Top 4 Reasons for Rockets to Sign Donovan Mitchell | Top 5 Shocking Astros Stats!

Top 4 Reasons for Rockets to Sign Donovan Mitchell | Top 5 Shocking Astros Stats!

[Music] welcome to Houston sports talk with your host Robert land thanks for checking into the best Houston sports podcast now part of the believe Network guys great to have you with us joining me as my co-host Stephen Kerr 65 plus years in sports journalism between the two of us later in the show I got five shacking AST stats as we’re nearly at the one-third Mark of the season but I want to start with the latest report from the Athletics Kelly Eco that the Rockets have followed the Donovan Mitchell situation now for months and Stephen from all reports the Cals are breaking up Darius Garland and Donan Mitchell so either Mitchell signs an extension and they trade Garland or Mitchells on the Block yeah it’s an interesting situation because from what I understand they don’t want to keep those two together so one of them is going to stay and the other is is probably going to go which is is certainly interesting I’ve been hearing these reports about Donovan Mitchell for a while I think David windhorse talked about it on a podcast and as you said Kelly eeko reported on it you know there there’s got to be some truth to it I mean it’s interesting though because again you know with Donovan Mitchell being on the last year of his contract he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after next season if you’re the Rockets you know first of all how much would you want to give up for a guy that is obviously going to command big money when he does become a free agent and could walk and the other is where does Jaylen green fit into this picture you don’t make the deal though if there’s not some sort of wink win you’re not giving up major assets unless there’s a certainly should yeah you’re resign the guy right but you know then the question becomes what what happens with Jaylen green yeah and let me speak to just the fact that because I hear a lot of rockets fans just dismissing Donovan Mitchell outright because they’re scared to death to give up potentially one or two players from the core six but Stephen if you have a chance to get a top 15 player who’s in his prime only 28 years old next year and add him to let’s say four of this core six you have to do it you want four other reasons I would trade for Donovan Mitchell are you ready Stephen go ahead fire away yeah I I I created a list number one there is no guarantee any of these core six reach top 10 or 15 the odds are against it hell if you want to bet me one of those Rockets become better than Donovan let me know I’ll take your money and Shang goon by the way may have the best shot but I’m not doing the deal if he’s included I didn’t NE the Rockets no no definitely not no no no no no you you know you might include Jaylen Green in that deal but you certainly wouldn’t include shenon number two Donovan Mitchells never had an offensive weapon close to shenon and yet in his last four seasons without really a great offensive weapon next to him he’s LED his teams to an average of 50 wins what could he do with the with this kind of help with with shanon number three Donovan’s clutch Stephen he’s six all time in playoff scoring his overall shooting percentage better in the playoffs than in the regular season this is the anti James Harden I was just that’s the funny thing you said that I would the first thought that popped into my mind is well that’s definitely not James Harden figures yeah last number four in my last one Rockets fans say but he’s not a top five guy so he can’t win a title with Donovan Mitchell is the number one guy I say it’s not written on Mount Si that you need him to be number one but at worst he’s a great number two and hopefully maybe one of the remaining core six that you don’t deal turns into that number one option and by the way Stephen where are the MVP candidates in this year’s final four where’s jokic where’s SGA where’s Giannis only Luca is still alive isn’t the goal to get as many high-end Talent guys as possible I say you can’t twiddle your thumbs waiting for years for a top five player to magically become a ailable yeah in today’s NBA that that’s just where it’s going Robert and it’s just the reality of it and I mean there are a lot of things about Donovan’s game that I like um and you know I I don’t think I I certainly don’t think he would have a problem fitting in with the the core six you know with the Rockets you know the question though is if you’re going to make a trade for him you know sure you you’ve got a high draft pick you could probably throw in there but you also they’re GNA want a major piece too or at least to some degree so then the question becomes who are you willing to part with from a player standpoint to get it yeah Brian wior brought up this package which seems realistic as far as an ask he said Jaylen Jabari and that whole Nets draft pick package for Mitchell I’d consider it but if you’re giving up Jaylen you take one or two of the Nets picks from that package off the table so maybe you give up two or three of them instead of all four and then Jabari you know for him I just don’t think he looks like a star to me so he’s the easiest to give up also important to note you probably want to move van vet in a separate trade because Mitchell and Van vet real small back court Cavs wouldn’t want van vet because they already have Garland so that that would be another that’d be going against everything that they just tried to trade trade with Mitchell because they were dealing with the Donovan and Garland situation as as defensive