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Speaker 1: What's up, everybody. Welcome into another edition of Crush City Territory.

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Speaker 1: I'm channing the room, joined as always by Tyler Stafford.

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Speaker 1: And if you are watching on YouTube, we have upgraded.

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Speaker 1: Because we like you guys that much, we have upgraded.

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Speaker 1: We've switching over to a new podcast production app.

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Speaker 2: That's something that they call it. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: I don't do technology, which you'll find out as you

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Speaker 1: watch this podcast, because you will see my eyes going

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Speaker 1: in eighteen different directions. You will see me freaking out

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Speaker 1: that I'm not hitting the right buttons. So bear with me,

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Speaker 1: bear with us. If you're watching on YouTube, as always,

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Speaker 1: like the video, it very much helps us out.

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Speaker 2: Like the video.

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Speaker 1: Comment on the video, I'm sure you'll comment about estoc

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Speaker 1: paratus and me being unable to click buttons, because that's kind.

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Speaker 2: Of how it's been going. Tyler.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry to delay this by thirty five minutes because

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Speaker 1: I didn't know how to work this thing.

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Speaker 2: How are you hey? I am with you, man.

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Speaker 3: I also logged into this app and it felt like,

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Speaker 3: you know, a minority report where Tom Cruise is up

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Speaker 3: there just moving. I mean, the whole screen was full

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Speaker 3: of buttons and widgets. And uh, listen, we're simple folk.

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Speaker 3: And uh that was that was too many buttons not

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Speaker 3: even buttons. I guess they're just not they're not even physical.

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Speaker 3: I can't even flip a switch. They're just hidden in

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Speaker 3: my screen. So I appreciate you piloting this, Chandler, because

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Speaker 3: I certainly could not.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, this is this is very uh, this is this

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Speaker 1: is just it's it's a lot.

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Speaker 2: This is a lot happening, but we're going through it.

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Speaker 2: We'll get through it. Everybody will look back.

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Speaker 3: At this and laugh and like two months when when

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Speaker 3: they're giving us our emmys.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, we already we already won like kind of

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Speaker 1: an emmy. Right, we want a belt? We did, we

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Speaker 1: we did. It's a cool belt buckle.

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Speaker 2: We did. Yeah, my belt buckles like sitting. I don't

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Speaker 2: own a belt, so it's tough.

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Speaker 3: You don't own a belt.

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Speaker 1: I don't wear belts. I what I very rarely tuck

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Speaker 1: my shirts in. I very rarely tuck my shirts in,

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Speaker 1: and like, yeah, I just don't wear a belt.

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Speaker 3: Your your jeans fit you well enough that you don't

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Speaker 3: need a belt.

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Speaker 2: I don't wear jeans, so.

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Speaker 3: Okay, wait, so you're in like slacks at urchinos or

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Speaker 3: whatever every day without a belt.

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Speaker 2: I mean I wear I mean, are we really going

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Speaker 2: off on this tangent.

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Speaker 4: Like we are?

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Speaker 2: What's happening? I don't.

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Speaker 1: I wear like Lululemon pants every day, like you don't

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Speaker 1: need you don't need belts.

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Speaker 2: Okay, I dress like you don't. I dress like a

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Speaker 2: major league scalp. All right.

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Speaker 1: I wear Lululemon dress pants to work every day, like

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Speaker 1: this is not something that needs a belt around it.

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Speaker 3: I mean, listen, I work from home. I have a

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Speaker 3: nice shirt that I hang just off to the side here.

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Speaker 3: I'm in T shirts and you know, shorts every single day,

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Speaker 3: so I can't speak to that. But I do own

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Speaker 3: a belt. So that's that's what I was curious about.

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Speaker 2: Anyway. What's up the Astros?

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Speaker 1: Well, they are currently finishing up their final exhibition game

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Speaker 1: of the season. They were playing the Sugarland Space Cowboys

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Speaker 1: at Dyke and Park. Jeremy Pania just hit a ball

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Speaker 1: off the train tracks, which has to bode well for

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Speaker 1: his availability on opening day, But as of this recording,

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Speaker 1: we do not know if Jeremy Pania will be on

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Speaker 1: the opening day roster. That's probably the that's not probably

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Speaker 1: that is the last real decision that the Astros have

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Speaker 1: to make. They made one earlier today by telling Christian

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Speaker 1: Vasquez he's made the team and telling Sasar Salazar he

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Speaker 1: has not made the team. If you have listened to

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Speaker 1: this podcast for any point of the last two and

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Speaker 1: a half months, you knew that was coming because you

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Speaker 1: were ahead of the game. Yes, saysar Salazar is a

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Speaker 1: great guy, revered in the clubhouse. I'm not sure if

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Speaker 1: he's going to clear waivers, but if he does, the

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Speaker 1: Astros are going to love to get him back in

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Speaker 1: the organization. But it was just not a situation in

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Speaker 1: which they thought they could play him as much as

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Speaker 1: this position is going to require playing. They went with

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Speaker 1: the more sure thing. And I also wouldn't discount the

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Speaker 1: fact that Christian Vasquez can help Yiner Diaz in a

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Speaker 1: lot of different ways, like in I mean, this is

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Speaker 1: a guy that's been the big leaguees ten years. He's

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Speaker 1: been doing this for a very long time, having that

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Speaker 1: kind of steady hand. I know no one wants me

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Speaker 1: to invoke the name of another Puerto Rican catcher that

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Speaker 1: was here for a very long time and that was

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Speaker 1: very influential and had a guiding hand in all the meetings.

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Speaker 1: But yes, Christian Vasquez could function just like Martin Maldonado

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Speaker 1: did playing less. Obviously, I think fans will be happy

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Speaker 1: to hear that.

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Speaker 3: But playing less, I thought you were talking about l

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Speaker 3: O Soblanco. That's that's the one I was I was picturing.

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Speaker 3: But yes, Baldonado, I guess.

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Speaker 2: Yes, he's gonna that.

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Speaker 1: They hope that Christian Vasquez can function kind of in

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Speaker 1: that role again as a backup, not playing every day,

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Speaker 1: but as someone that can help Yiner Diaz kind of

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Speaker 1: through a season, through one hundred and sixty two game season,

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Speaker 1: prepping in pregame meetings and things like that, what Victor

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Speaker 1: Krrottini did to an extent last year too. Because Victor

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Speaker 1: Krottini is an older, established catcher, that's not what cesar

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Speaker 1: salads are is. So they went with the more established,

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Speaker 1: proven guy over Salazar, which, again, if you've listened to

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Speaker 1: this for any length of time, you knew that that

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Speaker 1: was going to how it was going to come down.

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Speaker 1: But just the timing of it, not getting Christian Vasquez

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Speaker 1: in the camp until after the WBC, not getting him

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Speaker 1: till late like it kind of dragged this out but

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Speaker 1: this was always going to be the outcome. They were

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Speaker 1: always going to try to find someone else, someone more established,

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Speaker 1: to take that back up catcher role.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and this is a really big year for iron

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Speaker 3: Diaz in his development. This is his first year of arbitration,

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Speaker 3: so he's earning four and a half million dollars this year.

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Speaker 2: And you know, as we've talked about.

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Speaker 3: He he does not play catcher nearly as often as

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Speaker 3: most starting catcher. Some of that is just, you know,

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Speaker 3: having Victor Quarantini here and trying to find spots for that,

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Speaker 3: but a lot of it has been maybe not trusting

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Speaker 3: him behind the plate, or the bat just goes so

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Speaker 3: cold that you can't start him every game and he's

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Speaker 3: gonna he's gonna make a whole lot more than that

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Speaker 3: next season, and then you have one more season after that.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, I mean it makes a lot of sense

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Speaker 3: to think, Okay, we're going to bring somebody in really

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Speaker 3: hammer home how to be a great defender. What does

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Speaker 3: it mean to make it through an entire season as

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Speaker 3: a catcher and somebody who's not gonna feel like they're

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Speaker 3: needing to eat into those innings. But I mean, in

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Speaker 3: order for the Astros to commit the amount of money

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Speaker 3: that they're going to need to to Diaz for the

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Speaker 3: next two years. They need to see him catch one

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Speaker 3: hundred and forty games one hundred and thirty games this

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Speaker 3: year and hit well consistently.

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Speaker 1: I don't think one hundred and forty is going to happen. No,

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Speaker 1: I probably go around one hundred and fifteen, one hundred

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Speaker 1: and ten. But yeah, look, Yaner Diaz has made strides

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Speaker 1: as a defensive catcher. His you know, the one thing

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Speaker 1: you could knock him on was framing, but ABS is

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Speaker 1: now here. We talked about it with Sam nid Or

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Speaker 1: for a couple of pods ago that framing hasn't completely

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Speaker 1: gone obsolete because of ABS, but it will be less

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Speaker 1: prominent now. He's always had good pop times, He's always

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Speaker 1: had a good arm back there. The pitchers have not

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Speaker 1: helped him out with their times to the plate in

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Speaker 1: terms of controlling the running game. But all of Yanor

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Speaker 1: not all of I'd say eighty percent of Yanor Diaz.

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Speaker 1: His value is tied to his bat like he needs

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Speaker 1: to do. He needs to hit, and if he hits

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Speaker 1: every they will be able to live with everything else.

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Speaker 1: Like everything else will take care of itself. If he hits,

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Speaker 1: they they.

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Speaker 2: Need him to hit.

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Speaker 1: They need a lot of people to hit. And I

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Speaker 1: think that's the probably the most apt way to begin this.

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Speaker 1: This is going to be a season preview pod just

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Speaker 1: looking at what I what Tyler and I think are

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Speaker 1: the three main kind of storylines and objectives about this

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Speaker 1: club and about where where things can maybe get better,

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Speaker 1: Where things can you know, where they are going to

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Speaker 1: determine their fate. And I think maybe Tyler, since we

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Speaker 1: started talking about the lineup, since we started, since that

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Speaker 1: was what was brought up with Vasquez, let's let's start there.

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Speaker 1: Let's start with the lineup. You know again, I don't

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Speaker 1: think we can understate how I don't think we can

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Speaker 1: overstate what a healthy.

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Speaker 2: Ordon Alvarez will do for this lineup, Like I.

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Speaker 1: Wrote it yesterday, Since he debuted in twenty nineteen, only

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Speaker 1: Aaron Judge has a higher WRC plus, only Aaron Judge

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Speaker 1: and Shoheyo Tani have higher slugging percentages than Jordon Alvarez.

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Speaker 1: I don't know why, but for some reason, it seems

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Speaker 1: he's almost a little forgotten, not thought about, in that

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Speaker 1: realm of elite hitters, in that realm of top five,

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Speaker 1: top ten hitters in baseball, Like, you have a top

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Speaker 1: five hitter in baseball.

