Is Houston's Offense in Trouble? Astros Lose In A Tragic Comeback

Is Houston's Offense in Trouble? Astros Lose In A Tragic Comeback

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Lunchtimers. This is the Matt Thomas Show.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
What the hell was that in Seattle yesterday?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
It was a blatant collapse. I mean, you're a five
to nothing in the eighth inning. You should win. And
I don't know when we can have this discussion. We
can do it right out of the gate. But I
don't care who the manager has to put out there.
They have to hold a five run lead.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, I mean, how do I do this? Delegate? And
I've been thinking about this ever since that had it
happened yesterday, because when the Aspota hate comes out, and
this was this was hate for Dirker, This was hate
for a J. Hinch. This was I don't even count

(00:55):
bull Porter and I don't count Brad Mills. Those don't
even count.

Speaker 4 (00:59):
Well, there was them, in case you were wondering there was.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
There was.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
But and I'm sure every fan base does this when
you go when you go to then I got I
could be very delicate when I say when you go
to the arm manager sucks card when you have a
five nothing lead and you put in bullpen guys who

(01:23):
already are a part of a tax bullpen, because it
is what it is. The offense is you're staying in
these close games. It's just the lowest hanging fruit and
I and I don't really trust your baseball acumen. I
just don't. Now. I have to also preface by saying
I did not see the game yesterday because I was

(01:45):
here in LA and there's obviously they don't I couldn't
go to a sports bar here ross in LA. This
would be a shock to you. They weren't broadcasting A's
Mariners games on TVs all across the Eurea.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Well, it sounds like you were hitting a bar until
about four am.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
I know, kidding. Yeah, allergies have kicked in.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Allergies A wink wing card.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
I see you, matten, I wish, I wish.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
I still look fabulous. I mean serious, I look at
myself at the mirror. I'm like, damn, I'm good looking.
That's a different issue for a different time. So tell me,
was there some massive managerial faux pas?

Speaker 5 (02:19):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (02:19):
I mean you went five nothing? Now you can always
go to the he left the guy in one too many,
which is fair, that happens a lot. But I mean you,
at the end of the day, you had Brian Abrad
you out there, who is your in theory your second
best reliever.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Right, Well, let's go to we can start there, is
that Brian A. Brady with a two run lead, should
be able to close this game down. Yes, against the
Mariners offense. We're talking about one of the worst offenses
in baseball. You have a two run lead with Brian A.
Bray you that should get done. Then I will also
say this, your team left twelve twelve batters on base.

(03:03):
You drew seven walks, you got ten hits. You could
have scored easily double digit runs. Twelve men left on
base four for thirteen with runners in scoring position. So
let's start there. Yep, four for thirteen isn't terrible, but

(03:23):
it was all I believe. It was mostly singles. So, uh,
you had one extra base hit the hole.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Double pen is double. That's it. You're not You're not
tearing the cover off the ball man. It's just flat
out it is. You're you're going station to station and
you're heart of your lineup order. Yesterday, I mean Christian Walker.
We're fans, we loved him, we've talked to him in Florida.
But he's not batting his weight and that's a problem.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
I'm trying to figure out who is batting their weight?
Is Parado is two thirty four, that's what he's hitting.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
In today's edition of Who's that bad their weight? Al
two weight not betting his weight. He's way a good
way above his weight. Parretti's U two thirty four.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
He's listed at two thirteen.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
He looks he looks healthy, so.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
He's betting his weight. About Alvarez Walker one four six,
Paya one eighty six.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
No, he's listened to two O two.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Caroteny two eleven.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
I'm gonna say no without looking.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
Aaron Rodgers, Brendan, Brendan Rodgers, What Aaron Rodgers you did?
I'm sorry, Brendan Rodgers.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
I'll tell you who is hitting their weight? Woooo Jake
the Rake Myers.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
You're so excited about a guy with an OPS seven
or nine that that makes that one man.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
The fan club has to see these moments when they're there,
because when he goes one for fifteen, we're gonna hear it.
So we have to take what we can get when
we get it.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
All right, Cam Smith has two more hits yesterday. That's good.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
He's sitting two hundred. That's probably not his weight. He's
he is a a giant his old machine.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, the ops is five sixty six. That's not great.
That's so strained by the way him bat ninth yesterday.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
Okay, but the big quibbles that people had with Joe Aspota,
which I understand, why leave Louise Contreras out there for
another inning? Jo'spotta was asked that after the game. His
answer was, I wanted to go to Okurt and then
a bray you. He wanted to make sure that a
bray you at any point did not have to get
more than three outs. They were trying to preserve they're

(05:27):
trying to preserve arms. So with a five run lead,
Louis Contrera's journey in that he may be he should
be able to preserve a five run lead.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, and he did not.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
And then Okert was also, I mean, he wasn't perfect either,
and Steve Okert came in and then guess what, at
the end of the day, you add it all up.
So's a concert Contraras and Okert like people were acting
like we're talking about LYDG. Dotel Wagner here. They did
their job enough to where a Briana bray You should

(06:07):
be able to hold a two run lead against one
of the worst offenses in baseball, and you could say, oh,
why didn't they go to Logan van Way. Why didn't
they go to this Logan van Way.

Speaker 4 (06:16):
This is who the fans are saying.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
It was managing malepractice that that Joe Spotted did not
go to Logan van Way.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, you sound stupid. I don't want. I don't and
I hope it's not our audience. I hope there are
people driving around town this morning going, man, I couldn't
believe when I went on social media with the dumbasses
that are out there. Five nothing against a woefully below
average offense. The Astros sucked, the bullpen suck yesterday and

(06:45):
the reality is this ross. I don't if you if
we got on the plane with a spot up and
we were going with him from West Palm Beach to Houston.
Remember those two games they had with the Space Cowboys
before the season started. You know, he was shaking his
head about a couple of things. All right. Number one,
are we really doing the right thing here by putting

(07:06):
Brian cam Smith up on the roster right away? That
was probably the first thing on his mind. The second
thing is how long are we going to keep out
tubing and leftfield. Is this really going to be a mess.
And the third thing was what the hell is my bullpen?
Because it was very much up in doubt up until
the last couple of days of spring training. So trust me,

(07:29):
when everybody jumped on that plane to come from spring
training to Houston, no one was beating this chest over
this bullpen. They just weren't. You had a bray you
for the eighth and you had uh, you've got hater
for the ninth and Hater was down. Yeah, and everybody
else that was wigging out about get Ryan Pressy out
of here. You can't get out.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
So I'm sorry, Van Why, I'm sorry, I've been corrected
by our baseball expert, whatever his name is. That's the thing.
The dude's barely on the roster. He has not pitched.
Everybody's like, oh, Brian, you gotta go with Brian King
and Van Why and Taylor or nobody wants Taylor Scott
right now, which, by the way, he was one of
their better relievers last year, even though things can go
well in the second half. But Steven Oker, like, come on, seriously,

(08:12):
listen to yourself. You're clamoring for for thirty three year
old journeyman Steve okerd had an ERA over five last
year with the with the Twins, and you're saying this
is the lockdown guy that a spot is blowing it
because this guy's not pitching.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yep. So thank god Ross, we don't have those nut
jobs that have no grasp of how really below averages
bullpen is joining the show today, correct?

Speaker 3 (08:43):
I mean we can argue and the day before going
to Taylor Scott when he did look, I will hear
an argument on that again. I will just say that
Taylor Scott should have got the job done. And oh,
by the way, they still won that game. That to
me is way more of an argument than saying, oh
the man.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
Joe a spot of blew this.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
They were all five nothing in the eighth five nothing
in the eighth end of story.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
And if you can't do that, you've got massive problems
more than what it is. I mean, think about it.
If you're if you're in Joe's shoes today, are you like,
what am I gonna do? Because the bullpen? I mean,
you talk about a horrendous week. Now. Granted they did
win the Game of the twelfth a couple of days back.
So that was good, but that just shows you you
took an average bullpen at best, and you've worn him out.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
You could he could have put Rafael Montero, even though
he's off the team now, Rafael Montaro could have parachuted
from the plane to Atlanta and got in that game
with a five nothing lead and he should have held it.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, and please tell me nobody on Twitter is like
Astros made the wrong move by selling, by selling sent
in Monto.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
No, I don't think anybody did that, but I had
to just mute like five conversations yesterday. Bottom line, five
nothing eighth inning. You could put a position player out
there five nothing in the eighth inning and it should
get done.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yep. It's bad, embarrassing, absolutely embarrassing. Now. Granted, nobody in
this division is crushing it, so it's not like you're going,
oh my god, this is going to come back and haunt,
but not exactly the way you want to spend a
four hour flight coming back from Seattle to have to
sit on that bad boy. Five nothing. All right, I'm
here in Los Angeles. It's funny. We were just I've

(10:24):
got a buddy of mine ed with me on this trip.
And we were just talking about allergies and how I've
been able to knock on wood get avoided. And then
yesterday I started to you know, you know how you
if I say this is going to be on the
tomorrow show, you get a tickle in your throat three
two one, clip it. Go ahead and do whatever you're
going to do.

Speaker 4 (10:44):
You've got it.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
You've got a tickle in your throat, Matt, I do
have a tickle on my throat.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
What's in there? Just spit it out.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Drainage called the game.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
So drainage got down your throat and now you have
a tickle.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
This is why we can't have nice things.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
I'm asked, I'm asking you a question. I'm not doing anything.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
So the tickle became a full scratch hmm.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
And then that's when the gagging starts.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
I haven't gagged yet. It is ten o'clock in the morning, guys,
I know, I know. I can't get on with this
conversation fast.

Speaker 4 (11:26):
You're talking about your your your allergies.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Correct, So the allergies are the pillar is in, and.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
The pill is in, and you fell a tickle in
your throat. I'm just asking Pleice.

Speaker 2 (11:42):
Houston, can you come rescue me. This is what I
have to deal with with Ross viller Reale.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
What I do.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
The thing is when I get ready to say things,
I know what's going to be clipped, and I just
know how do I avoid what would be a much
safer way for me to say, I have a tickle
on my throat. There isn't one.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
No, you got to tickle in your throat?

Speaker 2 (12:05):
All right, the show has gone to hell. I need
more of you and definitely less of me, and certainly
almost know of Ross.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
The mad time of show with no of Ross.

Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, mctaggar at eleven o'clock, Uh, we have I just
don't get at eleven thirty. Then it was a new
Why did we do gut feelings on Tuesday? Was I
just comatose? Is that the reason why.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
I don't remember what?

Speaker 6 (12:30):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (12:30):
That's right, Yeah it was the post Uh it was
post University of Houston Cougar's choke in the championship. So oh,
we took a lot of stops. Oh, I'm sorry. We
were talking about tickles and throats.

Speaker 2 (12:41):
And choking seriously, so we're gonna have we're moving gut feelings.

Speaker 4 (12:47):
I gave it twenty four hours before I use that
word really, Matt.

Speaker 2 (12:50):
Thanks, thanks Ross. And now we were they were like
three days away. So now I can say thinking about it.
You were thinking about it as soon as it happened.
I know how you roll.

Speaker 3 (12:58):
Yeah, so I gave you a little time. I let
you grieve, and now we can beat talking realities and
talk about that Cougar's gag job.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety seven
one three two one two five seven ninety Please call me,
just talk to me. I don't want to talk to Ross.
Jonathan probably is on my blank list too. I'm just
saying just I'd rather talk to you, Houston than talk
to these lunatics back in Houston. Seven one three two
one two five seven ninety seven one three two one

(13:27):
two five seven ninety. Time is the ten twenty two.
I'm here in the La Ross is back in Houston.
It is the Matt Thomas shild Ross. We are with
you today until two pm. Brian mctacket's gonna join us
in about forty minutes. I just don't get it. Got
feelings a special What is today Thirday? I don't even
know what day it is, Thursday edition of the show.

Speaker 3 (13:46):
It's Thursday. Okay, it's but it's my Friday. I'm off Friday.
You're gonna be off tomorrow and day later. I'm already
vacation mode.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
Matt by Robert Ford is going to join the show tomorrow.
No way. Let me give you the guest list. That's
the show. You're gonna hear from Robert Ford and Craig
Ackerman and Imadoka and me wow and non Florida stories.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
And I mean it's just gonna be Yeah.

Speaker 4 (14:14):
My shoes are that big to fill.

Speaker 2 (14:15):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
I really appreciate. I want to compliment.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, how did you guys have a good time at
Big City Wings? We did have a great time at
Big City Wings. Thanks to all the folks that came out.
We gave away a couple of four packs to tickets,
We gained some new listeners. We had some of our
good friends that we know and love come by as well.
Good good, can I tell you? And this has been
And I'm in a little bit of a of a
weird spot here because between the final four and all

(14:40):
my rocket stuff, I kind of I mean I missed
the astros a little bit. I mean I didn't get
the good opening day because I was on the road,
and look, I hope the Rockets are in deep long
playoff run, but I haven't really had a chance to
sink my teeth into them. And I've had to rely
basically on or national games I've had on and highlights
and whatnot. Of course, I listened to Robert and Eve
all the time when I can. I'm just not gonna.

(15:04):
I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna count anything right now.
I'm just not. I don't. I just I mean five nothing.
Yesterday sucked. It is what it is. I mean, I
don't know else.

Speaker 3 (15:12):
Yeah, there's no Look, it's one out of one sixty two,
and it feels like we're kind of can we just
replay shows from last year?

Speaker 4 (15:17):
Matt, It's not that bad.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
I literally feel like this is and this is the
God's honest truth. And I'm not gonna. I'm not speaking
to I think most of our audience. I'm just telling
you when you know, like, we take a bus from
our bus from Beverly Hills to Englewood last night for
the Rockets Clippers game, and traffic in La sucks. So
I'm I'm on it's a fifty minute drive. It's like
nine miles for fifty minutes. It's that bad. So I'm

(15:41):
on my phone and people are just wigging, and I'm like,
I feel like every April we do this and that,
and that part of that goes to the passion of
the astros in this community, which is great and thank
god it is because we need passion in sports. But
the part of it is when are we going to go? Man,
that was awful and that was a game they should

(16:02):
have won. But this fire, this guy fire, this guy
Dana sucks me and James. There's some dumbass on Twitter
asking for James click to come back. I mean, are
we really gonna Hey, I'm gonna have that little of
an IQ?

Speaker 3 (16:16):
Hey, James, good these years, all these years.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
We haven't gotten our IQ's up a little bit.

Speaker 3 (16:22):
No, it's not even that, it's not even necessarily. I mean,
maybe part of it is the IQs, Matt, but it's
the short memory. Because you can have somebody that is unintelligent,
but they can learn things, right, you can. Intelligence to
me is a lot of problem solving, figure figuring things
out and and all that type of stuff. But you
should all of us have memory banks. This happened last year.

(16:45):
This nobody talked about nary a person. Probably that was
that's calling for Joe's body to be fired? Now was
calling for Joe's body to be fired. When the Astros
rallied to win the AL West, you know why, they
were talking about how great the players are. So we
continue to have this short memory that when the players
do their job, no one talks about the manager. No

(17:07):
one If Briana Bray you can hold a two run
lead against a horrible Mariners offense. I don't think anybody's
calling for Joe Spotted to be fired. Like, how do
we have this short memory? We don't remember? We literally
went through this last year. We went through this with
Dusty Baker. You've gone through this your whole baseballing life,
even if you're fifteen years old. Remember we're not asking

(17:27):
you to remember when you were an infant. Remember last year.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
Dusty Warrett, aj Warrett Joe's wearing.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
I mean.

Speaker 4 (17:42):
Again, we can argue, okay, it should have been Steven.

Speaker 3 (17:44):
Okert instead of like say that out loud, I want
the manager fired because he did not pitch Steven Okert.
Come on, man, I like Okurt, he's been good, but
they're all nice people. Three year old journeyman. He's in
his like fourth or fifth organization.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yeah, and let's face it, the last two years the
Astros have done things in the deadline. If they're hanging
around in this division. And remember if, if, if, the
bullpen is the biggest achilles heo for this baseball team,
which again we're looking at a still son a small
sample size here. If it is, nothing is going to be,
but it could be. You can go get relievers of

(18:26):
the trade deadline. They can be they can be picked
up very, very easily. You're not necessarily looking for Josh
Hatter two point zho. You're looking for just arms. And
I guarantee you and I don't know the minor league
system at all. I got we were all busy people.
But my guess is that you know, again, if you

(18:46):
think I'm maybe I'm just that blank crazy. But if
Lance mccullors continues to rehab.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
Himself, well oh let's go.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
Yes, I'm still telling you I would put them in
the bullpen. Just oh, I know I'm by myself on that.
I know I am.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
I apologize, it's not happening. You're not by yourself. There's
a lot of people that think that but it's not happening. Okay,
he walks everybody.

Speaker 4 (19:10):
He walks too many guys to come out.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
But you're using a sample size of four years ago.

Speaker 3 (19:15):
I mean, I mean, I'm okay, all of a sudden,
he's gonna get better control after major surgery. Yeah, okay, Yeah,
it's gonna be like he's rooking up the year. He's
the Henry rowing Gardner of the Astros organization, except what control?

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Instead of oh no, you don't know, you don't know,
he's more mature.

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Okay, I'm just saying, he's making eighteen million dollars a year,
you better be a one of the best relievers in
baseball or be a starter.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
Let me tell you eighteen million dollars a year at
this point when he hasn't played in a couple of years.
I want him to do anything to help the team,
and if it's best served to be a you know,
a guy twice a week, I'm.

Speaker 3 (19:47):
Okay, who do you want starting with good spending for
the weekend or Lance mccullor's junior. Who Yeah, Ryan Gusto
is starting on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
They need to He's been good, right.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
I know some people weren't worried about the starting pitching depth.
But I but I think Gallance McKellar's junior would would
fit nicely into the starting rotation. See, if he's healthy
and good to go.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
We gotta get Ronew Blanco going again. But I mean
the Hunter Brown was awesome yesterday, right, Yeah, he was.
And we don't have to talk about what happened after that.
But I mean the Astros bullpen helped out. When you
go twelve innings, something going to go.

Speaker 3 (20:18):
Right, right, Absolutely, they gave it one run in twelve innings.
And by the way, and people wanted a Spotify or
yeah that day too for what for putting Taylor Scott in?
They gave up one run in twelve innings. Yeah, that's
where we are right now. Please just win win games,
Astros win games.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
You know, Here's what I'm definitely afraid of, is this
how rocket Twitter is going to become playoff time.

Speaker 7 (20:46):
Firing.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
If we lose a playoff games, it's it's gonna be fired.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
It was happening. It was happening in the middle of
the of the season. People are like, Uduka has gotta go.
That's pretty funny. I mean, we were talking about the
all time levels of stupidity, and then that called me
a journalist. That was fun too.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
You were and you're definitely not a journal Oh god, no, Lord,
you're the last thing I would consider it.

Speaker 4 (21:06):
Next time I break news will be the first time, Maddie, you.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Don't even know. You don't even know what news is.

Speaker 3 (21:10):
I do not news. It noon, coming up here on
Sports Talk seven ninety Yeah.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
It's a poor job. Seven one three two one two
five seven ninety seven one three two one two five
seven ninety If you want to join us here on
the radio program seventy three two one two five seven,
and we promise we're taking calls next here on the show.
All right, let's go to the phones. Ten thirty four,
Sports Talk seven ninety seven one three two one two

(21:35):
five seven ninety Israel, Line two at ten thirty five, Israel.
Good morning.

Speaker 5 (21:42):
Hold up, man, hey, it was it's the middle of
the pitching man the pitching. The starters are great, just
like last year. Even like last year they start off
like twelve and twenty five. It amazes me how y'all
bring up Cam. I really don't think y'all like how
dain to move Cam up on Joe? And I think
Joe doing a great job. I think Joe don't throwing.

Speaker 8 (22:04):
His players under the bus. He understands, and of course
there's a disappointment. He know what happened yesterday was a travesy.
He knowing, But when he have his fresh conscience, he's not.
I know it's y'all job to get ratings and things
in that nature. But Cam is doing a great job.
Y'all talking about he's gonna even be up to field. Yeah,
he's feeling real good and two hundred for a rookie

(22:25):
bat nine. I think he's holding his weight and he's
not going down, and that's what y'all really want.

Speaker 3 (22:31):
And suns and shut up.

