March 26, 2025 • 11 mins
The A-Team is joined by Apple TV+ MLB reporter Heidi Watney to break down the Houston Astros' offseason, plans of a fast start against the Mets, the rise of Cam Smith and more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey till five o'clock. Our plenty of baseball chatter here
today and the days that come in the future, the
baseball chatter will be about results because the season begins
tomorrow for everybody that did not go overseas to begin
their season. The Astros and Mets open up a three
game series this weekend Thursday, Friday Saturday. We're the home
of Astros Baseball right here, so you catch each and
every one of those games right here with us on
(00:26):
Sports Talk seven ninety. You got Adam Wexler and Adam
Clinton here with you. Friday night's game will be broadcast
on Apple TV Plus. Heidi Watney part of the crew
that will bring that to and Heidi, before we jump
into our conversation here, I actually wanted to give you
a piece of audio and see if you could place
it if you hear it well enough, I bet that
(00:48):
you can if you listen closely.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I know you have a lot of people are running
on the now what they can do.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm hoping that made it over the airwaves to ya. Heidi,
can you place that audio?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
That was one of my favorite moments of my Apple
TV Plus career, interviewing Jeremy Pane's parents as he hit
his first major league home run. It was it was
just a special day altogether. But then we played that
clip for Jeremy in the post game on the field
and he just he got emotional about it. It was
(01:39):
such a cool moment. I mean, to be able to
be there and capture their joy and their emotion watching
their son succeed at the highest level was really awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Just a few months later, they were embracing on the
field in a championship celebration. That was pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
That's a pretty good start to that year. I would
have asked you about that anyway during the course of
this interview, but now we obviously have an even bigger
reason to try to tie it together. You and everybody
else saw the news yesterday and the video from inside
the Astros clubhouse with Cam Smith. I was wondering how
quickly you went to producers other on field personnel that
will be with you on Friday and said, I will
(02:15):
be sitting with Cam Smith's mom and girlfriend and stepdad
when he steps up to the play for the first time, right.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
That would be so cool. As soon as I saw
that video. First of all, kudos to Joe Espada for
doing it the way he did that. That was just
such a cool moment. And he's right, that's who you're
gonna call. You're gonna call your parents, You're going to
call the people who schlets you to practice all the time.
And I mean, just like it was so neat to
(02:42):
be able to do that and then just see the
emotion and the fact that they posted it and shared
it with everyone. I immediately sent the tweet to my
producer and I said, I want to use this in
my open so in case people didn't see it, which
I'm sure most people in Houston, but in case people
didn't see it, I want to make sure we share
that on Friday night Baseball. Just what a cool moment
(03:04):
for that, for that kid, And I just I know,
the future looks really bright, and it's really exciting that
you just acquired him in the trade. But to be
able to see that kind of emotion from somebody, and
that's what sports is all about, right, the highs and
lows and the success and the championships and just the
emotion that you go through in trying to succeed at
the highest level.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Well, you're gonna be doing a game inside a stadium
that's not called Minute Made Park. Alex Bradman will not
be at third base, Kyle Tucker will not be in
right field. Justin Verlander is a giant. I mean, there's
so many things that have changed. What do you make
of this Astros team? Because you talk about that bright
future and yet I think there was a lot of
people that are wondering what to make of a team
(03:48):
that's had so many changes happen in just one off season.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
You know the thing about when they didn't when I
you know, Brian Presley's gone, Alex Bregman's gone, I mean,
they had a black hole at first base. I mean
not to be you know, tellous about it last year.
They needed to make a lot of moves to make
all this happen, to make it come together and not
(04:13):
do a rebuild, right, stay competitive because they have a
good young core and you know, they've got a decent
farm system. So what are we going to do to
keep turning it out and turning it over? And that's
what the good teams do. Sometimes you have to take
the hard lump. And I know everybody wanted Bregman back,
but you know he got top dollar in Boston you've
(04:33):
got hater. So not that that makes Presley, you know, useless,
but that helps ease that transition there. And you've got
to bray you. I mean, there's still a very good
core in what is a weaker division. I mean, you're
not looking around that Als and thinking, oh gosh, this
is a juggernaut. I mean, the last the Al East divisions,
(04:55):
they're pretty tough. You might have had a tougher road
to Hoe, but you know, there is a path for
the Astros, and I think that. I mean, I love
Christian Walker, and I will say whenever we've done Diamondback
games for the last couple of years, he is a leader.
