Latest / Foul Territory / Ken Rosenthal joins Crush City Territory + Manager Joe Espada & Closer Josh Hader join FT @Astros camp

Transcript

Ken Rosenthal joins Crush City Territory + Manager Joe Espada & Closer Josh Hader join FT @Astros camp · Foul Territory

0:06
Speaker 1: What's up?
0:06
Speaker 2: Everybody? Welcome into another edition of Crush City Territory. I'm Chandler.
0:10
Speaker 2: Room joined is always by Tyler Stafford and a very
0:12
Speaker 2: special guest, FT Senior Insider, the Athletics senior writer, and
0:16
Speaker 2: everyone's favorite bow tie wearing sideline reporter Ken Rosenthal. Ken,
0:21
Speaker 2: what is up? How are you? I know this is
0:22
Speaker 2: a busy time for you. You're actually about to come
0:24
Speaker 2: to Houston to work the WBC. You're getting a little
0:29
Speaker 2: bit of time to yourself before all the chaos starts.
0:32
Speaker 3: No, Chandler, but we don't need to go into that,
0:37
Speaker 3: so we.
0:37
Speaker 2: Wanted to add you on because this past weekend you
0:41
Speaker 2: wrote what Tyler and I have been talking about for
0:44
Speaker 2: a very long time, which is the Astros infield surplus
0:48
Speaker 2: is untenable and you know they're going to have to
0:52
Speaker 2: solve this somehow, and it's probably going to come in
0:54
Speaker 2: the form of an estoc Paradus trade. I'm gonna guess, Ken,
0:58
Speaker 2: with everything going on in baseball, you didn't wake up
1:01
Speaker 2: three days ago and decide, you know what I'm going
1:03
Speaker 2: to write about the Astros in field surplus today? What
1:05
Speaker 2: kind of prompted you to look into this and write
1:09
Speaker 2: this column.
1:10
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, I read Channeler Room regularly. I
1:12
Speaker 3: listened to his podcast with Tyler Stafford regularly.
1:15
Speaker 1: And I knew this was an issue.
1:17
Speaker 3: And I was at Astro's camp I believe it was Saturday,
1:20
Speaker 3: and the whole issue kind of crystallized for me while
1:24
Speaker 3: I was there talking to people, just seeing the team,
1:27
Speaker 3: seeing the guys, and sometimes when you're out of place,
1:31
Speaker 3: not just talking to people, but just kind of getting
1:34
Speaker 3: the lay of the land. It helps to visit a
1:37
Speaker 3: camp and understand the dynamics of what is going on
1:40
Speaker 3: with the team in a particular time. And when I
1:43
Speaker 3: go to a camp and SMIng training, I go to
1:44
Speaker 3: one to day generally, so to me, it's what's the
1:48
Speaker 3: most interesting story of that day. This is by far
1:51
Speaker 3: the most interesting compelling thing with the Astros right now,
1:55
Speaker 3: in my opinion.
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Speaker 4: If I wasn't going to write a feature about Korea,
1:58
Speaker 4: this was it, and I'd like to write about compelling
2:01
Speaker 4: things that try to and again, this was the one
2:05
Speaker 4: thing that really jumped out at me.
2:09
Speaker 2: You know, Tyler and I have tried to explain it
2:10
Speaker 2: to people and you know, they come back with, oh, hey,
2:14
Speaker 2: they can play this many they can play Jordon Alpha,
2:16
Speaker 2: is this many games here? They can play Ustock Parade,
2:17
Speaker 2: It is this many games here. But ken you know,
2:20
Speaker 2: as well as anyone that covers a sport, veteran players
2:24
Speaker 2: and established players normally don't love not having a routine,
2:29
Speaker 2: not knowing that where they're going to play the next day,
2:32
Speaker 2: not knowing a specific number of games are going to play.
2:35
Speaker 2: If the Astros were to keep this infield configuration going
2:39
Speaker 2: into opening day, what kind of problems do you think
2:42
Speaker 2: that could create for Joe Aspada, for Dana Brown, for
2:46
Speaker 2: the guys that have to manage twenty six pretty big
2:50
Speaker 2: egos inside of a major league clubhouse.
2:52
Speaker 1: Candler, it does create problems.
2:54
Speaker 3: And I know fans don't necessarily see this the way
2:57
Speaker 3: we do because we're the ones in the clubouse talking
3:00
Speaker 3: to people, and we understand clubhouse dynamics.
3:04
Speaker 1: I'm not saying we're perfect and.
3:05
Speaker 3: We have a perfect track record of reading situations, but
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Speaker 3: generally speaking, as you said, when you have this kind
3:12
Speaker 3: of surplus, and when you're saying, well, we'll get them
3:14
Speaker 3: all one hundred, two hundred and forty games, whatever the numbers,
3:17
Speaker 3: might be easier said than done. Now, the one thing
3:20
Speaker 3: they have in their favor. Here, if you want to
3:23
Speaker 3: keep all these guys is someone's probably going to get hurt,
3:26
Speaker 3: someone's going to need time off their feet, whatever the
3:28
Speaker 3: case might be. That's a heck of a thing to
3:31
Speaker 3: count on. And when you enter a season, you want
3:34
Speaker 3: things a little bit more clear cut, and right now
3:38
Speaker 3: it's hard to see how they would be clear cut.
3:40
Speaker 3: And you ask about the manager, Joe Spotty. He's the
3:43
Speaker 3: guy that's got to deal with all this.
3:45
Speaker 5: He's the guy that.
3:46
Speaker 3: Has to divvy out the playing time and manage the egos,
3:50
Speaker 3: and it is not always an easy thing to do.
3:52
Speaker 1: Would it rip up the team to have this continue?
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Speaker 3: I don't know that it would rip up the team.
3:56
Speaker 3: Is it an uncomfortable form ofdynamic? Yes, it is, and
4:02
Speaker 3: everyone involved knows it. Paradis knows it, Joe Spott knows it.
4:06
Speaker 3: The other infielders know.
4:07
Speaker 1: It as well.
4:08
Speaker 6: So Ken watching one hundred and sixty two Astros games
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Speaker 6: last season, I can tell you that that lineup was
4:17
Speaker 6: a lot of guys that swung at the first and
4:20
Speaker 6: second pitch. It was. It was a whole lot of
4:23
Speaker 6: just swing and see what happens. And Esto Parados was
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Speaker 6: really the only real consistent kind of that veteran presence
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Speaker 6: in the lineup. You know, they haven't added anybody really
4:35
Speaker 6: that you could argue is going to be able to
4:38
Speaker 6: do that. Why is he the one that is on
4:42
Speaker 6: the trading block when when he clearly provides so much value.
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Speaker 3: Money Christian Walker is making almost twice as much over
4:49
Speaker 3: the next two years as Izak parades, and he's coming
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Speaker 3: off a lesser year.
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Speaker 1: I would expect Paradis has more value now.
4:58
Speaker 3: Kind of an X factor here is if teams are
5:01
Speaker 3: scouting the Astros and watching them this spring, and they believe,
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Speaker 3: like the Astros do, that Christian Walker is on the
5:07
Speaker 3: verge of a revival, maybe they would be more willing
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Speaker 3: to take on the money and.
