July 14, 2025 • 9 mins
Concluding the first half of the season yesterday afternoon, the Astros seem to be in a pretty good spot rolling into the All-Star break and the second half of the season leading the AL West Division and approximately 3 games behind the Tigers leading the American League. Rolling into the All-Star break a bit uneasy losing 5 of their last 6 games coming off their hot sweep in LA, the Stros' still hold a very solid place ahead of their division rivals. Sean and Dan analyzes the organizations first half of the season following their two final series against the Rockies & Rangers and what to expect the second half of the season coming out of the All-Star break.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sean a couple of different things, and you know one
of them was brought up by John, the previous John
before the last one about the lineup right now, And
I mean, obviously we know the given that the situation
you're dealing with, you don't have yrd On, you don't
have Jeremy Paine, yet, you don't have Jake Myers. Those
are three guys that you really count on in the lineup,
(00:20):
and you're not able to have them available to you
right now. But I mean it is where you have
had some guys that have played above their abilities. I mean,
you talked about cam Smith earlier. He started to struggle
a little bit towards the end, but overall Cam Smith
has been really good. This is where the shelf life
kind of comes in because you're having to put even
(00:40):
more on guys like Mauricio Dubon, and even having to
try to count even more on guys like Taylor Tremill,
who did give you some good at bats, but still
you're not wanting to count on Taylor Tremill if you're
going to be a team that makes a deep postseason run,
and the Astros are hoping that's not going to be
the case. But to the points brought up there, I mean,
it gets back to again, I repeat myself, because it's true,
(01:04):
you got to count on the guy that you gave
sixty million dollars two for three years over the offseason.
You got to count on the guy that's bad at
almost three hundred every single season that he's been with
his team in yiner Diaz. It's some of the other
guys that are putting the pressure on those guys, and frankly,
I just don't think that they're up to the task.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well I I well, I don't know why they're not
up to the task. I mean, I understand. I mean,
I know you've got a major hang up on this
Christian Walker stuff. And I get it as everybody does
the production production of it. One for four, here for four,
two for four, home run, zero for four, oh for four,
over three in a walk, one for four, home run
(01:41):
and yinerdas the expectations. But I don't there's nothing that
tells me in their career that they can't do it.
Matter of fact, all you know, all of the stuff
the the the past to what they've done, points to
in a short stint, obviously in his early part of
his career, Yan Das and then Christian Walker overall has
(02:02):
been a productive player since he's been in this league.
And we always place money value on oh Man, all
the money we paid him, we got to play better.
I get it, And but I'm different than you. While
they've struggled, and yes, there needs to be criticism every
single day. If they're not, it's a day to day thing.
When I say criticism, I mean breakdown. Why yet we
(02:23):
see them hit the ball hard, and we know at
first base that this team, when they make a commitment
to somebody, they're gonna they're gonna be patient about it.
But but the same energy for his success, We didn't
give them the same energy for a success that in
Colorado and La expect him to go in there. I
know you we we want that energy. But I don't
know what would tell you that in his career that
(02:44):
would say you just don't know they're capable of doing it.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Hell, they've proven it every year. This year has been
a struggle. Now, imagine if you get healthy and they do.
I'm trying to look at the you know, the glass
half full part of it. But yes, Christian Walker has
been a problem as far as when I say a
not a problem teammate, hell of a teammate, but as
far as his production, and especially when you Pain is out,
you lost a lot of production. And Jordan hasn't given
(03:08):
you the production even when he was healthy, and now
with him out that you've expected all year long.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
But I'm looking at I got it. I have to
lean on him.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I can't go into the second half of this season thinking, well,
I don't expect them to elevate their play.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
They have to.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
If, of course, you're going to go where you want
to go, They're they're going to have to with pain.
