Show Me Correa! Show Me Wins! Show Me Bregs In Boston!

Wex and AC break down everything you need to know about the Astros' three-game stretch in Boston with the Red Sox and the RETURN of Jeremy Pena....oh, and Carlos Correa is back in the building

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam, raised by Earl Nolan,
got hockey voulted by the magnificent roller coaster ride.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
That is Houston Sports.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Chill lates down for the only homegrown afternoon team is
talking Your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam Wexland are the
A team.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
What's up, Houston? It is a Friday edition of the
eighteen Sports Talk seven. It's an August edition too. That
means a trade deadline.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
The A T on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Is behind us. Hey, that was a quick break as
we get a Friday show off and running here, and
now that the dust is settled, I'm very curious to
see what people are still thinking. I think it's ninety
seven percent good vibes and love it, love the deal
for Korea especially, and I still think there's some stragglers
out there that just want to rain on the parade,

(01:28):
which you don't understand since they didn't give up anything.
And if you're into, you know, keeping track of spending
Jim Crane's money responsibly, then I guess maybe I could
see where you're coming from with regards to like, you know,
thresholds and that kind of thing. But all things considered,
I think it's an epic setting that is going to

(01:50):
unfold in mere hours and sooner than rather than later.
Because the Boston Red Sox, last time I checked, are
located in the Eastern time zone, so we will have
astro on deck for you coming up at five o'clock
and it's the only place you're gonna be able to
hear this game. And tonight the debut for the second
time of Carlos Korea for free because it's an Apple

(02:13):
TV game. Just putting that out there.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Yeah, I should have the lineup soon, if I were
to guess, I think Joe Aspata if all players involved
are available, and I believe that they all will be,
and roster moves will still need to be made in
order to make that happen. I know yesterday I mentioned
that the total number didn't need to change. With Sanchez
coming in and Gusto going out, They're probably going to
want a full complement of pitchers available to them for

(02:37):
tonight in the foreseeable future, so Ryan Gusto to be
replaced on the roster by a pitcher. Spots were cleared
with the move of Shay Whitcomb one spot. Two more
would still need to be cleared in order to make
that happen. For Hey, Sue Sanchez, and Ramona Rias, I
believe they'll all be in the lineup tonight. I think
the Astros will have Jeremy Panya in the lineup tonight,

(02:59):
Batton lead off. There's some numbers that suggest with how
often Hey sus Sanchez and we brought it up yesterday
as batted second this year, that maybe that's a spot
for him. Carlos Korea in probably any spot, he's much
more I think more flexible. Jose al Tuve has been
so good in the three spot. I don't know that
prediction is really necessary, but seeing all those bats in

(03:21):
the lineup, and honestly a very very good defensive team
will be behind Hunter Brown Tonight in Boston at Fenway Park.
Might be an opportunity for Jose Altuve to designated hit.
With others now on the team and capable of going
out there and manning some of these positions. A first
trip to Fenway Park for a host of Astros, including

(03:43):
rookie Cam Smith. Alex Bregman will be in the lineup tonight.
He made his return after his long injury earlier in
July and has continued to hit very well. He's got
an ops of nine to twenty two. He will be
the second batter that Hunter Brown faces and the Astros
still lead this division by four and a half game.
Last night, the Rangers and Mariners got together. Only one
of the teams scored, that was the Mariners.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
They won.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
They are four and a half games back of the Astros.
The Rangers did not score.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
They lost.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
They are five and a half game back of the Astros. Obviously,
their extended weekend series will continue last game of the
day in Seattle.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
For that one.

Speaker 4 (04:17):
Seattle was able to put their new lineup on the
field last night for the first time, with Suarez and
Naylor manning their respective corners. George Kirby was spinning it
pretty good last night as part of that shutout effort.
And we'll keep an eye on everything else going on
around the rest of the American League, specifically these two
teams the Astros will see on consecutive weekends on the

(04:38):
East Coast, definitely outside of this division, where each of
the three teams, the Astros, Rangers, and Mariners were extremely busy.
All made three significant acquisitions and other than them, the
Yankees and Red Sox. Red Sox this weekend, Yankees next weekend. Certainly,
I thought we're at the center of a lot of
national people's attention, well reasons, they're in Boston in New York,

(05:01):
but at different ends of the spectrum, so I thought
nationally from them on the Astros and each of those
two teams will bring to you.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
Over the course of the next couple hours.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
Before we get at Astros pregame, here a little bit
more from Dana Brown on the particulars of the deal,
their plans for the use of these players moving forward,
and obviously that's all the team and Joe a spot
as discretion to think of where they were throughout this season,
what they didn't have as a daily lineup option and
daily pitching options and pitching options probably will be very

(05:33):
different moving forward and rapidly. I was talking to someone
over at Texans practice today and it is a little alarming,
I think when you hear it out loud. Okay, A,
the Astros not only didn't add any pitching or starting
pitching they traded away as starting pitcher, but b they
have one, two, three, four, five six starting pitchers on

(05:55):
the injured list and expected to return to pitch for
the Astros this and there's fifty three games remaining starting tonight.
The next time Spencer Araghatty pitches, it's probably for the Astros.
He pitched last night. Give you some specs on how
he did. Luis Garcia will throw tonight. Christian Javier is
probably one more start away, you could say, maybe two

(06:15):
for JP France. A little bit less determined about Lance
McCullers Junior and Brandon Walter. Well, that is six pitchers.
How effected, they will be very risky play for the
Astros to have gone this route, but that is the
route they have taken.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, if the reports that are out there are true
in that part of the reason that Dylan Cees is
not an Astro is because they were asking for Earraghetty
in return.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
So just don't trade for Haesu Sanchez and keep Ryan Gusto.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
But I want Sanchez. That's why the general manager makes
some tough decisions. And since you brought that up, because
that I think is a fair way to look at
the scenario, wouldn't you have done the same thing, Yes,
I would have.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
I'm a little surprised that they've sent this the pictures
that they have throughout the year. You know, I love
Logan van Wise not stretched out uh aj Blue Bay
guess is unappealing to them for whatever reason. He was
appealing enough to make one start and could very possibly
still need to make another just to get them there.
Jason Alexander starting another game for the Astros, but not

(07:20):
this weekend. Red Sox Astros. This weekend will feature Brown,
Gordon and from ber Valdez. We got a lot of
input from you guys yesterday and we certainly welcome a
whole host more of it over the course of the
afternoon today. Seven won three two, one two five seven ninety.
Practice for the Texans this morning in pads again, fourth
consecutive such practice with a day off yesterday to split

(07:42):
them up. One more practice tomorrow and then they are
out of here. They are on their way to West
Virginia for four practices next week Monday through Thursday. They'll
take another off day off on Sunday and Saturday of
next week. You should know this by now, considering there
was a game last night. Yeah, the Texans, which will
play their first preseason game a week from Saturday when

(08:04):
they get things started against the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, last
night there was a preseason football game. Didn't expect it
to be the number one NFL story today, and it
isn't even close considering the request made by a player
inside the NFC East that expects to have a very
good team this year. Not the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin,

(08:27):
but actually now today Michaeh Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
Hey man, no contract? Huh?

Speaker 4 (08:33):
Alrighty, you've made me do it. He has requested a trade.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
Yeah, we'll get into that. It's not a surprise. In fact,
I kind of predicted it, but just a.

Speaker 4 (08:44):
Part of the negotiating ploy. They're not trading Micah Parsons.
Why because they don't want to. Of course they don't
want to, so they won't.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
He wants out.

Speaker 4 (08:53):
They want to sign him, and they're going to offer
him the amount of money it takes for him to sign.
On the dotted line, he'll still want out, but he
will have gotten his mind and the twenty twenty five
season will go on with Parsons.

Speaker 3 (09:03):
As a Cowboy. Beyond that, I'm not ready to make
a prediction. If it were any other team with any
other owner, I would say yes, you're one hundred percent right.
But Jerry doesn't do things like anybody else and that's
why they're in this spot. No, he doesn't.

Speaker 4 (09:17):
You're right, but he has given the money to all
of the players before give ceedee lamb. He gave it
to Dak Press in the process. Great, that's exactly right. Afterwards,
he's doing exactly what he's done.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
Well if he's if he's thinking that he's going to
do this just like just like he did with I
guess Zeke Elliott is probably the most pronounced.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
Yeah, he was the worst player that they gave an
extension to and running back Yeah, yes.

Speaker 3 (09:41):
To strike right there, but you know that was the
most pronounced holdout, stretched out timeline.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
Also, unlike the other three, not that it really impacted
his NFL career. I guess it did a little bit.
He had baggage. The other three are perfectly fine. There's
nothing on that end, but the idea that he's maybe
gonna be told you can't play this week or next
week or the next week are there's some lingering things
from some of the stuff he did off the field,
and hes still got an extension from them at some point,

(10:10):
especially if Parkers Parsons does end up playing for another
team in twenty twenty five, as much as the networks
can't stop frothing at the mouth over the Dallas Cowboys,
the national public will start to stop caring about a
team that's not a factor. And the Cowboys without Michah
Parsons in twenty twenty five are not a factor in
the NFC. With him, I'll leave the door open, but

(10:32):
I don't expect them to matter in the grand scheme
of why we all watch football. We watch for winning.
If you're in one city of an NFL team, you
watch your team. But everybody else is looking for winning.
They're looking for great games. They want the best primetime matchups,
they want the best standalone games. The Cowboys aren't among
those teams. They're not one of the best fourteen teams
in the NFL in twenty twenty five. If Micah Parsons
isn't there, if he's there, maybe maybe there's an outside

(10:55):
chance they are.

Speaker 3 (10:55):
Well. America has been healing so much lately, I would
just assume this change too like it. Let's let's get
rid of this built in, baked in. We gotta have
had the Dallas Cowboys because they matter for what reason.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
Yeah, we'll see if it does take place and give
you the latest on that as it unfolds. This afternoon
we come back, we will hear from those that we're
talking about the trade deadline, two of our favorite voices
voicing their opinions on three teams that fancy themselves as
the best team in the American League, including your Houston Astros.
We'll do that when we come back. Just getting things

(11:28):
rolling here on a Friday. Get ready for the weekend
edition of Astros Baseball here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Yeah, Yeah, back here on the A Team, Wex and
AC and Cole Thompson here with you for the duration
take you up until about five point thirty five with
the A Team and the Astros on deck, show Red
Sox and Astros the this evening. Hunter Brown will handle
the pitching early on for the Astros, and we'll see
what Joe Aspata has for their opponents tonight in terms

(12:07):
of how he wants to fill his lineup out and
what his actual roster will look like considering the change
that will have to be made. Obviously, Major League Baseball
was a buzz with ten twenty thirty forty fifty deadline
deals made over the last days and then one day
up until yesterday's five pm deadline. It was, as I thought,

(12:30):
outrageously active, and if you were in it, almost every
team that was in it did something not only significant,
but maybe a second or a third move that was
fairly significant. I asked a pretty rhetorical question considering where
the majority of my follower base is based in Houston,
so it's not particularly surprising what the results were of

(12:53):
the poll question I asked yesterday regarding the Astros division
and what each of the three teams did. I probably
could have just said, hey, we all know you think
the Astros are awesome and all, but what do you
think of the moves made by the.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Other two teams?

Speaker 4 (13:06):
Nonetheless, question asked and answered, which of the three teams
a top the American League West that believed the playoffs
are in their future did the best with their deadline additions.
The Astros with Correa Sanchez and Rias Seattle with Naylor
Suarez and Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson made his Mariner's debut last
night with a shutout inning. Yes, that's the former Astro

(13:27):
from their deadline acquisition last year, or the Texas Rangers
with Merrill Kelly, Danny Colomb and film Ayton. Sixty five
percent of you like the Astros. Again, I laid that
out for you prefacing the pole question and answer, But
an overwhelming number like the Mariners over the Rangers. Ten

(13:48):
times as many people liked what the Mariners did over
what the Rangers did. Essentially no support for the team
that added by far the best starting pitcher. He was
the only starting pitcher added, and they had a very
good starting rotation, but a bullpen arm or two along
with Merrill Kelly. The Rangers are going to try to
win with a little bit better offense, which they've now

(14:10):
started to get, and maybe the best top three in
the American League, the entire league, potentially Major League Baseball
if Kelly continues as he has and you get health
from Evaldi and de Gram that's a pretty stout top three.
But they're also the third place team of those three
and have a lot more to climb Nationally speaking, of course,
as you know, we already dipped into Dallas Sports, so

(14:32):
stance for reason, we want to dip into the.

Speaker 3 (14:35):
New York Sports while we're at it. What did they
think about? What the I'm sorry, what are we talking
about here? Can you fire up my computers?

Speaker 5 (14:42):
Southwest?

Speaker 3 (14:43):
Let's just start.

Speaker 4 (14:45):
Sports talk seven ninety you're southwest.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
Home for Yankees baseball.

Speaker 3 (14:50):
Yankees baseball if that one doesn't have a deep southwest home. No,
the Yankees are not in a deep Southwest. Okay, so
not as far as I know. This road trip that's
going to include the deep south East. So it's hard
to say this road trip is going to include the
entire East coast, all right, So we'll lean on Ken
Rosenthal to give you these thoughts on the American League

(15:13):
East's teams.

Speaker 4 (15:14):
He didn't talk about Toronto a little bit in their
acquisition of Bieber and a few other moves that they
made a little bit less clear because of Bieber's status,
though he is expected to help this year's team. You know,
Tampa gave us some away and brought some in. But
the two teams they love to talk about the most.
Ken Rosenthal certainly obliged by doing so. His thoughts on
the New York Yankees, He's gonna need a bib.

Speaker 6 (15:36):
Hats off to them because they were one of the
big winners of the day. In my opinion, it climbacts
today with what the acquisitions of three relievers. Astonishing acquisitions actually,
because all of them are under club control beyond this season.
They get David Bednor from the Pirates one year extra control,
Jake Bird from the Rockies, he got additional control, Camillo d'avall.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
That's a bullpen.

Speaker 6 (15:58):
Do you put those two with Weaver and Williams and
some of the injured believers they have coming back, It's
going to be quite a group. And of course the
Yankees had previously addressed their position needs of course sick
Man and Slater and Rosario, and today they add Jose
Cabalero as well. They are a better team today, a
significantly better team than they were yesterday. Where Brian Cashman

(16:19):
orchestrated at this deadline, it was a tour de force.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
It was a oh oh, you know what I'm talking about,
Brian Cashman. Oh oh, come on, dude, I mean, listen,
I know they made a lot of deals, so it
looks splashier than what it is. All those names he mentioned,
probably two stick out to me as Okay, those are
pretty good acquisitions, but none of them are liked. I mean,

(16:46):
it's kind of like, if you're a Yankees fan and
you're looking at what the Astros did bringing back Korea,
well it's gonna give you PTSD because of what he
did the first time he was in an Astros uniform.
But he's got to come down here and prove that
he can well, actually he's got to go where to
Boston and then Miami and then back up to New
York and then come here on August eleventh for his
first home game ever as an Astro the second time

(17:09):
third baseman, Yes, and prove that he can do all
those things. But I get it, Ken, I get that
you've got a Yankees pinstripe bow tie you were wearing
and nothing else. Apparently when you were giving this sound.

