Calm Down Astros Fans!

Welcomeboard, Welcome to another Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven ninety Dad Matthews Live and local h town breakdown of the world that matters to you, the Houston sports world. All these great Houston fans here. We love you all, So finish up on that to do list. S loute up the cooler because you can't drink in talk sports all day if you don't start now bear near the eight. This is Space City Saturday. It's insane. Here's seven

nineties Dan Matthews. Get things fired up around here. Huh. But anyway, hopefully if you are that fired up about the fishing and wildlife out there, well then you are also fired up to talk some sports. Let's do it right here on Space City Saturday. What's going on everybody, Dan Matthews here on a Saturday morning. If you want to weigh in, you can someone three two, one, two five, seven ninety and of the many ways to go on this show today, let's go ahead and take us actually

back to twenty four hours ago. Were ready. We've gotten into Dolorean. Doc Brown has said, Rhodes where we're going, we don't need roads, and we've taken off and we're thinking to ourselves this time yesterday. Man, this is awesome. I mean, you know, you've got the Koogs trying to make the Elite eight. You've got the Rockets trying to make it eleven

in a row. And yes opening day didn't one hundred percent go the way you wanted it for the Astros, but you got Christian Hobby here going to night, you're feeling good and you feel like, Okay, hey, the first day wasn't great, but this team has shown you numerous times and time again they can bounce back. So they will do that end up be able to get this thing up back on track in terms of getting to even five hundred and one and one on this season. Well, to have those as

we fast forward to now we're back in the present. If you didn't know, well, two out of those three did not go the way that we had hoped, and we'll talk about it here on the show. The Kogs, of course, losing Jamal shed there for the entire second half with what Kelvin Sampson said after the game was a Grade four ankle sprain, so unfortunate

for him and the Kugs. But still, I mean you probably once he went down and at first you see him gingerly walking off the floor, you're kind of like, all right, maybe you know, just retape it, he'll be back out there. Then you saw them having to almost carry him towards the locker room and they did their X rays, and then of course CBS got the footage of him on the knee scooter as he was trying to get back to the locker room, and of course once you saw that,

it was like, oops, yeah, that's not good. Came back out on the floor and unfortunate, but still Cougs fighting all the way to the end, just unable to pull it out. So that was unfortunate. And then the Astros game last night, and to paint the picture for you, I was running the Rockets Network with Adam Clanton Clanton of course here and Matt Thomas of course in Utah calling the game, and that one, I mean, that just would have been completely the Berries, right You ever heard that,

Oh that's the Berries? Well, I'm sure probably your parents probably said it to you when you were younger. But anyway, if you don't know, go ask them. They can tell you about that. But the Rockets, I mean, the way that that game was looking, you're just kind of like, oh my gosh, like seriously, sports gods, you're gonna do this to us, Like all three of us are gonna get skunk today, Like this is gonna happen. The losing streak's gonna happen, and are

the winning streaks gonna come to an end? And on top of all of that, the Warriors won last night. So had the Rockets lost that game last night, boy, we're talking about a really really bad scenario at that point, but not a great on the Astros end, because I mean again, you get six great innings and they're unable to push anything across really to help out a Christian Javier who was everything that we hoped for last night as coming out of spring training, you were hoping that he was able to put

together a good outing out the gates, and he did that. It wasn't his problem, but middle relief and the bullpen, as Chandler Rome pointed out on Twitter, was probably always going to be a concern. And I don't know if necessarily I would say it was a concern. As I had said with Ross when we were talking about how the Astros view their pitching situation, I said, I think they feel good but they don't know. And now

I think that it's probably a through two games. It's hard to say that you don't know, because you know you've been able to see these guys at least go through. I mean for Taylor Scott, for example, who made the club on opening Day, and he was able to come out there and have a good inning, striking out Aaron Judge, and you're thinking to yourself, Okay, hey, maybe we found something. And then last night unable

to find the strike zone in that game. That was unfortunate. And then of course you get the Astros in the field booting it around a little bit, a bad toss from Jeremy Pania to Jose Altuve that allows to run the score, and then of course you know Parker Mashinski throwing one up the first

base line. That wasn't fun either. But all in all, here's the thing, and we can start right here with the Astros because as we've been doing for the Lion's share of our last few Space City Saturdays, we will be heavy Astros in the first hour and then kind of jump around a little bit in the second hour, kind of like to get some continuity going out the gates. So if you want a way in, you can someone three

two two five seven ninety. I thought about it last night on the ride home from the Rockets game, and I said, you know, December twenty third, that's Festivus, the airing of grievances. So I will go ahead and do it right now, March the thirtieth, twenty twenty four, I will go ahead and make this our Astros Festivus days, So the airing of grievances. I know a lot of you out there have grievances, so please

air them right here. One three two one two five seven ninety. Once again, that's seven one three two one two five seven ninety, because I understand what is a foot and what's a foot right now for the Astros is, let's just say that they open the season against throw out a team, the Minnesota Twins, and they play the way that they have and they've lost the first two games. I don't think that people are doing this doom and

gloom like I'm seeing some people do. Like I know, got a listener who is a good listener, good buddy, and a good man saying that feels like whistling past the graveyard. Steve t On on Twitter come on, Steve, it's two games, buddy. And it's also it's two games against a team that when they lose to them, you're like, damn it, I hate losing to those guys. The fact that it's the Yankees probably PEPs

up the gumball a little bit. Probably it gets people feeling a certain way because, yes, if you've been at Minute May Park, there's tons of them there and they're trying to do there. Let's go Yankees, chance and

all those different types of things. Although I would love to do a straw pole with these people of how many of you have actually either lived in the Bronx, step foot in the Bronx, are actually inside Yankee Stadium or are you just one of those remote Yankee fans that, oh I'm a huge Yankee fan. Why oh I just love them? Oh you just loved when they won all those world titles in the late nineties and early two thousands. Okay, I get it, now, you know, twenty seven world titles.

That's awesome, that's fantastic. Great, But what is your connection to being a Yankee fan? I would seriously like to know. So, hey, look, if you're out there too way in the look we had a Yankee fan on yesterday on the A team, Nick Turo. He's a lifelong guy, grew up in Queen's and he even admits it. He goes, hey, look, God probably should have been a Mets fan, but growing up in the city of New York, I was a Yankee fan growing up.

I'm die Hard and he is so good for him. And I know there's a lot of you out there, and I know that some of you walk among us like the body snatchers. But at the same time, though, too, that's what's making a lot of this and the angst grow even more. It's the Yankees. If this were the Dodgers, it would be the same thing because we'd be seeing them chirup on Twitter. They would be saying all these different types of things that would be getting under our skin. I

get all of that, but it's also too. You divide two by one sixty two, it's barely over one percent. Like you think about it all the time. You know, we download things and you see the status bar of how much of your file on your computer has started to download. That's

exactly what it is. We started downloading a large file. That's what the Major League Baseball season is and you see one percent right there, then you say to yourself, all right, hopefully it starts to speed up little bit and we can be able to you know, have what I'm trying to download

now and be able to go from there. Maybe that was kind of the you know, you know, millennial problem here, because that was most of us who grew up on AOL and things like that, you know, you had to wait for those slow download times, all of those different types of things, kind of taking us back even further a little bit. But in this case right here, we're barely one percent into the season at this point.

And while it doesn't look great right now, even if it gets better, which it will get better, because they're not going to go oh in one sixty two, that's not going to happen. And the other part of it as well is while it's doom and gloom on the surface, and Brian McTaggart pointing out last night on Twitter, this first time since twenty eleven that the Astros have gone oh and two to start the season, and I believe

they won fifty six games that year. I could be wrong about the number, it doesn't matter, but the point is they're going to lose two in a row. Again, they'll lose three, four, five, six in a row. That's a Major League Baseball season. That's what happens. This isn't football, folks, This isn't seventeen games. This isn't a college football season of twelve regular season games. It's not that condensed the NBA. It's kind of the same deal too. We've seen him what the Rockets had done

early on in the season. We talked about them and said how it was gonna be an up and down battle. I get all of that, and I understand what it looks like right now at the bullpen. I understand what it looks like with the starting rotation without JV. And some people out there might even be saying, well, when JV gets back, who's what's a guarantee that he's still the same guy. I would say the back of the baseball card and what he's been able to do the last few years would show

you that he's still a very good front of the rotation guy. So not having him, yeah, that hurts. Not having jose Urkety to deepen the back end of your pitching staff where you can have some of those guys, maybe even stick around and go and get some of those middle relief innings. Yeah, that hurts too. Later on the season, getting Lance McCullers and being able to get Luis Garcia back, that'll help as well. And while it looks like it right now where you're saying, well, I'm not gonna

worry about later on the season, it might not even matter. At that point, we're two games into this thing. We're not even a full series

in. You know, this reminds me of remember the start of the twenty nineteen season, And I could be wrong about how it all went, but if I'm not mistaken, I think the Astros started off the twenty nineteen season one in five out the gate where they went on opening Day in Tampa, and then they lost either the next two or if it was a four game series, the next three, and then they went to Arlington and got swept

in Arlington. And I remember Josh Reddick on Twitter, of course Astros Twitter was just on fire, and his response to people was, can we calm down. We're not even a week into the season. There's still a long way to go. And he was prophetic. He was not wrong because what it did turn into, it turned in to getting the American League championship game or a championship series. Excuse me, Like I said, it's not football. The championship series, beating the Yankees in six games and getting to the

World Series. We understand what happened from there, but still it was an Astros team that said, hey on them, we got this because while all of us right now are freaking out and we're not feeling good about the first two games this season, and I get it. First game, the pitching let them down. Okay, that's fine, that happens. It's baseball. It's not always going to be pretty. It's not always going to be great.

