Short Show, Long Outing For Lance McCullers Ahead? Longer Timeline For C.J. Stroud out?

Wex and AC break down the recent news of C.J. Stroud's lingering injury, Lance McCullers' next road start, life facing off against Paul Skenes, a trade package worth taking and more!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham raised my.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Earl Nolan.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Multipot the magnificent roller coaster ride.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
That is Houston Sports. Chill late down for the only
home grown.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Afternoon team is talking your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam
Wexler are the A team eighty?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
All right, now we can start the show. It is
the eight team spour Sox seven ninety Tuesday edition of
the program, taking you up until Wait, when's the exact
Is it four thirty that we start doing the ridiculously

(00:58):
long pregame cover.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
Astros have two.

Speaker 5 (01:01):
Hours and twenty nine minutes of notice.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
I'm excited about tonight's game.

Speaker 5 (01:06):
Awesome Astros and Pirates, first of three. Not a lot
of games against these National League teams here, but they
play everybody. Paul Skeins gets the ball for the Pirates.
Lance mccullors Junior will try to repeat some of the
things from the last performance. The strikeouts and length certainly
would be at the top of the list, going six innings,
getting twelve k's and having the Astros in position to win,

(01:28):
which they did. Skeins has pitched very well individually. His
record and his team's record is not indicative of that,
but that's because this is one of the worst teams
in baseball. Hopefully the Astros play like they are much
better than them. The record says that they are at
five games over and a half game out of first place.
But we shall see obviously, the Texans, as you've heard
throughout the day, we're on the practice field outside today,

(01:51):
nice weather, no rain, no horns, no scurrying inside, the
first off season walking out with wex in the sun
rather than with a slicker on. It's only episode number three. Well,
I have got access to three practices. We will have
access to Mini can't practice next week. Both of those

(02:13):
the only mandatory off season workouts for the Houston Texans.
I think by now, several hours after practice has concluded,
you know that CJ. Stroud was in a similar position
to what he's been in throughout the short portion of
off season workouts. He's participating. He looks in good health.
He can handle working to prepare for practice, he can

(02:33):
handle handing offs at practice, but he can't handle throwing.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
They don't have him throwing yet.

Speaker 5 (02:38):
But Demiko Rans did meet with the media after today's
practice and before he took questions, he addressed it, which
probably something they could have done last week, but happy
that they did it today. So I'll share with you
his exact words on the new member of the military
that joined the team today. His name is General Sorenis
and he is at the hip of C. J.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
Stroud.

Speaker 5 (02:59):
And even though we're still two more full days plus
most of Thursday away from.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Real soreness, you think I'm gonna let that go for
thirty seconds before I make fun of it?

Speaker 4 (03:10):
No, I thought you catch on.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Hey, by the way, when the TV comes on, I
want y'all to know that there's not a competition day.
I've worn this on camera before, but I don't think
wex is lit.

Speaker 5 (03:20):
This smoking baby Hawaiian shirt is legendary if you know
what it represents without me describing it anymore than.

Speaker 4 (03:27):
That bag and green no less. I mean, when you're
in the big league, is jealous of that You're in
the big league? Chew, But I'm not gonna go buy one.
I don't do that.

Speaker 5 (03:35):
Among the awesome, awesome commercial music beds of all time
and lyrics to go with it, So we might have
to bring that out. But even though we're Tuesday full day,
Wednesday full day, all of Thursday until Thursday evening away
from the last two teams in the NBA playoffs finally
getting together. East meets West drago versus Rocky Pacers versus Thunder.

(04:00):
A news in the NBA which broke in the last
hour or so, a new coach opening. There were three
teams left when we left you on Friday in the NBA,
and one of those three teams said we gotta do better.
The Knicks, after being ousted from the Eastern Conference playoffs
in the Eastern Conference Finals in a six game series,

(04:20):
have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
What is going on in the NBA now?

Speaker 5 (04:25):
Late in the season, we had two coach firings, both
from playoff teams, Memphis and the Denver Nuggets. Now we've
got another playoff team firing. This one's a little bit different,
so we'll definitely dig in on that. There were some
other items from an NBA standpoint as it relates to
the Rockets and some other very desirable young core players

(04:48):
that the Rockets have, And I do consider all the
players that are young and first round picks as core players,
but I also recognize the twenty twenty four to twenty
five Rockets did not play all of those players too, specifically,
Reed Shephard this past axt year's top pick, and Cam Whitmore,
a first round pick from the year prior. Neither of
them were part of the rotation for much of the year,
and obviously neither of them played a significant role in

(05:10):
the postseason. But part of the Rocket's young core, it
is very large and does afford them the opportunity, I
think to investigate, make phone calls and put a lot
of deals together on their end and then see if
they might pan out on the other end. So we'll
certainly touch on that also clearly until it changes. I
can go to all the OTA practices, mini camp practices

(05:33):
I want, and nothing that happens out there will register
higher than did the quarterback throw today. I know it
doesn't mean a whole lot. We're ninety plus days from
them going one and oh against the Rams to open
up the season, followed by two and oh on Monday
Night football against the Bucks the week after, and CJ
is going to play in both of those games barring
an injury that happens in either of those games or

(05:55):
potentially something that happens during camp. It was indicated quite clearly,
and I'll it to meet go describe it to you
specifically right here, right out of the gate. As he
met with the media today and before we could ask
our questions, he said, I know you're going to have
a lot of questions, so I'll just tell you what
I want to tell you about CJ.

Speaker 4 (06:12):
Strout. You want to play the on hold music or
elevator music, or you want me to play it?

Speaker 5 (06:21):
Or should I just continue to have our listeners.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
Wait.

Speaker 5 (06:26):
I know you guys think he's talking to me in
my air, but he's not. He can talk to you
over the air. He can just let us know. Man,
I can see him. He's working feverishly. I mean, he
could say gremlins are at it. He could say, dude,
you didn't tell me we were going to play this though.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
First not throwing again.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
There's no concerns with CJ.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
It's just general soreness.

Speaker 6 (06:44):
We're taking initial precaution with him, but he'll be good
to go.

Speaker 4 (06:48):
No concerns on my end there.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Okay, I need to give a little analogy here for
you because you'll appreciate it, and I think others that
are listening that are of age.

Speaker 4 (06:58):
Agow, let's hear it first before I comment.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
Okay, remember what you were talking about. We need to
start modernizing our movie references. Yes, this is one came
out in two thousand and four closer, so we're almost
within twenty years.

Speaker 5 (07:10):
Presumably a lot of our listeners are, you know, drinking
age twenty.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
I remember when the you know what hits the fan
and anchorman in the newsroom and they're finally going at it.
They are fighting each other. We're talking about Ron Burgundy
and Veronica Corningstone. You'll she starts hitting him with a
TV antenna.

Speaker 4 (07:27):
Remember that?

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Yes, And do you remember what champ Kine said. He's
holding everybody back so they don't join into the fray,
and he goes.

Speaker 4 (07:35):
Take it easy, take it easy. They're just talking.

Speaker 3 (07:39):
They're just that is what the Texans are trying to
have you believe as to why their quarterback is not
throwing but he's doing everything else on a football field.

Speaker 5 (07:49):
Yeah, and he did not specify what is hurt and
what's preventing him from throwing. But we are not that
dumb and he knows that, so we didn't feel the
need to expand on that. Asked several other questions about it,
he just reiterated this is what I'm here to tell you.
I'm not giving you any more information. I don't want
any more CJ question. That's why I opened with this.
But we've described our you know, we're at practice, he's

(08:11):
at practice, he's participating. And then when they go from
you know, the first set of team drills are for
I don't know if it's for every team, but every
team I've ever seen, every team that's come in and
every other team that I've been to their practices for
they usually open with handoffs. Texans have five running backs
right now, No Joe Mixon, no Damian Pierce, same five
backs that have been there for each of their OTAs,

(08:32):
and c J Strout as QB one. He takes the
first reps. He takes the step, he turns around and
he shoves it in Dario Goombo Walle's belly, and then
he turns around the other way and gives one to
JJ Taylor and then maybe Davis Mills will step in,
he'll hook up you know, Woody Marks and British Brooks
will get his work in and then they'll go through. Oh,

(08:54):
we'll go to the other side of the field. We'll
do the same thing. And now we're almost ready to
go to pitches or you're gonna be on my left side.
And then they start the running backs out wide. Well,
he's not gonna be handing it off to a running
back out wide. He's going to be passing him the
ball on the flat. Well, that's when Davis Mills becomes
QB one. That's what happened today. It's what happened throughout
each of the practices we have seen. So we can

(09:14):
see a healthy body, healthy feet, healthy knees, healthy legs,
health healthy core. All those things clearly are uninjured, or
else he wouldn't be doing any of these things right.
The reason you're not throwing is because there is an
upper body injury. It's has been reported by Aaron Wilson accurately,
as you know, a shoulder, a peck, a minor injury,

(09:35):
something of a minor nature. Worked so far out from
the season. Then you just heard Tamiko Ryans describe it
as such. There is no concern on his end. I
think the NFL is a little different than every other sport,
especially with the little they actually have to tell us.
I do think sometimes they don't want much of that

(09:56):
information out not always because there's some competitive advantage, and
clearly at this point in the year, there isn't. I
don't think it changes the way any other team's going
about their off season if they know that c J.
Stroud is unable to throw, if they find out he
had some procedure which was asked of Demico and he
would not answer. But I don't believe that that is
the case. I don't think there's anything significantly wrong with

(10:16):
c J. Stroud. He's clearly not throwing for a reason,
and the team acknowledged that quite clearly today. But I
don't have I'm just still that my concern meter has
not pomped at all.

Speaker 4 (10:28):
It remains very low.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah, just to kind of run this scenario by you,
would it have been better for all parties involved if
he just wasn't out there at all, or he's out
there but he's doing everything except for the one thing.

Speaker 5 (10:44):
Well, to me, what they've done other than Dimiko should
have said what he said today on the first availability
of last week when we all were there to watch it.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
CIJ.

Speaker 5 (10:53):
They're inviting us to practice specific days each of these
two weeks.

Speaker 4 (10:57):
We've not.

Speaker 5 (10:57):
They practiced six times. Tomorrow will be the sixth one.
We will have had availability at three of them, and
that's they can then do whatever they want with the
other three practices.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
They know.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
We don't see whether or not any video from the
internal side, the creative, the digital side ever comes out
that you then see, oh, well he must have been
practicing today, and sure that might be there, But we
don't have any other information other than phone calls we
might make, sources we might have that can indicate who
did what. We're out there, we're seeing it. I don't
think they're not trying to hide what's going on. We're

(11:28):
watching what's going on. I've said it from the first
day we saw him not throw. Guys in their third year,
if there's no injury, they're not on a pitch count
in the off season. There's no reason to keep him
from throwing. Even if he had a shoulder injury, which
he did over the first two years of his career,
there's no serious reason.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
There's no reason to just period.

Speaker 5 (11:48):
Say well, we don't want you throwing yet, Well, there
is a reason you do that. You don't just say
he's not throwing. You don't make a decision that's not
medically based. This is medically based, and the team acknowledged
it today. He should be out there anticipating it every
other way, so he's not able to make the throws.
I can only imagine what the questions would be if
he's not out, if he were not out there, I
much prefer this way how they've handled it. Again, the

(12:09):
only thing I would have changed, just just tell us
what you told us today. Then all right, a whole
five days ago or six days ago. Well it's not
it's not medically based, it's military base.

Speaker 3 (12:20):
But all right, the two of you and your dad
jokes are going to sit out a few minutes until
we can regroup and.

Speaker 4 (12:27):
Make the inevitable comparison. I'll do it. I'll be the
bad guy.

Speaker 3 (12:32):
But I'll also tell you about some of the hilarious
responses on this topic that I've at least seen, and
maybe Wes has some come in his way as well.
That is next here. On a Tuesday edition of the program.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
The Age on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 7 (12:47):
Ninety came out and you heard the synthesizers where you're like,
what's going on, dude?

