Astros Manager Joe Espada 'To Start Giving Singleton Some Opportunities'

Manager Joe Espada joins The Matt Thomas Show ahead of Tuesday's start to a three-game road series against the Chicago Cubs. Espada, who was a couple of minutes late to the show, said he just left a team meeting as the Astros are "trying to play better baseball." Ace Justin Verlander made his season debut Friday in a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals, but Espada says younger pitches, such as Hunter Brown, "have to put hitters away" and avoid extending at-bats. As Jose Abreu continues to struggle, Espada says he's "going to start giving [Jon] Singleton some opportunities" in matchups "that are favorable to him."

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
What Joe Spottle does not realize iswhen you're late for the Tuesday visits.
Get First of all, how areyou have to pay a penalty? You
understand this all right? Which waswhat it? What is it? You
have to tell us something very intelligentrelated by the astros? What did you
guys? What's the biggest hot buttontopic right now for the squad right this
second? Inside baseball? Real stuffhere. Well, you know, sorry

(00:24):
for being late, guys, justhaving some conversation with some of my players.
You know, we're trying to bringingsome stuff out as the team.
You know, it's it's important.You know a lot of guys showing up
early, trying to work on theircrafts and you know there's things that we
were trying to you know, cometogether and and figure out. At the

(00:46):
team. There's the individual you knowaspect of things, but you know that
we need to figure some stuff outand trying to try to play better baseball.
So we've been we've been working.We've been talking here the last you
know, last twenty thirty minutes.So sorry that I was late for the
call. Hey, whatever works toget this team back and it's winning ways.

(01:06):
We're more than okay with skip,let me ask you this, and
these are things that I never thoughtI would ask you at this point of
the young season. So just asjust me being an Astro fan, forget
about me being a radio host.Is there any consideration for massive lineup changes
moving some guys around? And Iknow everything is talked about, but maybe

(01:26):
a conversation last five minutes, itcould last a day. Do you how
do you feel about the lineup construction? Not necessarily the accuracy and how they're
hitting, but just how you've gotit phase one through nine. You know
what I think I think we aregetting. We're getting you know, our
offense as a whole, it's beendoing a really good job. It's it's

(01:49):
us finding a way to get guysto cross the plate, you know,
the guys that we you want atthe play with manning scoring position, those
guys are getting the opportunity. It'sit's we haven't been able to get that
that big hit. Now. Ifyou start changing things around now, you

(02:15):
might find yourself, uh, youknow, putting some guys in situations that
they you'd rather have someone else orand then it starts, you know,
you start putting guys in position thatyou know, not successful for them.
So it's it's a matter of time. I'm not saying that it won't happen,

(02:39):
but right now, I just likehow guys we were getting on.
You know, we we just needto get a big hit or or get
a guy in from third Baselin,two outs. All nine guys are capable
of doing that. We're just notdoing it as a whole. You know,
it don't matter in the spot they'rehitting. You know, the bat

(03:00):
is getting to them. We justhave to get the job done. We
have to execute, and all theseguys are capable of doing that. Do
you have injury updates on Christian Xavierfrom er Veldez and Jose Erkati. So
Javier, he flew to Houston.He's going to be getting his work done

(03:21):
over there since we put him onthe aisle a few days ago. Framberg
uh will be throwing aside here prettyclose, uh in the next day or
two. So that's that's that's goodnews. I think he's close. He's
really close of getting him back.So you know, it's we're not you

(03:44):
know, this situation that we youknow, it's it's not desirable, but
this is the spot that we arein. And and we're going to need
some of our young guys to getus some getting some innings, get him,
you know, keep us in thegame. There was opportunity to win
and and and that. Once wefind that rhythm, you know, we'll
win some games in a row.Let me ask you about some of your

(04:08):
young pitchers. And look, obviouslyyou've been decimated by injuries so far in
this young season. We were waitingfor Hunter to turn the corner a little
bit and still, you know,falling behind three nothing over the weekend didn't
help that. Cause what would youlike to see from him that maybe gets
some out of those early game struggles, so you can get you a little
length right now and get you tothat back end of that bullpen. You

(04:30):
know, his last two starts,you know, you know if you they
haven't they been, they've been okay. I just think that it's more efficiency.
You know, he's getting you know, his stone strikes, he's getting
ahead of hitters. Now, it'syou have to put hitters away. Now.
If you start doing that, youstart getting late into late in the

(04:53):
game. You know, it's beingable to execute. When you get a
guy ahead, you know, it'sthe foul ball. Foul ball ball,
you know, ball to Now thebad extends and now you know, you
you're allowing the hitter to get backinto the bat instead of Hey, let
me execute, let me hit thespot and let me let me move on,

(05:16):
let me get the next hitter.That's that's been so far. What
has you know? Hurt? UhHunter a bit? But you know this,
when it comes to stuff he's got, you know, incredible stuff,
it's execution. And and you know, once you fall into patterns where you

