July 10, 2024 • 20 mins
Despite the Astros loss in the series to the Twins, the Astros kick back into gear last night pulling a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Dana joins and shares his thoughts on the production seen since the start of June along with a few updates regarding the trade deadline and Lance McCullers Jr.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Live for the Sean Salisbury Show continued. Always great to have him for his
weekly Wednesday visit at nine point thirty, and we welcome him in. Dana,
hope everything's okay with your family andthis flooding and this hurricane. I
hope everybody's safe. And well,let me ask you. You guys doing
okay power wise and everything else.Yeah, we don't have any power,
(00:21):
but I have a generator, butthere's no cable or internet, so my
wife's driving me crazy. She'd probablycome out of here as a guess and
say you're driving her crazy too,And that's the way it's supposed to work.
There you go, but man,I get it. Hopefully it'll be
reinstated or restill, rein you know, everything back to normal here soon.
But glad you guys are safe.Big win last night, come from behind,
(00:44):
which leads me to this, Dana, you know the hater the night
before, the home run teams,other teams getting paid to what I love.
Unlike maybe early in the season youtalk about grit all year long.
Is this hasn't festered a loss likethat? Maybe early on to three in
a row, but it hasn't festered. You bounce right back and all of
a sudden, boom, Bregman getshis seventh inning home run. Guys come
(01:06):
up big. Blanco starts off slowand then kicks ass the rest of the
day, gives you seven innings.That's got to be impressive for you and
your team. Yeah. I mean, as as you mentioned, I've talked
about it before that the grit thatthis team has is huge, and you
know, part of that grit isconfidence. You know, these guys know
that they're good. They know that, you know, we've been good for
(01:29):
years, and so you know,these guys don't panic. They have the
heart beat and the stomach for thisstuff, and so there's no panic,
and the guys will know that atsome point things will turn around. So
you got last night. You guysknow that they're confident. You know,
the big hit there, big hitthere, shut down any here, shut
down any there. You know we'reback on top. And then Hayter poses
(01:52):
it out after giving up a homerun on the door. I mean,
look, these guys understand it,they get it, and they know the
ultimate goal is to in the division, get back deep into the postseason,
try to get to the World Series. Dan, I want to talk about
Renelle Blanco first off, for hismental toughness. This guy's thirty and overcoming
what he's coming and pitching lights out. Have you spoken to him, because
(02:15):
I know, when we're Homers athome, we think, you know what,
the guy got snubbed for an AllStar Game. People get snubbed every
year. But in truth, thiswas a legitimate mistake by those who vote.
The guy deserved it. Have youhad a conversation with him about his
being left off the All Star team? Yeah? And I tell Blanco look
less state of course to the interpreters, you know, state the state of
(02:38):
course. You know what you'll getyour You'll you'll get your promised land.
You know, the promised land islet's let's let's get deep into the postseason.
Let's pitch a huge game in thepostseason, and you know what,
you're gonna let your light shine.You know. Ultimately, you know,
I felt like, you know,he was deserving and you know, maybe
there's still an opportunity can be areserve or something like that, but ultimately,
(03:02):
the great year that he put up. I told him when I first,
you know, said hey, Iwant to make you a starter.
And I told him, I said, look, this is going to be
good for your career. It's goingto change your career if you could pull
it off. And sure enough,man, things are looking good for Renel
Blanco, and Renel Blanco deserves it. So yep, I'm excited about what
(03:23):
he's doing for this club and holdthis holding this rotation together. Yeah,
and you know what, Dana DanaBrown Astros GM for his weekly nine thirty
visit here joins us as he doesevery week on Sports Talk seven ninety.
I know there's a obviously you wantit for the guy because it's been a
phenomenal season and what he's what he'sdone, and then he gets some rest,
so that's not a bad thing.So when you spoke to him,
well, what was his response?Is he hurt or is he okay?
(03:47):
Yeah? I mean I think ultimatelyhe's disappointed, to say the least.
But you know, at the endof the day, I think he understands
that he put off, he putforth an effort, you know that was
worthy, and it's it's out ofhis hands. If somebody at you're outside
(04:08):
of the Astros or any of us, or I ask you or say to
you, I believe Renelle Blanco maybethe MVP of the team, and I
know there's a lot of good ones. Could I make the argument that he
is, well, I would saywe have a couple of guys that are
worthy of MVP. Uh. Youknow, heck, you know what Alvarez
has done this year holding it down, you know, because he's been one
(04:30):
consistent, you know, two Vayhas been consistent. You know, Blanco
has been really consistent. I mean, I think either one of those guys
could be m VP. But itwould not shock me. If you know,
the fan base voted for him tobe MVP, the players voted for
him to be MVP, would notshock me, right, you know,
he's having that kind of a year, you know, when you can anchor
a rotation that injury written and andjust be the stabilizer, you know,
(04:56):
and to have a two five earnedrun average after all these games and you
know, keep putting us in thewin column, giving us opportunities to win
games. Man, that is valuable. Man, that's valuable stuff to a
major league team. And then thegrind of the season and for you to
do it week in and week out, start in and start out, I
mean, that's that's big. Ithink the players, the players realize it.
