August 20, 2025 • 20 mins
Anticipating a must-see pitching duel yesterday between Hunter Brown for the Astros and Tarik Skubal for the Tigers, surprisingly, both teams were unable to put up a run through 9 scoreless innings. Forcing the game into extra innings, the Tigers go on to walk it off with a 1-0 victory, taking the series win over the Astros with the rubber match set this afternoon. Still leading the AL West 2 games ahead of the Mariners and evaluating the Astros' recent series against Baltimore and Detroit, Dana Brown addresses a few lingering questions many have regarding the production in the clubhouse.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Otherwise I lose my credibility and you guys lose yours
because every everybody's in the swing and singing kumbaya. Sports
Talk seven to ninety Sean Salasra show here on Sports
Talk seven nine our weekly visit First Place Astros GM.
Dana Brown joins us here. Dana, welcome in. Uh, before
we hit the big picture to get to last night.
(00:20):
You and I talked last week. Getting beat fourteen to
one sucks, but you can get over those unless there's
two or three in a row. But a one to
nothing loss, although it was a great picture, those ones
are gut punches, man, especially the way it ended. How'd
you feel emotionally last night?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, you get a range of emotions during that time. Look, ultimately,
when you face a guy like Schoogle, we know it's
going to be a difficult night going in. You know,
you got a cy Young Award winner throwing up to
ninety nine with a you know, a wicket change up
and a pretty good breaking ball, so you know, you
just try to battle through it. And sort of, our
(00:58):
guys put up a pretty good fight. You know, we
got within that uh you know, inches of getting that
run when Diez is thrown out at the play, probably
a different game. We probably win that game, won nothing
if we can get that running. And so uh, you
know it's tough, but it's playoff batmosphere, and you know,
you you you rather be in those kind of games
(01:18):
and and and battle through those games. It's it's it's
better for the team to.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Be in that type of game, Dana tough questions when
things are going like they have recently, and just like
it's good stuff when things are going great and you're
still in first place, which is a great silver lining,
but it'll be tough to stay there with the way
they're hitting and with scooball everybody gets it, but with
but they're getting mowed down by a lot of people
right now, When are we going to see the offense
(01:43):
actually carry the pitching as opposed to the pitching You
have to carry this offense because there's a lot of
bat at bats right now for the Astros.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Look, I would say the bat would be that sooner
rather than later. I think we're on the brink. We're
in striking distance. You know, teams go through this. You
know you looked at the Dodgers, you know they went
down that street, they were like, you know, they're lost
ten to twelve, even you know Detroit, who we're playing
right now, and at one point in July eight or
all twelve or thirteen. Teams go through these struggles. You know,
(02:14):
we're seven and seven in our last fourteen games. You know,
it seems like sometimes that you think the sky is falling,
but look the team is, you know, hanging in there
and showing the things that I talked about earlier, you know,
in the year, with the grit, you know, the grind,
the perseverance. You know, we have to keep in mind,
(02:35):
it's one hundred and sixty two games. This is a
winning team. We have winning players, and the sky's not falling.
We're going to be all right once we turn that
offense arm, you know, I think it'll be for the
rest of the season. You know, we're right there at
the brink, you know, of turning it on, and I
think these guys are really working their tails up.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, Danny, you're the expert, but from a distance or
from fans, from our advantage, front of my vantage point,
I'll put it on me on the brink. Explain to
me what that means and what tells you that you're
seeing twenty eight scoreless innings, whereas in some bat at
bats and some bat and non competitive at bats and
some inconsistent at bats in twenty eight scoreless innings. I mean,
it's been almost forty years since the Astros offenses looked
(03:19):
like this with runs. So when you stay on the
brink from your expertise, because you know more than I do,
what tells you watching your lineup, you're on the brink.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, So I get it. I'm a fan of sports
my entire life, right, and so I know how it
is when you're rooting for your team and they're you know,
they just seem to be falling. Like I've been a
fan since five years old, right, So I know, and
I love all the sports, and so I get it,
and I want our fence to know. Look, when you're
(03:51):
in the middle and in the midst of a winning team,
you know that it's just a matter of time before
this team breaks out. You look at the lineup, you
know we're gonna be getting yourd on here back soon.
And I know we'll talk about that a little bit
later on the show, but we're gonna be getting yourd
(04:12):
on back here soon. That's gonna really help our lineup.