liabilities there in the back court Stephen would you do the Jaylen Jabari and the Nets draft pick package if somehow as you said wink wink you could get him to sign a longer term deal because again you’re taking the risk of him walking next year and you don’t have Jaylen green well guess what you’ve lost both of those guys so then where are you as far as your core six now you know if this draft class were a huge draft class like some of the previous Seasons I might be willing to take that chance but since it isn’t yeah I I don’t know that package may be a little steep unless I could be assured that you can sign him Beyond next season and obviously there there’s no guarantees with that so that would be my only hesitation about the deal we have seen Jaylen green at his best in March but we’ve seen three years of Jaylen green outside of that one month in March be a poor shooter and somebody that doesn’t always bring it on a nightly basis now you know I’m not gonna give up on Jaylen green but if it’s between the sure thing of a top 15 guy in Jaylen green I mean you got to take the sure thing typically in life and you know jayen I love the potential I love what he can do we’ve seen the high-end but we’ve seen it guys have great months Jeremy Lynn and just like not have another career you know it’s just it’s not a whole thing well you know what if the Rockets are in a win Now situation which you know let’s think about this for a minute they almost made the playoffs and if they had continued to play the way they were playing until almost right up at the end they would have been in and Lord only knows how far they would have gotten if they had gotten on a role like they did so if they are playing to win now then yes you do make the deal because somebody like Donovan Mitchell could get you over the top now you were talking about Fred vanet in a separate deal what about since this seems to be happening more and more lately what if it were a three- team trade where another team got involved you sent van vet elsewhere you still get Donovan Mitchell maybe even get another piece from that team or you know another draft pick or two out of that situation that wouldn’t be too farfetched to think about either would it yeah I thought about you know he could be involved with a third team or something like that it gets complicated because you’re trying to the Cleveland needs you to somehow get close to matching and if you’re just giving them you know Jabari and uh Jaylen it’s not gonna match salary-wise with Don Mitchell so it gets a little bit trickier but yeah I can see a three-way deal I mean say you make the deal how would you feel Stephen about a starting lineup of Donovan Mitchell am man Thompson T een Dylan Brooks and Shen oh I I would love that lineup yeah you you would have me there you would absolutely have me there you know provided of course shenon comes back strong from his injury andari comes back strong from his you know those are those are factors to think about but man if you if you’re thinking best case scenario oh yeah give me that lineup any day yeah you still got cam Whitmore coming off the right you’ve still got cam Whitmore and and you know again who else they might do in the offseason or the the draft pick that they may or may not make or trade I mean there’s still some factors that kind of make this even more appealing in there yeah the draft pick I would assume that’s going to go in a in a Donovan Mitchell yeah I the are going to want draft assets and the draft that the pick they would be eyeing I’m sure because most teams would if they’re not already up there that number three pick would be there yeah you could still get guys in free agency you still got Stephen Adams by the way coming off the bench too right and depending on you know salary filler and what you need you know either a jack Landell if he doesn’t go he stays same with Jeff Green same with Jon Tate so You’ got some other potential pieces there but I mean Stephen just my last thought on it is you know I I seriously mul it over I am not right there with jayen Green sing what he is and who he is so it would help a lot if I knew the character of Jaylen green a little bit better than just what I see on TV but look I mean I I if if they have any question about Jaylen green becoming a star then you definitely have to think about this but if not Jaylen green he becomes a star he’s cheaper than Donovan Mitchell because the fun Max that he’ll be on that you’ll sign him in a year much cheaper yeah I I wish we had a bigger sample size of the jayen green that we saw from March on than we do because if we did you know if he were doing this if he were going up and up and up and up over these last three years it would make that decision a lot harder but that’s the thing is you just you still don’t know what Jaylen green you’re GNA get from year to year but if you’re talking about a guy like Donovan Mitchell the more you think about it that the better it sounds and if you have to give up a guy like Jaylen even if it’s just for next year you know who who knows who what might become available after next year but again it’s a it’s a different kind of a dangerous twist just because you don’t know what’s going to happen Beyond next year but if you’re in win now mode and if you’re really thinking about it which the Rockets very well might be then perhaps that’s why you make a deal like that em was in went now mode this year Stephen well yeah he you know one of the things that eema prided himself on is that he has always made the playoffs every year whether he’s you know a player assistant coach head coach until this year the