Speaker 2 (22:35):
That's stupid. You're stupid. That's a stupid call. That's a stupid,
stupid take. That's a really dumb, dumb take. First of all,
we are huge Cam Smith fans. Big we met the
kid multiple times. We're huge fans. And the reality is
he's a baby. The reality is he's seeing major league

(22:58):
pitching for the first time in his entire life. The
reality is ten months ago, he was hanging out with
his girl in in uh Tallahassee, Florida, and his mediodic
mediodic rise is phenomenal, but he's not the reason why
the team is, you know, playing about five hundred baseball.
I'm not saying that. I don't even know where this

(23:18):
is going.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
We even mentioned cam Smith, well, I mean we we
went there the list. He's not hitting his weights.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
I mean, I don't think when the Astros were thinking
about bringing him up they were gonna put him in
as a nine hole hitter. But they're trying to figure
out a space for him. It's gotta, he's gotta, He's
gonna go through some growing paints.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, Jake Myers said, take a back seat, Buco stop.

Speaker 4 (23:40):
You're you can hit my weight too, all right, I'm
just kidding.

Speaker 3 (23:44):
By the way, Look, Camp cam Smith, the reality is
all those realities you said, Matt another reality. He was
rushed up and they're looking for lightning in a bottle.
They needed something there. Look, Chas McCormick is just a guy.
It is what it is at this point, and they
were looking for cam Smith to be more than just
a guy. And it's early and he still can be.
But he also has been struggling. But he's got five

(24:05):
hits now. One extravation.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
The triple was phenomenal. Got to yesterday. The kid's give
me a great mage leaguer. I feel it.

Speaker 3 (24:13):
Oh you can feel it.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
I like it. I can feel it. But man, I mean,
you know, he's still got to He's got he's gonna
have to go through some growing paints like everybody does.
I mean, hell, we brought Ross up at the big
time in Houston many years ago. It took him like
five or six years. I finally begin again. Except in
the Houston marketplace.

Speaker 3 (24:34):
Uh, that's not what I was hearing on the streets.
By the way, multiple people at Big City Wings telling
me to keep giving you grief, Matt, so for what
just for being you? So I gotta keep doing it.
That's what the people need.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
All right. No, this is not Cam.

Speaker 3 (24:51):
Cam Smith is gonna be a fine. At what point
is he gonna be fine remains to be seen.

Speaker 2 (24:57):
But I I would mean it would be safe to
say that when they brought Cam up, they didn't expect
him to be the ninth place hitter. That's all. That's
all we were saying. That's it. And my guess is
when Cam goes through the major leagues and learns, you know,
and gets an idea of what it's like he's gonna
not be the ninth place hitter. My guess is hopeful
that he'll be a middle of the lineup hitter, just
like you know, the way he was crushing the ball

(25:20):
in spring training and deserved the opportunity.

Speaker 3 (25:22):
Yeah, he got the two days off Sunday and Monday,
and then since then he's got an RBI triple and
then he had two hits yesterday.

Speaker 2 (25:29):
Yeah, yeah, I just yeah, this is not about Cam
at all. We were just bringing up Cam. I think
Israel might be in Cam Smith's family. He's been calling
us a lot about Cam Smith lately. Well, I don't
know what it is. It's just I just can't handle it.
In Israel's takes are usually pretty bad.

Speaker 4 (25:47):
So I you know, thanks for the call, Israel, Thanks
for the call.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
Listen.

Speaker 3 (25:52):
We well you're not paying listening, but maybe not paying attention.
We don't hate Cam Smith. I don't want him demoted.
I want him up. You think I want Cam Smith
or Matt Man. I know you, I can I think
I can speak for you on this one. You don't
want Cam Smith demoted. That means he's struggling. That means
it's more dubon and McCormick in the outfield. I want
Cam Smith to thrive.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I don't. I if Camp is here, which again
you and I had, you know, a good debate about
might as well succeed. I don't want him to come
up here and look lost and over match and I
don't think. I mean, it's gonna take time. Their flot.
The Astros philosophy was, you know, he had a good spring,
He's got tremendous potential and Muswell run on the fly.

(26:33):
That happens, it does mm hm. So you know, I'm okay,
he'll be fine, and I'm rooting for him and the guy.
I mean, if there's you know, if we're looking for
young heroes and sports, that cat's got it.

Speaker 7 (26:52):
H me.

Speaker 2 (26:52):
He's he's built like again, he could crush us like
a great number one, uh huh, number two, million dollar smile,
million dollars smile, loves when his mom shows up. Can't
go wrong with that. And four, by the way, the
Astros said, hey, we know you had never played a
liquor right field, but we're gonna give you like two
weeks to figure it out in spring training and the
we're gonna put you in the Major leagues and he's.

Speaker 3 (27:11):
Sure, Yeah, he's making five star catches out there. He
did it. I think it was in the first ending
what twoting a couple of games ago, along with Jake Myerst.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
Yeah, seven one three two one two five seven ninety
seven one three two one two. Got a nice tweeting
from somebody, and I'm trying to respond him. Apparently is
Twitter down because I can't respond to him. Uh, I
am having issue? Well that would be it should be
independent of you. I'm having Wi Fi issues right now

(27:39):
here in the studio. But it looks like looks like
it's working for me. Okay.

Speaker 3 (27:46):
By the way, quick rundown mat of the team ops
leaders in baseball? You want to guess where the astros are?

Speaker 2 (27:51):
No, I don't, Okay, I don't need to do that.

Speaker 3 (27:53):
No, thanks, They're dead last, worse than the White Sox
and Pirates.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
Stop.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
So I just said a fact.

Speaker 9 (28:02):
I know.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
That's why I thank got them all have time to
look at the astros like you do. I'm busy watching
these number two seed Rockets and calling Nate Williams and
Nefale Dante games.

Speaker 3 (28:11):
Against the Clippers. Well, do you want the positive spin?

Speaker 2 (28:14):
I would hope. So you know, you know, I got
a positive spin for you. The Astros are three and
a half out of first place. They're five and seven.

Speaker 3 (28:20):
I mean, come on, they're five and seven. Yeah, with
the worst offense in baseball, it is going to get better.
There is not a single team in the American League
West with a positive run differential. Again, as was the
case last year, if the Astros are just good enough
to beat the rest of the crappy West, they're gonna
be totally fine in the playoffs with a good rotation
and hopefully some bats that can hit.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, just like last year, and not every year is
repeats itself. I get it.

Speaker 3 (28:49):
I understand it could be like last year, but you
actually beat the Tigers. I mean, if you get Christian
Walker's back going at any point, you're gonna be in
really good Shait will get going, Jordon will get going.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
Yeah, it's such a bad mood. I'm not I'm not
in a bad mood. Now.

Speaker 3 (29:08):
You blow a five run lead and in the eighth,
nobody's gonna be happy.

Speaker 2 (29:13):
No, I wouldn't think. So let me see if I
can find this, guys. I wonder if you got rid
of it. Oh, here we go. This is from at
Steven five eight seven four six.

Speaker 3 (29:23):
Nine four eight sounds legit.

Speaker 2 (29:27):
Shut the f up opinion aided ass click was better
than what we have now and the astros. When you
start calling people idiots over the line, if your punk
skinny white ass.

Speaker 3 (29:39):
Wow, he.

Speaker 4 (29:42):
Sounds like that guy wants to throw hands.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
Man, that's fine.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
Now we got an internet tough guy. He'd be super
nice when Eat Fool was all like, Man, I love
the show, appreciate appreciate it. I appreciate you listen all
the time. Man, you're await You're amazing. And you know
I can't retwigg He just blocked me too. That's the
reason why stands down on it.

Speaker 2 (29:58):
That's that's He lives in Carrollton, Texas, so not on
follow me, but he blocked me. Dang, so sorry Steven,
you blocked me. No one, I can't retweet your tweet.
Here's what he is. He's a husband and father, son
and a brother. He's listening now, I know he is.

(30:22):
He's a proud textan. He's all business rockets, Astros, Texans
and A and M. He's all business.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
Running away.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
I'm not letting you do that.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
Interesting Why not.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
Because aggies are awesome except for the young leaders. But
you're in Stephen, you're embarrassing yourself. You're you know what
you're you're you're you're your wife is embarrassed by you.
Right now, all business? Well, first of all, get a
get a real asst Twitter account Stephen five eight seven
four six nine four eight get him. I think Stephen

(30:59):
Grabbroni is available. Yeah, I'm starting to feel better. This
is good, good.

Speaker 3 (31:07):
Happy before you, Matt, Yeah, you know what it happened.
You missed your therapy session with chut you Obama mass
up yesterday?

Speaker 2 (31:11):
How was that? But how did Wex do?

Speaker 4 (31:13):
By the way, he did good? He came up to
Luka Doncicun.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
Really what do you go? Why do you go up
to luc Oh for the getting tossed? Yeah, by the way,
the NBA recentded that technical found you see.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
Yeah, they should have. The referee got it wrong. But
still like at Wex's point yesterday was like you bitch
it everyone at all times, so they're including the referees,
So it's not really the referee's fault that they thought
you were bitching at them because you were in their direction,
pointing in the direction.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Right, Yeah, it is what it is. Excuse me, I
didn't mean a cough and a microphone, but uh ten
forty five on Sports Talk seven eighty seven one three
two one two five seven nine zero seven one three
two one two five seven Aunty, it must be a
block you Thursday. All right, I'm gonna start blocking people too, Steven.

(32:02):
You can't get my tweets? No they can now, Oh
they can. That's too bad.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
Yeah. You even block somebody and they can still see it.
I don't know who came up with that idea. That's
pretty much. It defeats the entire purpose of blocking someone.

Speaker 2 (32:15):
All right. Seven one three two one two five seven
ninety all right, it is the Matt Thommys Show with
rowsome here in Los Angeles. Brian mctagger's gonna join us
in about ten minutes. We've got still coming up on
the show today. Gut Feelings we pushed to today at
twelve thirty because we didn't know them on Tuesday. The
News at noon McTaggart, believe it or not, and you

(32:38):
never know what else is gonna pop up between now
and at two o'clock this afternoon. Let's go to Kyle
in Pairland at ten fifty one.

Speaker 10 (32:44):
Hih, Kyle, Hey, Matt, how are you doing, my friend?
I'm all right, hey, uh, I know you're a cougar
like I am.

Speaker 5 (32:52):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (32:53):
I don't know if you heard heard one of the
uh well, the all time great it's before your time
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
Ali Taylor passed away. I don't know if you knew
who that was.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
I did not know, and we'll look him up.

Speaker 10 (33:04):
He apparently had a forty six inch vertical and played
in the old ABA and actually jumps center against lou
House Cinder back in the day. He's got a lot
of stories, but just a heck of a nice guy
and a former cougar and just wanted to want to
let you know my friend.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
All right, thank you for that. Kyle. Ali Taylor seventy
eight years old, started at I guess he started at
Tyler Junior College and then moved down to the University Houston.
Was on a Sweet sixteen appearance team in nineteen seventy. Yeah, okay,
thanks for that. Heads up on that. All right, let's
segway into basketball a little bit here before we get

(33:42):
to Brian mctagger. Oh, so you know I'm obsessed about
these standings in the Western Conference.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
He's got to be done. Now they're clinched the two spot.
Leave it alone.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
You know what.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
In theory, you're right, Oh my god, are you getting worse?

Speaker 2 (33:58):
But I'm getting worse because right now, Golden State last
night in San Francisco lost to the Spurs. I just
don't get that Spurs.

Speaker 3 (34:13):
Well, I guess no, I guess they're kind of locked
in with the ping pong balls.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
No, they need to be losing every game. The Spurs.

Speaker 2 (34:21):
They're now thirty three and forty seven. They beat the
they beat the Warriors. So right now, if the playoffs
were two start today, which they don't, and you still
got most teams either have two or three games left.
The playing game was Minnesota at Golden State. The winner
of that game gets the seventh seed, which means the
Rockets would play either Golden State or Minnesota in the

(34:42):
first round of the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
Matt, whatever, have you ever heard the phrase, ka, Sarah Sarah,
Whatever will be will be?

Speaker 2 (34:50):
Matt, The future is not ours to see. Do you
know that I'm the only one WI going out about this.

Speaker 3 (34:55):
You are the literally the literally person we know about
who's going to be seventh and eighth, what is wrong
with you?

Speaker 2 (35:00):
Like if I went to Emai and said, man, did
you watched Danny's last night? And be like, Matt, shut up,
We're good.

Speaker 4 (35:06):
Yeah, Yeah, it's Dante and Fowley season.

Speaker 2 (35:10):
Come on, yeah, I I I got a problem. I
got people are on the league text to me, what
are you all gonna? Like? People are? Uh? I will
I will not say a name, but a team broadcaster
for one of the teams that are in the current
of the playoff chaser like, are you all gonna play
the starters on Friday? I'm like, I don't know. We'll

(35:31):
find out EMA is gonna join us tomorrow. My guess
is we'll play a lot of the starters tomorrow against
the Lakers, for like, but I ex.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Kind of like on the Jalen's Green schedule.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah, I wouldn't expect nobody to play thirty minutes, and
I don't think anybody. And then the problem is you've
got you're going against the Lakers, who need the game,
and then you're gonna play the Denver Nuggets on Sunday,
who need the game. I mean, it's you're not playing
Washington and Charlotte here. You've got these super impactful games
that even if you raise the white flag and surrender,

(36:03):
so to speak. Uh, you could be massively affecting other
teams in the Western Conference.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Yeah, but you take care of your own. You don't
care about that. And when I say Jalen green schedule
for those don't know, he played like the first eight
minutes of the first quarter and then like almost seven
minutes of the second quarter and sat the whole second half.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
Yeah, he's got a consecutive street game going on. Yeah,
he wants to get something that he cares about a
little bit.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
And it's ridiculous if he was seeing he need to
rest him. You need to rest him for the playoffs.
But whatever.

Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, I mean I again, I would expect most of
the starters, not all, to play tomorrow and then I
would think it Sunday would be probably a little bit
of a lean situation.

Speaker 3 (36:38):
Well, if that's keeping him motivated, then go at it.
But full rest would be better as and what I'm
saying is full rest and zero exposure to injury.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
Yes, the difference is you could also have a practicing
at the injury too. I you know, I know what
you're saying. I know what you're saying, uh, but yeah,
last night was interesting. It was my second trip to
into it Dome. And how did a free throw shooting go?
It wasn't really a factor seven of ten the Rockets were.

(37:08):
I mean, it's under their season percentage.

Speaker 3 (37:11):
That's around there, though.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
I mean those are played, they played, they gave it
their best. I mean, read Shepherd. I don't think a
Kerr high six threes in the game, twenty points. Read Shepherd.
The goat Cam Wentmore almost got decapitated by James Harden,
I mean, and a no call on that? That was nice.
Let's say Nevale Dante played you got you some? What's that?

(37:36):
Jack McVay minutes, Jack McVeigh play Oh, David Roddy played
Who the exact way. No, David Rodney played Gono.

Speaker 4 (37:45):
Come on, that sounds like the basis for a metal
ban in the eighties.

Speaker 2 (37:48):
David Roddy, former Atlanta Hawk, former Memphis Grizzly.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
David rod Hi, you're making that name up, David ron.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
I couldn't possibly do that, all right, ten fifty six
on Sports Talk seven ninety seven one three two one
two five seven Auntie Brian mctaggard's gonna join us. I
have not spoken to I saw Brian at the championship
game on Monday night. I've not talked to him since.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
Maybe y'all should just talk astrous.

Speaker 3 (38:14):
Oh that's not going great either, I guess at least
based on the last game.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
Hey you got you got a day off today, and
then the Angels are in town, a skiing, fat and
happy off for them.

Speaker 3 (38:25):
Angels are ahead of in the standings.

Speaker 2 (38:26):
I don't care about the standings. We don't even talk
standings in the show, you know how mich Standing's ahulic, Yes,
we don't talk standings until June first in the show.
In the Major League Baseball NBA, I go to bed
at night crying looking at those standings.

Speaker 4 (38:43):
I really don't know why. They're like, yeah, you're sick there.

Speaker 2 (38:46):
I'm literally sick. I get it all right. Seven one
three two one two five seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven Aunty Brian mctaggard start at
the second hour of The Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
All Right, it is uh one and h down. Welcome
to our number two of the Matt Thomas Show with Ross.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety seven

(39:06):
one three two one two five, seven ninety time for
us to spend twelve forty minutes with our good friend,
the one and only Brian McTaggart. Brian, the last time
I saw you, we were on the river Walk and
joining life, breaking bread, getting ready for the big event.
How has your life been in the last thirty six hours?

Speaker 3 (39:23):
Yeah, probably a lot, but a lot like yours.

Speaker 11 (39:25):
A bummer, just uh you know, thinking back on the
game and this could have happened, and this could have happened,
and uh yeah, it stinks, doesn't it, just to get
that close and uh not make it and uh yeah,
just a bummer.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
So what how did you How did you handle the
post when all the confetti? Did you leave the same
as fast as humanly possible? Are you stuck because of
thirty thousand people trying to leave it? One time?

Speaker 3 (39:49):
Uh?

Speaker 11 (39:50):
Yeah, I got out of there so quick when the
confetti popped and I heard all we do is win
winning that song or whatever I said, we out here,
and I walked out of there so fast, and I
walked downtown. I wasn't even staying downtown, so i'd uber
back to my hotel. I had no idea where I
was going, and luckily I found an Irish bar and

(40:10):
comfort myself for a couple hours.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
So Alicia got to put I went to a Denny's
and had chicken fried steak leathered and cream gravy untill
like twelve fifty in the morning. There you go, it
is what it is, all right, let's get let's get
to some baseball. Obviously you've been home and you will
be rejoining the coverage Friday of the Angels in town
five nothing. No matter what the scenario is, you gotta

(40:38):
hold that. That's a stinging loss. Tell me as you
or are now approached two weeks into the season, two
plus weeks, kind of the state of things. First is
bullpen usage? The concern for you right now is it
bullpen accuracy? Could be a little bit of both. Where
are you right now on where do you think Joe's

(40:59):
trust factor is? Again saying what you want to say here.
They also won a game going twelve innings and you
have to have your bullpen then, so maybe we're just
catching them on a bad day. Obviously, when you when
you lose a five nothing lead, yeah.

Speaker 11 (41:11):
I mean you're coming off, you know, the worst loss
of the season out of only twelve. But uh, they
did you know, if you're looking at it glass full,
they had a three and three road trip, so you know,
you take that, but yeah, they chance to have a
four and two road trip was right there. You know,
I think coming in the season, and I think I
told you that, you know, I think I thought the
biggest issue was probably going to be the bullpen, and

(41:32):
the bullpen had been pretty good up until up until yesterday.
And yeah, Hater was down because you with Arraghetty being
out and now you had a short start from Blanco,
you're having to use guys more. You're already behind the
eight ball a little bit in usage. So they really
need the off date to reset things. It's kind of
early for that to be happening, but that's the reality.

(41:52):
And and they're already doing some bullpen shuffling. But you know,
you know, Contreers came in and loaded the bases right away.
And then, uh, you know Oker, who's been really good,
you know, you're asking him just to you know, put
out a four alarm fire at that point, and you know,
that's really tough to do. And the brave ones, the
head scratcher, because that's that's where you're gonna need him

(42:13):
sometimes to close games like that, but you're gonna need
him an eighth inning, and you know, he can't come
out there and just not command his pitches and allow
them to you know, to to win the game like that,
So that that's got to be a you know, troublesome
still early. I mean a Brave's pitched the six games
he's got, you know what, a five plus.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
E ra A got to clean that up a little bit,
you know.

Speaker 11 (42:32):
Still the offense still looks like a big issue as well,
with you know, several guys in the lineup just not hitting.
But again still still really early. Uh and they're you know,
they're five and seven. They're better off and they were
at this point last year. But certainly there's some issues
with this team.

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Yeah, still in in the and the key is still early.
And look, every team can turn it up or it
could be a season long problem. We don't have we
don't have a crystal ball in front of us here
on that. But was there any signs about a break?
You look, we spent a lot of the off season
talking about got to make sure his appearance count is
reduced from a year ago. Is there any signs in
spring training? He said? All right, the great Brian to

(43:11):
bray you that was a part of last year, maybe
isn't on the plane just yet coming to Texas well.

Speaker 11 (43:17):
I mean, you know, it's really hard to tell in
spring with you know, especially veteran guys who are established
like him, they're always working on things. They're not necessarily
going out there and trying to blow guys away and
get out. So, I mean, he looked pretty good in
the spring, but you know, they played twelve games, he's
pitched six, so you know, you're right back at that,
you know, eighty eighty one game pace that they wanted

(43:37):
to try to avoid and they haven't been able to
do that so far in the first couple of weeks
of the season. But he's walked six guys in five
in the third innings. I mean, that's that's just they
that just can't continue. And so he's just whatever, whatever
the control issues are, he's got to rain that in.
He still has strikeout stuff, elite stuff, but the walks
are just killing them right now, and so that's that's

(43:58):
got to be corrected. But you know, Lewis Contreras has
watched five guys and six innings, and you know he's
He's not a guy that they're counting on as much
as a bray you. But I think I think we're
just gonna see a lot of shuffling in this bullpen.
But they need the back end guys. Hater who's been
really good I bray you and then you know, maybe
Brian King's or seventh in a guy. They need those
guys to step up and be consistent because I think

(44:20):
we're going to see a lot of shuffling and inconsistency
behind them.

