The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Kevin Eschenfelder On Astros Opening Day & The Season Ahead

Episode Date: July 24, 2020

Kevin Eschenfelder On Astros Opening Day & The Season Ahead

is the Matt Thomas show. 102 on Sports Talk 790. It's Astros opening day. We were going to do real fast Ross. We're going to do a revival. But we don't need to do the revival now because Jake Kaplan is reporting just a couple of minutes ago

that Yordaun Alvarez and who else? Joseo Kidi and C&L Perez have all been clear to resume baseball ball activities. Do we still new to a revival? It's a start of the season. It's opening day. You want to start the seat? You want to get the revival with the 2020 season going? I don't know. I mean, it's up to the Matt Thomas show. I think it's up to your expertise because apparently your Fouch and a mobile sucked. So why don't you suck. One person liked it and that's what's important.

Why don't you suck again in 25 minutes. Let's say how to our friend Kevin Ashenfelder, who is filling in for Todd Callis on AT&T. Esch. have you worked in the last six months? I haven't seen you on TV in forever. What the hell's going on? Well, there's this pandemic going on around the country. Oh, I forgot about that, yeah. I haven't worked. I basically haven't worked since the rocket shut it down. I was going to spring training on Sunday to do that week of games, and they shut it down on Friday. So I didn't even, this was the first time in forever, but I didn't get a chance to go to spring training. So we'll give it a go tonight. So yeah, it'll be a little rough to knock off early on, but we'll be good.

I feel the exact way. I want to say something. What? I want to say something. I thought Dr. Fauci was a very good try. I went on my run, and I listened to the whole first hour, so if you want to give me a breakdown, I will. But I thought, I thought Dr. Fauci was a really good try. It wasn't terrible. The thing that I take away from the first hour the most, because I know Matt Thomas so well, was you have Steve Bryant on the former NFL player who's talking about Bill O'Brien, everything else. But to hear your voice, how you lit up when you found out that he was once appeared on a game show. On pressure, luck. And won $15,000 with the prizes in cash. But that was so you, because he was so much more interested. Am I right, Ross? Tell the truth. He was, yes.

He was 10 times more excited to find out he was on a game show than to find out he was a former NFL player. Okay, so let's do this. Absolutely no doubt. Esch, help me out with this. Early 80s, this is pre-Drew Hill, pre-Hawood, pre-Earnest. Who were the some of the, wasn't there a, there was a white guy that was like the leading receiver for the Texans, right? For the Oilers, yeah. We're going to talk about Mike Redford, right?

No, there was somebody in between. After that? Yeah, I think I might have Ross look it up. I mean, I just can't, I don't remember a lot of early Oilers teams except Archie and Oliver Luck in the last days of like Robert Brazil. Am I pretty close on that? Yeah, that's basically it. You know what?

Dave 10. I've been so immersed in Astros baseball here over the last 72 hours. Now you start talking about Texas. Yeah, you're right, though. Drew Hill was the next 81. I'm sorry, that Drew Hill. Ernest Kavanaugh. Yeah, Drew Hill was 85.

That was good. It was Jeffrey's with 84. All right. So, yeah, you know, you are just reflecting on pressure luck in the That's why Kevin Ashnerfelder is a valued guest on this show. Okay, so, Ash, so you find out that Todd has it, and they're like, okay, we're going to have you fill in for a few games. I didn't realize that I could not pronounce half of the Seattle Mariners starting rotation. Can you at this point?

Oh, we'll be good. Yeah, it's Mukutche. Rano is not, he is not going to be with the club to start the season. So, yeah, there's a couple of interesting ones, but I've got it all written out phonetically, and, yeah, it would be good. I'm not scared. I didn't think you would be. Yep. Yeah, I didn't think you would be.

All right, so you guys are going to be in the booth at Minutemade Park for this entire homestand. Is that correct? We will. This is how it will work as far as the broadcast positions. The radio guys will be in the booth all the time, home and away. TV, TK, and Blummer will call the home games from the stadium. And they will call the road games from our studio, pre and post game. will all be done from studio.

So that kind of breaks it down for you. That's the way it plays out. So it'll be different. I don't think anybody knows exactly what to expect. I know last night, it just seemed like after a while you got used to it after a couple of innings, and it just seemed like now they were just playing baseball. Do you want to hear artificial cry noise in your headphones? Yes.

You do? Okay. Sure. Why not? You know, to me, I don't think it adds enough. It's not a deterrent to me. It's not like, oh, I can't believe this is on because I went to the Astros game last Sunday. And I heard it in the stadium.

