September 23, 2024 • 16 mins
Taking three out of the four games against the Angels, the Astros become just one game shy from clinching the AL West division. Kicking off another series against the Mariners, Steve Sparks shares thoughts on how far the Astros have come and what to look for come the postseason, in just ten days.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're about the Shawn Salisbury Show continued, Steve, welcome in
Astros with a chance tonight to clinch the AL West title.
And I want you to think real quick, they were
ten and twenty four one time, ten games out of
the AL West. We know the adjustments that have been made,
and we know the type of team and culture and
(00:23):
clubhouse that this organization has. But honestly, did you think
that the Astros with that start would be in a
position tonight to clinch the AO West?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
If I'm being honest, I'd probably say no. I remember
thinking back then is this the end of it?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And just thinking, man, I don't know if they can
climb out of this. And don't forget, man, they've chased
so many wins all year long with leverage pitchers in
tie games down by one or two that even if
they were able to climb out of it a little bit,
I didn't know if they have enough to get to
the end. So what they've been able to do is
been pretty remarkable.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Pitching wise, man, it's amazing to see the turnaround with
Hunter Brown and Spencer arroganting those guys to get to
where they are right now. But to be honest when
they were twelve and twenty four, Brian, I don't think
they I didn't think they were gonna make it.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I think a lot of people thought, just like you.
I know me personally, Steve. I thought to myself, Man,
is this golden age? Is this window closing that quick?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Is?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Is Joe a spot his rookie season as a manager
going to go out the window like that? But we've
seen the pitching turnaround, Like you said, Hunter Brown has
been phenomenal. But I want to talk about you, say Kakuchi,
because there has been There was so much made about
the trade, Joey Loperfido, Will Wagner, Jake bloss All, leaving
a lot of a lot of a lot of really
(01:47):
good prospects given up for you, say Kakuchi, Oh, Rental
and Steve. He has just been so damn good. So Mike,
not just the question about him here, but what were
the Blue Jays thinking by not throwing his change up?
They throw it like at a twelve percent clip when
he was there? I just don't understand it from a
pitching perspective, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
What, they felt that the curve ball was better than
the slider too, and don't forget. He's tweaked it a
little bit that, you know, with the urgence of the
Astros to be able to get a little bit more
depth to it. But they tweaked it in the sense
that they felt like his slider could be a much
better pitch.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
In a different location.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
So what the Astros are able to do, I mean,
I would imagine everybody has what they have at their
disposal as far as being able to see what works
the best, but the Astros are able to implement these
things better than anybody else.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
And I guess, Brian, it's.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Because of the track record they had that everybody's going
to buy in, because you know Garrett Cole and Charlie
Morton and all these guys who have come to the
Astros and gotten it better, even at an advanced age.
So you come here and you do that, and you
see what you've gotten a perfect nine to zero record
after that. And don't forget, I mean they were behind
the eight all as far as trying to get that
(03:02):
trade done done because there were so many teams buying
for pitchers, and the Astros singled him out. He was
a swinging mis pitcher that they felt that they could
get better. And they overpaid for sure, but they had
to to get it, and it's worked out well, and
they would do it one hundred times over now looking
at what they've gotten.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, and especially with the way that they've played what
it was nine and oh when he starts, I think
it's nine and oh now.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I mean it's just it's unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And and you know, who's to say that they won't
make a running him this offseason to try to bring
him back into the rotation.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Absolutely true. Man, he loves it here.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I talked to his interpreter and everybody else, Like he says, Man,
this this organization is first class. I love everything about it.
You know, as soon as we got here, we'd heard
they said.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We'd heard that.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
You know, this is a little bit different over here,
but now we see it and it's a desirable place
to play.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
You love love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Astros broadcaster Steve Sparks are joining us here on the
Sewn Salisbury Show, as he does every single Monday during
baseball season at eight thirty. All right, here's the hot topic, Steve,
and I know everyone's talked about it over the weekend.
Justin Verlander, another subpar outing. You know, he spoke to
the media after the game. He talked about maybe rushing
(04:17):
back from the injury. He was out for two months.
