Chandler Rome of The Athletic joined The A-Team with Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler to break down the Houston Astros dropping two of three to the Baltimore Orioles, share key takeaways from the series, and preview Houston’s upcoming matchup with the Boston Red Sox. Rome also provided important updates on Astros injuries and other roster developments.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
As promised, each and every Friday, sometime around four thirty
five o'clock, we have Channel Roama the Athletic calling. Sometimes,
like this week, we have him twice one week, which
is actually my favorite thing to do. You know what, Chandler,
just start doubling up. We'll have you on Mondays and
Fridays from here on out. Now, what a weird day
(00:21):
that was yesterday for these astros and what is continually
a weirder and weirder season.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, I'm just stunned you guys could fit me in today.
I know there was a huge game tonight. I'm sure
the ambassador is super nervous. I hope the charter flight
made it from Italy. Okay, hope he gets his court
side seats and everything's good.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Are all Rocket fans?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hope the best is he? Is he still praying for Victor?
Is that still happening?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Or a couple of series away from Rockets verse Spurs?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So just wait, okay, okay, Well you can go back
to Italy between that. Yeah, yesterday, it was weird. Just
would not have thought the lineup that they ran out
there buying Game two would have done what it did.
But that's why you play the game. That's why baseball
is great. Yeah, it's just kind of the same story,
different verse. This is a team that is consistently shown
(01:14):
it has one of the better offenses in baseball, and
if by have reconceivable metric, has one of the worst
pitching staffs in baseball. So when those two things happen,
anything can happen. And look, there's some things you can
look at with the pitching staff that you know will
regress a little bit to more of a normal mean.
Right Like, they have the second highest bad up in
(01:35):
the sport right now, and it's an unsustainably high bab up,
which shows that there is some misfortune in the contact
that they are allowing. But they've got to stop walking guys.
It's just, I don't know how much simpler to put it.
They walked fifteen guys yesterday in a doubleheader. That just
can't happen. And you know, they need to be around
(01:55):
the strike zone more. They need to, you know, have quicker,
more efficient innings and many that there's starters get deeper
into games to protect this bullpen. So you know, look
at a new month, maybe starting a new and playing
a team in Boston that's a bigger mess than they
are will help. But yeah, it just yesterday kind of
epitomized everything in this team is.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, it's all been about how these games really start
pitching wise, And curious about two of the pitchers who
ended up going or three of them actually, Peter Lambert,
Lance mccullor's junior, and Brian A. Bray, who all pitched
yesterday to varying degrees of success. So curious what you
think we now might know about Lambert three starts in
what you think lies ahead for Lance mccullor's junior. An
(02:39):
interesting day for him, and that it was a successful one,
although there were maybe some questions about the stuff that
he had. And Brian and Bray basically never pitches. He
pitched twice now in the last thirteen days. Yesterday was
one of those appearances. Put four runners on base, one
of them scored. He's then struck out the final two
batters of the inning. Kind of where things stand.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
With him, Yeah, I guess I'll start with them. Bray.
You essentially they're running a seven man bullpen right now
because they don't feel comfortable pitching him in any game
that's remotely close. And when you have one of the
highest scoring offenses in baseball when you have one of
the worst pitching staffs in baseball. That means there's not
going to be a ton of blowout games, right They
score a lot of runs and they give up a
(03:18):
lot of runs, so there's not a ton of places
to use him. So in the absence of having close games,
if they can put it, in the absence of having
blow up games, they can put him in. Like they
want to stay away from him, and there's really no solution,
you know, other than they've got to pitch him when
they can find spots for him and just hope it
gets better. I know that's not the answer everyone wants
(03:41):
to hear, but it's just kind of the it's kind
of the cards even dealt mccullor's you know, I thought
it was interesting to hear him talk about his stuff
after the game, just basically saying that, you know, he
saw the lesser VLO stuff had better just profile and
shape and pitch movement, and he was like, you know what,
if it has this much run, if it has this
much movement, then I'm gonna throw it. I'm gonna throw
(04:03):
less velocity. I do think, you know, the curveball. He
threw right at his season average and it was one
of the best curve balls he's had all year. Got
eleven whiffs on eighteen swings. I believe that was a
good sign. They need him to just keep trying to
get deep into games, be efficient, be around the strike zone.