If you look at all the teams across MLB, no
one I don't think has lost their big hitter for
as many games as we've lost our guys, and our
guys have stilled continued to hold it up, keep your
head above water, stay in first place. I think it's
(04:33):
just a matter of time before this offense breaks out.
And I think, you know, once you get your big
power hitter right in the middle and you have nowhere
to go as the other, you know, as the opponent,
when you're facing these guys every now and then, you know,
once you see that you got yourd on back in
that lineup, I think it's going to be a dangerous,
(04:54):
dangerous lineup. And so I really see our guys putting
it together. They grinding through it that you know, every
now and then, you know we'll having a bat where
we may swing a little early in the account, and
you know, maybe we should play a little bit more
of the small ball in terms of getting guys over.
(05:15):
But you know, you put so much pressure on yourself
as a ballplayer when you're going through these times. You know,
and you listen to all the other major leaguers talk,
they'll tell you they've been on really good costs, and
they've been on clubs that have not scored thirty innings,
that have lost fourteen in a row at times, but
(05:36):
still win the World Series, or still go to the
World Series, or still win the Division. You go through
these down times in this sport of one hundred and
sixty two games, and that's why the team that have
a bunch of winners, that have the grip usually ends
up one time. And so I feel really confident about
(05:58):
this team. I'm not worried bit. You know. You know,
we went through some down times last year. You guys
heard me talk about it. Look, the guys are going
to be fine. The guys are going to be Okay.
I think these guys are going to be fine. I'm
not worried one bit. They have to continue to grind
and continue to show up, and you will see this
(06:18):
offense explode.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I promise you, ass GM Dana Brown on his weekly
visit nine point thirty here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and Dana, that's why you're the GM because of that
confidence and you see it close than we do. But
let me let me pound this even a little deeper. Yes,
injuries have been devastating, but the fascinating thing. And we
all are fascinating still in first place after all the
beatdown and injuries. But let me take you just to
(06:41):
your your your expertise into this looking at the hitting,
and I know I'm focusing a lot on hitting, and
rightfully so if you're evaluating your team's hitting with the injury,
I know, guys get hurt. But with the teams that
have to come to the plate, paid professionals, it got
a bat. That's just the way it is. And you've
put a team together, and good one, a damn good one.
What would your evaluation be if you're an outsider looking
(07:04):
at the Astros lineup? What would you say about the
way they're the consistency or inconsistency of hitting throughout the year?
How would you How would you rate them?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, very good question. I would tell you that, look,
this is a If I was an outsider looking in
and I'm evaluating this club, I would walk away and go, man,
that's the heck of a club. They have really good hitters.
They can catch the ball and they can pitch, but
their offense is pressing right now. That's how I would
evaluate them. I would say, look, This is a dangerous lineup,
(07:37):
and you do not want to be the team that
get the fury when these guys turn the corner, because
at some point they're going to turn the corner. They're
going through a tough time right now, and you know rightfully,
so I understand it, I get it. I'm I'm you know,
I'm a fan, I'm watching, But I would say that
fury of this lineup is going to explode, and you
(07:59):
do not want to be on the receiving in this explosion.
That's how I would evaluate. They're pressing right now, and
you know, guys are trying to, you know, fill in
for the injured players that we have, and you know,
maybe you know, some guys could do the day off,
but when you don't have to death because of injuries,
you know, you have to keep going out there. You
have to keep grinding through it. And I would tell you,
(08:22):
at some point, and it's I feel it's in the
near future, this lineup will explode, all.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Right, Dana. With that, you mentioned Jordan, and I'm gonna
get back to the to the to the lineup about exploding.
But with Jordan in the lineup, let's say he comes
back and is great, is your lineup around him, the
way they're producing good enough to pick up the temple
that they're Because if I'm playing you guys and Jordon's
in the middle of the lineup, he ain't seeing a pitch.
(08:50):
He's just not seeing a pitch. Somebody else, Korea, Sanchez, Altuve,
They're going to have to beat me, So why would
I throw him a pitch? So how long can you
survive this? Even with Jordan hitting like this to go
where I know you want to go because you've built
this team to a World Series because that's your expectations.