Speaker 5 (13:05):
About two two and a half hour maybe three hour
one of those series behind the scenes building of the
band all that kind of junk.

Speaker 4 (13:13):
I can't even remember what network carries those dh one
behind the music, it's.

Speaker 5 (13:17):
Similar to it, but that's not the exact one. I
just watched it this past weekend. What Yeah, didn't you
tell me? Was it on or was it like YouTube?

Speaker 4 (13:24):
No, it was on. It's on the on the teleg
and you text me.

Speaker 5 (13:27):
So some some back friends learned a couple of things
that didn't already know, but most of it was just.

Speaker 4 (13:34):
Whatever we wanted to do.

Speaker 5 (13:35):
We had to make sure we got the right people
on our side because it was us Michael, Alex and
Eddie versus Dave pretty much with everything all through. Dave
is the showman. Dave wants to do this. Dave wants
to do this on the video. Dave doesn't want to
hear this the keyboards. You're a guitarist, this is our sound.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
What are you doing?

Speaker 5 (13:51):
He was so good at it though, like he is
with the guitar and everything else. They usually got their
way music videos. How they came together, you know. One
of the producers of it was like, yeah, we came
up with this whole concept to do it, and we
did this, we did that, and then Dave wants to
drop in these shots of him, you know, that getting
arrested shot and him driving his motorcycle through town. I'm like,

(14:13):
this makes absolutely no sense for the jump video. And
so we showed two versions of it and the guys
were like, well, you're we're gonna take your side, but
you're gonna get fired after this.

Speaker 4 (14:23):
He got fired.

Speaker 5 (14:23):
They took his side, they ran the video that they wanted,
and then all those shots worked perfectly for Panama and
so they used.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
Them all in that video.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
I always wondered about this, since we're doing a Van
Halen historical.

Speaker 5 (14:35):
It's always a great idea here on the show if
if you play bump music, that we talk about that
rather than what we tease to talk about.

Speaker 4 (14:40):
So that's what we're getting at. Don't worry.

Speaker 5 (14:42):
We've had plenty of consultants have been in. They always
say that if you hear bump music you like to
talk about, definitely do that.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
And the consultants are losers that didn't make it in
the business. They're consulting, that's what they are, or people
that current and Bob no, no, no, those aren't consultants.
Those are programmers and they're different. But did they fire
him after the tour because they had to tour for
that album. Right, it's their biggest album ever.

Speaker 5 (15:05):
Well popularized the band basically general mainstream.

Speaker 4 (15:09):
Because they fired him. No, you're saying the album did.
The album did.

Speaker 5 (15:13):
And when I said you're gonna get fired, I was
talking about the producer of the video.

Speaker 4 (15:17):
Not Well, because Dave got fired too.

Speaker 5 (15:19):
After Well, Dave also wanted to go crazy from the heat,
so he did all four songs and then a Californ
Guess whose concept that was for that video signed David
Lee Roth's good concept. I'm not arguing with it, but
this is what he wanted. It was pretty smart. Just
look at his videos. Man Yankee Rose just to Jiggilow

(15:40):
and this one. Uh, they're wild, but like him right
on points.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
And if you ever isolated vocals for like any van
Halen song, you can see why I think we'll be
okay with Sammy and the rest of the band's staying.

Speaker 5 (15:53):
Sammy brought something that Dave didn't bring, vocals. He's a musician.
He plays instruments to lead the guitar.

Speaker 4 (16:01):
You need to do that, all right? Are you like me?

Speaker 3 (16:04):
And you were looking at well, you technically were looking
right at.

Speaker 4 (16:09):
Tamiko Ryans when he was saying this stuff.

Speaker 3 (16:11):
But like, this was my question when I saw all
the kerfuffle this morning, and it really isn't.

Speaker 4 (16:17):
I mean, this is far from it.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
I'm not they told us before you think I'm gonna
do what you all think I'm gonna do.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
Which is just flip out. There's a Jerry Maguire reference.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
No, I was not going to come in here and
say see it just like the Astros, but I did
did not like the fact that there was a theme.
There was a theme to what he was saying, and
you mentioned it was a military theme. General discomfort or
general sorenis is the first cousin of discomfort fill on
the blank, and I just my question was obvious, why

(16:50):
if C. J. Stroud hasn't played a football game since
January eighteenth, is his specifically throwing shoulder having general sorenis?
Here on June third.

Speaker 4 (17:00):
He did something? What did he do?

Speaker 5 (17:02):
He got options, he had a procedure, which I don't
think is the case, and was asked but not answered
today and he just did normal football stuff during the offseason,
made a lot of throws, invited guys to go through here,
went and worked out with a personal coach, just simply
through the football, which I think most quarterbacks will do.
I mean, the season ended in January, it's June. He's

(17:22):
definitely picked up a football and in those four months
that have transpired, so I don't doubt that that could
be an option.

Speaker 3 (17:28):
He did this last offseason? Did he not did what
during this same timeframe. It's the off season. I'm gonna
work on things. I'm gonna throw the football. He didn't
have general soreness. Then that's why I'm asking what happened
or what's different? I'm telling you what could what's different?
If something happened, that's the only thing we know. Well,
we don't know that.

Speaker 5 (17:46):
See, That's why I don't like about this because it
is very, very different. Jordan Alvarez is unable to play. Okay, well,
we don't really care because the Astros first game isn't
till October, right.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Right, I get that, well, September in this case, well,
I'm trying to put him.

Speaker 5 (18:01):
I'm kind of to the quick math of how far
away ninety six days is. Yeah, but again, he could
have injured. It also not just I've thrown so much.
There's there's something wrong with it. I could have done
something else that injured it some not. He could have
had a lifting incident where he was working out and
he was on a totally normal Texans instructed course of

(18:24):
here's what we want you to do. He could have
even done it at the facility. You know, you're doing
a lift and you've you know, your shoulder doesn't feel right,
your peck doesn't feel right. You stop, and they take
a look at everything and say, oh, this is this.
Will heal. It's not very significant. It will go away
without any need for anything, and you won't be worried
about this moving forward. We just you need to take
it easy, which he's doing. I don't know any of

(18:45):
those to be true, but they're all very plausible scenarios.
And yes, again, I'm aware that he is capable of
bouncing a basketball and throwing it at the rim like
he's an NBA player, which he did this weekend a
couple of times. To me, that's see how barely hurt
he is. Not he has his doesn't have his priorities straight.

(19:06):
I don't see it that way. Why don't you say
barely sore instead of barely hurt? Because I'm not hung
up on the terms. Like many people are right, it
doesn't make anything.

Speaker 4 (19:15):
Absolutely hung up on it, but you know, if.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
They're not using a medical term, then it's not relevant.
If they're not calling it a strain or sprain or
a tear, I don't really care if they call it soreness, discomfort, inflammation.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
Well, sometimes some teams call it something and then it's
actually something else, but that's a different organization.

Speaker 5 (19:31):
And that the organization sent out actual injury updates today
posts imaging without being asked. You know, we went in
and did imaging on Zach Decenzo and this is what
we found, and this is what's going to happen, and
this is what's prescribed and this is our plan. And
they did this similarly with Renel Blanco. But we're already
past the information. Uh now, they just told us flat

(19:55):
out he's having his surgery on Friday.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
You know, if I really wanted to lean into this
heel role that I am on our show about injuries
that we don't have enough information about, I would say,
why the hell are they waiting until Friday to have
the surgery? He could have had it done two weeks ago.
But I'm not gonna do that because it's I.

Speaker 5 (20:09):
Mean, don't you think at this point there's probably a
good reason why and it might not sound medically. What
if the doctor that's going to do it just wasn't
available exactly or this is just from a it's just
makes sense with all that he's been through, where his
shoulders at, where they're going to send him, who's going
to do it?

Speaker 4 (20:26):
That's there you have, well and all this goes back
to the original people. I believe.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
I can't believe what they did with Renel Blanco. This
is you in twenty twenty seven. I mean, here we
are on April nineteenth, the twentieth game of the season,
and Renauld Blanco was just making a season debut. If
you would have had the surgery four days prior, he
could have debuted on April sixteenth, not April twentieth.

Speaker 4 (20:49):
Uh, these guys, what are they doing?

Speaker 3 (20:51):
You think I'm gonna quibble about four days when it's
been two years since he picked.

Speaker 4 (20:55):
That's what I mean.

Speaker 5 (20:55):
It's so it's I'm sure that there you know, when
we learn about this goes back to your best your
your last dancer with Scottie Pippen intentionally postponing surgery so
he would miss time like players don't do that often.
Players might not want to have surgery. I will put
it off and put it off things. Yes, it's some
one of the doctors said you won't need it, you
won't need it, you won't need it, and then another

(21:16):
doctor after the fact, months later says you need it.

Speaker 3 (21:20):
Yeah, And inevitably it always comes about when it's going
to make that player's playing time get cut into.

Speaker 4 (21:26):
I hate that he had all off season to do
this right.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
In the case of Scotty, he did, and he intentionally
was not but that's because he hated the fat GM
had nothing to do with anything else.

Speaker 4 (21:36):
I'm gonna show them what I'm I can't do it.

Speaker 3 (21:38):
Impression lower slower, I know slower and lower is absolutely
the case. But he was doing that intentionally, and it's
very well documented in the last dance.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
I just don't you know, I'm not. I don't think
that's happening here.

Speaker 5 (21:50):
I just again, and I'm I'm worried a little bit
for the reaction. A week from today, they have given
us access to both of the two mini camp days
next week. One is Tuesday, one is Wednesday, and that's
only seven days from now. Is he's so healing so
quickly or healing on a pattern that says he's going

(22:11):
to say goodbye and kick general soreness to the curb
and he's going to be throwing passes on the tenth
and or the eleventh when we're there. I presume he's not,
because why have him throw when he can take another
five weeks away from practice before camp so will and
evidently get well. He's still not throwing. We have to
report that. We're going to be there. We're going to
watch him throw or not throw, and when he doesn't,

(22:33):
we'll report it. I probably won't be any more concerned
that day in a week on our show at two
or on the X platform or Instagram or Snapchat than
I am today, which is not at all.

Speaker 4 (22:45):
The cyborg and the knee jerk. That's actually the original.

Speaker 5 (22:48):
Fine anyway, Davis Mills looks fine. Keith Slow is his
slinging it. Graham Mertz even appeared at practice. Stay not
you're ready to throw yet or participate, but he's there.
How did Davis Mills's neck look in case in a
helmet for the most part, Gersey, older pads thick. You know,
people have different neck lengths mine. It's it's normal.

Speaker 4 (23:07):
Mine's a little bit longer than yours.

Speaker 5 (23:09):
Mine is a little bit shorter than his. His is
longer than both of ours put together. I have a
son who's essentially my height. Some days he thinks he's taller,
some days he thinks he's shorter. We are the same
height right now, and our shoulder heights very very very
very different. Yeah, he has a I would, i would say,
a longer neck than I do. He's gonna tower over
you someday, I wish. I don't think he's going to,

(23:32):
but I certainly would hope for it. He'll he'll get
the height. It's a late bloom thing. It's fine, all right.
See see what I did there. It's fine.

Speaker 4 (23:38):
That's whole.

Speaker 5 (23:38):
I mean, I listened to not too much of it
on my drive over here, but enough to hear.

Speaker 4 (23:42):
It's fine about nineteen times. It is what it is,
all right.

Speaker 3 (23:46):
The Not Matt Thomas Show, known as The eighteen continues
with the best of X like we do every day
around this time.

Speaker 1 (23:52):
Next The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety did you
all see.

Speaker 8 (24:02):
This should be putting out?

Speaker 2 (24:03):
Between five and fifteen posts day.

Speaker 5 (24:06):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media. History repeats itself type, bang, you will succeed.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
Never doubt that you're.

Speaker 4 (24:16):
The one who was. No one believe you're the best
of X. Nothing's gonna ever top you know you're the
best of X. Posting every single day, and you're the.

