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Welcome Home Ben Gamel
32 Plays1 year ago
New Episode of Born on the Bayou Sports! 🎙️🔥
Tim Costello and Scott Barzilla are back to break down the latest in Houston sports and beyond!
- The Astros bring back Ben Gamel—he’s no superstar, but could he be a key depth piece?
- The NBA Trade Deadline is heating up! Luka, Anthony Davis, and Jimmy Butler are on the move—who’s next?
- The Rockets are in a tailspin, dropping four straight. Should they shake things up before the deadline?
And, of course, the guys hand out their signature awards:
🏆 Tips of the Cap
🤡 Horses Ass of the Week
😈 Scumbag of the Week
Don’t miss this jam-packed episode of Born on the Bayou Sports! 🎧🔥
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Born on the Bayou Sports'
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to Born on the Bayou Sports, a Houston sports show made for Houstonians by Houstonians. Join Tim Costello and Scott Barzilla every week as they break down the latest in Houston Astros, Rockets and Texans news. Tim's a former minor league broadcaster and Scott has written two books on the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Eric the Pitcher: Key to Success
00:00:32
Speaker
Yeah, if probably Eric could get it figured out, it would make things a lot easier because he was that guy everybody was counting on this year to be a Cy Young candidate, take that big step forward and and help anchor this rotation with Pomer. Since he's come to Houston, you can look at the development of guys like Carlos Correa defensively, Jeremy Peña defensively, you know, Alex Bregman, you know, certainly I think I'm better than average third baseman.
00:00:56
Speaker
And now you're putting teams in 3rd and 8th, 3rd and 7th, 3rd and 9th. Now here comes Will Anderson. Pin back your ears, let's go. So if you're by you, born and bred, or just like spending time in the age, sit down, relax, and stay Houston strong.
Beyond Sports: Politics and Public Education
00:01:24
Speaker
Welcome all my friends to the show that is back again born on the bayou sports Tim Costello Scott Barzilla coming to you hot here on a Wednesday night as we are just fresh on the heels of a Big big ass shows before we'll get to that later. It's a big move. I don't need to tease it. We'll get to it later I know you're excited Scott. Oh, yes, and speaking of you know excitement or lack of excitement I will point out that we're gonna break our own rules and on this episode in terms of the lack of politics. We're going to get into that later on. We'll seize that as well. But obviously the state of Texas is having some issues funding public education, but don't seem to have any issue giving, you know, groups like Pearson over a billion dollars to make tests. And we had some mock testing today, which leads me to my question that I asked the the students and I'll ask you, what is
00:02:19
Speaker
your dullest ever experience? Like, you know, when were you at your most bored? Oh, that's good. That's a good one. I have to think it's like that time in between when you finish the tax test and the schoolwide movie started and we weren't allowed for something that wouldn't let us read a book, you just had to sit there and stare at the wall and you weren't allowed to sleep. And Cause I think they thought that would encourage us to take more time on the test. But like, I would literally have like three hours where like, I'd just like be fucking just sitting there waiting for that one person. He's quadruple checking, checking their tax test fucking answers. Like it actually matters. Like what are we doing here? Fucking either.
Humor in Jury Duty
00:03:05
Speaker
You know, it or you don't turn it in. Let's go. Like I finished those tests to like 25 minutes. I'll see. Like my, my philosophy has always been a sleeping student is a behaving student.
00:03:17
Speaker
I mean, they're not making noise they're unless they're snoring really badly. um I mean, really, I have to put up on their jury duty. It's got to be pretty high up there because um nobody's picking me for a jury. Dude, I spent my whole life just wanting that postcard to come, wanting it. I want jury duty, and it never happens. Well, my uncle, who happens to be on the same side of the political side of the things that that we are on, he he served on a jury in College Station.
00:03:47
Speaker
and And this is a true story here, Tim. ah The guy, the the perp, the defendant was caught, we'll just say, pleasuring himself at the intersection by the Dixie Chicken. So the police officer gave him a ticket, you know, the whole nine yards. This guy asked for a jury trial. umve used this screen I've used this story in my government classes. Guy said, folks, you don't have, you have a right to a trial by jury,
00:04:17
Speaker
You don't have to avail yourself of that right. So apparently his defense was that the, um, the, the action that the police officer saw was him unpacking a pack of cigarettes. And, uh, the, the fluid that was left over was radiator fluid.