Speaker 4 (17:22):
Bite, well, even though he called it a tour de force,
was frothing up the mouth and did use the term climax.
I don't even think he was the I don't even
think he was the person at the Athletic who was
the most excited about the Yankees. So before I give
you Ken's thoughts on the Red Sox work done before
the deadline, Nean O'Connor, who's newly attached to the Athletic.

(17:44):
He wrote an article and it is titled now the
Yankees have no excuse not to win. The whole thing
includes the following one. Today's American League seems so light
on heavyweight contenders. The Yankees have no credible excuse not
to make a second straight trip to the World Series,
and then no excuse not to win it once there.

(18:09):
I don't want to spend all day on this, but
it is amazing in the it even recognizes in the
article all their shortcomings, all their current historical shortcomings, in
that they have no excuse not to do something they've
never done before other than this is why they've never
done it before.

Speaker 3 (18:26):
But like I said, that's.

Speaker 4 (18:28):
Just for for you guys to think about over the
next fifty to sixty games. Rosenthal's thoughts on the team
right behind the Yankees in their division standings and second
and third place right behind the Yankees and the wild
card standings, holding the first and second spot in the
wildcard race, his thoughts were different.

Speaker 6 (18:45):
Epic fail comes off in epic fail last year's deadline
with Craig Breslow, and this was an epic fail as well.
The Red Sox were one of many teams that uses
modeling and tries to figure out what the best values are,
and it's all about efficiency, getting the best deal, and
this and that and the other thing.

Speaker 3 (19:03):
At some point you've got a fire.

Speaker 4 (19:06):
Okay, they didn't do anything, so he called it an
epic fail.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
I agree, correct me if I'm wrong, though, did he
just say all of those analytical terms with utter disdain,
as if to look down upon that process of doing things.

Speaker 4 (19:20):
If it prevents you from doing anything, then yes, that
is exactly what he's saying. He's saying they were reluctant
for the second straight year with a team that probably
could win more if you added more and you have
the assets to do so, and they decide to know
our models and this, that and the other are telling
us not to And what's going to happen again? Is
there going to come up short because they were reluctant

(19:42):
to pull the trigger on a deal.

Speaker 3 (19:44):
But the Yankees have no excuse to win at all,
right again, because they made ten deals. That's somebody else.
It's not about the quantity it is according to Ken Rosenthal.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
I mean, look at the climb seven players, because they're
the twenty the nineteenth through twenty six players on their roster,
their bullpen should be phenomenal.

Speaker 3 (20:01):
You know what's funny about this, Well, yeah, your bullpen
should be phenomenal if you get to use it because
you have a lead, But you don't have Aaron Judge
until win. And they're not. You're not overwhelming, No they're not.

Speaker 4 (20:12):
They're They're a little bit like Houston, though they had
some clear obvious holes and for the most part they
plugged him. Now they need, like the Astros need yord
On to come back, they need a Judge to come back.
The reason there where they are is because Judge was
having such a strong season and now they're gonna see
how long they can go without it and try to stay.

Speaker 3 (20:28):
There and never have enjoyed that this year exactly.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
So what lies in their future in that regard is
a little bit difficult to discern.

Speaker 3 (20:35):
I wonder if you could just like read off the
names of all the players that are still on the
eel for the Astros as climax elite as he did
for the answer.

Speaker 4 (20:42):
No point that I was aware of did did they
get hot and heavy on the Astros And it was
just just happy I can get the Astros' thoughts from
somebody else, So I didn't look for Kens though. No,
it's fun to me and he's not thinking they did well,
because everybody does, including Tom Verducci when talking about the
addition of carl Correa.

Speaker 7 (21:00):
The Houston Astro has got the best player traded at
the deadline, Carlos Korea.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
It's no offense to to Miller.

Speaker 3 (21:07):
It's great pickup.

Speaker 7 (21:08):
That was the most stunning to me that you go
to the San Diego the closer. But Carlos Korea didn't
see this one on the Bengo card. Best player traded
twenty twenty five deadline.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Probably an opinion not shared by everybody. No, because a
Heeno Suariez Suarez did get traded, and I mean he.

Speaker 4 (21:26):
Mentioned Miller in that little comment there as well, one
of the elite closers in baseball going to a team
that is fancies himself as a title contender from San Diego.

Speaker 3 (21:34):
Just offensively, strictly, for all intents and purposes, au Haanio
Suarez is a much better player in twenty twenty five
than Carlos correct But there's more to baseball than that.

Speaker 4 (21:42):
And if Carlos Carrey is going to turn continue to
help this team's defense on the infield and do whatever
else he does, and in some expectations that the four
months of Carlos care in twenty twenty five is not
the two months of Carlos Carrey in twenty twenty five
that the Astros are going to get because you're less
than twelve months removed from elite offensive player. Correa's partial

(22:02):
season last year offensively was as good as anybody that
plays his position not named Bobby Wood Junior. Last year
he was that good just a year ago, didn't play
a full season. He's already going to surpass some of
those totals this year at bats and whatnot. And one
last thing on Correa, since I called together those numbers,
looking over his numbers yesterday as much as we did,

(22:23):
I figured there was probably somebody that was having a
season very much like Correa's that's now his teammate.

Speaker 3 (22:29):
And I was right.

Speaker 4 (22:31):
Cam Smith and Carlos Correa. I'm not sure what you
think about Cam Smith's season to date. I'm talking about
the full season from opening day until yesterday.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
They both have.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
Exactly three hundred and thirty seven at bats. Ones hitt
in two fifty eight, the other hit two sixty seven.
One's got a seven to fifteen ops. The other hit
seven oh four ninety nine ops plus ninety two for
the other seven homers each thirty nine RBI for one
thirty one for the others. You added an offensive player,
despite the ups and downs and where they are currently,

(23:03):
that's had the same season so far as Cam Smith.

Speaker 3 (23:07):
But he has all the experience and all the intangibles
and the defense. Eighteen more postseason homers than Cam Smith. Well,
Cam Smith can start this year.

Speaker 4 (23:15):
Yes, there are a lot of things that again those
are just raw numbers. And the other thing I posted
that a lot of people thought was very nice about
Carlos Karre. It's got a nice little split in his season.
First twenty four games, he thought he was Alex Bregman
one sixty seven batting average, four ninety six OPS.

Speaker 3 (23:33):
Last sixty nine games.

Speaker 4 (23:35):
Nice, He's hitting three hundred with a seven to seventy
three OPS. His seventieth game after those first twenty four
comes tonight at Fenway Park.

Speaker 3 (23:42):
It's all about what have you done for me lately?
Speaking of which, sure, I'm sure all of the responses
to all of the things that happened yesterday were calm
and measured on the main streets of social media, and
that's where Best of X comes in. We'll do it.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
Next on Sports Talk seven ninety Did you all see.

Speaker 8 (24:06):
This should be putting out between five and fifteen posts
a day.

Speaker 6 (24:10):
Four hundred people were arrested for things of day seven
on social media.

Speaker 8 (24:14):
History repeats itself type banguels succeed.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
Never doubt that you're the one who poss were going
on building League.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
You're the best of X. Nothing's gonna ever.

Speaker 8 (24:27):
Top you know you're the best of X posting every
single day and you're the best of X breaking the
entire Internet.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
The day after the trade deadline edition of the Best
of X. A lot of choices are out there. But
you know what I noticed in the aftermath of the
Carlos Korea reunion that's currently unfolding in front of our
very eyes. He has not been all that active on
social media since, especially the last couple of seasons.

Speaker 4 (25:05):
He spent a few minutes yesterday during the show and
then a little bit more after the show, and was
a little bit easier to look into those who are
involved in this deal that are more active on social media.
In that regard, Nina Altuve took to social media and
was obviously very excited. Karen McCullers talked about getting the
band back together yesterday. She was on social media talk

(25:27):
about that, and not every Astro did, but a lot
of them did. What the Astros team put out about
welcoming Carlos Corea back, a lot of them just grabbed
it and posted it on their ig stories because for
many of them is as interesting as it is just
a couple of years removed. He's going to go out
there and play third base tonight. The first baseman, second baseman,

(25:49):
and shortstop have never played an inning with him before.
The catcher, he's been with him. The outfield, Yes, presumab
we'll put Jose in the outfield for the time being
untill we see the lineup. Yeah, he's played with him.
I guess if Jazz is out there, he's played with him.
Cam Smith hasn't played with him. Heysu Sanchez hasn't played

(26:10):
with him.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
Getting to know named Victor Carrottini hasn't played with him.
It was only a couple of years ago.

Speaker 4 (26:16):
He signed a one year deal with Minnesota and he's
in year three of the extension, so three plus seasons
since his departure, and obviously that many of his new
teammates are literally new teammates despite putting on the same uniform.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
Well, that doesn't mean that the entire Korea family was
excluded from posting, because Daniella had some very nice words,
parting words as it were, for the Twins organization that
will now be known from here until whenever thing's changed
is the ultimate fire sale. This was like Marlin's post
World Series levels of firesale.

Speaker 4 (26:52):
Well, Chandler popped this into one of his articles from
Scott Boris, who said, I know cal Raley a nickname,
and we know what that is, and I think you
can maybe put that on the Minnesota Twins franchise or
general manager in that they made eleven departures a reality
from their team and just call him the big dumper. Well,

(27:15):
so what we talked about before it all came to reality.
If the Twins are telling Carlos Korea internally and then
publicly with the moves they're making, we're selling off these parts.
We're gonna be sold, we can't spend any money, and
we're not winning. Do you think it's gonna change over
the next three years of your contract? You're going to
want to leave also, and we'll send you where you

(27:35):
want to go, and he will be agreeable to it.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
And there are four hundred plus million dollars in debt.
Is that what I read? I don't know. That's insane.
And so they convinced him to sign there twice and
they won.

Speaker 4 (27:50):
They were successful with trying to win with him, to
the point that not only do they reach the playoffs,
they want a playoff series. And for that franchise, they
weren't just losing playoff series after year. They weren't winning
any of the games in the playoff series, an ungodly
long losing streak of playoff games, and the Astros contributed
to that during that time, and they were able to
get there, succeed and they played a competitive series though

(28:12):
they weren't about to beat the Astros. And he has
played as well in the postseason since his departure from
Houston as he did with Houston. That's the other part
of this deal that I just kind of feel like,
get get there, and now you've got one more bat.
Even if it doesn't play this way, I feel like
it should. I'm pretty confident when Carlos Correa steps to

(28:34):
the play in the postseason. Same with Altuve, same with
the Jordan Alvarez, and we'll see what the rest of
the group around them looks like when they get there.
But I think that's a huge, huge, huge ad beyond
just the fifty three games he's in uniform before in
the regular season.

Speaker 3 (28:47):
Yeah. I mean, you can say they picked him up
to spell Estaka Peretis, but they picked him up just
as much for what they think you can still do
in that setting as much as anything else.

Speaker 4 (28:58):
So the Twins took too social media pretty much every
time they sent a player out, either they described the
deal or it was one of the countless thank you
insert player's name here that they had to send out,
and it got a lot of comments the Twins being
sacrificed one by one for the Timberwolves to win the
finals next season.

Speaker 3 (29:18):
I gotta respect that one.

Speaker 4 (29:20):
At this point, we're not trading, we're donating. This was
a comment on the Korea trade. The Korea deal is
Carlos Korea plus money going to Houston for a twenty
six year old a ball pitcher, period, end of trade.

Speaker 3 (29:37):
That's it. They wanted to shed salary.

Speaker 4 (29:39):
Chris said, I want the Polods to sell the team.
Button like where is it? Where do I click? I
know there's a like, there's a reply, but I'd like
to click.

Speaker 3 (29:46):
That in case you're wondering what the only member of
the Korea family to say had to say and you
hadn't heard yet. Daniella Rodriguez a few days after her
birthday of my dad. My heart and mind are still
trying to process what has happened. Never thought our journey
with the twins would come to an end sooner than expected.
I'm leaving here with the most incredible memories and lifelong

(30:08):
friendships that I will forever cherish. I believe God puts
us on a certain path for a reason. Houston in
all caps were coming home, and she threw a rocket
emoji in there. She knows Katie's here too. She knows
what's up.

Speaker 4 (30:22):
That's pretty awesome. There are a bunch of things that
generate a lot of this stuff.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
I sent this to you.

Speaker 4 (30:31):
Did you happen to see the player at first base
during the Athletics game who had trouble fielding the bounced
ball on a throw over to.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
First Oh my gosh, ouchtown bro well the play? Did
I not respond? I thought I did well.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
I just was bringing it into our conversation here because
that also comments section on things like that usually is
pretty legendary.

Speaker 3 (30:55):
Well, the play by play person couldn't relate.

Speaker 4 (30:58):
Well, the play by play person was not a man
and the analyst was, so you can probably guess just
about how that went some the usual stuff. He could
have been a man or a woman, and most of
the people do the same thing. Ugh, that's that's what
you do, apparently when you're in the booth. Oh no, yeah,
I mean it's not like stomp grapes or anything. Well,

(31:21):
he probably still couldn't breathe for a different reason.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
She's okay. Oh no, I hope she is all right.
That'll do it for Best of ex Trade Deadline Post edition.
We will round out the two o'clock hour. Coming up next,
we are getting you closer and closer to everybody who
is a new member and returning member of the Houston Astro.

Speaker 4 (31:44):
We're gonna hear from Alex Bregman in the next segment.
He is getting ready to play against Carlos Correa and
the Houston Astros. He's with the Red Sox. He has
thoughts on the newest Astro. Well, we will hear from
him next.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
Ninety comment.

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Comment back at it here on the A team WEXA
c Carl Thompson here with you.

Speaker 3 (32:12):
Another couple hours of us.

Speaker 4 (32:13):
We'll go right into the Astros on deck show and
the Astros and Red Sox will get together.

Speaker 3 (32:17):
Mention.

Speaker 4 (32:18):
We're going to hear from Alex Bregman, who has spoken
already today from over at the ball yard in Boston.