(05:18):
And I think the players really felt, like he said, have been
an All Star too, so thatI think you know our players, you
know, and they know what RoyaldBlanco's doing. These guys have been around,
they know how special he's been forYeah, the double down of all
the injuries and he's had to giveyou innings and give you quality innings and
quality starts, which he has,which leads me to this. Did you
know in your mind just from watchinghim and talking to him that he was
(05:41):
this mentally tough. Yeah, Ithink you know, when you grow up
in the Dominican man, it's it'sa different life. You know. These
guys have to grind and grit,They have to go through a lot.
And I don't know if you've everbeen to the country, but you know
these guys are warriors, man.They fight through it. They love baseball,
you know, and this is aboutthe Baseball is an opportunity to you
(06:03):
know, to get out and makesome money. And these guys grind through
a lot, you know, intheir careers. Just just to go to
show that he was signed at twentytwo years old. He never gave up
on his dream. You know,most kids were like you know, it's
hard to get it, you know, get to get signed as a twenty
two year old in the US muchless you know, twenty two year old
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and Dominican Republic. And this guy'sbeen grinding it, you know, his
whole baseball career. I'm not surprisedat the success that he's having because he's
got the grit and uh, youknow, I'm just excited that he's he's
putting up a pretty good year forus, and and this time of need
no doubt about it. You're downto two games out. What a run
you set these goals for your team, and we are five games away from
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the All Star break, two outand over five hundred and playing their best
baseball of the year and most consistentbaseball. Okay, Andrew ball assistant GM
it was was with Robert Ford inan interview over the weekend, and he
mentioned a six man rotation all right, with these injuries right as we sit
today, Dana over the neck beforethe trade deadline. We'll get to that
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later. How do you get toa six man rotation considering what you're facing
right now? No Verlander, weknow the injury stuff. How do you
get to six men? Right?Now, yeah, I mean, the
only way we'll get to six Manis if we stretch out Duban, you
know, and then we get Blossback on Thursday. You know, then
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we could probably go to the sixthMan to get these guys a breather,
or we call up you know,blue Ball or Lour or something like that.
But uh, you know, wehave to talk through those things because
we do have to get these guyssome rest. I mean, if you
imagine Blanco has been grinding out,he's an uncharded territory in terms of Major
League innings, right, and soyou know, we we do have to
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do something to get these guys abreather because we got to get all the
way through you know, we gotto get all the way through September,
you know, before we can getto October postseason. So it's going to
be a grind and uh, youknow, we're gonna have to think and
get creative and think of ways thatyou know, we're gonna have to be
able to get through this thing.Now, let me just add to it,
because you're the GM. You faceda lot this year. It's crazy
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never know what the season is gonnabring. Now you're thinking Blanco and innings,
arraghetty and innings the threshold of howmuch they can handle and you can't
afford any more injuries. Is thereany concern that injuries and you don't want
to tax your bullpen? Are youconcerned that innings for these pitchers who have
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not seen their threshold are starting toadd up and can't give you what they've
given you so far? No,I mean, Blanco's given us the innings
in the minor leagues before, butit's just untried territories in the major leagues.
Yep, you know, Arrogetty,I think you know he loses a
goose. I think he's gonna befine. We're just gonna have to give
these guys the rest that they need. I don't think that the innings will
(08:52):
pole up to the point where theywon't be able to go, but I
do think we have to monitor itand give these guys as a breather.
You know, whether it's skip thestart, whether it's go to a six
man rotation. We are going tohave to get creative and and figure out
those things. But you know,in terms of just the pure health of
these guys, these guys aren't leakingoil at all. So if they were
(09:15):
leaking oil and the velos were waydown or something like that, I would
be concerned. Uh, but thevelos are still up, you know,
performances are still up, and soI think we just have to be smart
and give these guys to breathe thatthey're gonna need to get through it.
Dana Brown astros GM joins us fora few more minutes for his weekly visit.