Lee Night, the walks, and you know, he's a veteran.
(04:24):
He knows how to pitch. It's just a matter of
putting it all together. And then Peter Lambert, you know,
there's something about it. He's just kind of a competitor.
He's just kind of you know, I know it's a
cliche to say, but when he's on the mound, just
it seems like nothing really phases him. You know, he
walks a couple of guys, He's able to get out
of jams. Like it's just he's kind of a throwback
in terms of just kind of a gritty competitor. Didn't
(04:45):
miss as many bats yesterday as we saw on his
first two starts, but still was able to, you know,
get them into the fifth inning. I think Joe A.
Spotto was really going for the win there, pulling him
at ninety one pitches. But you know, look, they need
any sort of reliable semblance of starting pitching making gets
so even if I were to give you bad reports
on both of those guys, it's not like they have
anywhere else to turn it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Talking to Chandler Roam with the Athletic here on Sports
Talk seven ninety astros start in that three game set
in Boston tonight at Fenway. You are there. Do you
ever walk into that place and not think I have
the coolest job in the world. Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
No, it really kind of it. Really, you know, rocks
you a little bit to walk in here and just
understand that you know this is coming away. It beats
working for a living.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I'll say that it does be working for a living well,
and you know, that is a place that traditionally, I
think Jordan Alvarez has loved. Not that there's not a
ton of Major league stadiums he doesn't love hitting in,
but what he has done his resume he put together
for the March April Player of the Month award. I mean,
you can't. I was telling Wax earlier it sucks that
(05:50):
he's basically wasting these mammoth numbers right now.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, I don't want to say waste, but it does
feel like we're not taught. It feels like he's being
overshadowed everything else that is wrong with this team, and
it feels what we're talking about the starting I mean,
it's just like this interview right, like we didn't bring
him up till what the fourth question because we're talking
about the pitching, we're talking about the injuries, and those
are bigger stories. But yeah, Jordan Alvarez is having a
legendary run here. He's I haven't looked at who's in
(06:17):
competition for the Player of the month honors, but I
can't imagine it's anyone that has any numbers approaching his,
you know. And again, I think the thing I will
always say about Alvarez when I'm asked about him is,
you know, he all the home runs are obviously what
everyone loves. They love watching him hit the ball very far,
but like just the overall hitter that he is, just
his his own judgment, his plate, disciplined, He doesn't strike out,
(06:39):
he doesn't swing and miss, he doesn't chase. He is
as a complete hitter as you will find anywhere, and
I think that gets lost a little bit sometimes in
all the big power that he has and all the
home runs that he hits.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Talking to Chandler Rome with the Athletic here on Sports
Talk seven ninety and yeah, it's he is a complete hitter.
It's not just about the home runs. Like you mentioned,
injury situation. We were talking about this earlier. You know,
if he wasn't in the lineup, how much worse it
could be And potentially you're talking about what a six
win team maybe and you don't have a manager and
(07:13):
a general manager. That was the scenario that wex painted.
One of the names you mentioned, you know, trying to
get him back, and a guy that I think will
make a huge difference but also kind of cost some
headaches is Jeremy Pania. How much first of all, how
much closer are we to seeing him and how much
does he in particular do you think help with some
(07:34):
of the problems they're dealing with right now.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, it's interesting. So he was sprinting today in less
field at spend Way before the game. He's close to
going on and a rehab assignment. I would imagine maybe
after the Dodgers series, maybe you see him in Cincinnati
next weekend. I would say that's maybe a soft target
for them. But the interesting thing is like, look, he'll
help the lineup. Don't get me wrong, Like he will,
He's going to help. He's going to help line up construction.
(07:59):
You know, he hit lead off, Corea won't have to
hit lead off. It'll it'll help. But the interesting thing
is like, when he comes back, we're going to just
realtigate the Escoc Paradus infield surplus conversation because you know,
for me, if I look at their problems right now,
like they have an entire outfield on the injured list
aside from Cam Smith, and they're not going to play
(08:19):
Gorden Alvarez in left field. He's on pace to play
forty games total this year in left field. So when
pain it comes back, that just moves the Estoc Paradus
to the bench. And not that Estoc Paradis has been
some world beater this year, but he's been a I mean,
he's been better of late. So yes, getting Jeremy Payne
back will help, But at the same time, you're going
to be removing Estoc Paradus from the equation. So it'll help,
(08:42):
but I don't think it'll help maybe as much as
people think it will. If you know, if they can't
find a way to make this all work, and to
get all these guys in the lineup at the same time.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Would really be a shame. He had five hits yesterday
and the double header. I do like you think he's
coming around a little bit, and that's certainly lengthen the
lineup that essentially is a five person lineup most days.