Speaker 3 (44:25):
I imagine we agree Brian that at the end of
the day, whoever's gone out there has to get the
job done. And that didn't happen yesterday. But just in
the moment of the decision making of Joe a spot,
how how have you been feeling about the way things
have been handled.

Speaker 11 (44:41):
I can't take qualms with with anything he's done. I mean,
I think they knew coming in the bullpen was was
probably not their strength. And you can only call on
the guys you have down there to bring out there
and go out there and pitch. I mean, losing Arraghetti,
you know that that was a big key piece the rotation.
So they're gonna have to, you know, fill that now.

(45:04):
But I think as far as the bullpen decisions and
his lineup, I mean, this is not a team that's
five and seven because anything the manager has done. It's
just because they haven't hit and some of their key
relievers haven't gotten out.

Speaker 3 (45:16):
It's a key times, I mean, and that's it.

Speaker 11 (45:18):
The starting pitch has been pretty good for the most part,
but I mean it's you know, I'm not going to
sit here and I mean watching these games, I haven't
seen anything where I'm.

Speaker 3 (45:28):
Like, oh, you know, what is Joe doing.

Speaker 11 (45:30):
I mean, he's he's doing everything he can at this
point to try to put them in position to win.
And look, yesterday they were four outs away from a
four and two road trip and the bullpen imploded.

Speaker 3 (45:39):
So I mean, that's that's certainly not on him. Brian
McTaggart with us here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
Let's go to the offense side. We know that it
will turn at some point. They are last in the
majors in team ops, but I guess the question remains
how much will it turn to where we were hoping
for forty plus bombs from your on, we're hoping for

(46:00):
for Jeremy Penion. Have the best offensive year of his career,
and I just it's kind of in the balance of
how close to those types of aspirations we had will get.

Speaker 11 (46:09):
Yeah, I mean they're I think their last and uh
last is slugging. They're I think they're twenty six and
runs last in doubles. Uh, it's just across the board.
I mean, Penny had a really really good spring just
from start to finish. I mean he looked like a
guy who was just ready to come out and have
his best season. Still could but uh, you know, twelve

(46:29):
games in he's he's got a six thirty five OPS.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
You know.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
Alvarez is the one they got to get going. I
mean they cannot win.

Speaker 11 (46:35):
If Alvarez is hitting one ninety five with a six
hundred OPS, with one homer every two weeks, it's just
they cannot get it done. Janer Diez is another one.
Uh he has two hits and thirty three bats. I
mean just he's the guy that hits in the middle
of the lineup, and it's just just killing them right now.
So Peattie has been okay, you know, not bad. Brendan

(46:56):
Rodgers has been you know, okay, all two bays. Of course,
I think Christian Walker another guy who has to get
it turned around a little bit.

Speaker 3 (47:03):
I mean there's three key bats.

Speaker 11 (47:05):
Dias, Walker and Alvarez are just not getting it done
right now.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
That is the b reason they're at where they're at.

Speaker 11 (47:12):
Yes, and they can turn this around with one big
weekend and everyone's back on track. Cam Smith book out
on him a little bit. You know, he's coming around
a little bit. The bats look a little bit better,
but you really weren't. You know, you didn't know really
what you're going to get from him. But those key
big three bats in the middle have to get going.

Speaker 2 (47:30):
Brian mctagger at MLB dot com with us year on
Sports Talk seven to ninety. I want to go back
to the bullpen for a second, not necessarily the group,
but the Montero trade to Atlanta. Do you think, in
your mind this has been in works for a while
that maybe a change of scenery would be better to
get something back in return, get a little bit of
financial savings on that, or do you think that Dana said,

(47:53):
you know what, it'd be best served if we moved
him somewhere else.

Speaker 11 (47:57):
My guess is they've been trying to do it for
a while. I mean, if you look look at the
moves they've made over the last few months. I mean
this this team's in a little bit of a penny
pinching mode. I mean they traded it, uh, you know,
Presley for you know, financial reasons, and Tucker because they
knew they wouldn't resign him. So it only makes sense
that Montero guy making the money he's making eleven plus million,

(48:18):
would be you know, on the market as well. Maybe
you know, some teams wanted to wait to see how
he did the start the year, but certainly this was
you know, made to you know, a reliever. I think
they can do without who is expendable. The Braves can
pay some money and they you know, they can call
up somebody else like Bennett SUSA, who might be able
to do, you know, a better job than the Montero.
So I think it was all you know, financially driven.

(48:40):
They're just they're just trying to save as much as
they can. I mean, I think they'll have a lot
more payroll flexibility this year, but they're just in penny
pinsion mode right now. And I say that they still
have a you know, a top five payroll. Penny pinching
mode's relative here for what the Astros do. It's not
like they have a small payroll, but they're trying to
you know, avoid going over the luxury tax and and
you know, next year they'll have a lot more money

(49:01):
to do some things.

Speaker 3 (49:01):
But that's just kind of the reality they're in right now.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
Any's surprise about the amount of second base that Josel
two A has played.

Speaker 3 (49:10):
That he hasn't played.

Speaker 2 (49:11):
Does that he has played so far has plays?

Speaker 11 (49:14):
Uh No, because I you know, Joe's never really said
he's gonna, you know, play this much or this much.
I thought he might play once a week. I don't
know how many as he started out there, two or
three maybe, so uh. You know, Brandon Rodgers is doing
a pretty nice job out there, not only defensively but
with the bat. But you know, Joe's been hesitant to
say exactly how he's gonna split that playing time between

(49:36):
left field and second and and maybe he really doesn't know.
It's it's just gonna have to be on matchups and
parks are playing in and everything, and maybe there is
something to you know, they they maybe we should play
him a little bit more at second base, but they
seem still committed to him being the everyday left fielder
out there.

Speaker 3 (49:52):
Man.

Speaker 11 (49:52):
You know, as long as he's hitting, you know, you
get him in the in the bat in there somewhere
because he's the one bright spot in this lineup. Uh
and and that you know, he's Jseal two bay. He
shouldn't be surprised.

Speaker 2 (50:03):
Yeah, all right, and look, let's go glass half ale
to wrap this up. As many things as there have
been with bullpen issues and line up being you know,
bottom and ops, it's five and seven. I mean, if
you were not a consumer of Astros baseball and you
listen to a conversation among fans and maybe to a
certain extent this visit, you think this team was two

(50:23):
and ten so far, and that's not the case. They
you know, it could be a lot worse. It really
could be. And starting pitching for the most part's been
pretty good. The bullpen did do its job in that
twelfth inning game, and you know, on jose A two bay,
even though the left field experiment has been a little
bit of a mixed back so far and it's probably
always going to be that way, is tearing the cover
off the ball right now.

Speaker 11 (50:44):
Yeah, you're right, it's five and seven. I mean you
look back at Astro starts the last ten years. I
mean that you know, it's not uncommon for them to be,
you know, floundering around five hundred after two weeks, still
trying to feel things out. I guess if you know,
going back to the three main guys I was talking
about Talker, Diaz and Albarett, I mean, those those guys
are gonna come around. I mean, they're not going to

(51:04):
put up these numbers forever. They are going to play
better at some point. So you're right, it does feel
like they're two and ten and doom and gloom, but
they're five and seven with you know, one hundred and
forty plus games to go and a chance for you know,
still to do plenty of damage.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
Are a way worse situation than they were last year.

Speaker 11 (51:20):
But I know it's frustrating for Astros fans who all
they hear all spring training or positive things and we're
going to do this and that, and then you know,
they come out and get off a little bit of
a slow start. Look around the league, I mean, there's
a lot of teams right around where they're at, and
this thing will sort itself out here in the next
few weeks, we'll get a better idea where they're at.

Speaker 2 (51:39):
Good staff has always tag talk to you next week.
Thank you for the visit. As always all right, guys,
see you Yes, Brian mctagger at MLB dot Com. Eleven
fourteen Here on the Matt Thomas Show at Ross coming
up at the bottom of the hour. I just don't
get it news at noon. The Tuesday edition of gut
Fieldings gets moved to today because I think I was

(52:01):
in a canatonic state. Ross, was that happened last week? Week?

Speaker 3 (52:05):
It wasn't, Matt, that that was like three days ago.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
See, I'm still I'm still in a state of shop.

Speaker 3 (52:11):
Are you okay?

Speaker 5 (52:12):
No?

Speaker 4 (52:13):
Worried about you?

Speaker 2 (52:13):
Now? My team lost a national championship game.

Speaker 3 (52:16):
You sound like that. You know where day was? Oh
that's cool. Yeah, you know, Matt, they missed a good
quality shot.

Speaker 2 (52:24):
I know what they didn't miss. They didn't miss an
opportunity to get a generator from Quality Home Products of Texas.

Speaker 3 (52:30):
They didn't look at this guy, true professional at work.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
I have the list here, shut up, let's tell you.

Speaker 3 (52:36):
Welcome back to the Matt Thomas Show with Ross here
on Sports Talk seven ninety Ross Ria with you, Matt
Thomas as well. Sounds like everything's okay over there. It is.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
I was just messing around with a spam call.

Speaker 3 (52:55):
Matt.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
You're one of one.

Speaker 3 (52:56):
I love you that.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
I partake in my spam call calls off. And now
I'm getting him and I'm just having a good time
with him. What is wrong with how?

Speaker 4 (53:08):
What's time you got?

Speaker 2 (53:09):
This is?

Speaker 4 (53:09):
I got a lot, only a four hour show.

Speaker 2 (53:17):
I just take the light in very few things.

Speaker 4 (53:19):
Hmmm.

Speaker 3 (53:20):
And you delight in messing with spam calls. Yeah, there's
a streamer I watch. It messes with those spam callers.
It does like a fake grandma voice and like ties
them up for hours and they get really frustrated. Yeah,
if you're maybe you should watch that, Matt. It's pretty funny.
I can send you some one of the videos.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
I changed my voice all the time.

Speaker 4 (53:39):
Yeah, that's what they do.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
He he like, uh, he has like a voice changer.
And then he takes the calls and apparently he's like
really good with software. He sets up like a fake
Bank of America account that they think has like a
million dollars in it, and then he sends it to
the wrong account and then they start crying and getting
all upset. It's great. It's great entertainment.

Speaker 2 (53:56):
So this guy, this person was calling was with a
insurance company.

Speaker 9 (54:00):
Huh.

Speaker 2 (54:00):
And he has my number, which obviously he called. But
he's like running reading off my numbers for my healthcare.
That's not right. And he goes, you have this healthcare sage. Yes,
And that's when you said the show had starts light.
I couldn't further mess with him.

Speaker 4 (54:15):
Sounds like it was getting good.

Speaker 2 (54:17):
It was, and that's why I mean I couldn't. I
couldn't finish the spam. Call this back.

Speaker 3 (54:22):
We used to do this, tell him to call back
at your home line seven one three ninety.

Speaker 2 (54:27):
Oh my god, I'd be you know what next time?
I don't do that.

Speaker 3 (54:30):
But of course SEC regulations we have to not to
let them know they're live on air.

Speaker 2 (54:34):
Yeah, that's not any fun then, you know, and I
really do. That's super immature.

Speaker 3 (54:39):
What's that?

Speaker 2 (54:41):
I belch really loud in front of them.

Speaker 4 (54:46):
Wow, I hope you donate your brain to science, Matt.

Speaker 2 (54:53):
I really do have a lot of things wrong with me.

Speaker 4 (54:57):
Part of your charm, as they say, it is not.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
Part of it. It's a clinical illness. I just you know,
I take very few things in life, which let's joy.
All right, let's get to a little bit before we
have a I just don't get it coming up at
the bottom of the hour. This is where you just
call in and say I don't get something. So how
much of the Luca celebration did you see yesterday in Dallas?

Speaker 3 (55:20):
Very little? I saw him crying and then I saw
him dropping buckets on him.

Speaker 2 (55:24):
Yeah, he put up a forty burgers? Can you put
up forty burgers?

Speaker 3 (55:26):
Or those fits that have to be a fifty for
a burger?

Speaker 4 (55:28):
How about a forty spot?

Speaker 2 (55:30):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (55:31):
Is it thirty bomb? Or is it a forty bomb?
Thirty bomb? Forty spot? Fifty burger?

Speaker 2 (55:37):
Okay in the sixty oh hell yeah, okay, fire and
eco chants. We're going. There's lots of video of Mark
Cuban shaking his head as he hears these champs. So
let me get this straight. And this is more for
I just don't get it coming up, So maybe we'll
extend this a little bit longer. The Mavericks made shirts

(55:57):
for him and they were in here, where is he from?
Lucas from Slovenia, Slovenia, And it was basically a Slovenian
for I don't know the exactly, but it was basically
we love you, we miss you kind of thing. Are
they just doing that just to kick Nico Harrison and
the nads? Is that? What is that what you do?

Speaker 3 (56:17):
I don't know why you would do that. I mean,
he was traded this season. That is so funny. We
miss you in Slovenian.

Speaker 2 (56:23):
I don't know exactly what it was interpretation, but it
was something close to that. So I'm just kind of paraphisic.
But point being is this, you have to do a
video tribute. You have to say welcome home, you have you,
because if you don't, then you look even worse. But
he sure literally if you're if you're the Dallas Mavericks,
you are a literal known win situation because if you

(56:44):
do something like this and like what, you didn't have
to do this. You could have kept the guy.

Speaker 3 (56:48):
And they're acting like he came home from the Battle
of the Bulge, like he's just traded to the Lakers. Yeah,
they made the trade, trade him to the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Yes, but I think by the way, you had to
do something though, you had to do a video of something.

Speaker 4 (57:07):
Yeah, the best part to me is Anthony Davis go
on five to thirteen.

Speaker 2 (57:14):
Mavericks was starting in the playing game. Phoenix got eliminated
last time by the way Phoenix gets eliminating, which means
the Rockets have had a lottery pick coming their way.

Speaker 4 (57:20):
How about that? That is correct?

Speaker 2 (57:23):
Isn't that good? None?

Speaker 3 (57:24):
Zero chance to get Cooper flag. I think it's like
four percent. I'll go look it up.

Speaker 2 (57:29):
I don't know if I'm gonna have Bella handle having
Cooper Flag on my team.

Speaker 3 (57:32):
Oh why not?

Speaker 2 (57:34):
Because I mean I'm gonna have to rob in his
face that he lost to my Koog's.

Speaker 3 (57:37):
Yeah, they choked, I'm talking. Oh, I'm sorry, I was
talking about dude.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
Of course you were point being is this the it could?
I mean, you had thousands of people wearing Luca jerseys.
You had thousands of people that were there only for
one reason. I mean, I know that they must be
big fans of the Dalla line up up and down.
But they were chanting Luca. They were giving him standing ovations.

(58:06):
They were screaming fire Nico every moment. I mean, have
you seen the stories about the Mavericks, about the millions
and millions and millions of dollars they have lost already
on this deal. No from ticket sales drop, sponsorships. Sponsorships
have dropped, people are are renigging on season tickets for

(58:26):
the following year. There were some endorsement deals that have
been cut because of this because you look, as we know,
and the Rockets are great examples of this. When Y'ao
Ming was a Rocket, there was an international money that
was coming in from China. Well, there was international money
with Luca because Luca was a international player before he
became a star in the NBA.

Speaker 3 (58:47):
This is another reason why I never rail against a
professional athlete's salary. Like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and
Draymond Green. Being in San Francisco has made them billions
and they got it. Most fund franchise in the NBA's
most valuable franchise in the NBA What was it fifteen
years ago? Yeah, when it was Monte Ellis and the Boys.

Speaker 2 (59:09):
Mitch Richmond, no disrespect.

Speaker 3 (59:11):
Yeah, So yeah, these franchise values absolutely matter, and absolutely
I'll throw you another one. How about Johnny Manzellen what
he meant to the revolution at the Aggie football program?

Speaker 2 (59:23):
Right exactly?

Speaker 3 (59:24):
He got Kevin someone paid, he got new part parts
of the stadium built, all these new donations. Yeah, these
athletes mean a ton. It's not just the salary, and
it's not just what's made with Tevy dollars. It's what
you said with endorsements and deals and partnerships and all that.

Speaker 2 (59:40):
I mean, it could wind up, it could wind up
destroying the franchise and now Dallas. I looked at this
up yesterday. Their lease at American Airline Center ends in
twenty thirty one.

Speaker 3 (59:51):
Okay, you are arena slash stadium guy.

Speaker 2 (59:57):
Here's the bit. If they don't get a new arena,
that's what they're gonna want, because everybody wants new arenas.
I think I brought this up on a gut feeling,
just kind of half you know what, could the Mavericks
be thinking about moving into Las Vegas because the team

(01:00:20):
that the group that owns the Mavericks owns the Sands Casino,
the corporation there, Oh really, And their plan was to
build a megaplex somewhere in the DFW area, which would
include casinos full casinos. When they're hoping that the casinos
eventually get pass in Texas.

Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
Oh yeah, buy enough politicians you'll be good.

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
And then build an arena and entertainment complex next to
Set Casinos. That's been the plan all along. And that
if they don't get their new arena and Maverick apathy
hits because these a Luca trade could waunt you for
a decade, right, I mean, when you make super bad trades,
it can hurt your franchise for a long period of time.

(01:01:06):
There's no guarantee the Mavericks are gonna are gonna be
able to come back from this.

Speaker 4 (01:01:11):
Without a lot of luck. Because here's the thing who.

Speaker 2 (01:01:18):
Someone I didn't think about we gotta get to break
here is that you know we were talking about expansion
and you know this new TV deal that they're getting
from Amazon and from NBC and whatnot. Maybe these owners
don't want to split that that that pie up with
two new owners.

Speaker 3 (01:01:32):
Yeah, I could see that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
That if Memphis is in a tough spot for their
arena in downtown Memphis, if the Mavericks are in a
tough spot, why would you bother try and expand two
teams when you can move two teams to say Seattle
in Las Vegas and call today I'm not I mean,
I'm just thinking way ahead of here just kind of
just throwing stuff against them more late.

Speaker 3 (01:01:51):
Night West Coast games. It's fantastic, But I.

Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
Mean, seriously, I know there'd be a good expansion fee
that would come, but I think the television dollar would
be better serve cut up into thirties compared to thirty two.

Speaker 3 (01:02:04):
Well, I guess you would renegotiate and charge more for
the coverage. I don't know if there's some kind of
clauses in there with expansion, but.

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
I can't imagine the Sands ownership group wanting to keep
the Mavericks long term if they don't get a casino.
That's the whole point of them doing this, is that
there's an untapped area of the country, meaning Texas that
could use casinos in DFW area, Houston, San Antonio, I mean,
the whole state could use it, right, We all gamble
in this state. We just do, Yes, we do all, right?

(01:02:34):
What don't you get ross a lot? It's a very
simple question. And don't say me. I know what.

Speaker 12 (01:02:40):
I know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:40):
I'm hard to get. I sit there and spend time
talking to people on spam calls because I have an
issue now.

Speaker 3 (01:02:49):
The worst one to me is caring about who's shuffling
three through seven or.

Speaker 4 (01:02:54):
Four through eight now or whatever it is.

Speaker 2 (01:02:56):
Maybe I need a hobby. Maybe I should start hot yoga.

Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
YEA, let's just watch you get you watching some good movies,
good Fellas, Heat, whatever else. Classic movies you haven't watched.

Speaker 2 (01:03:09):
There's a bunch ten commandments.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
I guess I didn't catch that one. I guess maybe
when I was a kid, I saw.

Speaker 2 (01:03:15):
It all right? Seven one three where Spartacus? Okay, uh,
watching Rudy all the way through? Oh you've said any
it's fine, you know it's great. It's yeah. My family
hates me when I tell her I don't watch Rudy.

Speaker 3 (01:03:32):
Funny.

Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
What don't you get, ladies and gentlemen, what do you
not get? We are here to help you get what
you don't get. Seven one three two one two five
seven natis seven one three two one two five seven Natti.
It is eleven thirty one here on Sports Talk seveny.
If you want to come in and tell us what
you don't get, We're here to help you.

Speaker 13 (01:03:56):
Do You've have something in your life you just don't get.
No need to worry, no need to We will discusspecpics.
Just see if we comprehend the things that they can.

Speaker 3 (01:04:08):
Use on brands.

