September 30, 2024 • 10 mins
The Athletic's Astros beat writer Chandler Rome joins The A-Team for his weekly visit. He talks about the chances that Yordan Alvarez could be available for the AL Wild Card Series. Also, what to expect from AJ Hinch's Detroit Tigers club and what to expect from this best of 3 series.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A visit from Chandler Rome over at the ballpark with
the Astros. There are a bunch of things we need
to get into almost immediately Chandler, and one of those
things is Jordan Alvarez. But that is second. If I'm
not mistaken, you and everybody else enjoying the Astros workout
right now also had Mets Braves on the big screen
out at Minute Made Park, and I imagine the reaction
(00:20):
out there to what was taking place was pretty wild.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, it was kind of awkward to be standing next
to Troy Snicker when Brandon Memo hit the three homer
that put the Mets up. Smitt snit, Troy held he
held it in pretty well.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
But yeah, I mean it was. It's kind of awkward
too with d Dana.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Brown's obviously had a ton of connections in Atlanta, so
he's watching with you.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Know, some sort of rooting emotion.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
But that was an incredible game, just I mean, and
it's set up now that the Mets can just go
through the motions, swing at the first pitch of everything
in the second game, and maybe the Braves can still
get into the playoffs. But that was I mean, baseball
needs eyes and needs attention.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
They got it today. That was incredible.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
It was a very interesting end to an already interesting
finale weekend. And you don't have to look any further
than the Astros who didn't complete their schedule. See, there's
gonna be an asterisk next to this World Series now,
isn't there? If they win at all, Maybe.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They've only got one full season non asterisk World Series title.
I guess if they do pull it off this year.
I'm kidding obviously, because I know there's people that are
listening to this with some power that are gonna be
mad that I said that. But no, like, yeah, they
The fact that we waited around for three hours yesterday
to even try to get that game in was absurd.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But I think what they.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Wanted to do is they wanted to wait until the
Tigers and the Royals finished their game so that there
could be kind of even travel stuff like, so no
team could claim that they got to travel earlier than
the other and it could be fair. And if you
do look, they did call that game right when both
the White Talks and Tigers went final and Royals and
Braves went final, So maybe there was a method to
(02:04):
their madness.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Maybe, So obviously some things to get into and some
interesting things I thought were said today at the podium.
Let's start with what was said and what has been
seen and what's your best somewhat guess is on where
things stand with Jorda on Alvarez. I still have a
bit to go before tomorrow's early morning need to put
the wild Card Series roster down officially. Where do things
(02:25):
stand with number forty four?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We don't really know much more today than we knew yesterday.
Joe spot us that on the podium that Alvarez was
going to try to run and was going to take
some swings in the batting cage. We're not allowed to
be in the batting cage. And I didn't see him run.
So I have not seen ord On Alvarez today. Now,
granted I was running between the field and press conferences,
(02:49):
so he may have popped out at some point, but
I did not put my eyes on him. So the
short answer is like, I don't know. I presume this
is going to go down to the wire. Dana said
as much yesterday on the pregame show that they're going
to take this down to the wire and kind of
see what, if anything Alvarez can give them. But I've
kind of become more I've kind of started to lean
(03:11):
towards the theory that they're going to carry him on
the roster no matter what.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
If he can contribute great, if.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Not, just having him on the roster and having the
threat of using him possibly that puts another thought in
aj Hinch's head of how to deploy his bullpen, how
to pitch certain guys when there is even the possibility
that Alvarez is available. So it does sound like he's
made progress, obviously, Like when we got to Cleveland on
(03:38):
Friday there there was not a ton of optimism that
he was going to be able to be on this
wildcard roster, and he's gotten better to a point where
this is a discussion. So he is making progress. I
just don't know if it's going to be in time.
And look, I will say this, if he does get
on the roster and he does play, he certainly won't
(03:59):
be at a hundred.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
But again, you know, seventy.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Five seventy percent yard on Alvroz is probably better than
half the league.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Anyway, do you feel like if you're the Astros going
into this particular series and so many scenarios could have
unfolded over the weekend, but you wind up with aj
Hinch coming to town with an upstart team you could
argue as one of the hottest, if not the hottest
in baseball down the stretch, and the alternative would have
(04:27):
been a Royals team that has not been playing as
well lately. Do you feel like this is as dangerous
a wild card opponent as the Astros could have gotten,
given that, you know, baseball is so crazy and unpredictable.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I think so, because, I mean, the Tigers have Trek Scooble,
who's gonna win the Siion Award. He should win it unanimously,
and they'll pitch on tomorrow and then they're gonna do
I mean, aj Hinch probably put it best today. They're
gonna have Tarek Schooble tomorrow and then pitching chaos after that.
And that's gonna be a lot of mixing and matching
these guys. The ashers hitters are not gonna see the
(05:01):
same reliever more than once. Probably there's gonna be a
lot of matchups done. They're gonna they're gonna make pitching
changes mid inning kind of. It's gonna really throw this
lineup for for a curve. And look that this Tigers
pitching staff, all of them have been pitching incredibly well,
and so it's gonna be a it's a difficult challenge.
And add to it that it's the best of three
series and anything can happen. I mean, this is not
(05:23):
one of those things where you know, usually in a
best of seven series, the best team kind of shows
itself and it's long enough to where you have to outlast,
Like I mean, the best of three, so much stuff
can happen in two games.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
And uh, you know, you're right in that.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The Tigers have probably been the hottest team in baseball
down the stretch. They're thirty one and eleven, I believe
in their last forty two games. You guys have seen
how aj Hinch manages in October.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
He's really good at it. And it's it's gonna be
a daunting task.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I you know, I think the one obvious place where
you look and you have to give the Ashers the
advantages that the Tigers lineup is not very good. They
they they're they're they're getting timely hits when they need to.
But this is not a lineup that I think is
going to be able to hit a ton of elite pitching.
These are gonna be if you know, if it follows
(06:13):
the script, this is gonna be too low. Two or
three very low scoring games where you know, one play,
one pitch, one at that one decision could decide a
lot of things. Because I think the Tigers are pitching
well enough right now that I don't think the Ashers
are going to be scoring six and seven runs and
vice versa. I don't think this Tigers lineups can be
able to get to Valdez or Kakuci or Brown for
(06:34):
for a ton anyway. So a lot of low scoring games,
a lot of high stress games, and a lot of
you know, focus on a lot of decision making and
kind of how things are gonna be planned out in
a few innings.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
What's your thought on the amount of impact Experience has
considering it's rather lopsided between the two teams and this series.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I mean, I don't think it's nothing, but I also
think that the Tigers are probably coming in here with
house money, right like, they know that they're the underdogs.
I mean they're they're I mean they're the sixth seed,
They're they're literally the last team in the field. They
sold at the deadline, like they I don't know if
they're using this as a rallying cry, but literally like
(07:19):
they're the front office didn't believe in them because they
sold Jack Flaherty and Mark Canna and Andrew Chafin at
the deadline. They're they're gonna come in here with nothing
to lose, Like, if anything, I would think they're gonna
be playing pretty free, pretty loose. And I don't think
the Astros are gonna play tight by any stretch of
the imagination.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
You know, they're so conditioned for October.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
But I don't think that the Tigers are gonna come
in here very like wide eyed and you know, stiff
and not able to function. I think, if anything, they're
gonna come in here.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
They've been on a roll.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
They they've just got vibes with them right now, Like
it just seems like any way they need to win
a game, they're winning it. So I don't think that
can be overlooked. You this team is they've won a
lot recently. They've found a lot of different ways to
win games. I think that can be that can be
dangerous in October, even with a lack of experience.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I know that it's going to be an easy, you know,
low hanging fruit type subplot storyline for the talking heads
out there for sure, But knowing him a little bit,
do you feel like AJ Hinch is especially motivated because
of who he's going up against, because of the owner
who let him go that he's going up against or
(08:30):
is he really trying to just you know, enjoy the
moment with this new franchise and you know this I
guess new chapter of his managerial career.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
You know, I thought it was interesting that that in
his in his press availability today, AJ he got all
the questions you would expect him to get, and he
indulged them all. He answered them well, but he always
found a way to direct the folk, redirect the focus
back to his team, Like I think he wants his
team to be the thing that's covered and talked about,
(09:01):
because I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
If not for a J.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Hinch, I wouldn't know who five Tigers are. But you know,
I think he wants more of the focus on the players.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
But that that that's tough to do.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's tough to do when you're when you're who he
is and what the history here, and you know it's
he will never say it publicly but it's human nature, right,
you come back to the place that fired you, you
that it is in every human beings nature to want
to be able to stick it to someone or and.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I don't even know who that someone is, but just
be able to have the last laugh.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And I'd be stunned if that's not brewing somewhere in
the recesses of his brain or deep down inside, even
though he'll never acknowledge it. So yeah, I would imagine that.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
There is a little bit extra age he's going to
bring into this. And then look, you've.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Seen it in the way that he has managed regular
season games against the Astros. I remember we were in Detroit.
It was the last year or the year before. He
ran a suicide squeeze in the ninth thinning of the game,
and in a random game in June, Ashers were very
well prepared for it, dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt,
they walked off and won the game. So he's managed
(10:10):
these games against the Ashers a little more intensity all along,
and this will be no different.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Chandler, We appreciate the time as always. We'll catch up again.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Next week, all right, Thanks guys.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Chandler roam with the athletic here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety
A visit from Chandler Rome over at the ballpark with
the Astros. There are a bunch of things we need
to get into almost immediately Chandler, and one of those
things is Jordan Alvarez. But that is second. If I'm
not mistaken, you and everybody else enjoying the Astros workout
right now also had Mets Braves on the big screen
out at Minute Made Park, and I imagine the reaction
(00:20):
out there to what was taking place was pretty wild.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, it was kind of awkward to be standing next
to Troy Snicker when Brandon Memo hit the three homer
that put the Mets up. Smitt snit, Troy held he
held it in pretty well.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
But yeah, I mean it was. It's kind of awkward
too with d Dana.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Brown's obviously had a ton of connections in Atlanta, so
he's watching with you.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Know, some sort of rooting emotion.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
But that was an incredible game, just I mean, and
it's set up now that the Mets can just go
through the motions, swing at the first pitch of everything
in the second game, and maybe the Braves can still
get into the playoffs. But that was I mean, baseball
needs eyes and needs attention.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
They got it today. That was incredible.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
It was a very interesting end to an already interesting
finale weekend. And you don't have to look any further
than the Astros who didn't complete their schedule. See, there's
gonna be an asterisk next to this World Series now,
isn't there? If they win at all, Maybe.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They've only got one full season non asterisk World Series title.
I guess if they do pull it off this year.
I'm kidding obviously, because I know there's people that are
listening to this with some power that are gonna be
mad that I said that. But no, like, yeah, they
The fact that we waited around for three hours yesterday
to even try to get that game in was absurd.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But I think what they.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Wanted to do is they wanted to wait until the
Tigers and the Royals finished their game so that there
could be kind of even travel stuff like, so no
team could claim that they got to travel earlier than
the other and it could be fair. And if you
do look, they did call that game right when both
the White Talks and Tigers went final and Royals and
Braves went final, So maybe there was a method to
(02:04):
their madness.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Maybe, So obviously some things to get into and some
interesting things I thought were said today at the podium.
Let's start with what was said and what has been
seen and what's your best somewhat guess is on where
things stand with Jorda on Alvarez. I still have a
bit to go before tomorrow's early morning need to put
the wild Card Series roster down officially. Where do things
(02:25):
stand with number forty four?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We don't really know much more today than we knew yesterday.
Joe spot us that on the podium that Alvarez was
going to try to run and was going to take
some swings in the batting cage. We're not allowed to
be in the batting cage. And I didn't see him run.
So I have not seen ord On Alvarez today. Now,
granted I was running between the field and press conferences,
(02:49):
so he may have popped out at some point, but
I did not put my eyes on him. So the
short answer is like, I don't know. I presume this
is going to go down to the wire. Dana said
as much yesterday on the pregame show that they're going
to take this down to the wire and kind of
see what, if anything Alvarez can give them. But I've
kind of become more I've kind of started to lean
(03:11):
towards the theory that they're going to carry him on
the roster no matter what.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
If he can contribute great, if.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Not, just having him on the roster and having the
threat of using him possibly that puts another thought in
aj Hinch's head of how to deploy his bullpen, how
to pitch certain guys when there is even the possibility
that Alvarez is available. So it does sound like he's
made progress, obviously, Like when we got to Cleveland on
(03:38):
Friday there there was not a ton of optimism that
he was going to be able to be on this
wildcard roster, and he's gotten better to a point where
this is a discussion. So he is making progress. I
just don't know if it's going to be in time.
And look, I will say this, if he does get
on the roster and he does play, he certainly won't
(03:59):
be at a hundred.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
But again, you know, seventy.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Five seventy percent yard on Alvroz is probably better than
half the league.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Anyway, do you feel like if you're the Astros going
into this particular series and so many scenarios could have
unfolded over the weekend, but you wind up with aj
Hinch coming to town with an upstart team you could
argue as one of the hottest, if not the hottest
in baseball down the stretch, and the alternative would have
(04:27):
been a Royals team that has not been playing as
well lately. Do you feel like this is as dangerous
a wild card opponent as the Astros could have gotten,
given that, you know, baseball is so crazy and unpredictable.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I think so, because, I mean, the Tigers have Trek Scooble,
who's gonna win the Siion Award. He should win it unanimously,
and they'll pitch on tomorrow and then they're gonna do
I mean, aj Hinch probably put it best today. They're
gonna have Tarek Schooble tomorrow and then pitching chaos after that.
And that's gonna be a lot of mixing and matching
these guys. The ashers hitters are not gonna see the
(05:01):
same reliever more than once. Probably there's gonna be a
lot of matchups done. They're gonna they're gonna make pitching
changes mid inning kind of. It's gonna really throw this
lineup for for a curve. And look that this Tigers
pitching staff, all of them have been pitching incredibly well,
and so it's gonna be a it's a difficult challenge.
And add to it that it's the best of three
series and anything can happen. I mean, this is not
(05:23):
one of those things where you know, usually in a
best of seven series, the best team kind of shows
itself and it's long enough to where you have to outlast,
Like I mean, the best of three, so much stuff
can happen in two games.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
And uh, you know, you're right in that.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The Tigers have probably been the hottest team in baseball
down the stretch. They're thirty one and eleven, I believe
in their last forty two games. You guys have seen
how aj Hinch manages in October.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
He's really good at it. And it's it's gonna be
a daunting task.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I you know, I think the one obvious place where
you look and you have to give the Ashers the
advantages that the Tigers lineup is not very good. They
they they're they're they're getting timely hits when they need to.
But this is not a lineup that I think is
going to be able to hit a ton of elite pitching.
These are gonna be if you know, if it follows
(06:13):
the script, this is gonna be too low. Two or
three very low scoring games where you know, one play,
one pitch, one at that one decision could decide a
lot of things. Because I think the Tigers are pitching
well enough right now that I don't think the Ashers
are going to be scoring six and seven runs and
vice versa. I don't think this Tigers lineups can be
able to get to Valdez or Kakuci or Brown for
(06:34):
for a ton anyway. So a lot of low scoring games,
a lot of high stress games, and a lot of
you know, focus on a lot of decision making and
kind of how things are gonna be planned out in
a few innings.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
What's your thought on the amount of impact Experience has
considering it's rather lopsided between the two teams and this series.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I mean, I don't think it's nothing, but I also
think that the Tigers are probably coming in here with
house money, right like, they know that they're the underdogs.
I mean they're they're I mean they're the sixth seed,
They're they're literally the last team in the field. They
sold at the deadline, like they I don't know if
they're using this as a rallying cry, but literally like
(07:19):
they're the front office didn't believe in them because they
sold Jack Flaherty and Mark Canna and Andrew Chafin at
the deadline. They're they're gonna come in here with nothing
to lose, Like, if anything, I would think they're gonna
be playing pretty free, pretty loose. And I don't think
the Astros are gonna play tight by any stretch of
the imagination.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
You know, they're so conditioned for October.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
But I don't think that the Tigers are gonna come
in here very like wide eyed and you know, stiff
and not able to function. I think, if anything, they're
gonna come in here.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
They've been on a roll.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
They they've just got vibes with them right now, Like
it just seems like any way they need to win
a game, they're winning it. So I don't think that
can be overlooked. You this team is they've won a
lot recently. They've found a lot of different ways to
win games. I think that can be that can be
dangerous in October, even with a lack of experience.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I know that it's going to be an easy, you know,
low hanging fruit type subplot storyline for the talking heads
out there for sure, But knowing him a little bit,
do you feel like AJ Hinch is especially motivated because
of who he's going up against, because of the owner
who let him go that he's going up against or
(08:30):
is he really trying to just you know, enjoy the
moment with this new franchise and you know this I
guess new chapter of his managerial career.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
You know, I thought it was interesting that that in
his in his press availability today, AJ he got all
the questions you would expect him to get, and he
indulged them all. He answered them well, but he always
found a way to direct the folk, redirect the focus
back to his team, Like I think he wants his
team to be the thing that's covered and talked about,
(09:01):
because I mean.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
If not for a J.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Hinch, I wouldn't know who five Tigers are. But you know,
I think he wants more of the focus on the players.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
But that that that's tough to do.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's tough to do when you're when you're who he
is and what the history here, and you know it's
he will never say it publicly but it's human nature, right,
you come back to the place that fired you, you
that it is in every human beings nature to want
to be able to stick it to someone or and.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I don't even know who that someone is, but just
be able to have the last laugh.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And I'd be stunned if that's not brewing somewhere in
the recesses of his brain or deep down inside, even
though he'll never acknowledge it. So yeah, I would imagine that.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
There is a little bit extra age he's going to
bring into this. And then look, you've.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Seen it in the way that he has managed regular
season games against the Astros. I remember we were in Detroit.
It was the last year or the year before. He
ran a suicide squeeze in the ninth thinning of the game,
and in a random game in June, Ashers were very
well prepared for it, dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt,
they walked off and won the game. So he's managed
(10:10):
these games against the Ashers a little more intensity all along,
and this will be no different.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Chandler, We appreciate the time as always. We'll catch up again.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Next week, all right, Thanks guys.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Chandler roam with the athletic here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety
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