Rockets actually broke that string so yeah he definitely is in win mode now and he not only wants to get back there next year but he wants to go deep especially with the team he has now in his building you know give him another year with these guys together and then adding a piece like say a Donovan Mitchell or whomever then yeah definitely he wants to win now what do you guys think out there let us know uh put a comment down on YouTube about this or what we got going on the rest of the show definitely we need guys to do that all right quick reminder for Texans fans our last show broke down the new schedule with the Chronicles Steph stradley Stephen you didn’t come on with us last week wasn’t able to covering hockey you know that’s been taking up my life yeah what you think well you know the positives Robert I I love the fact that there are six Prime Time games I actually picked them to have four so that actually went above the the downside to that of course and I know you guys touched on it is some of them you know kind of here at a weird time you know and you’re you’re talking about the the game from Saturday to Wednesday Christmas Day against Baltimore you know that’s definitely not a thing that you want to have happen but you know what th those are just the things that come when you have a winning season and a great season like what the Texans have you know that you you want to be in prime time you want the nation to kind of root for you or at least you know be able to see you in action the downside though is that the schedule makers aren’t exactly going to be kind to you and they’re going to make it tough on you I love love love the fact that the Texans and Cowboys are playing Monday Night Football I mean the only thing that would have been better Robert that that I was kind of hoping would happen is that they would be on the Thanksgiving Day game which the Cowboys always are I I was shooting for that but you know what Monday nights are great substitute I will gladly take it because I’ll be honest with you you know they have some Sunday night games and that’s great I’ve just never been a big Sunday night football fan I I just have it Monday night you know from growing up watching some great Monday Night Football games and Robert you know and I know the Oilers were involved in some of those great Monday nighters so to have the Texans and Cowboys on Monday Night Football dude give it to me I’ll take it so those are some positives and you know really the the negatives and I mentioned this in the last podcast I I would have preferred to play Kansas City and Baltimore a little bit earlier just because sometimes you know like especially in the chief’s case you might be able to knock them off but you know you get what you get you know there there’s one game I think that’s in October in a cold weather situation that you normally would you would be playing in November December you get them in October so that’s good I think it’s the Green Bay gay wasn’t it that it was in October and not November which is a good thing so there are pros and cons and here’s the thing is you know we look at a schedule and on paper it looks tough or it looks easy but as we know from year to year Robert teams are going to go up that you think are going to be down just like the Texans did last year and vice versa so there will be some surprises and there will probably be some disappointments there probably some games that Texans we think they should have won and they fell on their face so it’s always interesting to look at it but the Texans well one thing’s for sure the Texans are going to be noticed next year because they have so many Prime Time games what is it one third of their games well almost 17 games but almost onethird of them are going to be on National Television absolutely yeah it’s uh it’s pretty remarkable after the last few seasons and if you dreamed out there as a tech fan of Steven Nelson resigning that ain’t happening you put it to bed in case you missed it this weekend he took a veiled shot at demo on social media referen what Deo should have done during the awful storm in Houston as far as helping out on his IG account is where he put that up there and he said quote let’s go milkdud man it’s time it’s your time to shine damn all that Meathead Persona time to get your hands dirty for the city unquote Stephen if you weren’t sure he was referring to Deo when he said milk dad man he had deleted a post that said Milk Dud Ryan what an idiot well you know he took a pot shot at the general manager last summer so I guess you know he figured he he had to he might as well go all the way and take a pot shot at the coach look Stephen Nelson’s a good football player but he’s not a superstar okay and you know if you are going to continually have that kind of thing going on in the background does the Texans locker room really need someone like him especially when they had such a good season you know you you should be feeling positive about it dude your team just had a good season they’re they’re hoping to have an even better one and go deeper in the playoffs next year I I don’t understand what his deal is that he has to continue to I mean if this isn’t the first time obviously so do you really want a guy like Stephen Nelson on your football team again I know he’s a good player but you can find somebody else out there I think that will do as good a job if pay him a little cheaper even and he certainly may not be running his mouth as much who hates too Ryan well that’s my other thing I mean why you know nicerio is one thing you know the general manager is is all business but come on Domo Ryan is one of