The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Chandler Rome: The Real Question Of The ALCS Will Be How They Deploy Javier

Episode Date: October 9, 2020

Chandler Rome: The Real Question Of The ALCS Will Be How They Deploy Javier

is the Matt Thomas show. One o'clock straight up. Sports Talk, 790. It is the Matt Thomas show without Matt Thomas. He is out in Lubbock with his firstborn, buying him hot dogs and other things from Costco. He'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, you have me, Rosvi, a Real,

alongside Brendan O'Reilly with you up until 3 o'clock. And right now, pleased to poach a guest from the A-Team. You know, A-Team just doesn't have time for you, Chandler. and that's why we're happy to have you here and save you from Adam and Adam. You know, I heard we're talking about America's team. When does the LSU-Bissouri breakdown to start this interview? That will be never.

But you can't break down a Texas-O-U if you'd like to do that. Two bad big 12 teams? Oh, let me have it. Play the over, I think, is the play there. All right, well, let's talk about some actual baseball. So, I mean, I don't know, Chandler, help me out here. this is an Astros team that lost their last three games, lost five of the last seven,

much of that with this playoff lineup. Where did the switch get flipped for this team to where they're just looking like the teams of old to where, as I talked about earlier, I have this irrational confidence that you had about the team a couple of years ago that was just nowhere to be found in the regular season? Yeah, I think Dusty Baker put it best yesterday.

He said he didn't even know. I mean, I don't know either. Like, I mean, I came into this series, and I think I even went on Lex and Clanton show and said, you know, the power is not going to come back against the eight. And that blew up in my face, like a lot of things often do. But, I mean, I don't know if it was familiarity. I mean, they had seen the A's 10 times this year. They had faced every arm in that bullpen aside from one. And, you know, they had done, you know, pretty much nothing against the A's all year.

And I don't know if it was familiarity, just breeds, you know, better at that. And that's how it went because you've got to remember in that twin series, they only get two extra base hits in two games. And that was, again, against a team that they hadn't seen since 2019. All the pitchers were not familiar for them. And I don't know if that had something to do with it. I think the ballpark and the conditions certainly had something to do with it. You saw how, you know, balls were flying out left and right. Both teams had 12 home runs, playing during the day.

day. I mean, it was playing like a little league field, to be completely honest with you. So I'm not sure if that had something to do with it, but then you also look at some of the home runs they hit, and some of those home runs they hit are going to be out of every stadium, no matter what time of day you're playing, no matter what condition you're in. So

certainly some sort of switch has been flipped. If I had the answer, I would have written already, like what it was specifically. But these guys are playing pretty confident. They're swinging the bat confidently, and they're just kind of riding this, they're kind of riding this moment. they're riding this high, and that's round.

Yeah, and you know, it's also been on the pitching side. Outside of Frambervaldez, you didn't have anybody going at least five innings. So that's, if I had told you before the series that that were going to be the case, you would have told me that the Astros are going to just, they're not going to win the series,

and it might not even be close. So, I mean, I guess you also have to credit some of the bullpen, but they were giving up runs during the series, too. I'm just still trying to figure out how, what is going on with this team and how they were able to just look so dominant. Yeah, I mean, they're hard to figure out. You know, you mentioned the starting pitching,

and that's going to have to, they're going to have to get some more length out of their starters if they want to have a chance in this next series. You know, we talked about after the twin series, how this team, you know, in this pitching staff specifically really wasn't built for a five-game series. While they got through that somehow, this team really isn't built for a seven-game series.

I mean, you saw how games three unfolded in this series when they didn't have two of their three. trusted relievers available to pitch that day. You know, if you get into the underbelly of this bullpen, it can really get away from you pretty quick. And I think we've seen that there are about three guys in that bullpen that they trust. And one of them gave up two runs in the night yesterday, trying to close out a seven-run game.

You know, Anoli Paratus has been everything you can ask for, but again, you have to caution a little bit. He is a rookie, and you wonder if, you know, he can keep this going. But we've said that all year about this entire roster, this entire bullpen. You've waited for them to just crash and burn, and it hasn't happened yet. And you hope it doesn't happen in the ALCS, you're an Ashurst fan. But, I mean, these guys arise at any occasion. Having no fans certainly does help.