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Speaker 1: Work out an arrangement with the Astros. Maybe the Astros
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Speaker 1: would chip in something. I don't know that is an option.
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Speaker 3: I don't know that it is as attractive an option
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Speaker 3: for the Astros because I don't know that they would
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Speaker 3: get as much in return as they would for Paradis,
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Speaker 3: who is of course less expensive and right now has
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Speaker 3: greater trade value. So he is the odd man out
5:32
Speaker 3: in that sense. And he also is a guy that
5:35
Speaker 3: they talk about second base with.
5:37
Speaker 4: I don't know that he can really play second base
5:39
Speaker 4: and take can shaking his head.
5:41
Speaker 3: So it's third base where Karrea plays, or first base
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Speaker 3: where Walker plays.
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Speaker 1: And there's a.
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Speaker 7: DH that is maybe the best DH in the game.
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Speaker 3: Who will play left field, but he's not going to
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Speaker 3: play left field one hundred and fifty games. So this
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Speaker 3: is why the roster as currently constructed is ill fitting
5:59
Speaker 3: and to be addressed.
6:02
Speaker 6: So what teams need a good third baseman, first baseman
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Speaker 6: who can take seven pitches in a bad who's out
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Speaker 6: there for the Astros to be able to float him
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Speaker 6: as a as a trade target tyler.
6:15
Speaker 1: That's the problem.
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Speaker 3: It seems to be only one team right now that
6:18
Speaker 3: has that specific a need. Other teams could create an
6:22
Speaker 3: opening by doing other things, of course, but the Red
6:25
Speaker 3: Sox are the team they've been talking to, not lately,
6:27
Speaker 3: but they've been talking to them about this whole scenario.
6:30
Speaker 1: The Red Sox actually.
6:32
Speaker 3: Have what the Astros need, a left handed hitting outfielder.
6:34
Speaker 1: It would be most likely to Ran and not a
6:37
Speaker 1: bray you.
6:38
Speaker 3: And it's so interesting that the Red Sox have the
6:41
Speaker 3: exact opposite problem. The outfield surplus, the m field shortage,
6:45
Speaker 3: the Astros, of course, the infield surplus, the outfield shortage.
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Speaker 3: It seems to me this is a pretty obvious match,
6:52
Speaker 3: but clearly that hasn't gotten to the finish line yet,
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Speaker 3: if it's even in percolation right now.
7:00
Speaker 2: Going to bring up one quote that Dana gave you
7:02
Speaker 2: for the quote for the columns who wrote uh Ken,
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Speaker 2: And you know, everyone's just kind of been they don't
7:09
Speaker 2: maybe they don't believe us when we say it's a thing.
7:11
Speaker 2: But here's what Dana said. Here's what Dana told you
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Speaker 2: in camp this weekend. He said when I said we're
7:15
Speaker 2: not done yet, it was with the vision of looking
7:17
Speaker 2: for a potential left handed bat. We've also been talking
7:20
Speaker 2: about a backup catcher. And not done yet is we're
7:22
Speaker 2: still on the grind all that suffice to say, he
7:24
Speaker 2: ain't trading for an infielder like they already have too
7:27
Speaker 2: many infielders. Like Dana is telling you without telling you
7:31
Speaker 2: that he is still in you know, negotiations is probably
7:34
Speaker 2: a strong word, but isak Paradis remains available? And I
7:37
Speaker 2: think question yeah, And I think the walker thing you
7:40
Speaker 2: said is is pretty prevalent to this guy had an
7:42
Speaker 2: eight hundred ops after the All Star Break last year.
7:44
Speaker 2: Like it's not as if he's Jose a bray you
7:47
Speaker 2: and unplayable. But the money will be cumbersome. How much
7:51
Speaker 2: Jim Crane would want to pay down of the forty
7:54
Speaker 2: million dollars remaining on his salary also pretty cumbersome. But
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Speaker 2: it is one of those things that again, if Christian
7:59
Speaker 2: Walker showed up in Great Fruit League play he turned
8:01
Speaker 2: one hundred and one mile an hour fastball last night,
8:03
Speaker 2: by the way, if he shows that he's revived, then
8:07
Speaker 2: maybe he becomes a target. But yes, you're right, as
8:09
Speaker 2: of right now, Esak Paratus is the pre eminent target.
8:12
Speaker 2: Before we let you go, Ken, I do want to
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Speaker 2: get one thought from you on kind of the state
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Speaker 2: of this franchise where they are in their competitive window
8:22
Speaker 2: that Jim Crane has said multiple times will never close
8:25
Speaker 2: while he's the owner. They have a lame duck general manager.
8:29
Speaker 2: They have a lame duck manager, which is no uh,
8:31
Speaker 2: which is not foreign for Jim Crane. But where do
8:33
Speaker 2: you kind of see the Ashers in the state of
8:35
Speaker 2: their franchise, the state of the organization right now.
8:38
Speaker 3: They're in a situation where Chandler they need to win
8:42
Speaker 3: now and it doesn't have to.
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Speaker 1: Be this year.
8:44
Speaker 3: It could be next year.
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Speaker 1: But their window is shrinking now.
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Speaker 4: I know Jim Crane talks about leaving an open forever,
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Speaker 4: and they've done a great job of that.
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Speaker 3: It's ten years now of a team being really, really
8:53
Speaker 3: competitive and a World Series champion at times. But it's
8:58
Speaker 3: an aging groups.
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Speaker 1: Altove getting older.
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Speaker 3: It's Korea, who is not old but has different issues
9:05
Speaker 3: that flare up from time to time. It's Alvarez, who
9:09
Speaker 3: is somewhat limited in what he can do physically. It's
9:11
Speaker 3: all of this, and it's also a farm system that
9:15
Speaker 3: is not as productive as.
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Speaker 1: Probably they would like. And maybe it's getting better.
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Speaker 3: All teams think that the farm systems that they have
9:21
Speaker 3: are getting better, but again, it's not spewing out prospects
9:25
Speaker 3: the way the Mets, for instance, are just churning out
9:27
Speaker 3: pitching prospects. So all of that combined would lead you
9:32
Speaker 3: to believe that, yes, they need to act with some
9:35
Speaker 3: urgency with the way they construct their team, and they
9:38
Speaker 3: have for the most part. They've done some things this
9:41
Speaker 3: offseason and I kind of liked in my Burrows trade
9:43
Speaker 3: was good in my opinion, but they kind of have
9:46
Speaker 3: to keep going, and again the parade is scenario. The
9:50
Speaker 3: trade scenario fits into what we're talking about here. You
9:53
Speaker 3: got to get that left handed hitting outfielder because their
9:56
Speaker 3: outfield is so thin right now. And if you do
10:00
Speaker 3: do that, then the team looks a lot better to me,
10:02
Speaker 3: particularly if the infield thing is resolved.
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Speaker 6: We're three weeks away, Kennon real quick, When does when
10:11
Speaker 6: does this have to happen? Do they do they need
10:13
Speaker 6: to do it in the next couple of days? Is
10:15
Speaker 6: this something that you can do the day before opening day?