the most popular figures in Houston right now and he was before the Texans even started playing last year you’re you’re mixing in things you know with a storm that just happened and by the way you know for those of you living in Houston I live in Austin but I’m from Houston so it’s very close to my heart I hope that you know many of you have gotten power back and if you haven’t hang in there but you know mixing the two together like that and just taking a pot shot at too I just I just don’t understand it it’s it’s unreal I almost feel like maybe he’s got a drinking problem or something I mean I I don’t want to defame the guy but something weird is going on where you basically take a pot shot at your general manager to begin with last year and then the team that signed you and started you and now you’re like a free agent still in June yeah still in June let’s talk about that for a second that’s a key phrase right there it’s still June and nobody has signed him do you think that other teams maybe are noticing the personality of this guy maybe that’s one of the reasons that he hasn’t signed with anybody including the Texans all anybody has done the last few months Stephen has praised this franchise it just crazy it’s remarkable that he did that well especially you know coming from one of your own players that that’s a very disturbing thing and I’m sure the Texans brass well they may not be saying it publicly they are not the least bit happy of that and if they were still sniff around the possibility of resigning Steven Nelson well that that might have just been the nail in the coffin against it as you said yeah this personality is probably why he he wasn’t resigned anyway let’s go to the Astros Jose Abu is coming back this weekend and immediately as soon as it’s announced he jinxes the team Stephen they blow a 61 lead yeah that’s uh that’s pretty disturbing and it’s disturbing with anybody on the mound but especially so when you have fromer Valdez on the mound but yeah there’s there’s so much unknown with the Jose Bru thing I mean you know you like to think positive that maybe he I I honestly thought he would take a little longer being up there but what has it been like three weeks almost a month I guess it doesn’t seem that long but you kind of Wonder was it long enough did he need more time and why did he get more he’s gotten like as you and I are speaking it’s 10 at bats what’s what’s the number one what’s the rush in getting him back yeah why aren’t they trying to give him more ad bats in the minor leagues for a guy that’s just not hitting you know he’s hit less than 100 come on well that’s that’s what I’m I don’t quite understand I mean he didn’t start right away when he got up there I think he you know there was a few days where he I think he finally reported to the um Florida Gulf Coast facility that the Astros have but yeah 10 at bats I don’t know what 10 at bats is going to do even for a guy that you know is a former Al MVP and everything but the struggles he had they they weren’t just a couple weeks they weren’t just a month I mean you take out the last part of last season and the postseason he had most of last season and all of this season so far in the first you know 40 plus game well not even that because he he hadn’t played all the games now since he was sent down there that’s a lot Robert and that’s my that’s my question is what’s the hurry of bringing him back John Singleton you know while he may not be lighting it up but he he’s at least being respectable he’s giving you more out of that position than it had well the other thing is and the real concern for me and this speaks to the job that John Singleton’s doing is abrau was terrible defensively he was costing our pitching staff outs and that that to me is what worries me it’s not the three at bats where he strikes out I’m worried about yeah Jonathan singles he’s been decent at first base defensively as well so when he comes back you know not only do you you know you also have Chaz McCormick that was just activated and Trey cabbage getting sent down well not only do you have that but when Abu comes back I mean you’re really gonna have a problem finding playing time for everybody especially when you’re talking about a guy that you know you’re gonna put him back in do do you have to play him every day to make sure he gets back in game shape and maybe turns things around do you bring him in gradually and is that the best way to do it since he has been struggling there are just so many questions I don’t know that I would have been in that big of a rush to give him getting back up especially considering the way the team is playing right now as a whole yeah I don’t want to be joah spotted by the way what are the comments that that is it’s a good problem to have if you’re a manager no it’s not a good problem what do you mean it’s a good problem well it’s a good problem that you have so many guys playing well especially with mccormic coming back you got some decisions to make about how much playing time you’re going to give who but yeah it’s going to complicate it even more when yeah Jose Brave coming back is not a good problem it’s a terrible problem ter it’s a terrible thing to put the spot at in and and Stephen the other part about that is you know you’re gonna have to send somebody away so maybe it’s a guy that’s been hitting over 300 for you given it’s the Outfield but I mean Joey Cooks is doing his job you know yeah and and and I I I would prefer not to send him down because he’s playing so great and he’s got speed and power even if he’s not playing he gives you speed and power coming off the bench I don’t know