The next game, the defense wasn't great, and the hitting was not great either, especially from the guys that you really would like it to be good from. It was not great. And for the first couple of games it's been pedestrian at best from the guys that you're really expecting to be productive in this lineup. It's also to just two games. And you know what the other beauty is of baseball. You hear it all the time twofold. It's a game of failure. If you succeed three times out of ten,

you're a Hall of Famer and the other part of it as well. Then that's of course at the plate. Of course, pitching, it's a little bit more of a success threshold that would lead to you being able to show that you had a successful career. But the other part of as well, the beauty of it is you get to come back today. For the most part, there's always a tomorrow in baseball, and in this case right here,

the one group is not freaking out guys in that clubhouse. The amount of guys that have been able to go through major league seasons and been able to ride the highs and lows of it and know, hey, pull back here, press the gas here, do all those different types of things, and I can almost guarantee you jose L Tuvey parks his car over there at minute made Park, probably says hello to a couple of people on his way to the clubhouse, walks into the clubhouse. It's another day. Alex Bregman,

same deal, Kyle Tucker. Likewise, all those different things, I guarantee you, when I'm inside the Astros clubhouse a little bit later on this afternoon, it's probably going to be the same tenor that it usually is. Just business, just guys relaxed, ready to go, ready to go out there and play and try to give it another go today and try to be able to win today. And that's all they can control is just being able to try to win today, because this isn't the postseason. This isn't a

oh, you better win or else. No, it's a okay, come back today, try to put it together, try to be able to hit with runners in scoring position and make things happen. That's something they haven't really done in the first couple of games, first couple of innings. They did on Thursday, but last night it was frustrating. It was so many situations where you're like, somebody just come through, let's go, and it doesn't happen, and it's frustrating, it's annoying. Eight is all of those things.

I get it, all of these emotions you're feeling one hundred percent feel them. It's fine, go for it. I'm not going to stop you for it. And you also too, if you want to air him out, get them off your chest again. Seven one three, two one two five seven ninety JP France tonight against Clark Schmidt for the Yankees. So it's a chance for them to try to get things back on the right track.

It's going to be a six fifteen first pitch from over there at minute made, Park, I will be coming your way with Astros on deck at five o'clock right here on your home of the Astros Sports Talk seven to ninety, and then of course I'll have the tenth inning afterwards as well, So you've got all of that to look forward to today. So Astros trying to get

things going and look, you know, with the bullpen. While on the surface, it's probably sounds like to some a harsh criticism from Joe Aspata and some people I think though, too, are going to really zero in on Espada's comments and say, oh, man, you know, is he feeling the pressure a little bit? But his line last night quote they all need to step up, and he's not wrong. Don't we all feel the same

way, don't you think that? Probably Parker Maschinski walking into the clubhouse last night after that game, said not great, Taylor Scott, same deal. These guys are pros. They know what looks good and they know it looks bad. Man. Those guys had a rough outing last night. Rafael Montero walks in a run, but then is able to get the groundball double play, and you're still down two to one at that point, so you're still in it. You still got an opportunity, but still a long way to

go. There is plenty to still feel good about with this team. Trust me, it doesn't feel great right now. And again I'm seeing all the doom and gloom out there, Like I saw one guy saying, this is exactly what I feared was coming time to start the rebuild. We're really doing this, like that's what we're gonna do right now, like seven straight times

reaching the Alcs. We've seen bad stretches all throughout these years. I mean, to a certain point, don't you think through osmosis that some people would understand the rhythm of a baseball season. Don't you think you would hope at least. But we'll see if indeed that can happen down the line. A little bit later on the show too, you're gonna get into some Texans talk.

As had an interesting thing said by a prominence NFL free agent this offseason, which I think leads some credence to what we believe is afoot over there off Kirby and the other part of it. As well, how about the improvements in an area that people thought could not improve for that organization. So we'll have some Texans talk. We'll get some Rockets react to what happened up in Dallas last night with the Koug's unfortunate end to the season for Kelvin Samson,

Jamal Shed and the top seed Houston at Cougar's. So we'll talk about that as well as the show goes along. But of course your Astros calls are I see a couple of you wanting to weigh in. We'll do that when we come back, and also to allow for some of you to get in as well. It's some one three two one two five seven ninety eight and Tom get to you in just a second, because coming up next,

well, the Astros are struggling right now. The best is yet to come, and I'll tell you exactly why we'll do that as we continue on here on Space City Saturday. Dan Matthews here with you until noon on your home of the Astros and the Rockets, Sports Talk seven ninety. It's Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven ninety, your home of the Astros, Sports Talk seven ninety night. How we doing, Buddy Nohing good epy Saturday. The same to you, buddy. And I mean I've seen a lot of baseball

on my day. You know, of course, there's nothing to worry. It's only game two. It's it's still you know, very very early in the season. Man, you know, until until like the top of the seventh. You know, Christian Javier was throwing you know, lights out yesterday. You know, the Christian Javier that we love to see. It was just just the you know, the bad mistakes that I saw. You know, I've never seen the Astros make, you know, and of course those

are just similar mistake. You know, it's Wars. You know, what was it? The simple Mashinsky throwing it to to first get that simple out, and I was just wow. But you know, I think it's the one thing I would make is you know, moving Jose'll bring you from the fifth spot for sure, because our you know, I just haven't seen him do anything from then. And you know the Astros right now, you know,

would spen since August since we won the home game. I kind of and I'm gonna be going to the game, so I kind of want to see some wins. Now, Well I'm going there. No, I feeling. Man. I appreciate the call, Nates. I mean, you know, here's the thing is, we've seen rough stretches for the Astros. Appreciated, buddy. We've seen rough stretches in the Astros. I mean we've seen

them boot the ball around at times. I mean, remember I look back at the twenty twenty ALCS against the Rays, and remember it looked like man Is Altuvey starting to develop the chuck knoblock thing over there, and then he figured it out. He was fine, He was able to make the routine plays. It was all good baseball. It happens. Sometimes you go through slumps, even in the field, and I think that probably that's part of

it what we're seeing right now, because we've seen rough play. We've seen bad play, but sometimes too, it's one of those it's all in perspective. If it's in you know, July and August, we're kind of like, yeah, it sucks, but you know still, I mean, it's the middle of the season. They're just playing some bad baseball right now.

It happens. That's the other part of it as well. Do we honestly believe that this Astros team is going to be the team they are right now, a month from now, two weeks from now, later on in the season, any of those different types of not any of those different types of things. The answer is no, we don't because it's also too what we've seen from this team. You don't do what they've done for the last eight years and all of a sudden one day just wake up and say it's over.

It sucks, we've been fooling people. It's it's not who we are where we're completely frauds and all of those different types of things. No, it's none of those things. They've proven time and time again, even when they've had rough stretches, they make it up to us and all of a sudden, you're like, Okay, maybe that's a little hard on you. Guys, didn't need to be that hard on you. And it's happened time

and time again. As long as you got number twenty seven in that clubhouse, as long as you got number two, as long as you got number forty four, as long as you got number thirty and on down the list, you still have a chance, you still have a way to be able to play your way into successful baseball. And that's what they've proven time and time again, and look, they'll continue to prove it as things go along. Tyrone and clear Lake wants to weigh in, Tyrone, what's going on?

