January 25, 2025 • 14 mins
Hayden Wesneski talks the latest with the Houston Astros from 2025 Astros Fan Fest at Daikin Park.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And joined out by who Stonian Hayden.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Uh, we just had Dana Brown here on with us,
and that's what he said.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Is one of the first.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Things he said to you upon the acquisition was welcome home.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It must have been a great feeling.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Oh man, it was so cool. Yeah, he calls me
and I can hear he's trying to make moves and.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
He seems like he's he's in a talking he's really
really talking, really really fast, And man, it was so
cool when I got the call and uh, you have
no idea how happy me and my family are to
be back called.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
But no, it was really cool to talk to him,
and uh, he just seemed like he had some other
things he was trying to make happen in the background.
So I was trying to have a quick conversation with him, like, Hey,
it's really nice to meet you. I understand, I'll meet
you in person and we'll go from their.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
Phones on the golf course are usually frowned upon, but
then you know it's one of those you see the
number comes across. I'm assuming you don't have it saved?
Uh did did the did the group you were with
did they kind of say, hey, we understand and in
what hole were you on when you got the news?
Speaker 4 (00:57):
So he if I remember correctly, Dana doesn't have a
Houston phone number.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
So I'm like, I'm assuming I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Answering every call I have right, right, and if it's somebody,
if it's a spam call to a spam call, will
play it.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
We'll get it away, right. But I was on whole two.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I was with my my fiance and my my fuck
uh my fiance's family, so.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
My my brother in law, father in law. My golf
game got better.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
I don't know what happened, how that happens, but I
was with the hair curlder brother and he's like, man,
I understand, I get it.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I'm calling.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I'm on like whole two, I've gotten two calls, are
ready before the whole ended, and by the turn, I'm
I've I've answered seven phone calls. Dana Brown calls me
at the at the turn until perfect timing. I was
skipping shots. I was like, I just pick my ball
up and keep going. You know, man, it was just
a lot going on. But my golf game did get
better on the back of the night. When I stopped
(01:50):
getting calls. It took it took a bad turn.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So hopefully if you guys had the Bluetooth speaker on
the card, that you weren't the one that was hooked
up to it, so then it would continue to skip playlist.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Oh no, no, yeah, to be honest with you, if
if it's my family, it's a little different, I'll take
the Bluetooth. But it wasn't my family or it not
my side of the family, so I was letting them
do their thing. But no, of course, yeah, once you
get the first phone calls again, I'm done. And I
also kind of had some hint there were some people
telling them, telling me that might happen, so I was like, okay,
I gotta keep my phone close and definitely can't connect
to the bluetooth.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
Following you a little bit on social media, it seems
like there's a lot of Texans content from you. So
is that kind of your release in the off season
of watch some football, you know, try to try to
pull them through. I'm sure last week was agonizing for you.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I thought we played a good game last week. I
was I you know the rest. You know that's not
a joke.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
But no, I love football, man, I love fantasy football.
I'm I'm a.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Big NFL guy.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
I don't know, a big college guy with Sam Houston
a cheer for them, but my fiance with a tech
cheer for them.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Right, But.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I'm in like six fantasy leagues. I love the dude.
I love NFL football. I love the Texans in particular, right,
I think there, I don't know. It's happy to have
a good team. It's nice to have a good football
Team's your four kind of thing?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Ross, I think we have a recruit for number seven. Oh,
let's go. We somebody might drop out of our league.
We'll let you know. I don't know if I can.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I don't know if I can go for seven.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
How many playoffs in the six leagues?
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Only only two in the Cubs League. In the Cubs League,
I loll. I came in seventh, So I missed the
playoffs by one.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
And then I'm in a couple like I don't know
if you'll know where dynasty leagues are? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, Oh, if you're serious, I've tanked you two leagues.
So that was that was the two of the leagues, right.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So I did happen to bring up, for a totally
different reason, the name Jack Peterson in our last second.
As that relates to fantasy football.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
What was it like?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Just you got the Cubs league? What's the Cubs league like?
What's your future Astros league likely gonna be? Like?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Oh man, I did not like my team this year,
so I made a lot of moves a lot really fast.
I drafted one guy that I kept, so I was shuffling.