10:18
Speaker 3: Like?
10:18
Speaker 6: When when do you have to make a decision on
10:20
Speaker 6: something like this?
10:21
Speaker 3: You can do it at anytime, And in one sense,
10:25
Speaker 3: perhaps time is on their side because someone at third
10:28
Speaker 3: base or first base in some camp somewhere is going
10:32
Speaker 3: to get hurt. It's kind of inevitable in our sport.
10:35
Speaker 3: I hate to say it, but that's the reality. You
10:37
Speaker 3: would expect that if it's not an injury, maybe it's
10:41
Speaker 3: a guy that you don't think is going to be
10:43
Speaker 3: as good as you Maybe you thought he was going
10:45
Speaker 3: to be, So there is time, I would say before
10:48
Speaker 3: opening day it's surely the better, But it doesn't have
10:51
Speaker 3: to happen until really opening day and even then you
10:54
Speaker 3: can carry this scenario into the season see how it goes.
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Speaker 3: But at some point it seems to me will have
11:00
Speaker 3: to be addressed.
11:01
Speaker 2: Twenty two days away from opening days. So maybe in
11:04
Speaker 2: the next twenty two days we'll have a resolution here. Ken,
11:07
Speaker 2: I know you've got to get to a numerous other
11:09
Speaker 2: appearances and you've got a pack for Houston for the WBC.
11:12
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.
11:14
Speaker 1: Thanks, guys.
11:27
Speaker 7: We are delighted to have Astros manager Joe spotted with
11:30
Speaker 7: us on FT right now at Astros camp.
11:33
Speaker 1: Joe, how you doing? How's camp?
11:35
Speaker 7: And how's the fact that you've got a few guys
11:37
Speaker 7: there that you didn't expect to be there.
11:40
Speaker 1: If I'm being real, we'll get to pain you. But
11:41
Speaker 1: I'm even saying all two day pray, etcetera. You've got
11:44
Speaker 1: you've got your your core there.
11:46
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, Well, thank you for having me on the shows, guys,
11:48
Speaker 8: and we're doing really well.
11:50
Speaker 5: Camp is going well.
11:52
Speaker 8: Yeah, and like you mentioned, we have all the boys
11:54
Speaker 8: in camp, which is great just to build these guys, uh,
11:59
Speaker 8: not only for the season, but continue to build our
12:03
Speaker 8: focus in in getting back to the postseason. So having
12:06
Speaker 8: our core and the impact they have not only on
12:10
Speaker 8: the playing field, but also messaging inside the flap house
12:13
Speaker 8: is important. Uh yeah, you mentioned Jeremy. You know, we
12:16
Speaker 8: got the uh the news yesterday. He's gonna he's gonna
12:19
Speaker 8: be out for a little bit here. H. So we're
12:22
Speaker 8: going to reevalue him in two weeks and see, uh
12:26
Speaker 8: how the finger is healing. But right now he's going
12:29
Speaker 8: to be doing everything with us, going to be taking
12:31
Speaker 8: ground balls, gonna We're gonna keep him on the basin
12:34
Speaker 8: just to make sure that once the finger heels, we
12:37
Speaker 8: could hit the ground running and he won't won't be
12:39
Speaker 8: missing too much time.
12:42
Speaker 7: Joe, we get obsessed with opening day, but does this
12:46
Speaker 7: look like an injury that, even if it's not Opening Day,
12:49
Speaker 7: will not hold him back for too much after that?
12:51
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. If if somebody misses two
12:53
Speaker 1: three games in June, it's not a big deal.
12:56
Speaker 7: But it's like if Jeremy Pani you misses the first
12:59
Speaker 7: two games of this season and then he's back over
13:01
Speaker 7: the weekend or whatever it is. So can you give
13:04
Speaker 7: us a glimpse of the timetable and the process of
13:08
Speaker 7: not rushing just because it's opening.
13:10
Speaker 8: Day right, and you know what the fact that you
13:13
Speaker 8: know he we gave him. You know, he had two
13:16
Speaker 8: weeks here with us. He's took like it was fifteen
13:18
Speaker 8: at bats. He went to the dr he got some
13:20
Speaker 8: bats there. And also Jeremy comes to camp and incredible
13:26
Speaker 8: physical shape, so he is pretty well built up. Now
13:31
Speaker 8: it's all about letting the finger heal and we'll wait
13:36
Speaker 8: as long as it takes for having him back in
13:39
Speaker 8: the lineup. We do have some really good players in
13:42
Speaker 8: our roster that can hold the fort as we get
13:46
Speaker 8: our short stop back.
13:48
Speaker 5: But this is something that we're going to be really
13:50
Speaker 5: smart about.
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Speaker 8: There's no there's no reason to show uh to rush
13:54
Speaker 8: this process because we want to make sure that we
13:58
Speaker 8: have Jeremy for the long haul.
14:00
Speaker 3: Uh.
14:01
Speaker 8: We this is a marathon, and we know how to
14:03
Speaker 8: run this marathon, and we want to make sure that
14:05
Speaker 8: we don't come out out of the gates rushing this
14:08
Speaker 8: in a sprint, and we get ourselves in in a
14:11
Speaker 8: position where.
14:13
Speaker 5: This could come back and and and you know, affect
14:16
Speaker 5: him during the season.
14:18
Speaker 9: Guys, I'll vouch for what just Joe said about him
14:21
Speaker 9: being in great shape. I saw him in the clubhouse
14:23
Speaker 9: this dude is jacked like he is in great shape,
14:27
Speaker 9: So yeah, I'm sure he'll be ready. Obviously, you don't
14:30
Speaker 9: want to see your starting shortstop go down and have
14:32
Speaker 9: to miss any time. But what does Carlos Korea feel
14:36
Speaker 9: about the situation, because assuming he's going to step.
14:38
Speaker 8: In to be the shortstop now, yeah, yeah, once you know,
14:41
Speaker 8: once we the two weeks, you know, we still don't
14:44
Speaker 8: know the status of Jeremy right full opening day, but
14:48
Speaker 8: if the case is that he will need more time, uh,
14:52
Speaker 8: Carlos Courier will step in and be our shortstop. And
14:56
Speaker 8: we all know how good of a shortstop Carlos Courrier
14:58
Speaker 8: I is. So once we we get going here, we'll
15:03
Speaker 8: get Carlos some starts at short stuff. I continue to
15:06
Speaker 8: play Nick Allen at short we have is that paradis
15:09
Speaker 8: that can well, we'll.
15:11
Speaker 5: Play third base? Is that the case?
15:14
Speaker 8: But we are you know, we do have the players
15:16
Speaker 8: in camp to be able to, uh, you know, sustain
15:20
Speaker 8: and and and and be able to move forward as
15:22
Speaker 8: we get as we wait for Jeremy.
15:25
Speaker 1: Hey, Joe.