As he does, we're always gratefulfor it here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety show on Salisbury show,recent setback to Lance mccullors, should we
(09:39):
just look forward and say we're notseeing him till twenty twenty five? Well,
you know, the setbacks are reallydifficult when you're coming off these injuries,
and so you know, hopefully hecan grind through it. You know,
it's gonna it's gonna take us sometime before we could really you know,
get it figured out. But uh, you know, hopefully we can,
(10:01):
you know, we can figure thisthing out and he can get through
it. But I don't think it'sa you know, there's no damage to
the arm or anything like that.So that's you know, that's refreshing.
It's just that he's in the grindright now to get back. And when
you're coming back sometimes you start toyou know, you start to stress the
arm a little bit when you justyou know, you start throwing and you
(10:24):
start trying to pick up the velocity. And I think sometimes it's just it's
normal. Sort. I liken itto the runner who's running distance and he's
breaking his legs down and he getsa little tired, and then now all
of a sudden he gets the secondwin, and hopefully, you know him
going through this, he'll he'll he'llget a fight through it. But that
second win for a runner was thisis two years now, and I know
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I know how hard he works,and so do you, and I know
it sucks, Dana, I knowit does. But now I remember about
a month ago, I said,are you counting on Garcia and mccullors,
and and you said, that's likegetting those guys back, like well at
a trade deadline, getting two qualitypitchers, and Garcia is still making progress.
Are you still counting on mccullors topitch for you in twenty twenty four,
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Well, mccullors could come back andbe a real good force out of
the pin. That would be great, you know, and so I'm still
hopeful, you know, we wehave to let the medical side play out,
but there's nothing you know, there'sno damage to the arm to the
point where we we don't feel likehe's coming back. So I'm still hopeful
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that he will come back, andmaybe we won't get him, we can
get him as a reliever and youknow, he could play a big part
and pitch some beginnings in some biggames. As far as Garcia, I
think Garcia is going to give ussome starts, yep, And you know
that, you know, I thinkwe're going to you know, we're going
to be fine in that area,and he's going to be exactly like getting
the trade, and we're also inthe market for you know, potential trade.
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You know, hopefully, you know, we could land a starter in
this trade market. I know it'sgoing to go all the way down in
the wire. You know, teamsare gonna try to hang in there and
try to make it to the postseasonand then they'll sell probably late the ones
that are going to sell. Soit's going to go down to the wire
and we just have to, youknow, continue to grind through it like
(12:13):
we've been going all year. AsI mentioned earlier in the year, this
team is still good enough to getto the postseason the way it's constructed right
now, you know, Uh so, I'm not really worried about that.
I would love for those guys tocome back from injury, just because that
gives us even a better chance toget even deeper into the postseason. Go
(12:33):
ahead, I'm sorry, go aheadand finish. Yeah, so that's pretty
much the case we're in. We'rein the grind all right. With that,
you mentioned to get to the postseason, the all and the trade deadline
coming up, how can you howcan you not be heavily into going getting
an arm? How important they are, and I know how important they are
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to you. You've mentioned it.Pitching, pitching, pitching, I mean
if I I mean, I don'tknow if it's a lie guy, because
people aren't getting rid of there's alot of teams still in the playoffs.
But how can you, not knowingthe circumstances, go out and make heavy
bid for at least one arm andit may be a bullpen guy too,
but a starter. How do youget through the trade deadline without getting one?
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Dana, Yeah, we're gonna makeeverything. We're gonna we're gonna try,
you know, we're gonna put ourbest foot forward. You know,
we're gonna, you know, dowhatever we have to do to try to
get it. You know, it'sit's you know, you need two sides
to play, right. We're willing. We got to get another willing candidate,
and it's gonna make sense for theorganization. And then uh, you
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know, and if not, youknow, we're gonna have to rely on
guys like blue Ball, who's thetriple A thrown the ball? Well?
Uh and and this organization has reliedon young players for a long time and
been successful relying on young players,and so uh, you know some most
of the time you would love tohave that veteran, but if it's if
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the veteran is not available, wewill ask one of these young kids to
step it up. And this organizationhas been very, very successful at getting
young players to turn the corner.So all in all, this is a
team that's built for the postseason.I've been saying it all year. I
think we're good enough to compete withwhat we have currently. I think if
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we can add to it, it'sjust gonna really you know, sertify,
you know, getting even deeper intothe postseason. We're in the grinds.