I was really I was struggling the year before I
came in second. But the Cubs, the Cubs really liked
the fantasy so Justine Steele, huge fantasy guy. We had
(04:07):
two leagues, so he had the big boy league and
I was in the small boy league.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
So we did that. It was a good time.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
I'm excited I met I met Taylor Scott today.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
He's from South Africa. I don't know if he likes
fantasy football, so I'm trying. I don't know who how
big it's the league, so that might be going away.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Maybe we still have the commission come back.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
He left.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
That means you're lockdown on what might be happening this offseason.
How do you kind of go through an off season
now that you're here? What's bubbled up again in the
last several days. What's your thought on the idea of
you're already loving playing for the Astros, how competitive it
will be your hometown team, but you might be able
to continue playing with Alex Bregman over there third base man.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
He's everything you asked for, right, He's such a he's
he's a great representation of huge He's a winner, and
man Houston loves him. I would love to have him back,
to you kidding me especially, I know I have the
pulse of this place, and you see me at bregman
jerseys are around here.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Everybody loves them and.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
They want him to come back. We'll see what happens that.
There's just a lot of pieces that have to happen, right.
I don't know what they're gonna do, but I'm just
glad it's even to talk. Right at first, it was
like it's not happening, there's no way. Now we're getting
close to spring training and you never know.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You never know. So now you're here, you are an Astro.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
There's been a lot of talk with what the Astros
organization does with pictures.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
I don't know how much conversation you've had.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Necessarily with the pitching coaches or the staff of that way,
but from an outside of you with the cubs looking
at the astros and what they do with pictures and
now being here, what's it been like for you?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Man. We've had conversations already.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
I've been here, throw some bullpens up here, talk to
Bill and Josh and dude. They obviously they know what
they're doing, right, that's not a question. It was just like,
what is what do they know that the others teams
don't know? And so there's a few things that in
particular that pitch selections big, a big one.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
And then we're gonna work on some other things and tinkering,
and then we made a new pitch. I don't know
what's gonna happen. Yeah, I see, yeah, we'll see. We'll
see how it goes. I'm not gonna get too much hopes.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
If they they threw it out there and it's like
we'll see what we we we may bang that pit
for it happens, right. So now I've had conversations, good
conversations with them. The biggest thing was just there's like
small details against lefties that we're gonna try to fix
and hopefully the change up will come back and we'll
use it more often.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
But the biggest thing was like pitch selection and how
to attack.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Guys, pre existing relationships with guys here in Houston.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
We talked to Spencer a little bit ago.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I wondered if your time here growing up in Houston
pass ever across he's had Eventually were both DST guys
trained there and so he's gotten to know you a
little bit through watching you work there. But you know,
were there any pre existing relationships with the group you're
you're gonna be working with this year? And what have
you gotten to know about some of your new teammates.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
There's a few guys like I know, I met Forrest
Whitley before and years before, right, Uh hit or miss
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Nick Rnandez Is he's with my agency. I've known him
for a while. And there's a few other guys that
are in my agency that I've met but not really
talk to, like Javier a little bit like I've introduced
myself kind of thing, but nothing crazy. You have to
understand that, like just because they're from Houston they played
for the Astros doesn't mean and I'm from Houston doesn't
mean I meet them, right.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It's a weird. It's such a weird.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Thing because, like you know, most of these guys aren't
from Houston, and so it's a weird thing that, you know,
are you trying to.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Say January of last year, you weren't here at fan Pest.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
I was talking to my parents. They're they're obviously they're
not good parents. I never came to fan Pest when
I was like, man, no, but yeah, it's I'm excited
to meet a bunch of guys again. I've only met
a handful of people. That's gonna change very very shortly
by the end of free training. I hope to know
where everybody's from and get to know them pretty well. Right,
(07:54):
It's this the name of the game when it comes
to knowing your teammates.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
I hear that this is a really well expected clubhouse,
even outside of the clubhouse around baseball. When you go
through a course of one sixty two plus because I
throw the plus in there, because they've played more than
one hundred and sixty two in a season.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
How important is that? Like, Like how nice is that?
