a mechanical than it was about
just the arm. So where are you with him and
what was that mechanical adjustment you think he's going to
make and you don't tell us, But what is it
right now?
Speaker 2: Well, so I'll share that with you. You know, in
a post game after he got outing, I had a
conversation with very my office it and I wanted him
to be handed with me, you know, it's a are
you healthy, it's a skip. I'm healthy. I'm one hundred percent.
But right now I'm battling some chan issues. And you know,
Briana Brow is huge human being, and you know next
upper body, lower half, there's got to be coordination and
there's got to be You've gotta be uh, the sequence
needs to be right right before he's delivered to be
working out in front. Right now, he's opening lower half
too quick, arm size dropping, and he's yanking everything. You
don't really see Briana Bread. When Briana Brew is missing
gloss side, that's that's a sign of he's spinning too quick.
He's opening too quick. Now when he's missing armside right
when he's heard ninety eight to the top of his
own now he's finishing out in front. So he was
walking me through that. He knows what he needs to
be working on and as coaches, and we're going to
help him through that right through videos, you know, through
flatground and but but it's I'm not concerned at all.
It's it's just it's what happens early in the season,
Like just so I could hit my timing is not down,
it's not quite there yet, and You need to continue
to give him opportunity because we know how good he is.
We can't win without Brandon and brother. That's just the
bottom line.