00:04:38
Speaker
That's a bold strategy. He defended himself too. He defended himself. The trifecta. Did it not quite work out for him as you man? That's the kind of jury. I want to be on because then I might just but I might be the wild card in the room there Scott and go I don't know you know reasonable story and they of All reasonable doubt is gone right now Well, I want to I want to keep this thing going so i and get my six-inch subway sandwich, you know for lunch yeah That's just Mayo officer. I was eating I was eating a turkey sandwich and
00:05:16
Speaker
but You saw the bread. Thank you for the compliment. And that's just Mayo. Like, yeah, well yeah my luck is I'm gonna my first jury I'll ever actually be on would be like a jaywalking jury. And you're just like, really? Come on. Yeah, I want like a OJ type thing. Like I want to be sequestered. I want them to be bringing me episodes of Seinfeld to watch because we're not allowed to watch the news. And then someone else is like, yo, where's Martin? Bring me some Martin, right? Like that's what happened in the show. So I want that. I want to be sequestered away in a hotel room. There's like that, that scene in the office where Stanley is like, you're telling me I get to sit in the air conditioning and judge people. Like, yeah. let's go All right. So speaking of judging, um, Astros fans, and we we are an Astrocentric podcast here.
Player Contracts and Negotiations
00:06:11
Speaker
Um,
00:06:12
Speaker
We got, you know, two pieces of news that came down this week. You know, number one yesterday, Dana Brown, Joe Spada basically poured water on the whole Alex Bregman coming back to Houston talk. But then the reunion that we all thought was coming, Ben Gamble, come on down. You're back. You're back. Ben Gamble. Welcome back home. Well, you know, funny, you know, 1.2 million, great deal.
00:06:41
Speaker
$1 million, $2 million basically, um, was it like a signing bonus? $200,000 signing bonus. So it's like 1.2 million all in yeah all in, but Hey, like that's pretty minimal for a guy who was a playable outfielder last year. Well, and, and the beauty of this is, is that, you know, if all of a sudden, you know, maybe, you know, descends those, you know, mashes or Shay Wickham ashes or.
00:07:07
Speaker
you know, Jose Altuve turns into, I don't know, who's your version of a gold glove left fielder? I don't know about that. If you can give me like serviceable, if you can be as good as Craig Bezio was, I'll be happy. if he could If he could be an average, you know, left fielder, you maybe you go like, yeah, we want to just let gamble go. A million dollars is nothing to walk away from.
00:07:33
Speaker
But also at the same time, even if all those, one of those things happens, if Dezenzo mashes, if Altuve takes to left field, there's still a big question mark and right. There's still a big question mark and center, right? So this is a hedge against that bet as well. And let's be real. Let's say, cause right now the note, the the rumor is Alex Bregman is being offered, you know, four years, a hundred million dollars from the Cubs with opt outs after every year. Let's say the Astros decide, you know what? We do want to play that game. Here's three years.
00:08:02
Speaker
Ninety-nine million dollars opt out after every year. Okay, fine You only got one million for Ben Gamble, right? Like you're still able to make that move if internally in You know late February. He still hasn't signed and and you might be able to to snag him But man fucking Scott Boris is a tool. Scott Boris is a giant fucking tool. I'll get more to him later.
00:08:26
Speaker
But yeah, so it looks like right now, if I were a betting man, it looks like the Chicago Astros. As the Cubs are the only team right now, the only team involved in the bidding. I mean, I think he's basically said no to the Blue Jays. He's basically said no to the Tigers. I think the Red Sox bowed out and the Red Sox might be in on Nolan Aronado. Good luck to them for that one.
00:08:55
Speaker
but My goodness, you know, he might end up taking, what about, what, 4, 110? Is that what we're looking at? 4, 120? I think it was 4, 100. Yeah. is I thought it was like at least 100, maybe more. But if it's 4, 100, yeah, you got to be the biggest, you know. You know, what yeah almost Boris reminds me of in that point is a, remember old Steven Abootman? I don't know.
00:09:26
Speaker
Canada on Strike episode. oh We have won! We didn't get everything we asked for, but every Canadian gets a coupon for two for one at then agains and a free stick of gum. That would be a win right now. if Every person got something. You got a two for one coupon at out edden at Applebee's and a stick of gum. If it could be for Ike.