Speaker 5 (08:13):
And reassuring is that to know that you walk into
a group that it seems like it's a pretty loose
room in there.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Man, the Astros.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
It's expected over one hundred and sixty two at this point, right, so.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
You can just tell.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Right. So last year, for instance, they came to Chicago
and I pitched against them. They're struggling, and I'm thinking,
thank god they were struggling at the time, and think
you know, I was like, now I'll take I don't
want to face some of the rolling kind of thing.
So but yeah, you knew they were gonna turn it around.
You knew the Astra is gonna turn around at some point.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And it's not because of lack of talent or anything.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
You know that.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
It's like, oh, man, guys getting old. No, they're gonna
turn it around because they're good people. They know what
they have to do. They're not freaking out. Everyone on
the outside is gonna freak out, but you know that
today we have to win a game. And that's the
reason why they've consistently won here. I think it's not
because of I.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Mean, the talent's there, but that's talent everywhere.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And you wonder why certain teams win and other teams don't.
It's because of the clubhouse, And so that matters a lot.
In one hundred and sixty two. Like football, there's seventeen weeks.
You're at home all the time. You can kind of
move around, and you don't see your teammates. I'm with
that with them every day, so it's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
If I don't like you.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
And it wears on you, of course you're gonna get
an argue against your brothers, right, So it's gonna happen.
But you spend two hundred days together in a row,
and I see them more than I see my fiance
and my mom and dad.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
You're gonna get to know each other.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And it's a very important thing because if you're fighting
all the time, it's hard to win baseball games.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Not you knew where you were with you were obviously
you've been with the Yankees and you were with the Cubs.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You get traded here.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
You mentioned your fiance, and obviously that has to get
all put together. Have you figured out when after October
you're gonna be married? Since here in Houston, October is
not available.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
We picked December, so we got time. We got time.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yeah, No, she knows better hopefully somewhere warm.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
No, it's it's in Houston, so it's.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah, the fine.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Yeah, No, I've made your book off October. I've made
my family to book off October. It's not it's not
even with the Cubs. It's like we're one of the
posts and we didn't make it.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But you got it. You're still got to believe me
it's happened.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Goal Setting can be something a lot of guys do
talk about. Maybe keep it internal. You come in here.
Is there something that you're very focused on becoming you
is I'm going to be a starting pitcher. I'm going
to be in the rotation, breaking in. I'm just going
to show them what I have. Are there any things
you're focused on as spring training arrives.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
I would like to be a starter right there. That's
gonna be a goal I have. But that's not the
goal right there. One thing stay healthy for the whole year.
I know that sounds it's a sleepy and it's important, Yeah,
but it's very important. Right make the opening day roster.
That's something that I've only done once. Right and uh
and and make to the playoff dud. I've been a
pitching on the playoff game. I've always wanted to toyloff
(10:53):
games that come into the sixth, seventh whatever, But no,
I would like to start. That's not the goal because
I've had that goal before and it didn't work out,
and get upset. But there's there's things that I want
to accomplish, but a lot of it's just things that
I can control, right, staying healthy, working hard, and trying
to make the open a roster show my best, my best,
put my best befoward.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
You mentioned of being a Sam Houston alum and the
guy that's gonna be calling your games on our airwaves
Steve Sparks Sparky, He's a Sam Houston alumb How much
is that brought up to you? Have you talked with
him yet? Gotten to know him a little bit?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I have.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I've talked to him.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
I want like a little podcast podcast or sub radio something.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, that's right, awesome conversation. He I met Sparky at
Sam Houston. So I was part of this.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I don't know we're doing. Get ready for the dad jokes?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
No, but so he gets we love we love No, no.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
No, I know, not right, but the treasure.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I'm on the board for some Sam Houston thing for
baseball and and basically I have to go to this
Hall of Fame speech and I figure out that he's
getting inducted in the same Houston Hall of and he
tells a story about how he goes to this tryout
to be a shortstop and he runs the sixty and
y'all know the seven is not good? Well start with
the seven. He turns around, he goes, why do the
(12:12):
pictures have to run a sixty today? He turned into
a knuckleball where it was at sam U Sustain So
but he dude, I think he made that story up.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
But it doesn't matter. I know how I got the
point of Steve Sparks.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
That I'll tell you when I got this quick story.