And it was just, it was a murmur is what it was. It didn't necessarily get me any more excited or not excited about watching two baseball teams play. So it's just ambient sound. So, I mean, it's not like a, you know, I don't think there's a strong opinion one way or the other. I wouldn't say take it out. Again, it goes back to, I don't know what it's going to be like. We're going to find out as we go. So maybe if it's there in the third inning, I may, you know, ask for him to take it out.

I don't know. I got you. All right, let me ask you this. I love the everyday lineup, just like I did the last couple of years. I love the front end in the rotation. I'm really nervous about four and five in the rotation, and I'm very nervous about the bullpen. Is that understandable about, just in a nutshell, what we've learned so little about this Astros team so far? I don't think there's any doubt, especially when you looked at the – just when they put together the roster.

I mean, there's not a lot of experience in the bullpen. I mean, that's a big difference between, you know, what they have had in years past. You know, the loss of Will Harris is big, and you start getting past, once you get past Ryan Pressing. And now the fact that Roberto Osuna, when will he be ready to go? You know, we're going to find out. But, you know, Ryan Presley appears that he might be pitching in the back end of the bullpen. And then how are you going to stack it up getting to him? Now, there's some guys with big arms that are unproven, you know, the Anoli Preventus,

who's been so fun to watch and Christian Houtier, guys like that. Brandon Bailey, a guy who's getting a chance. kind of a guy that they really liked, I think was a surprise that he was on that roster by a lot of people that, you know, throw strikes and was able to get people out in that summer camp. So he really earned his way on. Yeah, there's a lot of inexperience. I think what's going to be interesting, too, Matt, is how the lack of fans in the stands help some of these younger players. And let's face it, you're playing a team, Seattle Mariners team that is there as young and experienced as anybody in baseball. but just not having the pressure of having, you know, 42,000 people in the stadium.

Yeah. I think might help as far as, you know, turning down the emotion a little bit because if you, you know, if you're able to fool yourself, you can say to yourself, well, you know what, this is really no different than throwing these exhibition intersquad games and Minut. And then it may Park with no one down. I think clearly the Astros are the more talent of the Mariners team. This Dodger team will be in next week. And think about if you were doing the games and you had the media around that, you'll get none of that. So that might be the first real adjustment of our young season here, Ash, is that there would be so much pomp and circumstance leading into an Astros Dodgers series that just can't be there because the lack of media access, the lack of fans,

the lack of Dodger fans coming here to boo the Astros, and the Astro fans tell them the Dodger fans to shove it. The pomp and circumstance, as you said, is literally virtual. So, you know, if you don't want to hear it or participate in it, you don't have to. Yeah, I agree. It's something that, you know, uncharted territory, uncharted waters. I know it sounds like a broken record, but that's the world that we are living in here in 2020 in this sprint to the finish as far as 60-game season is concerned.

We all know, though, the deal is that each one of these games becomes that much more important. Astros play in these four-game series against Seattle, Seattle Mariners team, that they were 18 and won against a year ago, just absolutely dominated, just like they dominated everybody else in the division. These are, this is a series that's important to get off on the right foot. Oh, no question about that. Well, Ash, I know you get a nap in because you're over 50 now, so you've got to get plenty of rest before tonight's game, so I'll let you go.

Hey, listen, I just got back from a four-mile run, and I stopped early. I know I can hear it. So I would not be out of breath when I was on the Matt Thomas show. I'm telling you, you might be the only person that actually runs as a guest on my show ever, because I don't. Do you think Brian T. Smith runs? Oh, hell no. Ross run?

No, you're the only one that's actually physically fit, so I applaud you for that. I do my best. Don't run down Ross and Brian T. now, okay? Yeah, well, and Dr. Focci sound like he was out of breath, too, so you never know these things. He was a little. I think he's probably still tired from that pitch last night. Yeah, that's no doubt about that. Ash, you'll do a great job, and we'll look forward to catching some of your action this weekend, my friend. Thank you, buddy. I appreciate it.

You got it. Kevin Hesonfellner will be on the television call of the Astros and the Seattle Mariners this weekend, four games against Seattle, and then two with the Los Angeles. Dodgers. Also, of course, your radio home for the Astros is Sports Talk 790 and also news radio 740 KTRH where you can catch the rockets first and then the Astros have that. We got a double header for you here right on 790. Our time is 11-7-1-3-212-5-7-90. Bottom of the hour, we've made an executive decision on the revival. What are we going to do? Are we doing it?

Sure. We're going to-yes. We're going to revive. You know what we're going to do after you get rid of your heartburn? We're going to revive the asteros, the Major League Baseball season. We'll change it up a little bit because great news today that Yaronne Alvarez and Jose O'Hartrequitie are able to resume normal baseball activities. 112, Sports Talk 790.