April 17, 2025 • 11 mins
Welcome to "The Morning Kickoff Show" with Mike "Hardball" Hardge & "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. Here the guys have a conversation with Texas Baseball Coach Jim Schlossnagle Talk about Kentucky and UTRGV, then the upcoming Auburn series, the starting pitching routine for short turn around week, what he sees from Auburn after LSU, dealing with gametime changes, confirming pitching rotation Injury status. You can hear it all here on “The Morning Kickoff Show!”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to our number two of the morning kickofs
right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred of the Zone.
We talked to NBA, we talked Texas football, and we
got a chance to talk about a cowboy legend. But
right now we are joined on the line with the
head baseball coach of the University of Texas number one
ranked University of Texas, Jim Slasnagel and coach. I know
(00:25):
that it has been a busy week, a lot going on.
There's been an adjustment to the schedule to this week,
but most importantly, you got a chance to go on
the road and get a huge series victory again against Kentucky.
Then you came home and got a chance to defeat
ut RGV. Talk to us a little bit about your
(00:46):
squad and what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, good morning, Thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's
a good week for us. I think anytime you go
on the road in the SEC or not, I think
I know, anytime you go on the road in the
SEC and you find a way, you know, not just
win a game, but win a series, that doesn't matter
who you're playing. I mean, that's that's a huge accomplishment.
The margin for air is so thin. You know, there
(01:10):
was a certainly a pathway for us to sweep, and
there was a certainly a pathway for us to get swept.
So really proud of our team, especially given the injuries,
different things we've had to overcome, the weather up there,
different game times, having to play super early in the
morning on East Coast time. Really really proud of our guys,
and then play a fifteen inning game five and a
(01:33):
half hours and that took a lot out of us,
but really proud of the team and their toughness and
resiliency they showed. Kentucky showed the same thing. We just
happened to get one more timely hit than they did.
And then Tuesday night, I mean, UTRGV is for real.
That's a team that's going to be in somebody's regional
It's going to be heck to deal with. And one
(01:55):
of my former assistants, Derek Matlocke, is just.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Killing it down there.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And and uh and we played you know, they gave
us some free bases, but we swung the bat well.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
And so good to be back.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Home and now we have a short turnaround to play
a top ten Auburn team that just swept l s U,
so no rest for the weary.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It's funny that you bring that up about the uh
uh U t r g V team and D one
had their way too early projections for regional and they
have U t r g V in the same regional
with you guys here in Austin, Texas. So to back
up your point, that is a team that definitely is
(02:33):
for real.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, they really are the veteran team and balanced lineup.
You know, we didn't see their weekend pitchers. Of course
they didn't see ours either, but I mean they're They're
a club that you can see really really really turning
turning some heads when it comes to NJ DOUAA tournament times.
So I'm glad we can get out of.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
There with the win. Coach.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I know, y'all don't run from the situations because y'all
have Texas. When you have a short turnaround, Uh, does
does it change of game playing any.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Uh? You know can certainly you got to keep an
eye on your pitching staff.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
You know, guys like Jared Spencer and Harrison. Harrison didn't
go too deep into the game the other day, but
uh Ruger threw a lot and uh so did so
did Jared. So we just got to you got to
change their routine a little bit. Maybe they do a
little bit less and what they would normally do between
between starts. Of course, that's the same thing for Auburn.
(03:31):
You know they have a short turn around too, so uh.
But in terms of strategy, you know what's to keep
an eye on the pitch and maybe you know, if
it looks like they're waivering a little bit early, may
have to pull a trigger on the bullpen. But hopefully
that you know, hopefully that won't be the case.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Texas will take on the number eight team in the nation,
the Auburn Tigers and coach our initial meeting when you
we met with you, you talked about, you know, every weekend
in the SEC has got a super regional feel to it.
You've held that true to form because of your experience
over at Texas A and M. And you start to
(04:07):
look at every single week we've had a top ten
matchup at the dish. This is what the fans have
been wanting. But what have you seen from Auburn after
they just swept LSU this weekend and them coming.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
In you can really pitch I think, I mean to
this point, LSU is the best peer baseball team. George
is super talented and has a lot of power, but
LSU to this point is the best team we played
all year. And it's not really that close. And Auburn
just swept them three times, I mean won three games
(04:43):
and I'll pitched them, which is hard to do with
LSU's pitching and LSU's bullpen. And then they have two
or three.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
One of my.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Favorite players in the league, Ike Irish. I think he's
gonna be a long time major league player, left handed
hitter that he just doesn't fold like he stays on lefties.