We're looking at it every day.We're having discussions every day. I'm constantly
in contact with other general managers,and so if we can get a piece
dad to this team, we willdo it. You're a World Series guy,
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though, and so is everybody here. And you know this. You've
been at an organization that knows WorldSeries before you got here in Atlanta and
here, so just not the postseason. What has to be done or give
me a trade or something that's tangiblethat has to be done for you guys
to be a World Series team intwenty twenty four. Yeah, I think
(15:01):
to be a World Series team.Uh, it starts off. I feel
like winning the division. And thenwhen you win the division, you you
know, your starters have to getdeep in two games during the postseason and
your relief has to be really good. You've got to get the timely hitting.
I mean, that's the recipe forwinning the World Series. You know,
you know, we we would loveto go out and get it.
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You know, make a trade,but you do realize that, you know,
just because you make that trade itlooks good on paper, that guy
still have to come in here andperform, no doubt. So there's been
trades made, There's been guys thathave been acquired that are supposed to be
number three type starters. They getwith the organization and and it doesn't happen.
(15:43):
There's no uh, you know,magic bullet for this. You know,
this is the you get to theWorld Series by having quality starts,
good bullpen and good timely hitting.That's how you get to the World Series.
And we're going to do everything wecan to put that put ourselves into
that position. And you know,once we do that, you know the
players will step up and you knowgood things will happen. You know,
(16:06):
I would I would say, Iwould say hanging there with us. The
team is moving in the right direction. Uh, we're you know, we're
ahead of where I thought we wouldbe. And so you know, ultimately,
if we keep grinding through it.Right now, the goal is let's
let's try to take over first placebefore this first half in. We can
do that. That's a big step, and then we can get the pitching
that we need to turn the corner. Uh, that would be great as
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well. Two good two things beforeI let you go, Will it sting
for you to get the pitcher youwant. Will it sting well for fans
to lose somebody years, Will ithave to sting a little bit to get
the guy you want for your currentorganization? Yeah, I mean we always
say you got to give up somethingto get something. You know, these
teams are smart, These teams arenot you know, uh in the business
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of losing good players uh and andand and acquiring bad prospects. So they're
gonna do what they can to acquireone of your better prospects, as just
as we're going to do a weekendto acquire one of their better starters,
relievers or position players. So ultimately, you're gonna have to give up something
in order to get something. Werealize that, you know, you're not
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gonna be able to trick anybody intoo getting you a big time player.
That just doesn't happen. And soI would say, yes, you're gonna
have to give up something in orderto get something. We just don't want
to mortgage to farm and we wantit to make sense for our organization and
not mortgage the future, you know, just for temporary success in the present.
(17:36):
I'm gonna let you go on thistalk me off this ledge I know
what a tough guy you are.And I've set here thinking, I know
how good and tough Kyle Tucker is. Reevaluation of this? Is this seriously
just a bone bruise. This isnot there's no break or crack or chip
or fracture. And this is thelongest bone bruise I can ever remember.
(17:56):
And he's tough. Is there somethingdeeper to that, to that that's taken
longer than just threshold of pain?No, I just think you know,
when you when you foul the balloff, you know sometimes the balls,
you know, balls come off thebat, you know, ninety ninety two
miles prior that fall right in frontof home plate. You know, I
(18:18):
mean, imagine getting hit with somethingninety two right right in the center of
your shinbone, and it is itis a deep ruse. And then when
you try to put the deal withis he can walk and do those other
things, but you know, whenit comes to getting into baseball activity,
that's when you know he feels someof the soreness. And so it's just
(18:41):
Pine Hills, you know, It'sone of those things at time Hills.
Thank God, We've been playing reallygood baseball in the absence of Tucker,
yep. And you know, Iknow we can't continue, you know,
to do that. So we werewill grind as much as we can grind,
but make no mistake, we arewe are going to need Tucker,
(19:02):
uh, you know, to getto where we want to be, you
know, ultimately in this organization.So uh, you know, hopefully he'll
he'll he'll get through this. Ithink the deep bone bruis, you know,
and talking with Tucker, and I'vehad multiple conversations with him. Uh,
you know, it's painful when he'syou know, when he's doing baseball
activity. Uh, but each daygets a little bit better, but he
(19:23):
still feels the pain. But Ithink he'll he's gonna be all right,
You'll get through it. And uh, you know, thank god, the
guys are stepping up and we're playinggood baseball in his absence. I got
so much I want to talk toyou about that. It'll wait till next
Wednesday. Enjoy these last few gamesbefore the All Star break and we'll talk
to you next week. We reallyappreciate you, and thanks for your time.
Dana. All Right, astro fans, let's get it. Let's get
(19:45):
in the first place before this thing. Uh before the first half. We're
ready to go. That wud benice and best of your family through this.
