The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Harold Reynolds of MLB Network Joins The Matt Thomas Show

Episode Date: October 23, 2019

Harold Reynolds of the MLB Network joins Matt and Ross to discuss Game 1 of the World Series

is the Matt Thomas show. Here we go, the final hour of the Matt Thomas show. The last time we had this guest on, he said the only way the Astros, I don't think it was making it to the World Series or winning. I think it was winning, was that they forget to get off the bus. Harold Reynolds, MLB Network, second time, long time, no talk. How are things? I'm doing good, man.

How are you doing? We're all right. The bus is still rolling. We've got a little bit of panic in the Houston area, but no surprise. the audience is how good the nationals are and this is no cheap trick that they're up here playing for the chance of the world series oh there's no doubt about it i mean look they got a pitcher going tonight in steven strasburg that i think right now you've witnessed with garrick cole for three or four months uh he's right there step and step with how well he's going to ball

right now at this present time so you're up against the tough one the nationals are a great team you watch it last night they put the ball in play they beat good pitching uh they're not here by it. And it's a very good ball club. Are you surprised the way Martinez is aggressively going to that bullpen? I mean, I don't know what Corbyn's status is going to be for later if he's going to start, but he's not messing around

that I think there's very few people right now he trusts the national bullpen and Corbyn certainly is one of them. Well, it's been one of their recipes to kind of go to Corbyn, but he's going to start if not game three, I can see him throwing game four. He's going to start. So

the strategy yesterday, in my mind, I haven't spoke to Davey yet about it, but in my mind was they had such a long layoff. You know, they hadn't played in a week. So if Patrick Corbyn doesn't get in the game, he is not going to be very sharp when he pitches in three or four more days. That'd be like 11, 12 days since he saw a mound. So to go get him right there was a sense of urgency. And it was as a lot of people like to say now, it was a high leverage situation.

And I wasn't surprised to see him go get him. I thought he may go another inning, come back. because he threw the ball so well. But their bullpen has really been shaped up nice in the postseason, way better than the regular season. And they've been throwing well. So I'm sure he's got a lot of confidence in those guys. What do you think Harold needs to happen with the Astros offense?

Obviously, you're going up against great pitching with the Rays and the Yankees and now the Nationals. Is it just that? You just throw your hands up and say, you know what? We're going up against good pitchers? Or is there something these Astros bats need to do to get better? Well, I think you look at the names that they face. They face the top three staffs, really, in name recognition and stuff in baseball. So outside of their rotation, you can't think of any others that are better than the ones they're facing.

But offensively, I think they've been a little tentative, certain guys, obviously very aggressive in Altuvae's case. I always felt like when I was facing great pitchers on Nolan Ryan or somebody like that, the last thing I want to do is get to their secondary pitch. If he's throwing me a fastball and swing it. And I think they've been a little hesitant. I've seen them taking a lot of pitches that they normally don't take. And I think you'll start to see that their bats get a little more aggressive. But that's what you have to do against a good pitch.

And you've got to be aggressive. Harold Reynolds with us from MLB Network. He's here today in part thanks to Huddle, which Harold I know about because my daughter plays competitive volleyball. And this is a video system that is really going into that sport. But you're here more to talk about the baseball side of things. we've got a lot of parents that are listening to show that like to see their kids showcase, and you think Huddle can help do that, correct?

No doubt about it. I mean, baseball and softball. Softball is one of the fastest growing sports in this country. The girls are just getting scholarships like crazy. It's fantastic. But I think with baseball and softball, we're light years behind football recruiting and everybody else. And this isn't just recruiting, but as far as exposure, whether you're 8 years old or whether you're 18. and what huddle will do for you, you build your platform,

and now with the world of the web, anybody in the country can go see you. And just a real sample, I grew up on the West Coast. I live out on the East Coast now, and my kids are going to be on this platform, and it allows my mom to be able to see them participate. What do they look like? What do they do?

She lives out in Oregon. So I look at it that way. But if it's a recruit or somebody who wants to be seen, you're going to have a great opportunity for that coach to invite you. to a camp, get an opportunity to be seen. They get that quick snapshot a lot of times. This will be put your best stuff on there. There's a tutorial that tells you how to build your site.

It's going to be a game changer for baseball and softball. All right, huddle.com, huddle.com slash baseball. For more information, you can also do it for softball. Like I said, my daughter is using it for volleyball. So this national baseball team, let's get to Bregman for a second. He's wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders right now. and it's so hard for us to watch because he was smacking the ball all over the yard for about 99.9% of the season. What are you seeing in him beyond just pressing?

