We're On TV Now! Astros Win White Sox Series and Texans Starters Game

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
The A Team.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
A team straight up three o'clock here on Sports Talk
seven ninety and Space City Home Network. Hey we're back
on TV. Wex it's been a while.

Speaker 4 (00:27):
Yeah, last thing on the show. Tweet today says, big
announcement to start the show. Good job, big announcement to
start the show. The A Team moving forward, your home
for Astros and Rockets. We're the home for the Astros
and Rockets. Space City Home Network is the home for
the Astros and Rockets, and the A Team can now
be seen every day at three o'clock, three to six,
just like we are here right there on Space City

(00:49):
Home Network. So we appreciate them and everybody here getting
this all on board and making it all happen and
looking through all the technical things that needed to get
done for this to happen. And we are eager to
move forward with this project. So you can catch us
right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety every day.
Now you can catch us on Space City Home Network
every day as well. Very much looking forward to you

(01:11):
seeing my actual reactions rather than having Clinton, tell you
what my actual reactions are when we get into an
argument about Yankees Radio Southwest, or the Rangers aren't dead
yet as they have been for months, or any number
of things. How important the preseason is for the Houston Texans,
and how far inside the playoff picture the Rockets will

(01:33):
be this upcoming year with the Lakers looking up at
them in the standings, all some of our favorite topics.
For those of you that aren't catching us, maybe for
the first tenth or millionth time, you're well aware of.
This weekend certainly presented some good news after Friday for
the Houston Astros. Their first series with the White Sox
mirrored their second series with the White Sox lose the

(01:55):
opener and take the next two. The lineup yesterday went
exactly as you would expect based on what Joe Aspota
had at his disposal, and they still won from ber
Valdez ace like again, Hunter Brown Ace like again, and
that's how the Astros got those final two wins of
the series. They head into play today the last three

(02:16):
of the six game homestand with the colored variety of
socks in town. White is kind of blank and boring
in Vanilla, but Red Red Sox are in town. They
are trying to overcome a wild card deficit partially handed
to them by the Houston Astros when they swept them
at Fenway Park earlier this month. They would love to

(02:36):
return the favor. The Astros, on the other hand, would
like to extend their four game lead in the division briefly.

Speaker 5 (02:43):
Very very very very briefly.

Speaker 4 (02:45):
It was at four and a half games yesterday afternoon,
minutes before the Mariners game went final, when they finally
snapped their five game losing streak and are now just
keeping pace by winning. When the Astros win once over
their last six games, they did have a five it
helped create that cushion. They continue their road trip of
nine games. They've got the Dodgers tonight. Both the Dodgers

(03:07):
and Mariners flew to LA after their respective games yesterday,
both victories. The Astros, on the other hand, were able
to stay here in Houston, wrap up their series with
the White Sox mid afternoon and await the arrival of
the Boston Red Sox tonight, last of these three games
here on this home stand, and the Astros would love
to see a continuation of what they have done since

(03:28):
they left the States. I'll put it in the show
tweet every day until it doesn't make sense anymore. This
is the best team in baseball. We're now pushing ninety
seven games, and not only are the best team in
baseball over the last ninety seven games, they're three games
better than everybody else in baseball. That sure sounds a
lot like what they've done for seven straight years, even

(03:49):
though we're watching it unfold and it doesn't look anything
like the last seven years.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
No, here's the deal. The division has been the goal
for so long. Well, let me let me rewind a
little bit. Getting to five hundred was the goal for
so long, crazy as it sounds for a team that
is trying to go to its eighth consecutive ALCS. But
once that was achieved, and once you continued or maintained

(04:16):
your hot play on the other side of the All
Star break that you had going into it, you know,
the division lead became the goal. And now that you've
got that, that's all well and good.

Speaker 5 (04:26):
But you look up.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
You're five games back of the Baltimore Orioles with a
four game series with them this week. In the American League,
the Yankees are within reach the Guardians are within reach,
the Twins, the Royals, and then there's the Astros. So
it's all well and good to somehow, some way have
to be sitting here in Houston, Texas with the most
dominant team in Major League Baseball year in and year out

(04:50):
for the better part of a decade and say to yourself, well,
it's nice if they'd, you know, get back to five hundred,
or it's nice if they'd overtake either the Rangers or
now the Mariners for the division lead. They've we got
a shot here to have a top And I realized
there's a lot of games that you have to make
up in not as as in a short amount of time,
but it's totally feasible.

Speaker 5 (05:10):
Yeah, I'd have to do the math.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
But I don't think the Astros have the tiebreaker over
the Yankees.

Speaker 5 (05:15):
Do you think?

Speaker 2 (05:15):
No?

Speaker 5 (05:15):
I don't think so. I was at a lot of
those games, and.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
They could certainly have the tiebreaker over the Orioles. All
that it would take is a victory over them and
the time when they meet up in this upcoming road
trip of four games. Like you mentioned, the best team
in the American League right now is the pair of
teams tied to top the Al East. They are both
seventy three and fifty two. A Yankees fell to seventy
three and fifty two in extra innings last night when

(05:39):
they gave up a run in the ninth to the
Tigers and then gave up two runs to the Tigers
in the tenth in walk off fashion, and the Tigers
took two of three from the Yankees. So that is
just six wins, it's just four losses, and obviously there's
five games even that you're back of those teams. The
Guardians are a half game further behind those two atop
their division. You're a game and a half or two

(06:01):
and a half games back of the Twins and Royals.

Speaker 5 (06:05):
You have a series remaining with the Royals.

Speaker 4 (06:06):
That's part of this next fourteen game stretch for the Astros,
which is extremely talented teams.

Speaker 5 (06:14):
On the other side.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
But as we've pointed out, the Astros are starting to
prove that that is exactly what they are. When your
pitchers continue to go out there, as long as they
stretch for Hunter Brown has become, as long as they
stretch for from ber Valdez has become. There aren't teams
in baseball that have a better one to two of
the way those guys have pitched, so you have a
chance anytime they go out there. You did not get
a great start from Spencer Araghetty, and unfortunately, as you

(06:37):
were playing catch up in the game on Friday night,
you allowed the other team to push just a touch
further away from you and prevented a miracle win on
Friday against Crochet and the rest of the White Sox.
This series obviously begins with the other two starters. The
other two starters, I kind of feel like they flipped
the rotation. If you look back to the start of
the month, that was the first start for Usa Kakuchi.

(06:58):
Everybody now has had their three starts since the team
is a major league best eleven and four over the
fifteen games this month, and it really all got started
with Kokuchi, and hopefully this series in a similar fashion,
will will be the same a team he's seen many
times over the years, although the Red Sox offensive makeup
has changed enough even over the last couple of years.

(07:20):
I wouldn't say he's got all sorts of experience against
these particular hitters, some more than others. But three starts
into the Kukuchi experience for the Astros.

Speaker 5 (07:27):
It has been good.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Well, it would not be a show on a Monday
after a weekend in which the Astros dropped their second
game of the season to the worst team in baseball
without me saying I'm still mad about Friday Night.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
I mean, they did win yesterday so they could win
the season series against the White Size.

Speaker 5 (07:44):
I mean, and I get it. It is baseball.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
Every team's gonna win and lose a certain amount depending
on where you're at in the.

Speaker 4 (07:53):
It was really good that they did not lose yesterday
because then even I wouldn't have been able to help
sending out the Well, the White Sox are three and
three three against the Astros and twenty seven and ninety
two against everybody else.

Speaker 5 (08:04):
But luckily that's not true.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
Thirty wins right sitting on third them are at the
expense of the best team in baseball since the Mexico
City Reboates.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
Well, both of those wins have come during that time period,
so I think it's totally fair to say. I mentioned
the Mariners Dodgers series tonight, Mariners with Brian wu on
the mound, a stone going for the Dodgers. The Astros situation,
I don't think anybody was expecting it based on most
of our show on Friday. Regarding Alex Bregman, I don't

(08:35):
think people were expecting him in the lineup today based
on what we had heard over the weekend.

Speaker 5 (08:39):
And he's not.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
Alex Bregman is not in today's lineup. I don't think
that was really so it begins even with what he said,
even with all that we talked about it on Friday
as I was preparing for this Monday inevitability. No, he
is not playing third base or any base or dhing today.
I know who loves this news, Kyle Tucker, get off me, man.
I'll be back when I'm back.

Speaker 5 (09:00):
I'll be back when I'm back.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
I mean, seriously, that's it's it's a it's like a
miniature version of what he's been dealing with.

Speaker 5 (09:08):
And the longer this goes. It hasn't gone long yet,
I know, but I can't.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
I've got this TSD from the Tucker situation where I
have to say to myself self, you just got to
not get all in your feels about this, and that's
what the Astros fan base is going to end up
having to do. If let's just say this, let me
just paint a scenario for you, because this is what
I do. If he's not back in the lineup by
this weekend, and technically that means Thursday, because it's a

(09:35):
four game series, you're gonna start hearing grumbling like it's
it's not gonna actually be grumbling, but it's there.

Speaker 5 (09:42):
You're gonna know it's there.

Speaker 4 (09:43):
I mean, I don't even think it's crazy to think
he won't be He has back elbow.

Speaker 6 (09:46):
I know that.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Believe me, that takes more than just three days now
four five really for when he was hurt for it
to get in a position where you don't want him
to just come back, you want him to stay back.
And that's the same thing that's clearly going on with
Kyle Tucker. They don't just want him, they want him
to stay back. They want Justin Verlander back Wednesday to
make the start in the series finale, but they want
him to stay in the rotation for the remainder of

(10:08):
the season. So all those things are are clearly still
at place, still clearly still on the minds of both
management and manager for the Astros. The lineup tonight against
Tanner Hawk will be Altuve Alvarez back in the lineup today.
Janer Diaz was said to be just a rest day
for Jordan, who left the game the day before early
because he could and then rested yesterday. And the bottom

(10:29):
of the order, well, it showed he's dhing tonight. Yaners
playing first base again, Jeremy Penny in the cleanup spot.
Victor Krattini once again for the fourth straight game. Is
catching for you, say Kakuchi. Jake Myers will be chasing
down balls in center field. Trey Cabbage was added to
the roster today. Recalled and option down to triple A
was pedro Leone. Cabbage is in right field, batting seventh.

(10:51):
De Bonds the left fielder, batting eighth, and Shay Whitcomb
gets another start and he's over at third base.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
Our good buddy Chandler Rome. Alex Bregman was never playing today.
He probably isn't playing tomorrow either. I don't expect him
to play in this series. Give him more time, and
if he hasn't played and he's not very very close
to playing, then they should put him on the il
and then he will miss the additional four games, the
entire series with Baltimore, and then you won't be playing

(11:19):
a man short for the seventh straight, eighth straight, ninth
straight game, because right now, this is game number four
in a row of playing with one player short Orioles
Phillies back to back was already brutal, and we're going
to get to that next segment. As a matter of fact,
we'll talk about just how brutal the rest of August
is for the Astros when we return here on a
Monday edition of the eighteen.

Speaker 7 (11:39):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (11:43):
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Speaker 1 (12:38):
Back to Adam Clinton at Adam Wexler.

Speaker 7 (12:41):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety eight.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
It is the A team here on Sports Talk seven
ninety and Space City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (12:53):
Yes you can see us.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
I've already gotten a couple of texts during the break
saying hello, ummm if you head on over to Space
City Home Network, whatever provider you have, you can watch
us do the show. We're in your own personal private
fish bullet here. Here's the thing, speaking of text messages,
I got over the weekend, multiple text messages I got
talking about the Astros lineup, and I sent the exact

(13:18):
same response to every single person that sent me that
this is the official we're playing the White Sox lineup
that Joe Aspota put out there. And the reason that
comes into play here is because that's it. I mean,
if you look at the schedule for the rest of
the month and really for the rest of the season,

(13:38):
more often than not, there's not gonna be, you know,
any gimmes, Like you've got the Red Sox in town
for three, then you're gonna go to Baltimore. Then you're
gonna go straight from there to take on the Phillies.
It's there is no letup.

Speaker 5 (13:52):
I know.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
We're all talking about the fact that the team that
you're trying to create separation with in Seattle is playing
the Dodgers, and that's.

Speaker 5 (13:59):
All well and good.

Speaker 3 (14:00):
Hey, maybe they do get swept, maybe they drop two
out of three to the Dodgers, and all that kind
of stuff. It's like Wex always tells you, boys and girls,
worry about your own dirty laundry or whatever you want
to call it.

Speaker 4 (14:12):
Best team in the month, and if that continues, you
don't have to worry about anything else. You gotta stay
three games better than Seattle or sweep them at the
end of the year and thus win the season series
and thus have the tiebreaker. You likely haven't even bigger
leads to the tie breaker, doesn't even matter. Now to
the lineup. Now, yeah, there were three rookies in it yesterday.
Today today's much better lineup will have two rookies in it,

(14:35):
so huge, huge difference. But as you might have expected
when you saw the batters after Janer Diaz who was
bumped up to the three spot, Jake Meer, Shay Witkeham,
Zach Decenzo, Mauricio Dubonchas McCormick, and Pedro Leone, they were
as advertised that six sum went oh for seventeen with
seven strikeouts in yesterday's game. Luckily the mainstays Pina and Diaz,

(15:01):
and that's it for mainstays when Tucker Alvarez and Bregman
are out of the lineup. Well, they went for five
for ten with two homers. You won the game. You
won the game on Jiners swing. You made it a
little bit easier in the ninth inning for Hater on
al twove swing. And because the White Sox lineup looks
like the bottom of the Astros lineup in its entirety

(15:22):
every day all year, you're able to shut him down.
I don't want to take anything away from from er Valdez,
but eighty two pitches to get twenty one outs was
awfully easy against that group. Yesterday, so credit to him,
credit to the Astros for taking advantage of that lineup,
and two out of the three days the lineup is
only moderately better today, clearly better that Alvarez is in it.

Speaker 5 (15:42):
But they did make the move.

Speaker 4 (15:43):
Pedro Leone, it just simply had Not only was he
not getting hits, he was stress striking out an alarming amount.
And I know Joey Lo Perfido hit his first home
run yesterday, so if pointed out, and I did point
it out on social media, the comebacks will be, well, how.

Speaker 5 (15:59):
Much isy strikeing out? I wrote it what's he hitting now?

Speaker 4 (16:01):
Which I included all in the original, But each of
these players may Shay Whitcombe not a part of it yet,
even though he went zero for four with three strikeouts yesterday.
All these young kids have done the same thing too.
Many empty at bats, not groundouts that move a runner up,
not long fly balls that mean you just missed it.

(16:22):
They're just swinging and missing. The strikeout rates for Leone,
who's now back in triple A, for Whitcomb briefly, for
Descenzo extended weeks plus, and obviously Cabbage who's now back,
they're outrageously high beyond belief high there were no different
than low perfitos. He maybe provided a little bit more,
but the fewer of them that need to be in

(16:43):
the lineup every day the better. And then what is
clearly on top of it is you've got a veteran
who is them, that's Chas McCormick. He still is the
same player that's been here all year, and that player
in a normal situation with other guys capable of stepping up,
he wouldn't be in the lineup partly at all. He
probably would have already been given the opportunity to play
every day with the Triple A team. I still think

(17:04):
that's a possibility as we move forward, because bats are
are not good and they were able to get away
with it, like you said against the White Sox, they
really can't get away from it until they get two
of those big bats, Tucker and Bregman back in the lineup.
So you're still going to really be counting on teams,
other teams to give Altuve, Pana Diaz Alvarez pitches to hit.