I was a producer who were getting him on and
I called him. I said, all right, mister Sparks, and
we're ready to go. He goes, yeah, what are you wearing?
Speaker 1 (12:34):
That was okay, this guy's different.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
We've talked so much football with you here in Big Texans.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Guy, dde, do you have a thought.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
About them letting their offensive coordinator go and what they
can do moving forward and how close.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
They might be. I don't know what they're gonna do.
It is Bobby's really good. He was.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
He was really good. I don't I get the frustration.
It happens I don't know some of my buddies to day.
Chick Kelly was early and off he's we're working out
and he's they're just saying they're screaming at chick Kelly yesterday.
I don't know, I really, I really haven't. I've thought
about it. Bobby was really good. I hope he get like,
does something right. I was really up. I'm really happy
(13:12):
with him. I think he calls good games whatever. But
I don't know if they're gonna do I I believe
him to Mekoh. He's a really good culture builder and
he's a smart guy, and we'll let.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Him do his thing. Him and Nick.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Sunday Night football Monday Night football for the Texans this
year at home is.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
A pretty high likelihood.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
The Astros are in town those weekends.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
A Saturday day game and off day on Monday, you'll
be at the NRG Stadium.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
On a Sunday night.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I hadn't even thought about that that actually might be happening.
I didn't even think, yeah, that that that could be happening,
and I'd love that. Actually that's early in the year, though,
that has to be the first two or three weeks.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
I was really upset because we played the Texans, played
the Bears and they played Sunday and after week Yeah,
I missed it. We were playing still. I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
I wanted to get the guys like a bunch of
traders want to come down, and I wanted to stay
at my house and have a good time.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But it did work out.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
All right, Hayden, thanks for the time, man, appreciate it.
We gotta got a root for our Houston guy here,
I hope. So the Astros good luck this season and
we'll talk to you West.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Paulm definitely awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I appreciate Hayen.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
Was Nasky here on Sports Talk seven ninety the Astros
fan Fest Spectacular.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
We're gonna take a quick
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Break, Adams, matt Dan, Matthews, Rossby real back in this
say
And joined out by who Stonian Hayden.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Uh, we just had Dana Brown here on with us,
and that's what he said.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Is one of the first.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Things he said to you upon the acquisition was welcome home.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
It must have been a great feeling.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Oh man, it was so cool. Yeah, he calls me
and I can hear he's trying to make moves and.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
He seems like he's he's in a talking he's really
really talking, really really fast, And man, it was so
cool when I got the call and uh, you have
no idea how happy me and my family are to
be back called.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
But no, it was really cool to talk to him,
and uh, he just seemed like he had some other
things he was trying to make happen in the background.
So I was trying to have a quick conversation with him, like, Hey,
it's really nice to meet you. I understand, I'll meet
you in person and we'll go from their.
Speaker 5 (00:43):
Phones on the golf course are usually frowned upon, but
then you know it's one of those you see the
number comes across. I'm assuming you don't have it saved?
Uh did did the did the group you were with
did they kind of say, hey, we understand and in
what hole were you on when you got the news?
Speaker 4 (00:57):
So he if I remember correctly, Dana doesn't have a
Houston phone number.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
So I'm like, I'm assuming I'm.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Answering every call I have right, right, and if it's somebody,
if it's a spam call to a spam call, will
play it.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
We'll get it away, right. But I was on whole two.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I was with my my fiance and my my fuck
uh my fiance's family, so.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
My my brother in law, father in law. My golf
game got better.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
I don't know what happened, how that happens, but I
was with the hair curlder brother and he's like, man,
I understand, I get it.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I'm calling.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I'm on like whole two, I've gotten two calls, are
ready before the whole ended, and by the turn, I'm
I've I've answered seven phone calls. Dana Brown calls me
at the at the turn until perfect timing. I was
skipping shots. I was like, I just pick my ball
up and keep going. You know, man, it was just
a lot going on. But my golf game did get
better on the back of the night. When I stopped
(01:50):
getting calls. It took it took a bad turn.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So hopefully if you guys had the Bluetooth speaker on
the card, that you weren't the one that was hooked
up to it, so then it would continue to skip playlist.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Oh no, no, yeah, to be honest with you, if
if it's my family, it's a little different, I'll take
the Bluetooth. But it wasn't my family or it not
my side of the family, so I was letting them
do their thing. But no, of course, yeah, once you
get the first phone calls again, I'm done. And I
also kind of had some hint there were some people
telling them, telling me that might happen, so I was like, okay,
I gotta keep my phone close and definitely can't connect
to the bluetooth.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
Following you a little bit on social media, it seems
like there's a lot of Texans content from you. So
is that kind of your release in the off season
of watch some football, you know, try to try to
pull them through. I'm sure last week was agonizing for you.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I thought we played a good game last week. I
was I you know the rest. You know that's not
a joke.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
But no, I love football, man, I love fantasy football.