How how long can you survive this at the plate?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah? Great point. So look, once you start see this
is the beauty of baseball. Once you start to pitch
around one guy, now you've got a guy on base,
and if another guy get to hit, it changes the
whole dynamic. And that's why I say one player is
that important. And when you get that player back, it
(09:35):
changes the whole dynamic of the lineup. Now I got
to pitch, you know, I got to pitch around yourd
on I end up walking your on Now okay, I
got I got the next batter. Now I got a
man on base. You know, anything can happen, a flare,
a line drive, a ball down the gap. Now you
got first and third, it's a totally different And that's
why these guys, you know, you know that hit in
(09:56):
the middle of the order makes you know, decent money.
It's because you know, when you pitch around them, it's
gonna you have to pay. And so that's the whole point,
you know, it's it's easy to you know, once the
guy is out of the lineup. That's why it hurts.
It hurts the team so much, you know, when the
guy is out of the lineup, and particularly when it's
(10:17):
your big boy, you know, anytime you're big boys. You know,
it's like when Pinya went down, right, we had no
yard on no Opinia. When Pinya went down, we started
to struggle a little bit because now you're taking out
two guys, and then Myers was out. Now you have
a thirty lineup out and the guys still felt going
and they're still holding on and they're still showing the grit.
(10:38):
But this whole thing of a major league lineup, when
you look at the lineup and you start to evaluate
this lineup and you start taking pieces out, you know,
you know, look look at the choice lineup, you know,
you know, let me take out Carpenter, you know, let
me take out a Green, you know, let me let
me take out those kind of players and listen, a
(11:00):
way different lineup, right. And so that's the impact of
what two three players, uh could make, you know, if
if you start removing these players from the lineup. And
and that's why I will not preach, stop preaching from
the rooftop about how these guys have showed the grind
and the grit from all the ie L days that
(11:22):
we've experienced this year. And you know, I just feel like,
once you get these guys all back in the lineup
and you're a you're a pitcher and you got to
face these guys and you don't have an exit ramp,
that's a tough way to go. And so I feel like, uh,
the fury of this lineup is going to explode. We're
(11:43):
on the brink and we're.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Looking forward to getting your on that and and and
then we're getting myers fat and and and then this
being a whole different lineup and and and then we
can get on all cylinders and and have a great run.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
You know. Uh, towards the end of the season and
when the division and get deep into the posts.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
All right, Dana, you and I are old school when
it comes to grit, resilience all that, and it holds
exactly true. You are one hundred percent correct. That defines
your team. But at what point does grit and grind
and resilience not mean a hill of beans if you
don't get production on the end of it? Because you
and I both know GrITT and grind's great, but at
some point in time that stay the course, the GPS
(12:24):
breaks down and you got to just find your way.
You got the grit and grind's got to become production.
How close are we from grit to production?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah? I think we're close. It's the grit and the
grind that leads to production. That's That's what the whole
point of the grit and grind is. I don't think
GrITT and grind leads to emptiness, right, I think the
GrITT and grind leads to production. And I think our
guys have been productive enough one to hold on to
the leads, two to hang in there until we get
(12:56):
these guys back off the il. You know, in three
day on top and it's it's been it's been a
difficult season. You know, at one point we had the
eighteen people on the il, which is unthinkable, unheard of
and unrealistic, you know, for teams to remain in first
place when they go through that type of season of injuries.
(13:18):
And so these guys are showing it. You know, it's
not the comfort that we all like to see and
that we want. You know, trust me, we'd all like
to see it. We all like to see you know,
ten game leads with you know, you know, thirty five
to go or whatever we'd have left to go. You know,
(13:38):
we had the thirty six to go, you know, it'd
be great. You know, most seasons don't play out that way.
And if you've been in baseball, like I've been in
baseball for thirty six years, you know what a bad
team is. You know what a good team is. You
know what the team that has fight, grit and perseverances.
And so these guys have it. And you know, I'm
(14:00):
making a promise that you guys will see it in
the near future with the offensive. So h we're on
the brink, all right, and I think it it'll be beautiful.
I feel like a profit if it happens tonight.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Well, well, goodness, gracious and well all, I'll crawl ten
miles over broken glass to see it. My man Dana
Brown asked us GM for a few more minutes here
on Sports Talk seventy seven ninety Sean Salisbury schell jordn
two for four single double looked good? Why waste is it?
Bats in the minor league? Are we could we see
him as soon as post Detroit Tiger Series? I mean immediately?
(14:38):
Are we that close?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Look? I get it. We leave in a microwave age.
I understand it. I want to microwave it as well.