I asked AJ Hinch this earlier today on my show if he's getting too deep in the cap before being aggressive. Is that such a thing? Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, you have a tendency to do that. Even Breggman said himself, but you know what? I think he likes being with his backup against the wall. People going, oh, I don't know about this Breggman guy. that's when you're in trouble.

He's going to be fine. He's not a guy that's going to sit there and go over for the World Series. I can tell you that right now. He will come up with a big hit. He will hit a home run. He's going to get things going. That's just who he is. But yes, I think he's like last night he had an opportunity.

It was five to three in the game. And he took a three-old fastball right down the middle. And now 3-1 is on the black, 3-2, and walking. But I think you're going to see. see him swing at a 3-0 fastball that he knows is coming. That type of stuff will start happening for him. Harrow Reynolds, MLB Network with us on the show. Did you see any more positive signs out of Yardon Alvarez?

That's been really the one that has been the hardest for us to watch because his rookie campaign was so magnificent, and he just looked completely out of sorts against the Yankees. Yeah, the Yankees did a great job. I really thought he was going to break out of it. I actually did a breakdown on him how patient he was. he was actually seeing the ball well. But yesterday he got two hits, and his first at bat, he was ahead in the count two and

O. and I remember turning to the guys and going, I think this is the first time he's been ahead in the count in three weeks. You know, so that's hard to hit when you're 0-1, 02. And he was in 2-0. He got another count where he's ahead, 2-1. He got a base hit. So he's starting to come out of it.

But for him, it's a matter of getting in good hitters counts, and he just has not been there. Justin Verlander versus Strasberg tonight, Harold. I'm glad to the Titans, man. How about this pitching matchups? These are great. Yeah, I mean, you're talking about a number of the best pitchers in the entire both leagues in this series, definitely. But, I mean, just what's your thought, if you're in the lineup and you know that it's going to be a pitchers battle, what's your approach? How does it change differently than if you know if you have going up against maybe a softer starting pitcher or a softer matchup?

Well, I think you saw it early last night. You know, Adam Eaton tried to bun a runner over to third base in the first inning, you know, second to bat after Turner had stole second. You know, popped up the fastball. That's what you try to do when you know you're up against great pitching. You try to figure out any way to move runners to peck away. You don't think you're going to sit on playing for three-run homers. You're going to try to generate runs. You watched last night, I watched guys steal bags, vats on balls in the dirt.

It's a different type of game because those. Those great pitchers are not going to give you opportunities to really hit a lot of home runs with runners on. And that's the difference when you face great pitching. What about Gary Cole? Look, that's the first time he's giving up five runs, I think, probably in five months. So we're so out of sorts. I would think the positive from the Astero side is that, much like when Verlander lost his last start before the Yankee series,

is that at least he went deeper in the game, so you were able to preserve the bullpen a little bit. Yeah, he preserved the bullpen. You know, he didn't pitch great against the Yankees either. He was a little bit off. Last night, the stuff was there. He just faced a club that really took it to him a little bit last night. But, you know, with the year he's put together, watching him throw,

he right now is the best pitcher on the planet, the year he's put together, and going into free agency and all that stuff. But the stuff is electric. When you watch him and you're down on the field, you know that with his stuff, it's not going to be pro-lawful. long slumps. He's not going to get beat many times in a row. And so clearly, I think he's going to bounce back and be fine. All right. And lastly, how do you see this the rest of the way in terms of how surprised were you about the end result of last night? And what would you anticipate the rest

the way? Well, I was stunned. I mean, I think you teed it up, Sam, I thought the only way the Astros lose the World Series is they don't get on the bus to the ballpark. And I still believe that they're the team to beat. Last night, I was stunned. I really did not think with the layoffs and with Garrett Cole going that we'd be walking out of a minute made last night with an Astro loss. But I still believe that there's a team to beat. Last night, though, for me, it made it a great series. Now all of a sudden we got a series. I think if the Astros win last night, with Verlander going today, chance to go up to 2-0, it's a bleak world series moving forward. But I think now, now we've got a series. All right. Huddle brings you to us today. Huddl.com slash baseball. I'm assuming all sports. Football, softball, volleyball, volleyball can be helped out by Huddell. Yes, sir. No doubt about it.

All right. I appreciate you to plug in that. So thank you. Just go to huddle.com and it'll tell you all about all this sports. Harold, great to your voice again. Love the covers on MLB Network and we'll talk again soon. Thanks for the visit. All right. Thank you. You got a Harold Reynolds with us here on Sports Talk 790.