I'm I'm a.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Big NFL guy.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
I don't know, a big college guy with Sam Houston
a cheer for them, but my fiance with a tech
cheer for them.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Right, But.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
I'm in like six fantasy leagues. I love the dude.
I love NFL football. I love the Texans in particular, right,
I think there, I don't know. It's happy to have
a good team. It's nice to have a good football
Team's your four kind of thing?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Ross, I think we have a recruit for number seven. Oh,
let's go. We somebody might drop out of our league.
We'll let you know. I don't know if I can.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I don't know if I can go for seven.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
How many playoffs in the six leagues?
Speaker 6 (03:15):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Only only two in the Cubs League. In the Cubs League,
I loll. I came in seventh, So I missed the
playoffs by one.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
And then I'm in a couple like I don't know
if you'll know where dynasty leagues are? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, Oh, if you're serious, I've tanked you two leagues.
So that was that was the two of the leagues, right.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So I did happen to bring up, for a totally
different reason, the name Jack Peterson in our last second.
As that relates to fantasy football.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
What was it like?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Just you got the Cubs league? What's the Cubs league like?
What's your future Astros league likely gonna be? Like?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Oh man, I did not like my team this year,
so I made a lot of moves a lot really fast.
I drafted one guy that I kept, so I was shuffling.
I was really I was struggling the year before I
came in second. But the Cubs, the Cubs really liked
the fantasy so Justine Steele, huge fantasy guy. We had
(04:07):
two leagues, so he had the big boy league and
I was in the small boy league.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
So we did that. It was a good time.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
I'm excited I met I met Taylor Scott today.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
He's from South Africa. I don't know if he likes
fantasy football, so I'm trying. I don't know who how
big it's the league, so that might be going away.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Maybe we still have the commission come back.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
He left.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
That means you're lockdown on what might be happening this offseason.
How do you kind of go through an off season
now that you're here? What's bubbled up again in the
last several days. What's your thought on the idea of
you're already loving playing for the Astros, how competitive it
will be your hometown team, but you might be able
to continue playing with Alex Bregman over there third base man.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
He's everything you asked for, right, He's such a he's
he's a great representation of huge He's a winner, and
man Houston loves him. I would love to have him back,
to you kidding me especially, I know I have the
pulse of this place, and you see me at bregman
jerseys are around here.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Everybody loves them and.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
They want him to come back. We'll see what happens that.
There's just a lot of pieces that have to happen, right.
