Speaker 1: Every Tuesday during the course of the baseball season, you
hear from this man at twelve thirty, give or take,
depending on if he's going out to get lunch or
something forgets about us.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: And the biggest thing I just found out about our
manager Joe was spotted ross is that uh, he is
personally responsible for the Rockets lost the.
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
Speaker 4: He's all me, yeah, I thought he's going to be
an easy win, but things he can go their way.
Speaker 5: That night.
Speaker 3: You start doing i'ma sart going to y'alls games against
the A's and you know what I do.
Speaker 4: I do have to say that you know when I
first started going watch him a couple of years ago,
and where they're at now, it's, uh is a very
much improved team. You know those guys just you know,
they're they were young a couple of years ago. They're
still young, but they're.
Speaker 5: More polish and actually pretty good basketball team. A while.
Speaker 1: It's fun, it's a lot of fun. Let me ask you,
I didn't win our actress, what is your off season?
Speaker 5: Like?
Speaker 3: Turn your microphon up a little bit.
Speaker 5: There, there we go.
Speaker 3: What do you doing the off season?
Speaker 4: You know what I do some traveling with the family,
and and and I go and catch a couple of
uh couple of sports events. You know, went to a
few uh games, did the Rockets, you know, went over
to Austin and watched up you know, nithseity of Texas
basketball team, the women's basketball team. So you know, my
my daughters, they like to like to do stuff like that,
winning watch the the soccer games. So so we you know,
we can't say no to sports events.
Speaker 1: So it's I can always find aj. It didn't take
me very long about it hour north of town, you
know what I'm saying. But but you're all over the place. Yes, yes,
I do.
Speaker 5: I enjoy that.
Speaker 3: All Right, we're gonna hold this.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask one question, Ross, you get one, and
then we are done talking about one. Let's get to
l and then I swear to God we will not
ask you about it again until the regular season. But
but if it's gonna have to come up, yeah, he
has to.
Speaker 5: I get it.
Speaker 1: He is the consonant pro. You've talked about this for
our period of time. You told us this off air,
and it's worthy of mentioning on air. This is not
something you just pushed upon. Are you earned it? All
not about him catching fly balls. He's a grown up,
he's been around forever, done it. Are you concerned about
that runner trying to score from third to home?
Speaker 3: It's that gonna be something that you're gonna keep a
keen eye on. When it comes to his work in
left field, I'm.
Speaker 4: Not concerned about it. I think he will. He will
figure that out and he'll he'll get it. So us
being as a middle infielders, you know exactly where you
need to line up, you know exactly what the runner
behind you is doing. Now he's the one executing that
first throw. So that's that's the transision that he needs
to make, and I'm sure that he'll he'll do that.
So we're doing this by faces, right. I think Phase
one was you know at Diking Park. We we've worked
like for almost three weeks, fly balls, we deal our work, we.
Speaker 5: Did some video, We work on his techniques.
Speaker 4: You know, we we we talked about the challenging are
the challenging our wall is Now Phase two is spring training.
Now is the sun the elements right? The sun the
win you know now we'll you know it. The base runners,
it's the strategy. It's runners trying to go first to third,
trying to challenge him. So we're going through all that
for the next two weeks, and but I'm sure that
he'll he'll figure it out.
Speaker 5: We're going to give it everything we got.
Speaker 4: You know, he's his mindset, it's where it needs to
be and and I'm sure that we If this works,
it just makes our team that much better.
Speaker 3: He's such a smart player.
Speaker 1: He's got baseball DNA in his in his in his blood.
I think this is not just for him, it's for
any but you put out in left field. Baltimore is
gonna present some challenges. Detroit will post some challenge, Cleveland
a little bit. But if you knock down, if you're
a if you're a minute made park, you'll know the nuance,
the cracks and how the ball lands, hiking park excuse me,
hit me next time there we go.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what it is, right. That's not just for Hosal.
Speaker 4: For anybody, it's for anybody that you know. The challenges
that wall is a challenge for any one. Family park
is challenging for anyone. You can have ten years experience
to five years experience. There's things that he's going to
have to learn. But for us we believe that he
can do it. There's confidence that he can do it.
He's an athlete. He shows his speed, eat the awareness
to do to do the things that we expect them
to do.
Speaker 5: And you know, we got five weeks here to continue
to work on this.