15:26
Speaker 7: This has been one of the hottest topics even before
15:29
Speaker 7: the injury. The Astros have too many good infielders. The
15:33
Speaker 7: infields log jam that's been going on here, and how
15:36
Speaker 7: there might be one or two guys on the bench
15:38
Speaker 7: if everyone's healthy that should be playing every day. So
15:42
Speaker 7: isn't this what you and Dana Brown were referring to?
15:45
Speaker 7: Unfortunately in our game, injuries do occur, and when you
15:49
Speaker 7: can plug in a guy like Paradis, who doesn't you
15:52
Speaker 7: know who can or should play every day, Boom, there
15:56
Speaker 7: you go, he's third plase a short if opinion is
15:58
Speaker 7: not ready to go, right.
16:00
Speaker 8: Yeah, And that's been you know, that has been what
16:02
Speaker 8: Dana and I have been, you know, talking to not
16:06
Speaker 8: only our players, but messaging to the fans and the
16:09
Speaker 8: media that you know, injuries did happen. We learned that
16:13
Speaker 8: last year. And you know, I don't see Paratus as
16:16
Speaker 8: a plug in guy. You know, this is an all star.
16:19
Speaker 8: This guy is an everyday player that we do have, uh,
16:23
Speaker 8: you know, a plea of really good players and they
16:26
Speaker 8: all need to be in the lineup absolutely, and we'll
16:29
Speaker 8: find we'll find out bats for.
16:31
Speaker 5: For all these guys. You know, we we have it.
16:33
Speaker 5: You know, we will have to use the d H
16:35
Speaker 5: spot just to get some guys some of bats.
16:38
Speaker 8: Uh, you know, I will ask Jordan to play some
16:41
Speaker 8: left field so we could keep uh the DH spot
16:43
Speaker 8: uh open and and floid to get some of these
16:46
Speaker 8: guys in there. But this is a perfect example of
16:49
Speaker 8: how you you know, you never have enough good players
16:54
Speaker 8: on your team. You want to have, you know, a
16:57
Speaker 8: group of players that can step in and play any time.
17:01
Speaker 8: And the most important thing for me is is about
17:03
Speaker 8: messaging and communicating with these players. These players they want
17:07
Speaker 8: to know their role, they know their everyday players, they
17:09
Speaker 8: want to contribute. And my job as a managers to
17:11
Speaker 8: make sure that I'm transparent with that adult with them
17:15
Speaker 8: at all times. And I you know, and I'm always
17:19
Speaker 8: doing that with with not only them, but every player
17:22
Speaker 8: in that clubhouse.
17:24
Speaker 7: So, Joe, what was that communication process like with someone
17:27
Speaker 7: like Esak who was in trade rumors? And it's an
17:30
Speaker 7: easier combo for front offices to have when it's the
17:34
Speaker 7: off season and they're exploring options. How have you been
17:37
Speaker 7: able to thread the needle and even before this injury,
17:40
Speaker 7: you know, have a conversation with someone like him and say, hey,
17:43
Speaker 7: if everyone's healthy from the jump, this might not be
17:46
Speaker 7: the dream for you, but things will shake out.
17:49
Speaker 8: Yeah, and listen, and this conversation is that happens throughout
17:53
Speaker 8: the throughout the winner, you know, and this is a
17:56
Speaker 8: conversation that is my responsibility to communicate with the players.
18:00
Speaker 8: You know, the front office they have a job to do,
18:02
Speaker 8: which is put together the best team possible. And my
18:07
Speaker 8: job is to not only to get input and my
18:09
Speaker 8: opinion about that process, but communicate with the players about.
18:14
Speaker 5: What we are doing because I'm the one who's.
18:18
Speaker 8: Leading the charge out there and it's in charge of
18:20
Speaker 8: messaging and keeping everyone align and focusing our season. And
18:25
Speaker 8: you know, my message sho this guys is listen. You know,
18:28
Speaker 8: you cannot control the the rumors. We can control what
18:34
Speaker 8: happens in that clubhouse. Our mission is to get back
18:37
Speaker 8: in the postseason, and this is how we're going to
18:41
Speaker 8: do that. And that's where our focus, my focus is
18:44
Speaker 8: every day I'm in that clubhouse. What happens, you know,
18:47
Speaker 8: what happens in the office happens in the office. But
18:50
Speaker 8: we can control how we get on the field and
18:54
Speaker 8: our approach, our daily approach, and how we go about
18:56
Speaker 8: our business.
18:58
Speaker 10: I want, I want to go on a little pitching here.
19:00
Speaker 10: Tatsuya Mi talk to me a little bit about him
19:03
Speaker 10: and what you've seen so far. Should these Houston Astro
19:06
Speaker 10: fans get really excited about a guy like this?
19:09
Speaker 11: Yeah?
19:09
Speaker 8: Sorry, Todd Ami you mentioned, Yeah, they should be fired
19:13
Speaker 8: up about him. You know, Todd, not only what you're
19:16
Speaker 8: going to get on the mound performance, but you know
19:20
Speaker 8: he brings. Uh, he's got this personality that I have
19:26
Speaker 8: never seen out of a Japanese player. You and I
19:29
Speaker 8: we we were around Macereo Tanaka when he was in
19:32
Speaker 8: New York. Uh, and this is a completely different guy, right.
19:37
Speaker 5: Uh.
19:38
Speaker 8: You know, I got super competitor, he really wanted the ball,
19:43
Speaker 8: So there's those similarities. But this guy is it's you know,
19:47
Speaker 8: he will show his emotions on the mound. He's all about,
19:52
Speaker 8: you know, being super funny in the in the clubhouse.
19:55
Speaker 8: He's got personality that really I wasn't expecting when I
20:00
Speaker 8: first met him, but he fits right in.
20:01
Speaker 5: He's super excited to be with the Astros.
20:04
Speaker 8: And I think this is going to be someone that
20:07
Speaker 8: we're going to be talking a lot throughout the summer.
20:10
Speaker 9: Joe, there's always that transition period for when the foreign
20:14
Speaker 9: players come here, especially Japanese players. How has he been
20:17
Speaker 9: able to adjust? I know he has an interpreter here,
20:20
Speaker 9: but adjusting to the American culture in this clubhouse.
20:24
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know what, one thing that I noticed, he's
20:26
Speaker 8: very observing. He sits around the club out. He sees
20:30
Speaker 8: how people prepare themselves a Hona Brown does it when
20:34
Speaker 8: the thrower bullpen. He's always asking questions. So he's always watching.
20:39
Speaker 8: He's always asking questions. For me, it's more for him
20:42
Speaker 8: to understand. Okay, it's every five days, every six days,
20:45
Speaker 8: adjusting to our process, but also us adjusting with him,
20:50
Speaker 8: helping him adjust if he's in, if he needs an
20:52
Speaker 8: extra day. We want to feedback from him, you know,
20:55
Speaker 8: just making it just Baseball's right, he's using a completely
20:59
Speaker 8: different baseball. Well, that's something that we are looking into.
21:03
Speaker 8: How can we help them with that? You know, the
21:07
Speaker 8: running game here in the US, you know, he feels
21:10
Speaker 8: just there's more action on the basis, So how can
21:13
Speaker 8: we help them running you know, with the running games,
21:16
Speaker 8: pickoff moves, learning defense behind him, the fundamentals, all those
21:21
Speaker 8: things are things that he's always constantly asking questions.