But the intensity of playoff baseball in the magnitude of every pitch doesn't go away just because of it. Did you start a fire, Chandler? What's going on back there? Yeah, I don't know. I'm in a parking garage in downtown Pasadena right now. I didn't time my breakfast journey well enough with this interview. And I stepped into a parking garage, try to limit the noise. Yes.

I guess somebody set a fire in downtown. Well, I hope it wasn't you, Chandler. We need you covering this Astro team. All right, Chandlerone, with the Houston Chronicle with us. As you mentioned, obviously the ball was just flying out of Dodgers Stadium. Now going to Petcoe with the big power alleys and known as the pitcher's park. Is that what we just have to rest our hope on with the start? pitching, and as you said, it's going to be an issue with the seven-game series.

Are we going to see some of Dusty Baker trying to, I mean, I guess it depends on how games play out, but is he going to have to be aggressive and try to win games and keep the series as short as possible, I'm guessing? That would be for me what you have to do. You can't piggyback in the series. I mean, I think the real question will be how they deploy Christian Javier. Is he going to be the guy that they go to to finish off, you know, one of these first first few games if they have a lead after five or six innings, or do they want to have him

available maybe for multiple games? And also, I mean, are you going to rock with a four-man rotation? You're going to rock with a five-man rotation? I would tend to lean toward, if they're going to keep Christian Javier in the bullpen and deploy him when there's a game ready to be won after one of these starters if they don't go very deep into the game. So I think their usage of Christian Javier will be fascinating in this series, but they need some lengths and they need their starters to get deeper in the games.

And Zach Grinky hasn't pitched deep since the middle of August. I mean, Lance McCuller Jr., he looked okay in game one, but again, there's the home run that did him in. And then you look at Jose Ortee. He's been a guy that's going deep for you, but, you know, depending on who they face, I don't know if Jose Ortee is a great matchup for the Yankees because right-handed hitters absolutely are destroying Jose or Tate. Keeee this year. And if you look at the Yankee lineup, a lot of their big thumpers are right-handed

hitters. So, you know, you've got to worry about that a little bit, but I think certainly Dust is going to have to find a way to win the games that are in hand. And I don't know if there's a game ever, quote-unquote, in hand, especially with his pitching staff. But he's going to have to find a way that maybe, like you said, shorten the series a little bit, win the games when he can win them. And then there just have to be some days where it kind of goes like game three did, where You know you don't have guys available and just kind of hope and pray for the best with the underbelly that they can get a couple of guys to step up and maybe that the offense out hits the opponent. And do you just kind of, if you're being an optimist, you say, well, the issues that the Astros had in the Oakland series was home runs. And maybe that's less of a problem in Petco?

I don't know. I mean, I guess maybe it would depend on the game times. I think the time of day had a lot to do with what happened. You saw, even yesterday, I thought, you know, the ball Marcus Semy and hit off Zach Grinky to start the game yesterday, I thought that would have been out in games one or two. The ball that Kyle Tucker made a very adventurous route toward in the seventh inning. I forgot who hit it, but that got to the warning track. That was out of the ballpark in games one and two. And in games one and two, like the game time temperature was in the 90s.

It cooled off about 10 degrees for games three and four. Maybe that had a little bit to do with the ball not flying as much. But, you know, if you go to Petco, you mention how the dimensions are a little more pitcher-friendly. If they play at night, maybe it's a little bit different with the atmosphere. But like I said, some of those home runs, the aster said it didn't matter. They could have been playing on Mars and they would have been out of ballparks. You know, Carlos Correa's pre-run home run yesterday was quite long because they have Altuvay's two-run, two-run shot was also very, very long. So I don't know if you can blame at all in the conditions, but certainly the conditions had an effect on it.

if you just look around kind of how the other playoff series went, none had the just complete launching pad that this one did. So it may be an anomaly. You know, the Astros spent their whole season not really relying on the home run ball, but they did in this series and they may have to find a way next series to, I'm sure they're going to get a couple, hit a couple balls out of the ballpark, but I don't know if they can be as reliant next round as they were in this one.

Chandler, Rome of the Houston Chronicle here on the Matt. Thomas Show and let's talk about what's ahead for the Astros. I mentioned, of course, it's going to be a tough matchup, whether it is the Rays or the Yankees. If you're Dusty Baker and the Astros, obviously not talking about narratives or anything, we're sure TBS wants the Yankees in, but who is the easier matchup for the Astros and the ALCS? God, I don't know.