what josea Bru is GNA bring you off the bench and and also Joey’s got a left Lefty bat we don’t have a lot of those guys you know hanging around well I think you and I both know or we were at least we’re pretty certain that this decision was coming from up higher than Joe asata I I don’t know that you know maybe I’m sure he has input you mean semi- owner Jeff Bagwell yeah maybe it could be him it could be Jim Crane could because remember he’s getting paid a huge contract and he’s not getting paid a to sit on the bench and B to be in the Florida Gulf Coast league so at least from their vantage point they want him to come back as soon as possible and at least try to earn that money now if he doesn’t well then you know maybe at that point you just have no choice but to eat it and send him on his way but right now I’m sure that is the biggest reason that they’re in a big hurry to get him back up is because they wanted to earn that dough that they’re paying out to him not to be in not to be in the minor leagues we know we know we know why they want to do it I just it’s just stupid they could have waited another couple it doesn’t mean we have to like it yeah and another story Monday fber had that seven-run implosion and then admitted he veered from the game plan that inning and shook off janner Diaz remember Stephen when janner was gonna call all of his own pitches this year when is that guy Gonna Learn to trust our pitching coaches didn’t they help him do a championship just like a year and a half ago trust your pitching coaches and trust your Catcher And yeah we talked about that when we dressed the calling your own pitches thing look I understand you know a pitcher is the one throwing the ball and he knows what is com what’s not but you know what the catcher also knows what batters are comfortable hitting and what they’re not comfortable and I know that that janner Diaz is not Martin Maldonado I mean duh it’s pretty obvious but he is your starting catcher and you got to put your trust in him and look if if rber had gotten lit up by accepting all those signs well all right you could Point some blame and point some fingers at yanner Diaz but that wasn’t the case and I think you just you you have to draw a happy medium there and fber just seems to wanting to go Rogue more in this you know in in spring training and this season than he ever has in the past and look the guy needs to become more consistent and we need to see the fber that we saw a couple years ago you know going rogue and and shaking off your catcher once twice three times isn’t going to do it and that’s that’s really the most disturbing thing about it as we record Tuesday afternoon the Astros have played 48 games basically onethird of the season so what I thought I’d do is go through the five most shocking stats this season my number one what if I told you Stephen that the Astros four leaders and whip with a minimum of 10 Innings arguably their four best pitchers this year are ryal Blanco Rafael Montero Taylor Scott and Seth Martinez well that actually doesn’t surprise me because of I mean Montero is actually bouncing back from that hornal Yuan last year and he’s earning his money right now he’s he’s had a couple glitches yes but compared to last year my goodness he’s bouncing back ronel Blanco well that’s certainly no surprise I mean yeah the the suspension with you know the whole rosin thing kind of caught us all off guard wa you’re you’re not surprised now but you would have been two months ago that’s why this is shocking yeah if you if you go back to the beginning of the Season all four of those guys you mentioned sure that would be a surprise if if you’re basing it off that well no I I probably wouldn’t have given you any of those names when the season started no uh but based on the play right now well it it should be some other guys but you know say uh Valdez a Javier those are the guys you would have put up there at the beginning of the Season thinking they were going to have bounceback here so yeah and that from that standpoint it is a bit of a shock for my number two shocking stat I want to ask you Stephen what’s yordon Alvarez’s batting average with runners in scoring position as you and I sit here today um it’s it may not be Jose brues but I bet it’s I bet it’s in the 150s or 190s somewhere in there he is hitting one 33 with a 470 Ops for his career just to give you an idea Stephen he’s a 305 hitter with a,1 Ops in those situations well yon’s whole hitting situation is is a puzzle I mean that that in itself is shocking you know never mind the risp staff his whole batting average and on base percentage slugging percentage I mean that is shocking in and of itself and I don’t know what you can point to with a guy like him just because we’ve become so used to his consistency and when he does get into slump I mean if he goes 0 for 10 you know in the past that even that would have been news so the fact that he’s gone this long it’s not only shocking Robert it’s it’s a bit concerning because you just wonder what is going on I mean is there an inury we don’t know about is has it started to become mental like it can with so many hitters that have prolonged slums so yeah that is shocking if you just take that one thing the 130 batting average with runners in scoring position is shocking and it’s certainly one of the biggest reasons that the Astros have had trouble hitting in those situation my number three shocking stat what if I told you before the year that Jake Meyers would have the second best Ops and fifth best batting average on the Astros he’s hitting 290 with an 885 Ops Dana Brown said he was the center fielder