He was a leader in that clubhouse. Everyone speaks highly
of him and his work ethic. I think he's going
to be a great guy at that hot corner parades.
(05:17):
It's interesting if you just put he had nineteen home
runs last year, if you put him at formerly Minute
Made Park last year, he would have had twenty six
seven more home runs than he hit last year just
because of the Crawford boxes. So he's a good hitter
for that park. So that's kind of what a good
GM needs to do. Okay, we're not going to be
able to resign Alex pregnant, it's just going to be
(05:39):
too expensive. What can we do that's a more affordable
option to get a guy who's going to fit here
with this culture, with this team, And I like the
moves that they made. Time will tell, right, I mean,
injuries are a big part of the game right now
and everyone's dealing with them, so but I like what
they did.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I really do, Heidi Watney Apple TV. Plus, they've got
Friday Eve game between the Mets and the Astros. They'll
go Thursday, Friday Saturday to open up the season, and
all throughout the year Friday baseball games can be found
there mentioned obviously, there's some connections to Houston with all
the work that you've done over the past few years,
this team has constantly been in it. Do you get
(06:17):
the sense you know the people you're working with, whether
it's Dontrell or some of the other analysts just in
the baseball world in general, which you've been in for
quite a long time. What is the sense you get
from others you've talked to heading into the season, the
forecast for the Astros and the teams in their division
that think they might finally be able to pass them.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Well, you know, the Mariners have one of the best
rotations in baseball, so they're always going to have to
deal with that, right And they made some improvements on offense.
Did they make an up We'll see. I think they're also,
you know, banking on some guys who had down years
last year to be better this year. I do like
their core and I like that team. They just have
not been able to hit the Rangers. The Rangers won
(07:00):
the World Series two years ago, so you certainly can't
count them out. They've got a young core two and
they've got a lot of talent on their team. Are
they more talented than the Astros? I think those two
are pretty evenly matched to me, and from what I'm hearing,
like a lot of people have those guys as their
top three kind of projections have them finishing with very
similar records. So that's going to be a dogfight down
(07:22):
to the wire. But the Angels also made some moves,
and I love Ron Washington and if there is a
guy who is a motivator of young men, he is
one of those people and they mean business there. So
will they get to the level of the Mariners? The
Astros the Rangers. Who knows, we'll see will they have
(07:44):
a healthy Mic Trout even and he's not played very
much over the past four seasons, and that's a big
reason that they haven't done well. So and then you know, Sacramento,
I feel bad.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
What's your mark on the end of that word?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I did?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
You?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Really sad for that fan base? I just feel so
bad for that's fan base. I really do. I have.
I grew up in California. I have friends that are
a fans, and I just my heart leads them as
a as a fan of baseball, I mean, and I'm
a Giants fan, and I'm watching all the things that
the Dodgers are doing. But it's hard to not like
that Dodgers team because it's full of a bunch of
(08:25):
really good people, and having worked in baseball as long
as I have, I'm really just a fan of the
people now as opposed to teams. But I look at
those four suffering as fans and just think they don't
deserve it because they did have a really good fan base,
and you know, it's too bad for them. So but
it's they made some moves. They're going to be competitive.
(08:45):
They were told they need to need to be competitive,
but it's just what are you going to get from
a team playing in a minor league facility? And you know,
it is what it is.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
We're talking to Heidi Watney here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety. Apple TV Plus is going to have these
Friday night game between the Astros and the Mets in
this opening series. Just from somebody who covers the league
on a national standpoint, what do you think of how
the Astros have gone about their business? You know, some
would say, well, they just they traded Kyle Tucker because
(09:16):
they didn't want to pay him. There's teams that just
will I mean, the Dodgers just keep spinning and spinning
and spending, and then the Astros doing things the way
they do. What is somebody like you that is, you know,
looking from afar think of how they've handled this this
current run.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well, you've got to pick and choose, right, unless you're
a team like the Dodgers or the Yankees or you know,
the Sillies have been on quite a run of spending
in the Mets, most teams are going to have to
decide who are we going to pay and who are
we going to not be able to afford? To keep.