But you know we've wait, we waited this long. We
need to allow him to get some at bats. I
don't think having him down, uh, you know for one week?
You know, is you know a bad thing?
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Is that a week? Is a is a week? Kind
of the plan? A week?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
I would say it's probably less than a week. But
I'm using a week as you know, just a measuring
the borderline. Yea right, But as the borderline, I don't
think it'd be more than a week. I think it's
you know, probably can get him back here less than
a week. I would love for you know, him to
walk in and say, look, I feel really good and
start fighting us saying let let's let's let's get back
(15:26):
to the big leagues. And we still would probably say no,
let's let you get these at that. So, you know,
the plan is, if we can get them through, you know,
at least to the weekend, maybe we make a decision
and get them back maybe for a game or two
in Baltimore, but that would be the earliest. But I
would feel very comfortable saying, you know, the next home stand,
(15:49):
he should be ready to.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Go data with the Well, that's good news. And I
mean we're all obviously impatient. I know you are too.
One hundred days and it's but he keeps hitting like that,
it'll sure help, right. A couple quick questions. I get
you at her I never have enough time with you.
I could use an hour. I wish we did in
one of these days maybe and get you here in studio.
Is your is your bullpen because of the lack of offense?
Is your bullpen? Taxt are the are they feeling it?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah? I just think you know, look, most bullpens go
through this, you know, during the course of the season,
and we we we we rode our bullpen really hard
all year long, and and so you know, we would
figure that they would go through some downtimes, you know,
And and it's just the part of the game. It's
the rotation sometimes going to have downtimes, the bullpens sometimes
(16:35):
going to have downtimes, you know, the defense sometimes going
to have downtimes. And so, uh, you know this, this
this could certainly happen. And so I think our bullpen
has been really carrying us and working their tail off.
And then with the loss of Hater, with the loss
of Hater, you know, of course you're taxed even more.
(16:55):
And so but I still feel confident that our bullpen
is really good and good enough. It's just that, you know,
in the course of this, you know, one hundred and
sixty two game season, you know you're gonna go through
some downtimes. And no one, no one, that's the beauty
of the sport. No one can you know, be elite
for one hundred and sixty two.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
All right, I'm gonna leave you with this, the know
the resilience and all that. Let me get to just
with your expertise, just straight baseball x's and o's, THEO
coys to coin a football phrase is how do you
fix this data? Exit the bats, the at bats? How
do you get to a point with thirty six games
to go? Because we're in a dead sprint now, and
you and I both know that the marathon's over. It's
(17:38):
now a sprint. It's like a four x one hundred
meter relay sprint. So how do you fix the x's
and o's of quality at bats, of you know, competitive
strikes when the bases are packed and you walk a
guy in. How does this get fixed?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah? I believe I mentioned it a little bit earlier.
There's a naturalness to fix and as and the first
part of it is you get your big boy back right.
That's the first part of getting it fixed. The next
part of getting it fixed is everyone flops into their spot.
You feel a lot more comfortable. You take a lot
(18:15):
of the pressure off yourself. You stop trying to be
the man, and you know, just be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
No hero, no hero ball is right, right, Daniel, Daniel.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
The guys everybody do their part, right. I don't need
to try to drive this ball out of the ballpark.
I need to get on base for urd on right.
These are some of the things I don't have to
be the man today. You know, I got I got Yourdon,
I got a healthy Yourdon coming back, and he's going
to be the man for a while, right, And so
(18:48):
you just play your part, you know, that's part of
you know, this whole ebb and flow. You just you
just play your part and take the pressure off yourself.
You don't have to be the man every day. I
get it. It's it's a natural reaction to try to
field gaps when you have guys that are hurt. It's
(19:11):
just an actual it's a natural yacht all. I got
to pick up the club. Oh I got to do this,
or I gotta do that. And it doesn't always work
that way. You know. Just see yourself, make the good contact,
don't take good pictures, you know those kind of things, Dan,
and the good.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Laughing, great stuff, Man, appreciate it. Hopefully next Wednesday it'll
be that you're out of rolling. You're on Rolling is
more pleasant when it comes to production at the plate conversation,
but awesome. And you always take on the questions when
they come, man. And I can't thank you enough. And
I look forward to good luck today and uh, we'll
see you next Wednesday at this time. Good luck on
this next week as well.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Hang in there, ASTI fans, the offense is coming there.