before the season when nearly every fan thought it was crazy oh why don’t we get a center fielder why don’t we find somebody he’s not the answer we know that blah blah blah his hard hit rate is 45.6% Stephen which is up 18% from last year and 11% for his career how real is this do you think well now that doesn’t actually surprise me and I’m talking about going back before the season started because and I’m not patting myself on the back but I actually picked Jake Meers to have a much better year to to finally break out the kind of Jake Myers that we saw the small sample size three years ago so really that is one that even at the beginning of the season if you told me that I said yeah I could see that happening because if anybody really needed to have a good year it’s Jake Meers simply because yeah he’s got that thing on his shoulders of being the everyday center fielder he was basically handed the job by the general manager not the manager necessarily so this is something he needed so the fact that he is coming through with that so far and yeah we got a long way to go but you have to start somewhere that really does not surprise me even from spring training yeah Dana Brown everybody was upset with John Singleton he didn’t look too bad everybody was upset Jake Myers in center field he’s been great and everybody was upset that you know he thought ryell Blanco was great and I was like why Rell Blanco and now Dana Brown’s looking like you know he’s smell like a rose basically well I guess you know you remember how long it took for fber Valdez for one thing to develop how many times did people say oh we should trade fber he’s not you know he’s not going to cut it and they have at least showed that they they can have patience with these guys you know on most rosters Forest Whitley probably wouldn’t even be on the team you know in the organization I should say so I guess it it’s really not a big surprise and sometimes Robert you know not everybody develops overnight in fact most players really don’t it’s probably I don’t have numbers in front of me but I bet it’s fewer than we think there are just some guys it takes them a little while and John singon you know he’s still a bit of a puzzle I I still don’t know that he’s going to be a superstar quality player he could just turn into a capable guy like he is right now you know I’d be okay with him even being in a backup role so yeah that that’s the thing about Dana Brown is sometimes he he can spot things you know that’s that’s why he’s in the position he’s in he’s been a scout so he can know some of those things yeah and as far as John Singleton I’m just saying like everybody hated him as a backup he’s been a solid backup you you can’t argue that you know he’s not this great first baseman but his Ops is pretty darn good and he’s played good defense so there’s that and you said you talked about development how guys develop well that leads me to my number four here it is my number four shocking stat if I told you before the season Jeremy Peña would lead all Astros regulars and batting average and be hitting 24 points better than the legend Altuve we’d be having a celebration popping champagne perhaps he’s got more potential as a hitter after watching this Stephen than Carlos kareah and Jeremy’s hitting 326 822 Ops his strikeout percentage Stephen has gone from 24.2% his rookie year to 13.7% this year this is Allstar stuff yeah that does surprise me and I will say that I also picked Jeremy Payne to have a better year at the plate but I will be honest in saying I didn’t expect it to be that big of a leap you know I expected him to have more power which he does have but to lead the team in hitting you know especially you know Jose altu is having a pretty good season okay yes but even even he’s not out hitting Jeremy Peña so now that that is a shocker to me that he has improved that much and we did we did hear in the offseason how much how hard he was working on his swing and changing some things and getting rid of a few things but look we hear that about players every offseason we heard that about Alex bregman and you know we’ve talked about that ad nauseum so I’m not going to go into that but Jeremy Peña is one guy who is proving that the hard work is paying off to the point where yes he actually is shocking us with his much higher batting average and his power my number five shocking stat MLB hitters are hitting 319 off Ryan prle it’s not just that his erra’s falling off a cliff his batting average for balls in play is 447 Stephen he looks washed he looks washed and I you know I I would say that I’m surprised Robert but I just had this I had this niggling in the back of my mind you know just something kind of niggling at me there when the Astra signed Josh hater because I knew you know obviously Presley was going to be put back in a different role a role that yes he was you know had come accustomed to a few years ago but something just told me that it would affect his performance now did I think it would be this big give drop off no no I I would say he would have been maybe had a decent performance Ian you know some bit of a drop of the Presley that you know we’re used to seeing I didn’t expect this kind of a drop off but to think that Presley was going to be the the kind of you know shining picture that he’s been in the closers role the last couple years no I didn’t see that but yeah it is a bit surprising that he has just fallen off a cliff thinking about how many leads the Astros have blown you know Josh haters you know had the shoulder some of that responsibility too but Ryan Presley has been a big reason for that as well yeah