I mean, where you getting runs If those two don't
produce it, and pain you doesn't get healthy soon. And
Myer's with the way he's hit the ears. You're back
in the lineup. You're expecting a rookie, two new guys,
a corner third baseman, your your corner infield at third base,
and cam Smith and then now Tuve and then the
(03:45):
do bond part of it, where you're giving him, you know,
moving him around, getting him all kinds of a bats
because you need him. But I'm expecting Christian Walker and
yannerdy Is to play like they're supposed to and they
deserve criticism for the first half, but the the energy
has got to be for them that they're going to
be productive. There's no way I can go in the
second half of this season thinking this is who they
(04:05):
are and there's nothing in their career that tells me
that other than this first half of the season.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, I mean, and that's all that matters too. I mean,
because they're in your building. Everything else they've done, it's
either they've been out of your building or you know,
they did it somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Let's keep pushing it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, let's keep pushing it elsewhere too, though, I mean,
Christian Walker, I knows the the the main focus.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
I mean, it's it's been in your crawl from day one,
and I get it.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
But Lance mccullors has got to pitch better at Oh,
he's got to pitch better. Hey, he's got a pitch
better four and a half, four ings or four and
a third or four There is not enough.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You've got to continue to push your your starter's got
to continue to get into that six or seven any
are the bullpen is going to be worn out. I mean,
break is going to have a moment. Haters gonna have
a moment. But unfortunately in the Validay what you're saying
for Yinter and Christian Walker, they've had, unfortunately had some
(05:04):
tough moments a lot in the first half. But I
if they if they're who we think they are, especially
the catcher who's young.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
We we have.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Got to believe that he's going to come out of
this and play well. And if he doesn't, then who
And if Christian Walker, this is the way it's going
to be all year long. If he doesn't, then who?
Now remember and Christian Walker's what what is he? Thirty
five thirty six?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
What is he in his mid thirties? Christian Walker? Thirty
four thirty four?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
You know?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
If is that factual? I don't know. He's in his
mid thirties, thirty he is thirty four?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Okay, thirty four years old, which he's in the I
mean he this is this is an important season for him.
It's important season. His production has to go up. But
I believe more in them to produce than I don't.
And maybe that's bells and whistles and you know, all
the all the fun band going off and birds singing
around my hood, around the around my hood and my neighborhood,
(05:56):
thinking singing out loud that they're going to kick ass
in the second half. I'm sure that's probably a little
two glass half full, but that's all you can lean on.
Can you count on yourd On right now? I'm talking
about it even when he's even when he comes back,
there's gonna be a curve right where he has to
get back into it healthy and the torque and all that,
and hopefully he will, but if not, those two caps
(06:18):
are going to have to provide power that they haven't
provided on a consistent basis.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And we know that. But I can't put the.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
First half or this last series, the whole first half
of the lack of consistent production just on Christian Walker.
There's some other guys that have to elevate their game,
not only in certain situations, but the health is the
biggest issue because you continue to deplete depth, and even
Jake Myers, who's had a great first half of the
season now with him out, Joe Spott has got a
(06:44):
task on his hands. But yes, if you want to
get where you're going, they can't survive this and expect
pitching to continue.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
We saw some hicc Hunter Brown given it. He doesn't.
That's not normally him.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
His last two starts haven't been the dominant Hunter Brown, right,
But yet you expect him to die dominate. So you're
gonna run through lolls with those guys. So when you do,
that's when you need Christian Walker's and Yaner Dias and
those guys to get me six or seven runs. So
I'm not taxing a bullpen. And so my starter can
push through a couple tough innings, it's gonna be it's
gonna be a run in the second half. It is,
(07:15):
especially with the lack of health.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, and it's also too I mean, I think that's
the thing that disappoints us all is believing that it
was going to be a chance for this team to
be able to run away with this thing and not,
you know, have to necessarily worry about the Mariners of
the Rangers in the second half. But I mean, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
They're not running away.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
And if the Mariners are six, and if the Mariners
were five in front and the Arrangers were as well,
they wouldn't be running away either. There's too much that
can happen, too many and too much history with the
de Gram's, you know they're going to get a full
season at him. It's been a while the way, So
you could look around, I mean there's all of them
have their flaws, and so if they were five in front,
I would think, Man, the Astros are within striking distance,
(07:54):
and we'd be excited that you know that they that
this this is bunched together. They're five in front. But
you can if you think we're five in front, and
you can kind of take a deep side, which I
always hate. Ah, we can take a deep breath and
we're good. Well, that deep breath got you to one
and five, if that's exactly If that's what happened. But
you've got to be more productive consistently at the plate
because I do trust the pitching more than I do
(08:15):
the hitting right now.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, I mean, and that's been what's carried this team
for the most part this season, because I mean, in
addition to the individual I've brought up, it's also for
me been a collective as a whole at times when
it comes to the lineup. And I mean that's something too.
I mean you pointed to it. That's something that you'd
absolutely like to see the final stretch of the season
here after the All Star break is some of the bats,
(08:39):
especially the ones that you count on coming through for
this team. So we'll see if they are able to
do that. All right, coming up here, I shared something
on the seven ninety Twitter account that's going to make
total sense here on the stakeout, so we'll do that.