21:23
Speaker 5: So we are we're helping him through that process.
21:27
Speaker 7: Joe, were you surprised when you saw the contract he
21:31
Speaker 7: ended up with. Nobody's going to cry and be like, oh, no,
21:33
Speaker 7: he only ended up with this kind of money. But
21:36
Speaker 7: the point is a lot of people thought he was
21:38
Speaker 7: going to be, you know, one hundred and fifty million
21:40
Speaker 7: dollar man something like that, and he'll have an opportunity
21:43
Speaker 7: early on on to opt out and make more money
21:45
Speaker 7: if that's the case. But are you surprised that the
21:48
Speaker 7: league didn't look at him in the way that maybe
21:51
Speaker 7: some prognosticators did And do you think that will create
21:54
Speaker 7: any type of chip on his shoulder?
21:57
Speaker 8: You know what, I can't speak for him on how
22:01
Speaker 8: he feels about the contractor of that. I do know this,
22:05
Speaker 8: I do get credit to our front office because he's
22:08
Speaker 8: happened really quickly.
22:09
Speaker 5: I remember there is in New Year's Eve. They not
22:11
Speaker 5: calls me.
22:12
Speaker 8: He says, Joe, what do you got on Emi? And
22:14
Speaker 8: we have early conversations in the off season about Emi.
22:18
Speaker 8: But we we've heard about, uh what he was going
22:21
Speaker 8: to take to sign him. So when we did our rankings,
22:25
Speaker 8: he was on top of our list. But obviously the
22:28
Speaker 8: money could have been a factor in us signing him.
22:32
Speaker 8: But you guys know well, our owner is always all
22:35
Speaker 8: hands in, all hands on deck. If this is a
22:37
Speaker 8: player that can help us. He's willing to make it
22:40
Speaker 8: happen and in a matter of ours em what's in
22:44
Speaker 8: Houston Astro. Something that Emi also say was like he
22:48
Speaker 8: wants to beat the teams who have those well known
22:53
Speaker 8: Japanese players, And I give him credit because that's exactly
22:57
Speaker 8: who we want in our team, someone who want wants
23:00
Speaker 8: to create an environment and impact in a club where listen,
23:05
Speaker 8: I want to step up and I want to be
23:07
Speaker 8: known as one of the best, and that's exactly what.
23:11
Speaker 5: We're looking for.
23:12
Speaker 8: And Emi made it known very that he wants to
23:15
Speaker 8: win and this is a winning environment and I'm just
23:18
Speaker 8: static to have him in our club.
23:21
Speaker 10: You have a new hitting coach and Victor Rodriguez. Can
23:24
Speaker 10: you talk a little bit about his approach and what
23:28
Speaker 10: you know hitters are talking about and how he is
23:30
Speaker 10: relatable to the hitters right now for the Astros moving forward.
23:34
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know, for me, it's about simplicity. You know,
23:37
Speaker 8: this game, I think hitting is really hard. I thought
23:40
Speaker 8: you were a really good hitter, and I remember having
23:43
Speaker 8: conversations with you about hitting and it continues to get
23:47
Speaker 8: harder and harder every year that goes by, because you know,
23:49
Speaker 8: people are throwing harder. Stuff is getting nastier. You have
23:53
Speaker 8: to make adjustment pitch to pitch, a back to a bat.
23:56
Speaker 8: But there is something about hitting where the simpler you
24:00
Speaker 8: could make it, I think, the more you can prepare
24:03
Speaker 8: to have some success. Right, This is a game of adjustments,
24:06
Speaker 8: This is a game of fundamentals. This is a game
24:08
Speaker 8: about competing at the plate. And Victory is all about
24:11
Speaker 8: making things simple. How can we simplify an approach, How
24:15
Speaker 8: can we simplify the process? You know, he's been around
24:18
Speaker 8: some really good heres in his career, and I wanted
24:21
Speaker 8: to have someone who can lead the charge. And if
24:23
Speaker 8: the messaging is listen, you guys are a really good hitter.
24:26
Speaker 8: But let's not forget about what hitting is supposed to be. Like,
24:31
Speaker 8: we are a team that we will do well. We
24:32
Speaker 8: take pitches, we drive the ball, and we passed the baton.
24:36
Speaker 8: We got away from that, and I think Victory is
24:39
Speaker 8: the right guy to get us back on track.
24:42
Speaker 7: While we're on the topic of hitting, let's talk about
24:45
Speaker 7: one of your best hitters in your Don Alvarez, and
24:47
Speaker 7: I've heard you talk about how to preserve him over
24:51
Speaker 7: the last couple months. So I'm going to ask the
24:54
Speaker 7: question this way, if it was up to Joe A Spada,
24:57
Speaker 7: how many games would ord On Alvarez as play in
25:00
Speaker 7: the outfields.
25:03
Speaker 8: I'm not going to give you the number. But what
25:05
Speaker 8: I'm gonna do is I'm not going to give you
25:07
Speaker 8: the number. One thing I learned and this job is
25:12
Speaker 8: that when you go in with a plan, there's a
25:14
Speaker 8: plan A, there's a plan B. But I was looking
25:17
Speaker 8: into Plan C, Plan V last year with so many injuries, right,
25:20
Speaker 8: And what the messaging to JR.
25:23
Speaker 5: Done and to our guys are, like, Jordan is going
25:26
Speaker 5: to play left field.
25:28
Speaker 8: You know, you know, when he's in left field, we
25:32
Speaker 8: are able to have some other guys stay in the lineup,
25:37
Speaker 8: use the dhpot to get some of those guys some
25:40
Speaker 8: of my bats and keep everyone healthy and fresh. But
25:44
Speaker 8: Jordan also loves to play left field, and when he
25:46
Speaker 8: plays left field is actually the number show that he
25:48
Speaker 8: is a very productive player offensively because he's not only
25:52
Speaker 8: thinking about he's at bats. He can go out to
25:54
Speaker 8: the outfield and clear his mind and help the team, uh,
25:59
Speaker 8: you know, in different ways and you're done.
26:02
Speaker 5: And enjoys playing left field.
26:03
Speaker 8: So I've always keep that in mind when it comes
26:05
Speaker 8: to how often you're done, it's going to play left fieldry.
26:09
Speaker 10: Last thing for me, how's that ankle feel? And you know,
26:12
Speaker 10: twenty sixteen was a big year. I just wanted to
26:15
Speaker 10: make sure we're still stable with the ankle excuse me
26:18
Speaker 10: seventeen Hey, yeah, you have to wear an ankle brace.
26:22
Speaker 5: You know, No, it's stable. Do you know?
26:25
Speaker 1: Do you know that?
26:26
Speaker 8: I I the players bring that up and I watched
26:32
Speaker 8: the video with them, you know, because it was you know,
26:36
Speaker 8: you could never you put the Yankee.
26:39
Speaker 5: Unit from on.