(17:25):
If they choose not to, they're putting themselves in a
tough spot because they'll be runners on because they're pitching
around them, But I don't think that they're going to
be afraid of anybody else in the lineup, and they
have to make them afraid. Even yesterday, Jake Myers was
up in the first couple of innings with five runners
on dude, and nothing scored.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
It's bad enough when the Astros leave the bases loaded.

Speaker 5 (17:45):
Whoever the opponent is, don't do it against the White Sox, please.
I know.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Look, I get it. You had the weird playing the
White Sox lineup in the game. I get all of that.
I just this offense and here's the crazy thing. I
think there is something to like. It's almost like Jordon
Alvarez is a microcosm of it. Like he's terrible at
home versus how he is on the road. Relatively speaking,
He's still a good player. He still gets hits at home,

(18:09):
but he's a monster on the road. He's, you know,
the guy that we're used to whenever they play away
for a minute.

Speaker 5 (18:15):
May Park.

Speaker 3 (18:15):
Part of me is low key exciting or excited, I
should say. And I could absolutely be eating my words
in two weeks that they're going to go on the
road to play two of the toughest teams that are
ahead of them in the standings, even though one of
them's a National League team, Orioles and Phillies for seven
straight games, then you're gonna come home to play the
Royals for four, which is what we were talking about,

(18:38):
how this ridiculous schedule that actually technically bleeds into September
because the last game of that series will be September.

Speaker 5 (18:44):
First.

Speaker 3 (18:46):
I'm low key happy that that chunk is away from
minute made because for whatever reason, whether it's Jordon or whoever,
it just feels like sometimes they don't have that spark
here at home. It was way more of a problem
last season, like it was an actual thing. They didn't win.
Look at the Alcs. Look no further than that. Uh,

(19:07):
the home team lost every single game of that series.
But while I don't think it's pronounced as much or
as pronounced this year, it's definitely just it's a there's
a different feel for whatever reason, And that's kind of
why I'm not necessarily opposed to them starting on the road,
even though if they win the division, they won't.

Speaker 4 (19:25):
Yeah, if you win the division and you're in the
wildcard series, all those games are at home. If you
win the division and land one of the first two spots,
you have home field advantage for that opening series, and
clearly the seeding dictates it the rest of the way.
Before we hit the phones at seven one three, two,
one two, five, seven to ninety before we get into
the Texans, which we will do at the beginning of
next segment in about ten minutes, and the last of

(19:46):
their preseason games that was played this past Saturday. For
the starters, I will remind everybody about what you just said.
Jordan Alvarez number one in baseball batting average on the
road at three fifty six, number one in baseball on
BA percentage at four forty four on the road trails
only Aaron Judge and slugging and ops by one thousandth

(20:08):
of a point in ops. That's how awesome Jordan Alvarez
has been when he's swinging the bat in a ballpark
other than the newly painted batter's eye over at Minute
Made Park. I was not over there this weekend.

Speaker 3 (20:22):
No, if I feel like when you walk in it's
gonna stand out if you go there enough, yeah, definitely
funds as much darker it is.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
It's darker.

Speaker 4 (20:30):
It's clearly darker. I don't it's not because of a request.
It's not because of a guys man. We gotta fix this,
you gotta do something. I think it makes sense. Go
just go look around baseball for anybody that has one,
and the majority of teams do. Minor league baseball is
not tremendously different either, now that they have the ability
to do it, the darker the blackness of it in
most places is notable noticeable because it's just simple.

Speaker 5 (20:53):
It's it's common sense. It's better. I'm trying. Everybody knows that.
And now they're getting a little bit closer to that.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
Still with the idea that the fake ivy grows hunter
green fake plants.

Speaker 3 (21:04):
Right, I've got a little ivy in my backyard. It's
actually closer to this color than what it was before.

Speaker 5 (21:11):
I'm trying to remember, though.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
I know there were ridiculous flagpoles, one of which was
in play Tows Hill all that what was behind I
know there.

Speaker 4 (21:19):
Was a wall, a wall, but what else was back there?
It was the area to it's left that you now see.
That's just green. That's what was behind there before it
was just green, and it was just all green. There
were fewer other things, as we know, the restaurants and
the other parts of speeding areas. They just weren't there
when the when the ballpark got introduced to us.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
Also, it's just very, very different.

Speaker 3 (21:40):
But I like this has been this way since. I
think twenty seventeen was actually the first season they had
this set up.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
Maybe somebody was bored. I don't think we have to
really dig that that deep into it. Got some paint
lying around and I don't have anything to do. It
over there and painted. It wasn't there on a nine
year road trip, I got time.

Speaker 5 (21:55):
Right, But it wasn't a thing until like halfway through.

Speaker 4 (21:58):
This wasn't a thing until people made it up into
a thing. Oh my god, they have the best winning
percentage at home they've ever had ever for almost any team,
and all they're doing is winning and winning and winning.

Speaker 5 (22:09):
Oh my god, they're not winning this year. It must
be the batters.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
I see twenty nineteen happened with this same setup and
it wasn't even as dark.

Speaker 4 (22:15):
Yes, they were bad at home during the regular season
in twenty twenty three, and they were bad in the
postseason in twenty twenty three.

Speaker 5 (22:21):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
It wasn't because of the Batter's I no, no, but
I just there is like you said with Jordan's numbers,
there is something to it, and I.

Speaker 5 (22:32):
Know there actually is nothing to it. That's the thing
on the road versus at home.

Speaker 4 (22:37):
Nothing like do you say there's something to it there's
nothing to it, or else they'd fix it.

Speaker 5 (22:41):
Well, there's no I'm saying. What I'm saying is there's
something to be said. I guess is how that?

Speaker 6 (22:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (22:45):
Different? That's I mean there if there was something to
it beyond that sounds like you know what that sounds like.

Speaker 3 (22:52):
That sounds like a girl you started dating and you've
been around, but she still got that X that's like
in the background and you ask her about it, you
confront her about it, and she goes, she wasn't better.

Speaker 4 (23:03):
You means, should I be worried about that guy you're talking?
You're just different? That's such a girl s better? Just different,
You're just different. It's like the polite, nice way to
say worse. Now you're going back to friends. When Ross
and Rachel were talking and Chandler and uh the other
guy Joey were listening, like no, no, don't say that, No,
not different, don't say that. Yeah no, I I recall

(23:27):
how about you just awful, the worst. Yes, oh totally
now I remember the scene.

Speaker 3 (23:32):
All right, we're gonna we are going to talk about
your Houston Texans for the first time today when we
come back here on the A Team Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (23:38):
Ninety the eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (23:45):
Sorry, hey is to Eastman? Is good for listen to
Rockets Radio on your smart device? Just ask lay sports
Dot seven ninety on iHeart Radio.

Speaker 4 (23:59):
As we continue on a Monday edition of the A Team,
WEX and AC here with you, you guys here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety and you guys there on
Space City Home Network, where we sign will cast the
program each in every day when the Astros aren't playing.
They will be actually this Wednesday when they wrap up
the series with the Red Sox. Otherwise you can catch
us right there as you catch us right here on
your home for Astros baseball and Rockets basketball.

Speaker 5 (24:21):
That's what both of us are. So we're glad to
be there for you.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
And before we get into what the Texans did this
weekend at NRG Stadium under the closed roof, Partially I
wanted to get a couple of guys in here if
we could on the phones finish up a little the
early Astros conversation. Get out to Cyprus to get Tom
in here on this afternoons discussion.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
What's up Tom?

Speaker 8 (24:44):
Hey, what's going on? Guys? Great show this morning today.
As you start your show, Hey, I want to throw
a couple of dates out for the Astros for you.

Speaker 7 (24:53):
You know.

Speaker 8 (24:54):
On May twenty six, the Astros are twelve and twenty four.
Since then, they've gone on a fifty five and thirty
two runs, twenty three games over five hundred. Now here's
the kicker. On June third, they lost Tucker. He's missed
sixty two games. They were twenty seven and thirty four
when he went down. Since then, they're forty and twenty two,

(25:14):
eighteen games.

Speaker 7 (25:15):
Over five hundred.

Speaker 8 (25:16):
Now, there's anybody out there within the sound of my
voice that can tell me they thought they'd go without
Tucker's forty and twenty two and roll another one.

Speaker 6 (25:26):
Baby.

Speaker 8 (25:27):
You know what, this team has been a great team
this year. And here's what I compare it to. I
don't know if any you guys that will put flutter
on a pomp plumber. It's awful fricking good. Thanks for
taking my time.

Speaker 5 (25:39):
Good thought there, Tom.

Speaker 4 (25:40):
If I haven't I would do it, but I have,
so I would agree the stretch of games you're talking about,
and there's many different ones we keep going back to
when they went to Mexico City. Just mentioned they have
the best team in baseball since August. You mentioned the
games that Tucker has missed and what the team record is,
and I think through that all, if you're paying attention
and you're listening to those num, you realize. And the

(26:01):
reason is because at any point in time during the
stretch before August, you never would have expected what has
actually happened. You've got one guy who literally is impossible
to beat. Every time Fraan ber Valdez gets the ball,
they win ten straight times. They don't lose when he pitches.
You don't really expect that from any pitcher on any staff,

(26:21):
to go through a stretch two months long where you
win every single time the guy pitches.

Speaker 5 (26:26):
It happens from time to time.

Speaker 4 (26:27):
If you have a cy Young Award winner like Garrett Cole,
if you recall that's something that happened during his near
cy Young season here in Houston, and the other part
of it is, which has been going on for an
even longer time, is what you've gotten from Hunter Brown
nearly every single time you've handed him the ball for
three quarters of what's been played so far this season,
You're in a very good position to win. They have
won every single one of his starts, but you've been

(26:49):
in that position to win. And if I tell you
that the Astros have been better than everybody else in
baseball for the last ninety seven games, they also have
the best pitching numbers as a team, starters, bullpen, middle relief,
you name it, the whole thing. Nobody's had a better
era in baseball than Houston for now almost one hundred
games of this season. The Verlander list, the Javier list,

(27:11):
the gar Cls, the mccullors less. Astros have the best
pitching numbers, at least by one category that's usually fairly
indicative of how your team is playing. You could add
in their whip and batting average against, which is also
near if not at the top of the league during
that stretch of time. Because while they did have about
a good four week stretch without Tucker where they were

(27:32):
scoring about five and a half runs per game, for
the most part, they haven't been very good offensively with Tucker.
A little bit below average. But if you pitch like
they've been pitching, you win a lot of games.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Well, he's missed the most games, so it's easy to
point him out.

Speaker 5 (27:44):
It's convenient. I'm not even calling it low hanging fruit.

Speaker 3 (27:47):
You missed the best player through that span of games
from the start of the season until June third. It's
going to affect you more often than not.

Speaker 5 (27:55):
And it did.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
But you're talking about the point that everybody, well I'm
not gonna say everybody's missing it. If you've been watching
all season, you know that pitching was doing that. During
the time that Tucker was still playing. It was the
offense more often than not, could not supplement that pitching.
Then the pitching remained awesome. It's actually gotten better. You
would argue eight straight wins. As you mentioned for Fromber,

(28:18):
Hunter Brown had kind of a carryover from the end
of last year into the beginning of this season. Especially
in early innings, particularly the first inning. He would load
up on base runners or just runs in general. That
is all in the past, and you've had this pitching
for the most part. If it weren't if it wasn't
Fromber and especially Hunter Brown early, then it was Renel

(28:40):
Blanco throwing a no hitter at his first start, and
being a guy that came out of nowhere, guys that
had been able to keep you afloat from a pitching standpoint,
to offset that offense that wasn't always there, and let's
face it isn't still always there too. Nothing yesterday it
two solo home runs was your offense to beat the
White Sox.

Speaker 4 (28:59):
Well, one of those home runs would have left no
other ball park but Minute May Park.

Speaker 5 (29:04):
They were part of that as well. I know. That's
why it's fun to point out Robert. I'm glad he's
out of town.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
Well, after the opening game against Spencer Araghetty, he was
a zero. He was a strikeout machine the rest of
the series. So that's why he's a two because Araghetty
has been awesome too. Yeah, he just could not hit
his spots against him, and the pitches he hit out
were pitches you don't want to throw to guys that
swing the way he does. If you were listening to
both of us, I gave you a ten straight starts

(29:30):
for Fromber, he gave you eight straight starts. What that
mean is means is over his last ten starts Fromber
is eight to oh with a two thirty nine ERA
in his last ten starts.

Speaker 5 (29:41):
The Astros are ten and oh.

Speaker 4 (29:43):
Even in the two games he did not receive a decision,
they won both of those games. He's actually picked up
the win in five consecutive outings. The team has allowed
only seven total runs in the five starts he's made
since it all started against the Dodgers back on July
twenty six, so the pitching has certainly carried them. They
have an ERA at three point fifty during this ninety

(30:05):
seven game stretch. Next best team has an ERA of
three point fifty five, and that's the Seattle Mariners. The
Astros offense, even downturn that they're on, isn't nearly as
pitiful as the Mariners. The Astros have gained eleven games
on the Mariners, while the two teams have essentially had

(30:25):
the exact same ERA three point fifty and three fifty five.
The Astros are twenty three games over in that stretch.
The Mariners are one game over.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
And that's why the Mariners GM is going to get
fired after the season, I think. So we'll have to
blame somebody, yes, and I know it's the players in
the offense.

Speaker 5 (30:43):
Well, how did the players get there? I mean, they
didn't just say I want to play here.

Speaker 4 (30:47):
They said I want to play here if you will
pay me to play here, And that's what they did.
Mix in the backside of this segment on what took
play Saturday afternoon between twelve and three ish over at
NRG Stadium, again with the panels out. I hope it
wasn't too bad for the fans. It didn't seem like
it had much of an impact on the game. There
was maybe one or two plays where it looked like
there was a possibility with the ball coming through that

(31:10):
area of the field, which is on the end zone
to the right of the Texans playing bench. Maybe once
or twice it looked like a player might have lost
it coming down from a kicker punt. I don't think
there were too many pass plays that had much of
an impact. The first and only catch made by Nico
Collins on the day, he basically put his foot in

(31:30):
the ground right when he got to the sun the
ball was already on its way. It got him clean
separation from the dB and he nearly turned it into
a touchdown. And that was one thing that stood out
among the things. But I mentioned a bunch of players
to watch on Friday show, and then when I rolled
into the stadium on Saturday morning and wanted to at
least revisit that, and I said, there has to be

(31:51):
an eye on what's going on in the Texans backfield
to be sure. I think you know how it went.
How did CJ. Stroud, their quarterback, think it went? Running
the football, yeah, is very important.

Speaker 9 (32:02):
We know that we're working on it very hard every day,
so you know, start so front and those guys are buying,
buying into that system, and then the backs are doing
their job as well. Than Jawar and British had two
great games a day along with Caman, JJ and DP.
So you know, once that room gets rolling and it's
a good connection between them and the old line and

(32:24):
where they cut back and hit the whole like just
all the little nuances, I think that's when we'll start rolling.

