Dana, welcome in. It's good to have you on. Let's start with Lance mccollors. There's been some great, there's been some really good, and there's been some what you'd expect from a guy who's hadn't touched for two years and is still in like his fifth or sixth start assess him for us as if he.
The post injury.
But are you surprised that he's been even sans last night, that he's had such success and going pretty deep in games for the most part these last couple starts before last night.
Yeah, Look, it's a testament to his grit, how much he's worked. He's worked really hard to get back, and you know that the intriguing thing is he's still has the strikeouts. You know, he's been striking a lot of guys out, which is encouraging to the stuff. You know, every now and then he runs into a bumping a row with his command and that's to be expected for a guy who hasn't pitched, you know, in over two years. So U, you know, we've been very encouraged by Lance
and what he's doing. And as I mentioned, the strikeouts is you know, the one thing that you can hang your hat on Dana.
From your as a as a guy who knows talent. Now he comes back and you're just watching him pitch from a general manager's point of view, forget the injuries, just how he's pitching. Well, what do you see that tells you, oh, there is still another left obviously the history of his game, but we're still gonna see the best of what's the next step to see the best of Lance mccollors in your eyes?
Yeah, you know, when you just evaluate him, you know, I love that he still has really good timing and his delivery and his breaking stuff is very effective. So uh, you know, those are things that you look at that you know that's going to at least, you know, deceive the hitters with a good delivery, and of course you can get breaking balls by guys, you know, with the effectiveness of the break and so those two things are
very very encouraging. You know. It's just that every now and then, as I mentioned the command, you know, he'll lose lose the command a little bit and so, but the strikeouts are real and that's very very encouraging.
Dana Brown astros GM for his weekly visit here on Sports Talk seven to ninety Dana, You're so encouraging. You know your team, and I know you believe your team's going to get hot and sustain it. You told us last year and they did so this year new season. Tell me what you see that says not only can they get hot offensively, because the pitching staff's been pretty
damn brilliant, especially the bullpen that you see. Okay, we can get hot, but we can sustain this with our bats because at some point the bats may have to carry the pitching staff. Hopefully not, but they may have to. What tells you they're closer than they've been at any time this season?
Yeah, I think with the addition of Pinion the leadoff spot, you know, the fact that he's hitting like you know, like three sixty plus, you know, and that and that leadoff spot, I mean that's encouraging up top. You know, you know, A Parrettits has been really good. You know, he's leading the ale third basements and home runs with like fourteen and thirty nine ribbies, so he's been really good. I think those two guys really anchoring the top. It's going to be very important for us. We know that,
you know, our two v is gonna heat up. He's been showing us signs of heating up. Jordon should be back you know here shortly. He's about eighty percent healed. And you know, Christian Walker has had some really big hits for us, and we know historically he's been really good in the months of June, July, and August in his career. And so you know, these are some encouraging things that we feel really good good about down the stretch.
And so once this all clicks and comes together, I think you'll see an offense and a pitching staff that's well, you know, well oiled and into you know, their thing, doing their thing by you know, the mid part of the summer. And so I'm very encouraged by this club. Look we're three games up, you know. Uh, you know, we were fighting with grit. We got the grit every day, and these guys come to play.
Dana thirty six and thirty I believe right now. And you mentioned the you know gonna get hot. If I'd have told you and be we're just talking brass tacks here on the Bingo card. For me, I didn't have I mean paratus good player. But when we say paradus, look at the way Jake Myers is hit and then moving pain into the leadoff spot. In the way he's doing that may not have been the full three bingo card. And with Christian Walker the struggles al tuve the inconsistency,
but we know he gets them in bunches. And you're on being hurt and not having the power early in the season, but sitting at thirty six and thirty days, just the real.
Just the truth about this.
There's no way we would have thought considering that bingo card that you'd be thirty six and thirty considering the end reason as well.
So that's got to make you happy.
Yeah, Look, this team, as I said before, they have a lot of grit and guys will step up. Man. That's the beauty of a good team. When one of your buddies go down, you know the other guys was stepping it up. You know, we got two really good starts from our young starters that came up, and so you know, we have a group of guys that are stepping it up. And as you mentioned, yeah, I forgot to mention Jake. Jake's been swinging the bat very well
and of course he's really good defensively. So there are some signs with this club that will tell you, Look, we're not even on all cylinders and we're actually playing pretty good baseball. Can we be playing a little bit better? Yeah, because our offense has not hit their stride yet. But at the end of the day, you know, these guys have shown some grit and it's a good group of guys. This is a good team and we feel really good about it. When we get these guys on all cylinders,
our pitching comes back. Uh, you know, this should be this should make it really fun for the stretch run date.
I want to go back with whether it's culture or just your guys, the whole organization's ability to see through this and get these kind of type of guys. We hear culture, and we hear that these guys, you know, the grit and the step up that you mentioned that they just guys back up, step in and do their job. But the question is why and how well? Why is it that when they come here or when somebody gets hurt.