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Speaker 2: On your team.

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Speaker 1: Just having him upright and having him able to play

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Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty one hundred and thirty games is

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Speaker 1: going to change the complexion of everything about this lineup,

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Speaker 1: especially compared to what it did last year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I think part of the under talked about

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Speaker 3: part or you know, undervalued part of Jordon is he

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Speaker 3: doesn't have like eye popping stat numbers. You know, he

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Speaker 3: doesn't he doesn't have a fifty homer season he did.

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Speaker 3: You know, he doesn't lead the league and RBIs by

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Speaker 3: you know, a significant margin or something that you know,

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Speaker 3: people would notice. He's just such a good hitter all

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Speaker 3: the time. I mean, it's a similar issue to people

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Speaker 3: understanding Mike Trout's greatness, where it's like, so much of

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Speaker 3: Jordon's greatness is that he's just one of the best

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Speaker 3: hitters on the field every day, even when he's not performing,

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Speaker 3: He's still one of the best hitters every single time

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Speaker 3: that he's out there. He doesn't, you know, he's just very,

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Speaker 3: very consistently good. And Yeah, if you can play him

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Speaker 3: for one hundred and thirty and forty games. Like your team,

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Speaker 3: the floor for your team's offense is so much higher

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Speaker 3: because you can just rely on somebody that is going

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Speaker 3: to take great at bats day in and day out.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, so much of the team's offense this year

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Speaker 3: relies on yourd on. So actually, this is one thing

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Speaker 3: I wanted. Can we We're going to attempt to bring

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Speaker 3: up this screen shot. Now we can do it. I

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Speaker 3: believe in us. So I've got a screen shot out.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we did it.

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Speaker 3: This is from Baseball Savant, and this is last seasons

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Speaker 3: stats versus their expected SATs. So I'm over here in

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Speaker 3: this right column where it's wOBA, which is essentially the

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Speaker 3: quality of contact that you make plus like the slugging

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Speaker 3: that goes with it. So it's it's kind of a

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Speaker 3: good overall. It's similar like OPS, but it's it's more

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Speaker 3: based on your plate discipline and the quality of contact

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Speaker 3: rather than results. So I sorted over here by the

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Speaker 3: biggest difference between what their GLOBA was versus what their

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Speaker 3: expected GLOBA was. And so Jordan had a good season anyway.

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Speaker 3: He had a three thirty eight WHOBA. So again just

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Speaker 3: kind of think of this along the lines of batting

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Speaker 3: average like that, that's a really good WHOBA. But his

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Speaker 3: expected BLOBA was three ninety three, so he had by

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Speaker 3: far the biggest discrepancy between what you would think that

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Speaker 3: he was going to do based on his quality of

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Speaker 3: contact versus what he actually did. So that's another reason

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Speaker 3: to think this can be a real breakout season for

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Speaker 3: Jordon coming off kind of a disappointing year. But a

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Speaker 3: healthy Jordon is just one of the best on the planet.

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Speaker 1: It's low key hilarious that you just said you're on Alvarez,

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Speaker 1: the unanimous rookie of the Year in twenty nineteen, needs

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Speaker 1: a breakout season.

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Speaker 3: But I yeah, I mean, like we said, he's not.

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Speaker 3: He's not the one that you think of for right,

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Speaker 3: you know, the best hitter in baseball. I don't think

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Speaker 3: anyone outside of Houston would make that argument on a

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Speaker 3: regular basis, But there's no reason that he shouldn't be

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Speaker 3: thought of that way. I mean, if you watch him

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Speaker 3: day in and day out, he is He's one of

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Speaker 3: the best hitters in baseball, and I think I would

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Speaker 3: take him over I think it would take him over

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Speaker 3: any other play. If it's down to the wire, you

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Speaker 3: need one big at bat that you can rest your

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Speaker 3: season on. I don't think there's anybody else that I

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Speaker 3: would want in there than you'red on.

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Speaker 1: And if you're listening on, if you're listening to this

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Speaker 1: in audio form and you're not watching on YouTube, I'll

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Speaker 1: try to give you a little bit of what this

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Speaker 1: graphic is that we have up. You know, Tyler explained

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Speaker 1: wOBA and x wOBA. X wOBA is basically like again

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Speaker 1: the expected stats as opposed to you know, what you

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Speaker 1: put out there, your wOBA. It's interesting to me that

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Speaker 1: you're looking down on this list and the last three

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Speaker 1: guys on this list are Jeremy Paine, jose L Twovey,

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Speaker 1: and Esak Paratus, three guys that are that figure to

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Speaker 1: play pivotal roles in this lineup. Three guys that you

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Speaker 1: look at. They were the three guys that probably got

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Speaker 1: a little fortunate last year if just by looking at

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Speaker 1: this metric that they're expected numbers, their expected wOBA was

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Speaker 1: lower than their actual. But now what does that mean.

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Speaker 1: I mean, in the grand scheme of things, probably not

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Speaker 1: a whole lot, you know. Look, I mean luck is

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Speaker 1: part of this thing. Babup is part of this thing.

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Speaker 1: It helps when you put the ball in play, you know,

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Speaker 1: you they still have to pick it up and throw

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Speaker 1: it to first base. You know, they still have to

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Speaker 1: play an accurate game of catch. The defense that is but.

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Speaker 2: Tyler Like again, this the lineup last.

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Speaker 1: Year was the Achilles heel. Right, it led to off

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Speaker 1: season changes. They have a whole new hitting infrastructure in here.

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Speaker 1: We had Dan Hennigan on this podcast earlier in the

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Speaker 1: off season to talk about his role. They've got Victor

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Speaker 1: Rodriguez and Anthony Iyoposi helping him out. But at the

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Speaker 1: end of the day, like obviously Alvarez, they hope will

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Speaker 1: be healthy and play the one hundred and thirty one

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Speaker 1: hundred and forty games I.

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Speaker 2: Need him to play.

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Speaker 1: But they're running it back otherwise, like there is no

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Speaker 1: other meaningful offensive addition. Sure, Joey loperfdo Sure, But I

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Speaker 1: as of this moment, I'd say he profiles more as

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Speaker 1: a fourth outfielder. I'd say he's probably gonna, you know,

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Speaker 1: face some right handed pitching and you know, spell guys.

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Speaker 2: But but you.

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Speaker 1: Look at this lineup and they're running it back, Like

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Speaker 1: do you do you have hope that just having Yor

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Speaker 1: and Alvarez back is going to be the thing that

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Speaker 1: solves this lineup, that that gets the product where it.

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Speaker 2: Needs to be.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I think it's probably too simplistic to just

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Speaker 3: say yes that having that glue and having the guy

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Speaker 3: in the middle of your lineup that you know you

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Speaker 3: can count on, because if you think about last season,

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Speaker 3: yes it's the same players, but they didn't play together

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Speaker 3: for most of the time. There were so many I

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Speaker 3: mean Cam Smith was hitting clean up like three weeks

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Speaker 3: into his big league career. You know, there was a

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Speaker 3: lot of younger guys that were being asked to do

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Speaker 3: a lot for the team, and sometimes their natural talent

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Speaker 3: would just kind of get through it. Sometimes it looks

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Speaker 3: like the moment was too big for them, and it

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Speaker 3: would you know, they would get a couple of strikes

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Speaker 3: strikeouts in a row, and it was like everybody would

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Speaker 3: fall apart because everybody was feeling like this need to overperform.

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Speaker 3: There's something to be said about just knowing every day

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Speaker 3: the top five or six hitters in your lineup are

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Speaker 3: going to be some form of just veteran, veteran players.

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Speaker 3: Like there's no scenario where any of these young Jake,

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Speaker 3: any of the outfielders are going to be hitting above seventh,

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Speaker 3: eight the ninth unless they are doing so well that

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Speaker 3: it seems clear that they should be moved up there.

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Speaker 3: But you're not dropping Carlos Korea of the seventh spot,

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Speaker 3: you know, like unless again somebody is earning it. But

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Speaker 3: they're never going to be asked to be up there

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Speaker 3: unless they have hit their way into that situation. And

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Speaker 3: I think so much of last year's offensive troubles was

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Speaker 3: just they did not have that steady, you know, ability

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Speaker 3: to avoid those four or five game stretches where just

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Speaker 3: everybody looks so tense and they can't you get to

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Speaker 3: where they need to be offensively.

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Speaker 1: I'm going to reiterate what I said, you know, throughout

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Speaker 1: the off season and even in the spring training. The

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Speaker 1: Astros can preach all they want that the idea they're

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Speaker 1: getting to get back to their identity, right, They're going

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Speaker 1: to get back to, you know, not swinging as much

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Speaker 1: and swinging at strikes, not swinging at balls, things of

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Speaker 1: that nature. At the end of the day, like the

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Speaker 1: offensive profiles that they have in this lineup remain the

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Speaker 1: same offensive profiles from last year. They traded Mauricio Dubon

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Speaker 1: this winter. He was as free swinging a player as

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Speaker 1: there is in baseball. They got obviously, hay Su Sanchez

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Speaker 1: is no longer on the team. He was a guy

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Speaker 1: that contributed to some of that too. But look, Joseel

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Speaker 1: tuv is gonna swing at everything, Jeremy Payna swings a lot,

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Speaker 1: the ir Diaz is going to swing at everything.

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Speaker 2: Well, they make minor can they get incrementally better at that? Sure?

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Speaker 1: But I'm not sure that you're going to see a

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Speaker 1: team that's going to go out here and make a

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Speaker 1: starter throw one hundred pitches through four innings every night. Like,

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Speaker 1: I find it hard to believe that within you know,

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Speaker 1: two months, that these guys are going to start becoming patient,

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Speaker 1: that they're going to start becoming selective. The profiles are

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Speaker 1: what the profiles are, I think what they need to

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Speaker 1: do a better job of.

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Speaker 2: And Joe A.

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Speaker 1: Spottas has hinted at this a few times, and I think,

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Speaker 1: reading between the lines, I think this is what he's

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Speaker 1: trying to say.

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Speaker 2: They need to get situationally better.

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Speaker 1: Like you can be a free swinger, that can be

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Speaker 1: your pro like cose al Tuove can be as free

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Speaker 1: swinging as he wants. That can be your profile. Throughout

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Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty two game season. But they've got

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Speaker 1: to do a little bit better job, like end game

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Speaker 1: understand Like look at this pitcher the second time there,

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Speaker 1: if he sprayed the ball everywhere, go up there with

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Speaker 1: the bat on your shoulder, take so you get a strike.