Speaker 4 (32:29):
I hope when they start rolling it sometime during the
regular season week one, September eighth against Indianapolis Colts. But
I don't see any evidence that suggests that might be
the case. And we'll definitely get into that. Damian Pierce
got all the reps with the ones there was no
Joe Mixon, though he was there on the sidelines and
seemingly perfectly capable of being ready for the season. But
how those guys performed, how the offense as a whole

(32:52):
performed when it mattered when the ones were out there
for one whole quarter against the Giants Ones.

Speaker 5 (32:58):
We'll hit on that.

Speaker 7 (32:58):
Next the Aight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (33:05):
Back to Adam Planton had Adam Wexlight.

Speaker 7 (33:08):
On Sports Talk seven ninety for the corner.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
Home of your restros.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
Back Addy here on the eight team Sports Talk seven
ninety winding down the three o'clock hour, as we are
also on Space City Home Network. Today's the first day,
day number one of simulcasting the show. As I'm in
a conversation with my little guy the other night, Carson,
and he's like, Dad, I think you should be on
TV again. And I'm like, funny, you should mention that
because he's seen videos of me from back in the

(33:40):
day and he's like, you look different, Daddy. I'm like, yeah,
well everybody knows you look different. The hair on my
head and none on my face. And now it's so
I wanted to give the little man, Carson a shout
out because he's watching right now. He's fresh in off
of his first day of his second week of kindergarten,
and he's watching. He's watching his old man and mister
wex as he calls you as your you're very well

(34:00):
aware of.

Speaker 5 (34:01):
Yeah, he's the only one that does.

Speaker 3 (34:03):
Is he the only one that calls you that? There's
no other kids in your life that have called you
that before?

Speaker 5 (34:07):
No? Okay, well good. I like that exclusivity.

Speaker 6 (34:11):
I like it too.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
By the way, before we get back into the Texans,
Jimmy Ward got his contract extended one more year.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
I was doing the usual rewatch of the Texans game,
Actually was doing that earlier this morning, and the one
of the early hits in the game where he upended
the tight end and flipped him onto his back. I
was thinking about how they're situating their safeties right now.
You know, Klin Bullock looks like he's making the necessary
progress to be an on field contributor this year. Maybe
he takes over for Eric Murray somewhere down the line,

(34:40):
hopefully soon. Murray essentially is on the field with Jalen
Petrie in the slot, and you know, Petre's in year three,
He's got another year on his contract. Eric Murray's almost
assuredly not going to be back next year. Jimmy Ward
was heading into the final year of his deal. If
Jalen Petrie excels in the slot, then you had a
real question mark about what your other two safeties are
going to next year. Probably Kalin Bullock is one of them.

Speaker 5 (35:02):
That's the hope. That's why you drafted him.

Speaker 4 (35:04):
But Jimmy Ward's situation was done with his two year deal,
older player. Some of the needs you got from him,
which are extremely important, were helping everybody learn the defense.
Last year, he was the one player with extreme experience
in Demiko's defense this year, along with Aziz I'll share
here there's two players and everybody that was here last
year that has experienced in Demiko's defense. So the need

(35:26):
for it goes away a little bit. And there were
some injury issues with him last year. It's a little
bit due to the way he plays. But I think
this is a smart move. It's probably not too cost prohibitive.
It gets him, keeps him here rather than trying to
find a safety in the future. I don't think they're
likely to draft one particularly high when there are almost

(35:47):
assuredly bigger needs that they'll have at the top of
the drafts, even going best player available. Yeah, not knowing
the financials, I'm sure it's good for both sides and
good for Jimmy to probably get a little bit more
guaranteed money before he goes into seventeen games of I
don't know where I'll be next year.

Speaker 5 (36:04):
Does he outplay Justin Simmons this year? I would doubt
it him. I figured as much.

Speaker 4 (36:09):
I mean, but I don't think they gave him eight
million dollars through twenty twenty five. That's when I'm get
Justin Simmons got eight million dollars from the Falcons in
what will be for him an unnecessary prove it year
because he's been proving it for the last several years.

Speaker 3 (36:23):
Well, I think you know what Texans fans are thinking
is eight million that the Texans could have easily afforded
to pay him if they wanted to bolster that defense.

Speaker 5 (36:31):
But I don't know.

Speaker 3 (36:33):
We'll see, Like there are questions about the offense. But
if I had to, if I had to say, all right,
you got to pick one side that you're more concerned
about on opening Day, for example, let alone the rest
of the season. But since you're right out of the gate,
Anthony Richardson's probably not going to be hurt on Week one.
That's just usually how it goes. And I know that
he didn't last against the Texans early last year, and

(36:55):
we all know what happened after that. I'm still kind
of low key surprised now high on the Colts. I
think most of the media is because I think in
large part it's based on him, not because I think
that he's not an electric player, but because he hasn't,
even in a small sample size, proven that he can
stay healthy with his style of play. I'm not even

(37:17):
seeing his style of play is what got him hurt
all of the times, but it lends itself to that,
I think, and so we'll see. But I'm definitely more
concerned about the defense, even though you could argue they
had far more marquee additions this offseason to that side
of the football, the far.

Speaker 4 (37:36):
More marquee additions, but it was also balanced out by
marquee losses. With both Blake Cashman and John Gernard are elsewhere,
when Elie Collins and Sheldon Rankins are elsewhere, it's a
pretty significant change to what you're gonna have going back
at it this year. It's great to have Daniel Hunter in,
It's great to have Aziz al shai arian, and those
two players most likely have better seasons than any of
the players that left for different reasons at different spots.

(37:59):
I would shift just because of what we were talking about.
Hearing from CJ. I like his confidence when what they
have over there, and I know Joe Mixon has been
not a part of what they've done in preseason game activity.
I'm hopeful he plays Thursday because when I open up
our Texans conversation, I said, the game we saw Saturday,
I think if that's it for the starters, I don't

(38:19):
think you play the starters on Saturday against the Rams.
I think you play the starters Thursday against the Rams.
You have a joint practice set up with the Rams
for that specific reason, get the work you need from
them there, and that's it, and they're ready to go
for the season. Presumably as healthy as they are going
into a joint practice, they can come out of it
similarly and not have to worry about the tackling and
the quarterback that goes with it in a real preseason game.

(38:42):
But they did not run the football well in this
game when it mattered. The Giants played their starters for
two quarters. The Texans only played their starters for one.
I didn't run the football well with Damian Pierce out there.
There's a lot of numerical ways to make it look
awful from his standpoint in that seven people carried the
football on Saturday, one point three average on four totes
was the worst, and he's got a lot of things

(39:05):
working against him. The number one offensive line wasn't all intact. No,
Laramie Tunsel probably didn't make a tremendous amount of difference
from a run blocking standpoint, and this is the area
of biggest concern with the ground game.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
C J.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
Stroud got touched one time in the first quarter, and
it was on the fourth down play when Blake Fisher basically,
I think and I did talk to him after the game,
but I didn't specifically ask him this if there was
a welcome to the NFL moment right there. And then
on that fourth down play, if you've seen the replay
of it, Brian Burns puts a spin move on him
and Fisher just absolutely freezes in his tracks, doesn't even

(39:37):
get a hand on him, and that's why CJ has
to get rid of the ball, maybe a touch or
two more quickly than he would have liked to gets
knocked down. Then CJ got pushed by Burns into another
player and that's the only time he went down.

Speaker 5 (39:49):
It was the only hit he took. It wasn't sacked.

Speaker 4 (39:51):
The offensive line as a whole, first, second, third teamers
actually played pretty well over the course of the game,
as they usually do from a pass protection standpoint, And
I think the design of the offense also helps because
your quarterback while he has time and when he was
standing in the end zone, he had plenty of time.
But the end result of getting time, even without a scramble,
if you recall when they were backed up there, he's

(40:12):
gonna have a wide open receiver. In this case it
was Dalton Schultz. It does go hand in hand, but
they just they do not push people around when it
comes to the run game. I mean, I'm not watching
Damian Pierce's runs and saying, how could you miss that hole?
Because there usually isn't one. Now he might be able
to read it a little bit better and get three
yards instead of minus one, or there's four yards to

(40:32):
get just get it rather than looking for something because
vision is still a part of it. But they definitely
have some things to consider in the backfield, and I
mentioned cam Akers as a player to watch, and even
with a run against reserves where he cuts back and
turns it a nothing into a fourteen yard gain, that matters.
That's what he brings to the table. That's why he's
a little bit different. And I would have liked the

(40:54):
Texans to put him out there with ones versus ones
rather than twos versus reserve or the Giants ones. Later
in the game, I think you're gonna get a better
idea of how he can contribute, and somebody is gonna
have to contribute, most likely besides just Joe.

Speaker 3 (41:09):
Well, when the game first started, I wasn't quite back
to the house yet, running as some errands, and so
I was listening and they were I don't think they're
concerned about like CJ's talked about the run game. I
don't think he's that concerned because he knows how many
weapons he has in the passing game, and that is
the side of the offensive line that you have confidence

(41:29):
in as far as protection. And he was absolutely spreading
the wealth. And I think that's what they're gonna do
this year, and not a gravy situation, because I know
you hate that word, but man, I don't think they're
as concerned as maybe some people are about the offense
overall when it comes to the run game.

Speaker 5 (41:46):
But that's something we can discuss.

Speaker 3 (41:47):
We're also gonna discuss Justin Verlander and Alex Bregman when
we come back here on the eighteen.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong
Houston sports guys named at him Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 5 (42:16):
Our number two of the A Team here on Sports.

Speaker 3 (42:19):
Talk seven to ninety And if you've been listening across
the first hour of today's show, you know that we're
being simulcast over on Space City Home Network. So hi
to TV land out there. Once again. Is wex and
I happy to be there.

Speaker 6 (42:33):
It is.

Speaker 5 (42:33):
There's the not see now, you guys.

Speaker 3 (42:35):
Can see all the eye rolls that I make him
do every single day. I feel like we should get
a counter in the bottom corner of the screen. At
some point we'll get that sponsored the wex eye roll.
But no, we're happy to be simulcast on the television
side of things and leading you into whether it's Astros
baseball or Rockets basketball, the home of those two teams,
both on the television and radio side, we are having

(42:58):
a blast. I'm very excited about this all, so very
excited about the fact that, well we might We don't
know when we're going to see Alex Bregman again. We
have a pretty good idea that Justin Verlander's right around
the corner, just based on what the team has said
and how it's been looking, and most importantly of all,
and I think this has been something that unfortunately the Astros,

(43:19):
their fan base and everybody this year has had to
deal with. Just want to make sure there's no setbacks,
no matter who you're talking about at any given time, with
some sort of physical ailment, big or small, that's what
you're always waiting on. All Right, Well, they tried this
part of their body they need to use out and
they didn't have any setbacks.

Speaker 5 (43:37):
And that's what we've gotten from Justin Verlander.

Speaker 3 (43:41):
We are not getting Alex Bregman tonight, not getting into
tomorrow night. Wex mentioned in the first hour probably not
going to see him in this series wouldn't be surprised
if you don't see him in the next series, and
it's touch and go with again somewhat of a mysterious ailment.
We know what it is, we know what he's suffering from,
but we don't don't really have a timeframe on this,

(44:01):
and that's been the most frustrating part I would say
of the entire twenty twenty four season for the Astros.

Speaker 4 (44:07):
Monday morning is on the Sean Salisbury Show. Steve Sparks,
Astros are radio analyst, former Big League pitcher, joins the show.
Gave a couple of thoughts this morning of interest to
this particular conversation on Alex Bregman.

Speaker 10 (44:21):
Biggest day to day, but you have an option now
al two Big got the DH today yesterday.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
Ragman certainly had the chance to DHS in this series.

Speaker 6 (44:29):
We'll have to see what is both feels like to
be able to throw.

Speaker 9 (44:33):
But I think he's probably tough on at the bit
not to lose what was going on with his his
wing in his back the last month and a half.

Speaker 4 (44:42):
Yeah, the team aspect of it is negative. You'd like
to have him out there helping you win games, but
he was the one doing that because this is the
best stretch of offensive baseball you might be able to
argue in his entire career, and I know he's had
at least one monster offensive season where people thought finishing
high in the end MVP race was going to be
a commonplace for him, but he had been. It's not

(45:04):
even about how down he was earlier in the year,
and he was very, very down just this stretch all
by itself. Forget about what surrounds it. He was crushing
baseballs left and right, even into people's gloves, even into
outs every now and then. But it was barreled up
after barreled up exit velo of ninety five plus NonStop
games where four or five at bats would be that,

(45:25):
games where he'd hit a ball four hundred and five
feet and still wouldn't have anything to show for it. It
was a stretch of almost three full weeks of that,
and clearly, I think it's obvious that it coincided with
one of the two long winning streaks of the season
for the Astros. They had an eight game losing or
winning streaks snapped against the White Sox.

Speaker 5 (45:43):
They've won ten of eleven.

Speaker 4 (45:44):
They did win two of the three without him against
one of the historically bad teams in baseball, but they
still can't. And we haven't even mentioned the other injury
that is now taking place because the day after Alex
Bregman went out of the lineup, though still not on
the IL, Ryan Presley with a back issue, goes on
the IL and he's on the out for fifteen days
and it could be longer. They have two very trustworthy relievers,

(46:10):
and I don't mean they're always going to get it done,
but the manager trusts them, and probably a third in
Taylor Scott, who's now also really for the first time
in a while, gotten some really good rest in between outings.
But as they roll through this very tough stretch fourteenth
straight games against teams over five hundred, three of those
four teams at the top of the standings basically with Baltimore,
Philly and Kansas City only a handful of games behind

(46:33):
Boston's the quote unquote easy one. And I don't think
it's easy. Since you just beat them and these games
matter to them, I think that will light a fire
under them. So we'll see what happens tonight, tomorrow and
Wednesday afternoon. But you're the baseball is going to have
to be given to other guys in tough situations. Yesterday,
it should have happened or it shouldn't have happened. And

(46:54):
I mean to say, Brian and Bray can't be pitching
the eighth inning of yesterday's game, I don't think because
fromber Valdez needs to and maybe Josh Hater does come
in in the ninth because you don't feel like giving
for Amber a second extra inning. But eighty two pitches
over seven innings with limited hard contact, zero stressful innings,
and I was just really really surprised by it, and

(47:16):
the answer given a reason for it. Tough to understand it,
and there may be more to it, so that's maybe
why I don't understand it. But Caleb Board's gonna have
to pitch an eighth inning, Taylor Scott's gonna have to
pitch an eighth or ninth inning, a seventh inning, Josh
Hater can't pitch every game that is a save situation
moving through these games. If there are multiple situations other
pitchers who either haven't been in the role or haven't

(47:36):
shown the ability to handle those roles, there's really no
option for a good two weeks now.

Speaker 5 (47:42):
I mean look, things are going well.

Speaker 3 (47:45):
You feel a whole lot better than you did even
a month ago, let alone back.

Speaker 5 (47:49):
In May and April when things were just a disaster.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
But in the back of your mind all season long,
and I know that this is what keeps Joe Spot
up at night. You've got to be thinking about some
of these arms that you just got done talking about,
and those guys.