You go.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Appreciate you, Dana, that's Dany Brown. We'll come back quickly,
finish it up and get to the Matt Thomas show.
It'll be a quickie, but we need to keep him
on and I can't wait till I get an hour
with him one day. Coming right back, Sean Salis Ratio
Otherwise I lose my credibility and you guys lose yours
because every everybody's in the swing and singing kumbaya. Sports
Talk seven to ninety Sean Salasra show here on Sports
Talk seven nine our weekly visit First Place Astros GM.
Dana Brown joins us here. Dana, welcome in. Uh, before
we hit the big picture to get to last night.
(00:20):
You and I talked last week. Getting beat fourteen to
one sucks, but you can get over those unless there's
two or three in a row. But a one to
nothing loss, although it was a great picture, those ones
are gut punches, man, especially the way it ended. How'd
you feel emotionally last night?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, you get a range of emotions during that time. Look, ultimately,
when you face a guy like Schoogle, we know it's
going to be a difficult night going in. You know,
you got a cy Young Award winner throwing up to
ninety nine with a you know, a wicket change up
and a pretty good breaking ball, so you know, you
just try to battle through it. And sort of, our
(00:58):
guys put up a pretty good fight. You know, we
got within that uh you know, inches of getting that
run when Diez is thrown out at the play, probably
a different game. We probably win that game, won nothing
if we can get that running. And so uh, you
know it's tough, but it's playoff batmosphere, and you know,
you you you rather be in those kind of games
(01:18):
and and and battle through those games. It's it's it's
better for the team to.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Be in that type of game, Dana tough questions when
things are going like they have recently, and just like
it's good stuff when things are going great and you're
still in first place, which is a great silver lining,
but it'll be tough to stay there with the way
they're hitting and with scooball everybody gets it, but with
but they're getting mowed down by a lot of people
right now, When are we going to see the offense
(01:43):
actually carry the pitching as opposed to the pitching You
have to carry this offense because there's a lot of
bat at bats right now for the Astros.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Look, I would say the bat would be that sooner
rather than later. I think we're on the brink. We're
in striking distance. You know, teams go through this. You
know you looked at the Dodgers, you know they went
down that street, they were like, you know, they're lost
ten to twelve, even you know Detroit, who we're playing
right now, and at one point in July eight or
all twelve or thirteen. Teams go through these struggles. You know,
(02:14):
we're seven and seven in our last fourteen games. You know,
it seems like sometimes that you think the sky is falling,
but look the team is, you know, hanging in there
and showing the things that I talked about earlier, you know,
in the year, with the grit, you know, the grind,
the perseverance. You know, we have to keep in mind,
(02:35):
it's one hundred and sixty two games. This is a
winning team. We have winning players, and the sky's not falling.
We're going to be all right once we turn that
offense arm, you know, I think it'll be for the
rest of the season. You know, we're right there at
the brink, you know, of turning it on, and I
think these guys are really working their tails up.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Well, Danny, you're the expert, but from a distance or
from fans, from our advantage, front of my vantage point,
I'll put it on me on the brink. Explain to
me what that means and what tells you that you're
seeing twenty eight scoreless innings, whereas in some bat at
bats and some bat and non competitive at bats and
some inconsistent at bats in twenty eight scoreless innings. I mean,
it's been almost forty years since the Astros offenses looked
(03:19):
like this with runs. So when you stay on the
brink from your expertise, because you know more than I do,
what tells you watching your lineup, you're on the brink.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, So I get it. I'm a fan of sports
my entire life, right, and so I know how it
is when you're rooting for your team and they're you know,
they just seem to be falling. Like I've been a
fan since five years old, right, So I know, and
I love all the sports, and so I get it,
and I want our fence to know. Look, when you're
(03:51):
in the middle and in the midst of a winning team,
you know that it's just a matter of time before
this team breaks out. You look at the lineup, you
know we're gonna be getting yourd on here back soon.
And I know we'll talk about that a little bit
later on the show, but we're gonna be getting yourd
(04:12):
on back here soon. That's gonna really help our lineup.
If you look at all the teams across MLB, no
one I don't think has lost their big hitter for
as many games as we've lost our guys, and our
guys have stilled continued to hold it up, keep your
head above water, stay in first place. I think it's
(04:33):
just a matter of time before this offense breaks out.