26:40
Speaker 8: It's like you're always on that big stage and people
26:43
Speaker 8: never forget. And you go on YouTube and there's millions
26:46
Speaker 8: of people that watched it. I'm like, man, this couldn't
26:49
Speaker 8: happen at at worst, you know, plays because they keep
26:53
Speaker 8: bringing it up.
26:54
Speaker 12: You know.
26:54
Speaker 8: Another another video that always always these guy's always playing
26:58
Speaker 8: when we go our cuts and relay. There was that
27:01
Speaker 8: relay throw from Reddick to Korea to get Garner at
27:05
Speaker 8: third base in the seventeen LCS.
27:09
Speaker 5: When we go over in that fundamental we go over
27:10
Speaker 5: cutching relays.
27:11
Speaker 8: They use that video there to show how you should
27:15
Speaker 8: post to execute relay. And I remind these guys every
27:19
Speaker 8: time you guys put these on the TV. I'm the
27:22
Speaker 8: one who's waving Garner over to come to third base.
27:25
Speaker 8: And I always you know, remember men, I was looking
27:29
Speaker 8: for a hole in the ground that day just to
27:31
Speaker 8: dig myself in there because it was such a wealth.
27:33
Speaker 8: We'll execute it relay, but good, good teaching moments. But
27:37
Speaker 8: you know, I still laugh at those moments, and it
27:40
Speaker 8: was it was fun, man, It was fun those those
27:42
Speaker 8: days that we were together there in New York.
27:44
Speaker 9: For sure, I can confirm that he's got some fancy
27:47
Speaker 9: shoes on with no ankle brace, so he's good to go.
27:50
Speaker 9: And one last thing, Joe, when you said that Todd
27:54
Speaker 9: is a really good hitter, our chat just went crazy
27:57
Speaker 9: with how great of a hitter was he says, all
27:59
Speaker 9: of very good, good, he was a great it.
28:01
Speaker 8: Was a good hit. Or you know, Todd was one
28:03
Speaker 8: of those guys back to ball skills. You know, I
28:06
Speaker 8: remember Todd that there was this swing where it was
28:09
Speaker 8: like ass out and he put the barrel there and
28:12
Speaker 8: the ball on the right field seats like toe had
28:14
Speaker 8: a way to grind up bats. He was super competitor
28:18
Speaker 8: and I always appreciate, you know, how hard he went
28:21
Speaker 8: and how how hard he played the game, so I've
28:24
Speaker 8: always had a lot of respect for the way he
28:25
Speaker 8: went about his business.
28:26
Speaker 9: Well, we also appreciate you very much too for joining us.
28:30
Speaker 9: Good luck to you the rest of the season, and
28:33
Speaker 9: hope see again. Yeah you got it, man, I'm so
28:36
Speaker 9: excited to actually have a picture here that matters. We've
28:40
Speaker 9: all had starting pictures or we're planning on talking to
28:42
Speaker 9: starting pictures. We got a closer here, Josh Hater, one
28:45
Speaker 9: of the best in the game. Josh, thank you for
28:47
Speaker 9: joining us. How you feeling about it? Good?
28:48
Speaker 12: I appreciate you having us. What's up fellas on the
28:51
Speaker 12: other side. Good to see y'all and I feel good.
28:55
Speaker 12: So just building back, recovering from a little setback, but
28:58
Speaker 12: all great news.
29:00
Speaker 11: Bumping up into be low. So you know, I can't
29:03
Speaker 11: complain about.
29:03
Speaker 13: This, brother, I said it before you came on. You're
29:06
Speaker 13: putting your earpiece on. I don't think you used the
29:09
Speaker 13: word brother on TV, but I need to hear you
29:12
Speaker 13: just use this sentence because you when you're playing in
29:15
Speaker 13: the clubhouse with Hater, he's always like, you know what, brother,
29:19
Speaker 13: when I throw a Wrigley Park, you know when I
29:22
Speaker 13: throw a Wrigley Field man, I just feel like I
29:25
Speaker 13: can throw a little bit harder. So let me hear it.
29:28
Speaker 11: Brother, Yeah, that's facts. Yeah, that's facts, Brothers.
29:34
Speaker 13: That's stricken outdoors right there. I hated to see you
29:38
Speaker 13: go down last year. I you know, you have an
29:40
Speaker 13: affinity for certain guys you played with, and I don't
29:44
Speaker 13: cheer for teams anymore. I cheer for players, and you're
29:46
Speaker 13: one of the guys I cheer for. When you went
29:49
Speaker 13: down last year, knowing you, how long were you dealing
29:52
Speaker 13: with it? Because I have a hard time believing that
29:55
Speaker 13: you were like, uh oh something hurts, Okay, I'm down.
29:58
Speaker 13: Knowing you fighting through things? How long did you fight
30:01
Speaker 13: through anything before you actually had to go on the IL.
30:05
Speaker 12: Man, you'd be surprised. It was literally right after it
30:07
Speaker 12: was the next day after that outing in New York.
30:10
Speaker 12: I felt some I felt something and then kind of
30:12
Speaker 12: just went through it, and uh, Sunday got hot.
30:17
Speaker 11: Got I think it was like the eighth It was
30:20
Speaker 11: a seventh.
30:20
Speaker 12: Inning and then the eighth inning, and then you know,
30:23
Speaker 12: went back Monday and I was like, yeah, some still
30:25
Speaker 12: doesn't feel right. So when you got all checked out, yeah, man,
30:30
Speaker 12: it was uh, it was a weird one for me obviously,
30:33
Speaker 12: I've never never gone through injuries, so yeah, that was
30:37
Speaker 12: a that was difficult for me, not to finish out
30:40
Speaker 12: a year.
30:41
Speaker 9: So Josh, obviously you'd want to be ready for opening day.
30:44
Speaker 9: But in your mind, is there a time frame like
30:47
Speaker 9: if you can get in the game anytime soon or
30:50
Speaker 9: are we just going to take it as it goes?
30:52
Speaker 12: Yeah, we're trying to take it, you know, day by
30:55
Speaker 12: day obviously, but you know, we kind of schedule out
30:57
Speaker 12: week by week and and see how I'm recovering, and
31:00
Speaker 12: it's it's easy to give yourself a timeline, but you
31:04
Speaker 12: also don't want any setbacks to rush to a timeline.
31:06
Speaker 12: So we're definitely progressing in a great way. And you know,
31:10
Speaker 12: that's all we can ever ask for, is uh, you know,
31:12
Speaker 12: recover well, continue to build out that velocity in the volume,
31:16
Speaker 12: and we're we're at that point, so it's all it's
31:19
Speaker 12: all great.
31:19
Speaker 11: News on our front.
31:21
Speaker 13: Who pushes harder? You or the trainers? Are they the
31:25
Speaker 13: ones that pull the rains back? Do you have to
31:27
Speaker 13: pull the rains back or is that you know, is
31:31
Speaker 13: it completely fifty to fifty?
31:34
Speaker 12: I think it's about the same. I mean, obviously you
31:36
Speaker 12: know how it goes. It's not how you starts, how
31:37
Speaker 12: you finish. And you know, the last thing you want
31:40
Speaker 12: to do is rush into a season, get hurt, and
31:42
Speaker 12: then be out for the rest of the season.