The bottom four hitters in the order are usually a
different group, but likely a step back from those that
are ahead of him. Today's lineup is no different, but
they play against the team that they're undefeated against this year.
(09:12):
The Astros are nine and twenty against everybody else, the
three to zero against the Red Sox. You know anything
about tonight starter on the Red Sox, we can share
with our listeners when we get into the on Deck Show. Besides,
he's huge, I have no idea truly.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I mean, he's his big league debut, which I think
it's either going to go really really good or really
really bad. Like big league debuts are never like in
the middle. You never see a big league debut where
it's like, oh, he went, he went five innings, he
gave up three runs, like it was just okay. Like
it's either he's gonna go seven scoreless or they're going
to chase him after two innings. And Joe spotatal before
the game, actually he said, you know, we have to
(09:48):
remember that this is his major league debut, and like
essentially saying without saying, like we need to put the
pressure on him, like we need to make him throw strikes,
we need to intimidate him, like we need to control
the tempo and the aggression of me at bat. So
watch them, watch for them to do that, because well,
I mean I was talking about it with some some
Red Sox people earlier, like this is I did not
(10:08):
realize until we got here that this is the first
home game that they will play since Alex Korra and
the four coaches and the five coaches were dismissed. So
there's already all that drama going around. This is the
first home game since that. And oh, by the way,
you have this kid making his big league debut on
the mound. So it's one of these things that could
be a recipe for a disaster for the Red Sox
and a good thing for the Astros. But again, like
(10:31):
we talked about, I mean, Dustin Harris strobin three rounds yesterday,
So who knows what could happen? In baseball?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Jake Bennett makes his major league debut against the Astros
this evening right here on Sports Talk seven nine. Chandler.
Appreciate the great work you do right there in the
Athletic and the even better work you do right here
on this program, not to mention the work you do
on your own podcast with Tyler.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
All right, thanks guys,
As promised, each and every Friday, sometime around four thirty
five o'clock, we have Channel Roama the Athletic calling. Sometimes,
like this week, we have him twice one week, which
is actually my favorite thing to do. You know what, Chandler,
just start doubling up. We'll have you on Mondays and
Fridays from here on out. Now, what a weird day
(00:21):
that was yesterday for these astros and what is continually
a weirder and weirder season.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, I'm just stunned you guys could fit me in today.
I know there was a huge game tonight. I'm sure
the ambassador is super nervous. I hope the charter flight
made it from Italy. Okay, hope he gets his court
side seats and everything's good.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Are all Rocket fans?
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Hope the best is he? Is he still praying for Victor?
Is that still happening?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Or a couple of series away from Rockets verse Spurs?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So just wait, okay, okay, Well you can go back
to Italy between that. Yeah, yesterday, it was weird. Just
would not have thought the lineup that they ran out
there buying Game two would have done what it did.
But that's why you play the game. That's why baseball
is great. Yeah, it's just kind of the same story,
different verse. This is a team that is consistently shown
(01:14):
it has one of the better offenses in baseball, and
if by have reconceivable metric, has one of the worst
pitching staffs in baseball. So when those two things happen,
anything can happen. And look, there's some things you can
look at with the pitching staff that you know will
regress a little bit to more of a normal mean.
Right Like, they have the second highest bad up in
(01:35):
the sport right now, and it's an unsustainably high bab up,
which shows that there is some misfortune in the contact
that they are allowing. But they've got to stop walking guys.
It's just, I don't know how much simpler to put it.
