Can the Astros Hang with MLB's Best?

0:00McDonald's is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets are sausage egg and cheese, McGrittle's, make it a meal, and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite, too. Extra-value meals are back. Get a big something extra. With a Big Mac or 10-piece McNuggets, fries and a medium Coke all for just $9. Limited time only, promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing. Ba-da-ba-ba-ba! It's fall in Jeep country, and during the drive into fall sales event, get a great deal on four-by-fours that refuse to be contained, like Jeep Wrangler. Confidence built into every drive with the most awarded SUV ever, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and freedom that can't be denied, with the open-air freedom in Jeep Gladiator. After 85 years, it's no surprise that Jeep became America's SUV brand. Get a great deal during the Jeep Drive into fall sales event. Jeep is one more awards over its lifetime than any other SUV brand, even the Jeep Grille Registered Trademarks of FCA US LLC.

1:27Get a great deal of Albertzons.com for more deals and ways to save. What's up everybody? Welcome into a live edition of Crush City Territory. A little bit later than we anticipated. I'll explain why in a little bit. I'm Chandler Roam. Join us always by Tyler Stafford. And if you were waiting for this at 5pm on the dot, well sorry, we were a little bit late. I was a little bit late. Tyler was ready to go. I was a little bit late because I had a haircut today and I get my haircut across town. And if you try to drive anywhere in Houston at 4.30pm, it is going to take you 35 minutes to get to your destination. So nevertheless, here I am, here we are. Tyler, sorry to make you wait. You know what? It was totally fine. The comments are already pouring in over the haircut.

2:27And I think we all agree it was worth it. We're good. We're ready to go. If you are watching this, hey God bless you. B, if you're watching on YouTube, please like the video. Liking the video helps us a lot. It just works. Can you see my comments from the forwards? Yes, I can see it from before. Yes, I can see it from before. Yes. I was hoping that because on my side on the platform that we signed in on, I can only see once we start the actual show. So I don't see any of the... Oh, that's great. Okay, well, there's a band. Oh, there's a band button. I could just hit band. No, I've got my crown. I've never had the crown before. Everything would be fixed if I just hit the band button. So we'll talk a little bit about last night's game. We'll talk a little bit about the upcoming game. And we'll talk just kind of more big picture stuff. But Tyler, I think on the last pod or one before it, I think I said something to the effect of this team has to have a lot of stuff go right for it to win games.

3:29Sometimes you need, and Mundo Sosa to pump a double and not run out of the box. Sometimes you need Brandon Marsh to run on a ball in front of him and get doubled off a second base. Sometimes you need Cam Smith to run straight through a Tony Parris Sheikah stop sign, the score run in a game that you end up winning by one run. Last night was the epitome of just like they built a big lead but had to hold on. That's the epitome of like this team just a lot has to go right for this team to win games. And I think last night was just the perfect embodiment of that. That game last night is why you just have to make it to the playoffs. That was a playoff game that you, I mean, you can hear the Fox fanfare in the background and you know the crazy calls and stuff and all of that. Like you could see that happening live in that game yesterday. I felt like a playoff game.

4:30And the Asheres know how to win those games. They just, they do. They do not fold to the pressure of things. And I think that is an institutional advantage that the Asheres have. And they just kind of make it to the playoffs. But I mean, the Phillies are really good. And it was, it was a great game. The play that Jeremy Paine made. I like cheered out loud enough at home. And since the game started a little earlier, the kids could watch some before bedtime. And so I was like, oh yeah, an Olivia like stood up and started copying me. She was like clapping along with me. And it was great. I mean, that was just that. I think that's my favorite game in the year. I can't imagine another one being that. That was not really good. Not the one where Alvarez hits a walkoff grand slam on the 4th of July against the race. The best team in the hurricane league. You know, now that you mentioned that that was also a really good game.

5:30I guess I'm just, I, that entire game was very interesting to watch. But yes, I guess I should go with that. Look, don't make me reminisce live. Okay, I'm not going to be able to remember every game. Unlike you, you nerd. I mean, it's kind of my job. I mean, this is, this is like your part time job, I think. My full time job is like remembering every game. Are you getting paid for this? Um, technically, yeah, I think in, in, in American currency. I believe so. So last night, the Astros won a game despite Jordan Alvarez going over five. And he's allowed to have, he's allowed to have a bad night. He's allowed to have a couple of bad nights. He's done more than enough to keep this thing afloat. He's done more than enough to keep this, um, to keep this team on the tracks. But one thing that is becoming a little clear is that his, uh, his grip on the triple crown is loosening very, very.