Speaker 4: And you know, we're not going to completely abandon second base,
but I think by him playing some let field really
opens the door for us.
Speaker 5: You do other things on the baseball field.
Speaker 2: Yeah, speaking of learning as you go, take us through
how you're doing. Man, your journey the last year. Obviously
the start wasn't the way that you wanted to go.
You make the playoffs also the early exit, and now
the team retooled this year.
Speaker 3: How are you have you.
Speaker 5: Been going through this?
Speaker 2: And now in your in your second year as the
head man?
Speaker 5: You know what?
Speaker 4: So you know I had some time to you know,
sit down and and and kind of take all in
what twenty twenty four meant for me personally and for
our team. And you know, during that time of reflection,
you you start writing down things that we could have
done better, things that I could have done better. And
you know, I when I met with our club yesterday,
I think we we I told them that we know
we need to be proud of twenty twenty four. You know,
we need not finish the race and what we wanted
to but we ran a strong race. We did what
we wanted to do, which was win the West.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 4: I also told our club that, you know, our our
team was tested like never before. You know, our culture
got tested, our you know, our commitment to winning got
tested from the very beginning, and we prevail. I think
it was It was a good season for us, despite
you know, early exit of the playoff.
Speaker 5: But I think we did some things well.
Speaker 4: And as a manager, I'm proud of the way we
battled back about the way you know, I stay calm
and and have confidence on my club to to get
us to where we wanted to get to, and I
expect it to be, you know, a better better twenty
twenty five were ready for the challenge, and I think
twenty twenty four was the learning experience for all of us.
Speaker 1: If I went back and we went back and looked
at the games and maybe talked to you right after
the deficit was ten games, tell me at that point
what you were thinking and does Dana come to you
and say, do we want to start selling because look,
he maintained a confidence you did as well. But reality
sits in that when when when that deference gets to ten,
that was that's as ugly of numbers against.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Matt, you know what one thing about uh, you
know you asked about Dana, he never used the word sale.
Speaker 5: Never did.
Speaker 3: That's a huge thing.
Speaker 5: It's huge, And it just goes to we really believe
on our team.
Speaker 4: And we always felt like we still had ninety one
hundred games to fight back, right we we we we
felt like once of our guys came back and you know,
our offense was going to click in, and we know
that we had to push in there and and and
we did. But you know, you know, they never there's
the word sold, never came in and play and and
I'm glad.
Speaker 5: I'm glad that we didn't. And I'm glad that.
Speaker 4: We added Kikuchi, who was a big boost to our
to our team doing that stretch.
Speaker 2: How excited are you to write three Christian Walker in
the lineup almost every day? Told happened last year at
first base.
Speaker 5: You know what, the H is not an option there?
Speaker 4: You know, we he's the best defender in the game
over that first he will probably need a day off
here and there, not many, but uh, but I think
that what Christian brings to our club is this level
of you know, you know, leadership, his ability to hit
the ball to the ballpark, quality of bat something that
as a club we kind of struggled last year a
little bit o our offense kind of up and down
and and and how we chase some pitches. So him
and Peret has kind of bring that dynamic back to
our offense. But Christian is a pro, and I'm excited
to have him. Let's get to the outfield. Jane can
cover everything. Yeah, you're moving chance to right field.
Speaker 1: I don't want to say how long is the leash,
because look, everybody's got a leash of some level to
performance wise, I would say, if we took away the
left field situation, what's the thing that probably not alarming,
but we're looking to see productivity wise? Is what you're
nothing the guys can do defensively, but it's on the
offensive end. What were some things you told to both
those guys because we kind of joke with Jake a
little bit about his mate was spectacular. Yeah, we need
that Jake Myers for not to be that o high
number like it was, but level out a little bit.
Speaker 4: Yeah, let's start with Jake, you know, and and I
have this conversation with Jake during the offseason and we
touch on here and a couple of days ago. You know,
it's not you know that that may carry it. You
know that's repeating may and juju. No, it's just you know,
when there's when there's a drop down which all players have,
that it can be you know, two hundred points in
the ops.
Speaker 5: You know there's got to be a walk.
Speaker 4: You know, he can do things where he could lay
down a bunt, this quality of bat where the contribution
is still there. Because I told him this, I said, listen,
you know when I'm looking at my lineup card and
the game, it's when the game is closed.
Speaker 5: We have to lead.
Speaker 4: I want to keep you in the game because your
defense matters. You meet her and you know your defense
is game changing. But when the game is on the
line and you're not swinging the bat the way you're
capable of, I need to make a move. I need
to try to create some runs. And and now I'm
I'm I'm taking my best defender out of the game
because I'm trying to, you know, tack the lead and
and I don't and I don't and I told him
I don't. I don't like doing that. But I told him,
if I have to do it, I will do it again.
But I believe that he made it just meing he
needs to do the same conversation with Mac. Uh you know,
you know, you know you mentioned the leash and I
told Mac, I said, Mac, last year, I think the
leash was long, and maybe this year the leache might
not be that long.
Speaker 5: So it's early production. I want to see you.
Speaker 4: Contribute to to you know, to our offense and and
and putting some good at bats from the very beginning.
And you know, we brought in some left handed bats
that could give me an opportunity to platoony if I
have to, but I'm going to you know, I want
Mac and Myers to take over those those jobs.
Speaker 5: And and and do what they're capable of doing.
Speaker 3: What what do you man?
Speaker 2: It has to be a hard job, because what do
you look for when you win to pull the leash?
Because as you know, baseball is a game where Hall
of famers can struggle.
Speaker 5: For fifty games or more. So what are you looking for?
To say?
Speaker 2: Okay, this is time to make a change. The conversations.
Is it how the bats are looking?
Speaker 3: Is it?
Speaker 5: I mean, what do you do?
Speaker 4: You know, it first starts with, you know, with a
conversation in screen training. The players want to know their
roles and how big that leads. Yes, right, you know
you mentioned hall of famers. We we have have We
have quite a few here that have the chance to
be Hall of famers. So obviously those guys are in
there and and they're gonna they're gonna put their numbers,
but put these young players who are trying to figure out,
you know, in big leagues, and you got to balance
that out with wins and losses. They got to show
you from the very from the very first aid that
the quality of bats are there, that they're making adjustments
that they're not, you know, ignoring kind of the things
that we wanted them to work on.
Speaker 5: But the bats got to be productive.
Speaker 4: You got to hit the ball hard, you gotta walk,
you gotta you know, those are bats need to mean
something for you to be able to stay in there.
Speaker 1: Last question for you, Joel spotted with us here on
the Matt Thomas Show with Ross Skip where is the
battle because it right, likes out their twenty six man roster.
Speaker 3: Uh, and it feels pretty much set. You may have
some things in your mind, but where is the competition
for the next month?
Speaker 4: Which I was saying, well, you know, I think there's
opportunities on some bench rolls. I think there is there
is at least one or two spots there that I
view as competition. And I mentioned some of those outfielders
left down the hitters there there's competition there.
Speaker 5: But also middle relief. I think that's.
Speaker 4: Where we are going to spend a lot of our
time where we got some of these young pitchers who
were there, who we like, who can be that bridge
to a Braille? And and and Hater And on the
ninth who can throw that sixth in? And who can
throw that seventh in? And who's going to be the
guy who's going to step up and and hand the
ball to a clean eighth inning to a braille. That's
that's where the big questions are.
Speaker 1: We teach you a little bit last year about all
the Abrallio appearances. Oh goodness, lesser braill you less or
less every game was closed last year you had to
or less, uh, hater going to the second inning, dream world,
you want both of you know.
Speaker 5: You know, I'm gonna start with it with the first one.
Speaker 4: It's less getting a brow up in the seven to
finish the seventh, less of that, you know, less of
he having to go in the seven to finish the
eighth the seventh and then going back in the eighth,
and then I potentially have to get up hater to
pick him up, so you could, you know, I need
less of that, And that's for me where right now
we are really spending until the time trying to figure that.
The key to that is that also that also helps
that that also helps. But you still gotta, you know,
prepare yourself for you well know, you know what happened
last year. You know, we all left spring training feeling
really good and sexy about our club, and then all
of a sudden, you gotta I learned that really quickly.
You gotta you gotta have a plan, best laid plans.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Skip, thank you very much for the
timer's always We'll see you tomorrow and then our weekly
business looking forward to you. You were great last year
in good times and bad, and let's get away from
this own whatever it was it owned four.
Speaker 5: Start Yeah, I forgot that.
Speaker 1: That's Joe's spotted with This Matt Thomas Show with Ross
continues at a moment here from West Palm Beach on
Sports Talk seveninety