31:44
Speaker 9: You know.
31:44
Speaker 12: For me, I'm not a guy that really talks about surgery,
31:48
Speaker 12: not saying that's on the table. But if you push
31:50
Speaker 12: something to to its limit without being ready, you have
31:54
Speaker 12: the chance to do that. And obviously that's not in
31:56
Speaker 12: my case. But you never know what the game of baseball.
31:58
Speaker 12: Throwing too much and too quickly could could, you know,
32:03
Speaker 12: set something back. So for me, it's just trying to
32:05
Speaker 12: be smart, trying to be you know, obviously they're as
32:08
Speaker 12: quick as possible, but also to be able to have
32:10
Speaker 12: the longevity to be there at the end of the season.
32:14
Speaker 10: I want to talk a little about the Weeds, about
32:16
Speaker 10: the team here a little bit. In spring training, you know,
32:17
Speaker 10: it's fun times. You get to see different people, You
32:20
Speaker 10: get to see younger guys too as well. Besides the
32:23
Speaker 10: squad you got going on. Is there anybody in spring
32:25
Speaker 10: right now that you're seeing, you know, maybe pitching wise
32:28
Speaker 10: or hitting wise, that you're like, oh man, that either
32:31
Speaker 10: that sounds different or you know, the pop of the glove.
32:33
Speaker 10: There's somebody that we should be looking, you know too
32:36
Speaker 10: in the upcoming year here there might help the squad out.
32:40
Speaker 11: Man, you know how it is.
32:42
Speaker 12: You're gonna need everybody, and this year we got a
32:44
Speaker 12: lot of arms. I think that's the fun part is
32:46
Speaker 12: seeing all the guys that are coming here and throwing. Specifically,
32:52
Speaker 12: I don't have a guy that like really stands out
32:54
Speaker 12: to me. But at the end of the day, I mean,
32:55
Speaker 12: we got a lot of great arms here and it's
32:57
Speaker 12: fun to watch them, you know. One the forty really,
33:02
Speaker 12: I feel like we've got a lot of arms and
33:05
Speaker 12: they're all really good.
33:06
Speaker 5: You know.
33:06
Speaker 12: I haven't really been able to sit down and watch games,
33:09
Speaker 12: you know, I've been watching some sim games and bullpens,
33:12
Speaker 12: but uh, you know, it's it's a little bit different
33:14
Speaker 12: when you get out in the game. So I'm gonna
33:16
Speaker 12: have to, uh, you know, definitely catch a couple of
33:18
Speaker 12: games and see how these guys are going.
33:21
Speaker 9: So Josh, as a former closer, I'm always intrigued in
33:24
Speaker 9: talking to current closers in their prep for each game,
33:29
Speaker 9: not mental or physical prep, Like what do you do
33:33
Speaker 9: the first six or seven innings? Are you hanging out
33:35
Speaker 9: in the bullpen. Are you hanging out in the clubhouse still?
33:38
Speaker 9: What's your kind of your routine every day?
33:41
Speaker 5: Sure?
33:41
Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean for me, it's it's the same thing pregame.
33:46
Speaker 12: You know, once we get first pitch, I'm inside getting
33:51
Speaker 12: my stretch ready, getting my activation ready, and then go
33:54
Speaker 12: out about the fourth inning and probably give or take
33:58
Speaker 12: an inning, inning and a half, mess around with the guys.
34:01
Speaker 12: Obviously they got to lock in a little bit earlier,
34:04
Speaker 12: and then you know, around the six I'm back to
34:07
Speaker 12: more activation and getting the body prepared, and you know,
34:10
Speaker 12: hopefully by the eighth inning, I'm I'm getting ready to
34:13
Speaker 12: get warmed up.
34:16
Speaker 13: What about your walkout? Now you got hurt for the
34:19
Speaker 13: first time. I don't know if they had. They must
34:20
Speaker 13: have had kryptonite wherever you got hurt, because that's the
34:23
Speaker 13: only way you beat Superman. But yeah, do you have
34:26
Speaker 13: to change your walk out because you know you're now
34:29
Speaker 13: you're getting Are you getting into like Mowana like kids
34:32
Speaker 13: movie walk out?
34:33
Speaker 7: Stage?
34:34
Speaker 13: Like what's your what's the Are you gonna have the
34:37
Speaker 13: same walk out this year?
34:39
Speaker 11: Yeah?
34:39
Speaker 12: Same walkout so far. I've been thinking about changing that.
34:42
Speaker 12: I just don't have anything to top that. That's that's
34:44
Speaker 12: the tricky part.
34:45
Speaker 11: Like you can't go to a new song and not
34:48
Speaker 11: be better than the song you had.
34:49
Speaker 12: Before, because then you disappoint the fans. And uh so
34:54
Speaker 12: that's where I'm at right now. So sticking to Fireman
34:57
Speaker 12: one more year. Last year's I think I'm change it.
35:00
Speaker 12: Maria thinks I should write it all the way through.
35:03
Speaker 12: So if you guys want to do a poll, maybe,
35:06
Speaker 12: uh maybe give me some suggestions on on some some
35:09
Speaker 12: banger songs.
35:10
Speaker 9: Well we're just saying in our little chat, maybe you
35:13
Speaker 9: should start a poll see what the fans want you
35:15
Speaker 9: to play.
35:15
Speaker 11: Yeah, that's good option.
35:18
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean you can.
35:19
Speaker 9: You can probably reach a lot of a lot of
35:20
Speaker 9: fans there in Houston to pick a song.
35:22
Speaker 11: I'd be excited to hear that.
35:24
Speaker 9: When you mentioned messing around at the bullpen for a
35:27
Speaker 9: little bit until the guys other guys have to get ready.
35:30
Speaker 1: Anything you can tell us that you do to.
35:31
Speaker 12: Mess around or we just talked shop man, you know,
35:34
Speaker 12: just whatever's going on that day. You know, we're around
35:38
Speaker 12: each other for a long time. Some inside jokes you know,
35:41
Speaker 12: pop up or just random things like that. Nothing really
35:44
Speaker 12: specific on on our front. But uh, you know, you know,
35:47
Speaker 12: it's just, uh, it can be a lot down there,
35:50
Speaker 12: especially if you're in every single pitch, every single time,
35:54
Speaker 12: every game. So you know, you got to relax a
35:57
Speaker 12: little bit for you know, a couple of innings until
35:59
Speaker 12: you have to really turn it.
36:00
Speaker 8: On all right.
36:03
Speaker 5: Got to ask this.
36:04
Speaker 13: I asked a lot of people this, what's your least
36:07
Speaker 13: favorite part of spring training? O, nobody's listening, nobody's listening
36:15
Speaker 13: to the organization.
36:17
Speaker 11: You can say whatever.
36:18
Speaker 5: It's a safe place, you know.
36:20
Speaker 12: Honestly, I don't like I don't like the night games
36:23
Speaker 12: personally at spring training. I like getting in, getting in early,
36:28
Speaker 12: getting my days done, and being home by like one o'clock,
36:33
Speaker 12: get to hang out with the family.