Speaker 1 (01:04:09):
It's time to stay. I just don't get it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
All right, Let's go seven one three two one two
five seven ninety seven one three two one two five
seven nine zero. Let's I asked a question of you,
do we have no music? Our music not there? There?
It is, okay, Ross. There's lots of crazy jobs in

(01:04:37):
this world. Being working for a spam account. They're trying
to basically swim the money from you off of strange
phone numbers. Does that pay well? I mean, it's a
massive self esteem issue to call somebody you don't know
and hopefully swindle them from money. Is that because the
average person thinks of their average person stupid?

Speaker 3 (01:04:59):
I think, uh a lot of times. Quite frankly. They're
looking to pray in the elderly people with Alzheimer's stuff
like that, and they can have if you just get
one really rich, wealthy person and you can scam them. Certainly,
if you're from a country that doesn't have the GDP
of America, the cost of living is lower. Let's just

(01:05:21):
put it that way. Ten thousand dollars could go a
long way, or however much you could scam out of somebody.

Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
I just feels terrible. I mean, again, what do you
do for a living? Well, here's what I do. I
call people randomly and I ask for their credit card
number and their Social Security number, and I get like
a fourteen percent commission off whatever I grab. There's a
special place in hell for those people. So I say,
to those people your life. I just don't get.

Speaker 3 (01:05:52):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I guess I get it
in that they're stealing, and people are scumbags, and they're
praying on the elderly.

Speaker 4 (01:05:59):
Yeah, yeah, this I just put how much do scammers making?

Speaker 3 (01:06:02):
Google it says estimated eight point eight billion in twenty
twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
No way.

Speaker 3 (01:06:08):
Investment scam. Oh this is including investment scams. But I I, yeah,
I don't know. Let's say you live in some third
world country and well, you can call some old American
person and steal their money or some old whoever from wherever.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
So every nine hundred calls you make, no nine of
them either swear at you or burper just hang up
on it. Try.

Speaker 3 (01:06:31):
I probably say, every thousand, you make nine hundred and
ninety yeah or whatever?

Speaker 2 (01:06:34):
What call? Yeah, that sounds about right. Here's my here's
my information. Here's my bank account.

Speaker 3 (01:06:39):
M hmm, yeah, they have those scam. I mean, I'm
kidding these toll scams. Now, I got another one yesterday.
How about the one that you oink them tax? Oh yeah,
from the it says internal Revenue Service on the letter, Matt.

Speaker 2 (01:06:52):
You might want to answer. I want to answer that one.
That's true Top Tax Defenders dot Com. I have had
those issues in a while. Ross, that's not gonna be
a problem. I told I totally get when the arrasend
your emails, I just do all right. Seven one three
two one two five seven ninety. There's something in your
life that confuses you. We're here between myself and Ross.

(01:07:14):
Jonathan's like twenty two years old, so he doesn't have
much craft of anything in life. Uh, he can't help
you out. But but Ross and I certainly can't. Seven
one three two one two five seven ninety. Let me
ask you, Ross, what don't you get? This was brought
to my attention by Chris Gordy. There is an online
act auction for the Astros right now.

Speaker 3 (01:07:37):
Okay, they're selling bits and pieces of Minute Made park signs,
like literally, you can just buy the D the letter
D from Minute Made for six hundred and fifty dollars.
You can buy the oranges from the train. You can
buy dirt from the field. I mean some of this,

(01:07:59):
I guess I get if you want to bid on it.
But at large you're bidding on a vial of dirt.
I just don't get it. The AI for minute made
park for thousands of dollars.

Speaker 4 (01:08:13):
No, I don't get it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:14):
I would buy I'll tell you this, I would buy
an orange. It's a sponsor. No, no, it's like a
whole thing of oranges. It's all one big thing. You
can't buy one singular orange.

Speaker 3 (01:08:25):
No, they're all stuck together with like a little ladybug
with an astro on it curl is there?

Speaker 2 (01:08:31):
Is it like a is an auction or can you
just like to say no, it's an auction.

Speaker 4 (01:08:36):
It's currently a bidding for twenty eight hundred dollars.

Speaker 3 (01:08:41):
Well, I mean you've got some diehard astra three thousand
dollars for some giant oranges. Where are you gonna put
them in your backyard?

Speaker 2 (01:08:49):
In the backyard is.

Speaker 3 (01:08:50):
The stupidest thing I've ever heard of.

Speaker 2 (01:08:52):
No, no, no, no, I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:53):
Oh yeah, see that again.

Speaker 4 (01:08:54):
I guess you would get it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:55):
I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:56):
You're gonna you're gonna drop three g's on some oranges,
painted oranges.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
If my backyard is like a is like a a homage,
right homage, Yes to the Astros. Let's say I've got
jerseys and I've got a baseball field in my backyard,
a hitting cage.

Speaker 4 (01:09:17):
You're ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
It's a conversation. It's a conversation starter, for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:09:21):
A conversation starter. Yeah, how much how much money does
you blow on this crap? I'll build you a paper
machet orange dude, volleyball court in my backyard.

Speaker 2 (01:09:32):
I know these things. I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:34):
Yeah, I guess you got to come to the defense.
At least your daughter is playing volleyball. That's different. Sand
volleyball court has utility. What's the utility of a bunch
of oranges back there? For For however, mench's gonna get bit.

Speaker 2 (01:09:46):
Up to you are the coolest people in the neighborhood
this period. By the way, bidding opened up yesterday. This
is three thousand dollars, so it's probably gonna get much
larger than that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:55):
You're the coolest people in the neighborhood. I'll say you're
the biggest dumbasses in the now. No, no, no, tings
on some oranges?

Speaker 2 (01:10:02):
What about this? People buy old seats from the Astro
dog sin in those.

Speaker 4 (01:10:08):
Those are cool.

Speaker 2 (01:10:08):
Nobody's gonna sit in those. You gotta you gotta case
around it.

Speaker 3 (01:10:12):
I get sitting in seats. There's literally they're selling the
letter U. The current bit is five hundred dollars for
the letter.

Speaker 4 (01:10:18):
You of minute made.

Speaker 2 (01:10:19):
Let me tell you something. If anybody can't get you,
what's what is it? Look?

Speaker 4 (01:10:23):
My name is Matt, and you like money on fire?

Speaker 3 (01:10:25):
Go ahead?

Speaker 2 (01:10:26):
What is an M going for?

Speaker 14 (01:10:28):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (01:10:29):
An M?

Speaker 2 (01:10:30):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:10:30):
Hold on, let me, I'm the minute M is going
for twelve hundred and fifty dollars right now?

Speaker 2 (01:10:35):
Oh god, that's a little pricey here, Oh go ahead, mister,
it's all good. No, I'm saying I get it now.
I can't do it, but I understand why otherre's would
you put it in your man cave? You put in
your garage? Be like, damn, that's a good look at M.
Where'd you get it?

Speaker 6 (01:10:51):
Is that?

Speaker 2 (01:10:51):
The M for the ballpark? This thing is like you are.

Speaker 3 (01:10:55):
I will build you one out of metal for half
the price. And you can just lie to.

Speaker 4 (01:10:58):
People and say it's from there. This is ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:11:02):
I'm gonna say, I get it, Yeah you would, because
how much you betting on these vials of dirt? No,
and I don't buy the the dirt. I can't get
the dirt will do nothing for me, but the letters
would and the oranges would do something for me.

Speaker 6 (01:11:16):
All right, Jonathan, what don't you get I don't get
I'm looking at Twitter right now. Why the Big Three
is the thing? The ice cube thing league? He has
Nick Young as a coach and just signed the White Howard,
isn't he like?

Speaker 3 (01:11:30):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:11:30):
Big Three is for old just guys that are looking
for that last five minutes of our life of fame, and.

Speaker 4 (01:11:35):
You're looking to rip their achilles.

Speaker 6 (01:11:37):
I just don't get you get it. I don't understand
why we're still playing basketball. I don't understand that.

Speaker 2 (01:11:41):
I don't gay I Collins, friend of show, played in
the Big Three couple of years back. I went up
in Dallas and saw him play. To Jonathan's point, I
didn't think it was particularly entertaining.

Speaker 3 (01:11:59):
I mean, I don't know the league was still running.
Who's your favorite basketball player right now? Jonathan?

Speaker 2 (01:12:06):
Right now?

Speaker 3 (01:12:06):
M hm M. I'm jeez all right, anyway, how are
we going here?

Speaker 2 (01:12:12):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:12:13):
However, no, it's nostalgia. People like Dwight Howard. He played
fifteen years ago. So when you get old, which you're
not old enough to understand, you get really nostalgic about
things that were important to you, like fifteen years ago.
So he's like, oh, Dwight Howard's playing. I guess I'll
go check it out. I remember him, three times Hall
of Famer, three time Defensive Player of the Year. Oh,

(01:12:35):
I remember Dwight Howard. I'll go out and watch him
play in this crappy Big three league. It's nostalgia. So,
I mean, you say you don't get it. I'm trying
to explain it to you. It's it's mostly a nostalgic thing.

Speaker 2 (01:12:44):
I see it. I's see it, all right, Yeah, I
saw it. I don't get it either, but I kind
of get it. I mean, just to go see your
favorite old players and at least Tart be nice to
you at that point. Hell, Russell Westbrook might be playing
Big Three before you know it. Why he's being true
in Devil.

Speaker 4 (01:12:59):
He's played Big three bad right now? Just in an
NBA jersey, Get.

Speaker 2 (01:13:02):
An NBA a dollar that's roight seven one three two
one two five seven AINTI we got one more segment
of this is if there's something in your life you
just don't get by the way, friend of the show,
at the real Dan Deman see your boy Stephen five
eight seven one after you two? Ross, did you know that? Oh?

Speaker 4 (01:13:22):
I don't care about him.

Speaker 2 (01:13:23):
I'm gonna read what he said to you.

Speaker 3 (01:13:24):
I don't care.

Speaker 2 (01:13:25):
He's an equal opportunity offender. I just don't get you
going on Twitter and calling us names. And we'll read
that for you next. If you've got something you don't understand,
let us know seven one three two one two five
seven ninety seven one three two one two five seven
seven one three two one two five seven ninety at
uh let's see here, uh at Stephen five eight seven

(01:13:48):
four six nine four eight. This is a response to Ross,
shut the f up man. I was calling for a
spot of ass all last year. This team sucks came
back last year on what was left in the tank
from lear ears previous not because of Spota. He's overrated,
Dana's over his ass, over his head, and Crane has
let this team go to ask f you that was

(01:14:08):
to you.

Speaker 3 (01:14:10):
Thank you Steven, I'm unable to respond unfortunately, because you
have blocked me.

Speaker 2 (01:14:14):
Now, oh he blocked you too.

Speaker 3 (01:14:16):
Yeah, it's okay. I'm wishing him the best. Clearly he
is troubled and upset and having some sort of interpersonal issues,
particular direct followers.

Speaker 2 (01:14:27):
I have no idea.

Speaker 3 (01:14:28):
I don't care, and that's fine, Steven. I just hope
whatever you're going through gets a little bit better. And
I hope you have a great Thursday. And I'm off
the rest this week. I hope you have a great
weekend as well.

Speaker 2 (01:14:37):
Have a good one, ste I don't care about you
at this point, Steven, You're nuts. We're better off without you.

Speaker 3 (01:14:42):
I mean, honestly, I'm wishing you enter peace and whatever
issues you have, I hope you get him sorted out.

Speaker 2 (01:14:49):
I hope that you get massive diarrhea of for the
next three weeks.

Speaker 3 (01:14:52):
That was Matt, That wasn't me. Hi, my name is
Ross Stephen. I am wishing you the best and I
hope everything gets better.

Speaker 2 (01:14:59):
Yeah, okay. Uh. Another thing I don't get, by the way,
if you want to get in seven one, three, two, seven, hoey,
I have been using a lot of ubers. Excuse me,
Boober's and rifts. Okay, Buber for about six straight months
now is significantly more expensive than rifts.

Speaker 4 (01:15:21):
I would say for about two years now.

Speaker 2 (01:15:23):
But I mean, I'm looking at the last six months. Yesterday,
we took my buddy and I went back from into
a dome to our hotel here in Beverly Hills, and
Ruber was about twenty five thirty dollars more than Rift was.

Speaker 3 (01:15:37):
How much?

Speaker 2 (01:15:38):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:15:39):
Wow, I think one is much more popular, so you
have more users, so you have more surge pricing. And
then I think Lyft to me is just as good.
I mean, I took one, and I took two lifts
of yesterday.

Speaker 2 (01:15:53):
All right, so let's say I have no issue, I'm
gonna I'm gonna put in in Rift. I'm gonna go
to Lax right now if I want to leave the
If I want to leave, it's gonna cost me thirty
nine dollars and eighty nine cents on Ruber on rift
to go to Lax. Okay, okay, thirty nine eighty nine.
Let me punch in Ruber and Lax and it's going

(01:16:16):
to tell me that it is forty nine ninety one.
So that's thirteen dollars more. M I just don't get it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:27):
Yeah, I imagine there's just more. It is a supplying demand.
I just imagine there's more users for Uber. It's a
more popular app.

Speaker 2 (01:16:34):
I don't know, but I just don't. You're not getting
my business ever, I mean, what percentage of people are
like straight ruber as compared to having using both of them?
To flex out which one's the lower of the two?

Speaker 3 (01:16:46):
Fair?

Speaker 2 (01:16:46):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:16:47):
I feel like most people know about both of them.
But I think I think Uber is much more popular.

Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
I oh, I don't. Yeah, I think I think that
it's a verb now.

Speaker 3 (01:16:55):
Yeah, exactly. It's like a Kleenex. It's I don't remember xerox. Hey, yeah,
there's a marketing for it. I don't know what I
remember what it is. But yeah, so it's even when
I'm on a rift, I say I'm on a ruber, Right,
you say I'm gonna we're in we're in a ruber,
We're on the way over, but you're really in a
lyft then you still use that word. So it's yeah,
it's way more popular. It's about supplying demand. There is

(01:17:16):
a finite amount of drivers, so probably you make more
driving for ruber than rift man.

Speaker 2 (01:17:21):
Oh, I think you do, but I'm a rifter.

Speaker 3 (01:17:24):
Yeah, it's that's up to you, the consumer. This is
why free market works until one company buys the other.
So we're oh, no, don't even say we gotta tell
them where free market works until the monopolies come in.
But anyways, I digress, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:17:38):
Last call, we had people calling in, but I think
Jonathan's taking a nap back there. I couldn't get to
the screen. But that's fine. Uh, seven one, three, five, seven.
And if you've got a last call, anything else, we're ash.
You just don't get m there's a lot, but we
don't have time.

Speaker 9 (01:17:51):
All right.

Speaker 2 (01:17:51):
We could get the news of new going in, right,
we have got feelings at twelve thirty if we're doing
I don't any predictions. I I had a gut feeling
we're gonna win the National championship on Monday night to workout.

Speaker 3 (01:18:00):
Well, you know, I didn't remember. I had the gut
feeling they were going to make the final four and
then lose in the final four.

Speaker 2 (01:18:05):
No, I don't remember that at all.

Speaker 3 (01:18:06):
Okay, we'll go through it.

Speaker 4 (01:18:07):
We'll go through it, come out.

Speaker 2 (01:18:10):
Do we really have to? It is twelve o'clock in
h Town. Our number three underway here on the Matt
Thomas Show with Ross coming up in thirty minutes. A late,
but definitely need an addition to gut feelings. If you
missed a conversation with Brian McTaggert a year ago, you'll
hear that a year ago, an hour ago, well, a
year and a year ago. It is probably talking about
the same exact thing. But McTaggart was with us at

(01:18:31):
eleven o'clock and where we put it for you later
today at one thirty, we believe it or not at
one fifty. But right now, as we do each and
every day, at this time, we present to you the
News at noon and handling such responsibilities the let's go
with the UH Walter, Now where do you use Walter?

Speaker 3 (01:18:52):
We'll go with the UH.

Speaker 2 (01:18:54):
Peter Jennings of the sports journalism we used to.

Speaker 3 (01:18:57):
Wow Ross area.

Speaker 12 (01:18:59):
Thank you, Matt, what a great honor you have bestowed
upon me A lot to get to here on the
News at noon. Here on the Bat Tabas Show with Ross,
we begin with the Astros collapse yesterday afternoon in Seattle.

Speaker 14 (01:19:14):
Three two to a rows arena, break it Ball, high ball, four,
and the Barriners went it on a walk off walk.
Rodriguez scores Seattle pumps from five runs down to walk
off the Astros seven to six.

Speaker 3 (01:19:30):
That was a heartbreaker. Yes, yes it was. Robert Ford
guessed the Matt Thomas Show tomorrow. What time will that be?

Speaker 14 (01:19:38):
Met?

Speaker 2 (01:19:38):
Eleven o'clock.

Speaker 3 (01:19:40):
Cool. Mariners win seven to six over the Astros. They
fall to five and seven on the year. Astros bets
twelve left on base, four of.

Speaker 4 (01:19:53):
Thirteen with runners in scoring position.

Speaker 3 (01:19:55):
All of them were singles, by the way, so the
bats could take care of some good opportunities, especially with
seven walks drawn against Mariner's pitching under Brown was good
six innings of shutout ball, but it wasn't enough. Luis Contreras,
Steve Okert, Bryana Bray, you all giving up runs out
of the bullpen, and people, of course arguing about Joe

(01:20:18):
Espada blowing the game.

Speaker 2 (01:20:19):
Matthew Jenner Rome puts out twelve games. The Astros slugging
is two ninety one. Their oldps is five eighty four.
They're both the lowest in baseball. They're five and sevents.

Speaker 3 (01:20:30):
Early. I was gonna ask if that was bad, but
you answered it for me, Matt both the lowest in baseball.

Speaker 4 (01:20:36):
It is early.

Speaker 3 (01:20:37):
It is gonna turn around the question, of course, and
we talked about this with Brian McTaggert. It's to what
extent will it turn around? Will the real Houston Astros
bats please stand up at least forty six runs? But god, yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (01:20:50):
Want to be the oblique is an issue with Christian Walker.
We just don't know much about that.

Speaker 3 (01:20:53):
There's been a lot of hard hit contact Matt, so
it seems like that's that's fun. He's just I honestly think, Okay,
he drew two walks yesterday. Those are the first two
walks he's drawn all year. He's been striking out of
His whiff numbers are way high, his walk rate is
way low. You need to find a happier balance there.
I don't know if he's pressing because of the contract
that he signed or what, right, but those numbers will

(01:21:16):
get better. But it's basically everything a little bit of
bad luck, not drawing walks and whiffing a little bit
too much from Christian Walker.

Speaker 2 (01:21:23):
You ask me, gotta get my man jan your Diaz
going here.

Speaker 3 (01:21:28):
He was my sneak home for how you feel about that.

Speaker 2 (01:21:32):
Not great, but really he needs one good game right
back at the top, would he not?

Speaker 3 (01:21:38):
Well, yeah, I think it's a three home run game,
but I don't know if he's had one of those
in his career.

Speaker 2 (01:21:43):
So the Astros leader in home runs is two.

Speaker 3 (01:21:45):
No, two has three, Okay, because he got that one
off of Logan Gilbert. So yes, your Astros leader in
home runs right now is jose L two Vey with three.
That's your home run counter presented by Okay, No, that's.

Speaker 2 (01:22:02):
Not you need to slug. That's what we gotta do.
We gotta slug, baby.

Speaker 3 (01:22:04):
Yeah, shows have seven home runs on the year, Royals
have six, Blue Jays have six.

Speaker 4 (01:22:10):
Everyone else has more.

Speaker 2 (01:22:13):
So we're bottom five in that week. Because of course,
on the back.

Speaker 3 (01:22:16):
Of you could probably guess which two teams are leading
the way with home runs?

Speaker 2 (01:22:20):
Mad would it be the Rankies and the Dodgers?

Speaker 3 (01:22:24):
That would be correct. Dodgers have twenty eight, Yankees have
twenty six. You'll never guess. I probably guess you wouldn't
guess number three and four.

Speaker 2 (01:22:33):
I'll just go on a whim.

Speaker 3 (01:22:35):
The Marlins, the Athletics, and the Angels.

Speaker 5 (01:22:39):
What.

Speaker 2 (01:22:40):
Yeah, by the way, the bloom is off the rows
of the Sacramento A's. They're drawing like nine thousand. They
ca't and fill up a triple A stadium.

Speaker 3 (01:22:50):
Now, that's still better than last year in Oakland, that's true,
a lot cheaper rent. Probably funny enough. All right, Now,
we'll keep it moving on the news at noon, we'll
go to the NBA side. Houston Rockets in action last
night against the Los Angeles Clippers. Reached Sheppard knocking down
some threes.

Speaker 2 (01:23:09):
Sheppard comes in the front court, across the middle of
the floor, tries to get by one defender and done,
giving an out of Jay Shaw on top of the key,
turned to his leup reads wide open, twenty five feet
up and in read Shepard in double figures in this
first half with eleven as that three ball makes it
sixty eight to fifty five.