They walked fifteen guys yesterday in a doubleheader. That just
can't happen. And you know, they need to be around
(01:55):
the strike zone more. They need to, you know, have quicker,
more efficient innings and many that there's starters get deeper
into games to protect this bullpen. So you know, look
at a new month, maybe starting a new and playing
a team in Boston that's a bigger mess than they
are will help. But yeah, it just yesterday kind of
epitomized everything in this team is.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, it's all been about how these games really start
pitching wise, And curious about two of the pitchers who
ended up going or three of them actually, Peter Lambert,
Lance mccullor's junior, and Brian A. Bray, who all pitched
yesterday to varying degrees of success. So curious what you
think we now might know about Lambert three starts in
what you think lies ahead for Lance mccullor's junior. An
(02:39):
interesting day for him, and that it was a successful one,
although there were maybe some questions about the stuff that
he had. And Brian and Bray basically never pitches. He
pitched twice now in the last thirteen days. Yesterday was
one of those appearances. Put four runners on base, one
of them scored. He's then struck out the final two
batters of the inning. Kind of where things stand.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
With him, Yeah, I guess I'll start with them. Bray.
You essentially they're running a seven man bullpen right now
because they don't feel comfortable pitching him in any game
that's remotely close. And when you have one of the
highest scoring offenses in baseball when you have one of
the worst pitching staffs in baseball. That means there's not
going to be a ton of blowout games, right They
score a lot of runs and they give up a
(03:18):
lot of runs, so there's not a ton of places
to use him. So in the absence of having close games,
if they can put it, in the absence of having
blow up games, they can put him in. Like they
want to stay away from him, and there's really no solution,
you know, other than they've got to pitch him when
they can find spots for him and just hope it
gets better. I know that's not the answer everyone wants
(03:41):
to hear, but it's just kind of the it's kind
of the cards even dealt mccullor's you know, I thought
it was interesting to hear him talk about his stuff
after the game, just basically saying that, you know, he
saw the lesser VLO stuff had better just profile and
shape and pitch movement, and he was like, you know what,
if it has this much run, if it has this
much movement, then I'm gonna throw it. I'm gonna throw
(04:03):
less velocity. I do think, you know, the curveball. He
threw right at his season average and it was one
of the best curve balls he's had all year. Got
eleven whiffs on eighteen swings. I believe that was a
good sign. They need him to just keep trying to
get deep into games, be efficient, be around the strike zone.
Lee Night, the walks, and you know, he's a veteran.
(04:24):
He knows how to pitch. It's just a matter of
putting it all together. And then Peter Lambert, you know,
there's something about it. He's just kind of a competitor.
He's just kind of you know, I know it's a
cliche to say, but when he's on the mound, just
it seems like nothing really phases him. You know, he
walks a couple of guys, He's able to get out
of jams. Like it's just he's kind of a throwback
in terms of just kind of a gritty competitor. Didn't
(04:45):
miss as many bats yesterday as we saw on his
first two starts, but still was able to, you know,
get them into the fifth inning. I think Joe A.
Spotto was really going for the win there, pulling him
at ninety one pitches. But you know, look, they need
any sort of reliable semblance of starting pitching making gets
so even if I were to give you bad reports
on both of those guys, it's not like they have
anywhere else to turn it.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Talking to Chandler Roam with the Athletic here on Sports
Talk seven ninety astros start in that three game set
in Boston tonight at Fenway. You are there. Do you
ever walk into that place and not think I have
the coolest job in the world. Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
No, it really kind of it. Really, you know, rocks
you a little bit to walk in here and just
understand that you know this is coming away. It beats
working for a living.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I'll say that it does be working for a living well,
and you know, that is a place that traditionally, I
think Jordan Alvarez has loved. Not that there's not a
ton of Major league stadiums he doesn't love hitting in,
but what he has done his resume he put together
for the March April Player of the Month award. I mean,
you can't. I was telling Wax earlier it sucks that
(05:50):
he's basically wasting these mammoth numbers right now.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, I don't want to say waste, but it does
feel like we're not taught. It feels like he's being
overshadowed everything else that is wrong with this team, and
it feels what we're talking about the starting I mean,
it's just like this interview right, like we didn't bring
him up till what the fourth question because we're talking
about the pitching, we're talking about the injuries, and those
are bigger stories. But yeah, Jordan Alvarez is having a
legendary run here. He's I haven't looked at who's in
(06:17):
competition for the Player of the month honors, but I
can't imagine it's anyone that has any numbers approaching his,
you know. And again, I think the thing I will
always say about Alvarez when I'm asked about him is,
you know, he all the home runs are obviously what
everyone loves. They love watching him hit the ball very far,
but like just the overall hitter that he is, just
his his own judgment, his plate, disciplined, He doesn't strike out,
(06:39):
he doesn't swing and miss, he doesn't chase. He is
as a complete hitter as you will find anywhere, and
I think that gets lost a little bit sometimes in
all the big power that he has and all the
home runs that he hits.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Talking to Chandler Rome with the Athletic here on Sports
Talk seven ninety and yeah, it's he is a complete hitter.