What is it?
You know, we all want to bottle that up and sell it. Why with the Astros do you guys have this unique ability to do this? What's the main what's the main ingredient and that's in that pot.
Yeah, I think it's first of all, it's a winning culture and we've been that way. You know, when you go to the postseason eight straight times, guys come in and they know that, Look, this is a winning call up. As you start off with that winning attitude, you know, and then you have the leadership under Joe A. Spada, who has he's very familiar with these guys. He has great leadership in the clubhouse. Uh he's not a raw, raw guy, but he's the guy that you know, gets
with each each and every guy and and encourage. He encourages guys when you have to encourage him, and he has you know, when he has to discipline, he'll discipline. And so look, I think it's the culture that's been created. You know. Uh, you come here, you come here to win. You know, as our owner has said so many times, our windows always open and so look, this is this is just the way it is here in Houston. I mean we you know, we played good baseball. We have
great fans support. I meant these the fans just continue to show up and continue to support us, you know, I mean I run into fans all the time when I'm you know, walking the streets of Houston, are just going out for a bite. You know, these guys are encouraging you know, they they they they encourage us so much. They show up and that's the beauty. The Astro fans show up. You know, you cannot do that without fan support.
And I tell you, these guys show up every single day and that's where we get our drive from.
Dana Brown asked those gm for a few more minutes here on Sports Talk seven ninety seven sALS Reshow. All right, Dan, if I put a monitor on you, you know, a detector that told me that when I asked the question of concerns on this team, it would light up and we'd all be able to see it. What is your biggest concern sixty six games in about your team?
Yeah, it's just, you know, we got to get on all cylinders with the bats first of all, you know, because as you mentioned before, the pitching has been really good and the pitching that's been carrying us. So we can get on all cylinders with the bats, and we can get our guys back from injuries. I think those would be the two things that would light up for
me because once that happens. I think we're going to go into a nice little run, a nice little stretch, you know, whether it's ten out of twelve or you know, seven in a row or whatever it is. I think we'll hit all cylinders at that point, you know, And that's the big deal. That's the real big deal of just getting the bats to get on all cylinders and you know, just getting getting this machine, getting this machine running in the right direction.
All right, let me be the Devil's advocate just because for listeners and viewers and debate this. What if this is your team the way Let's just say, now, this is who you are at thirty six and thirty Can you win a World Series? Hitting like this with the way it's been and pitching like this with the way it's been. If this is who the astros are, can you play in the late October and beyond?
Listen. I won't really get into the hypotheticals, but I will say this, this team, the roster is built for the World Series. I think we have guys that have to get on all cylinders, and you know, guys have to really get hot. You know, we're gonna need our hitter, you know, to turn up the dial. You know, that's gonna have to happen. And I think our pitching has been really good and we're gonna get guys back, So
we're gonna get guys back from injuries. So yes, the roster is definitely built to get into the World Series. I think some things have to happen, like the you know players, the hitters are gonna have to get hot, and we're gonna have to get some guys back, you know, off the eel, which I feel like we are gonna
get guys back. You know, Arraghetti uh is the guy that's already starting to throw, and you know there's a potential of him going out to West Palm after this homestand and and starting to throw even more and get off the mound, and so, uh, there's some good things happening.
I think the roster is built to win. I don't think any team would expect to, you know, go all the way without there without their their horses, right and so but ultimately, this team, this roster, this club is certainly built the and we have the leadership to do it.
Is Christian Walker. How's he handling the pressure of some early season woes.
That he's not used to it. He's hit it hard at times, and we have.
Expectations that he's going to be better data and so do you you know this that's why he's here. It was an upgrade at first base. But with that, how's he handling the struggles right now?
Yeah, I think he understands from an analytics standpoint and data information standpoint, he is hitting the ball hard, and we would say he's been very unlucky, you know, you know, just looking at his Babbitt which is about two sixty and balls in play, you know, so he's been very unlucky and he's hit the ball very hard, and so that's just you know, that's part of the game. You know, the other teams have really good defenses, and sometimes you're going to hit the ball hard and you're not going
to get anything out of it. But we know historically that he turns things around in the month of June, July, and August. You know, that's just who he is, and so we're really looking for good things. He's been really good defensively, his attitude has been great, and so he's not panicked because he's a true professional, and so we really expect him to, you know, to turn the corner and get hot.
Danny, you're the ability to throw runners out. Tony, who's a regular listener and caller, and he broached this subject, and so I'm gonna ask for him about are you and we You and I talked about this coming out, you know, early after spring training, about the struggles of throwing runners out, holding pitchers hold them, and catchers, you know, doing all the things they got to do to be in position to throw a gut when he runs, getting
the pitch quick. You know, you're you're to be able to pop out of that the pounce time and get it down the second Mason b act all those things.