Uh getting that power back on,buddy. Thank you, thank you,
appreciate you guys. You guys,thank you you too,
Live for the Sean Salisbury Show continued. Always great to have him for his
weekly Wednesday visit at nine point thirty, and we welcome him in. Dana,
hope everything's okay with your family andthis flooding and this hurricane. I
hope everybody's safe. And well,let me ask you. You guys doing
okay power wise and everything else.Yeah, we don't have any power,
(00:21):
but I have a generator, butthere's no cable or internet, so my
wife's driving me crazy. She'd probablycome out of here as a guess and
say you're driving her crazy too,And that's the way it's supposed to work.
There you go, but man,I get it. Hopefully it'll be
reinstated or restill, rein you know, everything back to normal here soon.
But glad you guys are safe.Big win last night, come from behind,
(00:44):
which leads me to this, Dana, you know the hater the night
before, the home run teams,other teams getting paid to what I love.
Unlike maybe early in the season youtalk about grit all year long.
Is this hasn't festered a loss likethat? Maybe early on to three in
a row, but it hasn't festered. You bounce right back and all of
a sudden, boom, Bregman getshis seventh inning home run. Guys come
(01:06):
up big. Blanco starts off slowand then kicks ass the rest of the
day, gives you seven innings.That's got to be impressive for you and
your team. Yeah. I mean, as as you mentioned, I've talked
about it before that the grit thatthis team has is huge, and you
know, part of that grit isconfidence. You know, these guys know
that they're good. They know that, you know, we've been good for
(01:29):
years, and so you know,these guys don't panic. They have the
heart beat and the stomach for thisstuff, and so there's no panic,
and the guys will know that atsome point things will turn around. So
you got last night. You guysknow that they're confident. You know,
the big hit there, big hitthere, shut down any here, shut
down any there. You know we'reback on top. And then Hayter poses
(01:52):
it out after giving up a homerun on the door. I mean,
look, these guys understand it,they get it, and they know the
ultimate goal is to in the division, get back deep into the postseason,
try to get to the World Series. Dan, I want to talk about
Renelle Blanco first off, for hismental toughness. This guy's thirty and overcoming
what he's coming and pitching lights out. Have you spoken to him, because
(02:15):
I know, when we're Homers athome, we think, you know what,
the guy got snubbed for an AllStar Game. People get snubbed every
year. But in truth, thiswas a legitimate mistake by those who vote.
The guy deserved it. Have youhad a conversation with him about his
being left off the All Star team? Yeah? And I tell Blanco look
less state of course to the interpreters, you know, state the state of
(02:38):
course. You know what you'll getyour You'll you'll get your promised land.
You know, the promised land islet's let's let's get deep into the postseason.
Let's pitch a huge game in thepostseason, and you know what,
you're gonna let your light shine.You know. Ultimately, you know,
I felt like, you know,he was deserving and you know, maybe
there's still an opportunity can be areserve or something like that, but ultimately,
(03:02):
the great year that he put up. I told him when I first,
you know, said hey, Iwant to make you a starter.
And I told him, I said, look, this is going to be
good for your career. It's goingto change your career if you could pull
it off. And sure enough,man, things are looking good for Renel
Blanco, and Renel Blanco deserves it. So yep, I'm excited about what
(03:23):
he's doing for this club and holdthis holding this rotation together. Yeah,
and you know what, Dana DanaBrown Astros GM for his weekly nine thirty
visit here joins us as he doesevery week on Sports Talk seven ninety.
I know there's a obviously you wantit for the guy because it's been a
phenomenal season and what he's what he'sdone, and then he gets some rest,
so that's not a bad thing.So when you spoke to him,
well, what was his response?Is he hurt or is he okay?
(03:47):
Yeah? I mean I think ultimatelyhe's disappointed, to say the least.
But you know, at the endof the day, I think he understands
that he put off, he putforth an effort, you know that was
worthy, and it's it's out ofhis hands. If somebody at you're outside
(04:08):
of the Astros or any of us, or I ask you or say to
you, I believe Renelle Blanco maybethe MVP of the team, and I
know there's a lot of good ones. Could I make the argument that he
is, well, I would saywe have a couple of guys that are
worthy of MVP. Uh. Youknow, heck, you know what Alvarez
has done this year holding it down, you know, because he's been one
(04:30):
consistent, you know, two Vayhas been consistent. You know, Blanco
has been really consistent. I mean, I think either one of those guys
could be m VP. But itwould not shock me. If you know,
the fan base voted for him tobe MVP, the players voted for
him to be MVP, would notshock me, right, you know,
he's having that kind of a year, you know, when you can anchor
a rotation that injury written and andjust be the stabilizer, you know,
(04:56):
and to have a two five earnedrun average after all these games and you
know, keep putting us in thewin column, giving us opportunities to win
games. Man, that is valuable. Man, that's valuable stuff to a
major league team. And then thegrind of the season and for you to
do it week in and week out, start in and start out, I
mean, that's that's big. Ithink the players, the players realize it.
(05:18):
And I think the players really felt, like he said, have been
an All Star too, so thatI think you know our players, you
know, and they know what RoyaldBlanco's doing. These guys have been around,
they know how special he's been forYeah, the double down of all
the injuries and he's had to giveyou innings and give you quality innings and
quality starts, which he has,which leads me to this. Did you
know in your mind just from watchinghim and talking to him that he was
(05:41):
this mentally tough. Yeah, Ithink you know, when you grow up
in the Dominican man, it's it'sa different life. You know. These
guys have to grind and grit,They have to go through a lot.
And I don't know if you've everbeen to the country, but you know
these guys are warriors, man.They fight through it. They love baseball,
you know, and this is aboutthe Baseball is an opportunity to you
(06:03):
know, to get out and makesome money. And these guys grind through
a lot, you know, intheir careers. Just just to go to
show that he was signed at twentytwo years old. He never gave up
on his dream. You know,most kids were like you know, it's
hard to get it, you know, get to get signed as a twenty
two year old in the US muchless you know, twenty two year old
(06:24):
and Dominican Republic. And this guy'sbeen grinding it, you know, his
whole baseball career. I'm not surprisedat the success that he's having because he's
got the grit and uh, youknow, I'm just excited that he's he's
putting up a pretty good year forus, and and this time of need
no doubt about it. You're downto two games out. What a run
you set these goals for your team, and we are five games away from
(06:46):
the All Star break, two outand over five hundred and playing their best
baseball of the year and most consistentbaseball. Okay, Andrew ball assistant GM
it was was with Robert Ford inan interview over the weekend, and he
mentioned a six man rotation all right, with these injuries right as we sit
today, Dana over the neck beforethe trade deadline. We'll get to that
(07:06):
later. How do you get toa six man rotation considering what you're facing
right now? No Verlander, weknow the injury stuff. How do you
get to six men? Right?Now, yeah, I mean, the
only way we'll get to six Manis if we stretch out Duban, you
know, and then we get Blossback on Thursday. You know, then
(07:28):
we could probably go to the sixthMan to get these guys a breather,
or we call up you know,blue Ball or Lour or something like that.
But uh, you know, wehave to talk through those things because
we do have to get these guyssome rest. I mean, if you
imagine Blanco has been grinding out,he's an uncharded territory in terms of Major
League innings, right, and soyou know, we we do have to
(07:48):
do something to get these guys abreather because we got to get all the
way through you know, we gotto get all the way through September,
you know, before we can getto October postseason. So it's going to
be a grind and uh, youknow, we're gonna have to think and
get creative and think of ways thatyou know, we're gonna have to be
able to get through this thing.Now, let me just add to it,
because you're the GM. You faceda lot this year. It's crazy
(08:09):
never know what the season is gonnabring. Now you're thinking Blanco and innings,
arraghetty and innings the threshold of howmuch they can handle and you can't
afford any more injuries. Is thereany concern that injuries and you don't want
to tax your bullpen? Are youconcerned that innings for these pitchers who have
(08:30):
not seen their threshold are starting toadd up and can't give you what they've
given you so far? No,I mean, Blanco's given us the innings
in the minor leagues before, butit's just untried territories in the major leagues.
Yep, you know, Arrogetty,I think you know he loses a
goose. I think he's gonna befine. We're just gonna have to give
these guys the rest that they need. I don't think that the innings will
(08:52):
pole up to the point where theywon't be able to go, but I
do think we have to monitor itand give these guys as a breather.
You know, whether it's skip thestart, whether it's go to a six
man rotation. We are going tohave to get creative and and figure out
those things. But you know,in terms of just the pure health of
these guys, these guys aren't leakingoil at all. So if they were
(09:15):
leaking oil and the velos were waydown or something like that, I would
be concerned. Uh, but thevelos are still up, you know,
performances are still up, and soI think we just have to be smart
and give these guys to breathe thatthey're gonna need to get through it.
Dana Brown astros GM joins us fora few more minutes for his weekly visit.