It is the Shawn Salisbury Show on a Monday. I'm
here in Atlanta, Seawan and Tripoli back in Houston. As
we continue here Sean Salisbury Show, Sports Talks set an
(09:00):
ide
Sean a couple of different things, and you know one
of them was brought up by John, the previous John
before the last one about the lineup right now, And
I mean, obviously we know the given that the situation
you're dealing with, you don't have yrd On, you don't
have Jeremy Paine, yet, you don't have Jake Myers. Those
are three guys that you really count on in the lineup,
(00:20):
and you're not able to have them available to you
right now. But I mean it is where you have
had some guys that have played above their abilities. I mean,
you talked about cam Smith earlier. He started to struggle
a little bit towards the end, but overall Cam Smith
has been really good. This is where the shelf life
kind of comes in because you're having to put even
(00:40):
more on guys like Mauricio Dubon, and even having to
try to count even more on guys like Taylor Tremill,
who did give you some good at bats, but still
you're not wanting to count on Taylor Tremill if you're
going to be a team that makes a deep postseason run,
and the Astros are hoping that's not going to be
the case. But to the points brought up there, I mean,
it gets back to again, I repeat myself, because it's true,
(01:04):
you got to count on the guy that you gave
sixty million dollars two for three years over the offseason.
You got to count on the guy that's bad at
almost three hundred every single season that he's been with
his team in yiner Diaz. It's some of the other
guys that are putting the pressure on those guys, and frankly,
I just don't think that they're up to the task.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well I I well, I don't know why they're not
up to the task. I mean, I understand. I mean,
I know you've got a major hang up on this
Christian Walker stuff. And I get it as everybody does
the production production of it. One for four, here for four,
two for four, home run, zero for four, oh for four,
over three in a walk, one for four, home run
(01:41):
and yinerdas the expectations. But I don't there's nothing that
tells me in their career that they can't do it.
Matter of fact, all you know, all of the stuff
the the the past to what they've done, points to
in a short stint, obviously in his early part of
his career, Yan Das and then Christian Walker overall has
(02:02):
been a productive player since he's been in this league.
And we always place money value on oh Man, all
the money we paid him, we got to play better.
I get it, And but I'm different than you. While
they've struggled, and yes, there needs to be criticism every
single day. If they're not, it's a day to day thing.
When I say criticism, I mean breakdown. Why yet we
(02:23):
see them hit the ball hard, and we know at
first base that this team, when they make a commitment
to somebody, they're gonna they're gonna be patient about it.
But but the same energy for his success, We didn't
give them the same energy for a success that in
Colorado and La expect him to go in there. I
know you we we want that energy. But I don't
know what would tell you that in his career that
(02:44):
would say you just don't know they're capable of doing it.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Hell, they've proven it every year. This year has been
a struggle. Now, imagine if you get healthy and they do.
I'm trying to look at the you know, the glass
half full part of it. But yes, Christian Walker has
been a problem as far as when I say a
not a problem teammate, hell of a teammate, but as
far as his production, and especially when you Pain is out,
you lost a lot of production. And Jordan hasn't given
(03:08):
you the production even when he was healthy, and now
with him out that you've expected all year long.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
But I'm looking at I got it. I have to
lean on him.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I can't go into the second half of this season thinking, well,
I don't expect them to elevate their play.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
They have to.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
If, of course, you're going to go where you want
to go, They're they're going to have to with pain.
I mean, where you getting runs If those two don't
produce it, and pain you doesn't get healthy soon. And
Myer's with the way he's hit the ears. You're back
in the lineup. You're expecting a rookie, two new guys,
a corner third baseman, your your corner infield at third base,
and cam Smith and then now Tuve and then the
(03:45):
do bond part of it, where you're giving him, you know,
moving him around, getting him all kinds of a bats
because you need him. But I'm expecting Christian Walker and
yannerdy Is to play like they're supposed to and they
deserve criticism for the first half, but the the energy
has got to be for them that they're going to
be productive. There's no way I can go in the
second half of this season thinking this is who they
(04:05):
are and there's nothing in their career that tells me
that other than this first half of the season.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, I mean, and that's all that matters too. I mean,
because they're in your building. Everything else they've done, it's
either they've been out of your building or you know,
they did it somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Let's keep pushing it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, let's keep pushing it elsewhere too, though, I mean,
Christian Walker, I knows the the the main focus.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
I mean, it's it's been in your crawl from day one,
and I get it.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
But Lance mccullors has got to pitch better at Oh,
he's got to pitch better. Hey, he's got a pitch
better four and a half, four ings or four and
a third or four There is not enough.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
So that's part of it.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You've got to continue to push your your starter's got
to continue to get into that six or seven any
are the bullpen is going to be worn out. I mean,
break is going to have a moment. Haters gonna have
a moment. But unfortunately in the Validay what you're saying
for Yinter and Christian Walker, they've had, unfortunately had some
(05:04):
tough moments a lot in the first half. But I
if they if they're who we think they are, especially
the catcher who's young.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
We we have.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Got to believe that he's going to come out of
this and play well. And if he doesn't, then who
And if Christian Walker, this is the way it's going
to be all year long. If he doesn't, then who?