00:09:56
Speaker
Outback Steakhouse, I might be okay with that. today you know Outback sucks now. I went there the other day, it sucks. I don't know. there's There's some restaurant out there that we can all have a two-for-one at. That's that's not outrageous. It's not for me. It's not for me. The answer for what? $26 million dollars a year is what the AAV was on the offer that he he was given from us like from day one. and you know This is every time the Astros seem to be spot on it, like what the numbers should be, right? Like guys who hold out, don't get what was initially offered. And then the Astros end up being right down the road. So, you know, I understand, you know, listening to your people, however.
00:10:39
Speaker
Don't let Scott Borsch be one of your people. Like, I don't understand it at this point, Scott. Like when you look at the calendar and you see that Juan Soto is going to be a free agent the same year that I am, and we're both represented by Scott Borsch, I'm like, hmm, might be time to make a change before free agency and and get you somebody who's actually going to give a fuck about me before January. Yeah. Well, and when I said Applebee's that that's for for Bregman, you know, maybe he's an Applebee's fan, you know, who knows?
00:11:10
Speaker
But we're out backstage casting. Maybe he's a fan of them as well. But yeah here's the thing. So fan graphs has a formula that they use. Every win, according to fan graphs, is worth $8 million. dollars So help me you know figure this out here, Tom. Last year, Bregman was worth four wins.
00:11:37
Speaker
Do you think he is a four-win player in six years? No. Do you think it's reasonable that he would average three wins over the six years? Yeah. So what is three times eight, Tim? It's 24, Scott. And what did they offer him? 26. So they're offering him a little over, you know, for being a little over a three-win player.
00:12:05
Speaker
Now you could structure that any way you want. And maybe, you know, if they had to come back and said, okay, we'll give you a 30 for the first three years and we'll take off, you know, and give you like 22 for the last three. You know, and maybe, maybe he could, you know, say face and say, look, I'm earning more than I made last year at the end of this contract. But the Astros offer is what Bregman is the problem that Scott Boris has.
00:12:35
Speaker
is that he's leaning heavily into 2018, 2019. And that's not the player that Alex Bregman is. He hasn't been that player in five years. So, and there's no, there are no Ed Waits in baseball. There are no Cam Boniface. The only ones that are there are maybe the Rockies GM and he's not going to Denver. So who is out there that is that big of an idiot?
00:13:04
Speaker
That's going to pay him $200 million. dollars And again, it's, it's not, this is not the first year that this has happened, Scott. You know, last year you had Snell signed late, you had Montgomery signed late, you know, the year before it happens every year. JD Martinez, I think too. JD Martinez signed late. And I don't, did you ever watch Entourage?
00:13:27
Speaker
Uh, no, no, it didn't get to that show. So there's a, there's a season where, where Vince fires his agent and he starts fielding meetings. Right. And everywhere he goes, it's the same generic, like McDonald's, Walmart, Vincent Chase. We're going to make you a brand. You're going to be synonymous. You're going to be, you know, a brand of your own, right?
00:13:51
Speaker
And at the end of the day, that's not what he wanted. He wanted like someone who just understood him and wanted what was best for what he wants in his career. And it seems to me like Bregman got caught up in, in the brand, right? Like we're going to expand the brand of Alex Bregman, right? You know, we're going to get you exposure in a big market and we're going to get you, um, a big name contract and we're going to make you the star of a franchise was slight.
00:14:20
Speaker
You kind of already had all that, man. And if you have a legitimate agent who maybe is a little bit smaller, maybe a boutique guy, but he cares about you and your happiness versus just cashing another check, you would have been signed in December. You would have been wrapped up, able to enjoy Christmas, knowing where you're going to be. But because you wanted to be a brand, you wanted to be the guy who got the splash, the big contract, like Again, that's your prerogative. But now here we are because teams, as you said, teams knew who you were. There was no one that's going to get bamboozled. And there was no one sitting out there who put aside money for Juan Soto and didn't get him. And we're like, fuck it. We'll just give Alex Bregman the same money. Because that's not how it works anymore, right? Like in today's baseball, you just say, it's okay. Kyle Tucker will be a free agent next year. I'll just give him $500 million instead.