And Altuve is a guy that they've kept and he did,
you know, give him a little bit of a hometown discount.
(09:54):
But he's getting paid and it's not like the Astros
payroll is bottom of the league. It's you've got it
work with what you can. I mean, they gave Justin
Berlander quite a bit of money when he came over.
It's I don't I don't fault the Astros for not
being able to afford top dollar on some of their guys.
I know that fan bases, especially when you see a
(10:16):
guy come up and have success and he's your guy
and you want to keep him, and it's hard to
see him go somewhere else. But you know, cam Smith
is looking really good, turning heads and right now you've
got a lot of Cubs fans saying, wait a second,
this guy just made their opening day roster. We traded
him for a guy who's older than him. What are
we doing. It's the fine line that you've got to
(10:37):
walk as a GM. I do know, though, and I
feel that from fan bases. I mean in Boston, don't
you think that fan base would love to have had
Mooki bets all these years? If the Dodgers have had
him and they and that's the Boston Red Sox. They're
a big market team and they traded away Mooky Bets
because they weren't going to be able to afford him.
It's that's pretty much what most teams in the league
(10:58):
have to do. So it's a balance. So who are
you going to spend your money on. Who are you
going to invest in as a face of a team,
in a face of a franchise, And who are you
going to unfortunately have to let walk or trade him
for something and to be able to trade him to
get not only your third baseman but also an outfielder
who is making the opening day roster. That's pretty good, really.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Good stuff here for the people in Houston. I know
they're excited about it. I imagine you are as well.
Making it down here for the opening series. And enjoy
the time in Houston. Always enjoy you spending a few
minutes with us and our listeners here in Houston. Enjoy it,
and we'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
My pleasure. I love coming to Houston, and I like
what they've done. I really do. It'll be fun to
be out there this weekend.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Sounds good. Hoty Watney, Apple TV, plus mets Astro's Friday
Night
Hey till five o'clock. Our plenty of baseball chatter here
today and the days that come in the future, the
baseball chatter will be about results because the season begins
tomorrow for everybody that did not go overseas to begin
their season. The Astros and Mets open up a three
game series this weekend Thursday, Friday Saturday. We're the home
of Astros Baseball right here, so you catch each and
every one of those games right here with us on
(00:26):
Sports Talk seven ninety. You got Adam Wexler and Adam
Clinton here with you. Friday night's game will be broadcast
on Apple TV Plus. Heidi Watney part of the crew
that will bring that to and Heidi, before we jump
into our conversation here, I actually wanted to give you
a piece of audio and see if you could place
it if you hear it well enough, I bet that
(00:48):
you can if you listen closely.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I know you have a lot of people are running
on the now what they can do.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm hoping that made it over the airwaves to ya. Heidi,
can you place that audio?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
That was one of my favorite moments of my Apple
TV Plus career, interviewing Jeremy Pane's parents as he hit
his first major league home run. It was it was
just a special day altogether. But then we played that
clip for Jeremy in the post game on the field
and he just he got emotional about it. It was
(01:39):
such a cool moment. I mean, to be able to
be there and capture their joy and their emotion watching
their son succeed at the highest level was really awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Just a few months later, they were embracing on the
field in a championship celebration. That was pretty nice.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
That's a pretty good start to that year. I would
have asked you about that anyway during the course of
this interview, but now we obviously have an even bigger
reason to try to tie it together. You and everybody
else saw the news yesterday and the video from inside
the Astros clubhouse with Cam Smith. I was wondering how
quickly you went to producers other on field personnel that
will be with you on Friday and said, I will
(02:15):
be sitting with Cam Smith's mom and girlfriend and stepdad
when he steps up to the play for the first time, right.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
That would be so cool. As soon as I saw
that video. First of all, kudos to Joe Espada for
doing it the way he did that. That was just
such a cool moment. And he's right, that's who you're
gonna call. You're gonna call your parents, You're going to
call the people who schlets you to practice all the time.