Yeah, it has earned long. You know everybody. They're gonna win their seventy five games this year, there's no question about that. And I don't think there's gonna do a whole lot more. Neflis. Tell me, is you used to be back in the day when you hit, you juggle the lineup a little bit. You got a guy for two years now that's in struggling, the guy on first base. Bring he might get four hits today, he might hit four Grand Slams today, but in the next two

months, he can't hit the ball in the ocean. He's very erratic. He's lost it. So get him out of the fifth spot. Put him in the leadoff spot, put him in the ninth spot. Jug On, Moron, see what he can do. Get him out of the fifth spot. He's been there for two years. He's done nothing. Oh, they he had a couple of good weeks last year. He had a month last year. He had to look, it's six months long. It's one hundred and sixty games. We don't care what games A few games he had last

year that were any good. Get jug On Moron, see what he can do. The proof is in the pudding. And we got other guys. You know, I'm sick and tired of here. And the same thing goes with Montero. He's a erratic. He can strike you out and then he'll give up a home run the next pitch. He's very erratic. A break is very erratic. We got too many erratic. There's no consistency on this

team. They start, They've always traditionally started slow. They're starting slow again, and they will kick it up. There's no question about it that they've proven it year and year and year. They will pick it up, but they will not. I've given them a lot of credit to get into the Oh maybe they'll get in the first round this year in October, but that's about it. They're gonna give us a good year, yes they are, but there's too many question marks that are not being dealt with, and for

two years now they have not been dealt with. For Lander, for some odd reason, he didn't know how to keep his iron in shape during the off season after twenty years of professional pitching, which I don't understand. He goes to Florida this year, and the perch throws a couple of balls. All my arm hurts. Well, I'm sorry, you spent too much time doing whatever you did, but your professional of getting forty million a year. Your arms an, Okay, we can't give you two months. Okay,

it just goes on and nine and nine and nine. Get I'll bring you out of the fifth spot. Put him a juggle things around. It's getting sick and tired of seeing this total inconsistency, total slow start. They get paid, they do their ATB commercials, they do everything they want to do. Get to play involved, We'll get the contract. Talks all the time.

We get sick and contract comes empty. Playball. Then Boris can come in at the end of the year and say, look what my man did this year, and then Boris can get US forty billion dollars a year. Playball first, and then worry about the HTV commercials and all the rest next after that, and then your contracts come up. Let Boris wait until the end of the year to get his money. Boris ain't gonna hurt. I

appreciate the call. At first, I thought you said they're gonna win seventy five games, and I was like, what what, What's what's leading to that? No, this is a much better team than that. I do want to address because you know, Nate and Tyrone just brought it up about Josea braw And as a matter of fact, I know that a lot of people have wanted to weigh in on that. So we'll do that as well

as the best is yet to come. We'll do all of that coming up next, because I will start with the bray you and I'll tell you why the Astros would be foolish to move him out of that fit spot just yet. We'll talk about that as we continue on here on at Space City Saturday. Dan Matthews here with you until noon on your home of the Astros in the Rocket Sports Talk seven ninety, Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven ninety.

I'm telling you a buddy of mine looked at me weird once when I told him that, sometimes, like on my way into work, that I would listen to Rick Flair promos just to be able to fire me up, just to be able to you know, get me going for the day. And I don't know, maybe maybe it's one of those you know, Kyle Tucker is the clubhouse DJ. Maybe along with playing you know, twenty one Savage and everybody else that's played on the a huge Bluetooth speaker there in the

Astros clubhouse, maybe some Rick Flair promos. So maybe I'll maybe I'll get with Tuck a little bit later on and say, hey, play some Rick Flair promos. It seems to work for me. I think it could work

for you guys who knows. We'll see seven one, three, two and two five seven ninety is the way to get in, Uh, do one a weigh in on the things that Nate and Tyrone brought up about Joseah Bray you And let's actually start right there because this is actually a crucial point for any manager, either a first time or a longtime manager, that you absolutely cannot be known as and that is reactionary and emotional and to be motivated by those two things, which of course feed into the other. But if you

are viewed as that, you have the risk of losing that clubhouse. Now, every single guy in that clubhouse knows if they're being honest. You put them in the room of honesty right there, the room of truth, and they can do nothing but tell the truth. Hey, is Joseah Bray you've been great at the plate? No, he hadn't been. Okay, move on to the next guy. So you've been great now. But is there anybody in that clubhouse that says we don't count on him? There's not a

single one. They all do. We've seen it. He's been able to come through. He's been able to have meaningful hits for this team. And while last night it was frustrating a couple of chances for him, he's unable to come through. I get all of that. But at the same time, though, too, if the Astros get there today and the lineup goes up on the wall and jose A Bray you has moved and it's say,

hey, you know, why is that the case? I think most of them would probably go all right, that's what you feel like, it's best for the team, then we'll ride with it. But I think that also too, there would be a large amount of the guys in that clubhouse. So it's say two games, dude, really we're doing this right now?

Like, is that how you're going to manage this team? Because if it is, then that's going to affect me eventually, it's going to affect anybody else in this lineup eventually, and then they get to start thinking about what the level of expectations are on them, and they fully are under They fully understand what's expected of this team. Not a sing in that Astros clubhouse is

blind to the fact of what you the fans expect of them. But also too Herd Kyle Tucker tell me and ross Ville Reale when we were in West Palm Beach, we're not here just to win games. We're here to win world titles, like that's what this organization's about. That's what this team is about. That's what we're here to do. And it's also too part of it as well, is why people believe in Joe Espada is that he seems like he's got a good grasp of that clubhouse in terms of, hey,

the veterans lead. The veterans have this hurt it all the time, and I think most of us have heard it a lot, mostly in football, that player led teams are the best teams because those are the guys that are able to set the tone for you in terms of being able to police the clubhouse in the locker room and also two being able to hold each other accountable. Where the manager, for the most part, you make the decisions. You decide what moves are made. At a certain point, you decide who

goes in as a pitcher, You decide all of those different types. But then you let your guys play, and you let them go out there and be able to try to help you win ballgames. And that's what Joe spot is going to continue to do. And I don't think that he's going to be reactionary at this point. Anything that I've known about him so far is only through spring training and through two games of the season. He does not seem that way. I mean, he even heard it the other night.

I was very vocal on social media when they decided to go with John Singleton over Jake Myers in that situation. But what do you do In the postgame press conference, he was measured. He gave his reasons, and he laid out the evidence, kind of like what we do here on sports radio to try to back up our takes. And he backed up his take. He backed it up of saying, hey, this is why we wanted to do

this. He is really tough on right handed hitters. And we also felt like it was a good matchup for Singletary to be able to come through in that situation. He didn't. We didn't like the result, much like we didn't like the result of Mauricio Dubond being thrown out at a home plate. But at the same time though too. On the way down to the clubhouse, I was riding on the elevator with Chandler Rome and just kind of just did the customary, was what was the send? You know, what'd you

think of the send? And he said, well, look, for six weeks down in Florida, you were telling everybody you were going to be an aggressive baseball team. And if you weren't aggressive right there, then you kind of just went back on what you've been saying for the last six for the last six weeks, and the Astros are a team that at least has shown one good thing so far this first two games of the season. They're going to be aggressive on the base paths, stealing bases, trying to take the

extra base, that hustle double that Jeremy Pania had the other night. As soon as I saw him rounding first base, I said, always going for it, And immediately I started to think back to Joe spot as words of we're going to be an aggressive team that'll pay off. I'm telling you right now, that'll pay off. And it is something that is going to eventually once they get this thing going, is going to be just another edge for this team of Hey, not only are we good hitters, we're all also

a team that can field it pretty decently. Didn't show it last night, but we're also to a team that can be a terror for you. On the basis man, that's something that can lead to more runs, it can lead to more production. Eventually those things level out. Eventually they do come to form, and that's what the Astros are trying to do. But in terms of the Abrai thing, I get it. He had a slow start last year. It was not great. I understand what the contract is.

I understand all of those different types of things, and that's fine. We can have that discussion. And at the same point, though, too, it doesn't really get us anywhere because he's here. He's not going anywhere, at least for the next couple of years. He's going to be your first basement for this baseball team. And if you are thinking that the Astros will move away from him just because of the way that the beginning of last year went and also to the first couple of games of the season. It's not

going to happen. That's what reactionary, irrational teams do. That's not what this team has been. Rely on what you've been, because relying on what you've been and relying on the talent that you have in that clubhouse is what's allowed you to be the American League champion for the lion's share of the last seven years, and also too, a team that's even remotely in the opportunity to be able to win a World Series in those seven years. Teams go

their entire lifetime as an organization and don't have that. The Astro has been able to experience that for the last seven years. I say it all the time. I was talking with somebuddies in Mind yesterday and I've said it before

here on the show. I think most of must have forgotten what it's like to be a fan of this team, Like we very much have the same mindset that I noticed of Alabama fans when I was working in college football country and how they viewed their football team and if they didn't make the college football Playoff, it was a failed season, and I understand having expectations. Expectations are great, But at the same time, though, too, it's also

being shortsighted of what you've done to that point. What they did under Nick Saban for those years is unheard of, It's unbelievable, it's never to be might never be seen in college football ever again. What the Astros have done these last few years unheard of, might never be seen ever again. But it's also too. I think there's credence to what Justin Burlanders said in the clubhouse last year after they reached their seventh straight ALCS. Don't forget about this,

don't take this for granted, because this doesn't happen. This is not the expectation that is easily met. This is incredibly hard to do, and we've done it. And eventually, guess what, the Astros are not going to make the ALCS one year and we'll have the calls here on the show that it's over time to rebuild all those different types of things. We can worry about that then, but enjoy it for right now what it is. And I understand, because of the success they've had, they've built up an

expectation. That's fine. There's not a single guy in that clubhouse that doesn't understand that, and they know that they've got to play better baseball and that they are a better baseball team than what they've shown these first couple of games. And the other part of it as well, is who necessarily in this lineup is giving you a ton of confidence in terms of what they've done so far that it's going to be who they are for the rest of the season.