speaking of Josh fascinating story that just came out we know by now hater wouldn’t pitch multiple Innings before he got to Houston apparently back in 2020 when he went to arbitration with Milwaukee he lost his case because the Arbiter did not value non saves or the multiple inning outings he was pitching it was then Stephen that he made a deal he wouldn’t pitch more than one inning and usually wouldn’t pitch backto backs so Stephen it was ex asro executive David Sterns who agreed to this deal with hater and you know hater just flat out said it this was about my future and about getting that free agent contract and frankly I don’t blame him Stephen because if they weren’t valuing what he was doing in arbitration then you feel like okay then I guess you’re gonna have to make me what everybody else is in baseball a one ining reliever that just does that and I I have no problem with that yeah I don’t I have no problem with it either and you know this is what’s wrong with arbitration is it’s the exact opposite of free agency in the sense that your team is basically going to an independent guy you know an arbitrator who who probably knows nothing about baseball and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but they’re going to him saying well he has less value because he did this or he didn’t do that if I were Josh hater you know I I gotta look out for myself too I’d be doing the same thing I absolutely would so I think a lot of you know because that was talked about a lot Robert when the astroscience him and the fact that well he’s only going to pitch one inning well that’s because he said okay fine if if you’re saying that that’s not a big deal then guess what I’m not going to put my arm in Jeopardy and and I’m not going to step forward and Pitch more than one inning if that’s how you feel about it I can’t blame him at all so I think that was from the previous regime and it had nothing to do with the Astros and I think it’s being proven by the fact that he’s willing to do it now he’s done it I think at least a couple of times that I know of any other Astros thoughts that you have and I and I guess you know we know that Chaz McCormack uh just came out right before you and I started that he’s going to be back on the roster and everybody’s trying to figure out well you got Chaz and you got uh Jake Meyers and Mauricio dubon and Joey you got all four guys that can play center and left field along with yordon who you know is going to be between DH and left so Stephen I would say I’m worried about how they’re gonna mix and match these guys but I’m not worried because all these guys are hitting well right now except Chaz obviously who’s coming off the injury list well that that I think is your X Factor is that you know Chaz may very well have to play himself back in the lineup just because these guys are doing so well now let’s let’s remember one thing Robert is you know the Astros they’ve got a long stretch where they don’t have any off days again so it’s it’s actually probably a good thing because Joe spot can give some of these regulars a little more time off and rotate these guys you know and if you put yordon in left field that opens up a d8 spot where you could put someone you know so yeah it is going to be a problem it’s going to be a bit stacked but I’m just thinking that you know Chaz was struggling a bit before he went on the iil and yes some of that may have been due to the injury that was kind of nagging at him but the fact is these guys have been hitting really well since he’s been out he may be the one that’s going to have to play his way back into the lineup on a more regular basis just considering that yeah and one of the things I think about and this is why I’m pissed at among many reasons that he’s coming back is you know one of the things you could have done is we saw Mauricio dubon play first recently I I never understood why that wasn’t considered more in the mix with the Abu situation of dubon play in first base but I thought Stephen maybe you know first base situation could kind of be platooning Abu and duban because Abu I mean I’m sorry ab and duban Singleton and duban because because uh you have a lefty righty situation there and that allows duban to stay in the lineup and he’s been clutch or at least stay in there fairly regularly when you get Chaz back and you’re trying to figure out a spot for Joey and Jake and all these guys it it just gives you the option of like hey dubon can play first base and and Singleton you know he’s been all right but duban has been the best clutch hitter on the Astros this year well the good thing about Debon though is he can play so many different positions I don’t think you’re going to have that much trouble finding him a spot on the field if not every day on most days I mean that that I think is what saves him but you know when you’re talking about guys like Singleton first base is you’re not g to see him playing The Outfield you’re not going to see him playing second third or short you’re certainly not going to see him behind the plate you know that’s where I think guys time gets dimin now you know he could be a good pinch hitter coming off the bench if he can just keep you know hitting the way he’s been hitting or at least you know being more consistent but somebody like dubine you know he’s going to get his playing time I mean look the guy’s hitting home runs for goodness sake who would have thought that you know he’s he’s a good contact hitter but even lately he’s starting to put some pop on the ball so he’s going to get his time at bat and and time in the field just because he can play so many different positions