He wanted to help down the stretch. Where do you
see this going with him? As far as the rotation
in the playoffs is concern because he still has one
more start in the regular season scheduled. But honestly, what
are we thinking here for the you know what, just
for the wildcard series?
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Well, for the wildcard series, I think that they'll probably
just use twelve pitchers. They'll only put twelve on the roster,
keep an extra position guy if you need a pitch
runner or to pinch hit a little extra, you know,
in certain games. So the extra position player in a
potential three game series is more advantageous, I think. So
that's where so there's less of a spot for anybody,
(05:04):
you know, considering what they're gonna do on how many
starters and how many relievers they might need. And it's
a tough decision. It's a very tough decision. And Merlander
knows that he probably came back to early.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
And he's still trying to figure a couple of things out.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
You see little glimpses of what you're thinking, all right, man,
the first couple of innings the other day, with the
elevated fastball.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
We're starting to see some swinging nets.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I just don't know if the time is gonna run out,
and it's a tough decision.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'm not gonna make it.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Joe's spot is gonna make it, and that of respect
for Joe, in respect for Justin Verlander, who's been one
of the best.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Pitchers the Astros have ever had.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I know it's gonna be tough on everybody involved, whether
they keep him on the roster or not. So we'll see,
you know. I hope he pitches great that last game
and makes the decision even harder.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You know, one thing that comes to mind Steve is
hearing him talk to the media and say that he
maybe rushed back too soon from the injury. So I
look back to the history of him here with the Astros,
when he had Tommy John and he was rehabbing. He
did his own thing, which is fine, did his own
thing was in Florida rehabbing, wasn't really around the organization,
(06:13):
wasn't really around his teammates at a time, which look,
he's one of the consummate pros in this game, and
he did not rush back from a Tommy John surgery.
Now again Tommy John completely different from what he just
went through. But why rush because in the same sentence
he said, look these guys when I was gone, they
pitched their ass off.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
So justin Verlander, why would he rush.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Back because of the calendar, because of where they were
in the schedule. He knew he needed a ramp up
to get ready for postseason, and he needed five or
six starts to get to that point. So I think
it was strictly calendar on when he tried to get
back and realize, all right, this is almost like spring training.
I'm gonna have to escalate pretty quickly, And he probably
(06:55):
just calculated any five or six starts to be where
I want to be to get to the postseason. And
you know, in hindsight, he's realized that he probably did
come back too quickly because he doesn't probably feel the
same life in his arm, the same extension, all those
things that you need to be justin Verlander.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Do you, let's just say, just hypothetically speaking here, let's
say the Astros win the Wildcard series, but they have
to go three games. Would could you see Justin Verlander
starting game one of an Alds on the road.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
He's certain, he's certainly a candidate. We'll see what he
does the next day. He's got one more game. I
saw some glimpses in that last game where you're starting
to see swing and mess, and we saw the previous
game where he was having a hard time putting guys away.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So we'll just have to wait and see.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Do I think somebody has or other guys have a
leg up on him right now? Yes, but I'm not
willing to say he's not going to be on a
postseason roster as the Astros go for it. He's Justin Verlander,
so we'll see. You know, they've got a lot of
good candidates. I think that's the best thing about this
whole thing is there's a whole lot of options for
(08:04):
the Astros, And when you're talking about Justin Verlander left
off of postseason roster, it's because you have the good
fortune of five guys that are pitching fantastically, who are
all good candidates to pitch a start and a game,
start a game in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Astros broadcaster Steve Sparks joining us here on the Sean
Salisbury Show. He joins us every single Monday at eight
thirty in the morning. Our last thing on Justin Verlander.
You know you said you saw glimpses in the swing
and miss stuff. You know just as well as I do.
When it comes to postseason baseball, it's about momentum in games.
There are so many big plays, so many you know,
(08:41):
momentum shifts, and there are times where a pitcher has
got to have that stuff that's gonna get him a
big time strikeout when things aren't going well to shut
down that momentum, whether it be you know, you got
a guy at second base with one out, next next thing,
you know, you've got to have a big strikeout. And
now now you're forcing the hitter have a two strike
(09:01):
or i'm sorry, a two out hit to score that run.