(05:36):
can't execute your pitches, you givingthe advantage to the hitter. Now they're
able, you know, to getback into a bat and and you can't
you can allow to do that.Joe spotted for a few more minutes here
on the Matt Thomas Show on SportsTalk at seven ninety Uh. Skip,
Uh. There are metrics that havedominated your sport, and I have come

(05:58):
around more to being more commented tothose metrics. Uh. There's also a
philosophy that worked for a lot ofteams many years ago, the small ball.
I don't think your team was builtfor small ball, but when teams
struggle with runners in scoring position,maybe they should think more that way.
What is your general thought about Uh, the extra ninety feet, the bunting
of players over on occasion. Uh, you know, can you take that

(06:21):
and add that to a fast gameor was this team built for Hey,
we've got big time RBR producers thatare just not you know, doing the
types of things that you want themto see right now. No, you
know what, there's room for thatin our offense. We have guys that
know how to how to do that, and and and you know I looked
for opportunities to do that. Youknow, in Washington we were more active

(06:43):
on the basis trying to get guyin scoring position with nobody out or we
want out. You know, we'retrying to trying to try to do small
stuff to try to get this guy'smore run scoring opportunities. So but yeah,
you know, if we have tobunt a guy over trying to get
some money in a third base thelist in two outs, Yeah, we
are capable of doing that. Nowis once they get there, we got

(07:08):
to get the right pitch. Youhit a ball in the air or the
infield is playing back. You know, at ground bowl, second base is
still your best friend. We needto give ourselves up to trying to gain
something for the team like those Thoseare the things that right now we're not
doing consistently, but we are teamsthat we have done that in the past.
We just got to get We justgot to get it done, no

(07:30):
question about that. What about thisweek at first base? Is it a
fifty to fifty are you you know, you want to give confidence to Jose
but obviously he's not feeling it.You can see him in every at bat
kind of wearing it. Right now, You've got to get production out of
that spot. Have you thought aboutwhat to do the next week or so
about who's to play? Is itbased off of pitching matchups? Is it

(07:51):
gut feel? Where are you rightnow with who you'd like to see playing
your first base pop for the foreseeablefuture? Well, you know what I'm
going to I'm going to start givingthings Singleton some some opportunities, and I
think there's some matchups in the nextfew days that are favorable for him.
So like moving on forward, I'mtrying to, like I look for a

(08:13):
lot of our guys trying to puthim in position to to you know,
to succeed, Like you know,which are good matchups for them, Trying
to trying to go I'm trying togo with the hot hand right now,
who's giving me better at bats.That's kind of where we're at right now.
But like you said, we needto get a braid going and part
of that is finding matchups that arefavorable for him. So once he gets

(08:37):
going, then you could you know, now we'll feel better about you know
what. This matchup might not lookgood on paper, but he is where
he needs to be. You know, he is getting to pitch it that
we know he's capable of getting,but right now he is not quite there
yet. So I'm going to lookfor opportunities to get Singleton so my bats

(08:58):
and trying to get some production outof that out of first base for let's
your run skip. You're gonna We'lltalk to you next Tuesday. You'll have
already come back from Mexico City.I know the teams have gone down there
in the past and a had somegood success batting wise, higher scoring games,
So address what how to manage andyou've never done it before, but
I'm curious what your thoughts are abouttwo Mexico City games with higher e ras

(09:20):
and when to pull pictures and whento understand that the the altitude may be
a factor. And then ultimately justmake sure skip nobody drinks anything except bottle
water that you guys bring on fromthe plane. Can you please do that
for us? What mean, nobodysick on this trip? Uh? Yeah,
let's let's let's avoid let's avoid gettingguys sick or or guys you know,
uh missing time. We were alreadygetting plenty of that. But you

(09:43):
know, when he comes to highthe scores in the past and those games,
we you know, we've we've beenthere before. And I think what's
favorable for us these all these offdays that we've gotten here and and you
know, going down there with likethe fresh bullpen and having guys uh fresh
where we can feel good about,you know, getting guys in or out

(10:07):
of the game on time, sowe could keep scores of close and give
us opportunity to to win. Ithink it's that's a that's a big deal
of the fact that we have,you know, some that we've we had
a couple off days, so youknow, trying to uh put through that
together a rotation for for those gamesdepending on what happens here in Chicago.

(10:28):
So but I think I think weyou know, we we're looking forward to
that trip, and we're excited aboutit, and hopefully we go down there
with the team that scored the mostruns. I'll certainly look forward to seeing
that skip. Thank you for thetime he is always have a great trip,
not only in Chicago but in Mexico. Sitting we look talk forward to
talking with you next Tuesday. Ithank you, I got it. Joe
spotted whether he's here the manager ofyour Houston Astros