Speaker 3 (32:23):
Fenway Pac.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
The Astros needed to make some roster moves, told you
that would be coming today, and here's what they're going
to do. Carlos Correa, Jesus Sanchez, and Romon your eyes
all have new numbers. Twenty nine for Romon, number four
for heyesus sorry, Pedro leone and number one for Carlos
Carrez Sorry. Brendan Rodgers. Jeremy Pania has been reinstated off

(32:46):
of the injured list. Each of the three players I
just mentioned they acquired in trade are on the active roster.
A Nick Hernandez has been recalled from Triple A optioned
to Triple A. Both Bryce Matthews and Jacob Melton not
unexpected in Bryce's case and that playing time for him
would be scarce, so he'll go ahead and get back

(33:07):
into the everyday lineup with the Space Cowboys. Zach Short,
who played a lot of shortstop for the Astros the
last couple of weeks, here very admirably, certainly defensively, he
was outstanding.

Speaker 3 (33:17):
He's been DFA.

Speaker 4 (33:18):
This is just like John Singleton and Luiski Army and
other veteran players that the Astros have in their system.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
They're part of the forty man roster. They don't have.

Speaker 4 (33:28):
Options left and so when they get recalled it's great
up until they have to get taken off the roster
because then they're outside of the organization, probably clear waivers.
Then they could choose if they want to elect free
agency or become a part of the Astros' minor league
system again outside the forty man roster. And Nick Robertson,
who they had to pull off the forty man roster

(33:49):
to open up a spot last week. He cleared waivers
and he is back with the Sugarland Space Cowboys. So
a ton of moving parts to get this team in
place to play tonight to begin this stretch run. They
are sixty two and forty seven. They are a couple
of games up on the team they're playing. Should they
end up battling with them for a wild card spot.

(34:10):
The Red Sox are fifty nine and fifty one, and
obviously the Astros after last night gained a half a
game on the Rangers who lost, and lost to half
a game on the Mariners who won.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
They played each other. It was a six to nothing game.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Bregman at the yard early enough for our own Chris
Gordy to catch up with him earlier this afternoon, quite
simply his initial thoughts on his former team adding a
former teammate.

Speaker 3 (34:34):
Bregman's thoughts on adding, Yeah.

Speaker 9 (34:37):
Yeah, obviously, I think the whole baseball world was pretty shocked.
But you know, adding the great player I was. I
was definitely a big time, big splash, big splash.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
He's still a man A few words, relatively speaking, of course,
we got a little trademark chuckle in off the top. Well, yeah,
how about.

Speaker 4 (34:58):
Doing what we all know Carlos has to do now
what Bregman did because of Korea many many years ago.
Bregman's he's a lifelong shortstop, shortstop at LSU shortstop when
he was drafted, probably not going to be playing shortstop
for the Astros because Carlos Correa is there and became
a third basement. Well, now Carlos has to become a
third baseman because Jeremy Pania is the Astros starting shortstop

(35:21):
tonight and batting lead off. Bregman's thoughts on Korea at third.

Speaker 3 (35:24):
It'd be awesome.

Speaker 5 (35:24):
He'll be great.

Speaker 9 (35:25):
Obviously, he's got a Platinum Glove, so he's uh, he's
always been here. It's one of the best defenders in
the league. And we always used to say if he
caught the ball, the guys out because of the big
time arm, and he'll be I mean, we saw it
in the.

Speaker 3 (35:40):
WBC in twenty sixteen or something twenty seventeen.

Speaker 9 (35:44):
He was making great plays over there, so I think
he'll be hoping.

Speaker 5 (35:46):
He'll be fine.

Speaker 4 (35:48):
Pretty simplistic. And I said, you said, and I think
we all agreed similarly yesterday.

Speaker 3 (35:52):
How much I mean, what, what is in your opinion,
the most complicated I've got to do this on the
fly infield position that anybody could could play shortstop. Well,
you're at third base because there's so much action, even
though it's the hot corner over at third, your reaction
time is shorter there than anywhere else.

Speaker 4 (36:09):
With the likelihood of a shot coming down that line
versus the other line, and the more right handed batters,
all those things we don't call first base the hot corner.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
It's a corner, but it's not as hot.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
You know.

Speaker 4 (36:19):
It's the hot corner. Means your reaction time is so quick,
has to be so quick. You can only get to
so many balls that are hit.

Speaker 3 (36:27):
Like a laser.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
You just immediately go into your dive, You immediately jump,
You immediately have to protect yourself. You've got to be
the guy cutting off the shortstop on your way through
the infield on a ball that's hit. You know, a
certain strength, a certain velocity to make the play, to
come across the diamond. And now figuring out something they
we wondered what they would do when he left. Now

(36:49):
I wonder what they'll do because he's here. How are
you going to work the relays? I don't want to
not use Carlos Korea's arm, but Jeremy Payne is over there.
If Mauricio Dubon is playing second base and your eyes
is a great defensive player, the options they have now
to help their non plus throwing outfield arms, it's pretty.

Speaker 3 (37:09):
Nice, well, and I think we're all forgetting maybe not
all of us. A lot of us might have forgotten
what a hose he has. I mean, that's gonna come in.
It's a couple of things. So he's not been making
throws from short anymore. He'll make him from third. That's fine. Still,
same thing comes into a play. He's easily the most

(37:30):
lengthy third baseman they've had full time, presumably in two
generations of that position, no questions. It's like it's rare
enough and is bigger than Bragman, taller, but not much.

Speaker 4 (37:43):
Core is a bigger, leaner player than we've seen over
at third base for this team on any kind of
regular basis. He's Alex Rodriguez over there, and it's it's
rare and it is. It's nice that the Astros have
that going for them. One last thing, and hopefully Hole,
this is exactly as you said it should be.

Speaker 3 (38:00):
It's a difficult.

Speaker 4 (38:00):
Process when you're working fast and you're trying to make
it as accurate as possible, and I'm hoping this is
super duper accurate. Here's Alex Bregman on what makes the
Astros impossible to kill.

Speaker 3 (38:13):
Well, I think they got.

Speaker 5 (38:15):
Really good pitching, a really good team.

Speaker 9 (38:19):
Obviously, Uh pose al Twove is a Hall of Famer
and a good leader, and they just they execute their
game plan and they've been very successful over the last
decade and it's gonna be fun to go compete today.

Speaker 4 (38:37):
The very famous robotic Tiger Woods golf quote that we've
all heard over and over again.

Speaker 3 (38:45):
The golf course looks good. My golf swing feels good.
I like my chances. That was the Vibey got from
that quote from Bregman. Well, I mean he is that
is that's his mo the way he delivered it, obviously,
but he everything he's saying he absolutely means because he's
done it. Yeah, and listen, Hunter Brown against Alex Bregman

(39:08):
and the opener of this series in Fenway, that's gonna
be delicious. Well, I had thoughts on that too. Alex
Bregman on Hunter Brown.

Speaker 9 (39:16):
Oh yeah, obviously, uh, one of the one of the
best pitchers in the game, and he is a bunch
of different weapons that he can use. And uh, definitely,
we're gonna have our hands full today and we just
kind of try and battle and execute our game plan
against him.

Speaker 4 (39:30):
I hope to hear more from Bregman a little bit
later on the show more from the Astros as they
get their way into the open clubhouse portion of their afternoon,
along with Joe A Spotted. We're gonna hear for both
Chandler Rome and Brian McTaggart over the course of the afternoon.
We have the Astros on Deck Show for you and
on Fridays, Uh, Brian McTaggart makes his appearance on the

(39:51):
on Deck Show, so he will join us then a
little bit after five o'clock when we get into that
part of our afternoon, Hunter Brown against Cooper chris Well.
Cooper Criswell will be making his seventh appearance of the season.
He has not started a game this year. The first
out he gets in tonight's game, presuming he gets one,
will give him eleven innings pitched this year, so definitely

(40:13):
someone with limited experience this year. Had a decent go
of things last year as a Red Sox starter, but
a fairly inexperienced pitcher yet to throw one hundred and
fifty career major league innings, though this is the fifth
consecutive season he has appeared in the majors, so hopefully
with that maybe as an advantage Astros, especially since this
lineup will be getting a boost Correa Sanchez, obviously Eurias

(40:38):
and the players that have been in the lineup. If
you didn't hear Dana Brown the other day when he
was talking about Jordon Alvarez in his return, he was
super blunt. He said he would take seventy five percent
of Jordon Alvarez versus some of the guys we.

Speaker 3 (40:52):
Have in the lineup now. It was since how I feel,
I know it is.

Speaker 4 (40:55):
I did not expect it to sound or come out
that way, but a lot to get to here. A
couple of guests along the way, and we dive into
our number two of the eighteen, the.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 3 (41:29):
Straight up three o'clock on a Friday edition of The
A Team. It's Sports Talk seven ninety and it's Space
City Home Network. Listen. If you're looking at the screen
right now and wondering if these are Carlos Korea jerseys
we are wearing, You're one hundred percent right, they absolutely are. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
If you're wondering why, it's the first time you've ever
seen me in a jersey. It's because the first time
I've ever been in a jersey. But I did say
earlier this week in a text to Ac which he
shared with you, a private text message, I said to
him that I didn't think anybody would ever see that
he decided to bring in public. And I did not
believe the Astros were trading for Carlos Correa, and I
said as much.

Speaker 3 (42:03):
On yesterday's show.

Speaker 4 (42:04):
But in that text, I said, if they trade for
Carlos Correa, then I will wear a Carlos Correa jersey
on the old television radio program. Thus, here I am.
This is the first time you've ever worn a jersey,
certainly on this show. And for the most part, yes,
I don't. I have some jerseys, I don't wear them.

Speaker 3 (42:22):
Wow, that's impressive. I thought, just by accident, you would
have tripped and worn one at least a few times. Uh,
do you remember seeing me on one?

Speaker 8 (42:30):
Never?

Speaker 4 (42:31):
No, I've worn a Dynamo jersey when they asked me
to play a soccer game at halftime.

Speaker 3 (42:36):
Maybe I had your name on the back.

Speaker 4 (42:37):
I was an adult and we were playing against seventh
grade girls who whooped us.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
Had my name on it. That's embarrassing.

Speaker 4 (42:43):
I have jerseys from a couple of different teams with
my name on it, have not worn those often. They've
been worn not by me.

Speaker 3 (42:51):
I wore one that the Rockets gave me just a
battle month ago on the beach.

Speaker 4 (42:54):
Carlos Correa, Hey Susan Chez, and Ramona Rias are Houston Astros. Obviously,
it's a lot of what our conversation was yesterday. We
welcome you into the conversation seven one three, two one
two five seven ninety should you want to join? Two
of those three acquisitions are in Joe a spot as
lineup for tonight, with Jeremy Pania also making his return

(43:15):
to the lineup. He of course, is playing shortstop. Jose
Altuve is gloveless. He's the designated hitter tonight. He'll bat
second behind Payna, who makes his return to the field,
falling just to rehab games with the Sugarland Space Cowboys
after a fractured rib via a hit by pitch. Newcomer
Hey sus Sanchez is the Astros left fielder and he

(43:37):
is going to bat third again.

Speaker 3 (43:38):
He is wearing number four.

Speaker 4 (43:40):
Carlos Correa is the third baseman as expected as Dana
Brown mentioned yesterday, and as the obvious, with Jeremy Panya
not moving, he's third base and should be able to
man that position in the rest of the season. In
the absence of Essak Perettis Correa is the cleanup hitter
Yander Diess has been the case nearly the entire season.
We'll catch for Hunter. Brown bat's fifth. Your first baseman's

(44:01):
Christian Walker. He bats sixth. Taylor Tremmel handles defensive duties
in center field, batting seventh, Cam Smith back in right field,
batting eighth, and Mauricio Dubon is the second baseman, where
he was expecting to see a whole lot of action.
This year, he's seen action all over the diamond because
of so many other injuries. His seven to twenty seven

(44:22):
ops is better than half of Tonight's lineup, and that
includes Carlos Correa, who sits at seven oh five, and
we've talked about that. Heyesu Sanchez has been pretty good
this year, very much like he's been over the course
of his career, and one thing that has marked a
lot of his career is significant splits. He bats from

(44:43):
the left side starting pitcher tonight for the Red Sox,
throws from the right side eight fourteen ops for Sanchez
this season against right handed pitching. I will refrain from
telling you how he hits against left handed pitching until
after he's faced a left hand.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
With the Astros him, they'll only exclusively play him against
right handers. That's the plan.

Speaker 4 (45:05):
I don't know if he's gonna take him out of
the game as soon as the left he's out there,
and it'll be pretty pretty big tell for other managers substitution.

Speaker 3 (45:12):
No, I it's gonna be an electric atmosphere when you
have Korea returning to a team where Altuve and Bregman
are also gonna be out there. Obviously, Bregman a member
of the Red Sox now, so they're in his new gym,
and Hunter Brown's going for you. Just there's a lot
to like about this tonight, and just from from a

(45:33):
curiosity standpoint alone. I mean, if the Astros lose this
game tonight for whatever reason, it's like, dude, it's it's
I'm just it's not. It's not gonna be the end
of the world. You're like, I know, like you have
to talk yourself out.

Speaker 4 (45:50):
I absolutely jumping off off a diving board into a
pool with no water. If the opening Korea game for
a second stint with the Astro not a win, but the.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
Pitching matchup, you would think alone, I mean, who's Hunter Brown?
You mean which Hunter Brown? Are you getting?

Speaker 4 (46:10):
The recent Hunter Brown has been a lot less spectacular
than the early season.

Speaker 3 (46:15):
But the last time Hunter Brown pitched, he should have
gotten a victory.

Speaker 4 (46:19):
Uh yeah, five innings one run is winning baseball. He
got no support that day, that's true, but he also
was only able to get through five innings.

Speaker 3 (46:27):
Well, he likes pitching in Fenway, just like Alex Bregman
likes batting there.

Speaker 4 (46:31):
Well, we'll see. His last month, obviously, was his worst
month of the season. E are still at two fifty four,
is coming off of a strong start, and hopefully he
delivers a strong start. They do need to continue to
try to hold off those two teams chasing them and
starting off this lengthy road trip their last lengthy road
trip of the year with a dub would be nice.

Speaker 3 (46:53):
If Carlos Carrea goes Let's just say, let's just say
all three of their offensive acquisitions go one for four
and don't drive any runs tonight and the Astros win
the game. Are you okay with that, I'm fine. That's
what the two new acquisitions did last night, and that Win.

Speaker 4 (47:12):
Squarez was involved in their offense, scoring a run on
a wild pitch, contributing. They both did, like you mentioned,
they just need to be contributors. We're not asking these
three players, certainly not these three players.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
He didn't even hit a home run. The offense. It
is different. It's a little different in Seattle.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
I mean, Seattle could finish the year with the number
one home run hitter in baseball and the number two.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
Home run hitter in baseball. Mm hmm.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
It's it's kind of likely with the way things have
gone for everybody else and considering judges current situation.

Speaker 3 (47:43):
Cal Rawley did homer last night.