Speaker 3 (01:23:27):
He would have twenty points on six to ten shooting
from three. Rockets would rest basically all of their starters.
You did have Jalen Green play the first eight minutes
of the first quarter, then about the first seven minutes
of the second quarter, and then completely sitting the second half,
keeping his start streak alive. But clearly the Rockets are
shutting things down to what extent we'll find out more tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:23:50):
And he made a dooka will join us tomorrow ATOT
thirty here on the radio program to discussed Rockets and Lakers,
and then home Sunday for Denver and then it's playoff time,
Baby against I don't know who'll be get. I'm still
starring at my standings column this morning and it hasn't
changed the games of last night.

Speaker 3 (01:24:04):
Well, why don't you give us the update on those standings, Matt.
There's a whole big mess from three to eight. Correct.

Speaker 2 (01:24:09):
Yeah, I think it'd be in in one ear and
out the other for the audience.

Speaker 3 (01:24:12):
Oh okay, that's fine. Well I'll tell you one part
of the standings. The Phoenix Suns eliminated from playoff contention,
the Houston Rockets in control of their first round pick.
They have a seventeen percent chance as of right now
of a top four pick and a three point eight
percent chance. So you're telling me there's a chance, yes,

(01:24:33):
with the for the number one overall pick, No team
the top three will all share the same percentage. No
team will have more than a fourteen percent chance. So
a four percent chance not nothing.

Speaker 2 (01:24:46):
And apparently the draft's gonna be good this year is
compared to previous years.

Speaker 4 (01:24:48):
I think it's supposed to be better.

Speaker 2 (01:24:50):
Yes, yeah, I mean last year was horrifically bad. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:24:52):
No, Hey, number three overall pick reate Shepherd with three
twenty points.

Speaker 2 (01:24:58):
Three point yesterday.

Speaker 3 (01:24:59):
He's growing in to his role, absolutely, Matt. We're we're
all proud of Reed Shepherd and where he is.

Speaker 2 (01:25:07):
I like reading. I hope he. I hope next year
is significantly more productive as a look, as we know
the rockets and the perimeter shooting. There's just no way
around it.

Speaker 3 (01:25:14):
All right, man, let's keep it going on the news
at noon. Yeah, at the Masters on CBS in full bloom,
Master at full sock, I can do the full golf voice.

Speaker 2 (01:25:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:25:29):
You want to go aha and pull up the leaderboard.

Speaker 2 (01:25:30):
You can do with it.

Speaker 4 (01:25:30):
It actually sounds good with your with what you got
going on.

Speaker 2 (01:25:33):
Okay, let's see here. Let me pull up the Masters
and leaderboard.

Speaker 3 (01:25:38):
As we give time to Matt Thomas. A tradition unlike
any other to bring up the leaderboard of the Masters
at Augusta, nashvill.

Speaker 2 (01:25:48):
Just a few clouds outside temperatures in the eighties, the
smell of spring is in the air.

Speaker 3 (01:25:57):
This is great.

Speaker 2 (01:25:58):
And on this day where I went to the waffle
house just outside of Augusta National where I had the
two eggs scattered, smothered, covered, diced, sliced scotti. Scheffler through
nine is three under part something called let's see the

(01:26:21):
guy's name. I don't know this guy's first name, Tyrell Tyrell.
Hatton is also tied to top the leaderboard. Justin Rose
also tied to top three under, but he's through four.
Hatton is through nine, Scheffler through nine, Rossie. There's a
crowded leaderboard in a tie for fourth Wow. Harris English,

(01:26:47):
Brian Harmon, Stephen Jaeger, Joking, Neeman.

Speaker 4 (01:26:53):
Oh I love Joaking, Neeman and.

Speaker 2 (01:26:55):
Jordan's speeth are all at a time for fourth Wow.

Speaker 4 (01:26:59):
Multiple Longhorn legends up there.

Speaker 2 (01:27:02):
Tiger Woods currently time for seven hundred ninety three thousand. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:27:09):
I don't. I don't think he's gonna make it is
what do you do? He ripped his achilles right, He's shredded.

Speaker 2 (01:27:13):
It are.

Speaker 3 (01:27:15):
Not good, tiger.

Speaker 2 (01:27:16):
You hate when the parts of your body get shredded.

Speaker 3 (01:27:19):
How many majors would he have if not for the injuries.

Speaker 2 (01:27:23):
And he's got a new girlfriend, so he's winning on CBS.

Speaker 4 (01:27:28):
Yeah, it's some new uh social lighte right.

Speaker 2 (01:27:32):
No, ye, it's Donald Trump Junior's X. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:27:35):
She's been getting around. She frisky said, your networks under
one hundred million. We're out ross.

Speaker 2 (01:27:42):
You gotta you gotta, you gotta rebound here a little bit,
you don't you.

Speaker 3 (01:27:45):
Yeah, I guess Wishing Tiger and whatever her name is
the best. All right, all right, man, let's keep it
moving on the news at noon. How about this one?
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been having after retearing
his right achilles attendant Achilles tendon, posted a video on
Instagram which documents his rehab at the Browns practice facility.

(01:28:10):
Watson also said, quote, everyone's doubting me. Everyone don't believe
in me. Everyone don't think that I can get back
to where I was. But I know and I believe
the work that I put in, what I believe in myself,
the piece that I've been channeling these last couple of months,
I know I'm going to be way.

Speaker 4 (01:28:26):
Better than before.

Speaker 2 (01:28:29):
Not he's done the Browns know it.

Speaker 3 (01:28:35):
I mean multiple Achilles tears.

Speaker 2 (01:28:37):
No, he's that's I'm putting you know I'm gonna put
my name.

Speaker 3 (01:28:40):
Yeah, let me get the no sharongs file out.

Speaker 2 (01:28:43):
Get it out. That's fine. He will be nothing. No,
I'm not saying he'll never play again. I'm not saying that, Okay,
but he will never be close to what he was
is in Houston, Texas, and I ever.

Speaker 3 (01:28:56):
That seems like it. Sometimes you put your name on
some very saved betts, Matt I need to, by the way,
recently March twenty fifth, Man Thomas, you put your name
on the rockets finishing top fourth. That's a hit for you.

Speaker 2 (01:29:08):
Thank you very much. We have got feelings coming out
the bottom of the aar we need to do some
more braggadocious things about it. Okay, let me go.

Speaker 3 (01:29:13):
I'm on what Deshaun Watson never reaches. That feels like
a pretty safe bet.

Speaker 2 (01:29:21):
Like what should I narrow it down to what I
think he's going to be the rest of the way.

Speaker 3 (01:29:24):
How about that's? Okay, go ahead, I got.

Speaker 2 (01:29:27):
One for you. He will start less than ten games
the rest of his NFL career.

Speaker 3 (01:29:30):
Woo about that?

Speaker 2 (01:29:32):
How about that?

Speaker 3 (01:29:34):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (01:29:36):
All right?

Speaker 3 (01:29:37):
Fewer than ten games started the rest of his career.
Rest of his career yeah, whoa, Okay, that is a
little more spicy. Yeah, I figured he was seven games
started last year for Deshaun Watson, he was one and
six as a starter, five touchdowns, three interceptions.

Speaker 2 (01:29:53):
He's not supposed to play this year at all, is he?

Speaker 3 (01:29:55):
I don't think so.

Speaker 2 (01:29:56):
Yeah, so that's another year, you know, spring chicken.

Speaker 3 (01:29:59):
Yeah, and his game wasn't predicated on necessarily running like
Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, but him freeing himself up
with his mobility was a big part of his game.
And two Achilles stairs probably not gonna be great for him.

Speaker 2 (01:30:11):
And that's you are, my friends. Yeah, it was a
good job. But you know, we've not done much of
the off the beat story on the on the news
at noon.

Speaker 4 (01:30:18):
And we just know there's so much great news to
get to.

Speaker 2 (01:30:20):
Matt. By the way, congratulations to my four oh one
k yesterday.

Speaker 3 (01:30:23):
Oh Bill bounced back. Oh see, are you checking that
as often as you check the standings? That's another thing.
Just leave it, Just leave him.

Speaker 4 (01:30:31):
We'll retire.

Speaker 2 (01:30:32):
Yeah. I did go up eighteen thousand dollars yesterday.

Speaker 4 (01:30:39):
All right, I will have these scammers start calling you
as soon as possible.

Speaker 2 (01:30:43):
Haven't called me because I'm going to already a belch
in front on their phone anyway, Okay, all right, gut
fieldings bottom of the hour here on Sports Talk seven
ninety seven one three two one two five seven. Ony
Ross with us today's edition of Believe It or Not?

Speaker 3 (01:30:56):
Hell, if I know?

Speaker 2 (01:30:58):
How about the history of four to one k's No,
I'm good. That seems kind of boring you, roth irays,
I can't name another one. How about a Fannie May if.

Speaker 4 (01:31:08):
You will, Okay, Vanguard Fidelity ADP.

Speaker 2 (01:31:13):
I think we've narrowed off just about every one of
the four one ks available to us, you said, Roth right.

Speaker 3 (01:31:18):
Well, roth Iray is a type of account I didn't
know that. It's okay, shit.

Speaker 2 (01:31:24):
Seven one three.

Speaker 4 (01:31:25):
I don't think you can do when you make too much.

Speaker 2 (01:31:29):
WI should I look at least excuse me my four
one K or the Western Conference playoffs standings, both of them,
you know I should do. Let's just get off my
phone for exactly. I have people call me skinny white
ass on Twitter. It has been a tough day. It
just happens.

Speaker 4 (01:31:46):
You'll be fine.

Speaker 2 (01:31:47):
Seven one three two one two five seven. And I
want to tell you about that Timmy Show with Ross
continues here from Los Angeles. It is uh twelve twenty
in Houston, seven seven one. If you want to jump
into the conversation, We've got gut feelings coming up at
the bottom of the arm. We usually do this on Tuesday,
but I was, I would say, basically clinically depressed for

(01:32:10):
about thirty six hours. The sting is uh still there.
You know how you when you get bruised and it's
like black and purple and then it starts to get
like to a more of a brownish tone. That's where
I'm in my pain of the cougar's losing time.

Speaker 3 (01:32:24):
Will heal all wounds, Matt, Not really?

Speaker 4 (01:32:26):
I mean not completely, I guess no, no, not completely.
The scars will still be there.

Speaker 2 (01:32:31):
Oh yeah, bad Scar, Lorenzo Charles, Bad Scar of Me
nineteen eighty three, This forty two years ago. I'm still
feeling that, poor baby. We all have those what's your
what's your longest sports car?

Speaker 3 (01:32:49):
Uh eighteen rockets?

Speaker 8 (01:32:52):
Mm hm hmm.

Speaker 2 (01:32:54):
That that's it. That's not bad for you. And you're
in your You're you just turn forty. That's not terrible.

Speaker 7 (01:32:59):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:33:00):
The on nine championship game, when called Cole McCoy got hurt,
Marcel Darius ripped his shoulder in half. Yeah, they got
a three and out and they were driving down the
field with Jordan Shipley got a big pass. There was
like first and goal and then I'm like, oh my god,
they might beat Alabama. And then you got the Garrett
Gilbert come back.

Speaker 4 (01:33:21):
That was what's his name? Mark Ingram ran for like
a billion yards.

Speaker 2 (01:33:25):
Ooh, we have to talk about it.

Speaker 3 (01:33:29):
That one hurts.

Speaker 2 (01:33:29):
Yeah, yeah, you know what, we do have our scars.
We can live with that. A couple of things have
happened on social media that I I don't know if
today's sports organizations are tone deaf or you've got some
youngin's in these media departments, these social media departments that
just don't understand tact. So the Denver Nuggets and not

(01:33:53):
that we spent a lot of time talking Denver Nuggets basketball,
they fired Michael Malone and they fired Calvin Booth. I
didn't read they're not bringing back Calvin Booth. He's a
general manager. So they've they flyt out fired Michael mul
and they owned about twenty five million bucks. They don't
own Calvin Booth anything. He's a general manager, and he
and Michael Malone didn't get along, so instead of firing

(01:34:14):
one of them, they fired both of them. Clean slate. Okay,
the Denver Nuggets put on a tweet earlier, I don't
know when it was, within the last twenty four hours,
thanking Calvin Booth for his time. I don't. I think
sometimes the best things you do are doing nothing at all,

(01:34:34):
because what you're doing is you're putting. You're giving an
opportunity for a fan base. I don't know how big
the Denver Nugget fan base is, but you're giving me
that fan base an opportunity to just take one relentless
shot at you over the other.

Speaker 3 (01:34:47):
Right, I get are people taking shots at Calvin.

Speaker 2 (01:34:52):
Booth, Well, they're like, well, thank you Calvin Booth, and
he's like, that's the reason why this team is underperforming
that the I mean, I just I think sometimes less
is more when it comes to an opportunity to go
on a public form like social media like X and go,
you know, maybe you just let that sleeping dog lie
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (01:35:13):
I mean, he brought the team a championship. You can
thank him, but.

Speaker 2 (01:35:18):
You're nearly not thanking him when you're firing him with
five games up to go in the season. You're basically saying,
we didn't want to wait any longer. We were tired
of you fighting with the coach. Get out. We won't
even let you finish. We won't even let you see
how the playoffs come out. We're not going to give
you an opportunity to craft this team again.

Speaker 3 (01:35:41):
I'm trying to find this post. I'm clear, I'm curious
what people are saying.

Speaker 2 (01:35:48):
And they're making fun of his physical appearance.

Speaker 3 (01:35:50):
Oh that's nice.

Speaker 2 (01:35:52):
Yeah, I mean I just had my I just called
a skinny white ass today. That doesn't happen to me
very often. I was Actually it's like a backhanded compliment.
Correct that Good for you.

Speaker 4 (01:36:04):
You've been waiting, You've been yearning to get called skinny
your whole life.

Speaker 2 (01:36:07):
I know, I only took forty years, forty forty five years.
I just I don't know if you've got twenty three
year olds that just don't get it or their bosses
are saying to do this.

Speaker 3 (01:36:23):
But it just imagine it's from the higher up saying, yeah,
go ahead and thank coach. Yeah there's I see, thank
you Coach Malone, and thank you Calvin listen from two
days ago, and.

Speaker 2 (01:36:35):
What are the responses? Read? A few of them roll out.

Speaker 3 (01:36:36):
Right now, We're good? Whose man's is this? Thanks for nothing?
Where can I applay for the job? Pretty sure I
can do better?

Speaker 2 (01:36:46):
Yeah, so long booth, yeap. Not all publicity. Ross is
good publicity.

Speaker 3 (01:36:57):
Yeah, but this is also all people who pay for
Twitter trying to just get their likes. So I gotta
scroll down to the actual unchecked people. Oh yeah, they're
still upset too. It's so ridiculous. It's like sloughing off
the like the foam off the top of a beer,
with all these check marks who get first in replies

(01:37:17):
because they pay for a free website, right, And you
gotta then, you gotta go to get to what the
what actual people are saying.

Speaker 2 (01:37:24):
And the actual people are all like, thanks for running
this team. They're underperforming. Oh why did you bring Russell Westbrook?

Speaker 3 (01:37:30):
Here?

Speaker 2 (01:37:32):
Enough is enough and Russ is charming for a while
every and we know this first hand from here. And
by the way, so Westbrook was traded.

Speaker 3 (01:37:39):
It was.

Speaker 2 (01:37:39):
It was pretty exciting in Houston, Texas for a short time.

Speaker 3 (01:37:42):
People are saying, don't don't recheck your flural one, kay
I guess it's another bad day at the markets.

Speaker 2 (01:37:48):
Oh four one kse bad day again.

Speaker 3 (01:37:50):
They told you don't check, Matt, don't check.

Speaker 2 (01:37:53):
All right, I'm going to try to not check my
four one k today or the Western check it for
years the Rockets playoffs standing, I have to do that either.

Speaker 4 (01:38:02):
Actually, yeah, I don't do either for years.

Speaker 3 (01:38:05):
It's fine.

Speaker 4 (01:38:05):
Whatever will be will be, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:38:08):
So is there any Rocket? Is there any team you
don't want to play in the playoffs playing the playoffs
or you ain't scared of anybody?

Speaker 3 (01:38:12):
It doesn't matter, no control it.

Speaker 2 (01:38:18):
It really doesn't matter at the end of the day.

Speaker 3 (01:38:21):
But tough. Yeah. Would I rather play the Grizzlies or
the Clippers than the Warriors?

Speaker 4 (01:38:26):
Probably?

Speaker 2 (01:38:27):
I mean, could I get another trip into La out
of this? I mean I could, right.

Speaker 3 (01:38:31):
Grizzlies are really good though they have John Moran, Jaron
Jackson junior, good talented team. They fired their coach, but
they have won three in a row. There's there's gonna
The West is just ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:38:42):
It's yeah, And that's the reality because there's no easy
out period.

Speaker 3 (01:38:45):
Yeah. The seventh se in East, the seventh seed is
a forty win team.

Speaker 2 (01:38:49):
The magic yeah, but that type of that East is
so top heavy. Cleveland and Boston are just ferocious.

Speaker 3 (01:39:03):
Yeah, top three contenders. I would say Thunder Cleveland, Boston, and.

Speaker 2 (01:39:08):
The Rockets if you were to slip in a fourth team.

Speaker 3 (01:39:11):
If you were, I put them in a second tier.
But no, no, no, I'm not sorry, Matt. I know
you're trying. The Rockets are not in the Thunder, Calves
or Celtics tier. They're just not to me.

Speaker 2 (01:39:23):
Okay, well all it is prove you wrong, all.

Speaker 3 (01:39:26):
Right, they would be. They would be underdogs to all
three of those teams in a series. But yeah, I
know they don't.

Speaker 2 (01:39:31):
Maybe independing, but they play in the first rody, maybe
an underdog because of the fact that if you're going
against a team it's veteran lane like Golden State. You
tell me that you wouldn't be I mean, would you
be a favorite even in a two seven and against
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:39:43):
But they don't play the games at the betting window.

Speaker 2 (01:39:44):
Matt, that they don't. I've been telling you that for years.
Vegas is right a lot of time, but then they are.
All right, let's do some cut feelings here. We do
this normally on Tuesdays, but we were in a bad space,
a state of mind on Tuesday. We're in a fresher
frame of mind right now. Now, time for us to
make some sports predictions. If you want some sports predictions
to get on you, off of your chest. If you

(01:40:04):
get them right, you get to brag on the show later.
You can get them wrong. We just forget about them
unless they're so atrocious that we're making fun of you,
but we don't do that here on the show very often.
Seven one three two one two five seven ninety is
how you reach the show. If you want to get
in today, that's seven one three two one two five
seven nine zero. If you want to follow us on Twitter,

(01:40:25):
you may do that as well. It's at sports empty
and at sports RB. That's at Sports Empty and at
sports RB for today's edition of this week's edition of
the Gut Feelings. And again if you want to get
into the conversation, you may do so at seven one
three two one two five seven honety. Make your guts feelings,
make your predictions about who you know? What I got

(01:40:46):
one for you? Who will the Rockets ultimately play in
the playoffs? You're ready for that? That might not be
a bad one here seven one three two one two
five seven on.

Speaker 9 (01:41:00):
You only got a gut dealing.

Speaker 1 (01:41:02):
This is their gut feeling on the Matt Thomas Show.

Speaker 2 (01:41:07):
Prediction time, let's go seven one three two one two
five seven ninety seven one three two one two five
seven nine zero Time for us to get your predictions
in in the world of sports. Seven one three two
one two five seven eight Ross, how would you last week?

Speaker 3 (01:41:25):
Well, let's see what we have, Matt. You had University
of Houston versus Florida in the basketball Championship final. That's correct, Uh,
you said, I guess this is for his Saturday start.
Lance mccullor's junior will pitch in the second Oh no.

Speaker 4 (01:41:42):
No, no, this was you saying that. No, this was
you saying that he will be an opener at some point.

Speaker 3 (01:41:47):
Yeah, Lance color junior will pitch and the start pitching
in the second inning of a game. Got it.

Speaker 4 (01:41:53):
That's all I have written down for you.

Speaker 2 (01:41:55):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:41:55):
I have Astro's next home run, yord On Alvarez. I
believe that was in I think it was Jeremy Pina. Uh,
I said Florida versus Duke Duke wins at all? That
did not happen. It was Florida versus University of Houston
and Florida the Gators matt won the championship. They did,
I didn't know that.

Speaker 2 (01:42:16):
Thanks for praying that along.

Speaker 3 (01:42:17):
I also had the Lady Longhorns winning the national championship.
They got destroyed by South Carolina and.