I don't know what they're gonna do, but I'm just
glad it's even to talk. Right at first, it was
like it's not happening, there's no way. Now we're getting
close to spring training and you never know.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You never know. So now you're here, you are an Astro.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
There's been a lot of talk with what the Astros
organization does with pictures.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
I don't know how much conversation you've had.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
Necessarily with the pitching coaches or the staff of that way,
but from an outside of you with the cubs looking
at the astros and what they do with pictures and
now being here, what's it been like for you?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Man. We've had conversations already.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
I've been here, throw some bullpens up here, talk to
Bill and Josh and dude. They obviously they know what
they're doing, right, that's not a question. It was just like,
what is what do they know that the others teams
don't know? And so there's a few things that in
particular that pitch selections big, a big one.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
And then we're gonna work on some other things and tinkering,
and then we made a new pitch. I don't know
what's gonna happen. Yeah, I see, yeah, we'll see. We'll
see how it goes. I'm not gonna get too much hopes.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
If they they threw it out there and it's like
we'll see what we we we may bang that pit
for it happens, right. So now I've had conversations, good
conversations with them. The biggest thing was just there's like
small details against lefties that we're gonna try to fix
and hopefully the change up will come back and we'll
use it more often.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
But the biggest thing was like pitch selection and how
to attack.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Guys, pre existing relationships with guys here in Houston.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
We talked to Spencer a little bit ago.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I wondered if your time here growing up in Houston
pass ever across he's had Eventually were both DST guys
trained there and so he's gotten to know you a
little bit through watching you work there. But you know,
were there any pre existing relationships with the group you're
you're gonna be working with this year? And what have
you gotten to know about some of your new teammates.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
There's a few guys like I know, I met Forrest
Whitley before and years before, right, Uh hit or miss
kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Nick Rnandez Is he's with my agency. I've known him
for a while. And there's a few other guys that
are in my agency that I've met but not really
talk to, like Javier a little bit like I've introduced
myself kind of thing, but nothing crazy. You have to
understand that, like just because they're from Houston they played
for the Astros doesn't mean and I'm from Houston doesn't
mean I meet them, right.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It's a weird. It's such a weird.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Thing because, like you know, most of these guys aren't
from Houston, and so it's a weird thing that, you know,
are you trying to.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Say January of last year, you weren't here at fan Pest.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
I was talking to my parents. They're they're obviously they're
not good parents. I never came to fan Pest when
I was like, man, no, but yeah, it's I'm excited
to meet a bunch of guys again. I've only met
a handful of people. That's gonna change very very shortly
by the end of free training. I hope to know
where everybody's from and get to know them pretty well. Right,
(07:54):
It's this the name of the game when it comes
to knowing your teammates.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
I hear that this is a really well expected clubhouse,
even outside of the clubhouse around baseball. When you go
through a course of one sixty two plus because I
throw the plus in there, because they've played more than
one hundred and sixty two in a season.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
How important is that? Like, Like how nice is that?
Speaker 5 (08:13):
And reassuring is that to know that you walk into
a group that it seems like it's a pretty loose
room in there.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Man, the Astros.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
It's expected over one hundred and sixty two at this point, right, so.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
You can just tell.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Right. So last year, for instance, they came to Chicago
and I pitched against them. They're struggling, and I'm thinking,
thank god they were struggling at the time, and think
you know, I was like, now I'll take I don't
want to face some of the rolling kind of thing.
So but yeah, you knew they were gonna turn it around.
You knew the Astra is gonna turn around at some point.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And it's not because of lack of talent or anything.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
You know that.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
It's like, oh, man, guys getting old. No, they're gonna
turn it around because they're good people. They know what
they have to do. They're not freaking out. Everyone on
the outside is gonna freak out, but you know that
today we have to win a game. And that's the
reason why they've consistently won here. I think it's not
because of I.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Mean, the talent's there, but that's talent everywhere.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And you wonder why certain teams win and other teams don't.
It's because of the clubhouse, And so that matters a lot.
In one hundred and sixty two. Like football, there's seventeen weeks.
You're at home all the time. You can kind of
move around, and you don't see your teammates. I'm with
that with them every day, so it's a big deal.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
If I don't like you.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
And it wears on you, of course you're gonna get
an argue against your brothers, right, So it's gonna happen.
But you spend two hundred days together in a row,
and I see them more than I see my fiance
and my mom and dad.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
You're gonna get to know each other.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And it's a very important thing because if you're fighting
all the time, it's hard to win baseball games.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Not you knew where you were with you were obviously
you've been with the Yankees and you were with the Cubs.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
You get traded here.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
You mentioned your fiance, and obviously that has to get
all put together. Have you figured out when after October
you're gonna be married? Since here in Houston, October is
not available.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
We picked December, so we got time. We got time.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yeah, No, she knows better hopefully somewhere warm.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
No, it's it's in Houston, so it's.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah, the fine.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Yeah, No, I've made your book off October. I've made
my family to book off October. It's not it's not
even with the Cubs. It's like we're one of the
posts and we didn't make it.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But you got it. You're still got to believe me
it's happened.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Goal Setting can be something a lot of guys do
talk about. Maybe keep it internal. You come in here.