Speaker 4 (47:45):
Although Adulas Garcia is a has played at this gold
Glove outfield level before. He has an incredible arm, and
he obviously is a good athlete, good speed, and usually
takes good paths to the ball. But the last week
or so, I've seen a lot more Rangers baseball. He's
made like five different what is he doing out there?

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Mistakes?

Speaker 4 (48:03):
And he made one on Raley's homer last night. The
ball barely cleared the fence and he didn't have a
clue where it was ambled back. There was kind of
spinning in circles, and then never made a jump for
the ball, even though it was probably within his a
gloves reach. Didn't really matter. They scored five other runs
and the Rangers didn't score any. He also dropped a
fly ball the other day.

Speaker 3 (48:24):
They're unlikable. Oh yeah, way, way, way, way more on
getting there.

Speaker 4 (48:31):
I don't really think so. I mean, you obviously brought
up Josh net. I don't really care about whether they're
likable or not. They have a good team, and they
had a good team. They have an even better team
line up their lineup one through six against anybody else
in the American League, and they're gonna fare very well
for a team that has in the past struggled to score.
I don't anticipate that happening often the rest of this year.

Speaker 3 (48:53):
I just want I know it's not going to be
one hundred percent possible because of Peretti's being done, which
is kind of in a weird way. Isn't that kind
of flying under the radar?

Speaker 4 (49:03):
I played that cut from Tom Verducci in the second
segment of Our Number one. Right before that, he said
what we said, and everybody said yesterday, I don't think
this deal happens if Peretis doesn't get hurt.

Speaker 3 (49:14):
Well, no kidding, of course, it doesn't happen. But he's
it's not just that he's hurt and he's gonna miss
the rest of the year. They're hoping he's ready for
opening day because of how long this rehab is gonna be.
He tore the crap out of that thing, all right,
that's he's gonna play for the Astros in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 4 (49:29):
Oh, I know he's gonna play major League Baseball in
twenty twenty six.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (49:33):
Yeah, but he's under club control. But you don't know
the figures yet. Jeremy Paine is under club control. Don't
know the figures yet. Carlos Korea has a contract, and
now you know how much you owe him with what
Minnesota contributes. They contribute ten million, and your eyes club
control don't know what that figure is yet. Are all
four of those guys Astros next year, along with Christian
Walker manning first base. That's pretty difficult to fill out

(49:55):
your daily lineups with all those players, and where Rias
doesn't have to be in everyday player, but if the
other guys are, and they are. Prence is an everyday
player if he's healthy. There's no debate about that. There's
no well Korea that he's in the lineup, But is
he capable of playing second? Have you figured out a
way to get him to first? Meaning Christian Walker's not here,
you really don't have the DH available to you often

(50:18):
because you're not still an astro who is true Christian Walker.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
That's the thing.

Speaker 4 (50:22):
I don't really anticipate that, and that especially that money
too far and well, the astros would have to do
what the twins did. I would think so, and he
would need to play a little bit better because they're,
you know, a super declining player. If that's what he
ends up being, is not very desirable at any salary.

Speaker 3 (50:38):
Maybe hitting sixth where he is tonight will take even
more pressure off of him.

Speaker 4 (50:43):
Well brought it up during the month he was not alone,
janar Diez best month of the season, Kartini, Altuve, and
Christian Walker. They all enjoyed their best offensive months of
the season, and a Walker's case and in Yiner's case,
it was just a dramatic change from where they had been.
There are seasons to date their first three months were
just They were very unproductive and in Walker's case, unproductive

(51:04):
and full of strikeouts. Still strikes out at an awfully
high rate, but he was basically the same player for
three months, six thirty two ops to six six twenty
seven to six forty six.

Speaker 3 (51:14):
It barely fluctuated.

Speaker 4 (51:15):
It all hit between one ninety six and two twenty
three and each of those three months, and then last
month he hit three to eighteen. His OPS was two
hundred points higher. He got base hits, he got involved
in the astros scoring runs, and with so many other
guys out of the lineup, it had to happen. They
had to have it from those four guys that I mentioned.
Many clamoring for the regulars to carry the team while

(51:38):
the other regulars were out. They did, They absolutely did.
I just mentioned all four of them. They're the regulars.
They all had great months offensively, especially compared to where
they'd been all while the other team knew, as long
as these guys don't beat us, the other guys aren't
gonna beat us. Yes, they went under five hundred for
the month as a team, but it could have been

(51:59):
so much much.

Speaker 3 (52:00):
Worse, and you had that June preceding it. That made
it way easier or a softer land. You pitched, yeah,
but you also had you had offense during that stretch
that you just did. I think, more often than not,
I know that some of the pitching took took a
little bit of a I don't want to call it
a dive. They did, though you could fromer didn't you know,

(52:21):
Like here's the team.

Speaker 4 (52:22):
Pitch won every one of his starts except for the
last one, which was just insane.

Speaker 3 (52:28):
But like Hunter Brown, it's not if you want to
call it a dive. It was only because he put
the standard and made it so high for himself with
what he had done prior to that. So I still
lay more of the blame at the feet of the
offense in that regard, even though the pitching did take
a little bit of a dip. We'll continue to discuss
this and so much more here on a Friday edition

(52:49):
of the program. We talked a little bit about Micah
Parsons earlier. We still have several guests that we're going
to get to on the show, and of course, Astros
on deck starting at five o'clock, the only place to
hear the game for free, tonight right here on Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
Well, you knew sooner rather than later, especially with it
being an earlier start time, the videos and images and
all that kind of stuff would be trickling out. Carlos
Korea getting off the team bus at Fenway, Carlos Korea
checking into the storage closet that is the visitors clubhouse
at the old as dirt Fenway. You've been in there?

(53:36):
I have not. I've been in there. I've been to
the States Laboratory. As a matter of fact.

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Well, of course, Carlos Beltron helped to eliminate the Red
Sox from the postseason. The got yelled at by the
MLB network camera people. Why because they thought I was
in their way because they were all corded up and
nobody could move because they had eight people carrying their
camera cords in between everybody, like we didn't.

Speaker 3 (53:59):
Also have a job to do. Maybe you should get
a wireless carriage to move or why don't you all good? Dude,
You'll get what you need. Did I tell you about
the time? Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I don't care.
When the Astros won the World Series in twenty twenty two.
There is the you know, the podium where they are
presented the trophy and all that kind of stuff is

(54:20):
in the middle of the field, smack dab in the middle,
and there was like two sets of media that were allowed,
you know, to go close by there. There was one
set that was like on some risers behind that, and
then there was another set that was supposed to be
just like you know, Fox's actual camera that's sending out
the feed over the entire country in the world. I

(54:40):
was right next to that. I don't think I was
supposed to be there, but I got a really great
shot of Yuli holding that trophy up with the confetti
running down. So I was happy that I kind of
bogarted my way in there like you did apparently nice. Well, no,
I belonged in there. That was why I was like,
you did let them bogart their way.

Speaker 4 (54:54):
Yeah, there's only so much room in here. I'm not
intentionally getting in your way, trust me.

Speaker 3 (54:59):
So anyways, uh yeah, now seeing not only that, but
the Astros Instagram account had cam Smith making his way
inside the Green Monster for the first time, where he
will presumably sign it like everybody else does when they
play there for the first time.

Speaker 9 (55:13):
I do.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
I did think that was interesting you brought him up,
simply because I think physically those two kind of resemble
each other somewhat. You know, they're they're just their make up,
the type of player they are, And I think of
all the people that I would have liked, It's not
like he hasn't had amazing brains to pick in that clubhouse.

(55:35):
But Correa is. I mean, remember reading about how awesome
Correa was to Paenia even before Pania was a member
of the Major League club. That's the kind of mentor
type guy that I would love to see Cam Smith
gravitate towards.

Speaker 4 (55:49):
Yeah, I'm not sure if they'll be able to relate physically.
Correa is listed at sixty three two twenty Smith towers
over him at six three two twenty four.

Speaker 3 (55:57):
I told you, but just look at that was I
did not know. But if you look at them, you
you nailed.

Speaker 6 (56:02):
It.

Speaker 4 (56:03):
Absolutely looks that way, and it should be easy for
them to get together. Just a couple of third basemen
getting together, Carlos Correa, who will play it now for
the first time, and Cam Smith, who may never play
and he played it all throughout his time trying to
get to the major league level. But this, you know,
Dana Brown has done it rather unconventionally, you know, pushing

(56:25):
out a player who you still had under contract in
order to get extreme talent back in return. The Kyle
Tucker deal, clearly he was a part of this run.
While they let Alex Bregman go. They've seen other players
move out and they've tried to figure out how to
put the team kind of back together again. Even though
they never had this to fall down in the standings,
they're still sitting atop the standings.

Speaker 3 (56:46):
And that's a hard job.

Speaker 4 (56:47):
It was a hard job for Jeff Luno when he
got the team to where it was to have them
stay there. It's a hard job for James Click once
he took over, they were already there and he kept
them there. And Dana Brown has now done the exact
same thing, but just very very differently. And also because
of Jim Crane's involvement in all of this, he's doing
it the most expensive of those before him, a little

(57:09):
bit easier for Jeff and then his roster was nothing
but young players who all panned out so they weren't
ready to make money. And when they were he or
James or Dana wasn't paying them. This is what so
I thought about yesterday's deal. So ironic about it. The
Astros have pushed over that first luxury tax. We're talking
about two hundred and forty plus million in payroll for

(57:29):
a team that keeps not signing their own players. And
yet look at what they're spending. Spending well over twenty
million dollars on Twins' shortstop Carlos Correa, spending twenty million
dollars on Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker. Yes, they're
still paying White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu.

Speaker 3 (57:51):
Finalized on that. Rafael Montero got traded again yesterday. I
saw this. She just crazy.

Speaker 4 (57:57):
It just means somebody wants you. The means somebody wants you.
But they're they However, they've put this year's team together.
They're doing it in a very expensive way.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
We played the Tom Verducci clip earlier of him saying
he came out and said it, he's the most talented
player they got traded here at the deadline. Don't know
if people agree with that, don't really care, because I
do think he is. I think it's for all the
things we've been talking about more. I think it's a
great acquisition for the Astros. Did you see what Harold
Reynolds said about just basically the way the Astros have

(58:31):
gone about doing this. And with regards to Dana Brown,
he wasn't here when Carlos Carreo was here the last time.
It's kind of hard to remember that since so many
guys have departed. His last season was ironically the World
Series lost to Dana Brown's Atlanta Braves. So he's going
on whether it's his own analytics, his staff, all that

(58:52):
kind of stuff, but obviously he's got some not so
whispers in his ear telling him to make this deal.
I mean this clearly I think has Jim Crane's fingerprints
on it. Another reason I'm confident in saying that is
because everything I heard leading up to this week, let's
just say the past weekend. I heard it from Dana yesterday, right,
but it was you know, it was Jim wants Korea back,

(59:15):
Crane wants to somehow get Crane wants this done. And
I just there have been times where, okay, you know
the Justin Verlander thing, I think that looked like it
was going to pay off for a minute, and then
he was kind of faltering towards the end in the postseason.
But again, twenty three the Astro that was anybody's series.

(59:36):
The Astros win one home game in the ALC. Yes,
they likely have a third championship, so that from that standpoint,
the gamble would would have paid off. But I don't know.
I just I've got a sneaky good feeling about this
for all, almost more so because of the intangibles. But
I know he has to he has to get it
done on the field. We keep talking about that. So, yeah,
won't be much longer until we'll be able to see

(59:57):
Carlos Korea for the first time at third base as
a member of the Houston Astros. But yeah, all the
clips of him making his way into the clubhouse, big
hug for Joe Espada, making his way onto the field,
into the stadium, all that kind of stuff, and it
is a it's a big stage feel that. Again, Chris
Gordy's up there right now, He's had this trip planned

(01:00:19):
for weeks. Who would have thought that. I mean, he
just thought, Okay, I'm gonna see Alex Bregman play the
Astros for the first time since he left in free agency.
Never would have thought that Carlos Carrea would be involved
in this, Of all people.

Speaker 4 (01:00:31):
Nobody did. I didn't think it was gonna happen as
recently as yesterday. I did not believe that Carlos Korea,
even though at that point we obviously knew about the
interactions between the two team and the early stages of
negotiations between those teams.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
But I still did not expect it to happen. I would.
I would again.

Speaker 4 (01:00:48):
Forecasting corres is a guessing game. Anybody could do it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
I'll do it here.

Speaker 4 (01:00:52):
I think they're going to get a lot better offense
from Carlos Korea for two months. I think he's going
to hopefully stay healthy for two months, and I I
think he brings a bravado to a postseason roster that
few can even Altuve. Altuve is extremely confident and is
extremely dangerous, and pitchers are well aware of that. It's
just a little bit different just because of their respective personalities.

(01:01:13):
Jose Altuve has homered more often in the postseason than
everybody else in baseball currently, everybody else in the history
of baseball except for Manny Ramirez. So obviously more than
Carlos Korea. All right, let's run down the list of
the most energetic, exciting, action packed, emotion filled home runs
top ten. Only Altuve and Korea homers. Go is Altuve

(01:01:36):
in there once? And Korea is in there nine times?
Altuve has the quantity of homers. But he's not standing
at home plate beating his chest. He's not turning her
to his dugout and jumping up and down and screaming
and yelling. He's not pointing to his non existent watch
telling everybody it's time. He just runs around the bases
and just does his thing. Maybe he clutches his jersey

(01:01:58):
on occasion.

Speaker 3 (01:01:59):
Second home run in postseason history. Not talking about the
magnitude of all.

Speaker 4 (01:02:04):
I'm only talking about the emotions displayed by the player.

Speaker 3 (01:02:07):
To be same. He hit a walk off home run
to send the Astros to the World Series over the
Yankees at home, with the crowd losing its mind. We
were both there. I actually watched that video yesterday, the
one I took on my phone, and I was actually
proud of myself all over again. I don't know how
I kept my camera so steady. They walked off the

(01:02:27):
Yankees to go to the World Series. Should have won
that World Series. But he did the same thing he
would have done if it were an August first game
that season. He just trots around the bases. He didn't
say on to the next I'll do it again, and
then the confetti which was a buzzer and all that
kind of stuff. I will stress it again.

Speaker 4 (01:02:45):
I know they have to get there, and I know
it's not a given that they will with a four
and a half game lead, and obviously the wild card
possibility is still there. But Carlos Korea in the postseason
back with the Astros, to me, that changes a lot,
changes a lot about their possibilities to turn this wide
open American League into well. They managed to finish second,

(01:03:06):
so they get five days off, then they have home
field advantage in a five game series, and they only
need to win two series to reach the World Series.
And Carl's Korea is batting in the postseason for you
again as he did during some of the best times
this team this has ever had. It was very good
in the postseason for you, was very good in the
postseason with the Twins in his time away from you.