I just for me, and this is where I'm getting
your expertise. I just haven't seen the strikeout stuff from
Justin Verlander here lately.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
I agree with that, So that's where we are right now.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
I agree that we're not seeing the strikeout capability that he,
you know, typically possesses. So that's where we are right now.
There's one more start for him to see if he,
you know, he came back too quickly. We don't know
exactly where he might be in a week or ten
days when he could possibly start. I think it's pretty
(09:35):
clear that the Astros will probably go fromber Hunter, Brown
and Kakouchi to start the first three games of a
wildcard series if it goes three. Other than that, I
think it's a little bit up in the air. You're
looking at a couple of guys in Blanco and Arraghetty
who've pitched way more innings than they ever have.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Let's just let it play out just a little bit longer.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I think first things first, I mean, you win a
game is quickly a possible in this series against Seattle,
and you get everybody more rested so they all have
more swing and miss, because.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Right now a lot of guys are on fumes, including
the position players.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But you said it, I mean swing and miss is
critical in the playoffs, and the Astros have a lot
of guys who can get swing and miss. They lead
the American League in swing and miss. But they got
to get well rested to be able to have that
lively stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
A couple more minutes with Astros broadcaster Steve sparks every
Monday eight thirty right here on the Shawn Salisbury Show.
Jordon Alvarez and his knee. It's you know, I saw
an article this morning that said, quote unquote, not good.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Have you heard anything early this morning? Obviously we have
not here.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You know, you're you're you know you you are more
in tune than we are a little bit. What are
you hearing, if anything, or what's your concern level with
jord On Alvarez and this knee injury.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I'm hearing that they dodge the bullet, and well they'll
know a lot more when he to the ballpark today
to see how sor it is. But I'm hearing that
they dodged a bullet and it's a better case scenario
than we probably feared at the begetting cool man.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
You got to have that big man. You got to
have that big man in the lineup come postseason. I mean,
he is so good in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
They need him in this series.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, I've heard that they dodged a bullet.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
Okay, So it's good news. Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And then also on the injury front, Chas McCormick, obviously
we're hoping he can come back and make you know,
some sort of impact with with his role and then
Ben more more so on Ben Gamble gonna be done
for the year when they picked him up off the
waiver wire. He came in and filled in that spot
for Kyle Tucker and and hit extremely well. Can you
(11:46):
just talk to me a little bit of a little
bit about the loss of him and what it uh.
You know, with the depth aspect with Ben Gamble, you know,
when you get.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
A veteran you know to come in and we're seeing
it now with Jason Hayward. They just give professionalism and
good at bats. Gamble work accounts. They knew what they
were looking for. They had a great approach at the plate,
played solid defense for good teammates. I mean, they fit
in immediately. Hayward's the same way. He's like he had
(12:15):
fit in immediately. He's like taking a couple of guys
under their wings. He's out by the batting cage right now,
even when he's not hitting outside that particular day, and.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
He's helping guys.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
It's unbelievable how these guys get into the groove of
these of these teams in a situation like this. So
I just feel like they've done a good job of
bringing the right type of people into this situation where
these guys can even help them get to another level.
They miss guys like Michael Brantley, you know, and a
(12:48):
few other guys the last few years that have gone
on to play other places. But the guys they bring
in are the right one so gamble Jason Hayward. A
couple of these guys are making impacts, even if you
don't see it on the statue.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
All right, last thing with Astro's broadcaster Steve Sparks, Josh
Hader gave it up last night. Are you excuse me?
Yesterday afternoon? What do you see from him? Where he
gets himself into trouble? Is it fastball command? Is it
leaving it up in the zone? Where does he struggle?