And I think, you know, once you get your big
power hitter right in the middle and you have nowhere
to go as the other, you know, as the opponent,
when you're facing these guys every now and then, you know,
once you see that you got yourd on back in
that lineup, I think it's going to be a dangerous,
(04:54):
dangerous lineup. And so I really see our guys putting
it together. They grinding through it that you know, every
now and then, you know we'll having a bat where
we may swing a little early in the account, and
you know, maybe we should play a little bit more
of the small ball in terms of getting guys over.
(05:15):
But you know, you put so much pressure on yourself
as a ballplayer when you're going through these times. You know,
and you listen to all the other major leaguers talk,
they'll tell you they've been on really good costs, and
they've been on clubs that have not scored thirty innings,
that have lost fourteen in a row at times, but
(05:36):
still win the World Series, or still go to the
World Series, or still win the Division. You go through
these down times in this sport of one hundred and
sixty two games, and that's why the team that have
a bunch of winners, that have the grip usually ends
up one time. And so I feel really confident about
(05:58):
this team. I'm not worried bit. You know. You know,
we went through some down times last year. You guys
heard me talk about it. Look, the guys are going
to be fine. The guys are going to be Okay.
I think these guys are going to be fine. I'm
not worried one bit. They have to continue to grind
and continue to show up, and you will see this
(06:18):
offense explode.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I promise you, ass GM Dana Brown on his weekly
visit nine point thirty here on Sports Talk seven ninety
and Dana, that's why you're the GM because of that
confidence and you see it close than we do. But
let me let me pound this even a little deeper. Yes,
injuries have been devastating, but the fascinating thing. And we
all are fascinating still in first place after all the
beatdown and injuries. But let me take you just to
(06:41):
your your your expertise into this looking at the hitting,
and I know I'm focusing a lot on hitting, and
rightfully so if you're evaluating your team's hitting with the injury,
I know, guys get hurt. But with the teams that
have to come to the plate, paid professionals, it got
a bat. That's just the way it is. And you've
put a team together, and good one, a damn good one.
What would your evaluation be if you're an outsider looking
(07:04):
at the Astros lineup? What would you say about the
way they're the consistency or inconsistency of hitting throughout the year?
How would you How would you rate them?
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah, very good question. I would tell you that, look,
this is a If I was an outsider looking in
and I'm evaluating this club, I would walk away and go, man,
that's the heck of a club. They have really good hitters.
They can catch the ball and they can pitch, but
their offense is pressing right now. That's how I would
evaluate them. I would say, look, This is a dangerous lineup,
(07:37):
and you do not want to be the team that
get the fury when these guys turn the corner, because
at some point they're going to turn the corner. They're
going through a tough time right now, and you know rightfully,
so I understand it, I get it. I'm I'm you know,
I'm a fan, I'm watching, But I would say that
fury of this lineup is going to explode, and you
(07:59):
do not want to be on the receiving in this explosion.
That's how I would evaluate. They're pressing right now, and
you know, guys are trying to, you know, fill in
for the injured players that we have, and you know,
maybe you know, some guys could do the day off,
but when you don't have to death because of injuries,
you know, you have to keep going out there. You
have to keep grinding through it. And I would tell you,
(08:22):
at some point, and it's I feel it's in the
near future, this lineup will explode, all.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Right, Dana. With that, you mentioned Jordan, and I'm gonna
get back to the to the to the lineup about exploding.
But with Jordan in the lineup, let's say he comes
back and is great, is your lineup around him, the
way they're producing good enough to pick up the temple
that they're Because if I'm playing you guys and Jordon's
in the middle of the lineup, he ain't seeing a pitch.
(08:50):
He's just not seeing a pitch. Somebody else, Korea, Sanchez, Altuve,
They're going to have to beat me, So why would
I throw him a pitch? So how long can you
survive this? Even with Jordan hitting like this to go
where I know you want to go because you've built
this team to a World Series because that's your expectations.
How how long can you survive this at the plate?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah? Great point. So look, once you start see this
is the beauty of baseball. Once you start to pitch
around one guy, now you've got a guy on base,
and if another guy get to hit, it changes the
whole dynamic. And that's why I say one player is
that important. And when you get that player back, it
(09:35):
changes the whole dynamic of the lineup. Now I got
to pitch, you know, I got to pitch around yourd
on I end up walking your on Now okay, I
got I got the next batter. Now I got a
man on base. You know, anything can happen, a flare,
a line drive, a ball down the gap. Now you
got first and third, it's a totally different And that's
why these guys, you know, you know that hit in
(09:56):
the middle of the order makes you know, decent money.