00:15:15
Speaker
You don't say I'll pay Alex Bregman. You just wait because there's such a good crop coming free every year. And I think that's all of that was missed by Alex Bregman at the end of the day. Yeah, I wrote an article basically looking at the Hall of Fame index and where Alex Bregman is and likely to be. So I'll throw two names I threw at people in the articles. I don't know if you read it in the crop fish boxes, but
00:15:45
Speaker
Uh, you, you didn't watch either of these two guys play, but you know, the name's Ron say. Ron who? Ron say. Yes. a yeah Or, uh, Craig Nettles. Yeah. That's basically who Alex Bregman is. So if you, if you look at the Yankees in the circuit, 1970s, um, Nettles wasn't the biggest star, but he was an important player. He was a gold glove level performer.
00:16:15
Speaker
Played well in the postseason and the Yankees won multiple championships Are there any busts that have been built for Craig nettles in New York? No Because he didn't start his career in New York. He started it and I think in Cleveland Okay, you look at Ron say Ron say Sign a big contract with the Cubs and have the Cubs built a statue of Ron say in front of Wrigley Field I've seen Ernie Banks, but I didn't see you know anybody else. He came up with the Dodgers. So this is the kind of the whole point. This is the point I was making in the article. He is worth more to the Astros. He's not worth that much to any of these other teams. He's just a three or four win guy that can maybe help your team get over the hump if you're close. That's who he is to all these other teams. And that's the thing too, Scott, if you're close,
00:17:13
Speaker
Right? Like yeah he's not a a franchise altering player, right? Like it is not signing Juan Soto, right? like Alex Bregman is a wonderful complimentary police, a complimentary piece and a fantastic baseball player. He plays a great third base. He'll drive in runs. He doesn't strike out a lot. He's a good contact hitter and he hits a lot of line drives. He doesn't grind to a lot of double plays, but at the end of the day, he's not.
00:17:39
Speaker
he's He's not a top MVP candidate and hasn't been in five years. He has some injury issues. And again, as you said, he is a nice piece, but he's not franchise altering. And you don't go above the threshold for a nice piece unless you're close. You don't do it unless you're, man, we're a really good third baseman away. But those, those teams have, have filled those holes, right? The Cubs aren't an Alex Bregman away.
00:18:06
Speaker
So you go sign with the Cubs, maybe you went to N.O. Central and then you're bouncing the first round because you're going to play the Dodgers. Like, oh, wow, have a good time, right? Like you come back to Houston, do you have a chance to keep going to the playoffs every single year. Yeah. So my question is moving on from Bregman since the Astros are moving on from Bregman.
Astros' Roster Strategy
00:18:24
Speaker
Um, if you were Dana Brown, would you be done or would you try to add one more piece? I'd still be adding another piece. and I, you know, I,
00:18:34
Speaker
I think Hayward on a similar deal to gamble would be wonderful, right? I think those two um Just just some sort of insurance right but even maybe some starting pitching or some relief pitching um They were bragging that Lance the colors is sitting at 90 miles an hour and I don't know about you Scott, but that's not exactly something that Has me feeling excited like it's good that he's throwing again, but like this case throw 95 with a wicked wicked curveball Uh, 90 doesn't seem like it's going to get the job done. Well, and so my question was with the colors really in the same question I've asked the last two years. Would you just put them in the bullpen and say, fuck it. But or what the fuck is a guy who throws 90 going to do in the bullpen? at you when five I'm assuming, I think we're all assuming that he's going to build up over 90. I'm not.
00:19:33
Speaker
i know I wonder if it's it's not the same anymore because it's been two years and several surgeries, right? Like sometimes just don't get it back at the end of the day. Like the arm is fucking shot. And if you're sitting at 90, maybe you get it to 92.
00:19:51
Speaker
Other than mop-up duty, what the fuck are you going to do for me late in the game at 92 with a curveball that's a lot easier to sit back on because I can adjust to 92 versus having to be ready for 95 and then that big fucking banger comes. Well, I did see Chris and Javi airplane long toss in the video. So, you know, that's encouraging. I think he's trying to get back. I want to say August was his target, you know, maybe August 1st. Um,
00:20:21
Speaker
I don't know what we what to expect from Luis Garcia. I think JP Francis back in July. um If Luis Garcia can give you 90% of what he was, boy, that would be nice. i just yeah I don't know if the funds are there really to get an Oderizi type picture.