In your mind?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
I think he's got one pitch in my mind that
that's a little scary. It can be devastating at times,
but he throws the back door slider to right handed hitters.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Which is easy to yank every once in a.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
While and get into the happy zone of the guys,
you know, kind of a pull power type pitch, two
seam fastball on the top rail gets a little loose
sometimes don't forget he's thrown I think seven games this
year where he's gone more than one inning.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
He's pitched a ton.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Another reason why I feel like the Astros need to
clench this thing pretty quickly so they can rest some
of these guys and not pitch. You know, if it
gets to the third game of this series and this
Astro the Astros haven't won yet, you know, you're biting
your nails. Haters probably coming in the eighth day.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It's just weird. Stuff might happen.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
They don't panic very often, but you get what I'm saying, Man,
they need to win early in this series to wrest
some of these guys. Haters pitched a ton, A brave
who's pitched a ton. There's been a lot of guys
that needed a little bit of a break here.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
As we get just ten days away for the postseason.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
I cannot believe it's already ten days away.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Man.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah, it's great, but man, what those players won't tell
you the same thing. I mean, it's been a long hault,
especially when you start off as slowly as they did.
To be able to get to where they are, man,
that's a it's a big credit to the coaching staff
and the cultures that say, except for this team.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Not to panic.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
When guys like me and you were probably panicking a
little bit thinking that this run might be.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Over, I was all hand up. I one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
YEA was.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
There's no doubt about it, all right, Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
You know, Ao West, if they clinch it tonight, is
there a chance that you might be knocking down a
couple of beverages in that clubhouse?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
There is little chance that. Uh, there's a little chance.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That I won't be down there, so you will be
down there.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But what comes to follow you're just gonna have to
listen to it right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Is that fair?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
That's fair? Absolutely fair. Yeah. I don't know what I'm
doing when I go down there, Let's put it that way.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
That's that's me in life. Brother, Like every day I
don't know what I'm doing. I'm just here too.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yeah, let's just be let's just be unprofessional together.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah we yeah, exactly, That's that's how we that's why
we live our life.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You know, we always appreciate you here on on the
Shawn Salisbury Show. Thank you for your time this morning.
And and I can't wait to listen to you celebrate
that AO West title tonight because they're gonna win it tonight,
so let's go ahead and get that thing done.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
That's good, Brian, take everybody, thank you.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
That is an astro broadcaster, Steve Sparks joining us. We'll
take a break, we'll discuss it next on sport Stock
seven ninety
We're about the Shawn Salisbury Show continued, Steve, welcome in
Astros with a chance tonight to clinch the AL West title.
And I want you to think real quick, they were
ten and twenty four one time, ten games out of
the AL West. We know the adjustments that have been made,
and we know the type of team and culture and
(00:23):
clubhouse that this organization has. But honestly, did you think
that the Astros with that start would be in a
position tonight to clinch the AO West?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
If I'm being honest, I'd probably say no. I remember
thinking back then is this the end of it?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And just thinking, man, I don't know if they can
climb out of this. And don't forget, man, they've chased
so many wins all year long with leverage pitchers in
tie games down by one or two that even if
they were able to climb out of it a little bit,
I didn't know if they have enough to get to
the end. So what they've been able to do is
been pretty remarkable.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Pitching wise, man, it's amazing to see the turnaround with
Hunter Brown and Spencer arroganting those guys to get to
where they are right now. But to be honest when
they were twelve and twenty four, Brian, I don't think
they I didn't think they were gonna make it.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I think a lot of people thought, just like you.
I know me personally, Steve. I thought to myself, Man,
is this golden age? Is this window closing that quick?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Is?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Is Joe a spot his rookie season as a manager
going to go out the window like that? But we've
seen the pitching turnaround, Like you said, Hunter Brown has
been phenomenal. But I want to talk about you, say Kakuchi,
because there has been There was so much made about
the trade, Joey Loperfido, Will Wagner, Jake bloss All, leaving
a lot of a lot of a lot of really
(01:47):
good prospects given up for you, say Kakuchi, Oh, Rental
and Steve. He has just been so damn good. So Mike,
not just the question about him here, but what were
the Blue Jays thinking by not throwing his change up?