It's not just about the home runs. Like you mentioned,
injury situation. We were talking about this earlier. You know,
if he wasn't in the lineup, how much worse it
could be And potentially you're talking about what a six
win team maybe and you don't have a manager and
(07:13):
a general manager. That was the scenario that wex painted.
One of the names you mentioned, you know, trying to
get him back, and a guy that I think will
make a huge difference but also kind of cost some
headaches is Jeremy Pania. How much first of all, how
much closer are we to seeing him and how much
does he in particular do you think help with some
(07:34):
of the problems they're dealing with right now.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Well, it's interesting. So he was sprinting today in less
field at spend Way before the game. He's close to
going on and a rehab assignment. I would imagine maybe
after the Dodgers series, maybe you see him in Cincinnati
next weekend. I would say that's maybe a soft target
for them. But the interesting thing is like, look, he'll
help the lineup. Don't get me wrong, Like he will,
He's going to help. He's going to help line up construction.
(07:59):
You know, he hit lead off, Corea won't have to
hit lead off. It'll it'll help. But the interesting thing
is like, when he comes back, we're going to just
realtigate the Escoc Paradus infield surplus conversation because you know,
for me, if I look at their problems right now,
like they have an entire outfield on the injured list
aside from Cam Smith, and they're not going to play
(08:19):
Gorden Alvarez in left field. He's on pace to play
forty games total this year in left field. So when
pain it comes back, that just moves the Estoc Paradus
to the bench. And not that Estoc Paradis has been
some world beater this year, but he's been a I mean,
he's been better of late. So yes, getting Jeremy Payne
back will help, But at the same time, you're going
to be removing Estoc Paradus from the equation. So it'll help,
(08:42):
but I don't think it'll help maybe as much as
people think it will. If you know, if they can't
find a way to make this all work, and to
get all these guys in the lineup at the same time.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Would really be a shame. He had five hits yesterday
and the double header. I do like you think he's
coming around a little bit, and that's certainly lengthen the
lineup that essentially is a five person lineup most days.
The bottom four hitters in the order are usually a
different group, but likely a step back from those that
are ahead of him. Today's lineup is no different, but
they play against the team that they're undefeated against this year.
(09:12):
The Astros are nine and twenty against everybody else, the
three to zero against the Red Sox. You know anything
about tonight starter on the Red Sox, we can share
with our listeners when we get into the on Deck Show. Besides,
he's huge, I have no idea truly.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I mean, he's his big league debut, which I think
it's either going to go really really good or really
really bad. Like big league debuts are never like in
the middle. You never see a big league debut where
it's like, oh, he went, he went five innings, he
gave up three runs, like it was just okay. Like
it's either he's gonna go seven scoreless or they're going
to chase him after two innings. And Joe spotatal before
the game, actually he said, you know, we have to
(09:48):
remember that this is his major league debut, and like
essentially saying without saying, like we need to put the
pressure on him, like we need to make him throw strikes,
we need to intimidate him, like we need to control
the tempo and the aggression of me at bat. So
watch them, watch for them to do that, because well,
I mean I was talking about it with some some
Red Sox people earlier, like this is I did not
(10:08):
realize until we got here that this is the first
home game that they will play since Alex Korra and
the four coaches and the five coaches were dismissed. So
there's already all that drama going around. This is the
first home game since that. And oh, by the way,
you have this kid making his big league debut on
the mound. So it's one of these things that could
be a recipe for a disaster for the Red Sox
and a good thing for the Astros. But again, like
(10:31):
we talked about, I mean, Dustin Harris strobin three rounds yesterday,
So who knows what could happen? In baseball?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Jake Bennett makes his major league debut against the Astros
this evening right here on Sports Talk seven nine. Chandler.
Appreciate the great work you do right there in the
Athletic and the even better work you do right here
on this program, not to mention the work you do
on your own podcast with Tyler.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
All right, thanks guys,
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