Jose L Twova couple of hits last night, batting three hundred on the season. That's nice, that's great. Jordan Alvarez is batting two twenty two through two games. Is Jordan Alvarez a two to twenty two hitter. No. Kyle Tucker a couple of hits last night, three thirty three on the

season. Okay, that's nice, we like to see that. But he also, too, from what he's given us in terms of uh hit balls, has not necessarily gotten to the point that we believe we're seeing the Kyle Tucker that we're going to see this season because he will put baseballs over the wall, he will have more extra base hits, and he will be the hitter that we know that he is Alex Bregman two eighty six so far to this point, had a hit in an RBI last night. The one run

was courtesy of Alex Bregman last night. But still if you you asked Alex Bregman, hey, are you hitting your stride as a hitter, his answer would be no, same deal you. We've talked about jose A Brayew frustrating, it's annoying. I get all of that. Still looking for that first

hit of the season. Maybe today is the day. But the bottom of the orders I talked about the other nights on the tenth Inning Show with Ross is a bright spot for this team so far to this point, and that's been a part of this team that has been a little bit of a struggle at times over the last few years. But now it looks like it's going to be less of a struggle for this team because of what they've been able to do so far through these first couple of games. And I think we

probably expected that would be an improved bunch this year. Jas McCormick a rough night last night, but YANR. Diaz three hits on opening Day, gets a hit, base hit last night and also working a walk as well. You like to see that out of him, Jeremy Pania, he's been able to swing the bats well so far to this point of the season. And then, of course Jake Myers the opening day home run, barreling one up, and you're saying, hey, hey, look, that's already an improvement

right there of not having Martine Maldonado in the lineup. You're able to improve the lineup that much of not having an offensive liability there. So the moral of the story is that, yes, it's frustrating to not have the runners brought home in scoring position. The note that Chandler Rome had on Twitter that they're four for twenty one with runners in four for twenty two, excuse me, runners in scoring position, stranding twenty runners throughout the first couple of games.

It all evens out. I'm telling you, it's just because it was that way today does not mean it's going to be that way tomorrow. Does not mean it's gonna be that way next week, or even a month from now, two months from now, whatever it might be. It's a long season, you know, actually what it is, I'll tell you what it is next in terms of what a Major League Baseball season is in terms of viewing it as the long stretch that it is and not just the short bursts

of where you are at that moment. We'll do that as we close out our one here on Space City Saturday. If you want to weigh in, you can at Sebone three two on two five seven ninety once again at sub one three two on two five seven ninety. Will continue the conversation next right here on your home with the Astros and the Rocket Sports Talk seven ninety. We now return to Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven ninety. How many of us have ever, as part of that fitness journey, done it because

man, I need to lose a ton of weight? Does it happen overnight? No? Is it necessarily just a level, straight, flat line that eventually gets you to where you want to go. It's not that either, And that's what a Major League Baseball season is is this is us. Let's just say January one, you know, New Year's resolutions, I'm gonna lose weight this year. I'm gonna do it. And when the gym opens the next day, I'm in there and I am hot and heavy. I've gone

to a carnivore. A Keto halio diet, all of those different types of things. I'm doing it, and you get to the scale and you see, man, I've barely lost any weight. This sucks. I'm eating food that I don't necessarily like and I'm not really getting anywhere. Gosh. Then it's finally too where it's one of those Ah, I see the cheeseburger and fries. I shouldn't eat it, but man, it'd be so good, and you do. And because if you've been eating so healthy, you feel

like crap. You look at yourself in the mirror and you think to yourself, ah, there's a double chin. There's all those different types of things. I'm just never gonna get there. It's all of those different types of things. That's what it is. Because if say you want to lose I don't know the twenty pounds, and you have done all those things that I just mentioned right there, and you feel like, at least in the immediate that the results are not paying off, you could very easily just say it's

not gonna happen and just walk off. And some people do, and that's fine. That happens. I understand it. Your priorities change all those different types of things. But it's also though, too, it's finally being able to get to a goal weight or being able to finally accomplish what you wanted

to the fitness journey. Like I said, it's one of those if you're a weightlifter and that you're maxing out at a certain point on the bench and you try to go the next time and you try to hit a certain weight and you're unable to push up the weight the way that you want it to to be able to complete the rep, and you think to yourself, gosh, man, that's disappointing. It's frustrating, it's annoying, and it's all those different types of things. Yes, it is all of those different types

of things, but it's also too. Do you completely just stop working out? Some people might, but no, what do you do? You try to rep it, You try to rep out as best you can, You try to get stronger, and you try to be able to pass the test the next time. That's what a major League baseball season is. It's not

linear. It's not completely just a you know, a straight line of it's going to go the way that you want it to all the way through, and yeah, you're gonna lose some here and there, But for the most part, when you look back on it in October or once the season is over, where you say, man, everything went right. That was so

awesome. There's not a single team that hoists the Commissioner's Trophy at the end of the season that said April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and even in the November, Man, it went one hundred percent the way that we wanted it to go. There were rough times, there were rough stretches. There was a week where probably you weren't winning very many ballgames, and maybe even a week and a half, whatever it might be. And it's frustrating, it's annoying. It's all those different types

of things. But at the same time, though, too, you don't just give up and say, well, this is who we are. We're not going to be a good baseball team this year. Maybe we'll try again next year. That's not what the Astros are doing. That's not what any

team who struggled so far to this point. I mean an example that I came up with too, and I try not to use singular examples because I know that sometimes it's one of those things that you know, I always say there's a reason why there's only one of them, because it's not the exception or the rule. It's actually it is the exception, not the rule.

But remember the two thousand and four Boston Red Sox. They had a pretty pedestrian season until they got to that Yankee Series where a Rod fought Veritech and Bill Miller walked it off and finally you said, all right, you know, we got Kirk Shilling this offseason. We're supposed to be really good, right, And that's when they started to realize how good of a baseball team they could be. They went on a run, and they eventually ended the

curse and won the World Series that year. Man went on a string of winning World Series from there. But if I'm not mistaken, they got swept in that opening series of the season against the Baltimore Orioles, and I think that probably at the end of the season, do you think that there's anybody when they hoisted up the trophy that said, man, you know, I

would have never thought this could have happened. After we got swept, they probably did what most veteran ball clubs do after a rough first series of the season. They pack up their bags, They get on the bus, they go to the airport, and they fly to wherever they're going to next and they continue all with the season. And that's what the Astros will do. Maybe they do get swept against the Yankees. But does it necessarily mean they're not gonna win the AO West. No. Does it mean they're not gonna

make the playoffs this year? No? Does it mean the dynasty is dead? None of those things. It's a rough series. It's a rough couple of games. I mean, that's really all we're talking about at this point. And I get it. It's the opening weekend. I get it that. It's also too it's the team on the other side, not even the fact that they're losing the games, because again, I'll still maintain it.

I don't think that we're doing most of these things right now. If say the Astros had lost to the Twins or to the I don't know, throw out another team, the Tampa Bay Rays. I mean, you know, you're getting my point here. It's who they're losing to. That's the angst of the frustration. It's who's on the other side. Most of us don't like Juan Soto, you know, most of us don't like Aaron Judge and Giencarlos Stanton, and we don't like the Yankees, and we're annoyed by all

the Yankee fans in Sibon at May Park, all those different things. I get all of that. That's what's adding to the angst right now. And that's the part of it as well. Of In baseball, it's not about just a singular game. You're going to lose games, that's going to happen. It's about being able to piece good baseball together and being able to be able to, you know, become the team that you want to over the long haul, not in the short term. Is Oosel Twove going to be

a bad fielder at second base? No? Is Jeremy Pania going to have very many errors like the one we saw last night, No he's not. Are we going to see very many more times of pitchers fielding practice not paying off on the field more often than not, the throw that Parker Mashinski made last night, He'll make that in his sleep and be able to get the out. These guys are pros. They find a way to be able to

figure it out. They will figure it out, and they'll find a way to be able to get things on the right track the way that we want them to be in the way that also two in the clubhouse they want it to be. Again, like I said, it's not a single guy it's going to show up to the ballpark today and say, man, is this

who we're going to be this season. No, they're showing up to the ballpark today, going through their routine, pregame meal, all those different types of things, and then finally saying, you know, let's go out there, let's put together a good effort and if it's good enough, we'll be one and two and then we'll go from there. And that's how the Astros completely view the way that things are going right now. Trust me, I'm telling you there is not an ounce of panic inside that room. All right.