Speaker 5 (48:03):
That you mentioned need to be spelling those arms.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
Although you could argue it's probably too late at this
juncture August nineteenth to be saying, hey, we might have
some taxed arms once October starts like it's it is
what it is, and it's a bad situation because of
the injuries you've had to deal with. It's insane, and
I know nobody wants to hear it. Nobody around Major
League Baseball wants to hear about your injuries because they've

(48:28):
got their own. But man, I would challenge anybody to
put up the star power or even from a positional standpoint,
especially from a pitching standpoint, what the Astros have been
without what they lost. All of this coming in twenty
twenty four. By the way, you knew some guys were

(48:49):
gonna be not back this year. In all likelihood, you
didn't know that Christian Haavier was gonna go down. You
didn't know that Lance McCullers was gonna have a setback.
I mean, I'm still old enough to remember when we
were talking about both he and Luis Garcia coming back
this month.

Speaker 5 (49:03):
I'm old enough to remember the JP Frantz was in
the rotation. Was that this year? Yeah, that was totally
twenty three.

Speaker 6 (49:09):
You're lying.

Speaker 5 (49:09):
I meant when any of his starts, but still, yeah,
that was brutal.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
And then he had season ending surgery, So there's been
a lot and those arms, like you said, But and
then again, once you do get Justin Verlander back's it
spreads the wealth. You go to the six man rotation,
that's gonna hopefully give you some relief.

Speaker 5 (49:28):
But that's assuming that Justin Verlander is what.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
He's not a guy that's gonna consistently even go six
innings these days.

Speaker 5 (49:35):
All he is for sure is the starter.

Speaker 4 (49:37):
On Wednesday, Joe Spotta has told the media that this afternoon.
He's also told the media the obvious, just like Verlander
at the beginning of the year, was a calendar issue,
and when's he gonna be able to pitch, and how's
much time is gonna be missed? A calendar issue with Loot,
With Lance mccullors junior, there just wasn't enough time for
him to come back.

Speaker 5 (49:52):
Done for the year.

Speaker 4 (49:53):
Joe Spotta has acknowledged the same is now true for
Luis Garcia.

Speaker 5 (49:57):
He's not going to pitch this year. For the Astros.

Speaker 4 (49:59):
He will resis zoom a plan, resume throwing, resume the
things that should have him ready to pitch at spring
training and for the Astros next year. But Luis Garcia,
per the manager, will not be pitching.

Speaker 3 (50:12):
So basically what you've been dealing with since day one,
though nothing changes from the standpoint of those two, you weren't.

Speaker 4 (50:18):
It's the reason why you couldn't sit back and hope
your staff managed with Jake Bloss and with aj blue
Ball and with anybody else you were hoping could hold
down even a fifth spot in the rotation.

Speaker 5 (50:31):
Blair, Uh, who am I trying to think of Hanley?

Speaker 2 (50:35):
Not?

Speaker 4 (50:35):
He got one start. You were never going to give
him more than that, and he didn't pitch well enough.

Speaker 5 (50:40):
Another went down you might have had to.

Speaker 4 (50:42):
He's not among those that would be considered at this
point probably shouldn't have been considered at that point either.

Speaker 5 (50:47):
It was a little bit of a different stormination.

Speaker 4 (50:50):
Yes, they were one to zero so far this year,
and he'll get a playoff share and a World Series
share later on down the line.

Speaker 5 (50:56):
But you had to go get Kakuchi.

Speaker 4 (50:58):
For all these reasons because that you no longer wrote
a point where hearing Dana Brown say what was true
at the time, what we expect to get him back,
it'll be like a deadline deal acquisition. You kind of
passed that point because you were at the deadline. They
weren't back. Setbacks had taken place, timelines had been pushed back,
so it had to be done. And honestly, it wouldn't
have been the worst thing for them to have added

(51:19):
another A little disappointed in the other acquisition they made.
Caleb Ferguson was the guy that the Yankees wanted to
use the least out of their bullpen, and the Astros
acquired him hoping that they would find something with his
pitch arsenal. And so far, while he still gets guys
to strike out, he doesn't throwing enough strikes to get
other guys out, and it's been real tough to watch

(51:41):
and he's not trustworthy in the eyes of the manager
and hasn't shown otherwise. So it's just one additional thing
that they're dealing with their options if they want at
triple A forced Whitley just had his earned runs streak
ended over the weekend, gave up a couple of earned runs,
but he's done all the things that showed you why
they're might be a spot for him at some point,

(52:01):
and I don't anticipate him playing any kind of major role.
But if these pitchers you're giving the ball to, if
Sean Dubin's going out there, or Seth Martinez who took
the spot of Ryan Presley or Ord or anybody else
isn't getting the job done, they really don't have a
whole lot of time to wait. And when you get
into that game where Dubin had to throw forty five
pitches or Ord had to go two plus innings and

(52:23):
thus he's not available the next day, remember they don't
have a day off for a while. Again, after they
picked this series, this home stand back up, I had
about three weeks of games every day, yep, so you
might get back into what you were doing at the
beginning of the season. Oh, this guy can't pitch tomorrow, well,
then he can't be on the team. We have to
make a move to supplement what we have as far
as available arms every day because we're still even with
a four game lead, even with a cushion. They need

(52:46):
to go out there and win every day if there
are any hopes of moving higher in the standings in
the league, but certainly to hold off a team that
the Mariners might not be good, and they might have
not been good for quite some time now, they're probably
not completely going away.

Speaker 5 (53:00):
I disagree.

Speaker 3 (53:01):
Look, I know that the Astros schedule is tough and
all that, but I still maintain what I said last week.
This thing is going to not have to go down
to that late series you have with Seattle this year.

Speaker 4 (53:13):
So with six games remaining, they're gonna have a seven
game lead.

Speaker 5 (53:17):
Yes, okay, why not? That's what it will take, all right?

Speaker 3 (53:20):
Hopefully that is what it takes and how it goes,
because that's a very good thing for the Houston Ashros.
We'll continue discussing this and a whole lot more on
a Monday edition of the eighteen.

Speaker 7 (53:31):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (53:36):
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Speaker 7 (54:05):
Back to Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler the.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
Eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety, We're Rockets and Astro's
Play and Real Texans talk.

Speaker 3 (54:19):
Back at it here on a Monday edition of the
A Team Sports Talk seven ninety and Space City Home
Network first day on the Telly. As we will continue
to simulcast the show each and every afternoon, you'll be
able to watch us as opposed to just listening to
us real quick.

Speaker 5 (54:36):
You know that conversation we had a.

Speaker 3 (54:37):
Few weeks back about the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.
I do remember when we went down the list and
we pretty much decided that CJ's either on that list
or if he isn't in the top five, he's number six. YEP, Okay,
what if I were to tell you that a Hall
of Fame quarterback came out with his own top five list.

(55:00):
CJ wasn't in the top five. But the guy that
we were probably gonna get upset about beating him out
of it was also not in that top five.

Speaker 5 (55:09):
What did Arch Manning's dad's brothers say.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Wow, that is good.

Speaker 5 (55:13):
Oh that makes my heart so happy.

Speaker 4 (55:16):
Peyton Manning was part of just fans going crazy, fanatics fest.

Speaker 5 (55:20):
I want to go to that. It looked like it
was a good time, especially you. My gosh.

Speaker 4 (55:24):
The what I heard about fans of WWE getting to
see there was basically that was a do there, Well,
you got a favorite wrestler, you know what you like
their intro? All right, go ahead hit backstage. We're gonna
play it for you and you can come out to it.
That's what among the things you were able to do.
But a lot of it was about seeing the people.
Brady Gronk, Peyton Manning among those that Hulk was there,

(55:48):
not the incredible one, No, Terry.

Speaker 5 (55:51):
It was very busy.

Speaker 4 (55:52):
He had a very very very large group of people
people in his line for autogs. But Peyton Manning was
asked this question, did acknowledge one of the this is
off the top of my head, or there's a lot
of good guys out there. He even said, I you know,
you put these lists together and all you get hate
for it. Subjectives well aware of what would likely come
from him giving any five.

Speaker 5 (56:12):
Names, but you know.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
That if you're gonna give a top five quarterback list
in twenty twenty four, there's just some names that have
to be in there.

Speaker 5 (56:25):
They just have to. They're not.

Speaker 3 (56:27):
It's not up for debate, and it's based on you know,
recent This is the ultimate recency bias. But it should
be because if you're talking about the top five quarterback,
unless there's a big injury, you're talking about which in
the case of Joe Burrow, who hint is on this list,
that's probably like a qualified or fire or an asterisk,
however you want to look at it. I don't think

(56:47):
anybody would argue with Pat Mahomes. I don't think anybody
would argue with the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. So right
that those two are right off the bat, they should
be in the top five. Know if sands or butts,
if you want to argue at Joe Burrow because of
last year's injury.

Speaker 5 (57:03):
I'll see you through on that, But most.

Speaker 3 (57:06):
People are gonna come back with how many guys on
this list have taken their team to the super Bowl
in like their first minute on the job, Because that's
the biggest argument for him. Plus he's just when he's healthy,
he is good. I think Josh Allen is another one
of those names where I guess, if you want to

(57:26):
argue him out of the top five, maybe you can,
but I just I'm not gonna really like.

Speaker 4 (57:31):
I get what you're trying to say, but you're leaving
out the other part of it. Go ahead and argue
him out of the top five. Are you leaving those
spots blank?

Speaker 2 (57:38):
Right?

Speaker 5 (57:38):
Who's getting in?

Speaker 3 (57:39):
That's the point, and that's where it comes down to
this fifth name. I mentioned Pat Mahomes, I mentioned Lamar Jackson,
I mentioned Joe Burrow, and I mentioned Josh Allen. More
often than not, you're not gonna get a huge, at
least not a very good argument against those guys. Then
you start talking about number five, and that's not These
aren't in order necessarily, it's just how they were listed.

(58:00):
If you want to go dak over CJ or CJ
over dak or you want to start talking about another name.
I guess I just didn't see Justin Herbert being that
fifth name over those two, either of them, actually, quite frankly,
and it.

Speaker 4 (58:15):
Did sound to me more like those are the quarterbacks
that he really thinks can be Aueso and the guys
that he likes and little bit less of these are
the five best quarterbacks in the NFL. I don't always
don't believe it was such a strict question to that answer,
but I would agree with what you're saying about Herbert regardless.
At some point, you can like someone all you want,
but what do they do?

Speaker 5 (58:36):
Like?

Speaker 4 (58:38):
You gotta do something. And CJ's already done more than
Justin Herbert has. And I don't think people are gonna
look at Justin Herbert's team that he had in the
playoffs versus CJ's team that he had in the playoffs
and say, oh my god, Well, CJ had so much
more to work with. They were awesome, they were loaded,
they were good. He had a receiver and Nico Collins.

(58:58):
I think that's at least as much as Justin Herbert
had with Eckler in the backfield and Keenan Allen, And
you know, I mean, flat out, I think he could
make a real argument that he probably had the better
team and in his one playoff game. The only reason
there was only one is because they were embarrassingly bad
with a huge lead in the second half against Jacksonville,
or else there would have been a second playoff game.

(59:20):
His numbers usually look pretty good his watching him play
the game, you're convinced this guy's great. But we keep
score and we tally records, and if those things don't
match up, then at some point your analysis of this
quarterback has to change. It has to It's very much
like Trevor Lawrence. I mean, does he look like he

(59:41):
should be great? Does he look great at practice? Are
seven of his ten throws in a game awesome?

Speaker 6 (59:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (59:47):
Probably?

Speaker 4 (59:48):
But what about the other three where he makes just
a horrific decision or they keep getting out scored every
week when you play. And again, it's not all on
the quarterback, but you're asking your quarterback to overcome these mistakes.
That's what great quarterback play is. Quite honestly, you have
to overcome everything else, whether it's your own mistakes. You
don't have a running game, your defense can't stop anybody.

(01:00:08):
You can't make it harder on true position in sports,
you have to make it work when you're this talented.
Justin Herbert is this talented. But if you make Daniel
Jones caliber decisions, you're going to lose.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
That's mean, that's recency bias making that that comment right there.

Speaker 5 (01:00:25):
I mean, I don't that pick was terrible.

Speaker 4 (01:00:27):
And Brian Baldinger, I think he was actually saying something
different than what he typed, or meaning something different, because
he said he got off to a slow start but
finished a whole lot better.

Speaker 5 (01:00:37):
Which is absolutely true.

Speaker 4 (01:00:39):
I don't think he intentionally was glossing over the only
important thing that's out there, because in this particular case,
Jones is coming off of an injury, this is his
first game back. There's a lot more to it than
just how did he play. But when the ones were
out there, he was bad. Just I'm being nice, he
was very, very bad. You know, Derek Stingley Junior should
have scored a touchdown on the very first pass of

(01:00:59):
Daniel Jones twenty fourth season.

Speaker 5 (01:01:01):
He threw it right to him because Stingley read the
route from neighbors. He hasn't played for the Giants, and.

Speaker 4 (01:01:06):
He went inside and the ball was right there. I
think it just didn't hit him quite right, or he
catches it. He ends up picking him off later. Jalen
Petrie scores from six yards out when Daniel Jones makes
a horrific you can't make that as a veteran quarterback decision,
even in a preseason game. And then the Giants played
a whole nother quarter with their ones in the text
and said that's enough, We've seen our ones enough, you

(01:01:27):
can go against the twos. And he put together some
drives and they scored some points. He was bad, really bad,
the same kind of bad he's been. That makes people
wonder why the Giants chose him over others gave him
the long term deal versus franchising him and giving somebody
else the long term deal. But he's not the point
of the conversation. You know, CJ. Stroud is probably being

(01:01:48):
hurt by just youth. He's played nineteen NFL games or
seventeen NFL games, fifteen regular season, two in the postseason.
When that gets to I don't know when it should
go away, because I put it away after like four games.
I don't I don't really care about that. I see
what I see, And even in yesterday or Saturday's game.

Speaker 5 (01:02:07):
You saw the same thing.

Speaker 4 (01:02:09):
He waits until this guy's more open than the next guy,
finds Dalton Schultz wide open, throws Nico Collins open in
a twenty four yard game. His best pass of the
day didn't even count our second best pass. I think
his throw is Stefan Diggs was actually tremendous because he
threw it at the exact right moment, right before the
linebacker had made his first step. He would have knocked

(01:02:30):
the ball away had he made one more half step
and right where he had to put it so Stefan
could use his body to protect and get that third
down game. But the throat to Tank Dell at the sideline.
Those are supposed to be the hardest throws, and he
keeps making them. He made one in the Tampa Bay
game last year, but the same receiver and roughly the
same spot. These are elite level throws in an NFL
game where he might even get tackled.

Speaker 5 (01:02:51):
He's he's one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL.
He special And you're right, you know, youth is the
only thing.

Speaker 3 (01:02:58):
Because here's the argument, Like, if you don't want to
put him in there, because of that or whatever reason
you want to. Okay, well, then you're leaving Dak Prescott
out because I think he'd be the next obvious candidate.

Speaker 5 (01:03:10):
Although there's it's subjective, there's somebody some point with Dak.

Speaker 4 (01:03:13):
You you would look past what he's accomplished in the
regular season and say, you can pile up all the
numbers you want. I'm gonna care a lot less about
your touchdown title during the regular season and your thirty
six wins during the regular season of three years if
your team keeps losing and you aren't playing well. He
accumulated numbers against Green Bay because they were down by

(01:03:34):
so much, because he played so poorly at the beginning
and their defense was atrocious. Peyton Manning, I think, would
know to say, I can't ignore it, right, So I
can't ignore the fastest and Herbert in there for what reason? Because,
like I said, I think listening to his answer was
more about this, this is guy I want to be good.
I know he's gonna be good. There's so much there.
He has to be good, and he's just waiting for

(01:03:57):
it to happen. It just hasn't yet.