Speaker 5 (24:29):
Best of X breaking the entire internet.

Speaker 3 (24:39):
The best of X Tuesday edition of the program. Every
time I hear this or every time I see X,
I think about Jack Nicholson's joker.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
He's been using brand X. That doesn't come to mind
for you, does it.

Speaker 5 (24:54):
It wouldn't come to mind at all if he wasn't
recently used in a Good Morning video.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
Well, he's the world's first fully functioning homicidal artist.

Speaker 4 (25:05):
Great news, I make art. Didn't tell people die? All right?
So I am going to submit my own.

Speaker 3 (25:13):
Personal swell submission into this conversation because when I saw
what was happening with the Texans today, I first said that,
you know, the Astros have this comfort, the Texans have
general soreness, and I have a headache because I was
just tired of injury talk. I don't want to talk
about injuries, but this is the type of thing that
sometimes can happen when you have what's going on with CJ,

(25:36):
what's going on with Jordan Alvarez, and an off day
the night before with the Astros. It's just inundated. But
I also said, by the way, it's June third.

Speaker 4 (25:44):
CJ.

Speaker 3 (25:45):
Stroud hasn't played a game since January eighteenth. What exactly
is causing his shoulder to have quote general soreness? And
my favorite response actually I got during the show twenty
eight minutes ago, so barely got it in under the Star.

Speaker 4 (26:01):
Do you think?

Speaker 3 (26:01):
And I like when I can read the sarcasm, like
sometimes you don't know? Do you think he's just been
sitting on his couch for four and a half months. Okay,
since you decided to be a d we can go
that route. So I just said, why don't you answer
my question first? And he says they don't have to
tell us that, but most likely from working out. We're
less than a week into OTA's over two months from

(26:21):
our first preseason game, and coach says he's fine, but
not something to worry about yet. And I think that's
a fair assessment of what Demiko Ryan said today, what
he'll continue to say, what he's going to inevitably say
next week, if and when CJ's not throwing the ball
at these involuntary camps, well.

Speaker 5 (26:41):
This was the last one we'll see. Next week is mandatory.

Speaker 4 (26:46):
He's not gonna be throwing the football. I would be.

Speaker 5 (26:47):
Shocked if he were throwing the football. It'd be fantastic news,
but I would be very, very very surprised by just
from a basic medical side of it.

Speaker 4 (26:56):
Well, why why bother?

Speaker 5 (26:58):
I mean, just take the fifty reps off of his
plate for a whole however long you want to make it.

Speaker 4 (27:04):
I mean, this is no time to test it.

Speaker 5 (27:06):
I don't think if he's not cap if they don't
feel comfortable with him throwing today, I don't know why
they feel comfortable with him throwing in a week. It's
not like we're asking, well, if today was a game,
if today was a playoff game. It isn't, and it's
not going to be for several weeks. Now.

Speaker 4 (27:18):
When we get to.

Speaker 5 (27:20):
The day's preceding camp and he's there and he's not throwing,
that's a totally different scenario. That means he will have
had more than a month, probably more like two months
at the very least, because we don't know when this
general soreness paid a visit to him.

Speaker 4 (27:33):
We just know he's currently going through it.

Speaker 5 (27:35):
If you get to the late stages of July and
he's not throwing, that's a totally different story. I do
appreciate that they are saying they're not concerned, but again,
I'd like to put this out there in advance before
we get there. If he's spending three consecutive weeks with
not throwing, then he gets to camp as a totally
healthy player. Do not freak out if he gets additional

(28:00):
days off, takes additional drills.

Speaker 3 (28:02):
He's also not going to play in the preseason except
for like a series. Yeah, that was gonna happen regardless.

Speaker 4 (28:07):
Right.

Speaker 5 (28:08):
Every year's been a little bit different how they've used him.
I remember year one, people are like, how can you
not be playing?

Speaker 4 (28:12):
All that was me?

Speaker 5 (28:13):
I'm like, why, Hell, he doesn't need to be out there.
I know as a kid, and I know he doesn't
know anything yet. Yeah, but I'm fine. I'm totally fine
with how little that he played.

Speaker 4 (28:22):
Last year.

Speaker 5 (28:23):
He played more than I thought he would all things considered,
and I think he'll probably play somewhere in between this year.
I don't think it's a zero snap preseason game action
if he's healthy. But keep this in mind, they only
have three season games, and before the second one and
before the third one, they have joint practices one each
as the Panthers and then the Lions. So I don't

(28:45):
know if he needs anything playing time wise in either
of those games, because he's gonna get sixty five eighty five,
one hundred snaps on those days individually, and that will
be his week's work when we got out there today,
you know, with them going inside the bubble, that's kind
of they do activation. Even on a day where they're
gonna practice outside. They come across the bridge, they walk
across the initial practice field, and they make their way

(29:07):
into the bubble. Often they're you know, same groupings of
players you see quite often a few of them that
you know, maybe we haven't seen one day or the other.
Derek Stingley Junior, for instance, as he was walking and
he wasn't walking with any other teammates, one of the
staffers was about thirty five forty yards from the goal
posts on that first practice field and he was flinging

(29:29):
footballs at the goal post. You know, like quarterbacks or
other people do when they're killing time. They're oh, I'm
gonna hit the crossbar here, and they had another staffer.
They're catching it and stings like this, this is fun.
So he put his stuff down and jogged out to
the spot and started flinging his own passes to try
to hit the goal posts. He threw three and then
went inside and went about his normal day. Well, I
saw him doing this, so I shot video and then

(29:51):
posted it just I. The only caption was sting, hashtag Texans,
hashtag OTAs. It was met with I've seen enough. A
trick play drawn up? And if you recall this to
last week, Nico Collins was asked, would you like to
play flag football?

Speaker 4 (30:09):
Who do you think would be good at it? Oh? Sting,
Hey CJ. Who do you think would play offense?

Speaker 2 (30:13):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (30:13):
Sting?

Speaker 5 (30:14):
Like if you watch him throw the ball, if you
look at the videos of what I shot of him
just throwing the pigskin, and this is kind of normal
for elite superstar. I made it to the NFL caliber
skill players. Not only can they throw it, a lot
of them did throw it because they played quarterback at
some point in time. But maybe a trick play you
probably appreciate the response I got from the judgmental Juggernaut.

(30:39):
It was a gift from a wrestler known as Sting
says it's showtime.

Speaker 4 (30:44):
Did it old school Sting with.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
The blonde hair or was it the white face painted
Sting face It's black and white.

Speaker 4 (30:50):
The Monday Night Raw or the Monday Night Wars era.

Speaker 5 (30:53):
He got a gift that says, and he can pass.
I got a response saying, sir Tan's not doing this.

Speaker 4 (31:00):
About the fact that this whole conversation too.

Speaker 5 (31:02):
Yeah, but this whole conversation is very appropriate considering what
the Jacksonville Jaguars tweeted out bro as a unicorn showing
Travis Hunter like you know what I want to do?

Speaker 4 (31:14):
Just to really like this would totally.

Speaker 3 (31:16):
Stick in the craw of that one Jacksonville fan, the
one that's like, duvo, I want the Texans to start
lining up Stingley at wide receiver this year, just so
that it can take away from the Jaguars trying to
put you know, Travis Hunter on both sides of the football,
which they're so obviously trying to push out there as

(31:36):
a narrative right now.

Speaker 5 (31:37):
Well, if you're second overall, pick that you traded up
for who plays both positions, picks off a deep ball
in an incredible way by going step for step with
your superstar wide receiver free agent signee Darius Lassiter, who's
twelfth on their depth chart. He was able to bat
the ball away in stride and as he's going to

(31:58):
the ground, dive and make the inner. Yeah, if my
social team has video of it, I would put it
out there.

Speaker 4 (32:05):
No, absolutely, I'm fine with all that.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
What I'm saying is I'm team Petty and i want
them to know that you can put all that kind
of stuff out that you want in June, but the
Texans still own you.

Speaker 5 (32:17):
Well, we'll just wait till, say it's something the Texans
put out there this week, Wait till they play early
in the season and you know, the Texans win and
Hunter doesn't do anything in the Texans say, well, they
they have JJ Watt defensive player scoring offensive touchdowns all
ready to go, should it ever be needed to tell.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
Fourteen was so good six five, six, five, But again
not all offensive.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
No, of course not, but yet I picked six. It
was a couple of them that were long. Well, you
had a fumble recovery for a touchdown. And then I
pick six. But they just put that video out the
other day Stingley playing offense. Though I'm not even kidding.

Speaker 5 (32:57):
I mean, if something's going on here, guys, I do
say twenty four lined up out. Why, let's see if
they have a trip put. Uh, yeah, he's on the field.

Speaker 4 (33:03):
Well, guess what I.

Speaker 3 (33:03):
Never understood about JJ. Hey he's lining up at tight end. Uh,
he's probably just a decoy. That's what the defense said
every time. No, he's gonna catch this.

Speaker 4 (33:12):
I hope his.

Speaker 5 (33:13):
First touchdown pass if i'm or maybe it was the
second one.

Speaker 4 (33:16):
He was extremely well covered.

Speaker 5 (33:18):
It was an impossible catch, a nearly impossible throw to
pull where it was, and he made it.

Speaker 4 (33:23):
Yeah, both the quarterback made the throw and he made
the tight end.

Speaker 5 (33:26):
And pizza delivery guy expect for the pizza delivery portion
of it.

Speaker 4 (33:29):
Otherwise, no catch.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah, all right, we will take another quick break. We'll
come right back and get back to Uh. Well, consternation
about injuries in Houston. That's the theme of this week
so far. And we're barely two days in here on
the eighteen, the eight on.

Speaker 2 (33:49):
Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (34:01):
How many more nights do you have to wait for?
The Finals Thursday night. So ridiculous. I'm sorry I saw it.
There you go, so.

Speaker 5 (34:10):
Great songy okay, great band. All right, now back to
the sports. He's trying to do it again.

Speaker 4 (34:17):
Who Cole? Yep, don't do that, Cole.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
So I was talking to you about this during a
break and it's petty on my part and I don't care.
I'm going forward with this. When you look at the
cover of Slam magazine, just on average, go to any like,
just take the last ten years, take the last twenty years,

(34:42):
whatever I mean.

Speaker 4 (34:43):
At one point, Yao Ming and Steve Francis were on
the cover of Slam together.

Speaker 3 (34:48):
I believe Steve definitely was by himself in the pin stripes,
the vapor trail pen stripes. Those are hideous, but I
feel like they were on it together at one point too.
I just most Slam magazine covers, I would use the
word hard. They just it's the Rockets had won this

(35:10):
past year. It's approximately ten billion times more hard looking
than the current addition that is.

Speaker 5 (35:19):
Out now inside the NBA Finals plus Grant Hill, Peyton Stockton,
Kemp New School Report cover keem olaj one September nineteen.

Speaker 4 (35:32):
Ninety five, Dream was on the cover.

Speaker 5 (35:35):
It was Rockets poster inside Keemen Drexler.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
Wait wait, let me see it. I don't think i've
ever seen this. There you go, Oh, I've never seen Yeah,
that's old school.

Speaker 5 (35:44):
Talk about hard Holy mackerel. Well he's an inaction. Is
your your pal Michael's cover? Is it the unsoft? It
is unsoft? Okay, but here's the thing. Yes, the Rockets
made the cover a foursome, and so mother assorted pictures.
Obviously throughout I think most people saw him very.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
Very you know what the problem with that cover was.
I hated it.

Speaker 3 (36:05):
It came out and they immediately went in the toilet.
It was like the beginning of February and they immediately
got swept by the stupid nets and just had the
worst month of the season. Fred missed the whole month,
then he came back, reaggravated his injury, and they still
continue to lose into the wee hours of March, and
then they righted the ship and got the two seed.
I bring all this up to say the NBA Finals

(36:28):
mercifully starts on Thursday. After a long I mean we
needed this, clearly. Both teams have just been battling it
out and they needed this time off. Chet Holgeren not hard.
Nothing about that guy says hard.