Coming up next, let's get in some Texans conversation because a prominent NFL free agent this offseason told us something that we probably already knew. But it's not going to end with just him. We'll discuss why as we continue here on Space City Saturday. In the second hour of the show, Dan Matthews here on your home of the Astros and the Rockets Sports Talk seven ninety Dan

Matthews here with you in tons of Astros conversation a little bit. Sexan's coming up before we do that, though, Brian in Paarland wants to weigh in here on Sports Talk seven ninety Brian, what's going on? Buddy? What's going on? Dan? Happy Saturday? To you. It's more so just a frustrating start. Like you said, it's it's the fact that last night you left what ten plus men on base and you got one run in the first stinning. It's the situational hitting. It's the stuff that we see every

year. But I am overly concerned. I'm a long time Asters fan and I rarely ever hit the panic button. It's not panic, but it's just that you can see Brian and Brady's suspension rearing its ugly head the last two nights somewhere where you could have gone to him there in the seventh to hopefully

get that lockdown. Granted, it's hard to hold a one run lead against the Yankees for an entire game, but I think, whether the night before or even last night, having somebody like that would have definitely giving me a lot better odds of holding on to that lead and getting it to haterse Thank goodness that's over. Has the corresponding move been made yet as the who's going down? Or does a move have to be made? Were they just playing

shorthanded last night in terms of players? And then I am concerned though, is if you're going to continue to run out Taylor Scott and Brandon Black and those guys for the year. And I'm hoping that once mccullors and those guys get healthy and are keying, you can maybe shift to JP France to the bullpen or something like that later on to help give those guys some rest because the current bullpen, the way it's structured, if you don't have a league

getting to the seventh, you're in trouble. And that's the big issue. One thing the corresponding are you talking about with the bread you being suspended a break, you're now being activated for the night's game? I'm assuming Oh no, so they've been playing with twenty five for the first couple of games, saying that's what I thought, right, Yeah, so they had to play short handed. I mean, he's just suspended, you know, you're just without that guy. That's that's the way it goes. So that's how it'd

gone in terms of the middle relief. Brian, you know, I'll keep you on here for just a couple of seconds on this. This is what this time of the year is is to try to find those roles, to be able to find who fits in that certain point. I mean Seth Martinez was brought in where he was the other day, that was the film Aton role. Remember I'd said, there are going to have to be guys on this team that either you're up by a lot or you're down by a lot, and it's say, hey, it's you. You got to eat it

if we're down. And that's what you're trying to find. And yes, I mean I talked about a little bit earlier on as you start to get guys back in this rotation, that frees up guys to be able to fit into other roles. That yes, maybe that is a JP France in the bullpen. If you're able to work him into that and he's able to find success that way, that's a plus or even too. Eventually we'll see how

Renelle Blanco pitches. But if they feel like, hey, we can still keep him up here spots starts here and there, but kind of fit that role. That Brandon Beilack had been for the past couple of years. Then maybe that's the thing as well. But that's what's still a foot right now with this team is they're still trying to find who fits where, and especially too in the area that we believed it was going to be, which was

middle relief. We knew about the back end of the bullpen. And you're right, yes, how nice it would have been on opening day to have Brian to bray you maybe things go a little bit different. I mean, even to one of the guys that you were counting on to be able to get some outs is the one who gave up the lead and Ryan Presley. Do I believe that it's going to be who Ryan Presley is now? No? I don't think Ryan Presley will figure it out. He'll be the effective

reliever that he's been. Remember too, before the Astros made him into a closer, he had been a setup man, a middle relief guy in Minnesota before getting to this point, so he knows that role. He can get back to that role. And in terms of just the overall you know, you know, just I guess concern that people have, I think that it's more or less just you want yours. You want to be able to win

on opening Day. You want to be able to win early on the season to feel good about the season, and if it doesn't go that way, then you start to kind of let the bad feelings start to come in. And I think that's a huge part of what's going on right now. Yeah, and I agree. I think, like you mentioned, if it were the Rays or the oriology'd be like, Okay, hey, these are good. But it's the team that you absolutely despise more than anything. The people

who just talk more garbage than anything else. All the bandwagon Yankee fans there last night who probably couldn't have more than three players outside of Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge who have played for this team and yet are acting like, you know, they're going one sixty two and O, which just h it just made my blood boil nast night. But a good show, inn and have a good weekend any same to you, buddy, Appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, look, there's a reason why the jokes are made about you're

a Yankee fan. Does that mean you're a cowboy and Lakers and Duke fan, maybe even a little bit of Alabama football as well. I mean the jokes right themselves. We've all heard them, and yes, are they annoying one hundred percent, But if they necessarily done anything since two thousand and nine,

no they haven't, So let them have their fun. Hey, look, if Yankee fans want to make this their world series and they want to you know, glom on about you know, twenty seven world titles all of that, I would also say, act like you've won twenty seven world titles. I mean, that's a part of it. And there's a reason why, for the most part, why we hate certain teams is not because of the players on the field. Like I was actually thinking about today, I

don't dislike Aaron Judge. I actually kind of like Aaron Judge. I'm not a huge Tancarlos Stanton fan, But that's besides the point. And there are other players that we don't like on the Yankees. Yeah, I get all of that. But same time, though, too, it's not necessarily disliking the teams themselves. It's more or less the people that are around them that have no bearing on it. I mean that's the thing that I always love too, is you know, whenever you know, Alabama fans when I was

in the college football parlance. Oh we we, I'm like we you went through the fourth quarter program with Scott Cochrane. You you you're part of the team. You've got one of those cool gray shirts that they've got that you're part of the team. Okay, cool, I didn't know that great play there on that third Oh you didn't make that play on that third down? Good? Okay. Let the team be the team. You just be a

fan. Keep your mouth shut to a certain point. Now, just one of the a little bit of PTSD kind of kind of coming out right there. You know. Look, it's a part of being a fan, right, That's that's what allows us to enjoy what this game is. But yes, hopefully the Astros will be able to figure it out and move things in the right direction. Let's get into some Texans conversation because we played this bit of audio yesterday on the A Team and it was from Saquon Barkley who was

on the New Heights podcast. And there was before legal tampering and free agency. Believe that Saquon Barkley would eventually become a Houston Texas because there were the reports out there always talking with c J. Stroud. You know, he's

he's lining it up. It's it's all coming together. We're we're gonna have number twenty six wearing Houston Texan Curesey and eventually that did not happen, but he led credence to those reports yesterday in the audio that surfaced of him with the New Heights podcast of Travis and Jason Kelsey, and he eventually, of course signed with the Eagles, and Travis Kelsey asked him about was that the team all along? And this was sa Quan's answer. There were rumors in

the beginning that the Eagles were kind of in it. Were they always kind of like the top choice or were they the ones kind of trying to make that move happen or let's be i'ma be honest here, right, this is what this was the shows for really probably the first team that had like my first interest was Houston. Oh it was really I got to communicate with CJ and a couple of those boys. But this is before like all the you

know, when you actually put offers on the table. So yeah, he wanted to play here for the Texans, and it also sounds like he was not the only one that wanted to be a part of this team. I mean, we had you know, reports of you know, other players who wanted to play here. Zavian Howard was a guy that supposedly had interest in playing here, and also to Christian Wilkins, another guy that, if I'm

not mistaken, had interest in playing here. And I don't know if Howard has signed with somebody yet having it in front of me, I don't know if indeed he's made his free agent decision. But the point is this is leading into what most of us have heard from players, and also too that we've also seen from this team, and Savian Howard still out there, so maybe the Texans could get him in the later stages of the free agents signing

period. But we'll continue more talking about this next because there is to what Saquon Barkley said, and I don't think he's going to be the last one saying things like this about this team. And there's one reason in particular first that leads into another with the Texans, So we'll talk about that as well as continuing on with the Texans conversation. Because who knew they would be among the best in areas that we thought was impossible for them? To improve upon.

We'll do that and much more as we continue on here on Space City Saturday. Dan Matthews here with you until noon on your home with the Astros in the Rockets. Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Saturday continues find Sports Talk seven ninety Sports Talk seven ninety again five o'clock Astros on Deck. I will be with you for that as we lead you up to first pitch tonight. And I'd given you the wrong pitching matchup earlier because leaving their own team website

had the one. But it's Hunter Brown against Marcus Stroman tonight. I believe it's Schmidt and JP France tomorrow night if I'm not mistaken. But anyway, we'll have all of that much more on Astros on Deck. A little bit later on, I played that piece of audio from Saquon Barkley to bring up the point about the way the Texans are viewed right now by players across the

league. And we had heard even at the end of the season. Remember Will Anderson at the podium talking about players coming up to him on the field and saying, it looks like you have something special there, like Demiko playing for him. He looks like he's a lot of fun to play for. It really looks like a fun time and you guys are doing some great things there, and that is something that as you continue to have Demiko Ryans here.