Speaker 3 (01:03:59):
It's it was I mean, look again, these things are
always subjective and everything that comes without but the fact
that it was coming from Peyton Manning, I'm actually surprised
he did this to begin with because of what we're
talking about, all the pushback, but I just I don't know.
I guess I thought it would be a more solid
top to bottom. There's really no big debates about it.

(01:04:19):
Take this under consideration. Lamar Jackson is not among this
top five list. He's runs a little bit more than
he throws and it has been hurt. Top five quarterbacks
ranked by touchdowns. So it's twenty twenty one, last three seasons,
Mahomes on Peyton's list, Alan on Peyton's list, Burrow on
Peyton's list, Herbert on Peyton's list. The only one that

(01:04:40):
wasn't was Dak that's your top five. But we like
wins here on the A Team we do. We like
wins and we will continue to win. Fact, you guys
can win. We're gonna be giving away some Monster jam
at tickets before the end of the hour as well.
You're gonna want to keep it right here on the
A Team Sports Talk seven to.

Speaker 7 (01:04:56):
Ninety The A Team Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:05:03):
So let's talk about how many devices you have in
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the first part, you've got a ton of devices, more
than you probably think. If you actually sit down and
you start counting how many connected devices you own, you
know that you need to get someone involved that is
going to be able to take on all those connections

(01:05:24):
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(01:05:44):
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or visit a store today.

Speaker 5 (01:05:53):
Exfinity Bring on the good stuff, please five for five
listen to the Home of the Astros in your home.
Just tell your smart speaker.

Speaker 4 (01:06:04):
Play Sports Talk seven ninety on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 5 (01:06:14):
Halfway home.

Speaker 4 (01:06:15):
On a Monday here around four point thirty on the
eighteen WEX and AC here with you both here on
Sports Talk seven ninety and the simulcast right there on
Space City Home Network. Astros Baseball Tonight get started with
coverage here on seven ninety six o'clock with the on
deck show. Matt Thomas will have that for you from
the yard seven o'clock, first pitch, second set of socks

(01:06:39):
on this homestand Red Sox in for three. Red Sox
trying to catch the teams in the wildcard race. The
Astros trying to not need to concern themselves with the
wildcard race four games up in the American League West
standings as they head into play tonight. The roster move
with Pedro Leone down, Trey Cabbage up, Victor Kartini doing

(01:07:00):
the catching tonight as he has for each of the
first three starts.

Speaker 5 (01:07:03):
Now four for.

Speaker 4 (01:07:04):
You, say, Kakuchi and the Astros will find Justin Verlander
on the mound Wednesday afternoon to close up this homestand
he's scheduled to make his return to the Astros as
a starter, of course, and obviously a roster move will
need to be made at that point for this team,
so when they get there, they'll be ready for it.
Alex Bregman not yet ready to play taking grounders today

(01:07:28):
but not making throws, kind of like when Louis Garcia
a couple of times has been a part of you know,
maybe pitchers fielding practice or fake throwing to home. He
might field the ball, but he certainly not prepared to
throw it. And that news also on Louis Garcia from
Joe Spot earlier today that he is not expected to
pitch this year for the Astros. The timing of him

(01:07:48):
having a setback and not being ready to get to
a point where he could ramp up. The preparations are
now underway for him to be ready for West Palm
Beach in February of twenty twenty five and part of
the Astros hopes for what things will look like next year.
By the way, the spring training schedule is out if
you want to plan your upcoming vacations. The regular season

(01:08:08):
schedule has been out for a while if you want
to plan your trips to go see the Mets and
Giants to open up Minute Made Park next year, the
two National League teams are what the Astros will have
to open up their season. Speaking of New York and
the Giants, that was who the Texans took a part
on Saturday afternoon. We talked a little bit around what
took place in that game, but not necessarily enough about

(01:08:30):
what they looked like offensively, and when they got the ball,
they just basically went right down the field. Unfortunately, they
got stuck in the red zone. A couple of fades
that did not work out, including one to Nico Collins,
but he and Tank and Digs all made a catch
on that drive.

Speaker 5 (01:08:46):
Not all of them counted. Schultz also a part of.

Speaker 4 (01:08:50):
Them moving their way down the field all in the
way that we kind of expect with these weapons. That's
kind of what the players indicated to me after the
game when I was in the locker room talking with them.
We'll start with uh Nico Collins had a chance to
catch up with him initially talking about how nice it
was or it felt nice for him to see the
offense with the ones out there essentially everybody but Mixing

(01:09:11):
and Tunsel who did not play, and just kind of
take the ball and move right down the field with ease.

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
I felt good, man, I feel like it was Drake Buzzs.
Go out there, man, make some movement, dropping the ball down.

Speaker 5 (01:09:21):
You know, they feel good to go out there man,
I group feeling. How much did you want that?

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
You know what?

Speaker 6 (01:09:27):
Bad man? I'm trying to you know, it's gonna come,
you know.

Speaker 5 (01:09:30):
That's why I precing the you work on time and
down path, you know, but that next time.

Speaker 2 (01:09:33):
Yeah, you know, so I ain'twhere.

Speaker 4 (01:09:36):
Ship you guys have seen it on campus, because it's
something to see it in a game where this offense everybody.

Speaker 2 (01:09:41):
Oh yeah, that's everybody. Man.

Speaker 5 (01:09:42):
I've got something to play making on this field.

Speaker 2 (01:09:44):
Man, it's like Nevery.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
Your numbers can make you play, you know, like Wisconsin
for everybody.

Speaker 5 (01:09:48):
Man, I feel that you feel like you like where
you're at. Oh yeah, I'm feeling good, sir.

Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
Believe I'm feeling good. Rightly spend out with my boys
this year. It's gonna be fun.

Speaker 4 (01:09:58):
It's going to be fun. I think everybody. He shares
that very same sentiment. And I asked him about the
touchdown pass that wasn't It wasn't a bad call. He
was definitely out of bounds. It was a nice play
by Banks to just basically shove him out of bounce.
Made a nice catch, but kind of a low to me,
a low percentage play when you got to make a
pass like that.

Speaker 5 (01:10:14):
I'm not a huge fan of it. Obviously, the Texans are.

Speaker 4 (01:10:17):
They threw two of them in that series, one to
him and then the second one to Dalton Schultz. That
one also went way out of bounds and they ended
up not scoring. But they also did the right thing
going forward on fourth down. Absolutely no reason, even with
a new holder, to see if Kaymie fairbarn can make
field goals of less than thirty yards. I'm trusting that
he can. So I do like Demiko, like he did

(01:10:38):
last year, going forward in the preseason. When you have
a reasonable spot, there's nothing to see from your kicker.
There there is something to see if your offense can
do something. The offensive line unable to give him enough
protection that he ended up getting that ball batted down.
But their manner in which they went down the field,
and even on their second drive which ended in the
second quarter, which meant they didn't even get to end it,

(01:11:00):
I guess a very strict rule no bending it. Hey,
I don't care if your drives over or not. When
that quarter is over, you are done. Third and ten
to open up the second their case case and the
rest of the reserves got the call and he threw
a ball that was caught on third and ten by
John Matchi, but he was out of bounds and there's
a penalty anyway on the following play. But the ones

(01:11:22):
to me, despite not scoring, looked great.

Speaker 5 (01:11:27):
Passing. The pass was good. Yeah, their passing game was great.
I'm ready to do this.

Speaker 3 (01:11:31):
I know that there is a preseason game coming up
on Saturday at noon, and I know that you will
then have an extended break, at least by way of
the preseason calendar. Because they started earlier than everyone else.
It's going to be a long way between August twenty
fourth and September eighth, when they find themselves at Indianapolis
to open up the year against Anthony Richardson and the Colts.

(01:11:54):
When that game is over at around three fifteen or
so on Saturday, September eighth, Sunday, September eighth, the Texans
will have blown out the Colts.

Speaker 5 (01:12:04):
I'm saying it right now, putting it on the record.

Speaker 3 (01:12:07):
Whatever you got to do with it, and they're gonna
do it because of these weapons we're talking about.

Speaker 5 (01:12:12):
It's not even about the running.

Speaker 3 (01:12:13):
Like I know, a lot of things can happen, and
I know Anthony Richardson and all this they've added to
the already good roster for the Colts. I don't think
that the uh prognosticators out there while they are giving
the Texans some love. I think a power ranking today
had them as high as six. But I just don't

(01:12:34):
think when it comes to this division, they're certainly not
the sexy pick.

Speaker 5 (01:12:37):
I think the Colts are definitely disagree. Oh no, no, no,
you've seen that. Everybody's on the Colts jock right now.
Oh yes they are. Uh uh, I can't.

Speaker 4 (01:12:47):
I can't have that, I think they I can't ask
you who is this everyone, because that's too much of
a staple.

Speaker 5 (01:12:52):
But well, I'll do that. It's not happening.

Speaker 4 (01:12:55):
I mean they're they're wanting to tell you, don't just
give the division to the Texans. The Colts can do this.
The Jaguars aren't far behind. Yeah yeah, yeah, okay, So
who are you picking? Oh the Texans?

Speaker 3 (01:13:05):
See I'm hearing that, And then who are you picking
on the Colts? Because they I think people feel like
they have added more to their roster from a complimentary
standpoint to a team that alreadys bringing back a Jonathan
Taylor is going to have a full complimentary, full compliment
of Anthony Richardson's services for a year. They don't think

(01:13:28):
he's gonna get hurt, which he might not. I don't
know that's the problem here. I think people are leaning
on the fact that a full season of Anthony Richardson
automatically makes the Colts a better team top to bottom
than Houston.

Speaker 4 (01:13:43):
When they say that, that sounds simple and probably true.
Take last year's team with Gardner Minshew and take him
off and put Richardson on. That sounds reasonable, And they
really didn't do. I mean, the best addition they made
is probably ad Ni Mitchell Ady Mitchell from George and
most recently Texas, and I think.

Speaker 5 (01:14:02):
He will be with their addition.

Speaker 4 (01:14:04):
Sure, the Texans added Stefan Diggs. I mean, I don't
understand what the Colts did this offseason was for getting
the quarterback.

Speaker 5 (01:14:10):
My original point, the Texans are gonna blow them out
on opening Day. Everybody's gonna be like, what another disagree?
Do you think it's gonna be close?

Speaker 4 (01:14:18):
I think the Texans will come back to Houston. Want
to oh, but I don't think it's to be a blowout.

Speaker 5 (01:14:22):
You want to bet on it.

Speaker 4 (01:14:23):
I now we have to determine some antics of what
is a blowout? How many points do they have to
win by? I mean, now you're talking about gambling. How
many points do I have.

Speaker 5 (01:14:30):
To couple digits.

Speaker 3 (01:14:33):
In a game like this with these two teams that
would be considered a blowout?

Speaker 5 (01:14:36):
Would it not? Probably?

Speaker 2 (01:14:38):
So?

Speaker 5 (01:14:38):
I mean, I'm I'm being nice about the blowout to
the Colts.

Speaker 3 (01:14:41):
I mean, all right, when we come back, we're gonna
give away some free tickets to Monster Jam. Here on
Sports Talk at seven.

Speaker 1 (01:14:49):
Ninety the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety Adam Clinton
and Adam Wexler. The A Team now continues, Hey.

Speaker 3 (01:15:07):
Team rolling along here on a Monday edition of the
program Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Home Network, wex
over there ac right here as we.

Speaker 5 (01:15:17):
Take you up until six o'clock.

Speaker 3 (01:15:18):
Mentioned on Wednesday, our show will be pre empted as
Justin Verlander will make his return starting for the Astros
and the finale of this three game series against the
Red Sox that they're going to start up tonight. We've
talked a lot of Astros baseball, especially from a health standpoint,
but we've also talked a lot of football, and specifically

(01:15:38):
the Texans who got that win over the Giants over
the weekend and the latest installment of preseason action and
in that vein for pack of tickets with pit passes
to Monster Jam could be yours if you know the
answer to this question, will be giving them away all week.
First of all, the date October nineteenth, the venue in
RG Stadium. This is a staple of the Clanton household

(01:16:02):
is Carson is a huge Monster Jam fan. And again,
pit passes are where it's at because not only are
you getting into the venue, but you are actually getting
to go down on the floor area and take pictures
with the insanely huge trucks, especially once you're up against them.
Kids love that stuff. And tickets are on sale now
at ticketmaster dot com. But a four pack of tickets

(01:16:24):
with pit passes if you know the answer to this question.
First of all, we were talking about the Texans and CJ.
Stroud at the quarterback position and whether or not he's
in people's top fives like he was ours. A couple
of weeks back, there was a certain quarterback who gave
his top five of who he thinks currently are the
top five quarterbacks in the NFL seven one three two,

(01:16:48):
one two five seven ninety. Give Dan a shout, give
him the correct answer to that quarterback's name, and you
will be headed to Monster Jam.

Speaker 4 (01:16:58):
Yeah, we talked about that particular quarterback giving its top five,
what we thought about it, what we thought would need
to be different for it to be correct, and I
think this season will help show why that list will
be revised by the answer to the trivia question over
the course of the next oh eighteen weeks in seventeen
NFL games plus post season. Last game of the preseason

(01:17:18):
comes up this Saturday, same time and place for Houston.
They'll welcome the Rams in over the weekend. Rams will
be here for a joint practice on Thursday. I mean,
I guess the question has to be asked, since I
don't believe it was addressed yet today by Demico Ryans,
who met with the media. I don't really see any
need for the starters to play anymore. They did not
play a whole lot this preseason despite having an additional game.

(01:17:41):
But I think that's the whole point of a joint practice.
If you feel like more week work needs to be
given to your luck guys in the trenches, linebackers, corners,
whomever your offense chemistry.

Speaker 5 (01:17:51):
Fine do it.

Speaker 4 (01:17:52):
Thursday, situated with coach McVeigh, say, I want these guys
on the field.

Speaker 5 (01:17:57):
We'll run through these drills.

Speaker 4 (01:17:58):
Your ones against our ones on field one, ones against
your ones on the opposite on field two. And that's that.
And then they go out there on Saturday. And I
don't know what the status, say of Davis Mills will be,
but between Mills, Boyle and case Keenum, those are the
only guys that should be throwing passes you're probably not
gonna see, not necessarily just ones. I miss my guest.

(01:18:20):
I don't know if the other people disagree. I just
don't see any need for it. I think these guys
are perfectly capable of putting together seven, eight, nine, ten
drives in a game and looking good doing it without
playing a fourth preseason game. Let the guys at the
bottom end of the roster who can have one last
impression to give for this coaching staff and any other
coaching staff, get one hundred percent of the snaps.

Speaker 5 (01:18:41):
And Joe Mixon, Joe Mixon is not playing. Why not
thought you wanted to see him?

Speaker 4 (01:18:46):
I said, I wished we had seen him. And if
he's healthy, I imagine we'll see him on Thursday, not
in the game.

Speaker 3 (01:18:52):
Yeah, I don't think that that's gonna end up being
put it this way, it's gonna be something we look
back on and kind of laugh about, in my opinion,
much like the blowout win that I'm predicting for the
Texans in Week one.