Speaker 3 (01:03:28):
That matters to me a great deal. Deck when that
series ended and I wanted no part of him. I
felt like he was going to do something.

Speaker 4 (01:03:36):
Yeah, his last postseason with the Twins was the only
postseason he's had without a homer, and he still managed
to have an ops over one thousand.

Speaker 3 (01:03:44):
That is a huge ad for the Astros.

Speaker 4 (01:03:47):
Halfway through this first hour of the show, guest list
unveiled for us to continue talk a little baseball next.

Speaker 2 (01:03:56):
The a teed on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:04:11):
Carlos Correa Here, I'm coming home. Can't wait to be
out there in Houston playing in front of you guys.

Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
Take care, Carlos Correa from inside Fenway Park. Before you
know it, it'll be time to get you ready for that.
With the Astros on Deck show coming up at five o'clock,
the only place you can listen to the game for
free tonight is right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

(01:04:37):
Opener of a three game set, opener of a East
Coast road trip that again, I just can't get over
the just acid nine scheduling. All right, it is what
it is. But you're gonna go from Boston all the
way down to Miami and then back up to New
York before you come back on August eleventh, for the
debut of Carlos Korea at home at third base for

(01:05:00):
your Houston Astros. And again, I know, we keep thinking,
or we keep concentrating on Carlos Korea. There are other
players acquired yesterday and they'll be in the lineup tonight.
But it's just the nostalgia alone. And I was texting
with somebody in the Astros organization over the last twenty
four hours, and you know it's, yeah, the on field
stuff is amazing, and what he's already done here and

(01:05:22):
what hopefully he does again here. Everybody's excited about this
because they like the guy that he was. You know,
he was such a it was a good community guy.
He was a guy that was accessible. He was a
guy that when everything went the way it did, was
right out in front kind of taking up for the organization,

(01:05:44):
for the team. And one of the things you're gonna
hear next segment, because we're gonna just play his comments
long form, is the fact that Carlos Korea, he just
he feels like he never missed a beat. He's felt
like he never left. You know, he's saying all the
things you would expect him to say, frankly, but it's
still cool to see it all unfold and probably the

(01:06:05):
most I would say, justin Verlanders first start might eclipse
the anticipation, but other than that, all these deals that
have been made over the years, this is going to
be one of the most anticipated starts with a player
that you've tainted at a trade deadline acquisition type situation.

Speaker 4 (01:06:24):
Yeah, no question, got to play, though, got to be
better than he's been. Astros aren't going to get significantly
better if he is the player that Minnesota had this year.
To be blunt, I don't expect it. I fully expect
him to be significantly better than that. He's obviously coming
here off of playing a lot better than that. Had
a bad first month of the season. Roughly Christian Walker
did too. Alex Bregnant's had tons of those for covered

(01:06:46):
from it, and that's what Carlos Carre is in the
process of doing. Let's get Rick in here on the show,
here on the A Team. Appreciate you joining us here
this Carlos Coorea afternoon.

Speaker 3 (01:06:56):
What's going on?

Speaker 5 (01:06:57):
Rick?

Speaker 4 (01:07:00):
No, you don't say say it like you mean it.
Nothing there at all. We'll get to chuck in here shortly,
but continue with the conversation.

Speaker 3 (01:07:10):
So what if, well, let me ask you this, when
you hear the name Marcus Stroman, what do you think
last guy in the rotation? Like, would you have any
interest on kicking the tires on a guy like that?
Simply from the standpoint of he's what thirty four, I
think thirty four to thirty five in that range. He's

(01:07:32):
not forty, and yeah, his best days are probably behind him.
And yeah, the Yankees basically were just like, all right,
we're gonna eat eighteen million of your salary to make
you go away. I don't know, there's something that would
just kind of be fun about it. If you got
any sort of contributions from him and you wound up
finishing ahead of the Yankees in any way, shape or
form this season, it would be awesome. But I'm not sure.

Speaker 4 (01:07:54):
I mean, you're kind of up against it, so to speak.
But he's been bad. There's a reason why they don't
want him. I mean the players that get DFA, players
that get released from the roster, I should say, and
the numbers that go with it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:05):
He's been bad and they got they've got I feel
like they've had a lot of those guys in recent seasons, like,
for whatever reason, you thought it was gonna go better
for them. And I don't know if it's because you're
in New York and everything that comes with that or what,
but they just it seems like they've had a lot
of those type of guys and you.

Speaker 4 (01:08:22):
Can kick the tires if you're even worse shape that
you are. I think they're much better served to wait
for you. Give the ball to Gordon, give the ball
to Raghetty. If Blue Ball and Alexander have to make
the starts that come before the other pitchers are back,
that's what they're gonna do. It's what they've done for
two months, and that that I think is a much
more likely and it's the path I would prefer. I mean,

(01:08:43):
you're you're saying, hey, you've been really awful this year
at the major league level, here's the ball, go start
for this first place team. A second place team is saying,
not for us anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:08:53):
Yeah, and look, yeah, they're everybody. Everybody. It's not just
the teams at the top of the division or the AL.
The whole cliche about the AL feeling like it's wide open,
it's not a cliche that that is. I think where
we are right now. It's not now. Do you think
that there are certain teams that have a leg up
because of what they did at the trade deadline? Maybe?

(01:09:16):
I think in a weird way, Houston's getting overlooked despite
the attention for the Korea acquisition, just simply because we
don't know what they'll ultimately be. We have an idea individually,
but collectively, these guys that come back, and I'm going
to include Jake Myers in that, even though I don't
know when that's gonna be, but you know, you're Don

(01:09:38):
Alvarez and Jeremy Paneia tonight. Those are two pieces that
you get those two back in this lineup with the
additions you've made and the guys, some of the guys
that have been helping you stay afloat. I just want
to see what it looks like when they're all put together,
and it makes me think that they have something to
say about Like what you said with the Seattle Mariners
having the best lineup in the or one of the

(01:09:58):
best lineups in the American LEA.

Speaker 4 (01:10:00):
Yeah, fully healthy Astros team I still think has a
little bit less of a lineup than the Mariners.

Speaker 3 (01:10:05):
Just me personally, because.

Speaker 4 (01:10:07):
You're also you're not only bringing these guys back, You're
gonna tell me that every one of them is going
to do exactly what you want. Payne is going to
just pick right back up and continue the best offensive
season of his career. Ditto for Myers. Jordan Alvarez is
actually going to hit this year. He spent a month
with the Astros, he didn't do anything. He and Cooper
Humble if fit the same number of homers this year.
So he's just going to pick back up after not

(01:10:29):
being able to pick up a bat for most of
the last two months and just become the old yord
On I'd be great. And we're saying similar things about
Carlos Korea. That's a lot of ifs versus well. The
Mariners are just kind of rolling on through what these
guys have done all year. They got a super hot
month from Randy or Rose Rain and I don't know
if it's still going on into August, but he was

(01:10:50):
incredible last month.

Speaker 3 (01:10:51):
Rally's.

Speaker 4 (01:10:52):
The longer Aaron Judge stays out of the lineup, the
more likely it is that cal Raley wins MVP. And
even if he returns, there's still a good chance that
a switch hitting catcher with fifty five homers for a
playoff bound Mariners team. Yeah, I think he can win
the MVP no matter what numbers Aaron Judge puts up.

(01:11:12):
And obviously Suarez has just kind of rolled through this
season like he has many other He has a forty
nine homer season in his back pocket and he's headed
there again. But there's nothing abnormal about what their players
are doing. Josh Naylor, he's having a good season, but
he's had good seasons like this before.

Speaker 3 (01:11:26):
He's just having another one.

Speaker 4 (01:11:28):
They didn't get to benefit from that for all but
the last ten games or seven games since he's been there.
They made made like nobody improved their offense like they did.
The Astros have a chance to argue, but it's from within.
They only added two offensive players of significance. Sanchez would
have to have a much better two months than he

(01:11:49):
is expected to have, and Korea the same thing. But
now you're also adding potentially Alvarez and Payna to this equation.
At some point in time, they're gonna get two bolts
of energy those two players.

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
That's it. The Astros might get four. Yeah, and I
think you know with Paynya. The only thing that sucks
is that he was he was doing so well. He
was having his best season since coming up to the
major league roster, and I hated for anything to stop that.
In a weird way, I'm okay with Jordan because it's
like this is going to be his spring training essentially

(01:12:21):
to get into a groove. Provided everything goes okay, there's
no physical setbacks, so from that standpoint, and he's a
better hitter, he's a better he's the best hitter on
the roster when he's right. But he's got to get
right and he's got to make sure that there are
no setbacks. So that'll be interesting to see how that unfolds.
It's going to be interesting to hear from Carlos, Korea
just a few minutes ago, meeting with the media there

(01:12:43):
in the dugout at Finway Park. Will bring that to you.

Speaker 2 (01:12:46):
Next the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety, It's the.

Speaker 3 (01:12:57):
Eight Team Sports Talks seven ninety Space City Home Network.

Speaker 10 (01:13:01):
On a Friday edition of the program, Astros and Red
Sox from Finnway and Carlos Korea back on the roster
for your Hometown nine and playing third base for the
first time as an astro.

Speaker 3 (01:13:16):
He'll make his re debut tonight and he met with
the media and the dugout there at Finway Park just
a few minutes ago. This is what that sounded like.

Speaker 11 (01:13:25):
I'd a feeling to put on that at it's number
one uniform again. It was great, feels great, brings back
gray memories at the beginning of my career.

Speaker 5 (01:13:34):
So he'll get forward to make a lot more. I'll
spend their steps in there.

Speaker 11 (01:13:38):
Most of the guys, and it's spend a whole lot
of fun to seeing being a bunch.

Speaker 5 (01:13:40):
Of the leader of former teamates again. Yeah, I think
great treating me like I never left. So you know,
it's it feels good to be in this clubhouse again
and spend the time with great guys and great players.
What is there any ortical last fourty eight hours, friend,
like before you with for sword, I mean crazy, being unbelievable.

Speaker 11 (01:13:59):
You ever thought these who happened, Uh, there was a
chance for this would happened, and you know when they
started developing, you know, we were in conctant conversations with
the front office of our Minnesota and.

Speaker 5 (01:14:09):
Then when it finally happened, I called my wife that's
when I started kicking in, and uh it was it
was surreal. Is there anything you missed about the astros
and alls who did those scream plus years.

Speaker 3 (01:14:21):
And we're home?

Speaker 5 (01:14:22):
I mean you miss the guys.

Speaker 11 (01:14:23):
You may spending time with people that you know, you
grew up, you know, playing with and and you learned
a lot from especially you know how to do with
you know, Albaret and those guys, and uh, just just
to be able to be back and spend more time
with them.

Speaker 5 (01:14:36):
You don't want to take that for granted. How quick
did ultivate reach out right away?

Speaker 11 (01:14:41):
And when when I agreed to wave my note trade,
he texted me like five minutes later and he's a
done deal And I said, I think.

Speaker 5 (01:14:50):
So, and he was very excited.

Speaker 2 (01:14:52):
Why did they keep winning here?

Speaker 5 (01:14:53):
I mean they lost fuel, they those tuner, they lost Albers.

Speaker 11 (01:14:58):
I think, uh front office and and the coaching staff
they do a really good job of development players and
then getting the right people uh here, and you know
they just know how to win. It's it's only more
mentality in this club out and that's to win all
the way.

Speaker 5 (01:15:11):
And uh, I think the way they do it is
the right way. Mister Crane reach out to you.

Speaker 3 (01:15:15):
No, not yet.

Speaker 5 (01:15:16):
I haven't talked to you, Cambra. I'm sure I'll talk
down at some point.

Speaker 12 (01:15:19):
One of your conversations been like with Joe Lawans guess
twelve twenty four hours just about we obviously we know
you'll play for the bass. That's kind of how they
see you fitting in here.

Speaker 5 (01:15:28):
It's been just light conversations, just you know, catching up
and all that. And you know, I'm gonna be putting
a lot.

Speaker 11 (01:15:35):
Of work at their base and you know, getting to
all the position like I grew across with two short
stuff and uh, you know it's gonna be a fun challenge.

Speaker 12 (01:15:43):
What do you think would be the biggest I guess
for plus of us that don't know, like shifting over,
what is the bigest adjustment movies?

Speaker 5 (01:15:49):
I think it's just the angle of the row. But
you know, ground balls are all the same. You guys
got to move your feet and and put yourself in
a good position to catch it. But you know, I
feel like you be a good transition.

Speaker 3 (01:16:02):
How longs have been seven check outs?

Speaker 11 (01:16:05):
Be sure? The last two years I've been thinking about
you know, potention Mo went to third and you know
how it would be better for my body and and
just short on my logtivity, and uh, you know, I'm
glad it's happening here.

Speaker 5 (01:16:17):
You've mentor to pay a little bit. You took over
four years. What do you think about playing beside him
and how has he developed as a short stop. Yeah,
it's onto that. I never thought we'll be teammates, but
I'm very happy that we are.

Speaker 11 (01:16:29):
You know, we we've been on a great relationship in
the past four or five years, ever since I met him.
And in the offseason, you know, we we work out together,
we hit together.

Speaker 5 (01:16:37):
So it's good to be here with him. You played
a little bit of third baseball plaster, Yeah, I did
cool for you.

Speaker 11 (01:16:45):
Sluggering, Yeah, I mean if it fell, it felt it
felt good when I played in the Classic, But that
was just a few games, you know, so it's not
the same when you gotta play full season. So, uh,
there's definitely a lot of plays I gotta work on
during practice, so so they feel smooth and easy.

Speaker 5 (01:16:58):
And doing the games you go that you start when
you slept your slows. You kept your offices lomal in Houston, right,
What made you want to stay in that city?

Speaker 11 (01:17:07):
Well, my wife pays a cold, so in the off
season she didn't want to didn't want to be out
there in the cold.

Speaker 5 (01:17:13):
So we kept the house in Houston.

Speaker 11 (01:17:14):
Just to come back and or our family and friends
are there still live there, so it's it works perfectly.

Speaker 5 (01:17:21):
Still a lot of times guys will leave the place
they've been a while. There's dinnerness, so there's you can't
really envision the reunion, but you always you left them
pretty good term for anything. Yeah, you never you never
want to burn bridges in this game.

Speaker 11 (01:17:31):
You never know how how things are gonna end up
handing out. And you know, even after faithful, you know,
when when you need a job in front office or whatever,
you don't you never want to burn any bridges. And
my relationship with Minnesota fantastic.

Speaker 5 (01:17:43):
Where everybody saying here in Houston when I left, and uh,
you know now you see that I'm back, you know.

Speaker 11 (01:17:48):
Sure value where your offensive season thus forward, I think
the last few months have been a lot better than
when I started. Had a really slow start, you know,
and I couldn't find myself and then lately it's been good.