Speaker 5 (36:41):
Before we get to unnecessarily crushing a guy about to
win an NBA championship. He's not going to win it.
He's gonna have Shaye drag him to it. They will
get his ring size. He'll be getting a ring minimal contributions.
I'm not going to tell you what the picture looks like.
I'm only going to tell you who's on it, and
you tell me what you think it looks like and
how concrete it might be. It's a team it's a

(37:03):
team photo. There's five players there. These guys all played
together at one time a few years back, you know,
prior to this century. It's a picture of Carrie Kendall,
Sam Jason with a Y and Keith Kendall Gill. Kendall Gill.
Say the names again, Kerry sam Jason with a Kittles Yes,

(37:25):
Sam Cassell, Yes, Kendall Gill. Who are the other ones?
Keith van Horn, Keith van Horn, the Great White Hope
and Jason Williams with a Y. Jason Williams with the
Y which stands for I shot a limo driver in.

Speaker 4 (37:39):
The chest with a shotgun.

Speaker 5 (37:42):
The camera appropriately so it is Keith Sam Cassell is
still trying not to smile a little bit. Kendall's giving
a good Kj's dad and Jason Williams has got his
hands there.

Speaker 4 (37:52):
Ah ackting all, goofy it was Kj's dad.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
Not drafted yet, the number one pick in the draft
by the Nets.

Speaker 4 (37:59):
No not.

Speaker 3 (38:01):
Okay, yeah, I just chat Holm grin. It doesn't really
do it for me. Not intimidating, not at all.

Speaker 4 (38:07):
So no issue purchase for you.

Speaker 3 (38:09):
Well, I won't purchase any of these. I'd like to
dream one. Okay, I'll do that.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
All right.

Speaker 5 (38:13):
Stuff Three o'clock not a good cover boy, Three o'clock.

Speaker 4 (38:17):
Color and Joe A Spada Coming up next.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adhaim Talking Your Team,
Adam Clinton and Adam Weckfler are the eight team.

Speaker 3 (38:43):
Straight up three o'clock here on a Tuesday edition of
the program.

Speaker 4 (38:47):
It will be a short edition.

Speaker 3 (38:48):
As a matter of fact, the next three, make that
four will be short editions of the program as the
Astros are going back out on the road following the
longest tome stand of the season. They split that four
game set with the Tampa Bay Rays to round things out,
and now they will start the first of six in
a row away from Dyke and Park in the beautiful

(39:11):
confines of P and C Park tonight. I think we've
talked about this before. You've never been to that ballpark, correct,
That's right. I am truly like Blum posted a picture
of it. I think out his hotel room window this morning,
it's like seventy three degrees and it's just I've heard

(39:31):
nothing but not just good things, amazing things about what
is one of the most picturesque outfields that you could ever.
First of all, the fact that Pittsburgh can even look
like a nice American skyline in twenty twenty five just
tells you about kind of the resurgence of that city,
a very very much rust belt city. But then the

(39:54):
fact that they got so much right about building that
ballpark where they did and making me out field perfectly encapsulate, highlight,
whatever you want to call it, the downtown skyline.

Speaker 4 (40:06):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (40:07):
I'm jealous of people that have been there, and hopefully
I make it out there one day. But bigger fish
to fry a. The Astros have to get another on
the correct direction of the trajectory performance from Lance mccullor's junior.
He tied a career high with strikeouts last time out,
went six innings.

Speaker 4 (40:27):
Those are two very good things.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
And oh, by the way, they've got to somehow solve
Paul Skeins, who has a very deceptive record in that
his team sucks but he doesn't.

Speaker 4 (40:36):
And actually I'm surprised his era has a two in
front of it. He hasn't been unbelievable this year. He's
just been very good. Yeah, he's but.

Speaker 3 (40:45):
You know what, I'm already thinking, this Astros lineup tends
to be feast or famine, and against a guy like that,
I would suggest Lance not get a lot of traffic
on the bases and try to go as deep as
he can to this one.

Speaker 5 (41:00):
Yeah, as last four starts talking about Libby Dunn's boyfriend,
he's given up one earned run in three of them
and none in the other's teams won half of the
games because they.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
They're so bad.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Yeah, I was looking at the number just comparing the
Astros and the Pirates, like in general, I mean, what's
funny is that they have because he's pitching tonight, like
you know, like ESPN has that matchup predictor, and it's
like sixty two percent in favor of the Pirates winning
this game. But I'm looking at the just comparison to
the two teams across the board and just the basic

(41:33):
generic numbers all the categories, Astros are not only better,
they're like dominant better than the Pirates because of what
you're talking about. They have a really really good pitcher,
the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, and just basically
nothing else.

Speaker 4 (41:49):
They're awful.

Speaker 5 (41:50):
Yeah, this is not a surprise. This nothing has gone
poorly for They're not a good baseball team. They have
a little bit of pitching. He's obviously at the top
of that. They have paid money to some of they're
players they thought would be cornerstone players, notably Reynolds and Hayes,
and it.

Speaker 4 (42:06):
Was a mistake in both cases, not a huge mistake.

Speaker 5 (42:09):
With Hayes, he's so young that when they did it,
it was in a horrible investment, especially for Pittsburgh, to
ensure that somebody who might be really good would stay
with them.

Speaker 4 (42:18):
It just turned out he hasn't been.

Speaker 5 (42:20):
And in the case of Reynolds, I think every year
for the past five years when we've gotten to the deadline,
we're like, yes, move him, move him, and they just
never do. O'Neil Cruz is a special talent. He is
a put butts in the seats caliber player, but he's
not a great player yet. He makes great plays, he
will be a part of the highlight reel. He's a
stat cast dominator, but he's not a great baseball player yet.

(42:45):
And this is another guy you'd want to be able
to build around. But if you look at the Astros
numbers and finally now starting to stabilize a little bit offensively,
and you look at Pittsburgh's numbers, they've got three guys
with an OPS over seven hundred. That's it awful, awful
low number at this point two months into the season. Cruz, McCutcheon,

(43:05):
who's a thousand, awesome dude, great guy to have, and
Kiner Falefa someone who they're clearly Isaiah.

Speaker 4 (43:13):
Kin that's my favorite, Todd kallis name. It's a bad
baseball team. They are going nowhere.

Speaker 5 (43:18):
Every veteran they have, I KF, Tommy fam even McCutchen,
who is very close to Pittsburgh emotionally. Every veteran they
have should be moved if possible. When they get to
the Dobby fam can come here. They're in the same boat.
But to do what to slap Jack Peterson in the face.
So just for the series they play why not? Why

(43:41):
can't somebody else do it?

Speaker 3 (43:43):
Jack Peterson's doing for the stupid Rangers is being the
guy who hates the Astros.

Speaker 4 (43:47):
Oh, there's an original thought in Dallas.

Speaker 9 (43:49):
I believe there's two players who cannot be moved by Pittsburgh.
Everybody else available, who are they? Skins and Reynolds. I
just don't thin anybody's gonna take on relts contract.

Speaker 3 (43:57):
We only okay, when do you get and this is
so ahead of everything, but when do you get to
the point where the pirates and you're gonna move schemes?

Speaker 4 (44:05):
It's gonna happen. Well, what they do?

Speaker 5 (44:06):
I would offer them the basically the biggest deal they
ever offered to anybody, and see if you can keep
some interest in your team while keeping it play.

Speaker 4 (44:15):
Would you want to be the pitching version of Mike Truck.

Speaker 5 (44:18):
You can offer it, he can say no to it.
There's aly It's the same thing that happened with One
Soda and Washington. They didn't give him a bad offer.
They didn't lowball him. He just said no, plus million.

Speaker 4 (44:29):
Dollars plus he had already won. He had already won.
And again, if you take it, then you're paid up season.

Speaker 5 (44:35):
And this is baseball. It's you made it, you sign it,
you get it. It's guaranteed.

Speaker 4 (44:39):
It's unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (44:40):
Yeah, I ask them, that's how that's going with one
Soto's contract in year one?

Speaker 4 (44:44):
The first place Mets? Are they in first place? Stop it?
You know what you're doing the opposite of the Bregman
Red Sox team.

Speaker 9 (44:49):
The first place Mats that currently don't have a great left,
great right fielder, really inadequate pitching, And can't I argue
is currently in first place?

Speaker 5 (44:58):
Yeah, but can't I just argue they would be good
or should have suck to win gooder if you would
actually play like the after thoughts blanket the afterthought of
their off season. I guess if nobody else gave him
a good deal, we'll bring Pete Alonzo back in his
nine to twenty oh ps and his one.

Speaker 4 (45:15):
Sixty year signed him instead of Christian Walker.

Speaker 5 (45:19):
Well, without a doubt, if you were willing to pay
that money. But we were, there was no comparison, you
knew which player would was better.

Speaker 4 (45:24):
Also, he has the opt out.

Speaker 5 (45:26):
Yeah, it's a great opportunity for for Alonso, he's taking
advantage of it in a similar way that Bregman is.
Before the injury, they were putting up monster numbers. They
essentially took a contract year twenty twenty four and signed
up lucratively signed up for another contract year, and both
performed like they were in a contract year. And for Alonso,

(45:47):
who's been out there for you know, a third of
the season, sixty games in, he's absolutely crushing. He's got
it for him, a very good batting average. He's getting
on base a ton, he's not striking out an overwhelming
amount of striking out a lot. But even for him,
it's fine for that total place for a first place team.
Like all this angst about Soto is probably bigger picture

(46:09):
stuff than necessary. It's a little bit like the Yankees
and a little bit like the Dodgers. Soto is added
to a team and it's overkilled, it's gravy. It might
take you to the next step, and it might pay
off in the playoffs, and it might help you overall
your depth. They'd be perfectly capable of winning that division
and winning the National League whether or not they had
won Soto. And again, like the Yankees who don't have

(46:32):
won Soto, that means they would have spent their money differently.
You could make an argument that they said, nah, that's
too much, we're bowing out of the Wan Soto's to
weepstakes and in his place, hold on one second, we're
going to sign the best pitcher in the American League,
which they did with Max Freed.

Speaker 9 (46:48):
Go ahead, doct to what you were saying about trading
Paul Skeins. Remember the Wan Soto trade and how much
was having to be given up to San Diego just
for him to be able to land there, and how
many of these players have hit Mackenzie Gore, cj Abrams,
Robert Hassel like like, that's just the starting point for
schemes because of just how valuable he is on the
mound and that contract. So, how do you make sure

(47:10):
that you get a team that's going to trade away
a majority of its key players in the farm system
where they're willing to bank on that, and then when
they bring him in, he's going to sign on the
dotted line and be a part of their long term plans.

Speaker 4 (47:23):
Yeah, I would.

Speaker 5 (47:23):
Probably say you're looking at a similar haul to what
the Angels got for shohe O tani Ah just kidding,
they just let him walk.

Speaker 4 (47:30):
You've didn't mention James Wood.

Speaker 5 (47:32):
By the way, part of that jan Poto deal would
Gore and Abrams are elite players. Scre is one of
the best lefties in the National League. Both Abrams and
Wood are cornerstone caliber players having great seasons for not
a very good team yet, but they should be there
for a number of years to come.

Speaker 4 (47:48):
They were able.

Speaker 5 (47:49):
To get the Padres to agree to put all of
those top level players, and in the case of the
two position players, they were top level prospects and they
got them and they have panned out. I'm sure the
Pirates could look at something like that and believe maybe
that could happen.

Speaker 4 (48:05):
But you also continue to tell the.

Speaker 5 (48:07):
Fans, Hey, if you thought we were gonna win, wrong,
we're not going to We're gonna put it off and
we're gonna push it further down the road and we're
gonna keep not having players you want to come to
the ballpark to see. I mean, if even if they're losing,
if he starts fifteen games at home. Well, they're gonna
get fans at fifteen of those eighty one home dates
because he puts people, gets people to the ballpark. It's
a great town for the Pirates. They just haven't given

(48:30):
them a whole lot in return. And hopefully that continues
for well three days Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the
evening each of these games. They'll go to Cleveland after this,
and the Astros are clearly putting something together. They started
to win a little bit more often than they're losing.
They're gonna see another game missed tonight with Jordon Alvarez,
and that's continuing to push the number further and further up.