Speaker 4 (01:19:03):
Well, I'm not sure how everybody else covering the team
feels about it, and I've seen different viewpoints on it.
My thought is the Texans have done a remarkably good
job of balancing being prepared to hit players and tackle
them and be physical and not having injuries impact their season.
I sit here today with a little over two weeks

(01:19:25):
when they play their final preseason game, they'll be two
weeks until that. Following two weeks are up, and then
you play on Sunday, so there's still three weeks out.
I don't think there's anybody that's on their roster currently
that is lined up to not be available to play
the Colts except for one player, and I'm only guessing
on that, and that's Christian Harris. Christian Harris's practiced one

(01:19:46):
time all camp. He missed the first three weeks, came
back for one practice, has not returned since leaving that
practice early, the night practice they had after their second
preseason game. So even though I understand it's not to
be long term, I don't know if that even allows.

Speaker 5 (01:20:02):
Them to be available for the opener.

Speaker 4 (01:20:04):
But you, I mean, they had four guys that matter
that were walking around and whatever they chose to wear
for game day. You had Joe Mixon and a white
T shirt and a red ball cap. You had Will
Anderson in a wool cap. He had laramie tunsel and
black sweats. And Daniel Hunter looked like he would kill
anybody who was out.

Speaker 5 (01:20:22):
There, even though he's like the nicest guy.

Speaker 4 (01:20:24):
None of them played, and I don't expect any of
them will be unavailable when they suit up against the Colts.

Speaker 5 (01:20:30):
All of them are lined up to do so.

Speaker 4 (01:20:32):
And the other players they have injured, maybe Teagan Quatoriano,
maybe their lineman Sharp, Maybe these are a couple of
other players who would have played very small roles, if
any that aren't necessarily going to be healthy. But the
guys that are going to be a part of their
starting group or regular rotation of players, they're all lined
up to play. They're all lined up to be ready

(01:20:52):
to start the season, which is awesome and a big
difference from where they were last year when they had
so many training camp injuries. And I think maybe some
of that goes to the performance department in helping a
new coach understand what you need to focus on and
how hard to push and maybe where to pull back
and how you schedule it. And I think they had
bigger challenges this year because of how long their training

(01:21:14):
camp was going to be, because they got the extra
time because there was the extra game. But I would
say I'm very pleased with where they are from a
health standpoint, from an injury standpoint, provided all these injuries
and you know, most of these guys that I'm talking
about and didn't just see him at the game, I've
seen him at practices on the days where they don't practice,
but they work.

Speaker 5 (01:21:33):
All indications are there.

Speaker 4 (01:21:34):
They're doing the things necessary to play in three weeks,
not get out there and play before they're one hundred percent.
That goes for Will Anderson, Joe Mixon, and Laramie Tunsel.

Speaker 5 (01:21:44):
It's interesting because Utah is not hurt by the way,
he just didn't play.

Speaker 3 (01:21:48):
Yeah, you talk about that balance, and this is something
every team has to do. It's not just the Texans,
and it's not just on one side of the football
that ultimate. I mean, you play a game is physical
goal as NFL football, Yet you want to be at
your best because the old adage goes, nobody's one hundred
percent at any point during your NFL season because of
the physicality the violence of the game. You know, just today,

(01:22:14):
the fact that an article was written about the physicality
of the Texans and specifically the defensive side of things
that Demico Ryans wants to wants that to be the reputation,
wants that to be what people think of when they
play defense. In fact, his quote was, we want people

(01:22:34):
to put on our tape and see that we're bringing it.
We're going to be a physical team. I know, I
just got done saying that's the side of the ball
that I'm the most concerned with.

Speaker 5 (01:22:42):
Doesn't mean I think they're going to be bad. Far
from it.

Speaker 3 (01:22:45):
I think the additions they've made with the style they
play on that side of the football and the fact
that he's their head coach and as a defensive guy,
but just the mentality. This was the case last season
with the defense, and you did talk about the subtractions,
but guys like Daniel Hunter.

Speaker 5 (01:23:02):
Those guys. We were talking about this during the break.

Speaker 3 (01:23:04):
The reason wex doesn't think that my prediction is gonna
come true is gonna be it's gonna be tough to stop,
particularly the run game of the Colts in that Week
one matchup. But if you're physical in any aspect, that's
gonna give you a leg up, or it's gonna give
you at least a fighting chance.

Speaker 4 (01:23:23):
Well, first of all, give the DJB enemy a little
hat tip on that referencing is ESPN article. And at
the very end of it was kind of the the
best part of it. He was getting a quote from
a Asi's A'll shy ear, and he basically said, plenty
of great players, a lot of you'll have a job.

Speaker 5 (01:23:42):
It just won't be here.

Speaker 4 (01:23:43):
If you think you play the style, get with it
or get lost. That's what it takes to be a Texan.

Speaker 1 (01:23:51):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named at him talking your
team Adam Clinton and I'm Wexler or the A Team
A Team.

Speaker 4 (01:24:12):
I'm falling a little football football at five here on
a Monday edition of The A Team. Yes, over the
course of the previous two hours and maybe the next
forty five, you might hear football chatter, but specifically we
usually line it up here, and obviously a little bit
more on what took place Saturday as it relates to
the final fifty three at some point that obviously has
to get made about a couple of days, the twenty seventh,

(01:24:35):
so three days after the Texans have wrapped up their preseason.
There's a couple teams that will play on Sunday, but
everyone's done two days in advance of that cut down
day getting down to fifty three. There aren't any other
cut down days. That's changed over the last handful of years.
You got your ninety in camp, and you shave them
all off at the same time put together your practice squad.

Speaker 5 (01:24:54):
After everybody's cleared.

Speaker 4 (01:24:55):
Waivers and the original initial fifty threes get put in place,
practice squad gets in place. There will be players that
have spent zero snaps in Texans camp that will be
on this team when they take the field against the
Indianapolis Colts. Probably not too many, but I would imagine
there may be one or two. A defensive end, I
think is a position you might find somebody from the

(01:25:15):
outside on their way in and probably cornerback is the
other place I think they will look defensive tackle. I
think they've had the time to look for it. They
haven't really missed anybody. Obviously, Denico Autry is missing, and
how they were planning on using them both inside and
out factors in. But he's also expected back before that
seventh game of the year, so I'm not sure that
they'll add anybody on the interior, even though I wish

(01:25:36):
they were a little bit better on the interior. Biggest
questions they'll have is how many and which ones are
they keeping on offense at both the running back position
and the wide receiver position. We'll start with the wide
receivers here and take it off of how they performed
in this past game. You know, Demiko talked to the
media this afternoon while we were on the air, and
he noted what we were just talking about. Through their

(01:25:57):
first two drives, it was great to see everybody get
the ball. You know, Brevin Jordan makes a catch, Dalton
Schultz makes three catches. You threw a ball a piece
to Diggs, Collins, and Dell all important ones. The big
game to Collins, the third down conversion to Diggs, the
catch that wasn't to Tank you also got a handoff
two Stefan Diggs got the necessary yardage on a short

(01:26:19):
yardage play, taking a man in motion, handing him the
ball after the snap and having him get the edge
to get the necessary yardage. You kind of did all
the things you'd like to see out of that offense.
And then the second teamers came in, and these are
where their decisions are gonna have to be made. Robert
Woods not much of a factor in this game. Bigger
factor last week when he caught four balls. I don't

(01:26:41):
think he needs to show the team anything. They just
have to decide if they want him more than somebody else.
Already know what he can do, They know what kind
of money they would save if they moved on from him.
Might have an opportunity if another team's in dire straits
to move him, although I don't know the team wants
his final year of his contract, but something they'd have
to consider. I Knowah Brown's been hurt, obviously did not play.

(01:27:02):
They know what he can do. It's about the other
guys that I think the bigger, tougher analysis has to
go in. You know, Xava Hutchinson. I think they know
what he is at this point what he can do
for them. It's why they hand him the ball a lot.
It's why he has made shown flashes and games. He's
shown a lot more in practice because there's more opportunity.
And this was really the first time there was a

(01:27:22):
heavy workload both in snap count, routes, run and targets
for John Metchi, and he did as much as you
could do with it. He caught every ball that was
thrown his way. The only one that went down was
an incompletion was the very first one targeted by case
Keenum on that long third down throw.

Speaker 5 (01:27:38):
He caught the ball, but he was out of bounds.
A ball took him out of bounds.

Speaker 4 (01:27:41):
I don't think he did a poor job trying to
stay in bounds, it just was not possible to catch
it before he had drifted out of bounds. The final
two plays of that early touchdown drive a great throw
to him coming across the side of the field and
was able to get the corner, get the ball all
the way down to the three, and the very next
play is well designed play with Steven Simms running through
the back of the end zone to try to pull

(01:28:01):
the additional defender. Keenan was on a rollout to his right.
From the get go, he had to make almost a
perfect throw because one of their underneath guys wasn't really
just shadowing case.

Speaker 5 (01:28:11):
He was going after him. But he made a great throw.

Speaker 4 (01:28:14):
Mechi hauled it in and got the first touchdown he's
had as a professional. And I think most people have
seen the reaction from him, his celebration which we saw
many years ago, unfortunately too much time in between his
touchdowns at Alabama now his first one here and the
reaction from all of his teammates on the sidelines and
everything else. And you know, I had a chance, like
many others did, to talk to Mechi after the game

(01:28:34):
and a few others about it. Obviously, both Dimiko Ryans
and CJ. Stroud were asked about it. So as we
get to our analysis of what maybe their sixth that
they keep, seven that they keep, let's hear what those
individuals had to say about John Metchi after this game.
We'll start with his head coach, Demiko Rans. This was
after the game about John Metchi for.

Speaker 11 (01:28:56):
METSI, I think he did a really really nice job
today catching the football, making some making some big time
plays for us, and you know it it's exciting to
see Metchi make those plays and think nobody's more fired
up than all of his teammates. You see the other
receivers and to see their genuine excitement for him when
he makes those plays, and just the entire team as

(01:29:16):
a whole, you know, is pull it for him to
do well.

Speaker 6 (01:29:19):
And he did a really nice job today.

Speaker 11 (01:29:21):
And that's why I think you play these the preseason games,
That's why you have training camp practices, is to see
guys continue to grow, get better and shine when the
opportunity comes.

Speaker 6 (01:29:31):
And METSI had a really nice day today.

Speaker 3 (01:29:34):
I think with Metchi and I was asking you about
this a little bit during the break, because he did
have a productive preseason game, if you will, and we
see that a million times. The problem is, even if
you want to say it's because he's the odd man out,
and I'm not saying he's gonna like not be in
the mix to do something, but when you have the
talent that they do at the position he plays, sometimes

(01:29:58):
the math doesn't math. But the problem is, like this
guy is we know that his health struggles, we know
all of that, but you traded up to get this guy.
That's what's always in the back of my mind. And
again his health issues that's not doesn't come a part
of the equation because nobody could have seen that. Nobody
knew about that. But if you trade up to get

(01:30:18):
anybody at any position, you would hope to get a
little bit more production out of them so far in
their career, from at least what he has done on
the field.

Speaker 4 (01:30:27):
Yeah, but you cited all the reasons why you haven't.
He didn't play for a year, and he wasn't himself
for a year.

Speaker 5 (01:30:32):
It's okay.

Speaker 4 (01:30:33):
He's still not at the top of the JEP start
and even if they keep him, he's not going to
be at the top of the depth chart. He runs
the risk of being an inactive on game day even
if he makes the team. And obviously this guy is
last game productive, but noted he's playing reserves. On reserves,
that's not going to happen in an NFL game. Nobody
has eleven injuries on defense. You're going to be playing
against their best players and you need to show that

(01:30:54):
you can be in that group. I think the injury
to Ben Scronic makes the equation a little bit easier.
I don't see how he makes the team now at all,
And so you're left with your three starters, Digs Dell Collins,
your veterans, which are decisions still to be made on
Brown and Woods, and your two younger players Matchi and Hutchinson.
You probably don't want to carry seven receivers if you're

(01:31:15):
looking at what you might want to carry in the backfield.
Mixon is gonna make the team a good Biwally is
probably too valuable as a special teamer and reserve kicker
to cut. You drafted Juir Jordan in the fifth round.
Could you wave him? Could you release him and have
him slip through and get him back on the practice squad.
I tend to doubt it. Sixth round pick, you signed

(01:31:37):
Cam Akers not because Joe Mixon got hurt. In my mind,
you signed him because you want to see if he
could play, because you need someone that can play. And
that leaves Damian Pearce and I just named five guys.
You're gonna carry five tailbacks and a full back. I mean,
you're carrying a full back, but that's you have to
figure out how to put the roster together, and it
becomes very difficult to do that if you're carrying an

(01:32:00):
extra running back an extra wide receiver. You're never suiting
up seven wide receivers. You're probably not even suiting up six.
So how many additional receivers are on the fifty three
man when you can obviously augment your roster with the
sixteen player practice squad. And that's where a guy like
Mechi or Hutchinson, each of them, you know, relatively recent draftees.
Mechi's in year three, hutch in year two. They can

(01:32:21):
probably play wide receiver at the NFL level, but they
just might not have an opportunity to do it with
the team that they're on.

Speaker 3 (01:32:29):
That's just to say they can play, its just not
going to be here in Houston, and it's just say
I mean, look, there's no other way to say. The
business is cold. And whatever situation you're talking about, it's
not just Mechi, it's it's those running backs you talk about.

Speaker 5 (01:32:44):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:32:45):
The interesting thing about that is, could you see a
scenario where they cut cam akers?

Speaker 5 (01:32:51):
Yeah? I could see a scenario, but I would not.

Speaker 4 (01:32:53):
I don't expect at this this point, when you were
making that statement, I thought the word or the name
coming out of your mouth would be Damian.

Speaker 5 (01:33:00):
Well that was that was actually the next test.

Speaker 4 (01:33:02):
I can see a scenario. I mean, you're a You've
had to training camps and a season, and you have
run the ball extremely poorly from the beginning of that
time to the end of the time. And there are
other reasons why it's not all on Pierce, But I
do think he recognizes there are things he could have
done a little bit better last season when we've talked
to him this year, and in his mind able to
go back and think back to those times. If you

(01:33:22):
don't fit, then you don't fit, and everything indicates that
is true. He does not fit in the way that
they want to run. And vision is a part of it.
Explosion is a part of it, decision making is a
part of it. The physical capabilities of running the football,
getting the handoff and making yards. In the NFL, it
doesn't go away. But Carrie after carry wearing fifty carries,

(01:33:43):
seventy carries, one hundred carries. They don't have a great
run blocking line. I was amazed how successful Devin Singletary was.

Speaker 5 (01:33:50):
That's not to say the same, but the other guys
with the same are doing this.

Speaker 4 (01:33:54):
So cam Akers, Yeah, almost guaranteed to get you more
yards if he stays healthy and he's a mirror. And
I know the manner in which he had the surgeries
on his achilles are a little bit newer age, a
little bit different than previous. But he's already He's already
shown as much as Damien and his previous did not
as many carries, but you could see that he could run.

Speaker 5 (01:34:14):
He's a perfect fit.

Speaker 4 (01:34:15):
They're running a lot of the same things they did
in Sean mcvay's offense. Still a young player, he's always
any players an injury risk, and he's probably a bigger one.
But he's not your starter. You're not counting on him.

Speaker 3 (01:34:27):
No, And if Damian Pierce is giving you some of
that stuff, then you didn't go out and get a
camp akers.