00:20:47
Speaker
Yeah. i mean That's what we need though, right? A guy who'll give you four or five quality innings. I mean, cause let's look at the rotation, right? You've got Fromber, you've got Hunter Brown, you feel pretty good about those too. Um, you've got Renault Blanco feel pretty good about that right now. Then is where maybe, you know, Aaron Getty, depending on which Aaron Getty you get, right? He was good towards the end of the year. So let's hope he comes back strong. And then now we get in that fifth.
00:21:16
Speaker
slot and that's what the the question mark kind of answers, right? That was Kukuchi last year. He's gone. That was Verlander last year. He's gone. So is it going to be JP France? Is it going to be, you know, some young talent? Is it going, you do that was Niski guy and we got used to local. So that's a guy at least we haven't seen anything from him. So I, you know, spring training will tell. Okay. So fan graphs today came out with their projected standings.
AL West Standings Debate
00:21:45
Speaker
in the AL West, and they've got your Houston Astros pegged for third. So, number one, how ludicrous do you find that, you know, that pegging? And number two, like, obviously this was pre-gammel, so I don't know that gamble really changes that that much. If they were to add a order easy level pitcher with that change,
00:22:12
Speaker
you know, fundamentally where this team is likely to be. Hmm. Maybe a winner too, based on that, but I just don't see us as a third place team. I don't see this as a very strong division, right? Like, yeah, the Rangers have made some moves, but I don't know. Like, I don't, I don't think they're heads and tails better than us. I don't think the Mariners are are heads and tails better than us. They're terrible, terrible team on the road. And so I don't know, maybe, uh, the old Minute made coming down and day kind going up. The woes of home hitting will be gone. I don't know. But and I don't know. This is this is like kind of like last year going into the year. I didn't know what to expect. you know I was first time in a while. I just didn't feel amazing about the team. And you know it was a roller coaster season. And it just didn't fall away. But we had a good team. you know And we still have a lot of those same pieces from a good team last year. And I and i think in in some ways, offensively, we
00:23:10
Speaker
We've added, you know, good bath. The loss of Kyle Tucker is going to hurt, but he was out for most of your last year anyway. Yeah. And I think, um, we're looking at the Ranger, looking at the Ranger. So number one, who was their closer last year, Tim? TJ Yates. So Kirby Yates. Kirby Yates. I'm sorry. TJ Yates. Um, is he a Ranger? anymore Not anymore. Not anymore. Okay. Who was their setup guy? Uh, wasn't it Robertson?
00:23:40
Speaker
It was, is he a ranger? No. Okay. So, um, who's their closer now? I have no idea. And, you know, and their bullpen was not what you would call lights out even with those guys. And Yates had a great year. So I'm trying to figure out and they lost Scherzer, which I don't know the Scherzer was kind of like their version of Tucker. You know, he wasn't there for most of the year.
00:24:09
Speaker
So do you trust Jacob de Grom who really hasn't pitched in two years to come back and be Jacob de Grom? No. Okay. So you've got, um, they just signed, um, yeah, who was the picture they signed this year? Resigned. Um, the one the Astros light up every time we play them, uh, 25 million a year. Um, I'm blanking on his name.
00:24:38
Speaker
Um, of Aldi? Yeah, of Aldi. We, we light up every time we see him. Uh, but other than that, you know, he's been a good pitcher. You know, maybe if I were of Aldi's agent, I would have tried to get him into Houston somehow so that he would not have to face us two or three times a year. But I just don't, I don't see it from the Rangers. I, I, you know, a lot of those guys had great years, like a Dallas Garcia looked like a budding star.
00:25:08
Speaker
He wasn't a budding star last year. Simeon and Seager are a year older and they, nea they tend to get banged up. And all of those guys that were like great, you know, fill in the blank kind of guys that you have in a World Series run turned into pumpkins this last year. So I don't, I don't see it from the Rangers.
00:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, I don't either, Scott. you know they They made some nice moves on the periphery, but then they traded away big pieces too. like they They went inside Seth Beer, like, okay, nice little move, but then you trade your starting first baseman away. And then you go get Jock Peterson, like, okay, like nice move, but like then Scherzer goes in. It's just your clothes are leaves, your setup guy leaves. like I understand we've had some subtraction as well. And I'm not saying we're a hundred win ball club, but I just, again, I don't see the Rangers as a better baseball team than us on paper. I really don't. Right. Like it all starts. He had one good year. He had one good year. And, and, and since then he's been who he is a guy who hits mid to low two hundreds and will hit a few homers at the end of the day, but he's a three true outcome player. The Mariners to me are the bigger threat because of their pitching.
00:26:24
Speaker
Um, I think, you know, getting back, uh, Polanco, maybe Polanco bounces back. Uh, maybe Randy Arizona bounces back and has like the same kind of season that he's had in Tampa Bay. Um, you know, maybe Julio Rodriguez bounces back and has the kind of season that, you know, he had in his first couple of years in the league. So, you know, they have a lot more potential to me to be a problem than I think the Rangers do.
00:26:53
Speaker
I agree. I just know the Rangers have competent front office management, right? Like they have guys that want to win and go all in and make big moves. The Mariners don't work. Like the Mariners. Cannot get out of their own way. Come trade deadline time and trying to improve their team. So from that aspect, like I'm not as worried about the Mariners. Can I just feel like the front office will fuck them versus like if the Rangers are even close to in it, like it'll be an arms race.
00:27:20
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, if to me, like, ah out if I were Jerry DePoto, I'd be like, I'd get Peter Alonso on the phone now. Say, what would it take? I mean, because they got a gaping hole over there at first. Yeah, it'd be a great sign. very excitinging But they're not going to do it. Doesn't Christian Walker play the outfield too? Could he play left?
00:27:43
Speaker
well Anybody could at this point. pretty sure you're moving, ah you're moving a gold glove first baseman, you know, in favor of a very mediocre first baseman. There you go. Can we, I want it again, not my money, but adding Alonzo would be a nice little, maybe he can play second. I don't know. i i never ble Remember Brett Wallace playing shortstop.
00:28:17
Speaker
God I do sadly Scott I do All right, let's let's move on cuz I can't even that that's a bad image you just put in my head Let's talk about the NBA trade deadline because we've had some interesting moves the Go to say warriors have acquired Jimmy Butler and sent quite a bit out the door The rumor is that Kevin Durant is to be had here shortly Booker might be available Bradley Beale could be ah of you know, there's a lot out there Scott and and the Rockets are made and A small move, picking up a, you know, a Springer's coming back to Houston,
NBA Trade and Houston Rockets' Strategies
00:28:53
Speaker
baby. Oh, not that Springer. A reserve player and swapping second round picks, but do you feel like they're making any of these moves or are we going to be sitting this one out for the most part? I don't know. Um, when we were sitting here last time, we, we, uh, we're the second place team in the West.
00:29:15
Speaker
Now they've lost four games in a row and are the third place team in the West and, and, and dropping like a rock. Um, I guess, you know, part of it is, you know, we, we got sin goon back for finally in the last game against the nets. When, when does Fred find bleak coming back? You know, that, that, that's a bit, kind of a big question, you know, and so I don't know if these at this four game losing streak.
00:29:40
Speaker
changes the calculus in either way. I don't know. It's hard to get into Raffael Stone's head because I could see him sitting there thinking, man, we get a Kevin Durand in here. Oh, man, when we're at the end of games and we don't ha seem to have a go-to guy, well, he would be our go-to guy at the end of games. I could see the wheels spinning on that. But the risk that you're taking is, are you going to gel in time for the playoffs?
00:30:11
Speaker
And if you don't, what does a 37-year-old Durant going to give you? A 38-year-old Durant going to give you. here's Here's my concern there, Scott. Let me ask you a question and that'll help voice my concern. What is the only rings Kevin Durant has won? With the Warriors. is it Built super teams in Brooklyn that did jack shit. Built another super team in Phoenix that got to the finals, but couldn't pull through. Actually, you know, he got there after they watched the finals, right? That was the next year. Yeah. So, you know, nothing there. You were on a Thunder team that had James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Sergio Baca, Kevin Garnett. I mean, Kevin Durant, um, among other very talented players, couldn't get the job done there. You know, you ran into a heat team, but you did never, you know, the only title that you truly won was.