Is there something that you're very focused on becoming you
is I'm going to be a starting pitcher. I'm going
to be in the rotation, breaking in. I'm just going
to show them what I have. Are there any things
you're focused on as spring training arrives.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
I would like to be a starter right there. That's
gonna be a goal I have. But that's not the
goal right there. One thing stay healthy for the whole year.
I know that sounds it's a sleepy and it's important, Yeah,
but it's very important. Right make the opening day roster.
That's something that I've only done once. Right and uh
and and make to the playoff dud. I've been a
pitching on the playoff game. I've always wanted to toyloff
(10:53):
games that come into the sixth, seventh whatever, But no,
I would like to start. That's not the goal because
I've had that goal before and it didn't work out,
and get upset. But there's there's things that I want
to accomplish, but a lot of it's just things that
I can control, right, staying healthy, working hard, and trying
to make the open a roster show my best, my best,
put my best befoward.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
You mentioned of being a Sam Houston alum and the
guy that's gonna be calling your games on our airwaves
Steve Sparks Sparky, He's a Sam Houston alumb How much
is that brought up to you? Have you talked with
him yet? Gotten to know him a little bit?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I have.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
I've talked to him.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
I want like a little podcast podcast or sub radio something.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, that's right, awesome conversation. He I met Sparky at
Sam Houston. So I was part of this.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I don't know we're doing. Get ready for the dad jokes?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
No, but so he gets we love we love No, no.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
No, I know, not right, but the treasure.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
I'm on the board for some Sam Houston thing for
baseball and and basically I have to go to this
Hall of Fame speech and I figure out that he's
getting inducted in the same Houston Hall of and he
tells a story about how he goes to this tryout
to be a shortstop and he runs the sixty and
y'all know the seven is not good? Well start with
the seven. He turns around, he goes, why do the
(12:12):
pictures have to run a sixty today? He turned into
a knuckleball where it was at sam U Sustain So
but he dude, I think he made that story up.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
But it doesn't matter. I know how I got the
point of Steve Sparks.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
That I'll tell you when I got this quick story.
I was a producer who were getting him on and
I called him. I said, all right, mister Sparks, and
we're ready to go. He goes, yeah, what are you wearing?
Speaker 1 (12:34):
That was okay, this guy's different.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
We've talked so much football with you here in Big Texans.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Guy, dde, do you have a thought.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
About them letting their offensive coordinator go and what they
can do moving forward and how close.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
They might be. I don't know what they're gonna do.
It is Bobby's really good. He was.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
He was really good. I don't I get the frustration.
It happens I don't know some of my buddies to day.
Chick Kelly was early and off he's we're working out
and he's they're just saying they're screaming at chick Kelly yesterday.
I don't know, I really, I really haven't. I've thought
about it. Bobby was really good. I hope he get like,
does something right. I was really up. I'm really happy
(13:12):
with him. I think he calls good games whatever. But
I don't know if they're gonna do I I believe
him to Mekoh. He's a really good culture builder and
he's a smart guy, and we'll let.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Him do his thing. Him and Nick.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Sunday Night football Monday Night football for the Texans this
year at home is.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
A pretty high likelihood.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
The Astros are in town those weekends.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
A Saturday day game and off day on Monday, you'll
be at the NRG Stadium.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
On a Sunday night.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I hadn't even thought about that that actually might be happening.
I didn't even think, yeah, that that that could be happening,
and I'd love that. Actually that's early in the year, though,
that has to be the first two or three weeks.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
I was really upset because we played the Texans, played
the Bears and they played Sunday and after week Yeah,
I missed it. We were playing still. I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
I wanted to get the guys like a bunch of
traders want to come down, and I wanted to stay
at my house and have a good time.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But it did work out.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
All right, Hayden, thanks for the time, man, appreciate it.
We gotta got a root for our Houston guy here,
I hope. So the Astros good luck this season and
we'll talk to you West.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Paulm definitely awesome.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I appreciate Hayen.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
Was Nasky here on Sports Talk seven ninety the Astros
fan Fest Spectacular.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
We're gonna take a quick
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Break, Adams, matt Dan, Matthews, Rossby real back in this
say
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