You can't outmatch him, you can't overpower him. He uses
the whole.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Field to hit.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I mean. One of the great things for our fans
I hope they, you know, appreciate, is when these teams
come in like you're watching future major leaguers, and sometimes
in less than a year. I mean, you know why
at Langford watch him play at Florida one year and
the next year he's hitting home runs for the Rangers,
and and so when you get this level of baseball,
(05:30):
he's certainly going to root for your team, but you
have to appreciate the talent of what's going on the
other side of the field, So you know they're starting
pitchings outstanding. The bullpen's elite. It's a national championship contender.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Yeah, and this is a team that all they continue
to do is get better and better experience staff as
well and coach. There's been some adjustments to the times also.
Not only is it a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, I believe
this is the first time all season Texas has done
that coinciding with Easter weekend, but the game tonight will
(06:05):
be at seven o'clock. Tomorrow night it will be at
six o'clock, and then on Saturday it will be at
a noon start. How do you I mean, obviously last
week you got to eleven am Central Time starts, but
how do you kind of handle that situation as well
as far as making sure your team gets enough rest
(06:26):
to come back out and get ready to go?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, I mean, we went, we went. We're actually a
little more intense in our practice yesterday than we normally
would on a Wednesday, and Wednesday normally super light, but
we kind of treated it like.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
A Thursday and started selling.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
A football coach here, you have these guys, you know,
talk about their days and how regimented they are. But yeah,
we you know, we may do a few things lighter
and value practice today just to keep them off their feet,
try and be a little more fresh. But that's what
baseball is, you know. We we're constantly dealing with weather
and and game time changes. We had, I think originally
(07:05):
we were supposed to play ESPN wanted us to play
seven seven, uh and new and then when we found
out that because of Auburn's flight, we had to play
at noon on Saturday, then we we moved the Friday
game to six o'clock.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So it's part of it.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We're prepared for it. But you basically just beg your team,
hey man, as soon as this game is over, win or.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Lose, just get in bed.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And uh it's easy for a fifty four year old
guy like me to run home and get in bed.
Sometimes these guys think they can. They can, you know,
soar at the Eagles and uh and still hoot with
the owls, which you can't do that.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, both that not at all.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yeah these guys. Yeah, but our guys will be ready
to go, and uh, same thing is true for Auburn.
They have to deal with the same stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Well, and I know that you're gonna keep your rotation
the same.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
You're gonna go with Spencer, You're gonna go with Harrison,
and I believe you're gonna go with riojaus this uh
in this rotation again.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Correct, Yeah, yeah, we'll keep those guys the same this week.
Then you know the beauty of these Thursday to Saturday series.
They kind of stink on the front end because you
don't get as much rest and leading up to them,
but it's nice to have, especially Easter Sunday. It's not
obviously I don't think anybody should be playing on Easter,
just my own personal opinion, but some people do. But
(08:24):
this is something that coach Thompson at Auburn and I
actually did it last year at a And m uh,
you know.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
The coaches have the right.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
If they agree to to move the series up on
Easter weekend, and we did that. Uh so hopefully we'll
have some success and we can everybody can kind of
get away for at least the day on Sunday, enjoy
Easter with family and celebrate Christ rising.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
No doubt, And I wanted to ask you this.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I wanted to give you to ask you this right here,
eat the Mendoza is somebody that's been dealing with some injuries.
Adrian Rodriguez as well as Max ball Loo. What is
the latest on those three guys that are very integral
to the success of this team.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, Max, I would say Max is the furthest from playing,
but he got his stitches out earlier this week and
he started rehab moving that thumb around and trying to
strengthen that. Uh so he's got to get full range
of movement first and then starts strength strength training or
in it, and you know, maybe he's back before the
(09:28):
season is over. The thing we have to keep into
account with these guys is, you know they have long
term careers and uh we would never want to as
much as we want to win. You know, somebody has
to be the adult in the room, even when the
player really wants to get back out there. Is you
got to find that point where it's safe for him
to play, where he doesn't either reinjur it for our
(09:50):
own team or reinjured it for himself that affects his career.
So Adrian has obviously been playing. He had some limitations,
but he's given us everything he can depend on how
he feels each day that it's just a it's not
just I mean, it's a deep bruise, really a demon
(10:10):
I guess you'd call it in his hand. In some
days it feels like it's almost all the way back.
In the other days, you know, maybe one swing kind
of bothers him. Mendoza, We'll see how he feels today.
He swung the bat and practice at the end of
practice yesterday in the cages felt pretty good. So there's
a shot that he could maybe be in the lineup
(10:30):
in some form this weekend. We'll just wait and see
how it feels when we get out there today.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
No doubt about it. Well, best of luck.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I will be on the call for ESPN Plus this week,
so I'll get a chance to be out there every
single day. Well, regardless, best of luck to you guys,
as I know that once again it's the SEC and
that means that you're going to have a tough match
up every single week.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
So best of luck, coach.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Thank you guys, have a great day.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Hope, no doubt there he is.