00:31:09
Speaker
on like the greatest basketball team ever assembled. So I'm with you. I don't think Kevin Durant is the guy. like He's never been able to bring it home when he is the guy. He needed Steph Curry. He needed Clay Thompson. He needed Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala all with him to be able to win an NBA title. So I don't want Kevin Durant on this roster if I could avoid it. but these last four games do you have me feeling like we need something, right? and And what's frustrating me right now is I look up at Toronto and I see my fucking boy Jamal Shed absolutely killing it, who was drafted with a pick after the Rockets second round pick that they just traded away and didn't even use. and And he was the exact fucking player that we needed. He was an NBA ready point guard who could be a true backup point guard, which by the way, the Rockets don't fucking have.
00:32:04
Speaker
They don't have a backup point guard. Well, and you in the last game is like a perfect example of basically what you have. You have, you know, you've got Jalen Green, you've got Reed Shepard jacking up shots early in the shot clock when you're up. And then you got Amen Thompson. I don't even know what that inbound pass was. I'm sure, I don't know if he knows.
00:32:28
Speaker
You know, he could have run along the baseline to get a better angle, but apparently didn't know that you were able to do that. Could have called timeout. Apparently didn't know you could do that either. So you, this neat team needs some veteran leadership. And and this is where I had to ask, when is Fred van Bleet getting back? Because I feel like once he gets back, I mean, a lot of these issues that we've been dealing with, you know, we'll probably go away at least at the end of games, but I mean, Devin Booker would give you five or six good seasons. So that would be better than Durant, I think, but he's not a Kevin Durant level player. Um, I don't know who else is available at this point. You had De'Aaron Fox goes to San Antonio. Uh, no, we didn't talk about that one. Um, so now they look like a pretty good team, uh, built for the future.
00:33:24
Speaker
Uh, we didn't talk about the biggest trade, the one that, you know, kind of, uh, maybe inspire some laughter. So how long were you laughing after hearing about the Donch's deal? Oh, man. You mean the Lakers, the Luca Donch's to the Lakers, what you're talking about. yeah Um, I mean, like my wife and I just got home from date and I, like, you know, she goes to bed and then like, rope like, what?
00:33:52
Speaker
Like on a Saturday fucking night? Like what? Right? And so, I mean, I'm still somewhat laughing about it, but also like, I don't know what to feel because I do have friends that are Mavericks fans. Like I, I hate the Mavericks the least out of all Dallas teams, right? Like, but now that Mark Cuban's not the guy, like also I don't really give a shit anymore. Um, but like it just, it just seems like a slap in the face to season ticket holders.
00:34:22
Speaker
But also from a basketball standpoint, just a pure basketball standpoint, what they were saying about Luca. Is it wrong? And it's the problem that a lot of Rockets fans had with Harden, right? Which was like, he doesn't play defense. He came in out of shape and you know, he's kind of like a ball hog. However, you talk about a team that drafted a guy as a fucking kid and basically raised him in the city. Like he pissed off a lot of fans, like fans wanted to see Luca ring, win a ring in Dallas.
00:34:50
Speaker
Not Dallas win a ring without Luca, right? Like they're literally, that is the sentiment of a lot of fans. It's like, if they win this year, it won't be as meaningful without Luca. The thing is, I think about this way, you know, you compared it to the Hardin situation. Hardin asked to get out, which puts you in a much less advantageous place in terms of leverage. And we still got a better deal than what the Mavericks got.
00:35:17
Speaker
And then this is what, this is what floors me. It's not the fact that you decided we're not winning with, with Luca. I could see you getting to that head space, but the fact that you don't sit there and go, you know, behind the scenes, Hey, NBA, Luca's available. Come make your bid. I mean, if you were, you know, Raphael stone, would you have been on Luca Doncic? Yeah. But even on on the reverse side of it, I would have been on Anthony Davis.
00:35:43
Speaker
But, you know, so what would you have bid for Luca? At least a couple firsts. And, and I'm willing to give you Jaylen Green. Yeah, exactly. You probably would have gotten two starters out of Houston and two firsts, if I'm guessing. Probably Jabari Smith and Jaylen Green and two future firsts for Luca.