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Speaker 1: Or like you know, even in the types of swings

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Speaker 1: that they take, if you only need a ground ball

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Speaker 1: on the right side to advance a runner to third,

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Speaker 1: hit a ground ball to the right side to advance

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Speaker 1: runner to the third, like you don't have to be

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Speaker 1: And I think when Joe and Dana talked this offseason

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Speaker 1: about they got away from their identity. Sure, like everyone

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Speaker 1: could look at the pitches per play appearance and the

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Speaker 1: swing rates and the chase rates and the lack of walks,

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Speaker 1: and that's part of it. But I think it was

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Speaker 1: also that they say all the time, it's a past

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Speaker 1: the baton mentality. That's what they have preached since this

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Speaker 1: era began about. That's what they want their offense to be.

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Speaker 1: A past the baton kind of situational You know, this

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Speaker 1: guy is a good at bat, then this guy goes

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Speaker 1: up and moves him a second with the ball to

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Speaker 1: the right side.

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Speaker 2: Or you know, runner at third.

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Speaker 1: Less than two outs, this guy goes up, gets a

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Speaker 1: ball to the outfield, gets ball to right field, gets

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Speaker 1: a run home. Like that is the stuff, in my opinion,

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Speaker 1: that they are really zeroing in on improving on, not

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Speaker 1: just this blanket.

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Speaker 2: You know, swing it less balls and swing it more strikes. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: And the way that you can trust situational hitting, too

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Speaker 3: is if you trust the guys behind you in the

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Speaker 3: lineup to put together good at bats. It's a lot

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Speaker 3: easier for jose Al Tuvey to say I'm just gonna

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Speaker 3: try ground to the right side because I know I

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Speaker 3: have Correa and Jordan behind me, as opposed to I

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Speaker 3: have Cam Smith and Jake Myers behind me, which is

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Speaker 3: what a lot of last season was. So you again,

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Speaker 3: I think that's where having just the amount of veterans

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Speaker 3: that can take good at bats again, jose Al two

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Speaker 3: bay is gonna swing wherever. But that doesn't mean that

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Speaker 3: he can't think, Okay, like we're talking about, like, I'm

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Speaker 3: going to try to push it this way because I

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Speaker 3: know I can make contact with everything. Because there's a

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Speaker 3: guy on second and no outs and we need one run,

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Speaker 3: you know whatever, and I've got two guys behind me

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Speaker 3: that I really trust, So I think that runs through that.

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Speaker 2: I mean there is.

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Speaker 3: Something, you know, kind of weaving a lineup together. There's

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Speaker 3: a skill to making a lineup more than just you know,

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Speaker 3: left handed, right handed, fast guy up top, whatever. There

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Speaker 3: is a skill to it, and it's just hard to

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Speaker 3: do when you had as many injuries as you did

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Speaker 3: last season for the am especially to the heart of

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Speaker 3: their line. I mean, look what happened when east Ik

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Speaker 3: Prates went out, even though you know he's not close

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Speaker 3: to the type of hitter that jord On is. When

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Speaker 3: you lose that, just you can trust this guy to

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Speaker 3: make a picture work and to have a grade at

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Speaker 3: bat when we need it. When you lose that, everybody

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Speaker 3: starts pressing and you see a lot of the skids

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Speaker 3: that you saw with the Ashros last season.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk about the pitching staff right after this message

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00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:31,840
Speaker 1: from our friends of fel Territory.

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428
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436
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Speaker 4: And of course we have a code for you. You

437
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 4: can use code Territory ten for ten percent off your

438
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,480
Speaker 4: next set of tickets at Sea Geek. That's ten percent

439
00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,080
Speaker 4: off any tickets with promo code Territory one zero. Make

440
00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:29,080
Speaker 4: sure you click the link in the description to download

441
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,159
Speaker 4: the app and have the code automatically added to your

442
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:32,440
Speaker 4: account so you can use it later.

443
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,920
Speaker 2: About the roof being open for the exhibition game.

444
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,000
Speaker 1: Speaking of OWT time, the weather, look the weather for

445
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,359
Speaker 1: this I have not gotten any intel to let me

446
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,360
Speaker 1: know whether the roof will be open for this four

447
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:49,720
Speaker 1: game set against the Angels. But if you look at

448
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,960
Speaker 1: the weather, just my iPhone weather app, it would seem

449
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,560
Speaker 1: to indicate that the weather will cooperate if they want

450
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 1: to open the roof for one or all of those games.

451
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,480
Speaker 3: So if you if you want out opening day, that

452
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,920
Speaker 3: what what is more American? I mean, that's we deserve this,

453
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,960
Speaker 3: uh that thing better reopen. I don't care that it's

454
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,439
Speaker 3: three o'clock in the afternoon, it's not that high yet.

455
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:17,479
Speaker 3: We want to be out if it's If it's as

456
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,120
Speaker 3: nice as it's been, let me sit outside and watch baseball.

457
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,920
Speaker 3: By the way I'm going, I got that email.

458
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,119
Speaker 2: So I will be there. I will be there at

459
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,520
Speaker 2: opening day. Y'all come say hi.

460
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 3: I won't be up in the Ivory Tower with Chandler,

461
00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,720
Speaker 3: but I'll be I'll be walking around. I got to

462
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,560
Speaker 3: see what this new mural looks like. I'm excited this

463
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 3: stick carries on another year.

464
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,639
Speaker 1: You gotta gotta get your selfie with you with Orbit

465
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,280
Speaker 1: doing whatever Orbit's going to be doing on that mural.

466
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 1: We always we've we've talked for a while on this

467
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:59,080
Speaker 1: about the fout, the foolishness of believing spring training stats.

468
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,600
Speaker 1: But the Astra's rotation pitched.

469
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:08,000
Speaker 2: Very very, very very very well in spring. How good

470
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,520
Speaker 2: are they good? How good is this rotation?

471
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:16,359
Speaker 1: Are we being Are we being too captivated by the

472
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,399
Speaker 1: moment of Mike Burrows almost going nineteen innings without allowing

473
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,480
Speaker 1: a run? Are we being captivated by Tetsuya Emi touching

474
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 1: ninety eight out of nowhere? Like last mcculler's pitched very

475
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,440
Speaker 1: well today against Sugarland.

476
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 2: If you watch that start.

477
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,240
Speaker 1: I mean, I know he gave up two runs, but

478
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 1: if you watched some of those hits he gave up,

479
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,880
Speaker 1: the exit velos on him were like fifty miles an hour.

480
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,240
Speaker 1: He gave up a lot of cheap hits, a lot

481
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,600
Speaker 1: of dink and dunk kits. He looked very good today. Again,

482
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,879
Speaker 1: where are we? Do you you put stock in that?

483
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,399
Speaker 1: Do you think because I left Spring training pretty bullish

484
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 1: on this rotation, like I think this can be a

485
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 1: top half of the league rotation.

486
00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:01,719
Speaker 3: Yeah, so, uh, before I give that, you said you

487
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,600
Speaker 3: mentioned people being lower on the Astros rotation. So just

488
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:11,080
Speaker 3: for fun, on fan graphs, you can see the projected

489
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 3: war by batters and pitchers. The Astros are in the

490
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,920
Speaker 3: bottom half. They're like seventeenth or eighteenth in Pitching war

491
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:25,639
Speaker 3: and Fangraphs on Baseball perspectus. In their Pakoda, they have

492
00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 3: the Astros finishing twelve out of fifteen in the American

493
00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 3: League the pitching staff, and I just don't I don't

494
00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:36,440
Speaker 3: think they can be that bad.

495
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,760
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that. Here's the deal.

496
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,639
Speaker 3: When you have a like a bottomed out rotation, when

497
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 3: a rotation is just a problem, it's when you've got

498
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,960
Speaker 3: one or two guys you can count on and then

499
00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 3: just a black hole for three days and it's just

500
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,679
Speaker 3: a nightmare and you just feel like you're out of

501
00:25:58,680 --> 00:25:59,919
Speaker 3: those games. You have to You feel like you have

502
00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:04,360
Speaker 3: to win every single game started by your your top guys.

503
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,199
Speaker 3: The Astros feel like they have like ten guys that

504
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:13,600
Speaker 3: can put up at least an okay, like a competitive start,

505
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,239
Speaker 3: and that's all you need. Really, Like, as long as

506
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,320
Speaker 3: you're in the game with your starter, you should be fine.

507
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 3: There's so much fluctuation or whatever. But if you if

508
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 3: you have a guy that you can trust to get

509
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,800
Speaker 3: you five and two thirds and give up like three runs,

510
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 3: you would take that every single day. And the ashows

511
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 3: are just chock full of those guys right now. Some

512
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 3: of them have higher ceilings, Like I mean, Emi could

513
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,199
Speaker 3: could be awesome, you know, like I if he's pumping

514
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 3: ninety eight, people don't figure out this slider the splitter

515
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,159
Speaker 3: to go with it, Like there's a chance that he

516
00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 3: just you know, finishes at the top ten and cy

517
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:57,600
Speaker 3: Young voting and you know all of that. You could

518
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,960
Speaker 3: like squint and imagine that for Mike if the change

519
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,440
Speaker 3: up is just unhittable and the tinkering with the fastball

520
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,240
Speaker 3: does something similar to Hunter Brown a couple of years ago.

521
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,800
Speaker 3: But that's not somebody that you're like betting, you know,

522
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,359
Speaker 3: you would be a little bit kind of you. You

523
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 3: could see it with Emi. It would take a miracle

524
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:18,840
Speaker 3: for Burrows, but that's it's not out of the question.

525
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 3: But then you just you just have so many guys

526
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:24,679
Speaker 3: behind that that you're like, well, if somebody gets hurt

527
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 3: or somebody's not performing, this other person can do a

528
00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,840
Speaker 3: good job. And as long as you have that for

529
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:35,920
Speaker 3: an entire season, you're gonna be a top half pitching staff.

530
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,520
Speaker 3: And if if that's the reason that you know, the

531
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:44,280
Speaker 3: projections are down on the Astros. I think they could

532
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:49,000
Speaker 3: easily outperform their their team win total projections just because

533
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,399
Speaker 3: I don't see the pitching roads. I don't see a

534
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,360
Speaker 3: scenario where they're that bad.