Speaker 5 (01:18:03):
Our hit ready's way up the.

Speaker 11 (01:18:05):
Last month especially, and uh, you know, I'm I'm coming
here at the right moment.

Speaker 5 (01:18:09):
Was it just was it just a normal slow starter
or is there something that.

Speaker 11 (01:18:14):
I think adjusting to new coaches and and just adjusting
to to any environment and and and you know when
when you don't find yourself working with new people to
try to get to the point that you want to be.
It took me a little longer than I expected, But
right now I'm in a good spot.

Speaker 5 (01:18:29):
Figure will help.

Speaker 2 (01:18:30):
I haven't central on the Sniper two guys.

Speaker 12 (01:18:32):
If you work with so nimate here for such a
long time, I'm stupid.

Speaker 5 (01:18:35):
That'll help, absolutely absolutely. That doubt hell big time.

Speaker 11 (01:18:38):
And uh you know, uh we've been on a relationships
for years now and in the offseason, I've I've been
around since.

Speaker 5 (01:18:44):
Thrown a lot and uh he loves me very well.

Speaker 9 (01:18:47):
And so the Sneakers very names to be in the
red site like this is that back series where you're
just seeing it in Minnesota.

Speaker 5 (01:18:53):
Yeah, it's crazy.

Speaker 11 (01:18:54):
Uh yeah, we were just placed in Minnesota, and you know,
now now we come here, So I got I got
a lot of.

Speaker 5 (01:18:59):
Information to share because was there any doubts too?

Speaker 9 (01:19:02):
Because the number one back on even though it was already.

Speaker 11 (01:19:04):
Already known, there was no doubt that I wasn't if
I was gonna come back here, I was gonna go
back then to one.

Speaker 5 (01:19:10):
Have you seen either weak no treat just is that
decision at all? Grand? Yes, I don't knew. I was
not gonna wave my notary class.

Speaker 11 (01:19:18):
And then you know, when when I had the conversation
and the organization was shifting in a different path, the
other one that I signed out for, then we both
agree that it was better to find that place for
me to go and and be competitive, and uh, you know,
there was only one place I wanted to.

Speaker 5 (01:19:33):
Go West no one, No one knew you were played definitely.

Speaker 12 (01:19:37):
Was it just solely because the astros called nage or so?

Speaker 5 (01:19:41):
Yeah, solely because uh, you know the other players that
would reach out, I'll potentially waving to different teams.

Speaker 11 (01:19:48):
I told you I was not gonna wave into those teams,
and uh, you know then when the actual thing happened,
and obviously that that was the only one place that
I would have waved my notary clubs.

Speaker 5 (01:19:58):
Have you seen any response from me? Fans overwhelmingly excited
to have you back.

Speaker 11 (01:20:02):
Yeah, my wife's giving me posted and they're sending me
some cool stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:20:07):
So it's it's it's fun to see.

Speaker 11 (01:20:08):
How the fans I reacted to the news, and I
kind of wait to be back in Houston. What do
you think of the make up of this team to
be there for the first places? Some different guys here.
These guys are battling. Man, they they're playing great baseball,
and uh you know they're They're giving us a chance
to go out there, finish strong, and go out there
and all the way. So I'm very happy with the
way the team is constructed. The rotation is incredible, and

(01:20:30):
so is the movement and deadline.

Speaker 3 (01:20:32):
Said right now, so the angle of the throws from
third base is the only thing that's going to be
an issue. Otherwise the Astros are winning the World Series.

Speaker 5 (01:20:39):
Well there you have it.

Speaker 3 (01:20:41):
Uh, not everybody shares in that universal praise for what
the Astros did over the trade deadline. I'll tell you
at least one person, and this guy gave I think
somewhat logical reasoning. He's very very much more bullish on
the Seattle Mariners just as an aside, but yeah, you'll

(01:21:02):
hear about that. And also when we come back, we're
gonna have Abe Levittz, the co founder of the All
Stars Car Show going on this weekend over at dyke
In Park. Yeah, there's all the action with the team
up in Boston, but there's something really cool going on
at the ballpark this weekend. We'll tell you about it
with him, and that's coming up next.

Speaker 2 (01:21:22):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (01:21:28):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam talking your team.

Speaker 9 (01:21:33):
So there is.

Speaker 2 (01:21:35):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team.

Speaker 3 (01:21:44):
Straight up four o'clock here on the A Team Sports
Talk seven ninety Space City Home Network, wex ac Cole
Thompson with you as we take you into what will
be an amazing weekend for the Astros on all fronts.
We're hoping obviously Carlos care and company making their debut
and his case for the second time coming up this
weekend in Boston. But back here at home, the All

(01:22:07):
Stars Car Show making its debut over at dyke In Park.
First time you're going to have an event like this
over at the stadium. It takes place tomorrow ten am
to five pm. And we figured, you know what, who
better to talk to about this than the co founder
of the event itself. We're talking about Abe Levitt's He
joins us on the phone line right now, Abe, appreciate

(01:22:29):
you joining us. It's Adam and Adams, so it'll be
really easy for you to remember. Just tell us a
little bit about how this all came about. Who's crazy
idea was it to put a bunch of amazing vehicles
in the middle of a Major League baseball stadium?

Speaker 13 (01:22:43):
You know, it's kind of a we have some blame,
and then also the Astros team have some blame too.
We've been talking about doing something that really represents Houston
for some time, and we said, what better than doing
a car show inside the stadium.

Speaker 3 (01:22:55):
Well, I've got a little guy that could not wait
to get in there to see, you know, some of
the cars that he played with with his hot wheels
and whatnot in real life and in living color right
there on a baseball field. The concept's amazing. Tell us
a little bit about like what to expect when you
walk through the door tomorrow.

Speaker 13 (01:23:11):
Absolutely, well, definitely, this is something that's family forward. We're
trying to inspire young people to obviously get into cars.
We love cars. We've been putting on events for twenty
one years. So when people come to the park, you're
going to experience really a representation of Houston car culture.
People around the world don't know about Houston car culture.

Speaker 5 (01:23:28):
We do because we.

Speaker 13 (01:23:28):
Host events every single month and we've done some of
the biggest festivals in the world, but no one's ever
done an MLB car show before. So when people come tomorrow,
what they're going to see is a cross section of
Houston car culture, starting from lowriders on Crawford Street, classics
and vintage cars in the patche Grove. You're gonna have
a multiple varieties of supercars and muscle cars and racing

(01:23:49):
cars all inside the Diamond lots north and South, and
then inside the stadium, on the concourse and on the field,
almost one hundred examples of some of the rarest, most
exotic cars in the world hypercars starting Horatio Pagani's personal vehicle,
all the way down to our sponsor setups who are
going to be all over the place showcasing their amazing brands.
It's a fully inactive show. Another thing that we're doing

(01:24:10):
throughout the day is we're going to have special unveilings
so that people can be part of some of that experience.

Speaker 2 (01:24:15):
There's a lot of.

Speaker 13 (01:24:16):
World first here these cars are Some of these cars
have never been together. Some of these cars have never
been seen in public. So we want to bring the
public in and the people that are really curious about
the automotive world, like we love it, and we're going
to bring them right front and center to the unveilings
and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Speaker 4 (01:24:29):
I wanted to ask you about the unveilings, but I
have to ask you something else first. There may be
some out there that don't know the answer to this,
and maybe it's me. What's a hypercar?

Speaker 3 (01:24:39):
That's a great question.

Speaker 13 (01:24:40):
So cars, when they get to a certain bracket, they
enter into the supercar level. Those are your Lamborghinis, your
Ferraris and McLaren's, and then above that is another tier.
Those are called the hypercars, and those cars are typically
lower production. Most of them are handmade, they're limited runs,
but they're basically the best examples from that manufacture the
bet offering as a company. So what you see here,

(01:25:02):
we have over thirty of them on field for the
public to see.

Speaker 4 (01:25:06):
And the unveilings and other cars. There will be cars
there that extreme enthusiasts have never seen before.

Speaker 13 (01:25:15):
Absolutely, we have a lot of special things that are happening,
and a lot of cars here that have never been
taken out into the from the collections that they typically
are made from a lot of these collectors. They go
right into the collection, they never get seen by the public.
So because of our support with the Houston Astros Foundation
and their Houston car culture and our incredible relationship with
a lot of these collectors, they're bringing out the best stuff.
These are the things that unicorns talk about, and so

(01:25:37):
they're going to be bringing these cars out. A lot
of them are literally right.

Speaker 5 (01:25:40):
In front of me.

Speaker 13 (01:25:41):
We've been setting up all day and the public is
going to be able to see these cars, and this
might be the only time they're ever in public.

Speaker 3 (01:25:46):
It is trying to get some of these cars onto
the concourse the most like treacherous things some of these
drivers have ever done.

Speaker 5 (01:25:54):
Well.

Speaker 13 (01:25:54):
You know, it took a lot of logistics and a
lot of planning, and a lot of insurance.

Speaker 3 (01:25:58):
A lot of insurance, huh, A lot of it's here.

Speaker 13 (01:26:01):
But at the end of the day, you know, the
Astro team is phenomenal. They're so helpful. They have everything down,
so we work with them on the logistics of timing.
They've been incredible to work with. We're trying to keep
up with how great they are. I mean, these teams
are impeccable, so they have a lot of their they
know their field, they know this property, so they're helping
us navigate this. And some of these cars are low,
some of these cars are wide, some of these cars

(01:26:22):
have all these different characteristics. They're helping us out throughout
the entire thing, and we can't we couldn't wish for
a better partner or a better venue.

Speaker 3 (01:26:28):
Just for those who might not be in the note like,
what's in your opinion, what's the difference between Houston car
culture and say just your run of the mill auto
show that anybody's going to walk into.

Speaker 13 (01:26:39):
Yeah, well, you know the interesting thing about auto shows
across the country, a lot of them are backed by
manufacturers and it's really their opportunity to co showcase their
new lineup for the year, right, and so that's always fun.
But when you talk about seeing the unicorns, that's not
very common. You can't just see a collection like this,
So this is not a traditional show. So if you've
been to shows all across the country, a lot of

(01:26:59):
the people that are going to those shows, they're gonna
spend a lot of money.

Speaker 5 (01:27:01):
To fly there.

Speaker 13 (01:27:02):
It's very expensive to get in, sometimes thousands of dollars
for a ticket, right, this is this is family forward.
We want to make this fun for Houston. Houston's all
about family and it's all about representation, right, So we
want to make sure it's a good variety, but also
it's approachable. Tickets are in the twenty dollars range. Kids
under three are free. We want to support the family
to come out and spend a nice Saturday afternoon with us.
Good morning.

Speaker 4 (01:27:23):
Yeah, you mentioned something about that earlier. The usage of
what you have at Dyke and Park, both inside and out,
is part.

Speaker 3 (01:27:30):
Of this event, that's right. So there's different tickets.

Speaker 13 (01:27:34):
We sold out of everything other than general mission, unfortunately,
you know, for people that are coming. But the nice
thing is because this park is so beautiful and there's
so many great vantage points, we've created plenty of access
and ways to see almost everything in the in the stadium,
so everyone's been able to appreciate and celebrate the unveilings
and just.

Speaker 5 (01:27:51):
Be part of the entire experience.

Speaker 13 (01:27:53):
There's gonna be multiple things that are going on throughout
the day. Our sponsors have interactive things going on. You know,
Tesla has the robot, you have different veilings that are
coming out with different manufacturers, and then we have a
lot of our local sponsors are showcasing their best examples
and coolest examples of stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:28:08):
That they have.

Speaker 13 (01:28:09):
It's a nice mix of car culture. The sponsors are
a big part of this from the racing side with
Rafa and a lot of the other manufacturers and local dealerships.
So this is really a good example of Houston car culture.
We love our sponsors there, the different dealerships and they
have a big part of this throughout the day.

Speaker 3 (01:28:26):
The best way for any of the listeners or viewers
right now to get a hold of those general admission tickets,
where do they go to?

Speaker 13 (01:28:33):
So they'll be selling tickets the day of. So if
it's last minute planning and or people aren't really comfortable online,
you know, they can come and there'll be a ticket
box office open the day of. But also if they're
comfortable online then they want to come tomorrow, they can
always go to coffeecars dot net and they'll direct you
over to the ASTROS website or simply astros dot com
slash car show and how.

Speaker 3 (01:28:52):
Many of the cars that will be featured here at
this event. Were we're on the list in gone in
sixty seconds for Nick Cage.

Speaker 13 (01:29:00):
You know there's actually one eleanor I believe next year. Yeah,
and then there's a couple of the Japanese versions of
the cars, not the exact ones, but a couple of
the iterations that are in the.

Speaker 3 (01:29:11):
Lone good stuff. Well, we appreciate the time. We're looking
forward to this event. We're both going to try and
get out there. Abe Levitt's he's the co founder of
the All Stars Car Show. It's going on at dik
And Park this weekend at ten am until five pm tomorrow.
We're looking forward to being out there and hopefully we'll
catch up. Man.

Speaker 13 (01:29:28):
Hey, thanks guys, everyone, come have a great time.

Speaker 3 (01:29:31):
Absolutely, Abe Levitt here on Sports Talk seven ninety. I'm
such a I mean, the kiddo obviously helps with that,
but I just I just want to drive all the cars.
Every time I see I just want to get in.

Speaker 4 (01:29:42):
You just want to drive all the cars, and you
are anticipating trying to go I am also, and you're
saying all that knowing there's no chance you're going to
drive any of the cars.

Speaker 3 (01:29:51):
I know, it's like the biggest like teas. You can
sometimes touch these cars. I don't think tomorrow you'll be
I don't know, because this is the first time this
event I was. I love to hear that it's other
than general admission. It has sold all the tickets, all
the VIP stuff. Yeah, they had some special premium experiences.
A lot of this, though, is still family friendly experiences
that those general mission tickets will get you. The two

(01:30:13):
of us over different events in in and around Houston
or elsewhere. I just got back from vacation. There's a
huge LeMay Auto Museum and Tacoma. We went there.

Speaker 4 (01:30:23):
We've obviously done shows out at both the auto shows
here and other entities that bring their car shows here.

Speaker 3 (01:30:31):
And I'm thinking about what he said.

Speaker 4 (01:30:33):
You know, I've read about this for the last several
weeks after they announced it, and I've obviously seen some
of what they put on display and knowing where they
can place some of these and you know, I know,
even listening to Abe, he's I feel like he's excited
to see it. Oh yeah, himself, well and for us,
Like I've seen all these other cars and other shows,
and I don't think it's anything like what's going to

(01:30:54):
be their Saturday.

Speaker 3 (01:30:55):
Nothing even remotely closed.

Speaker 4 (01:30:56):
Because of the setting, I mean the setting and honestly
the rarety of some of these vehicles and these exotics
and like you said, these hypercars, and you're gonna be
cars that have never been together before. They've nobody's seen them,
and when are they going to see them again?