(48:51):
The games he's missed so far, they've they've obviously played
pretty well. This is coinciding with their ascension up the standings.
They're a half game back of the Mariners. Game number
twenty nine that he will miss tonight, the team is
five games over for the season. In the twenty eight
games he's missed, they're four games over. That's essentially all
of their over five hundred baseball. They're also playing without

(49:12):
quite a few other players. Will be another two weeks
before Zach Decenzo gets looked at again with that capsule
strain that they told us today imaging showed, so he'll
rest the next two weeks. They'll take a look again
and then take the next step. McCormick is out, and
I would assume I was thinking about this, Why would
you or why would you not put Jacob Melton in

(49:33):
the lineup tonight? You know, he got his major league
debut out of the way, and his first major league
hit he bats from the left side, is his Paul Skeins.
It isn't somebody he's obviously seen before, and he's an
elite pitcher with nasty stuff. Why not I would put
him in the lineup. I would absolutely put him in
tonight's lineup and then kind.

Speaker 4 (49:50):
Of work off of what you did.

Speaker 5 (49:51):
Now, Jake Myers is probably going to be back in
the lineup, which he was not during Sunday's game, which
is why Melton played center field. Yeah, I mean, I
know the I'm just saying that's what I would do. Now,
give you that full lineup when we come back Astros
and Pirates tonight. Jump back in on specifically a couple
of things on your Houston Texans and one of the
players we heard from today called one of his teammates

(50:13):
a savage.

Speaker 4 (50:15):
It's a good thing.

Speaker 2 (50:18):
The a team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (50:26):
Eighteam continues here in the three o'clock hour of a
show will get you into Astros on deck. Coming up
at four point thirty Astros and Pirates tonight from Pittsburgh.
Astros trying to get to six games over five hundred,
potentially slide into first place half game back of the
Seattle Mariners. Mentioned the Astros manager Joe A. Spot I
had put the lineup together for tonight's game against Paul Skeins.

(50:49):
Looks very similar to those that we've seen recently. Payna Pietis, Altuve, Walker,
and Yander Diaz go one through five. Diaz will be
the designated hitter, so Victor Karattini can for Lance mccullors
and get his left handed bat into the lineup. He
bats sixth, and then your outfielders takes spot seven, eight
and nine. Jake Myers back in after two days off,

(51:09):
did not play Sunday yesterday and off day for everybody.
Cam Smith back and right, and Melton will get his
first start and action in left field after his one
four three performance beat out an infielder infield. Hit for
his first major league hit on Sunday, struck out in
his other two at bats, made some nice plays in
center field, which is his natural position, but does have
time in the corners.

Speaker 4 (51:31):
He will be in left field this evening.

Speaker 5 (51:32):
Lance mccullor's junior on the bump for the Houston Astros tonight,
looking for more of what we saw the last time out,
nastiness from his right arm.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
I don't anticipate their not being movement on his pitches
or anything like that.

Speaker 4 (51:48):
I think the stuff's gonna be fun. It's always there,
I know, right.

Speaker 3 (51:51):
But what I'm saying is I just because of who
they're facing off against, I hate it. I feel like
there's just an and this would have been the case
no matter who was starting for the Astros. I just
feel like there's an inordinate amount of pressure on Lance
to be top notch, which I don't think he's I
don't think that's above him blast outing.

Speaker 4 (52:10):
I know it's against the Athletics, but.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
I just I hope that one of the points of
emphasis is he's him not putting a bunch of guys
on base, which I know is asking a lot because
that's kind of his style sometimes.

Speaker 5 (52:26):
Yeah, the Pirates are one of three teams in baseball
that have yet to score their two hundredth run. They
do walk a little bit more than you'd expect, which
for a team that's not very good, you wouldn't expect
them to be walked. I mean, they can be as
patient as they want. If pitchers throw them strikes, they'll
get them out. And I would think that's something I
definitely look at. To be in the top twelve in
walks while cranking out a two twenty seven batting average

(52:50):
and an OPS less than six point fifty. I mean,
throw it underhand if you have to, just put it
over the plate and make a swing at it.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
What he was it twenty seven to twenty four straight.
It was twenty four straight curve balls against the Yankees
in twenty seventeen. That was not in my opinion, that
wasn't peak Lance because I think he actually got better
than next year. As I recall, that's when he had
his career high twelve strikeouts. I know that that was
the season that happened in.

Speaker 5 (53:20):
So last appearance was also peak mccolors. A more strikeouts, No, wait,
how many strikeouts?

Speaker 4 (53:28):
Did he have.

Speaker 3 (53:29):
Well, oh, so I thought you were talking about the
last time he pitched before this season.

Speaker 5 (53:32):
No, I'm just saying last time he literally pitched. Yeah,
twelve strikes twelve the other day peak mc colors, right,
Tye That No, he's he's rounding in the form.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
What I'm saying is I thought he actually got better
in twenty eighteen. Well, twenty one might actually be his
best season as an astro if you think about it,
because he was the ace of the staff that year
and necessity required it.

Speaker 5 (53:52):
But I mean four innings, one hit, six strikeouts to
close out the Yankees in twenty seventeen's probably peak mccollors.

Speaker 3 (54:04):
Yeah, but it was you're talking about, like Greg Bird
and who all was on that team that sucked?

Speaker 5 (54:12):
Who was the other the red ass leading off?

Speaker 4 (54:16):
Yeah? Who was that? Brett Gardner?

Speaker 3 (54:17):
Yeah, Bret Gardner, who was trying to think of you,
Judge was a windmill as usual.

Speaker 5 (54:21):
Super awesome defensive catcher Gary Sanchez was the cleanup hitter.

Speaker 3 (54:25):
He alone is part of the main reason they lost
game two or games because six literally with his golee.
I do say that a lot. He could not catch
the ball.

Speaker 5 (54:34):
Yeah, from either pitchers or outfielders or infielders.

Speaker 4 (54:37):
No, it's true.

Speaker 5 (54:39):
It was a pretty poor lineup all things considered. I mean,
Judge was in it.

Speaker 3 (54:43):
It wasn't when they were at home. They could not
score here, and they go up there and it's like
a ten runs eleven runs.

Speaker 5 (54:50):
They did hold Springer, Bregman, Altwove, Correa, Guryel, Gaddis, McCann, Marwin,
and Reddick to only four runs that day.

Speaker 4 (54:57):
Somehow, So which day? Which game? This is the mccullors game? Oh,
Game seven? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (55:03):
Yeah, but George had an awesome catch and twenty four
straight curveballs. Suck it Yankees for the first time of
many actually it was the second. It was a second time.
Ten threw are Yeah, I know. But it's it's so like,
wasn't he a rookie in twenty fifteen. Sure, I'm just
giving him the benefit of the doubt, like he.

Speaker 5 (55:23):
Oh, you're trying to make it sound like I'm saying,
oh yeah, twenty seventeen.

Speaker 4 (55:26):
That's that's his peak.

Speaker 5 (55:28):
All downhill sets, all right, a very slow ride downhill.
But this is elite stuff. Everything's on the line. This
is game seven, and he was almost unhittable. He gave
up one hit in four hitting his work, he was great.
This is why, gosh it, this is what a ballpark
an afternoon evening of just the exact atmosphere you dream

(55:49):
of pitching in or being in the ballpark for.

Speaker 3 (55:53):
To me, he so many times has become the forgotten guy.
He gets a bad rap because he's had some blow up. Obviously,
if you do that in the World Series, that's gonna
be brutal. When it becomes your last game for like
two and a half years, that magnifies it.

Speaker 5 (56:09):
He's had that blow up game against the Phillies you're referencing. Yeah,
and he still has a three forty seven career postseason.

Speaker 4 (56:17):
There was nails in the clincher in Seattle.

Speaker 3 (56:20):
He was He was fantastic to start that Game seven
in Dodger Stadium. By the way, we always talk about
Charlie Morton, and I know he had a quick lead
because by the time Springer hit that home run, it
was over. But you still had to have him eat
those innings. And his pitching performance against the White Sox
was fantastic. They were good at one time, by the way,

(56:43):
the White Sox. Yeah, that year that they were in
the playoffs against the Astros.

Speaker 5 (56:46):
Masters have played the White Sox in the postseason more
than once.

Speaker 3 (56:50):
No, I don't want to talk about the other time.
But I'm just like, I think he gets a much
worse route. I get it, he got a big contract
and then he didn't play for half of it, and
the arm stuff, and I get all of that. I understand,
but I think people sometimes sleep on just how many
big moments he had because they were either eclipsed by
something else or they were so long ago, like in

(57:10):
the case of that Game seven. Because you're right, he
was top notch that well. He peaked that night according
to you.

Speaker 4 (57:15):
Yeah, according to me. According to you, it was all downhill.

Speaker 5 (57:18):
I mentioned last segment, well, a couple of segments ago,
and we'll get to it before we hit the top
of the hour. The visit with Joe spotted, but I
wanted to get something Texans related since I tease something
that was said there. You got a bunch of players
in the NFL from guess where, the SEC quite a
few of them, and there's quite a few of them
here in Houston because of they're smart GM he keeps

(57:39):
drafting players from the SEC that it just means well
to some. I mean on the football field, it probably
does up until they get to the end of the
season and they're not playing for the championship this year.
And on the baseball side, it's almost been comical you
brought that up yesterday. It did allow for other schools
that did advance to say, I guess it means more

(58:00):
at US. But anyway, Kamari Laster is one of those
SEC players. He's got two defensive teammates that he was
asked about that are SEC players.

Speaker 4 (58:10):
We'll get to CJ.

Speaker 5 (58:11):
Gardner Johnson who has not been participating in they're OTA's
voluntary We'll get to that a little bit later, but
specifically asked about the energy of their defensive leader, and
it's no more on display than it is right now
because of who is participating out there. Daneil Hunter's not
out there right now. Are a few other players that
will likely be starters that aren't out there, probably Henry
Toatoa and the guys on the interior of their defensive

(58:33):
line essentially are not currently participating. But Will Anderson Junior is,
and Will Anderson Junior is bringing the same energy and
enthusiasm to the practices here that he has for every
practice we've ever seen him for during his time here
in Houston.

Speaker 4 (58:46):
Kmary Laster asked.

Speaker 5 (58:48):
About that Will Anderson vibe and energy earlier today.

Speaker 6 (58:51):
Will is a savage, Like Will is a pure savage
and I love it. Like from the moment I met,
we already knew what time it was because he went
to the other school, so I already knew how it was.
And just being on with him is just like I
relate to how he approaches the game because it's just
like everything means so much more to him, Like it
means a lot to him being on this field every day.

Speaker 4 (59:08):
It means everything to him.

Speaker 6 (59:09):
Every rip means something to him. He's attacking every rip
and that I can relate to every time because it's like, oh,
I got the same mindset.

Speaker 4 (59:17):
He went to the other school.

Speaker 5 (59:18):
And he said the same thing when he mentioned the
Gator in CJ.

Speaker 4 (59:21):
And like CJ. Gardner Johnson.

Speaker 5 (59:24):
We'll get to that, but this is what you want
when you do what they did on draft day after
you took CJ.

Speaker 4 (59:30):
Stroud.

Speaker 5 (59:30):
You weren't just taking I think this guy's gonna be
really good. You were taking the quarterback leader face of
your defense and he's been every single bit of what
they hoped he would be. Luckily, I guess you could
say it that way. Maybe obviously the football is what
matters most. He's gonna have a hard time leading this team,

(59:50):
being an inspirational, emotional leader for a football team if
he's not awesome, if he's not one of their best players.
All due respect to Daniel Hunter, hard to one or
the other their best player defensively, and there's Derek Stingley
Junior among others. This team really has tremendous individual defensive talent,
arguably the best duo at edge, arguably the best secondary

(01:00:14):
with the best corner in football. As long as you're
not using PFF numbers that have Derek Stingley Junior fifth,
this defense should be leading them to victory, should be
making it impossible for other teams, elite offenses to win
those matchups those days, and then the offense can take
care of it. But he's unquestionably doing so much more
than just disrupting. They follow Will's lead, and with who's

(01:00:38):
out there right now during OTAs, he's the man.

Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
I can't wait to see him in year three, just
like CJ, just like some of these Rockets we're talking about.
It's that youth movement. I can't wait to see the
next chapter of it. And we won't have to wait
too much longer. But CJ's not gonna throw for a while.

Speaker 5 (01:00:56):
We'll get to Joe as spot As comments earlier today
on the Matt Thomas Show with when we come back.

Speaker 1 (01:01:02):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:01:11):
It's the A Team. It's Sports Talk seven ninety. It's
about another hour before we make way for Astros pregame
coverage Astros on Deck Show. We'll get underway at four thirty,
getting you ready for the first of three straight in
Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Paul Skeens will be the man
towing the rubber for the home team tonight. Lance McCullers

(01:01:32):
Junior going in the opener for the Astros. And that
one mentioned that Joe Espada visited the station his weekly
visit today. Hey, WEX, I wonder what the number one
topic was when the Astros manager joined the station today.

Speaker 4 (01:01:48):
Yeah, two people surveyed.

Speaker 5 (01:01:49):
Top one answer on the board, tell us a little
bit about your don Joe.

Speaker 8 (01:01:55):
Yeah, it sucks, you know, not only as he's a manager,
but that's someone who you know, I care for your Dona,
I know, I know you're down for a very long time.
He's someone who wants to be on the field, wants
to contribute for these team, wants to post that. He
knows the importance of his presidency in our lineup, and
he really sucks. So we you know, we we want
to get him back. We will get him back. But

(01:02:16):
when we heard about that, it's definitely a punch in
the gut. But yeah, we we need to continue to
move forward and you know, expect some of these guys
to step up while he's on the sideline, but definitely
someone that we we need. We miss and once we
get in back, we're going to really we're going to
be really excited to have him back.

Speaker 10 (01:02:33):
What are the next steps for him? Is it just
a waiting game for him to heal.

Speaker 8 (01:02:37):
Yeah, we're going to wait for it to heal and
hopefully once he heals, we will never have to deal
with with that pain again.

Speaker 10 (01:02:43):
Do you think that athletes and they're all built differently, Joe.
You got some guys that will fight through pain, and
your respect that, but then you have other guys that
are like, shouldn't be fighting through it? How how often
do you deal with that in your entire life of baseball?
Freaking about your time with the Astros. What is it like?
Maybe you as a player felt the same way. You
know what, My my, Haammi's a little tender, but I
want to get out there. What's the battle, what's the

(01:03:04):
what's the proper medium to go?

Speaker 4 (01:03:05):
You know what? Trying to fight through it, but.

Speaker 10 (01:03:07):
At a certain time, and sometimes you say, yeah, maybe
a day offer too, or maybe going to see a
doctor wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Speaker 5 (01:03:14):
You know what.

Speaker 8 (01:03:14):
My experience is, especially with our players here has been
this guys don't want to be in the fight. This
guy's we have played so many games for so many years.
We have played more more games than any other team
in the Big League for a long time, last seventy years.
That this guy's play through pain. They know the importance
of playing and grinding through pain. And Giordana is one

(01:03:36):
of those players that loves to post and he wants
to be out there. When an injury in a hand
happens to a baseball player, it's very difficult. It's very
very difficult, since you need you know your hands, and
you need to create power, and you need to create
barrel to ball execution. And when you don't have that,

(01:03:59):
you saw from that, it's really hard for you to perform.
But I never you know, my group here when these
guys are not feeling well, there's something wrong with it,
for them not to post it, for them not to
show our fans and the rest of their teammates that
they want to be out there.

Speaker 10 (01:04:17):
What is that like for you a manager dealing with
where like you said, the guys want to play through it,
but you don't want guys to get heard just as
you and trying to say, like who do you go
to or lean on or run like to say, hey,
maybe we need to talk more about this.

Speaker 8 (01:04:30):
Yeah, you know, and and and I listen to our
players and once they get to a point where we
need to so sit down and and and and rest
and to.

Speaker 2 (01:04:39):
Let these heal.

Speaker 8 (01:04:39):
We have to do that if we want to get
the player. And sometimes you got to reset, You got
to take a moment. And and you know, understand the
length of our of the season, and you know, it's
it's always difficult. You don't want to lose any player,
especially someone as as a caliber of Jordan aliures. But
we'll we'll get him back. We're excited that once we

(01:05:02):
get him back, we're going to be excited to have
him back. And you know, hopefully we don't have to
deal with this again, so we could keep him in
there for a long run.

Speaker 4 (01:05:09):
Skip, You've got two new guys out there. How much
do you want to get him in play rotation?

Speaker 5 (01:05:13):
What?

Speaker 10 (01:05:13):
What's the game plan at least for the two new
year new players that have come up from the Space Cowboys.

Speaker 8 (01:05:18):
Well, you know, one of them is that it's an outfielder.
You know, we come has play outfield. He's also someone
like to play in field, so he does provide that
versatility and and you know somebody, uh you know, like
like Melton who could play all three. It's got the
speed and and and the athleticism to be an above
average outfielder at Dimension league level. Also, he's been swinging

(01:05:41):
back really well on Triple A, so is with them.
So I'm want to you know, find final opportunities for
them to play and and you know, for them just
to for continue to develop them players that we've been
excited about them for a long time. So you know,
I'm going to find spots for them trying to get
him involved in in in our offense and defense and

(01:06:01):
and see where where it takes us.

Speaker 10 (01:06:03):
Also, you got Paul schemes going tonight for the Pirates.
So when you're on the plane just relaxing, and do
you do you put a video on to kind of
see what he's all about? Or does the highlights you
see on the network TVs kind of give you a
pretty indication of how great he is.

Speaker 8 (01:06:17):
I like to watch the videos and I like to
read the reports, you know, to go deep under the
hood and make sure you know, see what what he's
you know, what he's doing and how he's performing, and
how that's going to match up against us. And we're
looking for ways, you know, create a plan against them.
You know, last year we we had a pretty decent
plan and and and and you know it's hard to

(01:06:39):
score a ton of runs of him, but we got
to find a way you know, attack and and and
hopefully you know, you build his uh his pitch counch
up trying to get in the bullpen. You know, our strategy,
which is trying to grind our bats, trying to attack
our zones and and be aggressive. He's a guy that
throws a ton of strikes. Definitely one of the best
starters in the game. But we'll poked together a good

(01:07:00):
plan against not only him, but against their all entire.

Speaker 5 (01:07:03):
Staff likes to go deep under the hood, check things out,
see what they might be up against. Paul Skeins just
in his second major league season, first full major league season,
starter in last year's All Star Game after joining the
Major League party in early May of last year. The
start that a spot A referenced was at Minute Made

(01:07:25):
Park at the time late July. Their plan was probably
to do as much damage as possible. They touched them
up for one earned run over six innings, did get
five hits, did draw three walks, so there was some
traffic out there, and they did score two runs. They
won the game five to three. That would not be
bad at all for some sort of repeat of that performance.

(01:07:45):
It probably would take the Astros offense to kind of
perk back up again. The first long stretch of the season,
it seemed like where Isaac Peretis was not hitting the
ball well. The Astros managed just the nine runs against
the Ray despite winning twice. He had almost an entire
series worth of no hits. Was really struggling where he

(01:08:07):
hasn't almost the entire season. He's been awesome at dyk
In Park. He is just was just coming off a
road trip where he finally started hitting on the road,
and you did have a few other guys picking him up,
and you did wrap up a month of May where
Jeremy Pany and Jake Myers and a few others really
were having a strong month. And as you just heard there,
it's time to work some other parts into the mix.

(01:08:29):
Because Zach Decenzo was a part of your late May boost.
He had some really good at bats, some good days
in the lineup. He's obviously out for at least the
next two weeks. Melton's getting a second consecutive start. He
does something that nobody else other than Victor Carrottin he
can do. He bats from the left side a little
bit of balance, which they're going to clearly miss for
however much longer to be determined.

Speaker 4 (01:08:51):
Jordon Alvarez is out.

Speaker 3 (01:08:52):
I feel like once he finally gets back, we should
be treated to the most awe inspiring display of.

Speaker 4 (01:09:00):
Prowess in the history of his career.

Speaker 3 (01:09:03):
I mean we and he especially have obviously waited long
enough for it.

Speaker 4 (01:09:08):
I mean, yeah, it.

Speaker 5 (01:09:09):
Could be that, or it could be the least productive
offensive season of his major league career.

Speaker 4 (01:09:13):
We'll see.

Speaker 3 (01:09:14):
Well, yeah, when you take a month of it away,
plus I mean, yeah, he's gonna have lesser numbers.

Speaker 5 (01:09:20):
Yeah, I think that's probably a safe wet blanket caliber bet.
Guests who tossed a wet blanket today New York Knicks
management on Tom Thibodeau. If you hadn't heard we discuss next.

Speaker 2 (01:09:35):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
I did not look up the statistic, but I know
there are a lot of these types of situations. NBA
Team X makes successful run and then parts ways with
its head coach in an inordinately short amount of time

(01:10:06):
a season or two later. I mean Tom Thibodeaux being
the latest example, Malone in Denver. Even going back to
who is it that got Coach of the Year, and
I think it was in It was Toronto, right, Dwayne Casey.
He got whacked the next year like dya even wait,

(01:10:27):
I mean the Knicks, the Knicks and the Knicks overnight.

Speaker 5 (01:10:30):
Yeah, I mean either this was he's getting fired no
matter what did you have to win the championship? Stay
was you're fired because you were not in the finals.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
Yeah, I mean, do you basically had to win the
NBA Championship in order to keep your job, is what
it looks like.

Speaker 5 (01:10:42):
There's also some timing involved, like do they just sit
there and say, look, this is he did a great job.
We're in the Eastern Conference finals. We're better than the Pacers.
How did we lose to the Pacers? You're fired or
they already planed on firing to begin with. I don't
think there was a thought when the season began Thibodeau
and his team.

Speaker 4 (01:11:01):
Reaches the finals or bust.

Speaker 5 (01:11:03):
Now management probably looks at their own job and says, hey, man,
we were pretty good the last couple of years, but
we did our job. We wanted to get better, so
we traded Julius Randall and brought in Karl Anthony Towns.
We think we gave him a better roster. They also
played better. They also advanced further. They took out the
Boston Celtics. It was clearly a competitive series in their favor,

(01:11:26):
long before Jason Tatum got hurt, and then when Jayson
Tatum got hurt two games later, they ended the Celtics season.
That seems like a reasonably strong accomplishment. Their offensive numbers
were comparable ratings wise as they were to the last
three years.

Speaker 4 (01:11:40):
They didn't take a downturn. They've been very good.

Speaker 5 (01:11:42):
I guess from a again offensive ratings standpoint, each of
those three years, defensive rating didn't change a whole lot.
They clearly in the postseason were able to advance a
little bit further. They've been a semi finalist in the
Eastern Conference for the last couple of years, and this
year they reached the finals. They're basically a fifty win team.
They're one of the team tams that had a chance
to win the East this year. The number one seed

(01:12:02):
didn't win, nor did the number two seed, nor did
the number three seed New York Knicks. They clearly were
in it. I think my opinion his management said, we
gave you a team that has the playoffs laid out
in front of you, and how the Celtics were able
to be beaten by you.

Speaker 4 (01:12:19):
We should be in the finals and we're not. So
you're fired.

Speaker 3 (01:12:22):
Yeah, I just wonder, like, I mean, it's that for
the decision to come that fast, it clearly wasn't all right.
We had our exit interviews and the players all revolted
wit we.