Now remember and Christian Walker's what what is he? Thirty
five thirty six?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
What is he in his mid thirties? Christian Walker? Thirty
four thirty four?
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Is that?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
You know?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
If is that factual? I don't know. He's in his
mid thirties, thirty he is thirty four?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Okay, thirty four years old, which he's in the I
mean he this is this is an important season for him.
It's important season. His production has to go up. But
I believe more in them to produce than I don't.
And maybe that's bells and whistles and you know, all
the all the fun band going off and birds singing
around my hood, around the around my hood and my neighborhood,
(05:56):
thinking singing out loud that they're going to kick ass
in the second half. I'm sure that's probably a little
two glass half full, but that's all you can lean on.
Can you count on yourd On right now? I'm talking
about it even when he's even when he comes back,
there's gonna be a curve right where he has to
get back into it healthy and the torque and all that,
and hopefully he will, but if not, those two caps
(06:18):
are going to have to provide power that they haven't
provided on a consistent basis.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And we know that. But I can't put the.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
First half or this last series, the whole first half
of the lack of consistent production just on Christian Walker.
There's some other guys that have to elevate their game,
not only in certain situations, but the health is the
biggest issue because you continue to deplete depth, and even
Jake Myers, who's had a great first half of the
season now with him out, Joe Spott has got a
(06:44):
task on his hands. But yes, if you want to
get where you're going, they can't survive this and expect
pitching to continue.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
We saw some hicc Hunter Brown given it. He doesn't.
That's not normally him.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
His last two starts haven't been the dominant Hunter Brown, right,
But yet you expect him to die dominate. So you're
gonna run through lolls with those guys. So when you do,
that's when you need Christian Walker's and Yaner Dias and
those guys to get me six or seven runs. So
I'm not taxing a bullpen. And so my starter can
push through a couple tough innings, it's gonna be it's
gonna be a run in the second half. It is,
(07:15):
especially with the lack of health.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, and it's also too I mean, I think that's
the thing that disappoints us all is believing that it
was going to be a chance for this team to
be able to run away with this thing and not,
you know, have to necessarily worry about the Mariners of
the Rangers in the second half. But I mean, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
They're not running away.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
And if the Mariners are six, and if the Mariners
were five in front and the Arrangers were as well,
they wouldn't be running away either. There's too much that
can happen, too many and too much history with the
de Gram's, you know they're going to get a full
season at him. It's been a while the way, So
you could look around, I mean there's all of them
have their flaws, and so if they were five in front,
I would think, Man, the Astros are within striking distance,
(07:54):
and we'd be excited that you know that they that
this this is bunched together. They're five in front. But
you can if you think we're five in front, and
you can kind of take a deep side, which I
always hate. Ah, we can take a deep breath and
we're good. Well, that deep breath got you to one
and five, if that's exactly If that's what happened. But
you've got to be more productive consistently at the plate
because I do trust the pitching more than I do
(08:15):
the hitting right now.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, I mean, and that's been what's carried this team
for the most part this season, because I mean, in
addition to the individual I've brought up, it's also for
me been a collective as a whole at times when
it comes to the lineup. And I mean that's something too.
I mean you pointed to it. That's something that you'd
absolutely like to see the final stretch of the season
here after the All Star break is some of the bats,
(08:39):
especially the ones that you count on coming through for
this team. So we'll see if they are able to
do that. All right, coming up here, I shared something
on the seven ninety Twitter account that's going to make
total sense here on the stakeout, so we'll do that.
It is the Shawn Salisbury Show on a Monday. I'm
here in Atlanta, Seawan and Tripoli back in Houston. As
we continue here Sean Salisbury Show, Sports Talks set an
(09:00):
ide
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