Speaker 3 (01:31:09):
No, and especially all together in one place. I mean,
everybody loves going to a beautiful sports facility, especially baseball.
I mean you talk about the family aspect of it,
and then to have something else that a lot of
us that like baseball, like you know, really fast, expensive
cars put them in the same spot, I'll be happy
as a clam. So, yeah, looking forward to that Tomorrow morning,

(01:31:32):
bright and early, be down there at dik And Park,
even though the Astros will not.

Speaker 4 (01:31:35):
Yeah, we got a bunch of things still coming your
way this hour. Astros on Deck comes your way at
five o'clock, expected to be joined by Chandler Rome here
just before we finish out this hour, we do still
have tickets also to an event tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (01:31:46):
We'll tell you about that.

Speaker 4 (01:31:47):
The Big Three playing their fourth game at Slate tomorrow
here in Houston. A lot of things going on, and
we alluded to this earlier, and I'm wondering about the
magnitude of the statements that were made by the player.

Speaker 3 (01:31:59):
Twice this week in the same division.

Speaker 4 (01:32:01):
In the NFL, a player has held in been at
the practice facility while wanting to get a new contract.
Terry McLaurin with the Commanders, Michah Parsons with the Cowboys.
Both of them this week requested a trade, and the
trade request Terry mcclaurin put in earlier this week sounded

(01:32:22):
a lot like the ones I discussed earlier.

Speaker 3 (01:32:25):
Yeah, he put in a trade request.

Speaker 4 (01:32:26):
He's playing his cards, he's doing the negotiating thing, and
ultimately they'll end up with a deal. They don't intend
to move him, Nobody intends to trade for him, and
he'll end up playing with Jayden Daniels for a very
good Commander's team for many years to come, with lots
of guaranteed money. And I said the same thing about
Micah Parsons. He put out his statement today he's requested
a trade, and I said, Okay, he's playing his cards.

Speaker 3 (01:32:46):
He's telling Jerry, I don't want this, and you're not
doing that. So let's go ahead and do this.

Speaker 4 (01:32:50):
But if you really dig in on the bluntness and
clarity that Micah Parsons is trying to provide to the
Cowboys and the other thirty one NFL teams, even I
might be convinced this does sound a little bit different
than many other cases. How you feeling, Jerry, we'll hit
on that next.

Speaker 2 (01:33:10):
The ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:33:18):
Before we dive into NFL trade demands, Chandler Rome, who
was expected to join us expected to be joining us
in about thirty minutes or so, said that. Joe Aspottas said,
Spencer Arraghetti is in a position to make his next
start at the major league level, which we kind of expected,
but that's still good news.

Speaker 4 (01:33:36):
Yeah, looking at their schedule and when he was pitching,
we talked about it yesterday and I thought it made
a lot of sense after he pitched last night. He's
pitching on Wednesday, yesterday or Thursday yesterday. The last game
of this road trip is Wednesday. Obviously, Tuesday would give
him normal rest, Wednesday would give him full rest. If
he doesn't pitch Wednesday, Now he's got additional rest because
they don't play again until Friday.

Speaker 3 (01:33:56):
And I don't think they would go that route, not.

Speaker 4 (01:33:58):
Only that they don't have anybody else to start these games,
so it made sense that he would be pitching either
Tuesday or Wednesday in Miami, and that sounds like that
is what they intend on doing. They'll see how things
play out between now and then, and I would imagine
that they've already gotten good reports on how he felt today.
His outing last night was I guess a little alarming
to those who read what I posted about it, although

(01:34:19):
I didn't really think too much of it, because this
is a rehab appearance and I would treat it very
much like a spring training appearance. I do not get
all up in arms about how anybody's spring training appearances go,
especially if they're have pitched in the major leagues to
any degree of success before, and in Arragetty's case, he has.
So if I tell you last night that the Tacoma

(01:34:40):
Rainiers got the best of Spencer Arraghetty, don't sweat it.
The only thing you should care about is he able
to execute his pitches? Is he getting a little bit sharper.
He's probably trying certain things which might have allowed the
other team to get six hits, score six runs, draw
four walks, get hit by a pitch, and watch a

(01:35:01):
wild pitch go by. Sasr salas are because all of
that happened, and Spencer Araghetti's seventy nine pitch outing last
night nearly got through five innings. Fifty of his seventy
nine pitches were strikes, and he still managed to throw
a wild pitch, hit a batter, and walk four batters
because when he walked a guy, it was like an
intentional walk. Yeah, here are your four balls, head on

(01:35:23):
down to first. Every other pitch I'm throwing strikes kind
of went through and looked at how often they was
getting swings and misses, and it was not a super
high amount. I think there's a little bit of trepidation
about throwing his next start at the major league level,
but it's not about health. And because it's not about health,
he's healthy. They're going to do it. I feel pretty

(01:35:44):
confident they will. They'll just kind of have to see
what happens under different circumstances. Clearly this would not be
the choice, but the circumstances are you're giving the ball
sixty percent of the time in a five man rotation
to somebody who's a question mark, and that's what I'll
be doing with him until he shows them otherwise.

Speaker 3 (01:36:02):
But their offense is about to take off, so it's okay,
there's a margin Forreyer. Okay if you say so. Look,
some things have to go your way if you're the
Astros to go where they want to be going. But
in an wide open twenty twenty five like this, and

(01:36:23):
considering what they've done, considering what they've done under the circumstances,
and considering who they're going to get back in the
lineup forget performance and all that, just just getting them
back out there, I'll take my chances. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:36:36):
Joe's comments on Jordan were that he's increasing his swings,
he's feeling better.

Speaker 3 (01:36:41):
He's not with the team, so he can continue to
do that. He's in West Palm Beach.

Speaker 4 (01:36:45):
It doesn't really suggest much of a timeline, which is
still the only thing that's going to give us a
real answer, and I know they're somewhat afraid to do
that because of what's already taken place. But he's increasing
his workload, essentially continuing his build up. The sooner that
provides full health, no concerns, and both he Jordon, and

(01:37:06):
doctors probably plural, say there isn't anything in there that
should be giving him pain. And he says there isn't
anything in there giving me pain, then they're probably not
too far away. That hasn't happened yet.

Speaker 3 (01:37:19):
All right, let's get to not one, but two NFL
trade demands and why it sounds like you're slowly coming
around to the fact that Micah Parsons will be playing
elsewhere this year.

Speaker 4 (01:37:31):
This one's pretty easy without even diving into what he
actually wrote on his notepad on his phone, which he
then posted as his message on social media. I'm a
huge fan of that, though I don't often do it myself.
I've got something to say, I've got other platforms. He
wrote a big, long message to the fans and about

(01:37:52):
all sorts of things, and about his agent and about
the negotiations and about how he feels, and about the
star and the cowboy and all that.

Speaker 3 (01:38:00):
And we'll get to that. But he put a caption
on the post and it said, thank you Dallas.

Speaker 4 (01:38:05):
The same thing the Twins just sent out fifty times
over for all the departed players, The same thing everyone
writes on social media when they depart their long time,
and in his case, only home in the NFL. Not
here's the situation or update for the fans out there,
or here's my position, but rather absolutely writing a goodbye

(01:38:28):
and I love you before.

Speaker 3 (01:38:30):
He is saying goodbye to the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, and
he explains all but you're right, like when you see
something like that, well buy this way. How many quote
unquote holdouts have ever done that?

Speaker 4 (01:38:47):
I don't remember somebody going right to the point. And
it's a couple of sentences in I know, I no
longer want to be here. Yeah, I no longer want
to be here. I no longer want to be held
to close door negotiations without my agent present. I no
longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while
laying it on the line for the organization, our fans,

(01:39:08):
and my teammates. I no longer want narratives created and
spread to the media about me. I had purposely stayed
quiet in hopes of getting something done. And there is more,
and we'll share all the details of what he wrote,
but these are each of those pieces of what took
place over the last probably year and a half. Once
you get past that third year of a four year

(01:39:29):
rookie contract with a fifth year option the idea for
an elite player, and he is absolutely that when are
we going to extend him? And this conversation was had
in the media for sure prior to year four. That
was last offseason. Now we're prior to year five without
an extension. Year five is now the last year of
your contract. Obviously the option year was picked up. He's
an elite level player who has been on the field

(01:39:51):
for nearly all of the Cowboys games, doesn't always have
to extend his season in the postseason, and maybe won't
ever have to if he's elsewhere or there. But when
Jerry uttered one specific line erroneously when he talked about
him missing six games last year, which was more than
he did miss, that's something that I thought a lot
of former players that are voices we hear from regularly,

(01:40:14):
whether they're here with us on Sports Talk seven ninety
or there are national voices, and they all thought, this
is something you really really don't want to hear as
someone who's part of that NFL locker room from anybody
inside the organization, let alone the GM or the owner
or in this case the GM and the owner who

(01:40:34):
are doing the negotiations and saying, I mean he's treating
this like some closed door arbitration hearing where they're trying
to drive his price down behind closed doors. You do
that and everybody hates it. And Jerry's bringing it to
the table publicly. And guess who hates it the player
who said I no longer want to be here.

Speaker 3 (01:40:53):
Well, and so he decided, all right, if they're going
to do that, then I'm going to bring it to
the forefront as well, at least my verse version of
how things have gone. And when he writes I had
my agent reach out to the Cowboys last offseason after
my thirty year in hopes of getting a deal done early,
and unfortunately the team did not want to start any
negotiations at that point, he says, I was okay with that,

(01:41:16):
didn't complain, focused on the twenty twenty four season. After
the season, told my agent once again to let the
team know we were open and negotiate when they met
at the combine and my agent informed me I should
wait for other deals to get done because the price
would only go up. But I didn't care and wanted
to secure myself as a Cowboy long term. It's not

(01:41:37):
just that he says, I don't want to be here anymore.
He's trying to convey how much he did want to
be here and how much, in his opinion, that was
thwarted before he got to the point where he wrote
on his notepad, I don't want to be here. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:41:51):
By the way his agent works at athletes First, I'm
not sure if you've heard of him before. He's only
negotiated a billion dollars worth of NFL contracts, which is
the most by any cun anybody out there, and he
was only ranked the top NFL agent in Forbes twenty
twenty five ranking of the most powerful sports agents. His
name is David Mullagedtta, and you absolutely positively have heard
of him and know of him. He's had many negotiations

(01:42:14):
right here in Houston. Sean Watson, Derek Stingley Junior Athletes
First represents C. J.

Speaker 3 (01:42:20):
Stroud. His agent is David Mullagedtta. This is who Michael
Parsons agent is.

Speaker 4 (01:42:25):
If he's having difficulty reaching the team being a part
of negotiations because of how the Cowboys are handling it,
then they are lone wolfs. The other teams in the
league might not like dealing with him for the only reason,
and that he's doing an amazing job for the person
people that he works for. He doesn't work for the teams,

(01:42:47):
he doesn't work for the league. He works for his clients.
His clients are NFL players, and he's doing an incredible job.

Speaker 3 (01:42:54):
For his players.

Speaker 4 (01:42:55):
Maybe that scares the Cowboys, I guess, but they've already
waited to the point where there actually is on one
other edge Rusher doesn't have a long term contract currently,
Trey Hendrickson, who is also at camp with the Bengals
and extremely happy he's dealing with one of the notoriously
cheap teams in the NFL, despite the fact they paid
a bunch of money to their quarterback and both wide receivers.

(01:43:17):
But I do sense a shift in my own thought
about this. I still can't envision an owner like Jerry
saying we're better. I just made my team better, gave
my fans and my pocketbook a better chance to have
a bang up twenty twenty five and beyond by not
having Micah Parsons here.

Speaker 3 (01:43:36):
No, you can't say that your team's not gonna be better,
They're gonna be worse. But and this isn't the answer
to the question, but what are they with or without him?
They're not a content They're an't gonna win the division.

Speaker 4 (01:43:48):
Well, if they were really bad, moving on from him
would be really easy. But when you sink money in
your quarterback and CD Lamb and probably aren't gonna compete, well,
then you've done a bad job. And guess what the
Cowboys have done a bit. The Big Three is in
town this week. We'll have tickets to give away to
that channel. Rome joins at four forty five. All that
on the horizon.

Speaker 2 (01:44:06):
Here on the eight team, the A team on Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:44:20):
I want to quickly give you an opportunity to enjoy
some hoops over at Toyota Center. The Big Three has
arrived in Houston for four games tomorrow, that's this Saturday,
August second, at Toyota Center. Four games, fast paced, competitive,
three on three games, halftime performances, great musical acts. You
can cheer on Houston's team. That's the Houston rig Hands.

(01:44:40):
They're coached by Rockets legend Calvin Murphy. They're making their
home debut, obviously in these games at Toyota Center. You
can get tickets at Toyota Center dot com. If you
don't win them here, they are on sale there now.
Discuss a lot of things here, and among those an
answer to a question we've talked about, we will give
you a chance to win those tickets. Call in it
seven one three two one two five I seven ninety
seven one three two one two five seven ninety I

(01:45:04):
posted this on x already earlier today and then mentioned
it here on the show earlier. Carlos Carea joins the Astros,
and now one of his new teammates is having an
almost identical offensive season to him. What current teammate of
Carlos Carea here in Houston, while playing a part in
twenty twenty five have produced some extremely extremely similar offensive numbers.

(01:45:30):
Talked about it at length earlier on the show.

Speaker 3 (01:45:33):
Or you can just use the Google machine. I want
to get you out there.

Speaker 4 (01:45:36):
We like giving tickets away to people who listen to
the show, enjoy the show, obviously enjoy hoops seven to one,
three two one two five, seven to ninety that players
in tonight's lineup as per usual.

Speaker 3 (01:45:46):
By the way, that's a darn good trivia question.

Speaker 4 (01:45:49):
Eighteen postseason home runs for Carlos Correa, something we alluded
to earlier the only active players with more home runs
in the postseason the Carlos Correa, former Astro George Spring,
former Astro Alex Bregman, current Astro Jose Altuve and two
other guys, one who plays for the Phillies and one

(01:46:09):
who plays in Arlington and too bad there on the
list and be a lot more fun if they weren't.

Speaker 3 (01:46:15):
I had a buddy of mine who's a Rangers fan,
say the following, I want to see what you think
about what they because they did make some moves. I
like the Rangers moves. If and a big if their
bats can wake up and they finally let go of
Jack Peterson, they could fall around and make the playoffs,
and that the rotation is healthy. Ain't no one want

(01:46:36):
that rotation in a five game series? And then he
said these are all pipe dreams. Go stars.