Speaker 4 (01:12:32):
Brought it up yesterday.

Speaker 5 (01:12:33):
Jalen Brunson was offended when asked if he backs tips
is Seed, does he think they have the right guy?

Speaker 4 (01:12:40):
Like, how could you ask that?

Speaker 5 (01:12:42):
Look where we are, well, if you ask management, their
answer is we do not have the right guy. He's fired.
And I know what everyone thinks about how he uses
his players, how he over uses his players. I have
a hard time thinking, man, if he would have just
played insert any lesser talented bench player you want, if
he would have just played this player more, Man, why

(01:13:03):
wasn't there more precious atua. I can't believe Landry Shaman
or Miles McBride wasn't out there more. I mean, why
can't we see more campaign? It sounds ridiculous. He has
five really good, starting caliber players and when you get
at least a day off every day in the postseason,
he runs him into the ground in the postseason. I
don't know that he ran him into the ground anymore

(01:13:25):
than any other seasons, but it certainly didn't seem. They
didn't lose to the Pacers because they were tired. They
lost to the Pacers because they let him come back,
and they let Tyrese Haliburton drive into the lane and
then back it all the way out to the three
point line except for his toe and steal absolutely steal
this series from them in that sequence.

Speaker 3 (01:13:48):
Well, this is not Phil Jackson taking over for Dell
Harris in LA to reel off three straight championships. But
I will say this is a very very good situation
to be hired into, and I don't it doesn't strike
me as is the type of like we're gonna promote

(01:14:08):
from one of Thibodeau's staff members. They're going to bring
in some I don't know if it's gonna be a
heavy hitter. I don't even know who's available. I haven't
really thought about that aspect.

Speaker 5 (01:14:19):
I've recently fired Taylor Jenkins and Michael Malone for two.

Speaker 3 (01:14:25):
Michael Malone's intriguing because Michael Malone strikes me as a
type of guy that would be perfect to deal with
the crap that is coaching in that metropolis.

Speaker 4 (01:14:37):
Both the good and the bad.

Speaker 5 (01:14:39):
Five years in Chicago, three years in Minnesota, five years
in New York for the sixty seven year old Tom
Thibodeaux during sixty seven in January. I know he's been
successful quite clearly been to the postseason all but three
of those years.

Speaker 4 (01:14:56):
Is he gonna get hired again?

Speaker 3 (01:15:00):
Is the Jeff Van Gundy coaching tree already better than
the Greg Popovich coach coaching tree?

Speaker 5 (01:15:06):
I mean, I don't know who you're talking about besides Tibbs.

Speaker 4 (01:15:10):
It's basically Tibbs.

Speaker 5 (01:15:11):
I mean, I'm not trying to paint him good or bad,
Like what's so great about Tibbs. He's had a lot
of pretty good teams.

Speaker 3 (01:15:17):
He's got hism is certainly set in stone at this point.

Speaker 4 (01:15:22):
He is the way he is.

Speaker 3 (01:15:25):
He wears out his welcome and it usually comes before
he wins anything of consequence. And this is the closest
he's gotten to doing just that. But I mean, the
teams that need coaches. Denver doesn't need to coach anymore,
Memphis doesn't need to coach anymore. Phoenix apparently has it
down to two, neither of whom has any head coaching experience.
Both of them are assistants according to reports on the

(01:15:48):
Cavaliers staff. One of the two of them was on
the Nets staff when Kevin Durant was a Brooklyn Net
Maybe there's some sort of connection there to getting the
job in Phoenix. But speaking of Thibodeau, I mean Ishbia
might be interested in talking to him because he's a
great person to talk to about a head coaching job.

Speaker 4 (01:16:08):
But why would why would he want to go to Phoenix?
Why would he want to go there? Exactly? They're they're
trying their best even trade Durant to be a money grab.

Speaker 5 (01:16:15):
Yeah, but who cares Like it's a lot of money.

Speaker 4 (01:16:20):
More than he was getting in New York.

Speaker 5 (01:16:21):
Well he's currently not getting any money. Yeah, But I
just or the whatever it is that pay him.

Speaker 8 (01:16:27):
To go away.

Speaker 3 (01:16:27):
Coaches, to me are the last people that go places
for money. They go to win because they know if
they don't, they're done no matter what they're getting paid.

Speaker 5 (01:16:36):
Or they're at the end of the line, and they
know they are there are I.

Speaker 3 (01:16:39):
Don't I'm not going to get another one. I think
somebody actually will hire him again. And I don't think
it's gonna be Phoenix. No, I don't either, And Phoenix
is a mess anyways. Phoenix is now openly trying to
trade Durant for even fewer pennies on the dollar. If
you read Kelly Eco's report today, which we're still trying

(01:16:59):
to solidify his appearance on the program to talk about that,
because there's a lot of good stuff about the Rockets
and their offseason and what they're thinking. What's the fact
that randomly out of nowhere, Uh yeah, Toronto's throwing their
name in the half for Giannis, but he might not
want to play there because he likes no state income tax. Well,
if you are considering going somewhere because they have no
state income tax, I can't think of somewhere more polar

(01:17:22):
opposite for you to play than Toronto, Canada.

Speaker 5 (01:17:26):
What's their state income tax? And that more country more?

Speaker 4 (01:17:29):
What state is it?

Speaker 2 (01:17:30):
More?

Speaker 3 (01:17:31):
How much money are we taking at more? I mean,
that's what That's basically what you're talking about when you
play there. Fred can tell you.

Speaker 5 (01:17:39):
That's a big difference going from there to here as
Fred did. Yeah, Plus he also got a forty million
dollar deal. That's that's the big difference.

Speaker 3 (01:17:47):
And he already had a ring, yes, which does help
when you're making that kind of career changing type move.

Speaker 4 (01:17:53):
All right, four o'clock hour is coming up next.

Speaker 3 (01:17:55):
Got some football nuggets to get to both locally and
in the state. Wex's favorite topic, plus the bottom of
the next hour Astros on deck as we get you
ready for the opener of their setup with Paul Skeens
and the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's all right around the corner
here on the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (01:18:16):
The A teen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (01:18:18):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wetfler are the eighteen.

Speaker 3 (01:18:41):
It is the four o'clock hour here on the A
team Sports Talk seven ninety wex ac with you as
the Astros on Deck show will get under wagh less
than a half hour from right now, opener of a
three game set tonight in Pittsburgh.

Speaker 4 (01:18:55):
P and C Park will be the venue.

Speaker 3 (01:18:57):
Lance mccullors Junior and Paul'skans will be the matchup. As
we look forward to bringing you that after an off
night for the Astros. Happy flight, as you like to mention,
even if it is out of town, usually highlight the
ones back to town, don't you.

Speaker 5 (01:19:12):
Uh, It doesn't matter where you're going. It's true if
you're flying out to another series. Yeah, happy flight. So
the good ones they did fly out Sunday, took the
day off in Pittsburgh yesterday and ball game today.

Speaker 2 (01:19:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:19:23):
So hopefully they can somewhat solve Paul Skins. You're right,
though he has not been like every time he pitched
last year it was insane.

Speaker 4 (01:19:33):
Uh, just the dominance.

Speaker 3 (01:19:34):
But I think, you know, it is part of that
getting a book on him, so to speak.

Speaker 4 (01:19:39):
I'm not saying it.

Speaker 5 (01:19:41):
Yeah, I think you're acting like what he's done this
year is so far off.

Speaker 4 (01:19:45):
No, no, no, it's just not like L one six. This
year it's a two to one five era.

Speaker 8 (01:19:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:19:50):
Last year's whip was nine forty seven. This year's is better.
It's nine to sixteen. Yeah, Like it's almost identical. He
just hasn't he was sorry here, I guess, so some
of the wow factor is a little bit lower.

Speaker 4 (01:20:04):
He's been awesome.

Speaker 5 (01:20:07):
I don't know that. He almost threw a no hitter
right when he came to came up. And he's been really, really,
really good.

Speaker 3 (01:20:15):
All right, So that's gonna be great for the Astros
lineup tonight. Let's get to a couple of things. I mean, obviously,
the topic of the day as far as the Texans
goes is, Hey, hey, CJ, why are you doing everything
but throwing the football? That's that's what that was your
question to me go today, wasn't it That's how you
phrased it.

Speaker 5 (01:20:35):
Uh, well, I didn't didn't ask it that way, And
there really was no reason to ask that because you know,
he wasn't gonna answer it, because he opened his press
conference with a statement he said, I know you guys
are gonna ask about this, so I'm just gonna tell
you that was pretty interesting that when he was asked
about if he had a procedure, that's when he went
into that's all I'm telling you about CJ because that's

(01:20:55):
a very reasonable explanation. You say you're not gonna rush him,
you say it's general soreness. Really give you a full
picture clearly of what is the reason for it, and
that's where we still are a little bit uncertain of
and these specifics of the actual injury, but very realistic
that they found something they wanted to clean up. They
found something that they thought would you know, it would
benefit him to go ahead and get it taken care

(01:21:16):
of this off season with plenty of time to prepare
and be healthy for the start of this upcoming season.
But he did not confirm, didn't deny, did no comment it.
He just said I'm done talking about it.

Speaker 3 (01:21:28):
Neither confirm nor deny my favorite thing in sports. There
are a couple of former Texans that were highlighted in
an article today that basically highlights fifteen off season additions
who could either thrive or flop. But I only say
that because I think both of these former Texans in

(01:21:51):
this case, they think are going to thrive whatever that means.
And it's a wide range because they're both offensive linemen.

Speaker 5 (01:21:58):
So there's one of them. Was obviously Shaq Mason thriving
with his new team. Which team is that?

Speaker 3 (01:22:03):
That's not the one that's mean, mean, Sorry, but I
like that. That's my favorite version of you. Yeah, he's
still out there. Laramie Tunsell obviously traded to the Commanders.
And this this paragraph right here, it might make Texans
fans pound their head into a brick wall.

Speaker 4 (01:22:22):
I don't know. You take it for what it's worth.

Speaker 3 (01:22:25):
There's an interesting thing happening here right The Texans want
to protect C. J. Stroud, who was beaten up and
eventually injured by the end of the playoff loss to
the Chiefs. There's no doubt they need to address their
offensive line this offseason and their method or they needed
to address their offensive line this offseason, and their method
was moving on from their cornerstone left tackle and Laramie Tunsell. Clearly,

(01:22:47):
Houston prefers trying out several draft picks while hoping Cam
Robinson will be its short term solution on Stroud's blind side.
The Commanders, meanwhile, have their own young quarterback they want
to protect. And then he goes on to my favorite part.
In your favorite part, the numbers suggest Tunsl was solid

(01:23:07):
last season as a blocker, and then they go into
the NFL next Gen stats crediting him with two point
five sacks allowed, good number for a left tackle playing
a full season. Quick pressure rate was right around league average,
had some trouble with speed around the edge, and as
Will McDonald, the fourth and James Houston were able to

(01:23:27):
go outside him and create sacks of Stroud even if
they didn't finish the jobs themselves. And here's your favorite part, Wes.
The problem was what happened before and after the snap
referees flagging Tunsl a league high nineteen times, including for
twelve false starts. He was penalized three times for a
legal formation as part of a six penalty game against

(01:23:48):
the Vikings. We all remember that lovely afternoons.

Speaker 4 (01:23:51):
Yep, also a good later you couldn't help yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:23:55):
Later in the year, a seventy seven yard Nico Collins
touchdown wiped out by Tunsel getting downfield prematurely. A veteran
tackle of Tunsil's stature shouldn't be making those sorts of mistakes.
And it goes on to talk about the fact that
he's his own agent and he's done great job creating
leverage for himself.

Speaker 4 (01:24:14):
Blah blah, blah blah blah.

Speaker 3 (01:24:16):
I do wonder what twenty twenty five is gonna look
like for Laramie Tunsel. I have no doubt he'll be
one of the best pass blocking protect era of blind
sides in the league. But I could see this other
stuff causing some issues.