535
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,400
Speaker 1: I think I think this is a strength of the team. Yeah,

536
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,480
Speaker 1: And I don't think it's really debatable. I mean, you

537
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,080
Speaker 1: could you could argue with me about the infield just

538
00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:05,680
Speaker 1: because of the names that are on the infield. When

539
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 1: you have a future Hall of Famer playing second base,

540
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,280
Speaker 1: when you have you know, Jeremy Pania playing shortstop, when

541
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,560
Speaker 1: you can play esac paratus at first base on some days,

542
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,439
Speaker 1: and when you have Carla like I could hear an

543
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 1: argument that the infield is strength of the team. But

544
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,840
Speaker 1: in my opinion, the rotation is going to be the

545
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 1: strength of this team. I think where some of the

546
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,679
Speaker 1: projections are coming from that have them lower. And this

547
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,440
Speaker 1: is a valid This is a valid concern, and it's

548
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 1: the reason why I started this by asking our world,

549
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,080
Speaker 1: we hell captive by spring training stats.

550
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 2: Excuse me, Tatsuya Ema is never thrown a major league pitch.

551
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, Mike Burrows has ninety nine and a third innings

552
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 1: of major league experience. I don't think we need to

553
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 1: detail what Lance mccullor's is last two and a half

554
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 1: seasons have been, Like Christian Javier is very much an

555
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,719
Speaker 1: unknown coming off of Tommy John and his brief return

556
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,680
Speaker 1: last year. I think that's where a lot of it

557
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,360
Speaker 1: comes from, is that. Yes, Like if you are a

558
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,400
Speaker 1: die hard Astros fan or if you're you know, someone

559
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,400
Speaker 1: that is paid to cover them and you have been

560
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:19,840
Speaker 1: watching them pitch for six weeks, you're like, damn, this

561
00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,640
Speaker 1: rotation is going to be pretty good, Like like Mike, Like,

562
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,360
Speaker 1: if you've watched Mike Burrows his Great Fruit League start,

563
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: she's like, man, this dude, like he's carving people up.

564
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,680
Speaker 1: And you're watching Emi throw ninety eight, and you're like,

565
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 1: if you're like sicko like me, and we're watching Lance

566
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,520
Speaker 1: mccullors face the Sugarland Space Cowboys tonight, like it looks good,

567
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 1: but bear in mind that the whole world is not,

568
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,800
Speaker 1: you know, tuned into every single start these guys are making,

569
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,000
Speaker 1: and so there is a world where you know, maybe

570
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,000
Speaker 1: some the outside and the projections, you know, look at

571
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,000
Speaker 1: this rotation. They say, well, they got Hunter Brown and

572
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 1: then they got a bunch of who knows and you know,

573
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 1: I think that's a air way to go. But again,

574
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,200
Speaker 1: as someone that has watched this and someone that has

575
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,200
Speaker 1: watched them pitch, and I've said this ad nauseum on

576
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:12,840
Speaker 1: this podcast, I just have blind trust in Josh Miller

577
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,880
Speaker 1: and al Ethan Katz. I have blind trust in the

578
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 1: pitching development infrastructure and what they are able to do

579
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 1: with guys, because you know it's funny. I had a

580
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 1: friend text me. I did one of my roster projections

581
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,440
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, and I had a friend

582
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 1: who's in the industry. He isn't a fellow writer. I'm

583
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: not gonna say his name, so you guys don't go running.

584
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 1: You guys, No, it was not him.

585
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 2: I don't want to say his name, so you guys

586
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,920
Speaker 2: don't go attacking. But he texts me. He goes, man,

587
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:40,600
Speaker 2: they're bullpen.

588
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:42,880
Speaker 1: He goes this bullpen may suck And I said, dude,

589
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:44,520
Speaker 1: I said that last year and they had.

590
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,200
Speaker 2: A top five bullpen in the sport.

591
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 1: Like I have just given up on ever saying thinking

592
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,040
Speaker 1: that an Astro's pitching staff is going to like be

593
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,640
Speaker 1: the thing that sinks them. Look, this rotation may not be.

594
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,280
Speaker 1: It may end up being that Mike Burrows, isn't it

595
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:02,680
Speaker 1: was a grape Fruit League star and just maybe as

596
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,160
Speaker 1: a three or a four starter, maybe Tetsuya Emi has

597
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 1: a rough a rougher than we have seen transition to

598
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:15,320
Speaker 1: major League Baseball. But even if that happens, the one

599
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,960
Speaker 1: thing that has been consistent across this era, the Astros

600
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 1: pitching staff has never been a problem. Has it been?

601
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,360
Speaker 1: Has there been? Have there been years been? It hasn't

602
00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:30,640
Speaker 1: been elite, yes, but it's never been the thing.

603
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:31,880
Speaker 2: That has cost them.

604
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: You know, it didn't cost some lash like they were

605
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,640
Speaker 1: just as injured as the lineup last year and it

606
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 1: didn't cost him Now. They kept from er Valdez upright,

607
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 1: so that helped. But I don't think even if maybe

608
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: they don't reach the projections, we're thinking that this is

609
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:47,360
Speaker 1: going to be the strength of the team.

610
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 2: I think this is a solid rotation that every day

611
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 2: you send a guy out there, you're going to feel confident.

612
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,520
Speaker 1: You're going to feel confident and comfortable that you're going

613
00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 1: to get a professional outing. And like you said, when

614
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,960
Speaker 1: you have a bad rotation, you only feel that maybe

615
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,800
Speaker 1: twice through and I just don't get that feeling with

616
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 1: this team. And if you know, if Lance mccullors doesn't

617
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 1: work out, or if Christian Xavier is still you know,

618
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: having trouble or one of Burrows or Emi struggles. The

619
00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,120
Speaker 1: one thing that they have done they have given themselves depth.

620
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:22,880
Speaker 1: Spencer Arigedty's gonna start the season in triple A. Spencer

621
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,640
Speaker 1: Arigedty's got one of the higher upsides in the system

622
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 1: in terms of being a starter. You've seen him have

623
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 1: success at the big league level. He's gonna start to

624
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,880
Speaker 1: heart triple A because it's not that they don't have

625
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 1: room for him. They're gonna make room when they go

626
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 1: to a six man rotation. But yes, they're opening the

627
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,600
Speaker 1: season without room for him. Like that's a good problem

628
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:43,120
Speaker 1: to have. Ryan Weisse, who pitched very well through camp,

629
00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,000
Speaker 1: is going to be in the bullpen, who threw one

630
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty innings in KBO last year to a

631
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 1: sub four era. They've got Colton Gordon, Jason Alexander like,

632
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 1: they have got so much more aj Blue.

633
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 2: Ball, Kiwai Tang, Nate Pearson.

634
00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,360
Speaker 1: Nate Pearson Like, they've got so much more depth than

635
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,160
Speaker 1: at any point in the maybe the last two years.

636
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 1: And that's what gives me maybe more hope than the

637
00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 1: projections what have you?

638
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:12,240
Speaker 3: What you think, Yeah, if it were just returning guys,

639
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:16,080
Speaker 3: I would feel a lot less confident if it was

640
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:18,960
Speaker 3: you know what, it felt like the plan was for

641
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,680
Speaker 3: a lot of last year, which was hopefully Luis Garcia

642
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,120
Speaker 3: and Christian Haavier and Lance mccullors and all these guys

643
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,920
Speaker 3: just get healthy and return to form. That I feel

644
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 3: a lot less confident banking on than exactly what you

645
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,800
Speaker 3: said for the last ten years. If the astros identify

646
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:43,040
Speaker 3: a picture, acquire that picture and put them through whatever

647
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,240
Speaker 3: program that they have of why they identified this picture

648
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,360
Speaker 3: and why they picked them, that picture, nine times out

649
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:54,160
Speaker 3: of ten is better than they have been. They just are.

650
00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,880
Speaker 3: I mean that they just keep doing it, and because

651
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:00,640
Speaker 3: they acquired so many people that they're excited about, and

652
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,680
Speaker 3: because they've already shown just in you know, the brief time,

653
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,680
Speaker 3: not even the stats. But look again, EMI's pumping ninety

654
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,520
Speaker 3: eight like all these other people are controlling their off

655
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:15,080
Speaker 3: speed pitches, they're controlling their secondary stuff. They've added new

656
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:17,040
Speaker 3: fast but you know all this stuff, like you can

657
00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 3: already see that you don't need numbers to see, like

658
00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 3: you don't need the results of that necessarily from spring training.

659
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,680
Speaker 3: You just need to see, oh they're throwing this, they're

660
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,399
Speaker 3: throwing it differently, and it looks really good.

661
00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:30,799
Speaker 2: And I yeah, I.

662
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:35,719
Speaker 3: Mean they got like ten new pictures that they purposely

663
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,160
Speaker 3: chose and have on the team, and I just trust

664
00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:43,240
Speaker 3: them to make seven or eight of those guys really

665
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,640
Speaker 3: good pictures because they do it every.

666
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 2: Time they do.

667
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:50,680
Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm not gonna sit here and say

668
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 1: that I have like supreme confidence in a bullpen that's

669
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,479
Speaker 1: going to open the season without Josh Hater or benne

670
00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,319
Speaker 1: At Susa. Ben At Susa's an important would have been

671
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,720
Speaker 1: an important part to this bullpen. Like he's a leverage reliever.

672
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,239
Speaker 1: You are opening your season down to leverage relievers. So

673
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,799
Speaker 1: and inherently, even if they would have had Josh Hater

674
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: and Bennett Susa to start the year, the first month

675
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,560
Speaker 1: of a baseball season is generally when a manager is

676
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,200
Speaker 1: trying to figure out, all right, who can I use

677
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:19,240
Speaker 1: at what time?

678
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,279
Speaker 2: Who looks good like?

679
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,960
Speaker 1: Because he's like Joe Spot has got to look and

680
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:24,520
Speaker 1: see like all right, like is what we saw in

681
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,320
Speaker 1: spring training just a product of facing bad pitch, facing

682
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,880
Speaker 1: bad offenses, or you know, was it real, And so

683
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,120
Speaker 1: the first month of the season you really are always

684
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,239
Speaker 1: kind of shuffling with your bullpen, shuffling roles, things of

685
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,680
Speaker 1: that nature. So it would have always maybe been a

686
00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,680
Speaker 1: little bit of a concern because the bullpen, you know,

687
00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:45,719
Speaker 1: I mean, I just told the story of you know,

688
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,040
Speaker 1: there were people who thought it was gonna be bad

689
00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:48,640
Speaker 1: last year and there were a top five bullpen in

690
00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:49,040
Speaker 1: the sport.

691
00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,840
Speaker 2: But relievers are the most volatile position in baseball. They

692
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,000
Speaker 2: can be one one thing.

693
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,640
Speaker 1: They can be great one year and be terrible the next.