And I mean, just like it was so neat to
(02:42):
be able to do that and then just see the
emotion and the fact that they posted it and shared
it with everyone. I immediately sent the tweet to my
producer and I said, I want to use this in
my open so in case people didn't see it, which
I'm sure most people in Houston, but in case people
didn't see it, I want to make sure we share
that on Friday night Baseball. Just what a cool moment
(03:04):
for that, for that kid, And I just I know,
the future looks really bright, and it's really exciting that
you just acquired him in the trade. But to be
able to see that kind of emotion from somebody, and
that's what sports is all about, right, the highs and
lows and the success and the championships and just the
emotion that you go through in trying to succeed at
the highest level.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Well, you're gonna be doing a game inside a stadium
that's not called Minute Made Park. Alex Bradman will not
be at third base, Kyle Tucker will not be in
right field. Justin Verlander is a giant. I mean, there's
so many things that have changed. What do you make
of this Astros team? Because you talk about that bright
future and yet I think there was a lot of
people that are wondering what to make of a team
(03:48):
that's had so many changes happen in just one off season.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
You know the thing about when they didn't when I
you know, Brian Presley's gone, Alex Bregman's gone, I mean,
they had a black hole at first base. I mean
not to be you know, tellous about it last year.
They needed to make a lot of moves to make
all this happen, to make it come together and not
(04:13):
do a rebuild, right, stay competitive because they have a
good young core and you know, they've got a decent
farm system. So what are we going to do to
keep turning it out and turning it over? And that's
what the good teams do. Sometimes you have to take
the hard lump. And I know everybody wanted Bregman back,
but you know he got top dollar in Boston you've
(04:33):
got hater. So not that that makes Presley, you know, useless,
but that helps ease that transition there. And you've got
to bray you. I mean, there's still a very good
core in what is a weaker division. I mean, you're
not looking around that Als and thinking, oh gosh, this
is a juggernaut. I mean, the last the Al East divisions,
(04:55):
they're pretty tough. You might have had a tougher road
to Hoe, but you know, there is a path for
the Astros, and I think that. I mean, I love
Christian Walker, and I will say whenever we've done Diamondback
games for the last couple of years, he is a leader.
He was a leader in that clubhouse. Everyone speaks highly
of him and his work ethic. I think he's going
to be a great guy at that hot corner parades.
(05:17):
It's interesting if you just put he had nineteen home
runs last year, if you put him at formerly Minute
Made Park last year, he would have had twenty six
seven more home runs than he hit last year just
because of the Crawford boxes. So he's a good hitter
for that park. So that's kind of what a good
GM needs to do. Okay, we're not going to be
able to resign Alex pregnant, it's just going to be
(05:39):
too expensive. What can we do that's a more affordable
option to get a guy who's going to fit here
with this culture, with this team, And I like the
moves that they made. Time will tell, right, I mean,
injuries are a big part of the game right now
and everyone's dealing with them, so but I like what
they did.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I really do, Heidi Watney Apple TV. Plus, they've got
Friday Eve game between the Mets and the Astros. They'll
go Thursday, Friday Saturday to open up the season, and
all throughout the year Friday baseball games can be found
there mentioned obviously, there's some connections to Houston with all
the work that you've done over the past few years,
this team has constantly been in it. Do you get
(06:17):
the sense you know the people you're working with, whether
it's Dontrell or some of the other analysts just in
the baseball world in general, which you've been in for
quite a long time. What is the sense you get
from others you've talked to heading into the season, the
forecast for the Astros and the teams in their division
that think they might finally be able to pass them.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Well, you know, the Mariners have one of the best
rotations in baseball, so they're always going to have to
deal with that, right And they made some improvements on offense.