Speaker 4 (01:46:42):
Well, the Astros could have a significant role in the
Rangers reaching the playoffs. They play the Rangers six times.
The Astros also play the Red Sox six times the
Yankees similarly, that's a lot of games that the Astros
are involved in that could be very beneficial to the
Rangers' chances of rising up in the standings. Obviously, head

(01:47:06):
to head, if they have designs on the division, they're
five and a half games back.

Speaker 3 (01:47:09):
I don't think that's gonna happen, but they're.

Speaker 4 (01:47:12):
Much closer to the Yankees and the Red Sox, And
if the Yankees and the Red Sox struggle with the Astros, well,
then the Rangers are gonna get that much closer to them.
They were tied with the Mariners for the final wildcard
spot before their series began. Last night they lost, so
now they're a game out of the third wild card spot,
trailing the Mariners, Red Sox ahead of them, Yankees ahead

(01:47:34):
of them. And we already went through all this. All
of these teams outside of Boston, and that does include
Detroit and Toronto, all of these teams of those seven
except for Boston, made extremely what appear on paper to
be extremely positive moves. The teams that got to this point,
all six of them other than Boston that got to

(01:47:56):
be better than Texas got better, are better. Aren't a
better position to win moving forward. I do think that
I do like the Rangers adding Merrill Kelly a lot.
I think the other two arms are and they've had
nice seasons. Their bullpen arms they help you make it
through the rest of the season. But it's really about
the Kelly acquisition, meaning, you know, sixty if they have
a five man rotation sixty percent of the time, I

(01:48:17):
know it works every time sixty percent at the time
they're throwing an ace.

Speaker 3 (01:48:22):
Teams in the American League, which teams can match that?
Aren't you ready for de grond to turn into a pumpkin?

Speaker 4 (01:48:27):
Isn't he long overdue for that kind of feeling like
that he's going to he's this season, is he's gonna
make it, and it's going to happen sometime in the
near future in twenty six.

Speaker 3 (01:48:36):
Probably, you know. And this is not to get completely
morbid since we're on that topic of in this case
off injured starting pitchers. But we talked about this a
couple of weeks ago. I feel like, did you see
who specifically reached out with a tweet? Who doesn't tweet
a lot about Korea's addition? That's a little difficult. Well,

(01:49:01):
I'll give you a hint. One of the most famous mountains.

Speaker 5 (01:49:06):
No. No.

Speaker 3 (01:49:08):
One of the Super Open ended. I had no better guess.
One of the most famous mound visits in Astro's postseason history.
I think there's some debate over the I don't know
what the word is the is that really his account?
I know what you're saying, it's not verified. First of all,
I don't think you're you're.

Speaker 4 (01:49:27):
Talking about Sunday's starting pitcher for the astro correct. Yes,
from ber Valdez on the X platform does exist. I
don't know if you found it or not. It's found
at from ber Valdez. Now I write that's the I'm
looking at it now. There are ten posts and I
can't read any of them because this account is temporarily restricted.

Speaker 3 (01:49:50):
When did that happen today?

Speaker 4 (01:49:52):
Okay, there's been some unusual activity from this account. H
Now it says do you still want to view it?
And I can say, yes, you my profile?

Speaker 5 (01:50:01):
Do it?

Speaker 3 (01:50:01):
I can't do it?

Speaker 5 (01:50:02):
Do it? Do it?

Speaker 3 (01:50:04):
What did pretend fromber say? Basically welcome home? You know,
and and was very it was very positive. But I
see all that.

Speaker 4 (01:50:11):
You know, how we've covered Fromber, how we know from
er or how we hear Robert Steve talk about Fromber,
Julia Lauren, Jeff Todd talk about and show Fromber Todd Todd,
Todd wrong Todd. None of the posts from Fromber Valdez
that we've seen very very recently, because it just started
happening seem at all like fromber No.

Speaker 3 (01:50:33):
But in all seriousness, the reason I bring this up
is simply because all of the Astros injuries just to
the pitchers, I won't even speak of the position players.
He's the one guy that's kind of he's relatively unscathed
this whole time.

Speaker 4 (01:50:50):
He's that five years where you just missed a couple
of starts. He's been incredibly durable. He's also pitched incredibly well.
When the cease conversations were on our show The Life
last two days, I pointed out, I don't think any
other starting pitchers made more starts than him over the
last five years. He's led the league and starts four times,
and he's on his way to doing it a fifth
time this year. But as he are stinks and he's trying,

(01:51:11):
they're trying to unload him because he's not getting people
out and he doesn't go deep into outings. He's not
gonna throw two hundred innings for you, because five innings
into his start he's at ninety four pitches. Because he
walks a billion people Fromber's both durable and outstanding. He
is every bit of the definition, and I'm curious what

(01:51:32):
this offseason will be like for him. He is an absolute, unabashed,
non debatable ace.

Speaker 3 (01:51:40):
In Major leag He used to be their third starter.
They were good, They've been good. All right. We will
take a quick time out when we come back. We
are going to catch up with our good buddy Chandler
Rome of the Athletic Boy He and Brian mctagger and
our own Chris Gordy and everybody on site there in Boston.

(01:52:00):
I'm sure that they already kind of knew this was
going to be a bit of a zoo, considering that
it's the first time Alex Bregman's playing the Astros as
a member of the Red Sox, and it just happened
to be there versus here. That'll be later this month
when Bregman comes back to Houston. But there's no way
any of them bargained on a double zoo, because that's

(01:52:20):
what they're getting right now. And it's not just Carlos Korea.
But we'll have Chandler Rome's thoughts from on site there
at Finway Park when we come back here on a
Friday edition, very first day of August. The home stretch
has begun here in the twenty twenty five MLB campaign.
Chandler Rome coming up next.

Speaker 2 (01:52:38):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:52:47):
A team continuing here as we have one more segment
to go before we get you into the Astros on
Deck show. No better time than the present, especially considering
what's happened over the past twenty four hours, to catch
up with our good buddy, Chandler Rome of the Athletic
Now you said it, Wex said it leading up to
this all important opening game of this series with the
Red Sox at Finway. So no way, Carlos Correa is

(01:53:10):
coming back to Houston. Jim Crane's not going to do that.
How crazy? How stunning was that in your world yesterday?

Speaker 12 (01:53:17):
I mean, yeah, it's obviously stunning, and it's not something
that I would have projected three days ago. But I
mean there's also there's now I mean, there's precedent for this,
Like if Jim Crane wants someone, if he has his
eye on someone, nine times out of ten, he's going
to get him. And you know there's been a couple
that have fallen through.

Speaker 3 (01:53:37):
I remember in.

Speaker 12 (01:53:38):
Twenty twenty three they tried to acquire both Josh Hater
and Blake Snell from the Padres at the deadline. That
didn't work, and guess who they signed next winter. Josh Hater.
Jim Crane wanted Carlos Corea back in Houston. Carlos Correa
wanted out of Minnesota, and he was not going to
go anywhere but here, and it just it just so
happened that, you know, a salary dump came to the

(01:54:00):
right place that was well. Deserves a lot of credit
for doing something that is outside of his comfort zone,
but he has shown that when the team give, when
the team has a legitimate chance, and when the team
has put itself in a position like this, he's willing.

Speaker 5 (01:54:16):
To do that.

Speaker 4 (01:54:17):
There's so much going to be made about the nostalgia
and the good vibes and the feelings and everything, and
you're in the middle of all that, even with the players.
And that's clearly a fan side of it too. What
do people think Carlos Korea the baseball player is as
he re arrives in Houston three plus years in Minnesota,
he's clearly been inconsistent. He arrives now with the numbers
we've seen maybe on a little bit of an uptick.

(01:54:39):
But now you've got him for three more years under contract.
The player, the offensive player, what do you think he is?

Speaker 12 (01:54:47):
You know, it was interesting to hear Carlos talk today.
He addressed that and he did say, you know, the
Twins changed hitting coaches over the offseason, and he pretty
much hinted that working with a new group of hitting
coaches that contributed a lot to his slow start. And
he wasn't blaming the hitting coaches he was blaming. He
was basically saying, you know, they did things a different

(01:55:07):
way and it was hard for him to maybe adjust
to that. And he has gotten better. I mean, you've
seen the last month or so, the ops is up,
his hard hit rate is up. I think coming back
and being around Alex Centrone and Troy Snicker, two guys
that he knows very well, it was funny. I actually,
this is gonna be a I'm giving you guys a
little scoop here. It it's gonna be in a story

(01:55:28):
I'm writing tonight.

Speaker 3 (01:55:29):
Talked to Alex.

Speaker 12 (01:55:30):
Talk to Alex Centron, who said that he was texting
Carlos last night and he spent Carlos a pretty long
evaluation of what he saw on his twain and he said.
Correa responded with, I feel the exact same way. That's
that's what I've been thinking the whole time too. So
they're already hitting it off again. I don't think just
you know, coming back to old friends and hitting coaches

(01:55:52):
is gonna make him the production go up. But I
think familiarity helps. I think having two guys in Centron
and Snicker that know how he operates and that know
him will help. But at the end of the day,
Carlos has to do it too. And bear in mind too,
he's going to be changing positions. He's going to third base.
Everyone I have talked to just inside the team doesn't

(01:56:14):
think that's going to be a big issue for him.
There's gonna be some stuff, you know, He's gonna have
to the slow rollers up the line, playing bunts, where
he's positioned, the angle of his throws. It's all going
to be a little bit different that I think. If
Carlos Korea is one thing, he is an elite defender,
and I think that's I don't think that's going to
change going to third base.

Speaker 3 (01:56:32):
Well, I was more than amused when I heard Harold
Reynolds talk about the fact that, well, he's too much
of an alpha. There's no way he's going to go
there and not play third base. And there he is
shagging balls at third base, you know, taking grounders at
third base. I'd never Why would the Astros even do
this without at least checking on something like that.

Speaker 12 (01:56:53):
Well, it does sound like I mean, Carlos is tough.
He said today, and he said it before too, that
he wanted to play third in Minnesota, and he had,
he had talked to the front office about it. But
the way they're the way their team was constructed, it
just didn't work. They were waiting on a couple of
short stops to come up. They have brook a kid
named brooks Lee who's one of the better prospects in baseball.

(01:57:13):
Ringing between the lines, it sounds like if brooks Lee
had been ready, they would have moved Korea to third base.
Brooks Lee would have been their shortstop. That's in an
ideal world when the Twins are a functional organization. Instead
now they're just selling off every part they have other
than Byron Buxton. But you know, I I I don't
think that's an issue at all. I think Korea that's
something he wanted to do. He knew for maybe later

(01:57:36):
in his career as he ages a little, but he
was going to have to get off the shortstop.

Speaker 4 (01:57:40):
What do you think they get in your eyas in
Sanchez Sanchez is in the lineup today blaying left field.

Speaker 12 (01:57:46):
Yeah, I think you'll see, hey, Sus Sanchez pretty much
every day against right handed pitching. The fact that he's
hitting clean up today or not crazing cleanup today? Right,
who's hitting clean up today?

Speaker 3 (01:57:55):
I don't Sanchez two or Sanchez three alto Okay.

Speaker 12 (01:58:00):
The fact that Sanchez is hitting third in his first
game in a Nastar's uniform really just demonstrates to you
what they think of his bat. You look at the
ops numbers, he's terrible against left handed pitching and elite
against right handed pitching. And you look at the rest
of their lineup and it's pretty much the opposite. Everyone
is a leade against left handed pitching and okay against
right handed pitching. And because this lineup had been so imbalanced,

(01:58:22):
opposing managers could just throw right handed pitchers at them
all the time without any thought. Pacus Sanchez is going
to make them second guess that Joe said today that
he wants to leave him in either corner outfield spot.
Don't think you'll see him playing a bunch of center,
but yeah, it's gonna be. He's probably gonna be close
to an everyday player when there's a right handed pitcher
in there. It's going to help spell Cam Smith a

(01:58:44):
little bit too. I know they're both in the lineup today,
but you could see a lot of times where you know,
Smith gets some days off, especially as the workload continues
to increase on him. They need to keep him fresh.
But you know, with Arius, I think he's maybe more
of a bench bat, a guy that you know they
can use tonight against a right handed leverage reliever or
a left handed or leverage reliever. You know, can play

(01:59:08):
all around the diamond. Most of his experiences at third base.
I think they're going to start to really work with
him at second to see how functional he can be there.
But I think he and Mauricio Dubon are kind of
on the same kind of playing field right now. I
think Dubon is a better defender at second and short
than Ourrias's So you'll probably see a little bit more
of Dubon until they get a feel of what they

(01:59:30):
have in Urias. But that's kind of where those two
guys are.

Speaker 3 (01:59:33):
How amusing is this for Alex Bregman, even more so
than maybe it would have been prior to the Korea edition.

Speaker 12 (01:59:39):
Well, it's pretty funny. So again I'm giving away all
my trade secrets here. So Knox Knox Bregman, Alex's oldest son.
It's his birthday today and they had his birthday party
yesterday in Boston and just so happened it was on
the Astros off day, so a lot of his Asher's teammates,
former Asters teammates, came to you know, celebrate Knox and

(02:00:02):
see Alex, and it was pretty funny. That's where some
of these dudes learned that Correa was coming to Houston.
So it's a really kind of it's kind of a
full circle moment. But yeah, you know Alex, he talked
today and he just kind of he was typical Alex,
you know, just was a pro about it. And you know,
it's gonna be interesting, it's gonna be fun to watch,
you know, who knows. But by the time this thing's over,

(02:00:22):
he may be back here too. In a couple of years.

Speaker 3 (02:00:24):
Well, it's crazy because that the deal doesn't get made
if Alex isn't playing third base in Boston.

Speaker 12 (02:00:32):
I mean, well, the deal doesn't get made if 'stock
Paradus's hamstring is still intact.

Speaker 3 (02:00:36):
That's true. That's the that's that's the big thing here.

Speaker 12 (02:00:39):
I mean like it, We're not having this discussion if
Estock Paradus doesn't pull up in Seattle a couple of
weeks ago, when you're probably looking at the Hacy Sanchez
is probably still here. That's probably kind of their their
target guy. He's probably here, And honestly, you're probably looking
at maybe Dylan c spied here, maybe a starting pitcher

(02:00:59):
being here the arm because I think that would have
increased the urgency for them to go into the pitching market.
If they wouldn't have gotten Korea.

Speaker 3 (02:01:07):
Would have been exciting.

Speaker 4 (02:01:08):
Regardless, heading down the stretch with roughly a five game lead,
it's at four and a half today, it's going to
be even more exciting and certainly when they return home.
We appreciate your coverage of all this fast and furious
as it was over the last couple of days, and
appreciate the time with us here on the show. All right,
Thanks Guys Chandler Rome of the Athletic Astros beat writer.
We dive right into extended conversation about that very topic

(02:01:29):
because the Astros on Deck Show is next.

Speaker 2 (02:01:32):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety