Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pitchers and catchers in a couple of weeks. First baseman
right now, our first guests of the day, ready to
sit down and join us, talk a little Astros baseball.
The fans have made their way inside dyke In Park. Yes,
that is where we are here this Saturday afternoon, and
Astro's caravan wrapping up Astros fan Fest over the next
handful of hours. Dan Matthews, Adam Wexler, Ross Villa Reale
(00:22):
with you, and John Singleton now sitting here with us.
After having a chance to catch up with a lot
of fans over the last couple of days, spend some
time across the great state of Texas, and welcome back
to Houston. Baseball season begins today.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Close, close.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Does it feel like it's already started? I imagine like
everybody else, there's been a lot of preparation, a lot
of things you worked on over the off season.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It has been a couple of months.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
What are some of the things you'd like to have
gotten done over the last couple of months, getting ready
for a few weeks from now when you'll be in Florida.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Obviously, you know winner is a good time for preparation
for us. You know you spend a lot of time
in the gym or head with cage, you know, on
the mound, whatever it may be. It's just, you know,
good time to prepare, you know, get your mind right,
reset so you know it's gonna be a good year.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
Take us through that, John, I mean, as the season
comes to an end, it's a grind. You want to
take some time off. But when do you kind of
get ramped back up? Like when does the baseball activity
along with the weight room and conditioning workouts get going.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Honestly, for me, maybe I take maybe a week and
a half off, maybe two weeks, you know, and then
get right back to it. You know, the conditioning and
the workouts stuff like that. To me that those don't
honestly stop ever. But the baseball stuff, you know, you
give it a break for a while, maybe a month
or two, but other than that, you know, you pick
it right back up and you get it going.
Speaker 6 (01:40):
What is John Sickle to do? What doing when he's
relaxing in that offseason?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
You get you're a beach guy.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
You like to go into the woods, Like where is
it like I need to relax or or go on vacation.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
What is your your like for an adventure for.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
You, an adventure.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You know, my daughter loves going to Disneyland, So okay,
that's a good thing you feel about going.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
On like it.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
I've been there so many times. I've been on every
ride gets old. Yeah, you can.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It's a small world after all, so many oh my god. Yeah,
and you can only write tower and terror so.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Many times exactly. My daughter is actually terrified of the
you know, I know, it's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So over the course of the season, a lot of
fans are engaged with the team through social media. Your
wife is engaged with the team, your performance. What's going
on through social media?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Do you like that she is?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
She's been with you throughout this whole ride. Obviously, she's
very much into what's happening, very much.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
In Yeah, you know, she's got a big personality.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
You know, for the most part, I don't even know
what she does most sometimes, you know, because it's almost
like we live separate live obviously, you know, I'm playing
baseball and I'm so busy with that, and she's with
the kids most of the time. So you know, sometimes
she's just she's just in her own world sometimes. But
you know, she's our own personality and she has a
different perspective.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
So I think that's important for people to.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Understand Astros first basement.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
John Singleton join us here from an Astros fan fest,
and you were with the Astros before.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Then you went away for a time, but then you
came back. I mean, just what was that process like
for you?
Speaker 5 (03:13):
To go through everything you went through and to come
back and have your second stint here.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Definitely difficult.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
You know, walking away from baseball is definitely something that
no one wants to do or tries to do. But
you know, realizing that you want to play baseball again,
you realize how much of work you have to put
it in and get back to the spot you were
once seeing that's definitely a hard spot. But I mean,
I can say that this organization has definitely changed, you know,
(03:39):
from from two thousand and fifteen, sixteen to twenty twenty three.
You know, it's it's polar opposites of what it used
to be. So I'm glad I'm part of this team again.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
The wins and losses clearly could be the answer to, well,
what's different between then and now?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Obviously how do you see the other?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Much more important, maybe un seen difference as to how
it works inside this organization.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
It's just the winning culture, you know. It's uh, it's infectious.
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
You just see it everywhere you go and no matter
you know, what part of the game you're involved in.
It's just everyone wants to be better, everyone wants to learn,
and it just and you just see it everywhere.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Where does that start?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Where does that come from?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
To you?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Like that type of culture and that you have you've
seen here.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
The last couple of years.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Obviously it starts on the field, you know, and I
think it carries over from there, you know, whether it
be it starts on the field, you know, in between
your ears, it starts there, and then it carries over
into the field and then you know the coaches are
are osing that confidence to you, you know, and it
just it goes from there. You just see it everywhere
you go when you walk on the locker room. So
(04:48):
it's definitely an infectious thing when you win a lot.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Obviously, you guys this offseason, ad Christian Walker, you want
to play every day. I mean, you're you're not here
unless you want to. But when that happens, I mean,
how how do you how do you kind of take
that in and you know, do you reach out to
them anything like that?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Uh, it is what it is.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
You know, Christian Walker is a great first baseman, and
you know he's gonna help us win a lot of
ball games, you know, moving forward, I haven't I haven't
talked to him yet obviously, you know, probably today I'll
have a chance to talk to him. But uh, you know,
we're gonna make the most of it and we're gonna
win a lot of ball games.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
How do you look at the group you have here
a little bit different than the one you left last
postseason with to the one you have here today.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
It's a great group. You know, it's gonna be a
lot of fun this year. That's all I can say.
It's gonna be a lot of fun.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
There's been a lot of moving parts in the off
season just with the team is like you know, with
the Tucker trade right now, there's other rumors about other
trades and signings. Is that something you kind of keep
tabs on or something you try to stay away from
and clear your head and focus on yourself.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
What is that like for you between trying to work
out and take care of two kids.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Disneyland?
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Yeah, I really don't pay too much takes to it.
You know, I might see something happen every now and then,
but you know, it's it's you know, it's it's it's
a business.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
You know, transactions happens. It's just that's just part of
the game. You know.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
You go to see things and it just it is
what it is. So you know, you just make the
most of it to keep going.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
So we were all here, and we've been covering the
Astrois for a long time, so your first stint through here,
we were all here for it.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Had an opening season where.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
There were a lot of home runs and I just
don't recall the bat flips with those homers that we've seen.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
With these homers, Am I.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Losing my mind? Were they there back then?
Speaker 4 (06:24):
They've always been, There's been there from the first one.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I remember the first one.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I'm sure you described the first one for those who.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Don't, Yeah, there's it. I think it's a seventh inn.
It's a three to one count. It was a fastball,
and I hid in the bullpen and you know, you
gotta let it go.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
You know, It's definitely one of my more memorable moments
as a professional baseball player.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Is it still just the bat flips, just a factor
of your swing, where you finished, how you finish, and
audios to the back.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah, I think I think it's a testament to like
how hard you work to be perfect and you never
get perfection, and then when it happens, it is just
magic again.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
John Singleton joined this year at Astros fan Fest, and
I mean Ross asked you about some of the offseason moves. Well,
there's one that's still pending out there and I know
you say you try to stay out of it as
much as possible, but just talk about from a clubhouse
perspective what it could be for you guys if indeed
Number two walks back through that door.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
I mean, Bregman, what can you say. You know, he's
got a great personality, He's a great team guy. You know,
he's he's all about winning. That's all he's ever been about.
You know, I can say so much. You know, it
would be it would make a lot for women to
be back here, for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
For sure, we have.
Speaker 6 (07:45):
Heard a lot about Bregman and that an impact in
the clubhouse. I mean we heard Taylor Scott was in
an interview talking about like scouting.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Reports that he does what is that?
Speaker 6 (07:53):
What have you seen from him as far as I
mean that, that level of dedication to the game, and
how how impactful is that to you guys on the.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Field, anything to gain an edge and advantage, he's willing
to point out and help you with, no matter how big,
how small, whatever it may be scouting, watching film, it
doesn't matter what it is. He's willing to help you
become better, more successful.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
So at the end of the day, we can all win.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Was there even a moment maybe in a game in
between the first and ninth thenning where after a bad
after something in the field that you had a brief
conversation with as.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
It's always helpful.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Always there's always something that we're talking about in between,
in between innings or you know, at that to at bat.
There's always something that you know comes up and we
just share information.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
He is mister super serious about baseball, good guy all around.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Go to the other side of the clubhouse.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Who's the cut up guy, who's the guy that's keeping
it loose, making sure everyone's not taking the grind of
a baseball season too too hard, too stressful.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I have to say I wouldn't say. I'd have to
say Riisci Duban. You know, he's our resident comedian. You know,
he's always got a good joke. You know, he's always loose.
You know that that that he says, right, we need
to be so you know he's that's that's huge.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
I was about to date myself here and ask the
ox cord, but now it's all bluetooth. And I know
that that Tuck was the guy in the clubhouse last
year that had the bluetooth on his phone, So now
who is the new guy in the clubhouse that has
the bluetooth to see and.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
How did you like?
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Tuck?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Selections?
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Though?
Speaker 2 (09:28):
That was pretty good, pretty good solid.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Okay, a responsibility.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's gonna be a tough uh exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Well, John, We certainly appreciate the time and a lot
of fans here just into the building. Appreciate having you
back here in Houston getting ready for spring training, getting
ready for games here at Dyke and Park, and we
appreciate you joining us here.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
Definitely, thank you for having me awesome, John Singleton of
your Houston Astros here on the Astros fan Fest Spectacular.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
We're with you until four pm.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
Myself, Wexler and Dan Matthews with you until two o'clock.
We're gonna take quick break, be right back here on
Sportsox semininty