Speaker 5 (01:24:34):
So you've answered the question before I can even ask it.
I'll ask it of myself. What do you think this
upcoming year is gonna look like for Laramie? With the Commanders,
with a good team, with a good offense, with a
great quarterback, with the team expecting to get at least
where they did a year ago, which is the last
two teams standing in the NFC, what do I think
his season's going to look like it's gonna look the
same as it has for every year since he left Miami,

(01:24:57):
plus level pass blocking, lots of mental mistake or why
are the referees deciding to call this today?

Speaker 4 (01:25:03):
And why haven't I adjusted to it? Mistakes?

Speaker 5 (01:25:06):
Which is why I almost jumped in when you talked
about that six penalty game. Well, that was the early
portion of the season when that particular crew decided, hey,
we're gonna call this today. Then they pretty much never
called it the rest of the season against anybody. There
was one other game that had a rash of those penalties. Again,
the player should be smart enough to say, well, they
are calling it today, so I have to stop doing this.

(01:25:27):
And it was a point of emphasis type of play,
But no part of me is saying, man, how come
the Texans undisciplined offensive line room and coaching staff never
got Laramie Tunsel to limit his penalties because look at
what the commanders are doing. I don't think that's gonna happen.
I think he's gonna be a plus pass blocker. Think

(01:25:47):
he's been an average run blocker. He's gonna be the
same guy he's ever been. He's gonna have a chance
to reach Pro Bowl status like he always does. I'm
almost shocked to see him in this article. He's been
the same player for how many years? Why would a
change of scenery change it? I know, for sure, I
understand what you're saying.

Speaker 3 (01:26:07):
My thing was the first thing I thought of when
I saw this is we all know what happened last
year with the Commanders, and how fantastic you know the
quarterback play was, and it was very much reminiscent and
then to the mp degree of what CJ did his
rookie year, and I was like, well, who was their
left tackle that is now gone that allowed for some

(01:26:27):
of that to happen? And I realized that they had
rotated Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas. I guess I just
didn't pay a lot of attention to who their offensive
line was.

Speaker 4 (01:26:39):
In general.

Speaker 3 (01:26:39):
I knew they had to have a decent one for
him to do what he did. But then again, with
some of the plays he displayed with his wheels, sometimes
that's a lot more about the quarterback.

Speaker 4 (01:26:49):
Than anything else.

Speaker 3 (01:26:51):
But he was a passer, he was He had a
great season on both accounts, if you will.

Speaker 5 (01:26:56):
But quite frankly, I just keep looking over this list
of players, I'm like, he just.

Speaker 4 (01:27:03):
The next one here, one's way worse.

Speaker 5 (01:27:05):
Well, yes, clearly, and I do want to get to that.
Just the overall group of players here, they all have
something wrong with their most recent season or their season
before that. Where Here's where they're coming from and what
needs to happen next and why they were available. He
played good football for the Texans for the fifth year
in a row. They decided to this wasn't gonna get

(01:27:25):
our situation here, didn't need what he brought and what
might be better without what he did bring off of
the field or in their room. If you believe that
to be the case, He's not a problem player. He's
not gonna be a problem player there. He's not gonna
be a low level performer. He's gonna he's gonna be
the same level performers with all these other players on
this list, George Pickens and Deebo Samuel and je Devronte Williams.

(01:27:49):
There's a reason why these other players are elsewhere. There's
not a real good reason why he's not here in Houston.
They just decided to move on.

Speaker 4 (01:27:56):
That's that's the question that comes to doesn't fit right.

Speaker 3 (01:27:59):
Well, but I'm asking myself, and I know you are
a staunch supporter of Laramie Tunsel every time I would
bring up the penalties or anybody would.

Speaker 5 (01:28:08):
But I'm like, I like to take these two things
and put them together. What would you prefer five yards,
negative five yards or death to your quarterback?

Speaker 4 (01:28:18):
I'll take the five yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:28:19):
But then okay, but it comes back to the original
question that's been asked fifty different ways.

Speaker 4 (01:28:26):
Why did they get rid of him?

Speaker 9 (01:28:28):
Then?

Speaker 4 (01:28:28):
If he's so good, he isn't so good. That's what
I keep trying.

Speaker 5 (01:28:32):
He is an above average player for half of your
plays the past plays, he's a roughly average player and
his whole career if you had the other.

Speaker 3 (01:28:41):
Plays thirty second ranked offensive line in the NFL, and
then you take a guy who's very good for half
of those plays away. I know it's all about the unit,
but this is the most important position on that unit.

Speaker 2 (01:28:56):
Right.

Speaker 5 (01:28:56):
They spent a bunch of money last year to be awful.
This year, you're gonna spend a lot less money to
maybe be comparable.

Speaker 3 (01:29:02):
Or I thought you're gonna say they're gonna spend a
lot less money to be still awful.

Speaker 4 (01:29:05):
They probably will.

Speaker 5 (01:29:06):
I mean not expecting great things, but they're going to
certainly spend a lot less money doing it. And their
commitment to Cam Robinson is basically zero. He's got a
one year deal again today. We've been out there the
last two weeks. We've seen three different practices. It appears
there's a bit of a rotation at that spot. The
other four starters appear to be at least number ones

(01:29:26):
for now, but Cam Robinson was number one today. Tay
Urserri has been number one during other practices and I'm
sure that will continue because they'd love to see him
take that spot. Blake Fisher's getting all the reps as
the one on the opposite side the right tackle. Titus
Howard's getting all the reps as the starting right guard,
and Howard is currently the only one who has any
kind of long term financial commitment on their entire line.

(01:29:49):
The other players have lengthy years worth of commitments, but
none of them make any money because they're all kids. Basically,
I know you want to get to the other player
because well, he makes sense to be on this list.
What's written about him and the out of the gate
comparison for him is.

Speaker 4 (01:30:08):
I poppingly bad.

Speaker 5 (01:30:10):
Fall out of your chair bad, And since we're no
longer sign willcast, I might actually do that when we
come back. Fall out of my share for this ridiculous
comparison made to a newcomer who just left the Houston Texans.

Speaker 4 (01:30:23):
Wait to hear this one.

Speaker 1 (01:30:26):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 8 (01:30:34):
Eight.

Speaker 5 (01:30:34):
Team continues Swex and AC along with Cole here with
you this Tuesday afternoon NFL offseason signings trades. Who could
break out or flop? That's what we're talking about. Last segment,
specifically about Laramie Tunsel, one of the fifteen players on
the list. A second former Texan was also on the list.

(01:30:55):
His name is Kenyon Green, and several people have wondered
it could he have a bounce back to his career
three years in Houston very underwhelming, far too full of
injuries and simply when he was on the field, it.

Speaker 4 (01:31:07):
Just wasn't good enough football to keep him on the field.

Speaker 5 (01:31:10):
Was given multiple opportunities and just the play wasn't quite
good enough for him to stay out there this past year.
Injuries certainly derailed most of his first two seasons, all
of his second season, and came to the Texans out
of the draft at number fifteen as an unhealthy player
to begin with, so they were monitoring his progress throughout
that offseason leading into his rookie year. They had traded

(01:31:30):
back from thirteen too fifteen ultimately to take him. He
fits on a list like this too. He has issues
as the reasons of why maybe this is a year
things could go a lot better for him, Like Daniel
Jones who's listed, Like Justin Fields who's listed, George Pickens
who'd fallen out of favor in Pittsburgh, Deebo Samuel who's

(01:31:52):
been super productive at times but not this most recent year,
Javonte Williams who no longer was the starter in Denver
on opportunity in Dallas. That these players make a lot
of sense there, and Kenyon Green's probably no different until
you read the opening commentary about his landing in Philadelphia
from the Houston Texans. Like I said, I just about

(01:32:14):
fell out.

Speaker 4 (01:32:15):
Of my chair.

Speaker 5 (01:32:16):
I didn't think I was I thought I was missing
something like they're referring to somebody else. The Eagles revitalized
one former first round picks career last year by getting
him behind a great offensive line. Could they do the
same for another by putting him on that same line
I have to stop here for effect, and I'm like,

(01:32:36):
they can't really be serious. They did say there is
a big difference here while Barkley they're talking about Saquon
Barkley and Kenyon Green in the same sentence getting to
Philadelphia and whoa.

Speaker 4 (01:32:47):
All of a sudden awesome.

Speaker 5 (01:32:50):
While Barkley was solid too excellent in New York when healthy, okay,
I think they're kind of coming around and maybe realize
Saquon Barkley pretty good at running back at the NFL
level prior to going berserk in the most unbelievably awesome
situation for a running back of his skill set you
could ever put on paper, and then it played out

(01:33:12):
that way. Well, Barkley was solid excellent in New York
when healthy Green was one of the league's worst linemen.
When he's on the field for Houston. I could go
on and on about why he might do it, And
we've talked about it at length already with coach Stotland
being there and how much they've gotten out of so
many different linemen. Then last year, just one year removed
now from what they got out of Mackay Beckton who

(01:33:33):
also was much much better than Green in his previous
stob even with clear reasons why that team said we
can't play you anymore. Totally understand that if Green succeeds
in Philadelphia and Stoutland deservedly gets a ton of credit
for that, how fat if I'm coach Jeff Stoutland, who

(01:33:54):
Jason Kelcey and every other member of that line for
the last decade has talked so glowingly about. I mean,
shouldn't he be getting paid more than everybody who's coaching
in the NFL, including some head coaches obviously this much
of an offensive line magician whisper Basically, that's what they're saying.
I'm not I don't want to. I guess kick him
while he's down. It's an awesome situation for him. And

(01:34:15):
if there was going to be a successful future in
the NFL for Green, this is probably where you'd find it.
But unless he's just a totally different player, and health
has been the biggest reason, and it wasn't any kind
of mental issue, and it wasn't any kind of I
don't know how else to describe it. The football he
put football on tape.

Speaker 3 (01:34:32):
It's bad. Yeah, I a bad player. It's going to
crush me if he goes there and plays well. But
if the line is as good as it is, I'm
not saying he'd be masked into looking good. He would
just be masked when in the rotation. If he's in
the rotation. Yeah, you know the part I look at it.

(01:34:54):
I don't really I'm not caring. I'm caring more about
your commentary about the Texans like crushed if he's good,
because why because now you can say Nick didn't make
a mistake. You can say it was a coaching problem,
it was a culture problem.

Speaker 4 (01:35:09):
What is it that as.

Speaker 3 (01:35:11):
Simple as he didn't play that way here in a
Houston universe?

Speaker 4 (01:35:14):
So it was a personal problem that's on him. I
don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:35:18):
I mean, all of these things you've listed can be
attributed as reasons why players always go from one team
to another and play well.

Speaker 5 (01:35:26):
Right, So I can't we just go with it wasn't
gonna happen here. Well, if you're just say that is
something wrong, I think the only person that did anything
wrong in this entire situation, or maybe two, are the
general manager who selected him.

Speaker 8 (01:35:42):
There.

Speaker 5 (01:35:42):
I said it at the time, this is a terrible
pick and It wasn't even referring to the actual talent
of Kenyan Green.

Speaker 4 (01:35:49):
It was a position he played, where he was taken.

Speaker 5 (01:35:52):
And in comparison to the other players that play his
position in that particular draft, and with what you gave
up to slide back two spots, why not just take
the clearly better player, better prospect, more likely to be
awesome as an NFL player, which is what you claim
to constantly do with your draft. So it's him and
then the other side of it is I think it's
pretty clear at this point, even though we haven't even

(01:36:14):
seen what Cole Popovich as the leader of the offensive
line will do the last two years offensive line they're
coaching and Demiko and their OC and the personnel couldn't
be further apart on what we want from these guys.
Total miscommunication issues, technique issues, coaching issues, you name it. It
was all there. So maybe they blame them too. We'll
leave it at that today for us on this portion

(01:36:36):
of the program, we're not going anywhere because we're going
to deliver the Astros on Deck Show next the ad

Speaker 2 (01:36:45):
On Sports Talk seven ninety