6:31Fast. Um, for a while there, it seemed like it was going to be kind of fate a compley that he was going to, he was going to win it. He was going to win it, he was going to win it going away. But he enters tonight, he enters tonight's game. Second in the American League behind Peter Lonzo and RBI's. Second in the American League and home runs behind junior Caminero, who he will see this weekend with the race. He still has the highest batting average in the American League only by four points over Chandler Simpson, uh, great name Chandler Simpson. Um, I guess I wonder like, I know like the triple crown to be cool and all and just when you hear it, I mean, he'd be the first left handed hitter since Carl your strengths game 1967 to win a triple crown, which when you put it that way, it seems like a huge massive accomplishment. Um, but it's going to be, it's certainly not going to be the shoe end that we thought it was going to be maybe in July when he hit that walkoff grand slam off the raise, but does it matter? Does it, does the fact that his triple crown status is fading? Does it matter as much as maybe are we putting too much stock into the triple crown?

7:38At Edward Jones, we believe rich isn't about having life all figured out. It's opening yourself to all the possibilities. That's why your dedicated financial advisor provides long term planning built around you, meeting you where you are and helping you get closer to where you want to be. So no matter where you're starting from, you can move forward with confidence. The key to being rich is knowing what counts. Let's find your rich Edward Jones, member SIPC. McDonald's is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets or sausage egg and cheese McGrittle's, make it a meal and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too. Extra value meals are back. Get a big something extra with a Big Mac or 10 piece McNuggets, fries and a medium Coke all for just $9. Limited time only, promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

8:38ChatGPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. ChatGPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs, like briefs, notes, files, feedback, calendars, data sets or project plans. Then, ChatGPT can help turn all of that into something useful, an analysis, a tracker, a deck outline, a prototype, or a workflow you can keep shaping. It can also use approved apps, connected tools, files and browser context to help move the work forward. And you stay in control. You give direction, review drafts, approve actions, redirect the work and choose the final output. So you spend less time sorting through busy work and more time making progress on the work that matters. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting Work Mode, available on plus and pro plans.

9:39It didn't matter to me when the Astros did not look like they were going to make the playoffs. It was like, you know, what a waste or whatever. I think if they win their division and maybe even secure a buy because of a triple count year, that's just one that you cement in your memory forever. And I think when you tell the story of your Analvarez, it would be very nice to have a very clear date of like, you know, he did this in 2026. You know, those types of things. I think that's why it matters is when you're explaining the history of baseball. I think that's a really great way to showcase this guy was the best hitter in the game. You know, one year he was better than everybody had everything. And that's kind of what his whole career felt like. So I think in the terms of like the narrative of a player's career, like absolutely it matters. I think that's a huge feather in your cap to be able to do. I mean, obviously you're going to be in baseball history books if you do that.

10:40He's going to win all of them easily. He's not this bad. Like he's he's in first or second and everything. And he's in a like 40 game slump. I am going to assume that the next 20 games are going to be better than the last 40 games. And he's already at the top. I'm not worried about it. He's not going to he's not going to look this bad. Like I have faith that unless he is hurt, which listen, that has happened before, where he played through quite a bit. We're like, why is he not doing home runs and then turns out we needed imaging. So as long as that's not happening and he is healthy, he's going to hit better. It will be fine. Let's let's put in a perspective. Slump. So he said, I think I think what everyone is kind of focused their attention on is that he's not hitting the ball out of the ballpark. He said three homeers and his last 36 games. That's a span of 159 played appearances. So let's take that stretch as his quote unquote slump.

11:44He is still slashing 270 409 429 for an 837 OPS. That's not a slump in my book. Certainly he has his expectations for your own alveurs are so huge that when it doesn't look like the 1100 OPS guy we saw for the first three months of the year, you start to wonder. He's not going to start to kind of spiral and you wonder, oh, is this guy the same guy? No, he's still super, super productive. He's been very, very, and we can even crystallize it down to his last 100 played appearances. So his last 100 played appearances across the last 24 games. He's got an 831 OPS is reaching base at a 392 club with a 439 select percentage. That's the beauty of your own alveurs. Even when he's slumping, even when he's not hitting the ball of the ballpark, it's still going well. He's still productive. Part of that is he's getting nothing to hit. So he's getting walked.

12:44Part of that is just he's such an elite hitter. And this is why every time we talk about your on Tyler, like I want to make mention and make sure we reinforce the point that this is not a power hit. Like, yes, he's got a ton of power. But this is, this has always been a hit over power player. Like, he is a complete hitter. This is not just if he doesn't home or he can't help you. Like, he has always been hit over power. It's been hit first. And then, I mean, I think Mike Boros said it in Arlington and June. He said, he's the best hit, he's the best contact hitter in the league with power. And I think that's an apt way to describe your own alveurs because even during this stretch where everyone's clamoring from the hit home, or the hit home, or the ballpark, he's still been their best hitter. If not their second best hitter, maybe you know, with him and he sock paratists. It's slump is such a relative term when it comes to your dawn. So it's interesting. But yeah, I wonder too if he's just pressing some, you know, a lot of people are talking about the pitch selection and, you know, swing it step outside the zone.

13:49If I came into the season and I'm your dawn, I know I'm going to get walked, but I'm not expecting to get intentionally walked 30 times. And so I wonder if as that's kicked up some in the past couple of months, if that just makes you a little more aggressive because you want to hit and you're just assuming you're never going to get. So it may be finding that balance too of readjusting to pitchers and just realizing, I might see one pitch to hit. So I'm just going to sit here and wait or I'm going to pick one and not have to feel like I need to swing it every strike or anything that looks like something because I may not get another pitch. There's a couple of viewers right now that have some really good takes and thoughts on your dawn and I want to get them involved. But we'll do that right after this message from our friends at Seeky. The first season run is heating up for Major League Baseball teams, Cratsy, you can go see all these games, all the important games, whatever your team is, they have a great chance almost all of them at being alive for the post season.

14:50So you can go on Seeky and find whatever team you want, whatever game you want, whatever matchup you want to try to help cheer your team on to the post season. Yeah, look ahead to your schedule, go on to Seeky. Essentially your teams either in the playoffs or the team they're playing as a chance in the playoffs. So all these games in September, you got to get on there, get your green dot figure out where you're going to sit, do it ahead of time and use the codes. And of course I have a code for y'all, you can use code territory 10 for 10% off your next set of MLB tickets at Seeky. That's 10% off MLB tickets with promo code territory 10. Make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Get ready for MLB post season by getting the perfect ticket on Seeky. For the 111 people we have watching right now, first of all, thank you very much. Second of all, hit the like button, like button helps like and share. Spread the word, get some more people in here to make fun of me because that's the past time everyone enjoys.

15:55I can't be about the haircut. No, does it look good? Does it look good? It does look good. I also like the beard. It's looking good. You're ready to go. Rarely have the beard, but okay. Bryce asked, do you think this is about Yordon who we were talking about before the break? Do you think he's feeling any type of pressure given a lot of people see him as the engine where if he doesn't go, the team struggles. He hasn't been seeing the ball nearly as well as the first half. So I will bring this up and I hesitate to put too much stock into it because we were talking through an interpreter. My span of shoes isn't great, so I want to be clear that this was through an interpreter. When we talked to Yordon after the game on, I believe it was the last gaming against the debax. When he hit his 38th career homer, not 30th career, his 38th homer to set a career high, he did mention something about anxiety. He mentioned something about going up to the plate and this was through an interpreter.

16:56There's some anxiety, there's some anxiousness there when I go up to the plate. Now we did not probe and ask, what are you anxious about? What is that anxiety? I took it to me and again, it's dangerous for me to presume, especially when we're talking in a language that I don't understand. The sense I got was that he felt he was chasing a lot. He felt like he was expanding the zone and not swinging at pitches that he thought he could drive. Part of that is that opponents aren't giving him anything to drive. Part of it is that he's seeing a lot of pitches on the edges, he's seeing a lot of pitches just in the zone where he has to commit, where he doesn't want to swing maybe, where he knows he's not going to get his A swing off. But in looking at some of Jordan's career, in August when he hit two homers, he had two homers across 119 plate appearances in August. He had a 33% chase rate in August.

17:58There are only three months of his major league career in which he had a higher chase rate. And in two of those months, June and July of 2023, he took a combined 118 plate appearances in those two months. He took 118 plate appearances in August periods. I just showed you the sample size there. So I don't know if it's that easy to correlate that he's just chasing more and this is the end result. But one thing that Jordan has always been known for is his plate discipline, his pitch recognition knowing what to swing at, knowing what not to swing at. I know he can drive people crazy sometimes. For as good of a hitter as he is, he takes a lot of pitches, strike threes down the middle. And it's just like, oh man, why didn't he swing that? Because he goes up there with, I'm hitting this pitch. This is the pitch I'm looking for. I'm not deviating from my plan. Sometimes, pitchers trick him. Sometimes, you know, they, he talked about like pitchers are pitching him a lot differently now than they did in the first couple months of the season.

19:04And for a guy that is so approach and plan oriented, when that doesn't fall into place, you see some of the, you know, taking strike three when it was pretty clear he was just looking for something else or vice versa. So maybe that's got something to do with it. I can't speak for him in terms of does he feel the weight of the world on his shoulders because he knows that the eight other guys around him, you know, he's got to carry them to be fair. Jordan would have to carry, I believe, let me think of the 29 other lineups in baseball. If he was in their lineup, we'll probably have to carry 26. It's not as if like he's in a, he's in a, he's in a unique situation where he's got to carry on. He'd be having to do this in any lineup he'd be in. So I don't know. It's an interesting thought exercise, but I just kind of revert to and I know what's to hear this. I kind of revert to the back of the baseball card that he's going to I do want to hear that that's he's going to feel as well. Yeah, he's he's really good. I've never seen him not be good for a long time.

20:10All my English teachers will love that sentence, but he's going to be fine. He's going to figure it out. He'll stop chasing as much. He's still every every time he touches the ball, it goes 112 miles an hour. Sometimes it goes into the short stops glove and sometimes it goes 450 feet, but he hits it so hard every time. I'm not worried at all. He will be just fine because even as we've said, even with him being struggling, he is like one of the best hitters. It is this is the like worst. I'm going to see of him. Okay. You just keep running out there and it'll work eventually. And I feel the same way about pain. Yeah, pain has been struggling to I he's better hitter than this. Like I'm not I'm not worried. There's nothing that you watch in his at bats and you go like he just looks lost up there. He looks like he's in a slump and some of the ones that fall for you when you're not in a slump aren't falling right now and it makes the numbers look worse and a short sample.

21:12But I think they're going to be fine. I'm not worried about that. I mean, Christian Walker has struggled for a while too. That home run last night was I mean, just aesthetically very pleasing. It was a really pretty looking home run. And you look at that and you're like, yeah, that's why you pay a first basement with gold glove defense 20 million dollars. Yeah, did you see that swing? I see why you you look at these people sometimes you're like, yeah, the numbers may be down, but that's a really, really good baseball player and all of those guys look like very good baseball players still to me, even with the numbers looking worse than you would expect. Clean shaven too. The king of superstitions, by the way, Christian Walker. I've covered a lot of a cover a lot of ball players and Christian Walker doesn't want to call himself superstitious, but you watch him. He's very superstitious. He doesn't wear sleeves. Doesn't wear socks high. Where's his socks high? Has a beer doesn't have a beard has a mustache doesn't have a mustache. He is moves out of Josebre use locker at one point last year because it had bad juju, which it did.

22:25We talked about slumps. We can't call your eyes for I love that by the I love that he's I love that he does that. He's a grown man and I'm with him. I do it at home. And him wins like three games in a row while I'm doing something similar on a Saturday. I will continue to do that and do my part from my house. So I appreciate that guys on the team are also that way. I think it's wonderful. And I'm one's three games in a row. That's a that's a thing that occurs. Yeah, do you watch the first like 11 games of last season get off me. I watched the one they played against you to you. I still want to get sell us you. I was there as a house. How does that go as someone you went great because look what it look what it got us. Look with like Texas like everyone that everyone that looks at LSU and is worried now like blame Texas a now because they came in an amasculated LSU for three of the four quarters. And then it all led to this. It led to the governor waking up and deciding that if I have poor political approval ratings. I'm just going to metal with the LSU football team. And that's what he's done and look at us. Look at us, man. We couldn't be in any better. We couldn't be in any better spot.

23:37Beech you so bad. It made you realize you were doing things the wrong way. Like that was a that was a beating out of love. That's like a sibling thing of like, hey, get it together. All right. This is embarrassing. We talked about slumps and how your don's we can't really call a slump because of all the production. Jeremy Paine on the other hand. His past 31 games span of 136 played appearances. He's got a 559 OPS and a 228 on base percentage which that is a slump that won't play because if you're not getting on base ahead of Alvarez. That is the lead off hitter in this lineup. That should be your foremost goal in any way possible. Get on base for Alvarez because they still may not pitch to him, but at least it makes it more likely that he will get something to hit. But with Paine, the swing and miss has really, really started to manifest itself here across this. He's got 41 strikeouts in his last 31 games.

24:43I don't need to remind anybody that he does struggle with breaking balls down and away. He struggles with sweepers. He struggles with sliders. He is fixed that for the most part. But you have seen during this stretch that he's swinging and missing a little bit more on those pitches down and away on breaking balls. He's been getting jammed a little bit. He's been getting pitched a lot inside as he's gotten hit in the hand like three different times in the past month or so. A pretty clear plan of how teams are pitching him. But as not worried as I am about Alvarez, I'm not worried about Jeremy Paine. But I think he's the one more than Alvarez that they really have to get him to snap out of this. Because if, I mean, Jordan, as we've seen, as we've talked about, Jordan slumps still producing 860 OPS. Jeremy Paine's slumps producing a 559 OPS is no way to go through life. You know what's exciting about all these slumps, Chandler, is the Astros have been winning games and the best hitters on their team have not been hitting well.

25:51And I hear all of your nerd numbers. You don't know what you're talking about. I'm going off vibes here. Okay. Everybody looks fine. I don't watch those at best. Paine is going to swing and miss some stuff. But he's still huge and fast and hits the ball. Like I'm not worried. And I think they're going to be better hitters. And if the Astros have been this successful within struggling and you're about to get Kareya back, like this, this is a good, this is a good team. Like I'm very excited to see this team in October. I don't, I don't think there's anybody in the American League that I would not, you know, I wouldn't be scared of any team in the American League. I had to talk you off the ledge like a month and a half ago when you want to give up on the season. I'm sorry. I have a heart and a mouth. Okay. I'm going to, I'm going to express myself. That's what I'm here for.

26:54Yeah, they're awesome. Do you see that game last night? They were, they were like, you're on 0 for 5. Blue ball gives up a run. Hater gives up a run. And you win on the road against the fit like that's that's not, I mean, it's cliche, but it's a sign of a good team. That's what I'm saying is there a good team, not because their best players are even carrying them right now. It's like, you know, obviously like aater is has been unbelievable and still has to save. But like, you know, you still can get more from your, your talk guys like Hunter Brown has not put together a couple of really elite Hunter Brown. And he's going to do that at some point. You know, Brian, a brave who has been so much better and he can become that lockdown guy. Jordan's going to hit better than this. Christian Walker is going to hit better than this. Payne is going to hit better than this. And two Bay has been really good. Like they're, they're winning games. They are increasing a division lead. And as we speak, what's the, what's the score with the Rangers? I was just like, I was, I was going to mention it after you stopped talking that the Rangers.

28:06Well, the Rangers, it just went final. The Rangers lost to the Mariners. So they're increasing this division lead. And they're not, it's not because they are performing at their ceiling. And you just go, I hope they can keep this up for the rest of the time. They're not even there yet. They've got another notch. And I mean, this is a scary team in October. I would not want to face them. How, how quickly the tide turns, how quickly it does. So yes, the Rangers lose to the Mariners, which has been the interesting thing about this series and Philly is like the Astros, whatever happens, they know that they're going to be gaining ground on someone. They're not going to be, they're not going to be losing ground or gaining ground on someone because the Rangers and the Mariners are playing each other in a three game set. So it'll be a two and a half game lead for the Astros over the Mariners going, or not over the Mariners over the Rangers going into tonight's game, which features 100 Brown against Christopher Sanchez, which is a very delightful pitching matchup if you're into that kind of thing.

29:08Let's talk about the pitching, the rotation and the first few days of the post Stephen Ocord era right after this message from our friends at Quince. Dehydration is real people. So our quince electrolyte stick packs all of a sudden, you don't need some big bottle to carry around just these little packets. If you suddenly feel like you need a little hydration, raspberry salt, delicious citrus salt, my personal favorite. And watermelon salt for those watermelon lovers out there, very solid, just in your water bottle. Come on, watermelon guy. It's quick, easy in the morning, wake up, feel a little down, throw some in there, feeling great, throw some in there because it'll keep that high going. So stay on it, it hydrates you because of that fermented rice, great tasting, and it makes you feel better. They're made in the USA rigorously third party tested, give your body what it really needs to stay hydrated. Quince.com slash foul gets you free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince.com slash foul for free shipping and 365 day returns.

30:10These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat cure or prevent any disease. Did I hear fermented rice in there? Is that what we're trying to sell people? Let's do it. Sure, it's great. I love I love to ferment rice. Sure, it's a great product. As rice points out, I just not quick enough to get it on the screen, but they are only a game and a half back of the two seed. The white socks somehow. So, but it's interesting. And maybe this is maybe this is I was not planning to go here, but maybe this is a segue. I personally think it'd be more beneficial for them to maybe get to have the three seed play the six seed and not maybe not get the buy only because of the opponent said it could line up because what are you talking about? If you get the three, listen to me, if you get the three seed, what are you talking about? If you get the three seed, there is a very, very real possibility that you avoid the American league east until a possible ALCS matchup.

31:14I don't care about avoiding the people. You're going to have to beat them all to what are you talking about? If you get to skip one round of the playoffs, obviously, but would you rather do that or would you rather have to play a series against another playoff team? No, get closer. Is the six seed is the six seed in the American league ever? Is that a real playoff team like in this American league? Yes, all the time. What do you do? Like any team can be that's why you don't want to play it. You want to skip to the next round. You're that's such a bad take. Oh my goodness. Skip it. What are you talking about? Yes, Dana will get a ring if the Astros win the world series. I'll probably get a playoff share to. Yes, they're going to give him a ring. James click got a ring from the 2002 World Series. Dana will get a ring. And he would like it would not be fun for the next year, but that's you wear that when you're 80 like you talk it. Who cares? Yeah, that's a ring and you earned it and he absolutely would get one. Of course he would.

32:22Hayden was nesky last night continued his excellent return from Tommy John surgery, which is a site for sore eyes for a lot of Astros fans that have watched a lot of returns from Tommy John surgery not go very well. The thing that he the thing that has been just incredible about him Tyler about was nesky and I mean I'll be guilty and say that like I didn't really know what to expect come back. I also like I hadn't really like looked at his career just in terms of is this him, but he is not thrown more than 91 pitches in any of his outings. And in every one of his outings, but one he's pitched into the fifth inning. He's gone he's pitched into the sixth inning and five of the outings and finished seven innings twice. His efficiency has been incredible. Yes, he's not walking guys. He's challenged them in the zone. He's getting weak contact. He's getting early count outs. The one bug a boo for Hayden was nesky his entire career before he got traded over here was the home run ball.

33:27And obviously he had given up to before last night to give up a big one last night to trade turner, but that was only the third home run he's given up since he's been back. Change up looks great. The sweeper he's throwing little softer, but with that has the movement is better. I think you're starting to get to a point was nesky were like you can kind of cement him in as like a guy that you really, really feel confident in going forward in the next 17 games. That's your number two starter. I mean, I if you're lining up a playoff series, I think I think him then Lambert like that's that's a rollin with and then figure something out for game four. But yeah, he's been really good and like you said, the efficiency has been incredible. I looked up yesterday and he was at like 61 pictures or whatever and I was like, man, he just keeps doing that. And it's especially impressive because he needs to be efficient because he is coming off of Tommy John surgery. This isn't like, oh, this is just a veteran you push it, whatever like no, he's coming off surgery and he's been able to eat as many innings as he has has been.

34:36I mean, so needed for this rotation. But the interesting thing is like even if you like I get that, but like he's been so efficient that they really like there hasn't been a time where you're like, oh man, like they're taking him out because of like pitch cow. That's not like, like because of like they don't want to push him like no, it's like because the couple times like he's gotten us deep enough, we have our leverage guys rested like let's go to them. So it's been a welcome site that to be honest with you, I'm not sure the Astros expected it to be this good this quick, maybe because they've been scarred by every other guy that's come back since furlander and been. I mean, and it's not their fault. I mean, they went underwent major reconstructive surgery and didn't pitch for 15 months, but yeah, it's been it's been he's bucking the trend. He is bucking a trend for sure. Yeah, it's yeah, like we said, been so needed. I'm who are these people in the chat disagreeing with you do not want to play in the wild card round. If I gave you if I put you in the street and there were four boxes that you had to reach into and at the end of it, there's a big treasure.

35:50And I said, each one of these boxes has between a 40 and 60% chance of being a scorpion. And I said, you know, do you want to put it in all four boxes or do you want to skip one to try to get closer to the you skip a playoff route like even the best teams lose all the time. You don't want to play in that you're trying to just get to the end and it is a series of coin flips that you have to make and the fewer coin flips you have to make the closer you are to getting to the end. Yeah, crazy. That sounds right. I'll go with that. But I mean, like I do think here. Okay, can we meet in the middle here? No. The path that they have right now, the path that if the season ended tonight, they win the division, they're in the wild card round and they're playing the guardians in the first round at Diken Park or in the wild card round at Diken Park. Like, Jose Ramirez chance they could win two games. Jose Ramirez is great. Gavin Williams is great. I don't really know anybody else on their team. Yeah.

36:54Yeah. And then if you win that if you win that series, you go play the white socks who I don't know. I watched them for seven games this year and came away wholly unimpressed. But that I mean, that could just be me. I don't know. But I think that path is a lot easier than maybe having to run into the red socks, raise or Yankees early. And I guess I'm looking for a long Jevite like do they want to make a run or do they just want to like get in and pray? You're going to have to beat all of the other teams anyway. There's no such thing as an e it's not it's not the like NCAA tournament where you can skip all of that. There's only six of them and you're going to have to play the best ones. If you are given the chance to not have to play a series that is way better. It is a 100% chance of advancing to the next round or it is barely modifying your percentage chance from like 52 to 55% chance of winning this way.

37:57Like obviously skip a series. What are we talking about? And chase the Mattest I've ever been on this show. Okay, great. Chase brings up a good point. Like yes, the Astros were in this exact same position two years ago. They got swept by the Rockies this year. Like what are we talking about? I guess I don't know like in my mind, I'm thinking like avoid the American League East with a playing a series. Okay, you're crazy. You're going to have to play the American League East and the ALCS. You have to play them anyway. I do think it'll be it'll be very interesting to have this conversation if they go on this last and they go on their last road trip depending on when they've clenched. Like do they have to pitch Hunter Brown or was an Eski at this point. Do they have to pitch one of those guys on in that series that last couple games in Sacramento if they haven't clenched everything yet. Do they risk doing that if they have clenched a playoff spot but can maybe improve their seating or get a buy like a lot of fascinating decisions decisions that I didn't think we'd be discussing.

39:03To be quite frank at this point, the calendar, but Hunter Brown, I think you said when you said and when they clenched I go by number I'm a percentage I'm a percentage person and they have like an 88% chance to make the playoffs. I enjoyed hearing it from the angriest man that follows the Astros. If you're saying when it's like seeing the Grinch, his heart grow three sizes. So I'll take it. I'm tired of this abuse. And I also said that we get everyone out of here by the time the game started. Jeremy Pani is currently taking the games first at bat against Christopher Sanchez. So we appreciate everyone that stuck around and listened to us ramble and Tyler get mad for 30 minutes. This was fun. We want to do more of these lives because quite frankly they're easier on us. They're easier on us when we guys have you chiming in with your feedback and it kind of allows us to kind of be more free and not that we're not that we're not that this is ever a really like straight laced and like regimen in podcasts.

40:08We're not that we have like topic bars and segments and such but this one allows us to be even a little more free. So I appreciate everybody joining us. This will be the podcast you can listen to this if you join late if you didn't hear the whole thing down a little audio will have it up on apple and Spotify here in a bit. And as always please like the video on YouTube subscribe the YouTube channel subscribe on spotify and apple as well and you can follow me on X at Chandler underscore room. You can follow Tyler at Tyler C staff and rate review us and all those places we just told you about will be back either tomorrow night or Friday morning whenever Josh reddick says he can get away from his children and join us. It'll be either tomorrow night or Friday morning will be back to you. We'll get back to you then but until then thank you for watching. Thank you for listening and we will talk to you soon. Philly's Philly's Philly's Philly's I'm begging of you please don't rake off brown. Bye ripped allie.