As he does, we're always gratefulfor it here on Sports Talk seven
to ninety show on Salisbury show,recent setback to Lance mccullors, should we
(09:39):
just look forward and say we're notseeing him till twenty twenty five? Well,
you know, the setbacks are reallydifficult when you're coming off these injuries,
and so you know, hopefully hecan grind through it. You know,
it's gonna it's gonna take us sometime before we could really you know,
get it figured out. But uh, you know, hopefully we can,
(10:01):
you know, we can figure thisthing out and he can get through
it. But I don't think it'sa you know, there's no damage to
the arm or anything like that.So that's you know, that's refreshing.
It's just that he's in the grindright now to get back. And when
you're coming back sometimes you start toyou know, you start to stress the
arm a little bit when you justyou know, you start throwing and you
(10:24):
start trying to pick up the velocity. And I think sometimes it's just it's
normal. Sort. I liken itto the runner who's running distance and he's
breaking his legs down and he getsa little tired, and then now all
of a sudden he gets the secondwin, and hopefully, you know him
going through this, he'll he'll he'llget a fight through it. But that
second win for a runner was thisis two years now, and I know
(10:46):
I know how hard he works,and so do you, and I know
it sucks, Dana, I knowit does. But now I remember about
a month ago, I said,are you counting on Garcia and mccullors,
and and you said, that's likegetting those guys back, like well at
a trade deadline, getting two qualitypitchers, and Garcia is still making progress.
Are you still counting on mccullors topitch for you in twenty twenty four,
(11:09):
Well, mccullors could come back andbe a real good force out of
the pin. That would be great, you know, and so I'm still
hopeful, you know, we wehave to let the medical side play out,
but there's nothing you know, there'sno damage to the arm to the
point where we we don't feel likehe's coming back. So I'm still hopeful
(11:30):
that he will come back, andmaybe we won't get him, we can
get him as a reliever and youknow, he could play a big part
and pitch some beginnings in some biggames. As far as Garcia, I
think Garcia is going to give ussome starts, yep, And you know
that, you know, I thinkwe're going to you know, we're going
to be fine in that area,and he's going to be exactly like getting
the trade, and we're also inthe market for you know, potential trade.
(11:52):
You know, hopefully, you know, we could land a starter in
this trade market. I know it'sgoing to go all the way down in
the wire. You know, teamsare gonna try to hang in there and
try to make it to the postseasonand then they'll sell probably late the ones
that are going to sell. Soit's going to go down to the wire
and we just have to, youknow, continue to grind through it like
(12:13):
we've been going all year. AsI mentioned earlier in the year, this
team is still good enough to getto the postseason the way it's constructed right
now, you know, Uh so, I'm not really worried about that.
I would love for those guys tocome back from injury, just because that
gives us even a better chance toget even deeper into the postseason. Go
(12:33):
ahead, I'm sorry, go aheadand finish. Yeah, so that's pretty
much the case we're in. We'rein the grind all right. With that,
you mentioned to get to the postseason, the all and the trade deadline
coming up, how can you howcan you not be heavily into going getting
an arm? How important they are, and I know how important they are
(12:54):
to you. You've mentioned it.Pitching, pitching, pitching, I mean
if I I mean, I don'tknow if it's a lie guy, because
people aren't getting rid of there's alot of teams still in the playoffs.
But how can you, not knowingthe circumstances, go out and make heavy
bid for at least one arm andit may be a bullpen guy too,
but a starter. How do youget through the trade deadline without getting one?
(13:15):
Dana, Yeah, we're gonna makeeverything. We're gonna we're gonna try,
you know, we're gonna put ourbest foot forward. You know,
we're gonna, you know, dowhatever we have to do to try to
get it. You know, it'sit's you know, you need two sides
to play, right. We're willing. We got to get another willing candidate,
and it's gonna make sense for theorganization. And then uh, you
(13:35):
know, and if not, youknow, we're gonna have to rely on
guys like blue Ball, who's thetriple A thrown the ball? Well?
Uh and and this organization has reliedon young players for a long time and
been successful relying on young players,and so uh, you know some most
of the time you would love tohave that veteran, but if it's if
(13:56):
the veteran is not available, wewill ask one of these young kids to
step it up. And this organizationhas been very, very successful at getting
young players to turn the corner.So all in all, this is a
team that's built for the postseason.I've been saying it all year. I
think we're good enough to compete withwhat we have currently. I think if
(14:18):
we can add to it, it'sjust gonna really you know, sertify,
you know, getting even deeper intothe postseason. We're in the grinds.
We're looking at it every day.We're having discussions every day. I'm constantly
in contact with other general managers,and so if we can get a piece
dad to this team, we willdo it. You're a World Series guy,
(14:41):
though, and so is everybody here. And you know this. You've
been at an organization that knows WorldSeries before you got here in Atlanta and
here, so just not the postseason. What has to be done or give
me a trade or something that's tangiblethat has to be done for you guys
to be a World Series team intwenty twenty four. Yeah, I think
(15:01):
to be a World Series team.Uh, it starts off. I feel
like winning the division. And thenwhen you win the division, you you
know, your starters have to getdeep in two games during the postseason and
your relief has to be really good. You've got to get the timely hitting.