He's the chief reason because I knew when the Texans hired him that things had started to turn for the better, because I remembered him as a player.

I remember the way that he was viewed inside that clubhouse, that he was thought of as being at dynam leader that was able to get people to see the way that the game is supposed to be played and be able to follow his lead on that and be able to have success on the field, which at the beginning where he was toward the end of his tenure here in the Texans, that was when they finally made the playoffs and you finally started the dream that, yeah, things can get better for this organization. And

they did to a certain point. And when he left there were some good times, but also too there were some very low times for the organization. But when the Texans hired him, and you saw the reception that he got inside that building over on Kirby when he walked in with his family before his introductory press conference, it showed you, at least from the organization itself, a group of people who were just hungry to be able to get that good

feeling back in the building. And they felt like when he showed up, it's here again, like the good times are back. We're we're going to get this thing back on the right track. And he stayed consistent all throughout the season. I mean, the injuries at the beginning of the year, Titus Howard being hurt, as well as other key members of this team being hurt, and he said, look, the guys that we have are the

guys that have to go out there and make plays. And what did he continue to say all throughout the offseason, Hey, Demiko, you guys are gonna be without Nico Collins this week. Hey, the guys that are out there are gonna be kind of on to make plays. You're gonna be without Jonathan Grenard this week, Will Anderson Junior. Hey, the guys that are out there have got to make plays. That translated to the team. It was a team of guys that said, hey, he gets it, he

understands, he knows what we're going through. And you've heard players say that all all along. I mean, I can't remember exactly who it was. I think it might have been Anderson during an interview, tell me at Dan Matthews Hou on Twitter at Dan Matthews Hou who it was that said. Honestly, I thought when I first got here he was a player, and then it was like, oh no, that's my head coach. And you have other guys that are seeing the way that he carries himself and the way that

he's led team that they might not be free agents right now. But I don't I don't discount what Will Anderson said. I'm sure that probably has been said to him. Look who's working out with this offseason. I'm not saying Miles Garrett is eventually going to be a Houston Texan, but there's obviously enough interest in Will Anderson Jr. And also too enough respect for him in what

he was able to do this season. And also too he was one of the guys that said to Anderson, it looks like you guys have something special there. So guys like him look at this organization and say, yeah, that's fun. I want to be a part of that. I absolutely believe that better days are ahead for that organization. Same deal with CJ. Stroud.

I mean you just heard from Saquon Barkley had enough respect to pick up the phone and talk with the guy who's not even into his second season in the NFL and gauging his interest in terms of what do you guys have going on there? Because I've seen how you play. I would love to be paired up with you. I would love to be able to make plays along with you on the field and be able to, you know, make things

special for that fan base and that organization down in Houston. He even said it, he said, Yeah, that was the first place I wanted to go, and the Texans didn't want to meet the financial demands that he wanted, and the Philadelphia Eagles were able to. Man, that's why he ended up playing in Philadelphia. Good for him to have a good season and have

a great next step of your career there in Philadelphia. But having a team like this and having the leadership that the Texans have, it's contagious, and you saw it last year of the way that team played. They played above their ability at certain points. I mean I'd said it numerous times even before the season began. I said, this is a seven and ten football team.

And you see that graphic up on Sunday Night Football that says in the hunt for a playoff, for a playoff push, that's the win right there. And we saw that, and then it finally got to the point of, oh, we actually have a chance to do this. And then they got into the playoffs, and then it was well, we've got number seven on the field. If we've got number seven on the field, we saw what happened a few years ago with the Cincinnati Bengals and they were able to

go on that run and make the Super Bowl. Why not? Why can't we dream? And they realized when they went to Baltimore, Yeah, we're not there yet. And it was also to a belief that hey, this is built. This isn't just you know, given overnight, it's earned. You have to be able to put in the work and be able to get to that point. And that's what the Texans are trying to do this offseason. And by all accounts, they've had a hell of an offseason of adding

to this team. And if this next season doesn't reach our expectations again kind of like what I was talking about with the Astros earlier, does it mean it's a massive failure. No, just means that you're continuing to build. You're trying to get to that point. Becoming the Kansas City Chiefs is not easy. Take a look at the Philadelphia Eagles. Two years ago, they're

in the super Bowl. Last year they seemingly fell apart. People were wondering if Nick Sirianni was going to be gone, and now they're trying to build on what they did a couple of years ago and get back to that point. So that's not what you want to be. You don't want to be an organization that kind of grins and bears it and maybe one year it's going to be great, and then the next year it's going to completely fall off and then the thing unravels from there. It's not what the Texans look like

they're tracking to be. They look like they're tracking to be a team that's going to be in this thing for the long haul. As long as c J. Stroud iss yere, you feel like you got a good chance of being able to reach the ultimate goal of winning the whole thing. And Demiko

Ryans is one of those guys. I mean just with the pedigree he had of being a former player, but also to the respect that he got from being the DC in San Francisco and now getting to this point and the Texans were able to do what they did last year, and players and coaches everybody else. I mean, you even heard Kevin O'Connell, the coach of the Minnesota Vikings, talking about the Neil Hunter and saying, you know, he's got a chance to do some great things with Demiko there. I mean,

coaches even see it. And there are certain guys around the league that have the respect of guys that don't even directly play for them. I mean, Mike Tomlin is one of those guys. In Pittsburgh. Guys want to play for Mike Tomlin because they've seen what he's been able to do with lesser talented teams and really uneven quarterback situations and still able to have them in the playoffs or at least in the picture to make the playoffs in some of those years.

That's why it's so funny whenever I hear Steelers fans it's time to move on from Mike Tomlin and go get who because that guy's been the mark of consistency for the better part of his coaching career. You don't find very many guys like Mike Tomlin. There's a reason why he is stuck around. There's a reason why the Steelers have been the organization they've been for the life of their existence. And the same deal goes with a guy like John Harbaugh in

Baltimore. Guys want to play for John Harbaugh. They see how he is on the sidelines, they see how he handles his teams, they see the respect the guys have frohim in that locker room, and the results have shown on the field. I mean, you know, trying to still get that second Super Bowl after winning it back in twenty thirteen, but they've still been a team that's been in that position year in and year out and been consistent. Kind of like the Steelers Sam deal with Sean McVay, young mind,

exciting coach, somebody it looks like they'd be fun to play for. These are the types of people that Demiko is already after one year, in the same category of and it can only get better from here in terms of him as a head coach, how he is on game days, in terms of being able to manage the clock and being able to manage his timeouts, all of those different types of things, and being able to put together effective game plans that can put you in position to be able to win the entire thing.

And the other part of it as well. Gets to a couple of stories that came out yesterday of ownership and how the teams are run. Because before I get to these two bits of news, actually, let me lay these out and then and then I'll get to the two bits of you know news, the headlines that came out around the NFL to day that kind of shows you if you're a Texans fan, it makes you feel even better about

the way things are right now. So there was the news yesterday that the New Orleans Saints we're going to move their training camp this year to Irvine, California. They're going to practice at U see Irvine. On the surface, Okay, that's fine. The Cowboys go to California. Texans a couple of years ago went to the Greenbrier in West Virginia because well, you want to get out of the you know, just scalding, overwhelming heat and humidity that we have here in the area, and you want to be able to get

some good work in. I get all of that. That's fine. The Saints are moving to Irvine for training camp because they're renovating their cafeteria. Because the past couple of years through the NFLPA report of it's a survey they give the players and they rate their facilities, their strength, coaches, coaches, ownership, all those different types of things, all the nuts and bolts of an organization. They give letter grades too, and then the PA releases the

letter grades the text across the board. This most recent cycle of the NFLPA report card that came out got nothing worse than a B minus. They got to B minus for team travel, which had them twelfth in the league. They got to be for the weight room and strength coaches, which have them in the twentieth and twenty fourth of the league. But treatment of families they got fifth. Food in cafeteria, they got fourth, third for nutritionists and

dietitian. We'll get to that in just a second. Because the Saints are trying to revitalize those parts of their organization because the players said, yeah, all of those things suck. So they said, all right, we'll renovate the cafeteria, we'll overhaul that part of our team, and we'll improve that. So they're having them go away for that, which that part of the story, You're kind of like, man, I mean, in a city

like New Orleans, how can that even be the case? Like you trip and fall and you find an amazing meal in that city and nutrition and the food everything there at the Saints facility is garbage. How does that even happen? I think that's probably what most of the players on the Saints are saying, like, dude, We're in a great food city, Like, how

is this even the case? Then you get to the Kansas City Chiefs, which Clark Hunt this last week at the owners meetings was asked about the ownership of the team getting an f and it all stems back to what the players believe was a promise made by him in twenty twenty two that their locker room at Gaha, however you say it their field Arrowhead there, we'll still call it Arrowhead they're in Kansas City, that they were going to get a renovated