694
00:35:57,640 --> 00:35:59,719
Speaker 1: That's just how relievers were. There are very few Brian

695
00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,400
Speaker 1: bres You's out there. There are very few Josh Haters

696
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:06,200
Speaker 1: out there that just year after year put up elite

697
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,759
Speaker 1: to above elite seasons in the relief market. That just

698
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 1: doesn't happen. The ashers are spoiled that they have two

699
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:15,839
Speaker 1: guys that do that in a bray You and Hater.

700
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,960
Speaker 1: But you know, I think early in the season they're

701
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,520
Speaker 1: gonna have They're gonna have a lot of opportunities for

702
00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:23,520
Speaker 1: a lot of different guys to carve some roles out

703
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 1: because outside of Brian a bray You being the closer

704
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:28,560
Speaker 1: to start the twenty twenty sixth season. I don't know

705
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:30,880
Speaker 1: that I can identify many other roles in that bullpen

706
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 1: for you.

707
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,240
Speaker 3: Similar to the lineup thing that we were talking about,

708
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:41,120
Speaker 3: where if you just have good players at the beginning

709
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,920
Speaker 3: of a lineup, like everybody else can play up to

710
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 3: where they need to be, a bullpen operates on a

711
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:50,479
Speaker 3: similar thing where if you just trust you're one through

712
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:55,239
Speaker 3: five starters and you don't feel like any day could

713
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,640
Speaker 3: be a day where the bullpen has to spring into

714
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,320
Speaker 3: action in the third inning, you know, well, you're able

715
00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:05,000
Speaker 3: to focus more of your energy. You're you're able to

716
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,359
Speaker 3: perform better because you you don't feel like you have

717
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:10,360
Speaker 3: to save something in the tank because what if tomorrow

718
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,000
Speaker 3: the bullpen has to cover seven innings. When when you

719
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,560
Speaker 3: have that depth and a rotation to it, it does

720
00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,120
Speaker 3: elevate your bullpen because those guys know, my starter is

721
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,399
Speaker 3: gonna get us into the fifth or sixth every night,

722
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,560
Speaker 3: like nine times out of ten, that's gonna happen because

723
00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:30,920
Speaker 3: these are just good, like quality pictures that you're not

724
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:32,840
Speaker 3: relying on a bunch of young guys. You're not relying

725
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:37,480
Speaker 3: on you know again, even even if you have a

726
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:41,600
Speaker 3: you know, a rough Lancepa Color start or whatever. The

727
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,880
Speaker 3: next day is Emyer, the next day is Hunter Brown,

728
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 3: you know, or Mike Burrows or who like somebody that

729
00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:49,640
Speaker 3: you're gonna trust, You're gonna be able to make it

730
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,759
Speaker 3: through and you're not having like three days in a

731
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:55,480
Speaker 3: row where the bullpen might have to cover six innings

732
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:55,959
Speaker 3: that game.

733
00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,719
Speaker 1: Yeah again, Dana in the front off did a very

734
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,920
Speaker 1: nice job this offseason of just giving themselves depth, giving

735
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 1: and that's why you have to feel good about this because,

736
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,920
Speaker 1: like you said, like if this five man rotation, if

737
00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,359
Speaker 1: it goes off the rails or like the back end

738
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,319
Speaker 1: doesn't perform, like, you've got options. You can move Ryan

739
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:20,240
Speaker 1: Weiss to the rotation. You can go get Spencer Arraghetti

740
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,960
Speaker 1: from Triple A. You've got aj Blueball who you could

741
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 1: keep him, and he is stretched out to a point

742
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,239
Speaker 1: where he could start for you. When if and when

743
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,400
Speaker 1: Nate Pearson builds up, like you've got him. He was

744
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,920
Speaker 1: a former top pitching prospect in baseball. Like, they have

745
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:38,759
Speaker 1: got so much more depth to protect themselves that they've

746
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,440
Speaker 1: got a lot of options that have done it before

747
00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:45,239
Speaker 1: that are established that you know. I just think I

748
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,680
Speaker 1: think they are in a good spot pitching wise, Will

749
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,040
Speaker 1: Mike Burrows begin the season on a twenty ending scoreless

750
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:53,360
Speaker 1: streak like he did in spring training?

751
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 2: Probably not well, testsuya.

752
00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:58,400
Speaker 1: Emi have a couple starts where you know, it's a

753
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:02,000
Speaker 1: new baseball, it's a new mound. It's just a different

754
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:05,200
Speaker 1: kind of feel for him. And will things go south? Yes,

755
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,480
Speaker 1: because but they expect this, you know they expected this,

756
00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:11,239
Speaker 1: and they helped themselves by getting a lot of depth

757
00:39:11,239 --> 00:39:14,640
Speaker 1: this winter. We'll talk about the people that procured that depth,

758
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:18,480
Speaker 1: that depth this winter and how worried they should be

759
00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:19,880
Speaker 1: about their job security.

760
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,520
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761
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762
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763
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764
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765
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Speaker 1: So we've talked a lot about all the on field

784
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:32,040
Speaker 1: storylines of this season, but the interesting thing is, I

785
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,880
Speaker 1: think the biggest storyline of this season probably isn't on

786
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:39,600
Speaker 1: the field. I wrote this for The Athletic this morning

787
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:44,759
Speaker 1: as like my big season preview story, and you know, look,

788
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:47,360
Speaker 1: I would have loved to write, you know, a nice

789
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 1: profile of Tetsuya.

790
00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:50,480
Speaker 2: Emi or like some a player.

791
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:55,319
Speaker 1: But if you're ignoring the fact that the manager and

792
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:59,240
Speaker 1: the general manager of this team are both not under

793
00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:03,560
Speaker 1: contract for next season, and that they work for an

794
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:08,400
Speaker 1: owner that is as demanding as any in the sport,

795
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:13,799
Speaker 1: and you look at where this franchise is in its

796
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,560
Speaker 1: life cycle, it's hard to believe that this is not

797
00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:21,040
Speaker 1: a make or break year for Dana Brown and Joe

798
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:26,279
Speaker 1: Espada and really the direction of this franchise. You know,

799
00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:28,480
Speaker 1: I think, as I put it in the story today,

800
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:33,000
Speaker 1: that there's no season in recent memory that feels more

801
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,759
Speaker 1: consequential for the long term future of the Astros than

802
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:39,520
Speaker 1: this season's.

803
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:40,640
Speaker 2: Let's get it out there right now.

804
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,080
Speaker 1: Like, Jim Crane's not stupid, Like he knows that his

805
00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,240
Speaker 1: GM's contract is up. He knows that his manager's contract

806
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:51,279
Speaker 1: is up. If he wanted them here long term, they

807
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:55,880
Speaker 1: would be extended already. Like, so let's start with that

808
00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:59,520
Speaker 1: that there is already uncertainty as to whether these two

809
00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:03,920
Speaker 1: guys are the people that are the right people to

810
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:07,360
Speaker 1: proceed in their in their jobs. If Jim Crane felt

811
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,759
Speaker 1: that way, they would both have new deals by now,

812
00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: because they have both expressed interest in new deals. They

813
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:16,200
Speaker 1: have both said verbatim, you know this offseason that they want.

814
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:16,719
Speaker 2: To retire here.

815
00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:19,920
Speaker 1: You know, you've got two guys that you know, Joe's

816
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,920
Speaker 1: been here for ten years, Dana Brown's not at the

817
00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:25,600
Speaker 1: end of his career, but certainly not. He's not a

818
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,239
Speaker 1: young guy anymore. I mean I think he has said

819
00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:30,319
Speaker 1: he retired here. This could be his last job, Like

820
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,520
Speaker 1: he would like this to be his last job. You know,

821
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:34,960
Speaker 1: these are not two guys that are looking for new work,

822
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:38,560
Speaker 1: that are you know, you know, being untoward or anything like.

823
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,960
Speaker 1: They want to be here and the fact that they're

824
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 1: not extended just illustrates that maybe Jim Crane doesn't think

825
00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:52,600
Speaker 1: that's the right move. So what can be done this season, Tyler?

826
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,759
Speaker 1: What do you think can be accomplished this season that

827
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:59,600
Speaker 1: would demonstrate that would change Crane's mind? Right, Like, because

828
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,920
Speaker 1: as we're sitting here talking on March twenty fourth, it's

829
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:06,360
Speaker 1: pretty obvious that he has some uncertainty in his mind

830
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,000
Speaker 1: that this is the brain trust to lead this franchise forward.

831
00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:13,080
Speaker 1: What could happen this season that would change his mind?

832
00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,799
Speaker 3: I mean obviously, like if they don't make the playoffs,

833
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:23,760
Speaker 3: they're both gone.

834
00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:23,400
Speaker 5: And.

835
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:25,759
Speaker 2: You know, I don't know.

836
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:30,120
Speaker 3: Well, I think for Dana Brown, I could say if

837
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:34,040
Speaker 3: the acquisitions that he made this offseason turned out to

838
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:38,839
Speaker 3: be the best parts of this team, that bodes really

839
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:43,640
Speaker 3: well for his longevity and his ability to continue to

840
00:43:43,719 --> 00:43:49,680
Speaker 3: make the Astros great. Because you know, a lot of

841
00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:51,560
Speaker 3: the guys that are on the team are not people

842
00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:54,560
Speaker 3: that he acquired or had anything to do with. So

843
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,759
Speaker 3: if that's who carries the team, you know, you could

844
00:43:57,800 --> 00:43:59,360
Speaker 3: you could look at it a different way. But if

845
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,680
Speaker 3: it's these new, you know, pitching acquisitions, if some of

846
00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:05,439
Speaker 3: these guys just make big strides, if you know, if

847
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:09,560
Speaker 3: camp Smith really turns it on like those types of guys,

848
00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:12,200
Speaker 3: that's that's how you get an extension. Or if you

849
00:44:12,239 --> 00:44:15,560
Speaker 3: have a couple of you know, just prospects with Helium

850
00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:18,080
Speaker 3: this year, just guys that you've drafted in the last

851
00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:24,120
Speaker 3: year or two that just you know, crush expectations. You know,

852
00:44:24,239 --> 00:44:27,080
Speaker 3: that's there for Joe Spot. I mean it's got to be.

853
00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:37,800
Speaker 3: I mean, Alcs probably, I would imagine, just because again

854
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:41,520
Speaker 3: it's going to depend on how the season turns out,

855
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:46,239
Speaker 3: but at a certain point with your manager, so much

856
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:50,200
Speaker 3: of that is tied to playoff success and decision making

857
00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:51,440
Speaker 3: and all that kind of stuff. And even if you

858
00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:55,520
Speaker 3: make the right decisions, somebody still has to go. And

859
00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:59,359
Speaker 3: I can't see Crane keeping both of these guys if

860
00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:03,439
Speaker 3: they don't make get back to the Alcs where they've been.