Welcome back to our number two of the morning kickofs
right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred of the Zone.
We talked to NBA, we talked Texas football, and we
got a chance to talk about a cowboy legend. But
right now we are joined on the line with the
head baseball coach of the University of Texas number one
ranked University of Texas, Jim Slasnagel and coach. I know
(00:25):
that it has been a busy week, a lot going on.
There's been an adjustment to the schedule to this week,
but most importantly, you got a chance to go on
the road and get a huge series victory again against Kentucky.
Then you came home and got a chance to defeat
ut RGV. Talk to us a little bit about your
(00:46):
squad and what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, good morning, Thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's
a good week for us. I think anytime you go
on the road in the SEC or not, I think
I know, anytime you go on the road in the
SEC and you find a way, you know, not just
win a game, but win a series, that doesn't matter
who you're playing. I mean, that's that's a huge accomplishment.
The margin for air is so thin. You know, there
(01:10):
was a certainly a pathway for us to sweep, and
there was a certainly a pathway for us to get swept.
So really proud of our team, especially given the injuries,
different things we've had to overcome, the weather up there,
different game times, having to play super early in the
morning on East Coast time. Really really proud of our guys,
and then play a fifteen inning game five and a
(01:33):
half hours and that took a lot out of us,
but really proud of the team and their toughness and
resiliency they showed. Kentucky showed the same thing. We just
happened to get one more timely hit than they did.
And then Tuesday night, I mean, UTRGV is for real.
That's a team that's going to be in somebody's regional
It's going to be heck to deal with. And one
(01:55):
of my former assistants, Derek Matlocke, is just.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Killing it down there.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And and uh and we played you know, they gave
us some free bases, but we swung the bat well.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
And so good to be back.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Home and now we have a short turnaround to play
a top ten Auburn team that just swept l s U,
so no rest for the weary.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It's funny that you bring that up about the uh
uh U t r g V team and D one
had their way too early projections for regional and they
have U t r g V in the same regional
with you guys here in Austin, Texas. So to back
up your point, that is a team that definitely is
(02:33):
for real.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Yeah, they really are the veteran team and balanced lineup.
You know, we didn't see their weekend pitchers. Of course
they didn't see ours either, but I mean they're They're
a club that you can see really really really turning
turning some heads when it comes to NJ DOUAA tournament times.
So I'm glad we can get out of.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
There with the win. Coach.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I know, y'all don't run from the situations because y'all
have Texas. When you have a short turnaround, Uh, does
does it change of game playing any.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Uh? You know can certainly you got to keep an
eye on your pitching staff.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
You know, guys like Jared Spencer and Harrison. Harrison didn't
go too deep into the game the other day, but
uh Ruger threw a lot and uh so did so
did Jared. So we just got to you got to
change their routine a little bit. Maybe they do a
little bit less and what they would normally do between
between starts. Of course, that's the same thing for Auburn.
(03:31):
You know they have a short turn around too, so uh.
But in terms of strategy, you know what's to keep
an eye on the pitch and maybe you know, if
it looks like they're waivering a little bit early, may
have to pull a trigger on the bullpen. But hopefully
that you know, hopefully that won't be the case.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Texas will take on the number eight team in the nation,
the Auburn Tigers and coach our initial meeting when you
we met with you, you talked about, you know, every weekend
in the SEC has got a super regional feel to it.
You've held that true to form because of your experience
over at Texas A and M. And you start to
(04:07):
look at every single week we've had a top ten
matchup at the dish. This is what the fans have
been wanting. But what have you seen from Auburn after
they just swept LSU this weekend and them coming.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
In you can really pitch I think, I mean to
this point, LSU is the best peer baseball team. George
is super talented and has a lot of power, but
LSU to this point is the best team we played
all year. And it's not really that close. And Auburn
just swept them three times, I mean won three games
(04:43):
and I'll pitched them, which is hard to do with
LSU's pitching and LSU's bullpen. And then they have two
or three.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
One of my.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Favorite players in the league, Ike Irish. I think he's
gonna be a long time major league player, left handed
hitter that he just doesn't fold like he stays on lefties.