Speaker 2 (01:42:23):
Then got destroyed by Yukon. Yes, and that I'll conclude
today's edition of Women's College Basketball Talk.

Speaker 3 (01:42:31):
Yes, and that's all I had written down. Dan Matthews
got in with one. Yeah, he had Christian Walker homering.

Speaker 2 (01:42:40):
I think he said.

Speaker 3 (01:42:41):
He said tonight or tomorrow, Oh you were out? Were
you out or something?

Speaker 2 (01:42:46):
Uh, last Tuesday?

Speaker 4 (01:42:50):
I think you were.

Speaker 2 (01:42:51):
Yeah, Oh I was traveling back from La Yes, yes
I was.

Speaker 3 (01:42:55):
And yeah, I think I got some from you late Monday.
That's what I have written down. Okay, he had Christian
Walker hom erring and I think he did the next day.

Speaker 4 (01:43:01):
So okay, we'll give a tip of the captain, Dan Matthews,
thank you, dad.

Speaker 3 (01:43:04):
And for mister Jonathan Allen, he had Auburn in the
final versus Houston, with Houston winning it all.

Speaker 2 (01:43:11):
Loss and a loss.

Speaker 6 (01:43:12):
He's forgetting my first original gut feelings, which is true now,
which was that hits?

Speaker 4 (01:43:18):
The second seed always was stay there?

Speaker 3 (01:43:22):
Oh okay, that was from a few weeks ago. Yeah,
if it's from a few weeks ago, you got to
bring this how gut feelings works, Jonathan.

Speaker 4 (01:43:26):
We recapped the ones from I'm not real.

Speaker 3 (01:43:28):
I'm not recapping ones from all the way to twenty
twenty three or something, and I'm saying that's yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:43:33):
So it's the onus is on you to bring up
anything that's more than a week.

Speaker 2 (01:43:35):
Correct predictions you have to break immediately or we forget
about correct correct Like, for example, it was a few
weeks ago that I said the Cougars would make it
to the final four but lose in the final four,
and that was a correct hit for me. Matt, Yeah, congratulations,
Say I happy for you.

Speaker 3 (01:43:57):
I'm sorry, it's fine.

Speaker 2 (01:44:00):
I don't care. I do care. What do mean telling me?
I do care? I do absolutely care.

Speaker 4 (01:44:04):
Ross, I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (01:44:07):
Sixteen seconds left to get up one shot. It's all
we needed, one freaking shot. Hmmm, I'm getting any shots
in the last minute.

Speaker 4 (01:44:21):
It's gonna be nice, you know what.

Speaker 2 (01:44:25):
I appreciate that. I don't believe it to be genuine,
but I believe I.

Speaker 4 (01:44:27):
Got one for it.

Speaker 3 (01:44:28):
Rockets win their first round series. I don't care who
it is.

Speaker 2 (01:44:32):
That's what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 (01:44:33):
What's up?

Speaker 2 (01:44:36):
And I got one for you. The Rockets win the
first playoff series and it won't even go seven Boom
about that.

Speaker 3 (01:44:42):
Okay, they win, they call it a one upper Nobody
likes a one upper man, but that's but I like
that prediction, thank.

Speaker 2 (01:44:49):
You very much. As I'm going with. Okay, all right,
uh Jonathan, what do you got?

Speaker 3 (01:44:57):
I'm going with.

Speaker 6 (01:44:59):
Honest, I think Houston this first whoever first round they're getting,
look at the standings, is going to be a seven games,
So I'm not gonna win up. But I really don't
think this first round is gonna be easy for Houston,
and I just just from past experiences.

Speaker 2 (01:45:11):
I've growing up with that. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:45:12):
I'm who wins game seven wins?

Speaker 5 (01:45:14):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (01:45:14):
He said, we're gonna get it, but it's gonna be hard.
It's gonna be one of those nail bodied things.

Speaker 3 (01:45:18):
Okay, man, I'm already nervous just hearing that.

Speaker 2 (01:45:22):
I don't know what this is like. Ross. It's been
five years and we've done this. You know this, right,
It has been Matt, Yeah, all right, uh seven one
three two one two five seven outy I got one
for this is way way down the road. There will
be no Astros in next year's World Baseball Classic.

Speaker 3 (01:45:42):
I think that's wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:45:47):
Okay, then I'm gonnaee what you get? Hate tweets Matt.
Why what's the matter with that?

Speaker 3 (01:45:54):
He's saying that you're saying that they're gonna sit out
due to injury risk?

Speaker 2 (01:45:58):
Yes, oh, okay, that's different. What do you think I said? Again?

Speaker 4 (01:46:02):
I guess he was thinking you were saying that they
wouldn't be deserving that.

Speaker 2 (01:46:05):
No, no, why would I say that. That's ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (01:46:08):
I think that's way wrong. I think there will be
multiple astros down.

Speaker 2 (01:46:13):
How about I want them not to play? Is that better?

Speaker 12 (01:46:15):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:46:16):
That it's better?

Speaker 3 (01:46:16):
But all right now my gut feeling multiple astros play.
I think they still. I think they have the most
foreign born players on a major league roster.

Speaker 2 (01:46:29):
Well, i'll tell you what. I'll give you one name
I don't want anywhere near it, jose Al Tuvey.

Speaker 3 (01:46:35):
We'll see, we shall see. No, I want you to
be right. I get it with the injury risk, but
just talking to hear the thing of the players talk
about it. They love the WBC, they love representing their country.

Speaker 2 (01:46:47):
They do. Yeah, I agree, I agree. Let's go to
let's talk to Steven, who's probably down the street here
in La Hi. Stephen, you're on seven of twelve thirty nine.
What's going on?

Speaker 15 (01:47:00):
Hey, guys, I got two gut feelings. The first one
is I think camp Smith gets his first to Brown
against the Angels this weekend. He's been swinging the bat
well and Angels have pretty poor pitching. So that's one.
And my second one is I believe the Rockets will
go further in the NBA playoffs and the OKC sun
ooh whoa, I will okay see is too dependent on

(01:47:28):
on foul calls that you don't get in the regular season.
I like the Rockets being able to manipulate their lineup,
going double big, playing physical.

Speaker 3 (01:47:37):
So yeah, that's my that's my good feeling.

Speaker 2 (01:47:39):
Thanks guys, Thank you Steven. I will say this Ross
there is a little national narrative, whether it's just what
do you call it, the recency bias? Is that what
you call?

Speaker 3 (01:47:48):
Oh there you go?

Speaker 2 (01:47:49):
Sometimes? You know, the Rockets lost or beat them at
Oklahoma City on Friday, then they got beat badly by
the Lakers the next game, and then they were manoamano
with the Lakers again on the Oklahoma City floor, and
the game changed when Luka Doncic got his second technical
valid got tossed out the game, and then it was

(01:48:11):
a different game after that. There is a little bit
of people that are kind of painting this portrait of
maybe Oklahoma City is a tinge overrated.

Speaker 3 (01:48:22):
I think they're still the favorite, but I would make
basically like a horse racing analogy. While they're the favored horse,
it's not like they're you gotta lay money. It's not
like it's even money, you know what I'm saying. They
can be two to one or three. You can still
be two to one and still be the favorite where
everyone else is four to one, five to one.

Speaker 2 (01:48:43):
You're not like the cigar back in the day when
you were getting one to nine.

Speaker 3 (01:48:47):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:48:47):
Who's your favorite horse of all time?

Speaker 3 (01:48:51):
Seattle Slough?

Speaker 2 (01:48:52):
Oh, that'sought a bad one. I'm gonna go Secretariat.

Speaker 3 (01:48:54):
I my Mount Rushmore, Sea Biscuit, Seattle Slough, Yeah, war
Admiral ooh in Secretariat.

Speaker 2 (01:49:04):
My favorite that didn't get off there?

Speaker 3 (01:49:07):
Go. I already know what you're gonna say, goes Frasier, Down,
goes Frasier. I was watching those some of those fights
when George Foreman passed on YouTube.

Speaker 4 (01:49:19):
Dude was a monster Foreman or Howard Cosell, Well, Howard
Cosell too.

Speaker 2 (01:49:26):
Yeah, all right, let me tell you the scenario we're
in currently. Right now, all we have left on the
line is Brad.

Speaker 3 (01:49:31):
Please get ahead of him, please, so you know the.

Speaker 2 (01:49:33):
Rule when Brad calls in, anybody that gets in or
calls seven one three two one two five seven nine
and he can get in before Brad. I mean even
my man Stephen and Lewis or whatever he's calling Carlton,
he could even get in before him. Love it. So
if you want to get in with your gut feeling,
you gotta do it now because if not, Brad's coming
up next with his gut feelings and rash. You better

(01:49:54):
get your penny because it could be like an hour
full of predictions.

Speaker 3 (01:49:58):
Yeah, I guess. I usually write down as bad takes.

Speaker 2 (01:50:02):
That's good seven one three two one two five seven
ninety seven one three two one two five s of
a ninety. If you want a gag, you will get in.
I promise you before Brad in Spring Branch joins us
here on the Matt Thomas Show at Ross seven one
three two one two five seven ninety. That's seven one
three two one two five seven Anty Rosses. Listen it

(01:50:22):
up and post that Thomas Yo.

Speaker 12 (01:50:27):
They got a gut dealer.

Speaker 1 (01:50:29):
This is their gut feeling on the Matt Thomas Show.

Speaker 2 (01:50:33):
Let's go to the phones of talking to the great
people of Houston, Texas and throughout the world on the
iHeartRadio app. Make us your number one preset, right sports Harvey.

Speaker 3 (01:50:42):
Please, we're asking you to make us your number one
preset Karen Sports Talk seven ninety. We would really love
it if you would support the show and the station.
This is uh, I will say, a company the initiative.
So if you want to support us, put us at
the number one preset on your iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 4 (01:50:58):
We have really truly appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (01:51:00):
You know how the presets are Go to the app
and you.

Speaker 3 (01:51:02):
Oh, by the way, hold up even better. You got
Kendrick Lamar tickets to give away with this. We should
be mentioning this like every second of the day. Okay,
Kendrick Lamar tickets. If you show a screen shot email
them to Uh, is it Adam Wes or we're emailing
these two?

Speaker 10 (01:51:20):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:51:20):
Okay, Wex has been getting emails, you know, email me
I'll take them. Ross at Sports seven ninety dot com.
I'm a big Kendrick Lamar fan. You want Kendrick Lamar
tickets at NRG Stadium in like two weeks April twenty third,
take a screenshot of you having Sports Talk seven ninety
as your number one pre set. Email it to me
Ross at Sports seven ninety dot com, and you will

(01:51:42):
be entered to win a pair of tickets to Kendrick
Lamar and Siza at Energy Stadium.

Speaker 2 (01:51:47):
You sit next to me for the event.

Speaker 3 (01:51:49):
Well, I tried, I don't know. I tried to ask
for some free tickets to work, matt and they told me,
told me to shut my butt mess up.

Speaker 2 (01:51:55):
Yeah, you know what, get your damn credit card out, Ross.

Speaker 3 (01:51:58):
These are pricey, Mattie. Price You want to say to
the floor, It's gonna cost you a g.

Speaker 2 (01:52:04):
For Kendrick Lamar.

Speaker 3 (01:52:06):
Yeah, twenty two time Grammy winner or whatever.

Speaker 2 (01:52:08):
It is a voice of a generation.

Speaker 12 (01:52:12):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:52:13):
Pulitzer Prize winner literally the first non jazz or classical
artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. So I
would say that's pretty.

Speaker 2 (01:52:21):
God's gift to the music industry.

Speaker 4 (01:52:23):
Good accomplishment.

Speaker 2 (01:52:24):
Yeah, can't wait, Ray and Parland, what's in your gut?

Speaker 13 (01:52:28):
Right?

Speaker 16 (01:52:29):
Well, I've been looking for the perfect time to call
back and just set Brad off the radio. Has gotta
be the department time.

Speaker 3 (01:52:35):
So last time I.

Speaker 16 (01:52:36):
Called, I predicted that A and M would beat LSU.
That's how long ago it was in the football season.
And as a former Cougar alum, I feel you're paying
Matt and I predict that with our transfers coming in
pop Isaacs and our great recruiting class, we're going back
to back Final four.

Speaker 2 (01:52:54):
All right. But you know what, though, Ray, I don't
want Final forty more. I want the Natty.

Speaker 16 (01:53:01):
Well, the only thing that saved me not losing when
in the Natty was the tattoo I was gonna get,
So I do want the Natty.

Speaker 2 (01:53:06):
Also, what tattoo were you going to get?

Speaker 3 (01:53:10):
Oh?

Speaker 16 (01:53:10):
It was gonna be old Shasta with a staying out
on a basketball holding up the trophy.

Speaker 3 (01:53:17):
MM.

Speaker 2 (01:53:18):
I'm glad you didn't get that.

Speaker 16 (01:53:19):
Just yet, I feel oh, well, to less of my pain.
I did get to go to the Masters on Tuesday.
So that's a nice little humble break.

Speaker 2 (01:53:28):
Oh nice, good for you, Thanks very much, appreciate the
phone call for you. I don't I used to play
golf quite a bit, and I don't play anymore because
I just don't have time to do it. But I
thought about, you know, if I got an invitation to
go to the Masters, I'd probably take it. But it's
not one of those bucket list things anymore like it
used to be for me.

Speaker 3 (01:53:49):
Why not, man, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:53:51):
I first of all, watching golf on television now now
the Tiger's uninvolved and Phil for the most part, it
just it just does nothing for me. I like you,
we did the Bash's scoreboard fifty minutes ago. I mean
I knew who jordan' speth was and who Scottie Schelffer was.
That the rest of the guys, I had no idea
who they were.

Speaker 4 (01:54:10):
It's early.

Speaker 3 (01:54:11):
Matt Hideki Matsuyama will be charging up the leaderboards soon enough.
I'm sure Marie McElroy is. Even through nine.

Speaker 2 (01:54:20):
On Sunday, you're gonna watch more of the NBA. Are
you gonna watch the Masters or through two?

Speaker 16 (01:54:24):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (01:54:25):
Is Tiger involved?

Speaker 13 (01:54:26):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:54:27):
Remember, he's got his he's.

Speaker 4 (01:54:28):
Got his legs are all short the NBA.

Speaker 2 (01:54:30):
Okay, let's go to uh oh boy, this is a
uh James and Kleine James. What's in your gut?

Speaker 3 (01:54:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (01:54:39):
The Cubs nor the Red Sox will make the postseason,
but the Astros will.

Speaker 3 (01:54:44):
WHOA.

Speaker 2 (01:54:46):
That feels like a lot of old astrobias right there?

Speaker 5 (01:54:49):
What it is?

Speaker 3 (01:54:50):
But that's my good feeling.

Speaker 2 (01:54:52):
Okay, thanks for the phone call. We have we done
an update on the guys yet lately.

Speaker 3 (01:54:59):
Let's take a on which guy. Sorry, I'm getting a
flood of Kendrick Lamar emails. Appreciate you guys.

Speaker 2 (01:55:03):
Are you really good? That's good?

Speaker 3 (01:55:05):
People want the tickets. Make us your number one preset.
Send me a screenshot.

Speaker 2 (01:55:09):
I mean when you say flood, how are you are
we talking about?

Speaker 3 (01:55:12):
I got six? That's nice in like a minute. Ross
at Sports seven ninety dot com. By the way, million
seats left. I thought of a stadium Torquay Franklin was
a bit ambitious for Kendrick Lamar and that's bearing out
in Houston. A lot of tickets left, but you want
free ones, We're giving them away. Show us as your
number one pre set send me the screenshot and you'll
be entered to win a pair of tickets.

Speaker 2 (01:55:34):
To Kendricks because he's too a bunch of a chief,
his favorite singer of all time.

Speaker 3 (01:55:39):
If you win, you want to take me, I am
available Wednesday, April twenty third.

Speaker 2 (01:55:44):
You know what you you sell him. He's the one
of a kind. He's a magic man. He's a magician.
He's that if you won't spend money on his tickets.

Speaker 3 (01:55:53):
I've seen him live twice already.

Speaker 2 (01:55:56):
Well, why i've seen I saw Paul McCartney multiple times. Yeah,
bat malla multiple times.

Speaker 3 (01:56:01):
Yeah, these tickets out the price I'm gonna keep look,
I keep it an eye on the prices. I'm looking.
I'm gonna bet you. I'm gonna bet you they're gonna
go down the day of the concert. So I have
not ruled it out.

Speaker 2 (01:56:12):
Nine and six, they're in first place by a half
game over Milwaukee. The Central The Red Sox are six
and seven, and they're in third place, two back of
Toronto in the American League East other thank Yankees. We're
supposed to lose any games. They're seven and five.

Speaker 4 (01:56:27):
Yeah, I think they're pitching.

Speaker 2 (01:56:28):
It has been mad and the Dodgers are ten and four,
which is really good, but that's only they're a half
game back of San Diego, who's ten and three.

Speaker 3 (01:56:35):
Well, Garrett Cole is still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
For Pete's sake, Sal and Paarland.

Speaker 2 (01:56:43):
At twelve fifty four on The Matt Thomas Show with
Ross Sal Good afternoon. What's in your gut? Hey? What's up?

Speaker 5 (01:56:49):
Matt?

Speaker 2 (01:56:50):
Hey?

Speaker 3 (01:56:50):
Ross?

Speaker 2 (01:56:51):
So this is for Matt. This is Mike.

Speaker 6 (01:56:53):
See, I have a Mike Uping in is that Matt
will be a fan of soccer by the time the
World Cup comes to heat.

Speaker 4 (01:57:01):
I don't think it's gonna happen, you know why.

Speaker 3 (01:57:03):
So that's very stubborn, especially he digs in. He doesn't.

Speaker 2 (01:57:07):
Oh my god, I work with the most stubborn person.
I know you what that is?

Speaker 3 (01:57:13):
That is so rich coming from you, open minded and
change my what?

Speaker 2 (01:57:17):
No chance? No?

Speaker 9 (01:57:20):
Yeah, And he'll also by that time he'll he would
have also eaten.

Speaker 2 (01:57:27):
Well okay, let me tell you, Sal, Let me give
it to you right now. Okay, one of those two
could be true. Which one do you think is more
likely to be true? No, soccer, Teresa's greasy. It's greasy.

Speaker 4 (01:57:44):
You see, it's just not again.

Speaker 3 (01:57:46):
I don't know where you're getting your chariso Matt, but
you're not getting the right stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:57:51):
Is greasy by nature. I've never seen this.

Speaker 3 (01:57:53):
Sausage you eat breakfast sausage, you eat Jimmy Dean sausage. Yeah,
but it's not Hamburger's greasy like you eat French toasticks,
which are squirting grease into your mouth with every bite.
You like the falalo fish you are telling me.

Speaker 2 (01:58:06):
Don't let what whitefish delicately fried with a layer of
nice tartar sauce, slice of cheese and a warm bun good.

Speaker 3 (01:58:14):
It is an explosion of grease down your gullet when
you're eating fileal fish.

Speaker 2 (01:58:19):
Getting here, everybody knows how the thereso grease is in
a different Oh.

Speaker 3 (01:58:24):
The McRib, Oh, let me tell you about the it's
got seven under grams of fats.

Speaker 14 (01:58:31):
Stop.

Speaker 3 (01:58:32):
Oh my god, you're ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:58:38):
Last but least, Brad on seven day, Brad, what's in
your gut this week?

Speaker 3 (01:58:44):
Well, besides my gush man. You know you make me way,
but you're gonna have to wait a lot longer than me.

Speaker 4 (01:58:49):
We can hang up on your good leg bread.

Speaker 7 (01:58:53):
All right, So the Astros are not going to the
playoffs this year, and we're gonna get our money back.

Speaker 2 (01:59:01):
Give it up.

Speaker 7 (01:59:02):
And y'all bragged about low perfdo I'm the only one
that bragged about stop, the only one on a major
league roster, and he should be soon enough.

Speaker 4 (01:59:15):
He'll be the third baseman.

Speaker 7 (01:59:18):
I also have the Rockets get going to They'll win
their first couple of laffs when they get to Oklahoma City.

Speaker 3 (01:59:26):
That's when they'll lose.

Speaker 9 (01:59:29):
You there.

Speaker 3 (01:59:29):
Yeah, okay.

Speaker 9 (01:59:32):
I also have the Las Vegas.

Speaker 7 (01:59:35):
Raiders doubling their win total this year.

Speaker 9 (01:59:37):
That's a piece of cake.

Speaker 7 (01:59:39):
I see.

Speaker 3 (01:59:41):
I see Crane buying out, trying to buy out.

Speaker 7 (01:59:45):
Cam Smith's our years as soon as he starts doing really,
really good, and I know he will. I see Jim Crane.
I don't know if it's going to be done. If
if Cam Smith was smart, he'd say no. But I
see Crane trying to buy out his r years. I
see Lance mccullors being one of the starting pitchers.