Speaker 6 (01:34:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:34:33):
I think that's definitely true.

Speaker 4 (01:34:34):
I think it's notable that Pierce is not only one
of the guys they're looking at to return kicks, but
he's also on their coverage teams. I think they're finding
a way to make sure he's useful for them, and
they did that last year. I never expect him to
see returning kicks, and I definitely didn't expect to see
him returning a kick for a touchdown, but if you
can get that from him, which to me, it's clear

(01:34:54):
during camp they've tried to make sure that that is
something he can give to this team, and I think
so far he has. When we get to a longer segment,
we can talk about what I think is actually gonna
happen with the kickoff rules. So I think that the
data is kind of indicating where I think the coaches
will go with it. But these roster decisions, both of
those two spots, I think are among the toughest offensively
offensive line. Do you carry eight or do you carry nine?

(01:35:15):
That's really all there is to it. Quarterback, same thing.
Do you just carry two? Do you have anybody that
wants one of your veterans in a low grade trade
because of all their injuries? All things to consider as
the Texans put their roster together. We'll talk more about
that here on the.

Speaker 1 (01:35:30):
Eighteen, the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety. We now
return to Adam Clinton and Adam Wexworth on Sports Talk
seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:35:48):
Eighteen, rolling along here on a Monday edition of the
program Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Home Network. Wex
and AC with you until six o'clock. We've been talking
a lot about well. The two topics today they have
dominated the show are obviously the Astros, who are opening
up three games set against the Red Sox tonight. In

(01:36:09):
this series, you will see the return of Justin Verlander,
as that was confirmed earlier today by Astro's manager Joe Spotta.

Speaker 5 (01:36:17):
He will pitch in the finale.

Speaker 3 (01:36:18):
Start the finale, I should say, of this series on
Wednesday afternoon. And the other thing we've talked about is
the Texans getting their latest installment of preseason action in
over the Giants this weekend, getting the win, CJ. Stroud
and company getting some reps, making way for the backups
and the backups of the backups as the preseason winds down.

(01:36:40):
Today and we also talked about the fact that Peyton
Manning had his top five quarterbacks right.

Speaker 5 (01:36:46):
And one of them that was not mentioned in addition
to c. J.

Speaker 3 (01:36:49):
Stroud and Dak Prescott was to attack of Violoa. And
I mean, guys give interviews all the time and it
falls out of the sky and may maybe they don't
even intend for something like this to happen.

Speaker 5 (01:37:03):
He went on a radio show.

Speaker 3 (01:37:06):
And talked about what it's like now versus what it
was like before and what I mean by that is
the coach he plays for. And I know that Brian Flores,
who coached him his first two years, is a guy
that you know, has had his own I don't know
how you would describe it. He's not happy with the

(01:37:27):
way coaching hires happen in the NFL.

Speaker 5 (01:37:30):
Currently, also wasn't happy with his owner telling him to
lose on purpose. Well, yeah, then there was that.

Speaker 3 (01:37:37):
I mean, there's a lot going on in Miami during
Tua's first two years, by the way that coincided. But
I don't know if anybody saw this coming today and
listen to Tua talk about the difference between being coached
by Brian Flores and being coached by Mike McDaniel currently.

Speaker 12 (01:37:55):
To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up
every morning and I told you you suck at what
you did, that you don't belong doing what you do,
that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here,
that you haven't earned this right, and then you have

(01:38:15):
somebody else come in and tell you, dude, you are
the best fit for this, Like you are accurate, you
are the best whatever you are, this you are that, Like,
how would it make you feel listening to one or
the other. You see what I'm saying, and then you
hear it. You hear it regardless of what it is,
the good or the bad, and you hear it more

(01:38:36):
and more. You start to actually believe that, I don't
care who you are, you can be the president of
the United States. You have a terrible person that's telling
you things that you don't want to hear or that
you probably shouldn't be hearing, You're gonna start to believe
that about yourself.

Speaker 2 (01:38:52):
And so that's sort of like what ended up happening,
and it was.

Speaker 12 (01:38:57):
I mean, it's basically been what two years of training
that out of not just me, but you know, a
couple of the guys as well that I've been here
since my rookie year all the way tone now, I.

Speaker 3 (01:39:06):
Think it's fascinating that even with the injuries, the concussion specifically,
all of that rolled into the first two years of
the Mike McDaniel era. You've got to, well, the most
interesting thing of all is that you have a starting
quarterback one of the top ten in the NFL. I
think we would, at least most of us would agree

(01:39:29):
he's in that he's just outside of it if he's
not a top ten saying this on the record about
Brian Flores, like, I we all know what happened here
with Bill O'Brien, and then how the Texans hired the
next not one, but two coaches before Tamiko Ryans and
everything that went into that. And the person that gave

(01:39:51):
the most transparency about how all that was unfolding was
Andre Johnson on social media. This is like blatant in
your Hey, this guy was a terrible coach for me,
and this guy is completely different.

Speaker 4 (01:40:05):
Yeah, and the for me part, it's definitely part of
the equation. I can't you know, listening to this commentary
he gave. He was talking with Dan Lebtard and when
he said all this, and I was hearing what he said,
and immediately I thought of something that happened late in
this last college football season when Alabama was in the
playoffs and their quarterback from here from Katie Hopkins, Jalen

(01:40:26):
Milroe was taking questions from the media about his ascension
to being one of the better quarterbacks in the country.
He'd been benched earlier in the year by Saban ridiculously,
but the question got him to give an answer like
how would you like it if your coach told you
you don't belong here, you shouldn't be playing here. And
he was talking about Bill O'Brien telling Milroe early in
his career, you shouldn't be playing quarterback. You're not good

(01:40:47):
enough to do this, you should play another position, and
it sounded a lot like how Tua felt like that
happened to both be Dama guys, how he felt like
he was being talked to or dealt with by his
head coach the NFL level, which at that point is
pretty ridiculous. Not that he's trying to tell them to
move positions, but you're investing in your quarterback when you
use a top ten selection, which the Dolphins did, and

(01:41:09):
it's paramount for the head coach to understand the thought
behind that. You might not like it, but if you
want to go. And there's another similarity I can't look past,
and it's unbelievable how it fits here. You can't do
what Jeff Fisher and the Titans did to Vince Younge.
And the reason why I say it's such a clear connection.

(01:41:32):
Vince Young made fifty one starts in his career. Tua
has made fifty one starts in his career. Vince went
thirty one to nineteen and one and Tua's gone thirty
two and nineteen. They basically have done the exact same
thing from a winning and losing standpoint. After their franchise
spent a high pick on them, and they went through

(01:41:54):
different reasons why they didn't start even more games over
a period of time, but ultimately their team got similar
things from them.

Speaker 5 (01:42:01):
Here's the big difference.

Speaker 4 (01:42:02):
And I guess We're lucky enough that the Dolphins came
to town last year to joint practice, so I've had
some face to face personal interaction with their head coach,
which is kind of the dichotomy of what he said
about Flores versus how he's being treated now like it's
an absolute love fest. Tua could go out there and
play the worst game of his life, cost them a
victory back to back weeks, and.

Speaker 5 (01:42:22):
He would love on him. He would talk about what
we need to do better.

Speaker 4 (01:42:26):
Here's how I can build you a huge, build you
up offensive coach. That's another huge difference. Guess who too
is playing for now? An offensive coach? Kind of some
people San Francisco Tree, Kubiak Tree, this is a guru
a guy who gets it how to make the most
out of his quarterback, versus a defensive guru in Brian

(01:42:47):
Flores who's back coordinating defenses again very well, So I
think that matters. And then because you brought it all
up here, I know people thought this was gonna happen here.
They have to draft a quarterback. The Texans have to
use this pick off quarterback offensive guy. Should you should
you make sure you hire Ben Johnson? Should you maybe
be looking at Shane Steichen more than you are see

(01:43:09):
or do you settle on, say this guy's too good,
we can't pass him up, and then we hope he
knows how to develop a quarterback. And the way Demiko's
developing his quarterback by not doing the developing, he's developing
the person.

Speaker 2 (01:43:23):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (01:43:23):
But Bobby Slowick and Bill Laser and last year Shane
Day and Jirot, they're developing the quarterback.

Speaker 5 (01:43:29):
They're doing it right in my defensive coach.

Speaker 3 (01:43:31):
Right in my opinion, teams, organizations, media us get too
caught up in that, if you want to call it
Manusha whatever. Too many times, aside from the obvious, which
is that he played here and everybody loves here, it
loves him here, Demiko Ryans was the right coach for
the job because of the leader he is, not because

(01:43:51):
he's a defensive coach or an offensive coach, not because
he can develop one guy versus another, Not because if
you draft this type of quarterback versus is this guy
or even I mean, I'm sure he wanted Will Anderson Jr.
He ended up getting both, which is great. Nick Cassario,
props to you for pulling that off.

Speaker 5 (01:44:09):
Thanks to Sean. Yeah right, thanks for the extra assets.

Speaker 3 (01:44:13):
But it's like the the right guy for the job
is the right guy for the job because he's the
right guy for the job.

Speaker 5 (01:44:20):
I think Daniel is the right guy for that job.

Speaker 4 (01:44:23):
Their team, how they've built their offense, the incredible amount
of talent, They have so much speed and they're three deep,
but seemingly every spot. And they really did have I mean,
I know they kind of cratered at the end of
the season and they went into a snowstorm in Kansas
City and did not look at but there's no there's
no way they should have lost the division and they did.

Speaker 5 (01:44:42):
They still had it. It was their last six.

Speaker 4 (01:44:45):
Oh wait, that was the Jazz Susso had to win
every game the final five season, and they including a
win two years with coach McDaniel versus his season with
coach flores Is or two seasons there. It's it's night
and day even watching him play, just look at how
he manages things. And I don't think he's fool proof yet.

(01:45:07):
I still think he makes He jumps out of the
pocket maybe a little bit too quickly, not necessarily to
run the ball, but when he could stay there and
make his throw versus throwing on the run or kind
of giving up on a certain half of the field
because of the direction you've gone. The numbers he's put
up in the ability for that offense to be as
explosive as they are the last two years under coach
McDaniel a much better fit for TUA and thus the team. Yeah,

(01:45:29):
it's worked out quite well. And I mean I think
we're getting to the point with so much this were
probably three years in on this players, media, everybody, they're
doing so much more talking. They're answering so many more
questions because of the launching an explosion of long form
podcast everything they could. They're talking to people that will

(01:45:50):
get them to talk, whether it's athletes on their podcasts,
the amount of stuff we've gotten from those or sit
down like this. That's not a three to four minute interview.
It's not a postgame in it's not a sit down
at your locker interview.

Speaker 5 (01:46:02):
And he was he was not.

Speaker 4 (01:46:04):
I don't think he was trying to look at how
bad this guy is versus I'm telling you what it
was like for me from my perspective. You might hear
a different perspective from the coach or other people who
are around, but this is out felt to me.

Speaker 3 (01:46:16):
Well, and he's the quarterback, so it's the most important perspective.
That's not a coach, So I mean, that's that's part
of it. But yeah, fascinating stuff earlier today from to us.
Speaking of fascinating stuff, some of it we have not
gotten to and we'll do that next in in case
you missed.

Speaker 1 (01:46:31):
It, the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety, Hey.

Speaker 3 (01:46:38):
Sparky from the Astros broadcast team.

Speaker 7 (01:46:42):
Catch every Astros game of Sports Talk.

Speaker 10 (01:46:45):
Seven ninety and iHeartRadio app Home of Your Astros two.

Speaker 5 (01:46:53):
And a half hours in on the A Team.

Speaker 4 (01:46:54):
So on Itember two, we might not have talked about yet,
or are some things that need to revisit. It's all
part of In Case you missed It, which hits here
each and every day here on the A Team, both
on Sports Talk seven to ninety and now via simulcast
on Space City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (01:47:09):
What do we have today?

Speaker 10 (01:47:10):
All right, it's a great way to make our debut
with this story because I'm only going to read the
headline X NFL player arrested for allegedly urinating on plane passenger.

Speaker 6 (01:47:21):
Do you want the rest of the details?

Speaker 5 (01:47:23):
Well, I mean, after a leading like that, I know
one detail.

Speaker 4 (01:47:28):
I think having a little bit of knowledge like most
adults do about airplanes and disruptions. Yeah, wherever they were headed,
they probably didn't make it there.

Speaker 5 (01:47:38):
This sounds like a turnaround job. This sounds like we're
headed back.

Speaker 10 (01:47:42):
Well it was Gostar Cherillis was the player who was
a former first round pick out of Boston College, played
for the Lions, Colts and Bucks and Troopers in Boston
at Logan Airport. Had to board the plane because he
was unruly. He had not only urinated on on a
elderly passenger, he had also struck another passenger and also

(01:48:06):
appeared to be drunk.

Speaker 5 (01:48:07):
As troopers.

Speaker 10 (01:48:09):
Like I said, boarding the plane said that he became
irate and uncooperative. Now he says it was from a
sleep medication that he normally does not use.

Speaker 4 (01:48:19):
Yeah, I mean that's always a possibility. Whatever, Well, he
was not as he normally would be. I think that's
fairly safe to say, whether it was a combination of
something taken with something else, or something he was just
new to medication, whatever the case may be. Yes, it's
not the first time we've heard this.

Speaker 5 (01:48:34):
Store.

Speaker 4 (01:48:35):
We hear these stories more often regarding athletes unruly behavior.
But unruly behavior whether it's at the airport, or during
a traffic stop, or at a convenience store and a
shopping mall, it happens.

Speaker 5 (01:48:46):
Well, the unruly part, and even.

Speaker 3 (01:48:49):
Erratic type behavior based on a combination of substances or whatever.
You know, every case is different, I don't. I mean,
that's not normally the out come that I would think
would happen, though. No, and striking of another passenger is
actually far more not understandable but believable than the other

(01:49:09):
thing he mentioned.

Speaker 4 (01:49:10):
Yeah, shocking, we had not yet gotten to that story.
In case you missed it.

Speaker 10 (01:49:14):
What else it's so on the I guess not as
weird side commander's name in Jaden Daniels are starting quarterback.

Speaker 4 (01:49:23):
Yes to me, you look at this group of first
round picks, you know, bo Nix and each.

Speaker 5 (01:49:29):
Of the others further down the board.

Speaker 4 (01:49:31):
Michael Pennox is not the opening day game starter for
the Atlanta Falcons, provided Kirk Cousins is healthy and he
will be and he So that's the one decision that
probably doesn't need to be considered. Cale Williams is starting
for the Bears. I mean, the Patriots can waste their
time with any of the other three quarterbacks they have
and not start Drake May. I'm not even saying he's

(01:49:51):
ready or great. To me, those decisions are so easy.
I can't believe how many teams mess it up if
you play Drake May and he stinks, So what great
draft position?

Speaker 5 (01:50:02):
Who cares?

Speaker 4 (01:50:02):
You're not gonna ruin his career by having him play
fifteen bad games of football his rookie season. They're gonna
protect him well enough. He's gonna make his decisions.

Speaker 5 (01:50:11):
He'll learn.

Speaker 4 (01:50:12):
Same thing's happening in Denver, even though it's actually showing
on the field versus the ones or versus the reserves.

Speaker 5 (01:50:19):
Bo Nix as the quarterback.