Are you doing it better? And why is it getting better? Do you see it? And what have they worked on to make this better?
Yeah, so it's all about the timing, you know. But first of all, I would say before I get into that, the most important thing for the pictures to get the hitter out right. And so you have to really focus on the hitter and you can't lose sight and hitter. This is not like the nineteen eighties when teams had a bunch of rabbits on the bases and they would steal bases consistently. Now we have guys hit the ball out of the ballpark, and you have to focus on
the hitter. Now with that said, you know, you also you cannot let guys just run the bases and allow it to be a track meet. And so I think what we've done is we've worked on this timing thing. We've worked on holding the ball as long as we can hold it at times to take the spring out of the runner's legs, you know, because sometimes when you hold the ball and you hold it tight and then all of a sudden you go to the plate, you know you can throw their timing off. And so you know,
we've done things. We've talked to our pictures about it. But you know, we've made it very clear, do not lose sight of the hitter, because you know, if a guy stills the base, he's on second base. If you get to hit her out, you're still in good shape. If a guy steals a base and then he gives up a triple or a double or a home run, then you got problems. And so the main thing is
to keep the main thing the main thing. And so we got to focus on the batter, and we have to you know, pay attention you know, to the runner at times depending on who's on the basis, but you can't lose sight of who's hitting.
So the priority has been get the batter out and secondaries, get the runner out, even though you'd like to do both extremely well.
Correct.
Yeah, absolutely, you've got to get to hit her out, you know, if you you know you can still it's very difficult to steal home. You can still. Second, still, Third, if I get to hit her out, you know, I got a chance, right, you know, And so you can't lose focus of that.
And about the minute I have with you, and you know, the gray area, Dana, you're I don't envy. Your job is talent scout, a general manager. All the things you've done and understanding that having to deal with all of us that want to know injuries, it's a pain in the ass.
So to remove gray.
Area for fans and for anybody like in Jordon's case, First, where is he Number one? How close are we sixty percent? About ten days two weeks ago of that thing healing? Where are we timeline wise? But what's the protocol with him? You know, at first we thought it was soft tissue, and then we found there fracture. How long between like
MRIs do you ca the swelling? See it just kind of take us through it so we get a better advantage of what you have to go through when you have to come on and talk to my ass about injuries and what happened in Jordon's case, where are we and how do we get to that point with all the medical stuff.
Yeah, so he's eighty percent healed, which means he's getting very close. No pain, he can shake hands, he can you know, he can pick up a bat. We're just not going to allow him the hit for a few more days. And you know, so in terms of the
injury itself, hand injuries are very very difficult. You know, any of these hand injuries are very very difficult because what happens is you get you know, when you get these bone injuries, Uh, you have so much swelling and inflammation, and you you know, to read the MRI eyes are very very difficult, and so you have to allow you know, the swelling to go down and before you can see it. And I think he was playing, you know, and he originally it was the muscle strain in the hand, and
I think he played through it. Find the grind through it with the grit and you know, I think he by him playing through it, I think that's what may have caused this small fracture. I don't know for sure, but potentially could have. And then you know, we were looking at all the inflammation with the with the muscle strain, and then you know you missed the small fracture because
of all of the inflammation. And then the key here is, you know we've learned to keep getting him, just continue to image it because as the swelling gowns, you can see a lot a lot more and so look, ultimately he'll be back. We don't think it's going to be too much longer. As I mentioned, he's eighty percent healed. And you know, we've played very well. You know, the guys have stepped up. You know, we're twenty and fifteen since your ion went down, and so you know we
are playing over five hundred. The boys are playing good. Just like last year when Tucker went out, the boys stepped it up. You know, even when Tucker went out, we played even better. And so you know we're thirty we're forty nine to thirty four or whatever it was. So look, ultimately the guys have stepped it up, but we'll get yourd I'm back here soon. I know. It's frustrating. It's frustrating, you know when when guys get hurt, but it goes with the territory. It's part of the game.
It's we're not the only team that are suffering injuries, and so U you know, we're dying to get them back and soon he's able to swing the bat. We're going to try to expedite it, you know, by maybe having him face some pictures and you know, instead of sending them on a rehab, hopefully we won't have to send him on a triple A rehab. Maybe we can get it done at the ballpark and give him some live at bats.
Eighty percent of good number. Appreciate you walking us through that. Takes a long time for swelling to go down as the basic point before you can see the fracture.
On the MRI data.
Great stuff, man, Good luck today, and we'll look forward to talking to you next Wednesday. I always wish we had more time with you, and thank you for your time. Man, appreciate it.
I appreciate you guys having me on every week. Let's go astro fans. We're fired up.
There you go. That's Dana Brown Astro's GM.
We'll come back to finish up quickly and i'd love to have him for four segments.
We'll be right back