I mean, I've kind of spent the last like 24 hours thinking about that. You look at the Rays, and they really pitch. I mean, they can pitch the ball about as well as. anybody, but then you also said that about the 80s coming into this series, and the Astros handled them pretty well. You look at the raised lineup. Obviously, it doesn't have the star power off and down with the Yankees does. It doesn't have that power. But if you look at how they approach, you know, they don't strike out. I think they're on base percentages, like second or third in the American League. This is the team that gets on base. This is the team that doesn't

have a ton of power, but, you know, they're kind of pesky at the plate. They're, they're a little bit like the A's lineup that the Aster just kind of ran through, that the Astros just kind of faced. The Yankees, on the other hand, you look at the lineup. I mean, it scares you. I mean, John Carlos Stanton's hitting balls into the Pacific Ocean right now. Aaron Judge is kind of sloppant, but no one notices because they've got guys like Urchella and LaMahue and Torres doing what they do.

They've got Gary Sanchez's backup, who's now the starter. I can't even pronounce his last name. Nagashikoa, I think. He's, you know, he's doing well. Also, I mean, that lineup definitely scares you against an Astros pitching staff that was home and prone in the series. So I'm not sure. I guess it's the lesser of two evil. Both, you know, you're unfamiliar with both this year.

And I mentioned how familiarity I think helped out in this 80s series. You know, I would personally, I would be a little more worried about the Yankees than I would be about the race, just given the Yankee lineup, given their tendency to be able to, they have up. and down the order. They have guys that can change a game with one swing, and the raises don't have that. And given the Astros pitching staff, given, like we said, they've done well, but

their reliance on rookies and guys that have not been, you know, that's been inconsistent. You know, you worry about that one mistake being legal. And the Yankees would worry more than the raise, but again, I'm not sure changing the race here. There's a number one seed

in the whole thing for a reason. I mean, They won the division over the Yankees. So obviously this is a big club. Obviously, this is a club that can pitch and that can really, really hold you down. I just, when I look offensively, I think the Yankees would pose a little bit more of a threat to the ladies. Chandler, Rome, Astros beat writer for The Chronicle. You can find it on Twitter at Chandler underscore Rome, R-O-M-E. Chandler, let the folks know what you got up on the Houston Chronicle.com besides a full Joe Biagini breakdown.

Oh, man. The therapy puppies. What's going to happen to the therapy puppy? I don't know. Are you not that concerned about the therapy puppies? Well, I am concerned if they were in the possession of Joe B. Eugenie in the first place. He seemed like a nice man. Just didn't work out for him.

Yeah, so on the Chronicle, I think I'm going to expound a little bit more on what I told you guys about familiarity. And just kind of how that may have played a key in this series, Dusty Baker. Dusty Baker pretty much acknowledged after the game yesterday that, you know, being familiar with the age, certainly help this offense. But that's certainly, you know, not to take away from what the Astros' offense did. I mean, they faced these guys 10 times this year and couldn't do anything, you know, beforehand. So obviously, some sort of switch has been flipped. But we'll look into that. I'll watch the ALCS, the other game tonight and kind of maybe have a breakdown, early look at the next opponent. But I'm going to drive to San Diego at some point tomorrow

morning, and they'll work out at Petco Park and one of full coverage from there. All right. Talk to you down the road. Chandler, I don't know, maybe in like five years, whenever it happens that we happen to have Matt Thomas off and 18 not wanting you, but that's okay. Just for this weekend, though, go Tigers. And of course, I mean Missouri Tigers. Go Tigers. All right, thanks a lot. Chandler, Rome. Find him, as I said, on Twitter at Chandler underscore R-O-M-E. All right, he's talking some stroes.

Who would you rather see? You want the raise? You want the Yankees. It's going to be a tough decision or a tough series either way. 713-1-2-5-790. The phone number 7-1-3-2-1-2-1-2. 5, 790. A couple of you on hold. We'll see you. We'll get to you as we go along. Still got to talk about Texans, Jaguars, still loving on the Astros after they beat up on the A's and what's coming up next in the ALCS.

So it is the Matt Thomas show. Got a lot of stuff to get to with you until 3 o'clock here on Sports Talk 790.