It's because you know, when you pitch around them, it's
gonna you have to pay. And so that's the whole point,
you know, it's it's easy to you know, once the
guy is out of the lineup. That's why it hurts.
It hurts the team so much, you know, when the
guy is out of the lineup, and particularly when it's
(10:17):
your big boy, you know, anytime you're big boys. You know,
it's like when Pinya went down, right, we had no
yard on no Opinia. When Pinya went down, we started
to struggle a little bit because now you're taking out
two guys, and then Myers was out. Now you have
a thirty lineup out and the guys still felt going
and they're still holding on and they're still showing the grit.
(10:38):
But this whole thing of a major league lineup, when
you look at the lineup and you start to evaluate
this lineup and you start taking pieces out, you know,
you know, look look at the choice lineup, you know,
you know, let me take out Carpenter, you know, let
me take out a Green, you know, let me let
me take out those kind of players and listen, a
(11:00):
way different lineup, right. And so that's the impact of
what two three players, uh could make, you know, if
if you start removing these players from the lineup. And
and that's why I will not preach, stop preaching from
the rooftop about how these guys have showed the grind
and the grit from all the ie L days that
(11:22):
we've experienced this year. And you know, I just feel like,
once you get these guys all back in the lineup
and you're a you're a pitcher and you got to
face these guys and you don't have an exit ramp,
that's a tough way to go. And so I feel like, uh,
the fury of this lineup is going to explode. We're
(11:43):
on the brink and we're.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Looking forward to getting your on that and and and
then we're getting myers fat and and and then this
being a whole different lineup and and and then we
can get on all cylinders and and have a great run.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
You know. Uh, towards the end of the season and
when the division and get deep into the posts.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
All right, Dana, you and I are old school when
it comes to grit, resilience all that, and it holds
exactly true. You are one hundred percent correct. That defines
your team. But at what point does grit and grind
and resilience not mean a hill of beans if you
don't get production on the end of it? Because you
and I both know GrITT and grind's great, but at
some point in time that stay the course, the GPS
(12:24):
breaks down and you got to just find your way.
You got the grit and grind's got to become production.
How close are we from grit to production?
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah? I think we're close. It's the grit and the
grind that leads to production. That's That's what the whole
point of the grit and grind is. I don't think
GrITT and grind leads to emptiness, right, I think the
GrITT and grind leads to production. And I think our
guys have been productive enough one to hold on to
the leads, two to hang in there until we get
(12:56):
these guys back off the il. You know, in three
day on top and it's it's been it's been a
difficult season. You know, at one point we had the
eighteen people on the il, which is unthinkable, unheard of
and unrealistic, you know, for teams to remain in first
place when they go through that type of season of injuries.
(13:18):
And so these guys are showing it. You know, it's
not the comfort that we all like to see and
that we want. You know, trust me, we'd all like
to see it. We all like to see you know,
ten game leads with you know, you know, thirty five
to go or whatever we'd have left to go. You know,
(13:38):
we had the thirty six to go, you know, it'd
be great. You know, most seasons don't play out that way.
And if you've been in baseball, like I've been in
baseball for thirty six years, you know what a bad
team is. You know what a good team is. You
know what the team that has fight, grit and perseverances.
And so these guys have it. And you know, I'm
(14:00):
making a promise that you guys will see it in
the near future with the offensive. So h we're on
the brink, all right, and I think it it'll be beautiful.
I feel like a profit if it happens tonight.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Well, well, goodness, gracious and well all, I'll crawl ten
miles over broken glass to see it. My man Dana
Brown asked us GM for a few more minutes here
on Sports Talk seventy seven ninety Sean Salisbury schell jordn
two for four single double looked good? Why waste is it?
Bats in the minor league? Are we could we see
him as soon as post Detroit Tiger Series? I mean immediately?
(14:38):
Are we that close?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Look? I get it. We leave in a microwave age.
I understand it. I want to microwave it as well.
But you know we've wait, we waited this long. We
need to allow him to get some at bats. I
don't think having him down, uh, you know for one week?
You know, is you know a bad thing?