Speaker 4 (01:50:20):
They should be starting with Stidham playing in the backup role.
That it's clear as day. It doesn't even need to
have you don't even need to see it. It's what
I would do. I think it wasn't gonna happen in
Minnesota because they're stupid, But now that decision got made
for them.

Speaker 5 (01:50:32):
McCarthy won't start because he's hurt. Sam Darnold will.

Speaker 4 (01:50:36):
We'll see if he's still starting by week three when
the Texans get to play him.

Speaker 5 (01:50:41):
Jade Daniels, same thing. There's no reason to not play him.

Speaker 4 (01:50:44):
You're not gonna see him play better sooner by having
him watch an inferior player take snaps for a week,
five weeks, ten weeks.

Speaker 5 (01:50:54):
It never makes any sense.

Speaker 4 (01:50:55):
And I think we're seeing more teams wise enough to
that you drafted him for a reason, because you think
he's gonna be awesome, So play him eight straight.

Speaker 3 (01:51:04):
Different week one starting quarterbacks in a row. Now for
the Commanders, can you name any of them? All of them?

Speaker 2 (01:51:11):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (01:51:12):
Sure, probably? But does anybody want me to.

Speaker 3 (01:51:15):
Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith, Case Keenum, uh, Dwayne Haskins, Ryan Fitzpatrick,
Carson Wentz, and Sam Howe what a murderer's row.

Speaker 4 (01:51:28):
That's why they were in position to draft to Jade
and Dan, and I think they I think a lot
of these teams are gonna end up being happy personally.
I think that's one of them. I definitely the quarterback.
I don't know if overall. I mean I said a lot.
I think those two, the two at the top. I mean,
let me go out on a limb here. I think
they're definitely going to be the right guy. I don't
know how big they'll win in their respective places, but

(01:51:50):
Caleb Williams is in an awesome spot. And yes, I
saw all Caleb's highlights. I did have a chance to
see a lot of his other plays. Since he only
completed half of his passes. There's reasons why, and doesn't
sound as good when you come out of a game
like that.

Speaker 5 (01:52:02):
But I don't think it was poor.

Speaker 4 (01:52:03):
And the magnificence is there, and I don't mind at all,
don't have any hesitancy at all to say, yeah, the
comparisons to Pat Mahomes should be there.

Speaker 5 (01:52:13):
They belong there. It's not talking.

Speaker 4 (01:52:14):
About results, not talking about winning. I'm talking about watching
a player play. You saw it at s see you're
seeing it now. He is creative. Plays don't die. When
he goes and takes a snap, he figures out away.
Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. But his style is
worthwhile comparison to Pat Mahomes. So I'll keep making it
until I'm forced not to. Who's gonna force you, Nobody?

(01:52:38):
So I'll keep making it. What else we have?

Speaker 5 (01:52:39):
All right?

Speaker 10 (01:52:39):
Finally one, let's go to college football. So in the
age of name, image and likeness, the transfer portal, the
season is finally here.

Speaker 5 (01:52:47):
And if you want to address either.

Speaker 10 (01:52:48):
Of those things, if you're a player at Oklahoma State,
Mike Gundy's door is closed to you.

Speaker 13 (01:52:53):
There's no negotiating now. Portal's over at the negotiations history.
Now we're playing football.

Speaker 9 (01:52:58):
You can enjoy his coaching conference and a twelve teen playoffs,
everything being so different than just the newness of it.

Speaker 13 (01:53:05):
Yeah, and you know the business side of what we
do now is is we have to have those conversations
with him. You know, tell your agent to quit callingists
and asking for maloney. It's non negotiable. Now going to
start again in December. So now we're able to direct
ourselves just at football, and that part is fun. Because
there's been so much other stuff going on, it's been

(01:53:25):
hard to really focus on football.

Speaker 4 (01:53:27):
Hat tip to coach Gundhy initially for answering Barry Trammell's
questions rather than doing what Russell Westbrook would do. As
for the next one, he's going to be a sound
bite machine no matter what's going on, whether you're writing
articles about his quarterback, or he's making comments Gordon, or
he's now talking about Nil, He's going to be a

(01:53:47):
gold mine. And I don't know if the pressures I
don't know. I'm curious what outsiders or people closer to
the program believe the pressure will be on him, kind
of in the way he handles everything. But the new
conference that they're in, they stayed, so the conference has changed.
I'm calling it a new conference. There's no there's no

(01:54:08):
heavy hitter, there's no big dog. And I'm not trying
to say Texas was because I realized how few Big
twelve titles they won. But with Texas and O you
no longer there. It's anybody's conference. I think just about
every year. Portal is another reason why Kansas State might
be the best team in twenty twenty four. Oklahoma State
might be the best team in twenty five. TCU might
be the best. I don't know if I'm gonna add

(01:54:29):
Colorado to that conversation, even though they're gonna have sweet
headsets this year, but we shall see. I can't help
but make note of a post by the Oklahoma State
quarterback today. Though you sent out one yourself, I did too. Hey,
Happy first day of blank grade, Happy first day of kindergarten,
my last first day with.

Speaker 5 (01:54:49):
The kids in the house. Whatever it is.

Speaker 4 (01:54:51):
Their quarterback, Alan Bowman sent out his own happy first
day for himself. Happy first day of nineteenth grade. He
has headed in two year seven of college football. This year,
he has played for Texas Tech, He's played for Oklahoma State,
played for Michigan, and he is heading into his seventh

(01:55:12):
year of college football, having thrown passes in all six
of his previous years red shirts, medical and otherwise COVID season,
and here he is looking to lead Oklahoma State to
the Big twelve crown.

Speaker 3 (01:55:24):
Tell your agent to quit calling us and asking for
more money. I wonder if the Astros will say that
the Scott Boris or Alex Bregman this offseason.

Speaker 7 (01:55:33):
The Aight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:55:37):
You know you need to get yourself into that vehicle
you've been thinking about for a while. Now, just pull
the trigger.

Speaker 3 (01:55:43):
Go into Classic Elite Chevy Sugarland or Classic Elite Chevy
Highway six and take advantage while you still can of
Classic Elite's summer send.

Speaker 5 (01:55:51):
Off lots of deals to get a hold of.

Speaker 3 (01:55:54):
You want to make sure that you get it at
either location owned and operated by Jeff and Tiffany Sebastian,
Class Elite Chevy Sugarland or Classic Elite Chevy Highway Six.

Speaker 1 (01:56:05):
I'm cleansing, Adam went for the Afternoon team covering your team.

Speaker 7 (01:56:10):
Slive this day to left center failed. This is Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (01:56:15):
Of Astros Baseball, the.

Speaker 3 (01:56:24):
Final segment of a Monday edition of the A Team
here on Sports Talk seven ninety, before we make way
for Astro's pregame coverage here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and of course on Space City Home Network.

Speaker 5 (01:56:36):
They have got you covered over there as well.

Speaker 3 (01:56:39):
Astros and Red Sox getting it on in the opener
of a three game set tonight, and then the Astros
will go back out on the road to take on
two of the best teams in baseball and back to
back series, one of which the next one will be
a four game set.

Speaker 5 (01:56:54):
But before they leave.

Speaker 3 (01:56:55):
Town, Justin Verlander will have made his latest start in
his first one in a long long time, and the
Astros will try to continue to not only maintain their
lead in the Al West, but maybe put some separation
between them and the Seattle Mariners. Not to mention, the
American League is within shouting distance the top of.

Speaker 4 (01:57:15):
The American League not that far away. Seventy three wins
for the Orioles and Yankee seventy two for the Guardians.
The Astros now at sixty seven after taking two of
three from the White Sox, so yeah, you could say
it is there for them. They have four games left
with the Orioles. They have three games left with the Guardians,
so you certainly have some of that in your own hands.
I'm not expecting a season sweep of the Orioles. They're

(01:57:36):
three games into it already. I don't expect another four.
But if they got them, that would go a long
way towards the Orioles not winning the division, so it
probably wouldn't matter. Yeah, and then taking three from the Guardians,
where the Yankees have during that stretch, probably a bunch
of East teams. I mean, that's the thing with strength

(01:57:57):
of schedule, like you have to factor in things you
don't know about yet, like how many games of the
Astros have left with the Rangers? None, how many games
of the Mariners have left with the Rangers?

Speaker 5 (01:58:07):
Seven? Are the Rangers good? Do they care?

Speaker 4 (01:58:10):
Is anybody playing? Or what are they playing for? Who
are they even sending out there? Their season's over? And
those seven games that looked daunting when the schedule came
out don't don't seem very daunting at this point in time.

Speaker 3 (01:58:22):
Second to last series of the season has the Orioles
playing the Yankees. So but this upcoming stretch as I
look at the schedule here for the Yankees, in other words,
when the Orioles and Astros will be playing.

Speaker 5 (01:58:37):
Uh, where are we at here?

Speaker 3 (01:58:41):
Cleveland and Colorado kind of bridge the two because it's
the finale of the Cleveland series.

Speaker 5 (01:58:46):
Thursday, when the Astros and Orioles will be.

Speaker 3 (01:58:48):
Starting, and the Colorado's not gonna probably put up much
of a fight for the Yankees.

Speaker 4 (01:58:51):
You wouldn't think so. Team the Astros took care of
quite easily. Just take care against nothing's ever changed. You
take care of your own.

Speaker 5 (01:58:58):
Playing the Dodgers, you can't hope for anything.

Speaker 4 (01:59:00):
The Mariners are. Most of their games are very similar.
They had the rare blowout and yesterday they had to
blow out two weeks ago. Almost every one of their
other games, it's a low scoring game and it ends
up being a battle of the bullpens. That's one way
the Astros have created the cushion. Their bullpen has faltered
quite a bit lately, even though they tried to make
it better, adding Yimi Garcia, who started off very well

(01:59:21):
as last couple of outings have been a little less successful,
but their starters still for the most part, are getting
the job done. George Kirby's blow up outing notwithstanding, But
like some points in yesterday's game, you're like, well, Frommer's
pitching a gym, but he probably knows he has to
in this particular instance because their lineup is so light.
That's what the Mariners' pitchers do every single time they

(01:59:43):
take the mound, and at some point I do think
it's shown their second half performances pitching wise, versus their
first half performances when they work quite in this situation
and now they're not only in a race, they're chasing
instead of being chased. I think it has taken a
toll a little bit on their starting pitchers, who know,
we have to give them near perfection for our offense
to have enough to come around on the right side

(02:00:04):
of it. I don't know that the series the Astros
just played in Boston is a good indication of what's
about to happen over the next three games. I be honest,
even though the Astros have been really, really good on
the road, I did not expect them to do what
they did.

Speaker 5 (02:00:20):
I mean, they.

Speaker 4 (02:00:20):
Outscored them twenty three to ten. You only had one
close game. I was really surprised that they were able
to hold the Red Sox offense to just ten runs
in three games.

Speaker 3 (02:00:31):
But that's that's what they've been doing, though it is true.
I just it's fascinating. I just can't believe. What do
we say at the beginning of the season, and we
say it all the time, and it's a cliche and
it goes back to I guess it was Bill Parcells
that coined it. You know you are what your record
says you are, and we were saying that earlier in
the year when they were twelve games under five hundred
and they were just, to use your word, dreadful in

(02:00:55):
the most facets of the game. It's just it's hard
to sit here on August nineteenth and think about the
fact that they were swept to start the year in
not a three game series, a four game series by
the Yankees. Then they won one of those three games
against the Blue Jays, the no hitter from Renault Blanco,

(02:01:19):
and to where they are now, where they're starting to
look like they might not run away with the division,
but maybe I don't know, Like the Mariners can't score
until they can score, and you know what, even if
they can't score, you're gonna you're gonna keep pace with
the Dodgers lineup in this series.

Speaker 5 (02:01:35):
I know. I just got done saying don't hope for anything.

Speaker 4 (02:01:37):
Is a little bit like what the Astros have been
with some injuries, their bets Otani and Will Smith, oh
and Freddie Freeman. Now that they're all back together there
those four guys, yep, now it's usually enough, the four all.

Speaker 3 (02:01:49):
Star offensive players. Haven't you looked at guys stink? Yeah,
but haven't you lived scores of Dodgers games this year?
And been like, oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 (02:01:59):
I mean they are getting Yeah, I probably should have
added to Oscar to the not stinks list, but I
know he's an All Star caliber player, but they're usually
counting on a small portion our offense.

Speaker 5 (02:02:08):
Yeah, I've thought about that. I've looked at that.

Speaker 3 (02:02:11):
The pitch as the Dodgers have twenty runs tonight like
it's happened. Okay, maybe not twenty, but they've put up
some ridiculous, crooked numbers and not just you know sevens
and eights.

Speaker 4 (02:02:22):
Well, the Astros pitchers are why they are where they are.
An e are over five in April and March, an
e ara under four every month since in this month,
best in baseball by a sizable March and almost a
half a run better than everybody else across the board.
I'm not saying it's going to continue, but surely if
it does, you can put a close on this division.

(02:02:44):
They'll they'll find a way to score the runs necessary
to win if they continue to get this kind of pitching.

Speaker 5 (02:02:48):
And you know, Cacuchi has yet to quote.

Speaker 4 (02:02:51):
Unquote give them a quality start, but they'll take exactly
what they've given. He's given them through each of these three,
getting them into a situation where they're in position to
win every time he takes the ball.

Speaker 5 (02:03:01):
That's all you can ask.

Speaker 3 (02:03:02):
Best case scenario for Justin on Wednesday, And we'll revisit
this after we get back on the air after that
game because it is a day game. But I just
age time that he's been away. Who he's pitching against
obviously has to factor in. But I'm just I'm curious

(02:03:23):
to see what we get out of this version of
Justin Verlander.

Speaker 4 (02:03:27):
Five innings, two runs, seventy pitches and a win. H
It depends on the offense.

Speaker 3 (02:03:33):
Wait, Verlanders can't get any run support. No, the role
of that is Spencer Arrighetti. This season is so dumb,
how it's always just one guy every year on any
given year it is Roger Clemens back in the day,
and Andy Pettitt and Roy Oswalt always got enough runs
to get it done, and Oswald did it in like
one hour and fifty minutes.

Speaker 4 (02:03:52):
Pitching against Boston again should afford him. It definitely affords
him not to pitch against Baltimore. He'll pitch again on
that road trip, probably against the Phillies. See how those
first two starts go. They will go to six man rotation.
There'll be light in the bullpen because of it. These
are things that they've dealt with throughout the year. I'm
sure they have an idea of how to deal with

(02:04:12):
it this time around, but I think it's very dangerous.
It's good for the five other starters who are maybe
gonna catch a break and have their arms kind of
catch back up to where they are on the season,
but it does the reverse to the bullpen, a bullpen
that throughout that entire stretch of time is going to
be without Ryan Presley, who's on the injured list. So
all these things are factors get you into the Astros
on Deck show, Matt Thomas has that for you from

(02:04:35):
the ballpark. Appreciate everybody that was in on the discussion
throughout the day and throughout the upcoming days this week.
You know you can now catch us right there on
Space City Home Network as well via the simulcast and
right here on your home for Astros Baseball and Rockets basketball.
Both they and us share those same things here on
the A Team. Talk to you tomorrow again at three o'clock.

Speaker 3 (02:05:00):
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(02:05:22):
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Speaker 5 (02:05:57):
That's Men's T Clinic dot Com.

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