They throw it like at a twelve percent clip when
he was there? I just don't understand it from a
pitching perspective, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
What, they felt that the curve ball was better than
the slider too, and don't forget. He's tweaked it a
little bit that, you know, with the urgence of the
Astros to be able to get a little bit more
depth to it. But they tweaked it in the sense
that they felt like his slider could be a much
better pitch.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
In a different location.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
So what the Astros are able to do, I mean,
I would imagine everybody has what they have at their
disposal as far as being able to see what works
the best, but the Astros are able to implement these
things better than anybody else.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
And I guess, Brian, it's.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Because of the track record they had that everybody's going
to buy in, because you know Garrett Cole and Charlie
Morton and all these guys who have come to the
Astros and gotten it better, even at an advanced age.
So you come here and you do that, and you
see what you've gotten a perfect nine to zero record
after that. And don't forget, I mean they were behind
the eight all as far as trying to get that
(03:02):
trade done done because there were so many teams buying
for pitchers, and the Astros singled him out. He was
a swinging mis pitcher that they felt that they could
get better. And they overpaid for sure, but they had
to to get it, and it's worked out well, and
they would do it one hundred times over now looking
at what they've gotten.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, and especially with the way that they've played what
it was nine and oh when he starts, I think
it's nine and oh now.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I mean it's just it's unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
And and you know, who's to say that they won't
make a running him this offseason to try to bring
him back into the rotation.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Absolutely true. Man, he loves it here.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I talked to his interpreter and everybody else, Like he says, Man,
this this organization is first class. I love everything about it.
You know, as soon as we got here, we'd heard
they said.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
We'd heard that.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
You know, this is a little bit different over here,
but now we see it and it's a desirable place
to play.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
You love love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Astros broadcaster Steve Sparks are joining us here on the
Sewn Salisbury Show, as he does every single Monday during
baseball season at eight thirty. All right, here's the hot topic, Steve,
and I know everyone's talked about it over the weekend.
Justin Verlander, another subpar outing. You know, he spoke to
the media after the game. He talked about maybe rushing
(04:17):
back from the injury. He was out for two months.
He wanted to help down the stretch. Where do you
see this going with him? As far as the rotation
in the playoffs is concern because he still has one
more start in the regular season scheduled. But honestly, what
are we thinking here for the you know what, just
for the wildcard series?
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Well, for the wildcard series, I think that they'll probably
just use twelve pitchers. They'll only put twelve on the roster,
keep an extra position guy if you need a pitch
runner or to pinch hit a little extra, you know,
in certain games. So the extra position player in a
potential three game series is more advantageous, I think. So
that's where so there's less of a spot for anybody,
(05:04):
you know, considering what they're gonna do on how many
starters and how many relievers they might need. And it's
a tough decision. It's a very tough decision. And Merlander
knows that he probably came back to early.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
And he's still trying to figure a couple of things out.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
You see little glimpses of what you're thinking, all right, man,
the first couple of innings the other day, with the
elevated fastball.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
We're starting to see some swinging nets.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I just don't know if the time is gonna run out,
and it's a tough decision.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
I'm not gonna make it.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Joe's spot is gonna make it, and that of respect
for Joe, in respect for Justin Verlander, who's been one
of the best.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Pitchers the Astros have ever had.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I know it's gonna be tough on everybody involved, whether
they keep him on the roster or not. So we'll see,
you know. I hope he pitches great that last game
and makes the decision even harder.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You know, one thing that comes to mind Steve is
hearing him talk to the media and say that he
maybe rushed back too soon from the injury. So I
look back to the history of him here with the Astros,
when he had Tommy John and he was rehabbing. He
did his own thing, which is fine, did his own
thing was in Florida rehabbing, wasn't really around the organization,
(06:13):
wasn't really around his teammates at a time, which look,
he's one of the consummate pros in this game, and
he did not rush back from a Tommy John surgery.
Now again Tommy John completely different from what he just
went through. But why rush because in the same sentence
he said, look these guys when I was gone, they
pitched their ass off.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
So justin Verlander, why would he rush.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Back because of the calendar, because of where they were
in the schedule. He knew he needed a ramp up
to get ready for postseason, and he needed five or
six starts to get to that point. So I think
it was strictly calendar on when he tried to get
back and realize, all right, this is almost like spring training.