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Is that a week? Is a is a week? Kind
of the plan? A week?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
I would say it's probably less than a week. But
I'm using a week as you know, just a measuring
the borderline. Yea right, But as the borderline, I don't
think it'd be more than a week. I think it's
you know, probably can get him back here less than
a week. I would love for you know, him to
walk in and say, look, I feel really good and
start fighting us saying let let's let's let's get back
(15:26):
to the big leagues. And we still would probably say no,
let's let you get these at that. So, you know,
the plan is, if we can get them through, you know,
at least to the weekend, maybe we make a decision
and get them back maybe for a game or two
in Baltimore, but that would be the earliest. But I
would feel very comfortable saying, you know, the next home stand,
(15:49):
he should be ready to.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Go data with the Well, that's good news. And I
mean we're all obviously impatient. I know you are too.
One hundred days and it's but he keeps hitting like that,
it'll sure help, right. A couple quick questions. I get
you at her I never have enough time with you.
I could use an hour. I wish we did in
one of these days maybe and get you here in studio.
Is your is your bullpen because of the lack of offense?
Is your bullpen? Taxt are the are they feeling it?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah? I just think you know, look, most bullpens go
through this, you know, during the course of the season,
and we we we we rode our bullpen really hard
all year long, and and so you know, we would
figure that they would go through some downtimes, you know,
And and it's just the part of the game. It's
the rotation sometimes going to have downtimes, the bullpens sometimes
(16:35):
going to have downtimes, you know, the defense sometimes going
to have downtimes. And so, uh, you know this, this
this could certainly happen. And so I think our bullpen
has been really carrying us and working their tail off.
And then with the loss of Hater, with the loss
of Hater, you know, of course you're taxed even more.
(16:55):
And so but I still feel confident that our bullpen
is really good and good enough. It's just that, you know,
in the course of this, you know, one hundred and
sixty two game season, you know you're gonna go through
some downtimes. And no one, no one, that's the beauty
of the sport. No one can you know, be elite
for one hundred and sixty two.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
All right, I'm gonna leave you with this, the know
the resilience and all that. Let me get to just
with your expertise, just straight baseball x's and o's, THEO
coys to coin a football phrase is how do you
fix this data? Exit the bats, the at bats? How
do you get to a point with thirty six games
to go? Because we're in a dead sprint now, and
you and I both know that the marathon's over. It's
(17:38):
now a sprint. It's like a four x one hundred
meter relay sprint. So how do you fix the x's
and o's of quality at bats, of you know, competitive
strikes when the bases are packed and you walk a
guy in. How does this get fixed?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah? I believe I mentioned it a little bit earlier.
There's a naturalness to fix and as and the first
part of it is you get your big boy back right.
That's the first part of getting it fixed. The next
part of getting it fixed is everyone flops into their spot.
You feel a lot more comfortable. You take a lot
(18:15):
of the pressure off yourself. You stop trying to be
the man, and you know, just be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
No hero, no hero ball is right, right, Daniel, Daniel.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
The guys everybody do their part, right. I don't need
to try to drive this ball out of the ballpark.
I need to get on base for urd on right.
These are some of the things I don't have to
be the man today. You know, I got I got Yourdon,
I got a healthy Yourdon coming back, and he's going
to be the man for a while, right, And so
(18:48):
you just play your part, you know, that's part of
you know, this whole ebb and flow. You just you
just play your part and take the pressure off yourself.
You don't have to be the man every day. I
get it. It's it's a natural reaction to try to
field gaps when you have guys that are hurt. It's
(19:11):
just an actual it's a natural yacht all. I got
to pick up the club. Oh I got to do this,
or I gotta do that. And it doesn't always work
that way. You know. Just see yourself, make the good contact,
don't take good pictures, you know those kind of things, Dan,
and the good.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Laughing, great stuff, Man, appreciate it. Hopefully next Wednesday it'll
be that you're out of rolling. You're on Rolling is
more pleasant when it comes to production at the plate conversation,
but awesome. And you always take on the questions when
they come, man. And I can't thank you enough. And
I look forward to good luck today and uh, we'll
see you next Wednesday at this time. Good luck on
this next week as well.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Hang in there, ASTI fans, the offense is coming there.
You go.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Appreciate you, Dana, that's Dany Brown. We'll come back quickly,
finish it up and get to the Matt Thomas show.
It'll be a quickie, but we need to keep him
on and I can't wait till I get an hour
with him one day. Coming right back, Sean Salis Ratio
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