locker room, and then it came that, well, we can't renovate the locker room because we continued playing this year and we won the Super Bowl. We don't have time to do it. He claims that a promise was never made that they were going to renovate the locker room. It was a misunderstanding all those different types of things. But you still at least have some distrust from players of saying, hey, you said you were going to do this

and he didn't do it. So that gets it a part with the Texans of who would have ever thought that the organization for the things that are really important that fans don't necessarily think about, are among strengths in this league, where just a few years ago we had significant concerns about the ownership of this team and wondering if maybe the McNair's time is done, maybe they've lost not

only the team, but they've lost this city as well. But they've quickly been able to turn that around of adding people like Tomiko Ryans, adding people

like Nick Cassario, and they're among the best in the NFL. And we do want to lead credence to this of what makes the organization great because a few weeks ago, if you'll remember, Dalton Schultz, when he had just resigned with the Texans, was on the Pat McAfee show, and he talked about coming over from playing for the Dallas Cowboys to go play for the Texans and how he was just blown away by how the Texans run themselves as an

organization. I think that was one of the things that kind of scared me about, like leaving the most is like I wasn't sure what another organization would kind of feel like, and dude, I got here and it was like this place is a well oiled machine. Like it's you know, coaching staff, the coaching changes. I can't speak to the previous stuff, but like, the strength staff is phenomenal. The training staff is unbelievable. This has been the most like trainers that I've ever seen on a staff, and they

take really amazing care of the players. The nutrition staff is phenomenal. The chefs they like they came in and they poached like five of the best chefs in the Houston area and they paid them a bunch more and they're like come, you know, come hang out and cook for us. And so it's like everything that they kind of do is really top notch, and you know, not being sure of like how another organization would kind of be run.

Leaving Dallas like I was so happy. So there you go. All the things that people, you know, you think on the surface, oh that doesn't matter, but to players absolutely it does, and things like that said resonates with other players. Oh you've got that there. You've got a coach that looks like he's a lot of fun to play for and has this thing locked up in terms of what the expectations are and how this is supposed to look and how you know we're supposed to play on game days like, you've

got that too. The ownership has your back, the GM has your back, all those different types of things, all of those things absolutely do matter. It's the Deon Sanders line. Look good, play good, play good, they pay good, pay good, you live good, live good, you die good. I think I got it all right. But those things all add up. And that's what the Texans have in one year been able

to have going in their favor. That this was a team that we thought probably was just really going by the seat of their pants probably for the longest time. I mean, all of the connection to wanting to have the Patriots way. We heard Wex say it numerous times. There is no Patriots way. It was one guy, it was Tom Brady, and the Texans were

and to emulate something that really just didn't even exist. And finally it's the Texans creating their own identity and saying we're gonna make it the Texans way, this is how we're going to do things. And Tamiko Ryans helped build that and a huge bit of credit needs to go to him. A huge bit of credit needs to go to Nick Casario, guy that we had serious doubts

about. But the draft day gamble paid off and this team is now in position to compete for the Lombardi Trophy and be able to do that for the coming years as long as CJ. Shroud is here. So it's amazing how all of the things that we don't necessarily think about mattering matter so much, and the Texans have really, in the short amount of time, been able to turn things around to change the perception league wide of who they are as

an organization. And it also shows you that, hey, other teams might on the service look like they haven't figured out, but well they're showing you they don't necessarily have things figured out as a way that you think they would. So good ownership gets all these things. Good ownership understands, hey, if we have good nutrition, if we have a good strength staff, we have a great training staff, we have all of these different types of things

that matters to players. They want to feel supported, and if they feel supported, then they feel like, all right, then I can go out there and be my best on Sundays. And if I am my best on Sundays, then that means good things happen for this organization. That's what the Texans have been trying to do, and at least through one year they've passed that test. With flying colors, We're hoping they can do it even more. We don't do a lot of Rockets talk on here, but when you

win eleven games in a row, it deserves to be talked about. Because coming out next we'll get into some Rockets conversation because something was said about the Rockets that fans might like on the surface, but it would also potentially become a bad situation for this team. We'll do that as we continue on here on Space City Saturday. Dan Matthews here with you until noon on your home

with the Astros and the Rockets Sports Talk seven to ninety. Welcome back to Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven ninety as the Astros will try to get that elusive first win of the season Tonight, six fifteen. First pitch here as you know Blummer and TK and the crew Julia Morales as well, they worked on Opening Day but got the next three days off as they've got the

Fox game tonight. Actually not true, they're going to play tomorrow. I thought for whatever reason that it was Sunday Night Baseball tomorrow, but no it's not. It'll be a one ten first pitch tomorrow. But for this one tonight, five o'clock, Astros on deck coming your way, and then of course tenth Inning Show afterwards as well, if you want to weigh in. I know many of you out there, Tyrone, definitely Astros tenth inning. You want to call in, come on brother, call on in and I

will take your call and talk to you on the tenth Inning Show. But as right now, let's get in some Rockets conversation. As the Rockets winning their eleventh straight last night wasn't pretty, wasn't great, and even at times looked like, well, well this streak is over, and if we lose this game, then well things are going to not be good in terms of trying to make the play in round. But the Rockets are also a team that feel probably incomplete right we watch them and as they are trying their best

to be able to make a play in round game. You look at this team and say, are they among the best in the Western Conference? Well, clearly they're not, because there's ten teams in front of them right now, so there's still a chance to grow in that regard. But also two, are they a team that's necessarily, you know, far away from being

able to be amongst the best in the Western Conference? Well, I think this probably has shown with the play of Jalen Green and with the men Thompson being in the starting lineup and what he's been able to do, you know, from at times this year, Cam Whitmore, what he's been able to add early on in the season, what Tarry Eason was able to give you off the bench, as well as the veteran presence and the veteran contributions you've

gotten from Fred van Vlietz and from Dylan Brooks as well as you know Jeff Green off the bench, Aaron Holiday too as well. You've been able to see significant improvement from this team. As a matter of fact, I mean, if they get six more wins, they double their win total from last year. I mean you want to talk about significant improvements, Yeah, that's amazing improvement from year one to year two. But got a lot of work to be able to do between now and then. Got some tough games coming

up Mavericks tomorrow night. They're in the Western Conference playoff race, as they are in a firm position to be able to make it into the playoffs as well as you got the Heat on the other side, as they've been going through some injury issues. I mean, you know, Jimmy Butler not playing

the other night. That was not great in terms of the Rockets needing a huge win out of them over the Warriors to be able to at least put them into a statistical tie, but the tiebreaker would give it to the Warriors. If the Rockets and them were finishing with the same record at the end of the season, the Warriors would get in the play and round over the

Rockets. But there was something that Tim McMahon, somebody that we know around here from his coverage of the Rockets but also to covering the Mavericks as well, said on an ESPN podcast that again, I think that some Rockets fans might hear it and say, oh man, yeah, no, for sure, that's what we need. That's what this team needs in order to be a contender, not only in the Western Conference, but a chance to be able to have a run at trying to play for and win an NBA title.

That would get them excited. But I would also say pump the brakes just a little bit. He said this recently on an ESPN podcast with Brian Windhorst and Crew. I'll just tell you this when we talk about vulture circling, some of those vultures have rockets gear on because they absolutely want to take a big, big swing in the trade market sooner than later. And there they've got a ton of young talent on this roster. Obviously, you know, I don't know if both Shagoon and Green are going to be here long

term. My guess, and I emphasized guests, is that one or the other would end up getting moved at some point for them when they take their big swing. But they have unprotected Brooklyn picks this year in twenty six and an unprotected swap next year. They've got that as the draft capital AMMO, and then a lot of you know, intriguing young talent on the roster. If there are stars that emerge on the trade market, I believe the Rockets

are going to take swings, all right. So a couple of things there that he said, and I'll start with the part about star hunting and the first one, and my question would be, who necessarily is out there that if you added to this organization, you would say, oh yeah, immediate contenders to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy. I don't really think there are any out there. I've said it numerous times. I think the NBA has a

star problem right now. I just don't think that there are really just transcending, just absolutely unbelievably needle moving players out there that are going to get you to that point. I think the Rockets are absolutely on the right track right

now. I just think, as a matter of fact, one of the names you mentioned, Jalen Green, and what he's been able to do for the last few games so far this season for the Rockets, I mean, he has at least gotten close to reaching what last year was his career high average in points twenty two point one per game twenty So far this season, he's played less minutes than he had through seventy six games last year. He's played seventy three so far to this point. But we see what he's been

able to do on the floor these last few games. Is this run that Jalen Green has been on has been unbelievable in terms of what we thought. He should have been Western Conference Player of the Week last week. Again, well, the NBA decided, now Anthony Davis is that guy, and they went with Anthony Davis. But player of the month. He'd be pretty hard pressed to find anybody else in the Western Conference that's had the month that Jalen

Green has had. And you've seen what he's meant to this team. And I also think as well with the Rockets and they're poor shooting last night against the Jazz, wasn't that not growth out of him and what he was able to show Because hadn't we seen numerous times this season that Green had a rough night and it started to leak into the other parts of his game so much that Ima Udoka in the early parts of the season when he was having a rough shooting night, had to say, yeah, I gotta pull you because

it's starting to taint the rest of your game and I just can't have you

on the floor if this is how this is going to be. But I think little by little he started to accept it's not always going to be pretty, it's not always going to be great, and he's been able to piece together games while shooting percentage wise might not be the best, He's able to have a twenty seven point night, you know, even in the thirties, whatever it might be, of being able to keep shooting and finally being able to hit his mark and be able to put together a nice performance when it's

all said and done with the point total, but also too as well, I think that a little short sighted part of all of this, of oh, well, the Rockets don't need Alprin Shingun. Alprin Shingun is quickly becoming one of the best fives in the league. I think there are improvements that he needs to make to his game. I think that there actually needs to

be a decision made by Alprin Shingun this offseason. Are you going to put on some weight, are you going to become more physical and are you going to be that type of a five or are you going to be a stretch. And if you're going to be a stretch, he's got to trust that shot. I don't see a guy that really trusts his shot so far to this point, and if he's able to add that to his game, then he's able to take at least the offensive part of the game to the next

level. Defensively, you'd like to see improvements from that as well. And I think that again what I said when they acquired Steven Adams, there's no mistake why Steven Adams is here. Steven Adams is here to be able to help try to shepherd along Alprin Shingoon and help him on the defensive side of the game, especially also to rebounds, all those different types of things that go into being a five and being an effective five to be able to take

his game to the next level. So it's still a growing progress with this

team the pieces that they have right now. Jalen Green, Alprin Shingoon, I would think long and hard with anybody that could possibly be available for you out there before moving on from them, because I don't necessarily think you get a huge jump of being able to make a trade, because I feel like at that point it'd be making a trade for a star player for the sake of making a trade, not necessarily a player that makes you even better. And I think to kind of wrap all of this up as well. We

know the type of basketball that emay Udoka wants to play. I think if you're going to make any type of move, you're a felstone. Emay Udoka needs to be full on board with you making that move because this is a systematic team of what you want to be as a team. Now. You want to be known for hard nosed defense, you want to be known for physical play. You also want to be known as a team that doesn't take any guff from any other teams. I mean, we've seen that out of

the Rockets. As a matter of fact, probably the turn that you saw for the Rockets this year where when they got into that dust up out in Phoenix, and I think even ime Udoka even said as much, saying, hey, we showed some fight, we showed we're not going to back down. And you've seen the Rockets play much improved basketball from that point, because I think this is a team that said we're not going to be pushed around anymore. We're not going to be a team that's, oh, hey they're

young, they just don't know any better. No, we know better and we're going to beat you. And ima Udoka has been a huge part of being able to create that identity with this team, and you hope that it can only continue from here because if it does, then even better days are coming over at Toyota Center, and that's something that we all would love to

see. We'll close out with a final thought on the Strows, but also too, Houston Cougar's last night a rough one for them to end their season, because Kelvin Sampson's Houston Cougar's just proved something that I think most of us already know. We'll discuss that as we close out this edition of Space City Saturday. I'm Dan Matthews here on your home of the Astros and the Rockets, Sports Talk seven ninety. This is Space City Saturday on Sports Talk seven

night. Astros coming your way a little bit later tonight here on your home of the Stros Sports Talk seven ninety as we will have Astros on deck coming to your way at five o'clock yours truly hosting from there at minute made Park going to have interviews that I was able to do the other day with both Parker Mashinski and also with Jake Myers, trying to get one more might even Duck in the Yankee Clubhouse too. To kind of get a pulse of one

of the guys in that group to have their on Astros on deck. But we'll be having it coming at your way as it'll be a six fifteen first pitch there with Robert Ford Steve Sparks coming your way on your Home of the Stros. And also to the Rockets coming your way tomorrow night seven o'clock tip over there at Toyota Center, as it'll be a little bit of a mixed

bag in terms of Rockets rap and Rockets launch Pad. Tomorrow Gordy is gonna have launchpad and Sports RV gonna have Rockets wrap for you here on Sports Talk seven ninety as we will have every single game of the opening home stand of the season for the Astros right here on your Home of the Astros, Sports

Talk seven ninety. So just keep that in mind. The Houston Cougars last night's unfortunate end to their season, Jamal Shed goes down with the ankle issue and they fought hard in the second half, but just unable to get things in the positive direction in terms of the scoreboard to be able to move on to the Elite eight as they fall by three to Duke fifty four fifty one. But I mean it's also to talking about it a little bit earlier with

some koog fans before coming on the air today. Of it seems like for the most part, you of H fans have the right approach to this, and that is be proud of what this team did this year. You lose Terrence Arsono, you lose Jesse Tugler, you lose last night your best player, the best player in college basketball this year in Jamal Shd and you still had your chance at being able to move on to the next step of the

best in college basketball, the Elite Eights. And it was unfortunate and it's going to be an off season of what could have been, and that's not what you want to have happen at the end of the season. But they fell just short, and I think that it really underscores what most of us

know about sports in general and winning titles. That's why. For example, so it's no secret that I'm born and raised here first twenty seven years of my life, but the last ten years I worked in Atlanta, and you would have people all the time talk about that Braves run that they had in the nineties and the early two thousands of oh, yeah, but only one world title? Are you really that short sighted like that one world title was hard enough to win? And yes, were they in position to win more?

Sure? Should they have won more? Absolutely, we can have that discussion as well. But winning a national championship or a world title is not an easy thing. That's why we take for granted the greatness that we see. I mentioned Alabama earlier and what they have ahead of them without Nick Saban leading that program now is going to be huh so this is what the rest

of college football looks like. Huh yeah, nine to three, ten and two, if you're really good, is more of the reality than losing only one game or even losing a game in a season and being able to do that for the better part of fifteen years. That's unheard of. That's unreal. What the Astros have done, that's unheard of. That's unreal, what they've been able to do to this point as an organization, what they've done

the last few years. And you, of h of course it is going to be with Kelvin Samson exactly what it is with all coaches of his ILK of can he win a national title? Is he good enough to be able to win a national title. All of those different types of things, and that's why when we have the greats that are able to string together titles plural, they should be cherished, they should be celebrated. They shouldn't be looked at as, oh well, they're past their prime. Now, oh well

they don't have it anymore, all of these different types of things. I get all of that. The results speak for themselves, that's fine. But at the same time, too, the Kougs had almost everything going at their direction. Where I thought when they won that game against A and M last

week, I thought that getting the Phoenix was a foregone conclusion. I said, if you won that one and you were able to pull that game out when you lost a twelve point lead, you give up that three pointer as the buzzer sounds there and you're going to overtime, you're thinking yourself, man, this isn't good. But that team found a way. They did that all season long. The Texas game on the road, the Oklahoma game on

the road. You know, I mean numerous other games that we saw from them this season where they had close games where it could have gone one way or another, and they were able to find a way to win said game, and it was something that I thought was going to be prophetic by Jim Nantz after the A and M win where he talked with Joseph d'Arte and a

few other reporters outside the Cougars locker room. There this is, you know, a situation we've been in before where it's gone the complete opposite direction most

of us. I wasn't even born yet. Remember nineteen eighty three losing to Jim Valvano and to NC State, Which how funny would that have been if they would have played NC State in the Elite A. I mean, can you imagine all of these storylines and everything that would have gone into that which none of these kids were born in hell, some of their parents were probably you know, in their single years in terms of the number of their age

at that point that might not even remember that time. But the Koug's just, you know, they ran into a situation that was really untenable. They ran out of gas and that happens, and it's unfortunately you lose a player like Jamal shed it's going to hurt your team exponentially, and it did last night. And if you had had Terrence Arsenow then you're in a different position

if you had had Jesse Tugler, maybe even in a different position. But you can be nothing but proud of what they accomplished this season because it was nothing short of amazing what they were able to do this year, and you were hoping it was going to pay off with the national title at the end of the season. But as Kelvin Sampson said, last night just wasn't our

time, and hopefully their time is coming. As long as he is leading that program, I believe that you're on the right track to being able to accomplished that goal because he, in my mind, is a guy that hasn't just done it yet, and the keyword of that phrase is yet, because I think that eventually they can get to that point under his leadership of that program, because in just a short time it's amazing what he's been able to

build there over on Culin Boulevard. One to thank Adam Snyder behind the glass doing a great job. As always, want to think all of you out there as well. Again, I'll be on Astros on Deck and the tenth Inning show Astros and Yankees coming up a little bit later on. Everybody enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in the Age. We'll talk to you a little bit later on right here on your home of the Astros and the Rockets, Sports Talk seven to ninety. I'm Dan Matthews. Talk to you then,