I'm gonna have to escalate pretty quickly, And he probably
(06:55):
just calculated any five or six starts to be where
I want to be to get to the postseason. And
you know, in hindsight, he's realized that he probably did
come back too quickly because he doesn't probably feel the
same life in his arm, the same extension, all those
things that you need to be justin Verlander.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Do you, let's just say, just hypothetically speaking here, let's
say the Astros win the Wildcard series, but they have
to go three games. Would could you see Justin Verlander
starting game one of an Alds on the road.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
He's certain, he's certainly a candidate. We'll see what he
does the next day. He's got one more game. I
saw some glimpses in that last game where you're starting
to see swing and mess, and we saw the previous
game where he was having a hard time putting guys away.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
So we'll just have to wait and see.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Do I think somebody has or other guys have a
leg up on him right now? Yes, but I'm not
willing to say he's not going to be on a
postseason roster as the Astros go for it. He's Justin Verlander,
so we'll see. You know, they've got a lot of
good candidates. I think that's the best thing about this
whole thing is there's a whole lot of options for
(08:04):
the Astros, And when you're talking about Justin Verlander left
off of postseason roster, it's because you have the good
fortune of five guys that are pitching fantastically, who are
all good candidates to pitch a start and a game,
start a game in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Astros broadcaster Steve Sparks joining us here on the Sean
Salisbury Show. He joins us every single Monday at eight
thirty in the morning. Our last thing on Justin Verlander.
You know you said you saw glimpses in the swing
and miss stuff. You know just as well as I do.
When it comes to postseason baseball, it's about momentum in games.
There are so many big plays, so many you know,
(08:41):
momentum shifts, and there are times where a pitcher has
got to have that stuff that's gonna get him a
big time strikeout when things aren't going well to shut
down that momentum, whether it be you know, you got
a guy at second base with one out, next next thing,
you know, you've got to have a big strikeout. And
now now you're forcing the hitter have a two strike
(09:01):
or i'm sorry, a two out hit to score that run.
I just for me, and this is where I'm getting
your expertise. I just haven't seen the strikeout stuff from
Justin Verlander here lately.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
I agree with that, So that's where we are right now.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
I agree that we're not seeing the strikeout capability that he,
you know, typically possesses. So that's where we are right now.
There's one more start for him to see if he,
you know, he came back too quickly. We don't know
exactly where he might be in a week or ten
days when he could possibly start. I think it's pretty
(09:35):
clear that the Astros will probably go fromber Hunter, Brown
and Kakouchi to start the first three games of a
wildcard series if it goes three. Other than that, I
think it's a little bit up in the air. You're
looking at a couple of guys in Blanco and Arraghetty
who've pitched way more innings than they ever have.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Let's just let it play out just a little bit longer.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I think first things first, I mean, you win a
game is quickly a possible in this series against Seattle,
and you get everybody more rested so they all have
more swing and miss, because.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Right now a lot of guys are on fumes, including
the position players.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But you said it, I mean swing and miss is
critical in the playoffs, and the Astros have a lot
of guys who can get swing and miss. They lead
the American League in swing and miss. But they got
to get well rested to be able to have that
lively stuff.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
A couple more minutes with Astros broadcaster Steve sparks every
Monday eight thirty right here on the Shawn Salisbury Show.
Jordon Alvarez and his knee. It's you know, I saw
an article this morning that said, quote unquote, not good.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Have you heard anything early this morning? Obviously we have
not here.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You know, you're you're you know you you are more
in tune than we are a little bit. What are
you hearing, if anything, or what's your concern level with
jord On Alvarez and this knee injury.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I'm hearing that they dodge the bullet, and well they'll
know a lot more when he to the ballpark today
to see how sor it is. But I'm hearing that
they dodged a bullet and it's a better case scenario
than we probably feared at the begetting cool man.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
You got to have that big man. You got to
have that big man in the lineup come postseason. I mean,
he is so good in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
They need him in this series.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, I've heard that they dodged a bullet.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
Okay, So it's good news. Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And then also on the injury front, Chas McCormick, obviously
we're hoping he can come back and make you know,
some sort of impact with with his role and then
Ben more more so on Ben Gamble gonna be done
for the year when they picked him up off the
waiver wire. He came in and filled in that spot
for Kyle Tucker and and hit extremely well. Can you
(11:46):
just talk to me a little bit of a little
bit about the loss of him and what it uh.