861
00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:05,759
Speaker 3: You know, you can just write them in every year

862
00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:09,200
Speaker 3: to that and if they're not there, I would imagine

863
00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:12,120
Speaker 3: that that crane looks at that as a sign, you know,

864
00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:15,040
Speaker 3: as he says he wants to keep the window open,

865
00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:18,319
Speaker 3: but sometimes you might have to shut one window to

866
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:21,000
Speaker 3: open the next one, and so that I think that

867
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:24,000
Speaker 3: might be the changing of the guard there.

868
00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:27,520
Speaker 1: It's weird, like Lance mcculler's junior said that exact same thing,

869
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,080
Speaker 1: because you know, in reporting the story, the three players

870
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,600
Speaker 1: I talked to to report the store and mccullors al

871
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:36,279
Speaker 1: Tuo V and Korea, two guys that have been here

872
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:38,600
Speaker 1: for all eight playoff runs and one guy that was

873
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:40,479
Speaker 1: here for five of them and is now back again,

874
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:44,719
Speaker 1: and asking them, you know, the way I phrased the

875
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:47,479
Speaker 1: question was, you know, the narrative out there is because

876
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:49,600
Speaker 1: you guys missed the playoffs that the window is closing,

877
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:52,359
Speaker 1: Like how do you respond to that? Jose L two

878
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:54,840
Speaker 1: Bay was kind of disinterested in the question and didn't

879
00:45:54,840 --> 00:45:59,000
Speaker 1: really respond. Correa said that's impossible for us, like the

880
00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:03,520
Speaker 1: window's not closed yet, and Lance Lance was pretty diplomatic

881
00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:04,320
Speaker 1: and candid.

882
00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:07,640
Speaker 2: Lance said, you know that part of our run is over,

883
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:08,920
Speaker 2: the part.

884
00:46:08,719 --> 00:46:11,560
Speaker 1: From twenty seventeen to twenty twenty four when they were

885
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:14,440
Speaker 1: in the playoffs and the Alcs eight straight years. But

886
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:17,759
Speaker 1: he followed that by saying, you know, now we got

887
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:20,880
Speaker 1: to start a new window. And he used the word retool.

888
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:24,920
Speaker 1: And the way I wrote it in my story was

889
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:31,960
Speaker 1: that that retool and rebuild are like profanities within the Astros,

890
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,640
Speaker 1: because I'm here to tell you Jim Crane does not

891
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:36,759
Speaker 1: want to rebuild like he said that.

892
00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 2: I mean, when he's saying that.

893
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:39,839
Speaker 1: The window will always will never close while he's here,

894
00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:41,880
Speaker 1: that is him telling you he does not want to

895
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:43,919
Speaker 1: do a rebuild. He does not want to tear down.

896
00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:47,120
Speaker 1: He already did that, you know, ten years ago or

897
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,360
Speaker 1: longer than that, like fifteen years ago. And it worked

898
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:53,120
Speaker 1: famously for them obviously, like look what it produced, and

899
00:46:53,160 --> 00:46:56,760
Speaker 1: it didn't work for most other teams. Right, And he's again,

900
00:46:56,840 --> 00:47:00,800
Speaker 1: he's not stupid to look around and say, my team

901
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:04,359
Speaker 1: in the White Sox started rebuilding the same time, and

902
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:08,919
Speaker 1: I could still be in that position. So the onus,

903
00:47:09,520 --> 00:47:13,000
Speaker 1: I think you put it perfectly with Dana Tyler, like,

904
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,480
Speaker 1: look at Xavier nions as box scores all year, Look

905
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:20,400
Speaker 1: at Ethan Fry's box scores all year, Look at Kevin

906
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:24,880
Speaker 1: Alvarez's box scores all year, Walker Yannick, like all these guys,

907
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:28,879
Speaker 1: all these prospects that can be a part of that

908
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:32,719
Speaker 1: next window. They've got to take steps this year. And

909
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:36,480
Speaker 1: I'm not saying, like Kevin Alvarez and Xavier Nions to teenagers.

910
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:37,960
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that they have to be like major

911
00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,560
Speaker 1: league ready after this year, but they have to have

912
00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:41,160
Speaker 1: good years.

913
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:42,160
Speaker 2: They have to have good.

914
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:43,560
Speaker 1: Years and show that they're on a little bit of

915
00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:48,720
Speaker 1: an upward trajectory toward contributing to this being viable pieces

916
00:47:48,719 --> 00:47:54,360
Speaker 1: of this next core. Again, Cam Smith developing Cam Smith

917
00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:57,839
Speaker 1: is a piece of the next core. If he develops him,

918
00:47:57,920 --> 00:48:01,319
Speaker 1: having a good season would very much help Dana Brown's case.

919
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:04,080
Speaker 1: Mike Burrows the same way. Mike Burrows is under club

920
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:07,879
Speaker 1: control for the next six years. Like the names are

921
00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:11,080
Speaker 1: there of the guys they need to help open that

922
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:14,839
Speaker 1: next window. They've got to perform this year, though, and

923
00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:18,799
Speaker 1: I mean I would be, I would not be. That's

924
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,400
Speaker 1: a tough place for Dana to be in to have

925
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:22,799
Speaker 1: your fate in other people's hands, to have your fade

926
00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:26,279
Speaker 1: in player's hands, But that's the that's the that's the

927
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,960
Speaker 1: occupation he chose, so you look at that and.

928
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,600
Speaker 2: Then with Joe. You know, again, Tyler, like we have

929
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:33,560
Speaker 2: talked about this, Like.

930
00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:37,680
Speaker 1: When I watch this team, when I've watched this team

931
00:48:37,719 --> 00:48:40,560
Speaker 1: under Joe Aspota's tenure, this does not look like a

932
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,680
Speaker 1: poorly managed team. This is not a situation where I

933
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:46,799
Speaker 1: think Joe Aspata is a bad manager, where like this

934
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:50,680
Speaker 1: is a poorly managed team that doesn't do fundamental things

935
00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:53,360
Speaker 1: well that you know is dogging it. That is not

936
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,520
Speaker 1: like trying hard, it's not giving effort. That has never

937
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:58,920
Speaker 1: been a problem in the two years that Joe spot

938
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:01,600
Speaker 1: has managed this team. I don't think this is a

939
00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:05,759
Speaker 1: situation where like Joe Aspota like is managing like I

940
00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:09,560
Speaker 1: don't think if Joe Aspota is fired, if if he

941
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:11,680
Speaker 1: doesn't get a new contract, I don't think it'll be

942
00:49:11,680 --> 00:49:14,120
Speaker 1: a byproduct of him being a poor manager, a poor

943
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:18,440
Speaker 1: in game tactician, like not keeping the clubhouse together. I

944
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:22,360
Speaker 1: think it'll just be quite frankly, it'll be a situation

945
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:25,360
Speaker 1: where if the GM goes, the manager has to go

946
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:29,080
Speaker 1: to like it would just be a complete house cleaning

947
00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:35,160
Speaker 1: and to start anew because again, like it's a tough spot,

948
00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:36,880
Speaker 1: it's a tough spot to be in and there's a

949
00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:39,600
Speaker 1: lot of pressure on a lot of people this year

950
00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:42,319
Speaker 1: to see if these two guys are the people to

951
00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:44,359
Speaker 1: move this franchise forward.

952
00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:44,839
Speaker 2: Yeah.

953
00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's gonna be uh, it's gonna be very interesting

954
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:48,319
Speaker 3: to see.

955
00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:48,560
Speaker 2: Ba.

956
00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:52,160
Speaker 3: I mean just for the future of the Astros, that

957
00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:55,319
Speaker 3: these younger guys that they've acquired in the past year

958
00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:58,760
Speaker 3: or two, that that is your next window. You're gonna

959
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:02,759
Speaker 3: find out this year if that window is open or

960
00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:04,719
Speaker 3: if it's not. Because even if they make the playoffs,

961
00:50:04,719 --> 00:50:09,960
Speaker 3: but they're carried by you know, great years from Penya, Correa,

962
00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:14,280
Speaker 3: Altuve and Jordan, that's not your next window. Like that's

963
00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:18,080
Speaker 3: that's what's helping keep the window open. But the success

964
00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:22,240
Speaker 3: of the future of your franchise depends on these younger

965
00:50:22,280 --> 00:50:25,000
Speaker 3: guys and they have to perform this year or else

966
00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:27,600
Speaker 3: you're not going in the right direction.

967
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:29,520
Speaker 2: I think. Yeah.

968
00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:32,600
Speaker 1: And the other thing with Dana and this got run

969
00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:34,880
Speaker 1: on social media today of course, Like I wrote a

970
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,360
Speaker 1: twenty five hundred word story and the one thing that

971
00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:41,040
Speaker 1: gets run is Dana talking about maybe extending Hunter Brown

972
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:48,759
Speaker 1: and Jeremy Pania. When Dana's when we when we do

973
00:50:48,880 --> 00:50:52,640
Speaker 1: the the autopsy of Dana Brown's tenures astras general manation

974
00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:56,000
Speaker 1: whenever that is, whether it's this winner, whether it's fifteen

975
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:59,120
Speaker 1: winners from now. The one thing that I think we

976
00:50:59,160 --> 00:51:02,760
Speaker 1: will all circle back is at the beginning of his tenure,

977
00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:05,839
Speaker 1: how bullish he was about getting all these extensions done.

978
00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:09,560
Speaker 1: He had been in Atlanta with Alexanthopolis where they extended

979
00:51:09,719 --> 00:51:13,240
Speaker 1: every young guy on on Atlanta's team, and they created

980
00:51:13,239 --> 00:51:16,320
Speaker 1: a cored that's going to be together forever or almost forever.

981
00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:20,480
Speaker 1: And it really he hasn't backed it up. Like, if

982
00:51:20,480 --> 00:51:23,719
Speaker 1: we're being completely honest, like he got I wouldn't say

983
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:26,359
Speaker 1: he got the Jose al Twove extension done. That was

984
00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:29,239
Speaker 1: that was some other some other factors were involved in

985
00:51:29,239 --> 00:51:32,440
Speaker 1: the Joseel two. That was Joseel Twove wanted that extension done.

986
00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:35,960
Speaker 1: It got done. Christian Javier he got the extension right

987
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:40,040
Speaker 1: after Dana got the job. That has you know, not

988
00:51:40,239 --> 00:51:42,719
Speaker 1: turned out well, but I'm not sure. But look, guys

989
00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:44,600
Speaker 1: get hurt. Sometimes this is what you have to do,

990
00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:48,640
Speaker 1: like you have to that. This is the when you

991
00:51:48,719 --> 00:51:52,279
Speaker 1: talk about extending players. This is always the caveat right.