Did they make an up We'll see. I think they're also,
you know, banking on some guys who had down years
last year to be better this year. I do like
their core and I like that team. They just have
not been able to hit the Rangers. The Rangers won
(07:00):
the World Series two years ago, so you certainly can't
count them out. They've got a young core two and
they've got a lot of talent on their team. Are
they more talented than the Astros? I think those two
are pretty evenly matched to me, and from what I'm hearing,
like a lot of people have those guys as their
top three kind of projections have them finishing with very
similar records. So that's going to be a dogfight down
(07:22):
to the wire. But the Angels also made some moves,
and I love Ron Washington and if there is a
guy who is a motivator of young men, he is
one of those people and they mean business there. So
will they get to the level of the Mariners? The
Astros the Rangers. Who knows, we'll see will they have
(07:44):
a healthy Mic Trout even and he's not played very
much over the past four seasons, and that's a big
reason that they haven't done well. So and then you know, Sacramento,
I feel bad.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
What's your mark on the end of that word?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I did?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
You?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Really sad for that fan base? I just feel so
bad for that's fan base. I really do. I have.
I grew up in California. I have friends that are
a fans, and I just my heart leads them as
a as a fan of baseball, I mean, and I'm
a Giants fan, and I'm watching all the things that
the Dodgers are doing. But it's hard to not like
that Dodgers team because it's full of a bunch of
(08:25):
really good people, and having worked in baseball as long
as I have, I'm really just a fan of the
people now as opposed to teams. But I look at
those four suffering as fans and just think they don't
deserve it because they did have a really good fan base,
and you know, it's too bad for them. So but
it's they made some moves. They're going to be competitive.
(08:45):
They were told they need to need to be competitive,
but it's just what are you going to get from
a team playing in a minor league facility? And you know,
it is what it is.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
We're talking to Heidi Watney here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety. Apple TV Plus is going to have these
Friday night game between the Astros and the Mets in
this opening series. Just from somebody who covers the league
on a national standpoint, what do you think of how
the Astros have gone about their business? You know, some
would say, well, they just they traded Kyle Tucker because
(09:16):
they didn't want to pay him. There's teams that just
will I mean, the Dodgers just keep spinning and spinning
and spending, and then the Astros doing things the way
they do. What is somebody like you that is, you know,
looking from afar think of how they've handled this this
current run.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well, you've got to pick and choose, right, unless you're
a team like the Dodgers or the Yankees or you know,
the Sillies have been on quite a run of spending
in the Mets, most teams are going to have to
decide who are we going to pay and who are
we going to not be able to afford? To keep.
And Altuve is a guy that they've kept and he did,
you know, give him a little bit of a hometown discount.
(09:54):
But he's getting paid and it's not like the Astros
payroll is bottom of the league. It's you've got it
work with what you can. I mean, they gave Justin
Berlander quite a bit of money when he came over.
It's I don't I don't fault the Astros for not
being able to afford top dollar on some of their guys.
I know that fan bases, especially when you see a
(10:16):
guy come up and have success and he's your guy
and you want to keep him, and it's hard to
see him go somewhere else. But you know, cam Smith
is looking really good, turning heads and right now you've
got a lot of Cubs fans saying, wait a second,
this guy just made their opening day roster. We traded
him for a guy who's older than him. What are
we doing. It's the fine line that you've got to
(10:37):
walk as a GM. I do know, though, and I
feel that from fan bases. I mean in Boston, don't
you think that fan base would love to have had
Mooki bets all these years? If the Dodgers have had
him and they and that's the Boston Red Sox. They're
a big market team and they traded away Mooky Bets
because they weren't going to be able to afford him.
It's that's pretty much what most teams in the league
(10:58):
have to do. So it's a balance. So who are
you going to spend your money on. Who are you
going to invest in as a face of a team,
in a face of a franchise, And who are you
going to unfortunately have to let walk or trade him
for something and to be able to trade him to
get not only your third baseman but also an outfielder
who is making the opening day roster. That's pretty good, really.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Good stuff here for the people in Houston. I know
they're excited about it. I imagine you are as well.
Making it down here for the opening series. And enjoy
the time in Houston. Always enjoy you spending a few
minutes with us and our listeners here in Houston. Enjoy it,
and we'll talk to you again soon.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
My pleasure. I love coming to Houston, and I like
what they've done. I really do. It'll be fun to
be out there this weekend.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Sounds good. Hoty Watney, Apple TV, plus mets Astro's Friday
Night
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