Speaker 9 (02:00:06):
As soon as he gets back in the rotation.

Speaker 2 (02:00:09):
I see the.

Speaker 7 (02:00:10):
Boston Red Sox winning the American League. I don't know
if they're gonna win the World Series. I have to
wait on that one, but I think I know they'll
win the American League. They're better than the Yankees. They're
better than everybody else in the American League. And they
will go on the trade at the deadline if they
need to better something.

Speaker 2 (02:00:30):
Anything else.

Speaker 9 (02:00:31):
And I guess let's see, Oh yeah, no, oh.

Speaker 7 (02:00:37):
The Rockets will get a center.

Speaker 3 (02:00:39):
In the offseason.

Speaker 7 (02:00:40):
I don't know if it's by draft or trade or
free agency.

Speaker 3 (02:00:44):
But they'll need a nice center.

Speaker 7 (02:00:47):
And that's it.

Speaker 2 (02:00:48):
Okay, you read all that down Ross.

Speaker 3 (02:00:51):
Some of it I zoned out.

Speaker 2 (02:00:53):
I'm long checked out. I have long checked out. All right,
final hour of the show is coming up Ross. What
is today's edition? To Believe or not? In fifteen minutes
from Kendrick Lamar? Actually again, have we done to like
four times of Kendrick Lamar?

Speaker 3 (02:01:07):
I'm just kidding up. First of all, I don't think
it's been done ever on this show. Number one, I
don't know, Calvin Booth, what do you want? Oh?

Speaker 2 (02:01:19):
I got a lot of work ahead of us here,
all right. Brian McTaggart replay coming up in a half
an hour. You may join us next. It's seven one
three two one two five seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven ninety Astros fall, Rockets fall
as well. Luka Doncic goes back to Dallas for the
first time. Among the things we'll get to in the
final hour of The Matt Thomas Show with Ross Here
on Sports Talk seven nine ers What oh four on

(02:01:42):
Sports Talk seven ninety eight is the final hour of
the Matt Thomas Show with Ross. It's seven one three
two one two five seven ninety seven one three two
one two five seven nine zero. I'm watching f S
one right now in my room. I'll see forty five points,
eight rebounds, six assists for Luca Acic last night for
the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, and now he's hugging

(02:02:07):
like Mark Cuban after the game, hugging all the staff members.
How embarrassing for Dallas. Seriously, I don't know. We've talked
about this for a couple of months since the trade.
Where is this gonna go down? Are we gonna remember
this trade for the rest of our adult lives?

Speaker 3 (02:02:21):
I think so. Yes, He's twenty five years old. They
just went to the finals. He's already like third or
fourth in the all time triple doubles list, I'll pull
it up. Is it it's like he's got as many
as Jason Kidd.

Speaker 2 (02:02:38):
Or something like that. Yeah, he's still dowey.

Speaker 3 (02:02:42):
Okay, sorry, he's seventh on the list. But yeah, Jason
Kidd has one hundred. Jason, he's got more triple doubles
than James Harden.

Speaker 4 (02:02:47):
He's twenty five.

Speaker 3 (02:02:48):
Luka doncic. Remember when James Rden was getting a triple
double like every other day.

Speaker 2 (02:02:53):
Yep. By the way, shout out to the officials last
night as Harden kept falling down and wouldn't get cold,
I think he get one whistle on fall down, stuck
out of the free throwing ten times I think last night.
So yeah, I I think this transcends even for basket
even for people that aren't fans of basketball, that you

(02:03:13):
make such a boneheaded decision, it will will it be
something that will ultimately, like everyone talks about. I think
even Jason Kidd, the Mavericks coach, said, you know this
is is this the Babe Ruth trade? But Babe Ruth
wasn't traded to the Red Sox. He just left the
Yank He just let the Red Sox go the Yankees, right.

Speaker 4 (02:03:31):
Uh, he was sold.

Speaker 3 (02:03:32):
He was sold for money, and I think it was
the Red Sox owner wanted to finance a I don't
know it was a play or he needed money.

Speaker 4 (02:03:41):
So he sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. M because
that was the curse of the Bambino.

Speaker 3 (02:03:50):
Mm hmm.

Speaker 13 (02:03:51):
What is this?

Speaker 2 (02:03:51):
The curse of the curse of the Luca.

Speaker 3 (02:03:55):
Don't curse because.

Speaker 2 (02:03:57):
Of the the American Islands is seat. I know that's
the stadium name.

Speaker 3 (02:04:04):
Yeah, the arena. He's going. I guess he's going with
the curse of the American Airlines curse, American trailing, the
airline curse, you know, Okay, the airline curse.

Speaker 2 (02:04:12):
No, the airline curse would be going on a plane
and then having a crash. That would be a curse. Okay.
Uh seven one three two one two five seven ninety
seven one three two one two five seven nine zero
Astros fall in Seattle. They have a day off today,
Rockets are off today. What are we gonna do is

(02:04:32):
a sports society for tomorrow? Oh?

Speaker 3 (02:04:37):
What do you mean?

Speaker 2 (02:04:38):
What are we watching tonight? Nothing? Correct? Mmmm?

Speaker 4 (02:04:42):
Then there's gotta be some Thursday NIGHTE T and T.

Speaker 2 (02:04:44):
Actually, I won't want you won't let me watch basketball
because I gotta look.

Speaker 3 (02:04:47):
At the standings and we can watch it. You just
don't look at the standings. They don't change until games
are over all, right, maybe so, uh, let's see what
our friends on TNT, Slash True, TV, Slash Max have
CALVS Pacers. Nope, no thanks, Yeah, caves are mailing it in.
I guess because the Pacers are nine and a half
point favorites. And then you have Timberwolves Grizzlies.

Speaker 4 (02:05:08):
That should be good.

Speaker 2 (02:05:09):
Oh yeah, a thirty pactful game between you te.

Speaker 4 (02:05:11):
Wolves Grizzlies eight thirty.

Speaker 2 (02:05:13):
Matt, All right, well my time six thirty. I'll tell
you what I am pro west West Coast time zone.
I just like it.

Speaker 3 (02:05:22):
Good.

Speaker 2 (02:05:22):
All your events are done by nine to ten o'clock
local time. You're not having to stay up, you know,
bleary eye because it's one o'clock in the morning watching
a West Coast game.

Speaker 3 (02:05:33):
Central times good.

Speaker 2 (02:05:35):
Central's good. East is the worst. Imagine why if you
were an East Coast fan and you live in the
East Coast and you were going to watch a team
at on them playing in the West. Because you're watching
games at ten o'clock at night and that's who the hell's.

Speaker 3 (02:05:46):
Doing a Yeah, Rockets Clippers started ten to thirty at
in Eastern time.

Speaker 2 (02:05:52):
Yeah, Rockets Lakers tomorrow night will be I think is
also at nine to thirty Central time tomorrow night. So
there you have that, all right, astros' issues. So we
had Brian mctaggard on earlier than you'll hear some of
that conversation coming up in a few minutes here on
the program. Let's get to what is the most Okay,
they're five and seven, right, I mean, this is an

(02:06:12):
extraordinarily sample size. We're talking about what ten percent of
the season would be sixteen games. We're not even at
the ten percent part of the season, correct. So if
you were to put a synopsis to give it the
first twelve games, are you more concerned about the pitching
or more concerned about the hitting? I would say to me,

(02:06:33):
it's still about the hitting, way more than it is
about the pitcher.

Speaker 3 (02:06:36):
It's still about the hitting, even though the bullpen was
giving up runs and gave a bunch of runs yesterday. Yeah,
outside of Josh Hater, everybody's been questionable for the most part, pretty.

Speaker 2 (02:06:46):
Much, including Brian and Brey.

Speaker 3 (02:06:48):
You including Brian to Brey You and frankly.

Speaker 2 (02:06:51):
You've got four or five guys in your Astros bullpen
that you just don't know much about. I mean they're
literally journeymen, and that's what bullpens are typically about, right.

Speaker 3 (02:06:59):
Yeah, yeah, Well, I mean when you had Presley, A Bray,
you and Hayter, you felt a lot better and then
you could figure it out from there.

Speaker 4 (02:07:06):
But yeah, there are you'd like to have three reliable.

Speaker 3 (02:07:09):
Guys in the bullpen and what the Astros approach is
right now, and quite frankly, they had to trade away
Ryan Presley. There's not a whole lot of money to
sign relievers because they are trying to stay up as
as far under the tax as they can. When we
talked about with Brian mctackett earlier, you'll hear it again.
He's talking they couldn't go out and sign a bunch
of guys, so they what they have to do is
you have to kind of just scattershot this and you

(02:07:31):
hope you hit something you're throwing.

Speaker 2 (02:07:34):
If they try to sit undo the tack, Let's figure
out where they got close to the tacks. To begin with,
Tucker's gone, Presley's gone. Well, let's start with a bray
you and Martero. Yeah, it's right, you're stolen the hook
for those guys. Well, not as much as Montero because
of the fact that the Braves are paying some of that, sire,
but you're stolling hook for some of it. Now.

Speaker 3 (02:07:52):
Two Day's number money went up is as far as
his contract extension. He hit the thirty plus million dollars you.

Speaker 2 (02:07:58):
Pay Christian Walker a pretty chunk of chain, correct. Jordan Alvarez,
M hmm, you bought an arbitration years on that and whatnot.
So he's he's set up to a more money than
you would normally spend on a guy like that.

Speaker 3 (02:08:10):
Yes, Josh Hater is making nineteen million a year. Lance
mc colors juniors making eighteen million dollars a year.

Speaker 2 (02:08:17):
To clinch your teeth, it's fine.

Speaker 3 (02:08:18):
We're used to it, and so you gotta find values elsewhere.
So yeah, I mean, people are also crushing Dana Brown
for this, the building of this bullpen. It's like he's
following instructions from the owner. They don't want to go
over the tax. So you got to slap some stuff
together and hope something works, and you're you're gonna get
forced Whitley back. You're gonna get Caleb ort back, but

(02:08:41):
we're neither of those guys have really long major league
track records. And then yeah, we're talking about Brian King,
Stephen Okurt Bennett, SUSA, Luis Contreras like, yeah, Taylor Scott,
the Journeyman from the they're really throwing out of South
African out there is one of their best pictures.

Speaker 2 (02:08:59):
Well, the reality is that every single year Ross this
is the audience too. Most teams have to really really
struggle to have a smile on their face about their
middle relief.

Speaker 3 (02:09:12):
M H.

Speaker 2 (02:09:13):
That's why teams are in such flux when it comes
to that. That's why there's in some respects if you
got seven, eight nine, you feel like you'll take your
chances because you know if it gets to the back end,
you're safe. But one of those key members of that
back end of the bullpen struggles. I mean Brian A. Bray,
you was did he not enter the game with a

(02:09:33):
two run lead, right to run lead?

Speaker 4 (02:09:35):
With Brian Bray, you should have been game over against Not.

Speaker 2 (02:09:39):
That he has to be perfect every single time, but
that should have been enough against a meek hitting Seattle
Mariner team.

Speaker 3 (02:09:46):
MM hmm.

Speaker 2 (02:09:51):
So that's the reason why yesterday hurt so much, just
because it wasn't because you asked, you know, and you
brought up all the different names of players. You didn't
ask Contreras to go three innings and finish a game
for you. You bridged him. You bridge him to a
bray you two run lead against Seattle, not known for
having a lot of power, although Randy rose Arenez, you know,

(02:10:15):
pretty decent hitter for them.

Speaker 3 (02:10:17):
Yeah, I was that. We mentioned a brad who's already
been six of their twelve games. Jo Aspota mentioned after
the game. I know people wanted Contreras out of the
game earlier, and I totally understand that.

Speaker 2 (02:10:25):
But Joe A.

Speaker 3 (02:10:25):
Spotta, who is a general, I mean, who is a
major league manager, for a reason, he had a reason
behind what he was doing. He said he wanted to
make sure at all costs he did not go to
Brian a Brew for more than three outs. So he
didn't want to put Ochrid in there and then have
him run into trouble and then you're trying to go
to a bred you Unfortunately, he gambled that Contreras was

(02:10:46):
going to do his job. He did not, But at
the end of the day. However, he bridged it. He
got to the ninth inning with a two run lead
and Brian A Bray to close it out.

Speaker 2 (02:10:56):
And when he is a he's one of your two
spoke to be unbelievably reliable, lockdown, high leverage guys. Fails you,
you're gonna lose. You're going you know, because again you
didn't have any reinforcements your offense, as you mentioned earlier
in the show, where they left thirteen men on base
something like that. Runners, scoring position numbers weren't great, but

(02:11:19):
there was enough. I mean that the Astros offense will
again could have done more, did enough to give you
a five nothing lead.

Speaker 3 (02:11:25):
You had you had it. Yeah, you had a two
run lead with Brian A Brew going up against the
number six spot, yep, six, seven, eight, nine. You got
some room, get some outs.

Speaker 2 (02:11:40):
And remember it's they're five and seven. This isn't too
This isn't Atlanta right now, This isn't two and ten,
This isn't trying to think who else is really off
the bad start?

Speaker 5 (02:11:52):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (02:11:52):
The White well, the White Sox sucks that. This isn't
I mean, you think we're working out here in Houston
imagine Baltimore. A lot of folks, including me, thought there
was gonna be a legit in American League title contender.
They're five and eight.

Speaker 4 (02:12:03):
Yeah, the good news is a it's early be the bats.
Will we better see?

Speaker 3 (02:12:06):
The division is not good. Nobody, nobody has a positive
run differential on the whole division.

Speaker 2 (02:12:12):
Who did Texas play'm gonnak at their schedules? If they
have play anybody worth anybody? They did go to Chicago
and when oh they lost two out of three of
the Cubs. Yeah, they had the Rays there. They went
to the Breads.

Speaker 3 (02:12:21):
I mean they beat the Reds two straight. Won nothing games.
They've won a lot of they've already won. Let's see,
looks like four yep, if not, I know five of
their nine wins are one run ball games.

Speaker 2 (02:12:33):
So to me, going back to the central point, the
bats of guys are heating up. Jeremy Panney were waiting
for the clock to to, you know, to speed up
a little bit. For a guy that was unbelievable in
the championship of was it twenty three right?

Speaker 3 (02:12:53):
Mm hmm?

Speaker 2 (02:12:54):
To where he is now, it's he's kind of stuck
in neutral, not even taking a step back. Offensively with
that be fair to say.

Speaker 3 (02:13:01):
I think that's fair.

Speaker 2 (02:13:05):
Yaner Diez, I think he's a twenty five home run
guy that Jordan certainly is a thirty to thirty five
home run guy. Need that, Christian Walker. I mean, there's
just there's too many things.

Speaker 3 (02:13:17):
For me to say.

Speaker 2 (02:13:18):
It's too easy to blame the bullpen for yesterday and
for some of the issues. The Astros offense just has
to be better.

Speaker 3 (02:13:26):
Well, the good news is Yaner Diaz had a negative
thirty nine oh ps plus it went up to negative
thirty eight.

Speaker 2 (02:13:32):
So it's okay. Remember averages one hundred correct, so he's
got work to do.

Speaker 3 (02:13:37):
Negative thirty eight, which I didn't even know until Jose
Bray You taught me that you could have negative numbers
out thes plus.

Speaker 4 (02:13:43):
I didn't know it until I saw Jose Bray You.

Speaker 2 (02:13:46):
It's it's very it's it's it's a concern. But remember
it's we're looking at eight percent of the season gone
so far, right, I.

Speaker 4 (02:13:54):
Would say, I'm but I'm more concerned.

Speaker 3 (02:13:56):
I'm less concerned about Walker and Alvarez, more concerned about
maybe your das until to some extent, Jeremy Payne as well.

Speaker 2 (02:14:02):
Yeah, all right, one sixteen Matt Thomas Show with Ross continues.
I'm here in Los Angeles Rockets and Lakers tomorrow night
seven one three, two, one, two, five, seven ninety seven.
Those of you that are UH Cougars fans, Harold Arsen
and Harold Arsenal, Terrence Arsenal has entered the portal. There

(02:14:22):
you go, wishing the very best.

Speaker 3 (02:14:26):
There you go, Matt.

Speaker 4 (02:14:28):
Yeah, I mean it's gonna be.

Speaker 3 (02:14:30):
There's a logjam on the roster correct too many, like
seriously literally in an abundance of talent.

Speaker 2 (02:14:36):
Yeah, I mean I think you have that heart to
heart with some of those players and you say, hey,
what's my role? And I don't think the coach Mince's
words says, we think you're no more than you know,
a second or third guard off the bench. And Terrence
is probably thinking, you know what, I can go play
for another school and maybe you know, play more minutes. Yeah,
you know it is what it is.

Speaker 4 (02:15:00):
Yeah, wishing him the best, as you said, Mat.

Speaker 2 (02:15:02):
Yeah, I you know, I've always old the belief that
years ago that you kind of stick to your commitment.
But with coaches changing left and right, I mean, look,
look what happened just after the tournam after these teams
are being eliminated into March madness. These these coaches were
bouncing around from school to school to school, not even
letting the uh the the tears uh dry up after

(02:15:24):
losing a game. They're they're on their way out. I mean,
I mean, Knees State coach goes to North carol And State.
We'll wade you got what's his name, Buzz Williams going
to uh uh? Where did he go? Maryland? I mean, everybody,
everybody's just it's they're just highed assassins. That's it. We

(02:15:45):
still like it. I said, thirty thousand my Cougar friends
were there in San Antonio. We enjoyed it.

Speaker 5 (02:15:52):
The portal.

Speaker 2 (02:15:54):
Where to run a national championship.

Speaker 3 (02:15:58):
That's true.

Speaker 2 (02:16:02):
So, I you know, I had this as a fair
approach to it. I just, I just I don't have
any emotions about it. There was an interesting tweet that
I saw. I don't know who it was that was
one of the four and the four U tab you
know the I think it was Jeff Goodman that put
it out. College Basketball Runner that picks like twenty four

(02:16:22):
through thirty are about three million dollars a year. In
the NBA draft coming up next year, Rossie, if you're
a really good college player and you're playing in a
Power four program or for that matter, power five you
called the Big East, I mean, there's a lot you
can get three million dollars next year to play college basketball.

Speaker 3 (02:16:38):
Easy, easy, easy easy. You're not a top twenty five
type player in the country. I know, I'm just asking.
That seems crazy to me that you're not one of
the top twenty five players in the country, because because
you're not going to be top twenty five in the draft,
you're not well I guess say there's of course international
players as well, but right top twenty.

Speaker 2 (02:16:57):
Ish, I think I think it's now now. There's never
the thought now is ross You don't go back because
you're looking to hone your skills. You're going back is
because financially, you can stick around in college one more year.
You can still hone your skills and still make a
lot of money and probably improve your drift. If someone
comes to you and says, I think you're a late

(02:17:17):
first round pick, or you can stay at X y
Z school and get paid two and a half or
three million dollars and work on your draft status kind
of a no brainer, is it not.

Speaker 3 (02:17:29):
Yeah, and you have some guys who are really really
good college players who right probably aren't going to be
NBA players or factor much in the NBA, who can
come back.

Speaker 2 (02:17:40):
Yeah. I just and honestly, I don't know where this
is all where the money is coming from. I mean
you you've already gone to the boosters enough as it
is to build facilities and fund scholarships and put money
in the in the confer I mean, where is this
found money coming from? Or has it just been a
loose years.

Speaker 3 (02:18:00):
To an extent, right, A percentage of it was under
the table is now over the table. But it's what
what person? I don't think it's one hundred pcent. I
don't think it's close to one hundred percent right right right?

Speaker 2 (02:18:10):
Like I saw the NIL guy for the University of
Houston bumping around in San Antonio. It was like he
was he was like a used car salesman. Hey, what's
up man, we'll get your car.

Speaker 3 (02:18:19):
Yeah, you make some donations, let's go.

Speaker 2 (02:18:21):
Yeah, you're getting not a damn penny from me.

Speaker 3 (02:18:24):
Program's gotta get their weight up, Maddie, let's go. I mean,
Joseph de wart. They just retweeted a Wall Street Journal article.
I think the University of Houston cougars at the fifty
eighth most valuable basketball program.

Speaker 2 (02:18:41):
That's based off of what is currently invested in terms
of what the.

Speaker 3 (02:18:45):
It's a paywall. I'm getting paywalled hard by the Wall
Street Journal. I mean I will pay. I pay for
like the Chronicle, I pay for the Athletic. I got
no reason to pay for the Wall Street Journal. So
I'm wishing them the best. Yeah, I'm not paying that
they can shut their b mess up.