992
00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:54,719
Speaker 1: It's like if you can do it, but just be

993
00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:56,840
Speaker 1: prepared like it could go south, It could go wrong

994
00:51:56,920 --> 00:51:57,920
Speaker 1: like this is it.

995
00:51:58,040 --> 00:51:59,120
Speaker 2: You're gambling any time.

996
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,280
Speaker 1: You extend a young player like that, especially a pitcher.

997
00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:03,720
Speaker 1: It happened with hovieror he had to have Tommy John. Okay,

998
00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:05,960
Speaker 1: the fact.

999
00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:06,399
Speaker 2: That they have.

1000
00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:11,200
Speaker 1: Missed the boat on Jeremy Pana and Hunter Brown, and look,

1001
00:52:11,239 --> 00:52:13,120
Speaker 1: I'm not sitting here saying they can't get it done,

1002
00:52:13,440 --> 00:52:18,000
Speaker 1: but it would take something completely out of Jim Crane's

1003
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:22,200
Speaker 1: comfort zone to extend either of those guys. And I'm

1004
00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:24,640
Speaker 1: not sure that Jim Crane wants to step out of

1005
00:52:24,680 --> 00:52:27,200
Speaker 1: his comfort zone for a GM that he has as

1006
00:52:27,200 --> 00:52:27,640
Speaker 1: a lame.

1007
00:52:27,560 --> 00:52:28,239
Speaker 2: Duck right now.

1008
00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 1: So when we look back at it, I think we

1009
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:35,840
Speaker 1: will look back at missing the boat on those guys

1010
00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:39,480
Speaker 1: to where those guys could also you could lump them

1011
00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:41,840
Speaker 1: in as they're part of the next core. You know,

1012
00:52:41,920 --> 00:52:44,799
Speaker 1: Hunter Brown's here longer than Jeremy Panya, but Jeremy Panye

1013
00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:47,000
Speaker 1: has a season as two seasons left as an astro.

1014
00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:49,600
Speaker 1: You know, maybe one if they trade him this winner

1015
00:52:49,640 --> 00:52:53,000
Speaker 1: like they did with Kyle Tucker, which dovetails end to

1016
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:56,040
Speaker 1: this point. You know, Dana Brown going on the Flagship

1017
00:52:56,080 --> 00:52:58,279
Speaker 1: Station his first year as general manager and saying Kyle

1018
00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:01,640
Speaker 1: Tucker will retire an astro and then not being able

1019
00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:03,720
Speaker 1: to extend him and trading him to the Cubs.

1020
00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:06,400
Speaker 2: It's a bad look.

1021
00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:09,200
Speaker 1: It just like, there's no other way to put it, really,

1022
00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:12,759
Speaker 1: and when you work, and I think the thing, and

1023
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:16,440
Speaker 1: I wrote this in the story. You know, front offices

1024
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:21,080
Speaker 1: across the sport tried to extend players and camped. Just

1025
00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:25,279
Speaker 1: because Dana Brown tried to extend Painia and Brown and

1026
00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:28,120
Speaker 1: Tucker and couldn't get it done. That's not an indictment

1027
00:53:28,160 --> 00:53:32,919
Speaker 1: on him as an executive. The problem is he had

1028
00:53:32,960 --> 00:53:36,600
Speaker 1: to have the wherewithal to understand where he works right.

1029
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:39,960
Speaker 1: Jim Crane's never given a free agent deal longer than

1030
00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:43,319
Speaker 1: five years. He has never guaranteed any free agent one

1031
00:53:43,360 --> 00:53:47,680
Speaker 1: hundred million dollars. He's never guaranteed any player period, on

1032
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:50,719
Speaker 1: any contract, any one contract more than one hundred and

1033
00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:53,960
Speaker 1: fifty one million dollars. So you have an owner that

1034
00:53:55,280 --> 00:53:58,160
Speaker 1: everything that he has done shows that he is not

1035
00:53:58,239 --> 00:54:01,279
Speaker 1: going to go spend lavishly free agency. He will do

1036
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:03,760
Speaker 1: a two or three or four year deal in free agency.

1037
00:54:04,080 --> 00:54:05,840
Speaker 1: He will not give one hundred million dollar deal in

1038
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,040
Speaker 1: free agency. He has not done that in his ownership tenure.

1039
00:54:09,520 --> 00:54:12,480
Speaker 1: When you have that, you have to understand that when

1040
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:15,759
Speaker 1: you have those parameters in place, it is more incumbent

1041
00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:19,800
Speaker 1: upon you to be more aggressive early in these guys'

1042
00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:22,799
Speaker 1: careers and get them locked up. And the fact that

1043
00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:26,279
Speaker 1: he couldn't do that is something that I think he

1044
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:30,080
Speaker 1: will regret. And again I'm not sitting here saying he's

1045
00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:33,120
Speaker 1: done after this year. I would be saying this exact

1046
00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:35,359
Speaker 1: same thing in five years from now if Dana Brown

1047
00:54:35,480 --> 00:54:38,000
Speaker 1: was still the GM Like this is still a misstep.

1048
00:54:38,719 --> 00:54:40,120
Speaker 2: It's something that can be rectified.

1049
00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:43,440
Speaker 1: Look, if Dana can convince Jim Crane to step out

1050
00:54:43,440 --> 00:54:46,239
Speaker 1: of his comfort zone and get Paynya or Brown extended,

1051
00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:50,440
Speaker 1: then we're having a completely different conversation. But I think

1052
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:52,920
Speaker 1: when you start to look at the things that have

1053
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:55,840
Speaker 1: put the team in this and look, this is not

1054
00:54:55,920 --> 00:54:58,920
Speaker 1: all Dana Brown's fault. They had no draft picks in

1055
00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:01,480
Speaker 1: twenty and twenty one because of the sign stealing scandal.

1056
00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:05,400
Speaker 1: Dana Brown inherited the contracts of Jose Abrey and Rafael Montero.

1057
00:55:05,800 --> 00:55:08,359
Speaker 1: That very much hamstrung a lot of things he could do,

1058
00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:12,440
Speaker 1: especially with like we said, an owner that spends money,

1059
00:55:12,640 --> 00:55:15,080
Speaker 1: but is not going to spend at the Dodgers level,

1060
00:55:15,200 --> 00:55:19,960
Speaker 1: or the Mets level or the Yankees level. So Dana

1061
00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:22,200
Speaker 1: inherited a tough spot.

1062
00:55:22,440 --> 00:55:23,200
Speaker 2: But there were.

1063
00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:25,120
Speaker 1: Things he could have done to make it a little

1064
00:55:25,239 --> 00:55:27,439
Speaker 1: less tough that he didn't do, and I think he'll

1065
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:28,080
Speaker 1: regret those.

1066
00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:32,279
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we've talked about it last year. But

1067
00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:36,239
Speaker 3: the it's you have until like May of this year

1068
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:39,520
Speaker 3: to extend, extend Cam Smith, you know, like that that's

1069
00:55:39,560 --> 00:55:43,279
Speaker 3: your window of extending. Guys like this or you know,

1070
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:45,560
Speaker 3: even like Mike Burrows or whatever, like those are the

1071
00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:50,200
Speaker 3: types of guys that you've got to extend early and

1072
00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:52,319
Speaker 3: you know, just really buy out and level out their

1073
00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:54,480
Speaker 3: arbitration years and maybe buy a year or two of

1074
00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:57,359
Speaker 3: free agency. Those are the extensions that you can get.

1075
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:01,080
Speaker 3: They're just not extending Payna or Brown like that.

1076
00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:04,680
Speaker 1: That's not happening and it would make I mean for them,

1077
00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:07,680
Speaker 1: for Payna especially, it would make no sense for Jeremy

1078
00:56:07,680 --> 00:56:11,000
Speaker 1: Payne to sign an extension. Hunter Brown's a little farther

1079
00:56:11,080 --> 00:56:13,800
Speaker 1: away from free agency. I still don't think it gets done.

1080
00:56:13,840 --> 00:56:16,839
Speaker 1: But Hunter Brown's farther away from free agency. That's a

1081
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:20,200
Speaker 1: little more of a discussion at least like Jeremy Payne

1082
00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:22,799
Speaker 1: is two seasons away from free agency where and he

1083
00:56:22,800 --> 00:56:25,800
Speaker 1: plays a premium position and it would.

1084
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:26,680
Speaker 2: Be foolish for him.

1085
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:28,719
Speaker 1: And again, the only way it's not foolish is if

1086
00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:32,040
Speaker 1: the Astros blow him out of the water with an offer.

1087
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,839
Speaker 1: And as we have talked about numerous times, this is

1088
00:56:34,880 --> 00:56:38,600
Speaker 1: not a franchise that has ever been one to blow

1089
00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:39,560
Speaker 1: guys out of the.

1090
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:41,440
Speaker 2: Water with contract offers.

1091
00:56:41,480 --> 00:56:45,000
Speaker 1: So a lot riding on this season for a lot

1092
00:56:45,000 --> 00:56:49,520
Speaker 1: of different people, no bigger than Dana Brown and Joe Espada,

1093
00:56:49,560 --> 00:56:53,920
Speaker 1: who I would say that winning the World Series would

1094
00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:57,279
Speaker 1: keep their jobs. But we have proof that you can

1095
00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:00,800
Speaker 1: win the World Series and still not feel compleat safe

1096
00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:04,879
Speaker 1: in a Jim Crane run operation. But I don't think

1097
00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:06,920
Speaker 1: they complain though, I don't think Dana Brown or Joe

1098
00:57:06,960 --> 00:57:11,080
Speaker 1: Spotta would complain about the Astros winning a World Series.

1099
00:57:11,120 --> 00:57:13,840
Speaker 2: So in that vein, we'll leave you with this.

1100
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:19,880
Speaker 1: Fangrafts every year, and it's one thing like during the season,

1101
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:22,360
Speaker 1: it's fun to keep up with the with the playoff odds,

1102
00:57:22,400 --> 00:57:26,360
Speaker 1: but they do preseason playoff odds every year, and this year,

1103
00:57:26,560 --> 00:57:28,880
Speaker 1: if you're watching on YouTube you can look. These are

1104
00:57:28,920 --> 00:57:34,480
Speaker 1: the American League playoff odds. There are eight teams that

1105
00:57:34,560 --> 00:57:37,920
Speaker 1: have higher playoff odds in the American League than the

1106
00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:39,840
Speaker 1: Astros going into the season, which.

1107
00:57:39,640 --> 00:57:40,920
Speaker 2: Is pretty remarkable. Tyler.