You know, with the depth aspect with Ben Gamble, you know,
when you get.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
A veteran you know to come in and we're seeing
it now with Jason Hayward. They just give professionalism and
good at bats. Gamble work accounts. They knew what they
were looking for. They had a great approach at the plate,
played solid defense for good teammates. I mean, they fit
in immediately. Hayward's the same way. He's like he had
(12:15):
fit in immediately. He's like taking a couple of guys
under their wings. He's out by the batting cage right now,
even when he's not hitting outside that particular day, and.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
He's helping guys.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
It's unbelievable how these guys get into the groove of
these of these teams in a situation like this. So
I just feel like they've done a good job of
bringing the right type of people into this situation where
these guys can even help them get to another level.
They miss guys like Michael Brantley, you know, and a
(12:48):
few other guys the last few years that have gone
on to play other places. But the guys they bring
in are the right one so gamble Jason Hayward. A
couple of these guys are making impacts, even if you
don't see it on the statue.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
All right, last thing with Astro's broadcaster Steve Sparks, Josh
Hader gave it up last night. Are you excuse me?
Yesterday afternoon? What do you see from him? Where he
gets himself into trouble? Is it fastball command? Is it
leaving it up in the zone? Where does he struggle?
In your mind?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
I think he's got one pitch in my mind that
that's a little scary. It can be devastating at times,
but he throws the back door slider to right handed hitters.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Which is easy to yank every once in a.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
While and get into the happy zone of the guys,
you know, kind of a pull power type pitch, two
seam fastball on the top rail gets a little loose
sometimes don't forget he's thrown I think seven games this
year where he's gone more than one inning.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
He's pitched a ton.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Another reason why I feel like the Astros need to
clench this thing pretty quickly so they can rest some
of these guys and not pitch. You know, if it
gets to the third game of this series and this
Astro the Astros haven't won yet, you know, you're biting
your nails. Haters probably coming in the eighth day.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It's just weird. Stuff might happen.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
They don't panic very often, but you get what I'm saying, Man,
they need to win early in this series to wrest
some of these guys. Haters pitched a ton, A brave
who's pitched a ton. There's been a lot of guys
that needed a little bit of a break here.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
As we get just ten days away for the postseason.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
I cannot believe it's already ten days away.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Man.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Yeah, it's great, but man, what those players won't tell
you the same thing. I mean, it's been a long hault,
especially when you start off as slowly as they did.
To be able to get to where they are, man,
that's a it's a big credit to the coaching staff
and the cultures that say, except for this team.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Not to panic.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
When guys like me and you were probably panicking a
little bit thinking that this run might be.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Over, I was all hand up. I one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
YEA was.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
There's no doubt about it, all right, Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
You know, Ao West, if they clinch it tonight, is
there a chance that you might be knocking down a
couple of beverages in that clubhouse?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
There is little chance that. Uh, there's a little chance.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That I won't be down there, so you will be
down there.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But what comes to follow you're just gonna have to
listen to it right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Is that fair?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
That's fair? Absolutely fair. Yeah. I don't know what I'm
doing when I go down there, Let's put it that way.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
That's that's me in life. Brother, Like every day I
don't know what I'm doing. I'm just here too.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yeah, let's just be let's just be unprofessional together.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah we yeah, exactly, That's that's how we that's why
we live our life.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You know, we always appreciate you here on on the
Shawn Salisbury Show. Thank you for your time this morning.
And and I can't wait to listen to you celebrate
that AO West title tonight because they're gonna win it tonight,
so let's go ahead and get that thing done.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
That's good, Brian, take everybody, thank you.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
Steve.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
That is an astro broadcaster, Steve Sparks joining us. We'll
take a break, we'll discuss it next on sport Stock
seven ninety
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