36:35
Speaker 11: That's kind of that's kind of my go to.
36:37
Speaker 12: I like, I like prepping early because the night games
36:40
Speaker 12: you get here at like twelve o'clock and you're here
36:42
Speaker 12: till about seven o'clock, and you're like, that's a long day.
36:45
Speaker 11: Days wasted.
36:49
Speaker 9: Can you can you tell us your favorite and least
36:52
Speaker 9: favorite bullpens.
36:54
Speaker 12: Oh, it depends on the time of year. I mean,
36:58
Speaker 12: if it's cold and you're in Wrigley and it's you're indoors,
37:02
Speaker 12: so you're chilling. That's I mean, in any indoor bullpen
37:06
Speaker 12: is personally my favorite.
37:07
Speaker 11: Philly.
37:08
Speaker 12: Definitely, I love Philly, you know, just because I like
37:12
Speaker 12: I like chirping with the fans. I think that's the
37:14
Speaker 12: best part, because the Philly fans, I mean, if you've
37:17
Speaker 12: ever been in Philly, especially in playoffs, I mean, their
37:19
Speaker 12: fans are ruthless.
37:20
Speaker 11: So for me personally, I think that's that's the fun part.
37:23
Speaker 12: You know, you get some people that are are kind
37:26
Speaker 12: of funny with some with some sly jokes, but the
37:28
Speaker 12: most part, I mean, it's a little bit part of
37:30
Speaker 12: the game. So I feel like when you give it
37:33
Speaker 12: back to them a little bit, they kind of calm down.
37:35
Speaker 12: But probably not after this, but it's it's just fun
37:39
Speaker 12: the least. Uh, I would have to say, well it's
37:42
Speaker 12: not around anymore, but I would say Oakland, but probably
37:45
Speaker 12: sacked now Yeah, so I would say I would say
37:50
Speaker 12: definitely sacked to this point.
37:54
Speaker 13: One of the things being down during the beginning of
37:56
Speaker 13: spring training is you don't get to do the lives
37:58
Speaker 13: against your teammates. Another thing I always ask, who's the
38:02
Speaker 13: one dude on the team where you're like, I kind
38:05
Speaker 13: of wanted to strike him out or like I just
38:07
Speaker 13: it's just it's nice to hold a little bit over
38:09
Speaker 13: him for the entire season.
38:13
Speaker 12: Oh, man, I would have I would have to say
38:17
Speaker 12: cole Man. You know, obviously he came up to the
38:20
Speaker 12: show last year. First pitch, hit hit a tank. I mean,
38:23
Speaker 12: the guy's funny. He if he haven't got to know him,
38:26
Speaker 12: Actually it's kind of it's funny. I just figured this
38:29
Speaker 12: out that he's a he's a drummer. He's uh, he
38:32
Speaker 12: gets after it with Metallica and some some rocks. So
38:36
Speaker 12: it's been fun getting to know him, and obviously I
38:38
Speaker 12: think it would be a good matchup to face him.
38:43
Speaker 7: Hey Josh, I don't think we've had you on since
38:47
Speaker 7: this news happened, but you know your former rep, your
38:50
Speaker 7: former agent, Jeff Berry.
38:51
Speaker 1: He's been on the show a couple of times. You
38:53
Speaker 1: worked with him, pretty pretty pretty opinion. He's fun.
38:57
Speaker 7: What do you what do you think of his little
38:58
Speaker 7: career move he moved over to work with with Posey?
39:01
Speaker 7: What do you think of that whole deal? So a
39:02
Speaker 7: player pretty fresh off the field running the giants. I
39:05
Speaker 7: know it's been about a year now and then bringing
39:07
Speaker 7: an agent on so they're doing things a little unconventional there.
39:10
Speaker 1: But what do you think Jef's bringing to the table?
39:13
Speaker 12: Man, he brings a lot. Obviously, He's he's been around
39:15
Speaker 12: the game a long time. He knows the game really well.
39:18
Speaker 12: He knows both sides, and I think for him, he
39:21
Speaker 12: has a really good player perspective and what guys uh need, what.
39:25
Speaker 11: Guys want, and just the human side of things.
39:29
Speaker 12: I think, you know, in this game, a lot of
39:30
Speaker 12: things get overlooked, uh, and especially the human side of
39:34
Speaker 12: the relationships. So obviously him and uh, him and Busser
39:38
Speaker 12: go way back. So you know, I have that group
39:41
Speaker 12: and see what they're doing. I mean, there's they're sad,
39:43
Speaker 12: They're they're sneaky team man, They're they're quietly uh, you know,
39:47
Speaker 12: adding a lot of good pieces to their puzzle. And
39:51
Speaker 12: you know, especially in that that division over there, it's
39:54
Speaker 12: it's a it's a tough one. It's definitely not easy.
39:56
Speaker 12: So you definitely need the pieces to compete over on
39:58
Speaker 12: that end.
39:59
Speaker 11: So, you know, I'm happy for him.
40:01
Speaker 12: You know, he's he's done a lot of great things
40:03
Speaker 12: for me and just to see him succeed and still
40:06
Speaker 12: stay in the game of baseball, and and have a
40:09
Speaker 12: greater impact obviously, and and you know the front office
40:13
Speaker 12: and obviously the impact a lot of players. So for
40:16
Speaker 12: what they're doing over there, it's it's great stuff.
40:19
Speaker 11: All right.
40:19
Speaker 13: Most random question of the day for you Last year
40:23
Speaker 13: the m v P race went down to a guy
40:25
Speaker 13: you saw all the time in your division, Cal Riley,
40:28
Speaker 13: and Aaron Judge from a closer who faces each of
40:31
Speaker 13: these guys, who do you feel like should have won
40:34
Speaker 13: the MVP award?
40:38
Speaker 12: I mean, Judge, Judge, what he did was insane, obviously,
40:41
Speaker 12: Cal the hommers he put on each and every day
40:44
Speaker 12: doing that in a catcher's position, obviously, you know, it's
40:47
Speaker 12: it's hard to you know, do do that plus perform
40:51
Speaker 12: at the at the plate, and you know, do that
40:54
Speaker 12: consistently with power for both sides. I think that's definitely
40:59
Speaker 12: definitely a hard thing. But you know, for me, you know,
41:02
Speaker 12: the just it's it's just insane to me what what
41:05
Speaker 12: Judge does on.
41:06
Speaker 5: It on a daily basis.
41:08
Speaker 9: That might have been the toughest question you've ever had
41:10
Speaker 9: to ask. Pick the MVPs, right, because it's like, there's
41:14
Speaker 9: what can you say? They're both great? Obviously? Yeah, so well, brother,
41:18
Speaker 9: We are so happy for you. Thank you for stopping by,
41:21
Speaker 9: UH quick recoveries and can't wait to see you. I'm
41:24
Speaker 9: feel appreciate it.
41:24
Speaker 5: Thanks Josh, good to.
41:25
Speaker 11: See you guys. Appreciate you guys having me on