Speaker 2 (02:18:58):
Alan and Tom ball at one twel thanks for holding
a good afternoon to you.

Speaker 9 (02:19:03):
Hey, I get after doing Guys of Case, I have
two questions. Yeah, First of all, Matt, when you do
the play a boy play for the Rockets, and then
you have the guys that do the television, why can't
they just dub you into the TV as well? Because
is it a money thing or how's that working?

Speaker 2 (02:19:18):
What do you mean by a money thing?

Speaker 9 (02:19:20):
Well, I mean I'm just wondering. You know, your call
on the radio, right, and then you've got the other
guys calling on TV.

Speaker 2 (02:19:28):
That's right?

Speaker 9 (02:19:28):
Why can't they just have one play by play? Gas?

Speaker 2 (02:19:31):
Oh? I see what you're saying, simulcast what you're talking about,
because if you're watching a television broadcast, you are seeing
where the ball is placed, You're seeing where the shot
is taken. When you're doing television play by play, you
don't have to do as much of the play calling.
I have to describe every single moment of the game,
where the ball is, who's got the ball in their hand,

(02:19:54):
where it was shot, how far it was, what's on
the shot clock, what the time is in television your
TV play I play. Guys still have to do some
of that, but it's just it's much more of a
uh it's it's frankly, it's a lot less work because
you're seeing most of the stuff that I'm describing on
the road.

Speaker 9 (02:20:12):
Yeah, okay, that makes sense. Okay, Well real quick, I've
got two games to go to in May for the Astros.
Can y'all give me two games to go to with
y'all would think the best games would be in May?

Speaker 2 (02:20:23):
Well, I mean, who are you going to see individual teams?
Or are you just what do you? What do you?

Speaker 5 (02:20:27):
What do you?

Speaker 2 (02:20:27):
I'm curious, way, what's what's the parameters here?

Speaker 9 (02:20:31):
I just go parameters? I just have two days in
May I can go to the game. And I'm forgot
which which teams would be, which two games would be
the best to go to. I'm not really worried about
bibbleheads and forgiveaways and all that.

Speaker 3 (02:20:44):
I'm gonna tell you. I was in town, Matt, May.

Speaker 2 (02:20:47):
It's awful. You've picked a terrible month to go to
two games. It's the Reds than the Royals. Yeah, in
the Battle mirrors the As Yeah, the greatest.

Speaker 9 (02:21:00):
But that's what I got.

Speaker 2 (02:21:02):
I would go to two probably Kansas City games.

Speaker 9 (02:21:07):
Two k C games.

Speaker 3 (02:21:08):
Okay, go see the Mariners. It'd be good pitching matchups.

Speaker 2 (02:21:12):
I don't want that.

Speaker 9 (02:21:17):
I was talking about. I was gonna be able to
catch the Cubs or the Red Sox. But the ain's
gonna happen soon.

Speaker 2 (02:21:23):
No, you go Cubs, But well, thanks for the phone call.
The Cubs are coming to town in late June. The
Yankees come to town in early September. The Red Sox
will be here in early August.

Speaker 3 (02:21:43):
I was watching a little snippet of a podcast, Matt.
They were talking about Kyle Tucker's projected contract. Now that
Vladdie's got fourteen years.

Speaker 2 (02:21:53):
Oh yeah, please I want to hear this.

Speaker 3 (02:21:56):
Uh, they were talking about basically eleven years, four hundred million.

Speaker 2 (02:22:03):
Wow, that would be a loss. That'd be a loss
for me. I might bet on that with you.

Speaker 3 (02:22:12):
It's a buster only in somebody called Paul Himbikitis.

Speaker 2 (02:22:16):
I guess.

Speaker 3 (02:22:18):
He's on ESPN platforms.

Speaker 2 (02:22:22):
Yeah, all right, I wish Tuck the best it. Tuck's
a good guy and if you know, if he crushes,
he crushes Aman. Nothing more as I could do than
that dis applaud him. Tucker is two years older than Vladim.

Speaker 3 (02:22:33):
Yeah, that's bad for our bed of seven and a
half years for you because the market was it's got
leaner with them locking up. Yeah, fourteen year contract for Vladito.

Speaker 2 (02:22:46):
Do you think the Blue Jays will regret that? The
answers yes, At what point will they s?

Speaker 3 (02:22:52):
Yeah, then we read the end of it, I imagine.

Speaker 2 (02:22:55):
Yeah. All right, tags with this earlier today If you
missed the conversation, he's next. It is one at thirty
one here on Sports Talk seven ninety seven one three
two one two five seven ninety seven one three two
one two five seven hoety ross. What is coming up?
In April the fifteenth? Every Thursday at eleven o'clock here
on the Matt Thomas Show with Ross, we have a
chance to catch up with Brian mctaggan. We played for

(02:23:16):
the one o'clock audience as well, in case you missed
him earlier today, and our conversation got into the disappointment
that was a five nothing lead that eventually turned into
a Seattle victory.

Speaker 11 (02:23:27):
Yeah, I mean, you're coming off, you know, the worst
loss of the season out of only twelve. But uh,
they did, you know, if you're looking at it glass full,
they had a three and three road trip, so you know,
you take that, but yeah, they chance to have a
four and two road trip is right there.

Speaker 3 (02:23:41):
You know, I think coming into season, and I think
I told you that, you know, I think.

Speaker 11 (02:23:45):
I thought the biggest issue was probably going to be
the bullpen, and the bullpen had been pretty good up
until up until yesterday.

Speaker 3 (02:23:52):
And yeah, I mean, hater was down because.

Speaker 11 (02:23:56):
With Arraghetty being out and now you had a short
start from Blanco, you're having to.

Speaker 3 (02:24:00):
Use guys more.

Speaker 11 (02:24:01):
You're already behind the eight ball a little bit in usage,
so they really need the off they to reset things.
It's kind of early for that to be happening, but
that's the reality. And and they're already doing some bullpen shuffling.
But you know, you know, Contreers came in and loaded
the bases right away. And then, uh, you know, Okert,
who's been really good, you know, you're asking him just
to you know, put out a four alarms fire at

(02:24:22):
that point, and you know that's really tough to do.
And the Brave ones the head scratcher, because that's that's
where you're gonna need him sometimes to close games like that,
but you're gonna need him an eighth inning, and you know,
he can't come out there and just not command his
pitches and allow them to, you know, to to win
the game like that.

Speaker 4 (02:24:39):
So that that's got to be a you know, troublesome
still early.

Speaker 11 (02:24:42):
I mean a Brave's pitched the six games he's got,
you know what, a five plus e RA got to
clean that up a little bit.

Speaker 3 (02:24:49):
You know.

Speaker 11 (02:24:49):
Still the offense still looks like a big issue as well,
with you know, several guys in the lineup just not hitting.
But again, still still really early, and they're they're five
and seven. They're better off than they were at this
point last year. But yeah, there's some issues with his teeth.

Speaker 2 (02:25:05):
Yeah, still in the in the key is still early
and look, every team can turn it up or it
could be a season long problem. We don't have We
don't have a crystal ball in front of us here
on that. But was there any signs about a Bray?
You look, we spent a lot of the off season
talking about got to make sure his appearance count is
reduced from a year ago. Is there any signs in
spring training? They said, all right, the great Brian a

(02:25:27):
Bray that was a part of last year maybe isn't
on the plane just yet coming to Texas.

Speaker 3 (02:25:33):
Well.

Speaker 11 (02:25:33):
I mean, you know, it's really hard to tell in
spring with you know, especially veteran guys who are established
like him, they're always working on things. They're not necessarily
going out there and trying to blow guys away and
get out. So, I mean, he looked pretty good in
the spring, but you know, they played twelve games, he's
pitched six, so you know, you're right back at that,
you know, eighty eighty one game pace that they wanted

(02:25:54):
to try to avoid, and they haven't been able to
do that so far. In the first couple of weeks
of the season, but he's walk six guys in five
and the third innings. I mean, that's that's just they
that just can't continue. And so he's just whatever, whatever
the control issues are, he's got to rain that in.
He still has strikeout stuff, elite stuff, but the walks
are just killing them right now, and so that's that's

(02:26:15):
got to be corrected. But you know, Lewis Contreras has
watched five guys and six innings, and you know, he's
he's not a guy that they're counting on as much
as a bray you. But I think I think we're
just gonna see a lot of shuffling in this bullpen.
But they they need the back end guys. Hater who's
been really good I bray you and then you know,
maybe Brian King's or seventh and a guy. They need
those guys to step up and be consistent because I

(02:26:36):
think we're going to see a lot of shuffling and
inconsistency behind them.

Speaker 3 (02:26:42):
I imagine we agree Brian that at the end of
the day, whoever's gone out there has to get the
job done. And that didn't happen yesterday, but just in
the moment of the decision making of Joe spot, how
how have you been feeling about the way things have
been handled. I can't take qualms with anything he's done.

Speaker 11 (02:27:01):
I mean, I think they knew coming in the bullpen
was was probably not their strength, and you can only
call on.

Speaker 3 (02:27:09):
The guys you have down there to bring out there
and go out there and pitch.

Speaker 11 (02:27:12):
I mean, losing arraghetti, you know that that was a
big key piece of the rotation.

Speaker 3 (02:27:17):
So they're going to have to, you know, fill that now.

Speaker 11 (02:27:20):
But I think as far as the bullpen decisions and
his lineup, I mean, this is not a team that's
five and seven because anything the manager has done. It's
just because they haven't hit and some of their key
relievers haven't gotten out.

Speaker 3 (02:27:33):
It's a key times, I mean, and that's it.

Speaker 11 (02:27:34):
The starting pitch has been pretty good for the most part,
but I mean it's you know, I'm not going to
sit here and I mean watching these games, I haven't
seen anything where I'm like, oh, you know, what is
Joe doing. I mean he's he's doing everything he can
at this point to try to put them in position
to win. And look, yesterday they were four outs away
from a four and two road trip, and the bullpen imploded,

(02:27:56):
So I mean, that's that's certainly not on him.

Speaker 3 (02:28:00):
With us here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Let's go
to the offense side. We know that it will turn
at some point. They are last in the majors in
team OPS. But I guess the question remains how much
will it turn to where we were hoping for forty
plus bombs from your on, We're hoping for for Jeremy
Penion have the best offensive year of his career, and
I just it's kind of in the balance of how

(02:28:21):
close to those types of aspirations we had will get.

Speaker 11 (02:28:26):
Yeah, I mean they're I think their last and last
and slugging. They're I think they're twenty six and runs
last in doubles. It's just across the board. I mean,
Peyon had a really, really good spring just from start
to finish. I mean, he looked like a guy who
was just ready to come out and have his best season.
Still could but uh, you know, twelve games in he's

(02:28:47):
he's got a six thirty five ops.

Speaker 3 (02:28:49):
You know, Alvarez is the one they got to get going.

Speaker 11 (02:28:50):
I mean, they cannot win if Alvarez is hitting one
ninety five with a six hundred ops with one homer
every two weeks. It's just they cannot get it done.
Janner Diaz is another one. He has two hits and
thirty three bats. I mean, just he's the guy that
hits in the middle of the lineup and it's just
just killing them right now. So Pretties has been okay,

(02:29:12):
you know, not bad. Brendan Rodgers has been you know, okay.
Al two Bay's Ben al two ba of course. I
think Christian Walker another guy who has to get it
turned around a little bit. I mean there's three key bats. Diaz,
Walker and Alvarez are just not getting it done right now.
That is the reason they're at where they're at. Yes,
and they can turn this around with one big weekend
and everyone's back on track. Cam Smith book out on

(02:29:34):
him a little bit. You know, he's coming around a
little bit. Of the bats look a little bit better.
But you really weren't. You know, you didn't know really
what you're gonna get from him. But those key big
three bats in the middle have to get going.

Speaker 2 (02:29:46):
Brian mctagger at MLB dot com with us year on
Sports Talk seven to ninety. I want to go back
to the bullpen for a second. Not necessarily the group,
but the Montero trade to Atlanta. Uh he do you
think in your mind this has been in works for
a while while that maybe a change of scenery would
be better to get something back in return, get a
little bit of financial savings on that, or do you

(02:30:08):
think that Dana said, you know what, it'd be best
served if we moved him somewhere else.

Speaker 3 (02:30:14):
My guess is they've been trying to do it for
a while.

Speaker 11 (02:30:15):
I mean, if you look at the moves they've made
over the last few months, I mean this this team's
in a little bit of a penny pinching mode. I
mean they traded it, uh you know, Presley for you know,
financial reasons, and Tucker because they knew they wouldn't resign him.
So it only makes sense that Montero, guy making the
money he's making eleven plus million, would be you know,

(02:30:36):
on the market as well. Maybe you know, some teams
wanted to wait to see how he did to start
the year, but certainly this was you know, Maye to
you know, a reliever. I think they can do without
who is expendable. The Braves can pay some money and
they you know, they can call up somebody else like
Bennett SUSA, who might be able to do, you know,
a better job than the Montero. So I think it
was all you know, financially driven. They're just they're just

(02:30:57):
trying to save as much as they can. I mean,
I think they'll have a lot more payroll flexibility this year,
but they're just in penny pension mode right now. And
I say that they still have, you know, a top
five payroll. Penny pension mode's relative here for what the
Astros do. It's not like they have a small payroll,
but they're trying to you know, avoid going over the
luxury tax and uh, you know, next year they'll have
a lot.

Speaker 3 (02:31:17):
More money to do some things. But that's just kind
of the reality they're in right now.

Speaker 2 (02:31:21):
That is because of again, the Jose of Brew contract
is still under their watch until that expires at the
end of the year. Up next, we're gonna play believe
it or not. It is highly googleable about the Masters
if you would like to play for a chance, it's
some amazing prizes. Seven one three two one two five
seven ninety seven one three two one two five seven
ninety Tomorrow on the radio show, we have both of

(02:31:46):
the radio broadcasters for the teams we are in the station.
Robert Ford is gonna stop buying eleven o'clock tomorrow. Kraig
Ackman will be by as well. You got to figure
out what we're gonna do for a time on him.
We're going to have lunch right now, as we'll have
an executive meeting on that. I have I'm sorry tomorrow
eleven thirty. We have email Adoka at one point thirty.
We're gonna have non flour stories a little earlier at
one twenty. And of course, helly, you're out so a

(02:32:09):
very busy friday. Ross is off tomorrow, so it'll be
just me and you and a chance for us just
to get to know each other and basically bash Ross
for four hours on a Friday.

Speaker 3 (02:32:18):
That'd be rude. Sounds good, you had a bash me
for four hours. I mean you can take a little break.

Speaker 9 (02:32:23):
Yeah, I might.

Speaker 2 (02:32:24):
I might look between eleven thirty and twelve tomorrow when
I'm saying I'm sorry, I won't be bashing you during
that time. Okay, it just feels right. Uh Okay, So Ross, Uh,
nobody locally playing tonight. We've got the masters. The Masters, Yes,
give you the most intense Masters coverage on the radio tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (02:32:44):
Unbelievable stuff. I can't wait.

Speaker 2 (02:32:46):
I'm getting into some serious offensive. We get some draft
talk going on the Texans too. Can't get enough of.

Speaker 3 (02:32:50):
That Draft talk seven ninety uh. And you know what,
let's do one more reminder, Matt Kendrick Lamar tickets. If
you email me Ross at sports seven ninety dot com,
you have US Sports Talk seven iety as your number
one pre set on the iHeartRadio app. I had a
lot of people sending me there at car radios, Matt
iHeartRadio app number one pre set. Send me a screenshot
to that. You will be entered to win a pair

(02:33:12):
of tickets to Kendrick Lamar and Sissa at the NRG
Stadium April twenty third. The drawing will be tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (02:33:19):
What is your favorite Scissa song?

Speaker 3 (02:33:22):
All of them?

Speaker 2 (02:33:24):
Me too?

Speaker 3 (02:33:25):
All?

Speaker 2 (02:33:25):
There is one. I can't, I can't.

Speaker 3 (02:33:27):
What's Jonathan? What's your favorite Sissa song? You know I
don't like Sizen. Oh she can she doesn't. You can't
hear her, you don't understand her. There you go. Oh
those lips, dude, No excuse me, she has well, she
has very big lips.

Speaker 4 (02:33:45):
But it's lipping Jackson's is fake.

Speaker 2 (02:33:47):
It's yeah, I'm looking her up right. Now. Let's take
a look at sol Sissy here.

Speaker 4 (02:33:53):
What about Kendrick. Do you like Kendrick Johnan, I like Kendrick.
Oh that was that was a light?

Speaker 8 (02:33:58):
Eh?

Speaker 2 (02:33:59):
Yeah, yeah that was Luke Warman boy. Her lips are big.
She's cute, though. Does she like get the like Phil?
What they call him filler?

Speaker 3 (02:34:09):
Some people love big big lips. Its filler in the BBLS.

Speaker 2 (02:34:14):
You know, I don't think I can say that.

Speaker 3 (02:34:20):
Brazilian up button lift Matt Bba.

Speaker 2 (02:34:22):
There we go.

Speaker 4 (02:34:22):
Okay, I'm trying to help you out here.

Speaker 2 (02:34:25):
Thank you. Five minutes left to go in the show.
What should we do except Lee? Probably we should play
America's fastest growing sports radio game show. We simply called
it be Believe It or Not? And here's how it works.
You'll call seven one three two one two fives of
an Auntie seven one three two one two five seven

(02:34:45):
Hontie Today's edition and believe or Not? Is is this
person in the masters field? Or is he a US
governor or world leader? You get like two seconds answer
this question. If I give you a name and he's
in the Master's Field. You'll say this, believe it. If
he's a a US governor or world leader, you'll say
this not to believe it or not? In a row
win your prize. What are you playing for today, Jonathan?

Speaker 8 (02:35:06):
All right?

Speaker 6 (02:35:07):
We got the Sports Talk seven ninety t shirt. Then
a pair of tickets to see live and Collect the
Soul on the Summer Unity Tour with our Lady Peace
and Graylen James Rue on August fifteenth to the seventy
one to three Music Hall.

Speaker 2 (02:35:18):
Joe on seven nine. You're ready to play Believe it
or not? Joe is not ready to play. Let's go
to Paul on seven Aunty Paul, you're ready to play
believe or not? You better believe it. Metta Fredrickson is
a Master's Field participant, Believe it or not?

Speaker 7 (02:35:35):
Believe it?

Speaker 2 (02:35:36):
No, he's a president Denmark? Sorry?

Speaker 3 (02:35:39):
She actually whatever?

Speaker 2 (02:35:42):
Uh? Dean on seven Honty, Dean, you're ready to play
believe it or not? Believe it? Dean? Your question? Is
Mark Gordon a Master's Field participant? Believe it or not? Not? Yeah?
He's governor? Went own number two for the win, Alexander
the You Crew. That's Dee Space Croo Alexander Decrue a

(02:36:06):
member of the Masters. Believe it or not Believe it?

Speaker 4 (02:36:11):
No, he's a Prime Minister of Belgium.

Speaker 2 (02:36:13):
Duh Mike on SEVENINTI, Mike, what was your favorite part
of today's radio show.

Speaker 3 (02:36:21):
When Ross was bashing about the UFL screwer?

Speaker 2 (02:36:25):
Nikolai Hogard member of the masteris Believe it or not
Believe it? Next for the Wind, Jose Maria Ole Fable
believe it or not not? Oh, come on, that guy's
been around for twenty years. You suck bashing of my
cougars too. Have great day, though, Dave on seven ninety day.

(02:36:47):
You ready to play believe it or not believe it?

Speaker 16 (02:36:51):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (02:36:51):
Daniel Berger? Remember the Masters believe it or not believe it? Yeah,
I believe it. Name number two for the Wind Joe
Heismith is that the Masters Believe it or not not? No,
he's there. I did not You did not you make it?
Step up, Nail on seven ninety Miil, You're ready to

(02:37:12):
play Believe it or not believe it? Josh Green at
the Masters. Believe it or not Believe it? No, he's
a governor whole life. Last one Bruce on SEVENINTI. Bruce,
You're ready to play. Believe it or not. Marcelo Desusa
is at the Masters, believe it or not not. Yeah,

(02:37:34):
he's the President of Portugal. Name number two for the wind.
Rafael Campost said, the Masters believe it or.

Speaker 5 (02:37:40):
Not, you'll believe it.

Speaker 2 (02:37:42):
Yeah, there you go. It's on. I gotta win, nae
you go. That's it for the radio program today. Talk
to you tomorrow for and anything goes Friday will wake
the strippers up at noon. We have our Friday open
at ten o'clock, which I'm definitely afraid of. Gonna involve
a lot of uncomfortable things I've said over the past week.
Up next, Clayton Wexler bet right here on Sports Talk

(02:38:05):
seven nineteen sho