You can't outmatch him, you can't overpower him. He uses
the whole.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Field to hit.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
I mean. One of the great things for our fans
I hope they, you know, appreciate, is when these teams
come in like you're watching future major leaguers, and sometimes
in less than a year. I mean, you know why
at Langford watch him play at Florida one year and
the next year he's hitting home runs for the Rangers,
and and so when you get this level of baseball,
(05:30):
he's certainly going to root for your team, but you
have to appreciate the talent of what's going on the
other side of the field, So you know they're starting
pitchings outstanding. The bullpen's elite. It's a national championship contender.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Yeah, and this is a team that all they continue
to do is get better and better experience staff as
well and coach. There's been some adjustments to the times also.
Not only is it a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, I believe
this is the first time all season Texas has done
that coinciding with Easter weekend, but the game tonight will
(06:05):
be at seven o'clock. Tomorrow night it will be at
six o'clock, and then on Saturday it will be at
a noon start. How do you I mean, obviously last
week you got to eleven am Central Time starts, but
how do you kind of handle that situation as well
as far as making sure your team gets enough rest
(06:26):
to come back out and get ready to go?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, I mean, we went, we went. We're actually a
little more intense in our practice yesterday than we normally
would on a Wednesday, and Wednesday normally super light, but
we kind of treated it like.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
A Thursday and started selling.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
A football coach here, you have these guys, you know,
talk about their days and how regimented they are. But yeah,
we you know, we may do a few things lighter
and value practice today just to keep them off their feet,
try and be a little more fresh. But that's what
baseball is, you know. We we're constantly dealing with weather
and and game time changes. We had, I think originally
(07:05):
we were supposed to play ESPN wanted us to play
seven seven, uh and new and then when we found
out that because of Auburn's flight, we had to play
at noon on Saturday, then we we moved the Friday
game to six o'clock.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So it's part of it.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
We're prepared for it. But you basically just beg your team,
hey man, as soon as this game is over, win or.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Lose, just get in bed.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And uh it's easy for a fifty four year old
guy like me to run home and get in bed.
Sometimes these guys think they can. They can, you know,
soar at the Eagles and uh and still hoot with
the owls, which you can't do that.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, both that not at all.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Yeah these guys. Yeah, but our guys will be ready
to go, and uh, same thing is true for Auburn.
They have to deal with the same stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Well, and I know that you're gonna keep your rotation
the same.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
You're gonna go with Spencer, You're gonna go with Harrison,
and I believe you're gonna go with riojaus this uh
in this rotation again.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Correct, Yeah, yeah, we'll keep those guys the same this week.
Then you know the beauty of these Thursday to Saturday series.
They kind of stink on the front end because you
don't get as much rest and leading up to them,
but it's nice to have, especially Easter Sunday. It's not
obviously I don't think anybody should be playing on Easter,
just my own personal opinion, but some people do. But
(08:24):
this is something that coach Thompson at Auburn and I
actually did it last year at a And m uh,
you know.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
The coaches have the right.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
If they agree to to move the series up on
Easter weekend, and we did that. Uh so hopefully we'll
have some success and we can everybody can kind of
get away for at least the day on Sunday, enjoy
Easter with family and celebrate Christ rising.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
No doubt, And I wanted to ask you this.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I wanted to give you to ask you this right here,
eat the Mendoza is somebody that's been dealing with some injuries.
Adrian Rodriguez as well as Max ball Loo. What is
the latest on those three guys that are very integral
to the success of this team.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, Max, I would say Max is the furthest from playing,
but he got his stitches out earlier this week and
he started rehab moving that thumb around and trying to
strengthen that. Uh so he's got to get full range
of movement first and then starts strength strength training or
in it, and you know, maybe he's back before the
(09:28):
season is over. The thing we have to keep into
account with these guys is, you know they have long
term careers and uh we would never want to as
much as we want to win. You know, somebody has
to be the adult in the room, even when the
player really wants to get back out there. Is you
got to find that point where it's safe for him
to play, where he doesn't either reinjur it for our
(09:50):
own team or reinjured it for himself that affects his career.
So Adrian has obviously been playing. He had some limitations,
but he's given us everything he can depend on how
he feels each day that it's just a it's not
just I mean, it's a deep bruise, really a demon
(10:10):
I guess you'd call it in his hand. In some
days it feels like it's almost all the way back.
In the other days, you know, maybe one swing kind
of bothers him. Mendoza, We'll see how he feels today.
He swung the bat and practice at the end of
practice yesterday in the cages felt pretty good. So there's
a shot that he could maybe be in the lineup
(10:30):
in some form this weekend. We'll just wait and see
how it feels when we get out there today.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
No doubt about it. Well, best of luck.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I will be on the call for ESPN Plus this week,
so I'll get a chance to be out there every
single day. Well, regardless, best of luck to you guys,
as I know that once again it's the SEC and
that means that you're going to have a tough match
up every single week.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
So best of luck, coach.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Thank you guys, have a great day.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Hope, no doubt there he is.
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