before I close it out there’s one thing that I forgot to mention we were talking talking about the NBA I said all those MVPs that aren’t around in the final four but Stephen how about this 14 of the 15 highest paid NBA players are gone they’re not around you know who the one guy that’s in the top 15 highest paid players that’s still around you know who it is um that’s a good question yeah yeah you’re not gonna I’m I’m just I’m probably don’t even know yeah you you you would never guess this you wouldn’t think about it but it’s Rudy go that’s the guy well he’s the what the defensive player of the year right yeah defense well he’s been Defensive Player of the Year multiple times several times right so yeah I mean I guess that’s not really surprising and I guess I should have guessed him he’s the lead Superstar though of all the all these type of guys you know if you’re talking big three guys yeah he’s definitely not there but yeah it it just goes to show Robert that sometimes I mean look at LeBron James Dwayne Wade and and Chris BOS I mean they did win some championships but they certainly didn’t win all the hyped up number that everybody was thinking they would and so many other instances where you know you’re big three guys or you you have so many on one team I just don’t think it’s not always going to exceed expectations and you’re talking even certain players I mean look at Giannis he’s he’s out again and it just kind of makes you wonder uh you know yic I there’s no question he’s probably the best player in the league right now arguably he’s not there but how much of that do you point to the fact of the players you have around you and that’s what I always come back to you’re only five guys on the court in the NBA that’s true one or two guys can make a difference but when you get in the playoffs it’s a whole different story you got to have the guys around you too as well as coming through yourself yeah my point I I think also is that you can’t get caught up these days and okay we’ve got to get you know three guys or whatever that are just you know you mentioned the Miami situation with LeBron Dwayne and BOS it’s just that era might be gone it looks like right now yeah you need Superstar to carry your team offensively but honestly the way teams are built right now you want as much depth and as many good players as possible because with injuries and with so much talent in the NBA if you’ve got two or three guys on the court that you know can’t do anything and people can just not even play defensively then it can be a problem and and we saw that with some of the teams like look at Phoenix I mean they have three All-Star caliber players but not much with the rest of that roster well the biggest problem with that scenario Robert is you know you pay these guys so much money to be your big three you don’t have enough Capital to to have the kind of depth that you would need to get in into a long playoff run and I think that’s where teams are starting to find out yeah it’s great to be topheavy but you know when you get deeper and deeper in the playoffs if you go six or seven games each round depth is a big an important thing too and I think that’s what you’re seeing now is that these teams that don’t have quite the depth are bowing out of course there you know there’s more than one that we’re talking about so somebody’s going to go but but it’s just I I think that’s why you’re finding that may not be the way to go now is that you want to build some depth and some good role players around you and then have maybe a couple of Superstar couple of you know Elite guys to to basically lead the team up front a reminder we are part of the believe Network go subscribe to our colleagues with the believe over with believe on Astros Jeff balky is doing a show with Mike Stanton so you want to check that out Patrick kraton who is a co-host with our friend Sean johni over at 610 does believe in Texans and he’s got Cecil Shorts with him really now I didn’t know that that’s interesting okay yeah yeah so it’s uh some good stuff out there on the believe Network and then lashard Binkley does a good job with the Rockets uh his show and so yeah uh go go go subscribe to those uh support the network uh support us support us by listening you can also listen to this if you’re watching us on YouTube We’re on Spotify apple and most of your podcast apps thank you for us a part of your day as always and thanks Stephen we’ll talk to you guys again soon you’re listening to Houston sports talkg hey don’t forget to support us by subscribing and commenting on YouTube you can always listen to us on Spotify apple or your favorite podcast app tell your friends about us and share our Show links on social media spread the word everybody thanks for listening [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Bleav Hosts Robert Land & Stephen Kerr look at 4 reasons the Rockets should trade for Donovan Mitchell, Top 5 Shock Astros Stats, Steven Nelson firing shots at DeMeco Ryans, Framber Valdez going rogue & why Josh Hader is changing his routine for the Astros.
(1:40) Top 4 Reasons for Rockets to Sign Donovan Mitchell
(4:30) What should Rockets give up for Donavan?
(11:00) Thoughts on Texans Schedule?
(13:55) Why Steven Nelson isn’t coming back to Texans
(17:08) Why we hate Jose Abreu coming back
(21:30) Why is Framber Valdez not trusting Astros brains?
(22:58) Astros Top 5 Most Shocking Stats
(31:01) Why was Josh Hader “Selfish” with his previous team?
(33:00) How should Astros handle Chas McCormick’s return?
(36:00) NBA Playoffs shows winning team building has changed

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