1108
00:57:42,640 --> 00:57:45,120
Speaker 1: There are two in their own division that have higher

1109
00:57:45,160 --> 00:57:48,360
Speaker 1: playoff odds, and the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.

1110
00:57:48,520 --> 00:57:51,959
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily buy the Rangers, but to each their own.

1111
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:56,160
Speaker 1: But that's a sobering look at things when you're going

1112
00:57:56,200 --> 00:57:59,280
Speaker 1: into it, especially coming off of what they have done

1113
00:58:00,160 --> 00:58:03,760
Speaker 1: for the last ten years of this run. To come

1114
00:58:03,800 --> 00:58:07,000
Speaker 1: into a season and you have the eighth highest odds

1115
00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:10,240
Speaker 1: in the American League to make the playoffs, it's a

1116
00:58:10,240 --> 00:58:13,280
Speaker 1: pretty sobering, pretty sobering site there.

1117
00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:17,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean a lot of those are, you know,

1118
00:58:18,080 --> 00:58:21,320
Speaker 3: in the in the same division, like I I to me,

1119
00:58:21,440 --> 00:58:26,160
Speaker 3: I think one or two of those ALS teams is

1120
00:58:26,200 --> 00:58:28,120
Speaker 3: so much better than the I don't think we're going

1121
00:58:28,160 --> 00:58:30,240
Speaker 3: to see all of them kind of finish close to

1122
00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:32,840
Speaker 3: each other. I don't buy the Red Sox being as

1123
00:58:32,880 --> 00:58:38,120
Speaker 3: good as that projection is, especially with you know, losing

1124
00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:41,680
Speaker 3: Bregman and all of that. So yeah, I mean I

1125
00:58:42,520 --> 00:58:44,760
Speaker 3: think that they sneak in in that first or second

1126
00:58:44,840 --> 00:58:48,200
Speaker 3: wild card spot. But it's down to the last week

1127
00:58:48,280 --> 00:58:48,520
Speaker 3: or so.

1128
00:58:48,800 --> 00:58:49,200
Speaker 2: I think.

1129
00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:53,680
Speaker 3: I think the Mariners are really good. I just don't

1130
00:58:53,680 --> 00:58:56,880
Speaker 3: buy the Rangers sticking around. I think they have too

1131
00:58:56,960 --> 00:59:01,280
Speaker 3: too much injury risk, too much is relying on, you know,

1132
00:59:01,360 --> 00:59:05,160
Speaker 3: the top end of their rotation that you know could

1133
00:59:05,240 --> 00:59:09,320
Speaker 3: go a lot of different ways. But yeah, I think

1134
00:59:09,320 --> 00:59:12,200
Speaker 3: the Astros get into the playoffs. But I mean again,

1135
00:59:12,240 --> 00:59:15,480
Speaker 3: this is a totally different part of the window than

1136
00:59:15,520 --> 00:59:18,919
Speaker 3: it was five years ago, where it's just what day

1137
00:59:18,960 --> 00:59:21,680
Speaker 3: do the Astros have the division wrapped up? That that's

1138
00:59:21,720 --> 00:59:22,360
Speaker 3: not happening.

1139
00:59:22,600 --> 00:59:26,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, I it's hard for me to pick against the

1140
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:29,640
Speaker 1: Mariners in this division. They like, the Mariners have a

1141
00:59:29,640 --> 00:59:32,720
Speaker 1: better roster than the ashra This is a the Mariners

1142
00:59:32,760 --> 00:59:35,440
Speaker 1: are up and down the roster, a better team than

1143
00:59:35,480 --> 00:59:37,560
Speaker 1: the Astros. Now, that doesn't mean the Ashers can't win

1144
00:59:37,600 --> 00:59:38,040
Speaker 1: the division.

1145
00:59:38,040 --> 00:59:38,720
Speaker 2: This is baseball.

1146
00:59:38,840 --> 00:59:42,120
Speaker 1: Like, very rarely does the best team in baseball actually

1147
00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:43,040
Speaker 1: win the World Series.

1148
00:59:43,080 --> 00:59:47,080
Speaker 2: That very rarely happens, just as the twenty nineteen Astros

1149
00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:49,320
Speaker 2: come on.

1150
00:59:49,400 --> 00:59:52,600
Speaker 1: That being said, it's hard for me on March twenty

1151
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:55,160
Speaker 1: fourth to pick against the Mariners in the division. So

1152
00:59:55,880 --> 00:59:58,160
Speaker 1: that would leave the Astros in a fight for their

1153
00:59:58,200 --> 01:00:00,440
Speaker 1: lives in the wild card. I tend to agree with

1154
01:00:00,480 --> 01:00:03,120
Speaker 1: you that I think they will find a way into

1155
01:00:03,160 --> 01:00:05,840
Speaker 1: the playoffs. This team won eighty seven games last year

1156
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:09,800
Speaker 1: with Jordan Alvarez barely playing, and with that inundation of

1157
01:00:09,840 --> 01:00:12,280
Speaker 1: injuries last year, they still won eighty seven games. They

1158
01:00:12,320 --> 01:00:15,320
Speaker 1: were they finished a game out of the playoffs last year.

1159
01:00:16,440 --> 01:00:20,520
Speaker 1: I do think this team makes the playoffs as it's

1160
01:00:20,560 --> 01:00:23,040
Speaker 1: currently constructed. Do I think this is a World Series team?

1161
01:00:23,040 --> 01:00:23,360
Speaker 2: I do not.

1162
01:00:24,520 --> 01:00:26,200
Speaker 1: But the one thing you can always say about Jim

1163
01:00:26,240 --> 01:00:28,680
Speaker 1: Crane is if they get to the trade deadline and

1164
01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:33,760
Speaker 1: they have a legitimate shot at contention, a legitimate shot

1165
01:00:33,760 --> 01:00:36,600
Speaker 1: at a championship, Jim Crane's most one of the most

1166
01:00:36,640 --> 01:00:39,840
Speaker 1: aggressive owners out there at the deadline. Dana Brown's going

1167
01:00:39,880 --> 01:00:42,280
Speaker 1: to be uber aggressive in the last year of his deal,

1168
01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:45,440
Speaker 1: presuming he is running the trade deadline. Joe spot Up

1169
01:00:45,600 --> 01:00:48,360
Speaker 1: is going to manage with a little bit more urgency.

1170
01:00:48,360 --> 01:00:50,680
Speaker 1: Though he'll never say it publicly, I'd imagine he will.

1171
01:00:51,360 --> 01:00:54,120
Speaker 1: And you know, look, I think the goal for them

1172
01:00:54,160 --> 01:00:56,080
Speaker 1: now has to be get to the deadline and contention,

1173
01:00:56,560 --> 01:00:58,520
Speaker 1: because if you get to the deadline and you're in contention.

1174
01:00:58,920 --> 01:01:00,920
Speaker 1: You've shown that you have an owner and a general

1175
01:01:00,960 --> 01:01:04,080
Speaker 1: manager that are aggressive enough that they will go out

1176
01:01:04,120 --> 01:01:05,800
Speaker 1: and get you what you need to get over the top.

1177
01:01:05,840 --> 01:01:07,600
Speaker 1: And then after that it's on the players. But I

1178
01:01:07,640 --> 01:01:09,320
Speaker 1: tend to agree with you. I think they will make

1179
01:01:09,360 --> 01:01:12,080
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I don't think they're built for a deep

1180
01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:15,800
Speaker 1: playoff run. But the playoffs are a crapshoot, and as

1181
01:01:15,960 --> 01:01:18,000
Speaker 1: has been evidenced by a lot of teams in the

1182
01:01:18,120 --> 01:01:20,400
Speaker 1: last five ten years, all you got to do is

1183
01:01:20,400 --> 01:01:22,720
Speaker 1: get in, and once you get in, anything can happen.

1184
01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:24,560
Speaker 1: And when you have Hunter Brown atop of your rotation,

1185
01:01:25,280 --> 01:01:28,400
Speaker 1: and if Mike Burrows and Tatsuya Emi even are a

1186
01:01:28,440 --> 01:01:30,800
Speaker 1: modicum of what they were in spring training, you could

1187
01:01:30,800 --> 01:01:32,640
Speaker 1: do a lot worse and running those three guys out

1188
01:01:32,680 --> 01:01:33,520
Speaker 1: in the playoff series.

1189
01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:34,880
Speaker 2: So we'll see.

1190
01:01:35,240 --> 01:01:37,439
Speaker 1: We'll be around for all of it here on crush

1191
01:01:37,480 --> 01:01:39,720
Speaker 1: Shitty Territory. Thank you all for bearing with us as

1192
01:01:39,760 --> 01:01:45,480
Speaker 1: we as I navigated this hellscape of a great program

1193
01:01:45,480 --> 01:01:47,600
Speaker 1: that we love, that we love and we're going to

1194
01:01:47,720 --> 01:01:49,560
Speaker 1: use and we love doing it.

1195
01:01:49,600 --> 01:01:50,960
Speaker 2: We love ECAM. It's awesome.

1196
01:01:51,760 --> 01:01:54,600
Speaker 1: You can watch us do it again. Probably after opening

1197
01:01:54,680 --> 01:01:56,680
Speaker 1: day on Thursday, we'll record one Thursday. This is me

1198
01:01:56,760 --> 01:01:59,840
Speaker 1: telling you Tyler, we're recording one Thursday night, after a good.

1199
01:02:00,880 --> 01:02:01,680
Speaker 2: After opening day.

1200
01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:04,880
Speaker 1: We'll be back then we'll overreact to one of one

1201
01:02:05,040 --> 01:02:07,480
Speaker 1: sixty two. But until then, you can follow me on

1202
01:02:07,640 --> 01:02:09,880
Speaker 1: X at Chandler Underscore Room. You can follow Tyler at

1203
01:02:09,920 --> 01:02:12,560
Speaker 1: Tyler C. Stafford. Please rate and review us on Apple

1204
01:02:12,600 --> 01:02:16,240
Speaker 1: and Spotify. Please like the YouTube video. Please subscribe to

1205
01:02:16,280 --> 01:02:18,320
Speaker 1: the YouTube channel that very much helps us out. We'll

1206
01:02:18,320 --> 01:02:21,560
Speaker 1: be back after opening day on Thursday. If you're going,

1207
01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:25,200
Speaker 1: enjoy the game. If you're doing anything in Houston this weekend,

1208
01:02:25,480 --> 01:02:29,560
Speaker 1: sports filled weekend in Houston, enjoy everything, and we.

1209
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:51,440
Speaker 2: Will talk to you after opening day. Bye.