I mean, that's the recipe forwinning the World Series. You know,
you know, we we would loveto go out and get it.
(15:22):
You know, make a trade,but you do realize that, you know,
just because you make that trade itlooks good on paper, that guy
still have to come in here andperform, no doubt. So there's been
trades made, There's been guys thathave been acquired that are supposed to be
number three type starters. They getwith the organization and and it doesn't happen.
(15:43):
There's no uh, you know,magic bullet for this. You know,
this is the you get to theWorld Series by having quality starts,
good bullpen and good timely hitting.That's how you get to the World Series.
And we're going to do everything wecan to put that put ourselves into
that position. And you know,once we do that, you know the
players will step up and you knowgood things will happen. You know,
(16:06):
I would I would say, Iwould say hanging there with us. The
team is moving in the right direction. Uh, we're you know, we're
ahead of where I thought we wouldbe. And so you know, ultimately,
if we keep grinding through it.Right now, the goal is let's
let's try to take over first placebefore this first half in. We can
do that. That's a big step, and then we can get the pitching
that we need to turn the corner. Uh, that would be great as
(16:30):
well. Two good two things beforeI let you go, Will it sting
for you to get the pitcher youwant. Will it sting well for fans
to lose somebody years, Will ithave to sting a little bit to get
the guy you want for your currentorganization? Yeah, I mean we always
say you got to give up somethingto get something. You know, these
teams are smart, These teams arenot you know, uh in the business
(16:52):
of losing good players uh and andand and acquiring bad prospects. So they're
gonna do what they can to acquireone of your better prospects, as just
as we're going to do a weekendto acquire one of their better starters,
relievers or position players. So ultimately, you're gonna have to give up something
in order to get something. Werealize that, you know, you're not
(17:15):
gonna be able to trick anybody intoo getting you a big time player.
That just doesn't happen. And soI would say, yes, you're gonna
have to give up something in orderto get something. We just don't want
to mortgage to farm and we wantit to make sense for our organization and
not mortgage the future, you know, just for temporary success in the present.
(17:36):
I'm gonna let you go on thistalk me off this ledge I know
what a tough guy you are.And I've set here thinking, I know
how good and tough Kyle Tucker is. Reevaluation of this? Is this seriously
just a bone bruise. This isnot there's no break or crack or chip
or fracture. And this is thelongest bone bruise I can ever remember.
(17:56):
And he's tough. Is there somethingdeeper to that, to that that's taken
longer than just threshold of pain?No, I just think you know,
when you when you foul the balloff, you know sometimes the balls,
you know, balls come off thebat, you know, ninety ninety two
miles prior that fall right in frontof home plate. You know, I
(18:18):
mean, imagine getting hit with somethingninety two right right in the center of
your shinbone, and it is itis a deep ruse. And then when
you try to put the deal withis he can walk and do those other
things, but you know, whenit comes to getting into baseball activity,
that's when you know he feels someof the soreness. And so it's just
(18:41):
Pine Hills, you know, It'sone of those things at time Hills.
Thank God, We've been playing reallygood baseball in the absence of Tucker,
yep. And you know, Iknow we can't continue, you know,
to do that. So we werewill grind as much as we can grind,
but make no mistake, we arewe are going to need Tucker,
(19:02):
uh, you know, to getto where we want to be, you
know, ultimately in this organization.So uh, you know, hopefully he'll
he'll he'll get through this. Ithink the deep bone bruis, you know,
and talking with Tucker, and I'vehad multiple conversations with him. Uh,
you know, it's painful when he'syou know, when he's doing baseball
activity. Uh, but each daygets a little bit better, but he
(19:23):
still feels the pain. But Ithink he'll he's gonna be all right,
You'll get through it. And uh, you know, thank god, the
guys are stepping up and we're playinggood baseball in his absence. I got
so much I want to talk toyou about that. It'll wait till next
Wednesday. Enjoy these last few gamesbefore the All Star break and we'll talk
to you next week. We reallyappreciate you, and thanks for your time.
Dana. All Right, astro fans, let's get it. Let's get
(19:45):
in the first place before this thing. Uh before the first half. We're
ready to go. That wud benice and best of your family through this.
Uh getting that power back on,buddy. Thank you, thank you,
appreciate you guys. You guys,thank you you too,
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