00:36:07
Speaker
So then that then it's kind of like the, uh, if you want to go across sports, it's kind of like the ah DeAndre Hopkins trade where it's like, yeah, but we got back, you know, David Johnson. But I'm not, I'm not comparing, uh, unibrow to David Johnson. Uh, Anthony Davis is an all-star level basketball player. He's also an all-star level basketball player. You hold your breath every time he falls on the, on the court. Cause you're like, oh shit.
00:36:37
Speaker
Is he going to be out 10 games this time, 15? And so I don't know if he is the asset that you really wanted to hit your wagon to. Sure. If he's healthy, a guy that can give you a 25 and 12 and 13 sounds nice, but how many games are you going to get out of that guy? I mean, if healthy.
00:37:03
Speaker
That Dallas lineup is pretty scary at the end of the day. You've got two good defensive centers, and that moves him to the four, which allows him to hopefully get beat up a little bit less. Then you've still got Kyrie Irving. You've still got Clay Thompson. um You know, they' they're going to be a good basketball team. We'll just see how good, right? Like, is that an NBA championship roster? I don't think so. Like, personally, I do think it's a better playoff suited roster, but you don't get better by taking a play like Luca Doncic off your roster, right? Like maybe you stay the same, maybe you change how you play, but you don't get better. And I think that lends credence to people's like, hey, they're trying to move this team to Vegas, right? Like you and I have talked on the side about conspiracy theorists, and I know you're working on and something along those lines, but like this is where that stuff comes from, right? Like when you cannot explain a move like this, and then you literally have seasoned ticket holders calling by the thousands
00:38:00
Speaker
to try and get refunds for the rest of this season and cancel for next season. What else is it, like what else could it be? Yeah, and I think part of that too is, you know, when you look at it from a Lakers perspective, basically this is them acknowledging, I think, that the Davis-James partnership wasn't going to get it done.
00:38:21
Speaker
They got a ring, but they're, you know, it's, LeBron's not the future, right? yeah internet And then they look and say, is Anthony Davis, the guy that we want to commit to for the future? And for the reasons that you just mentioned, such as durability, they felt no. So, you know, you take a 31 year old guy and you trade him for a 25 year old guy. So now and when LeBron James leaves, whether that's after this season or which he could as a free agent, or whether he signs an extension and plays, let's say two more years.
00:38:52
Speaker
At the worst, you're talking about a 27 year old Dodge, who is now a top five NBA player. And he can look around the league and say, Hey, who wants to join me? I think LeBron's gone after this year. And then I want to have a bet on how soon after LeBron leaves does Brony get cut? Like, is it instant the moment the ink signs on his new contract? Bam. You're done. Three.
00:39:21
Speaker
Two. One. LeBron James. Ronny, your cut. Yeah. All right, Scott. Let's talk a little bit more rockets, though, because as you said, they have lost four straight. One from second to third. Fred Van Vlietz, but now where's your panic meter at? Because I think this team has kind of overperformed a lot.
00:39:47
Speaker
more than we thought, right? I think you and I would have been happy if we were sixth or seventh seed going into the season, but now that we're here and we were two seed, we would not be happy falling to the sixth or seventh. So, you know, obviously you want to try and stop the bleeding, but with the injuries that are there outside of making a trade to bring in a steady veteran backup point guard, what what do you do?
00:40:10
Speaker
me, um, I would like to break some news. Uh, your, your Peter Alonzo dreams are going to have to be at home. He's back to the Mets. I don't know what they, whatever they want to do. Right. Um, in terms of the Rockets, my thing, honestly, is I stand path. You're going to make the playoffs, you know, so go to the playoffs, play a playoff round.
00:40:40
Speaker
And honestly, work it like an experiment. We're going to run this team the best way we can with the pieces we have and see what happens. See, you know, does Sengoon step up, play big, or does he shrink? Does Jalen Green step up, play big, or does he become a turnover machine? Uh, what happens with Ayman Thompson? You know what, you know, if you have both Fred Van Vliet and Dylan Brooks, is that enough of veteran presence?
00:41:07
Speaker
You know, I think, you know, if you get Jabari Smith back healthy, you know, what, what does that look like? You know, I would love to see what this team looks like in the postseason. Take your lumps. You probably losing a first or second round and then wait for the summer to make your big splash move. After you looked at a team post playoffs and go like, okay, this is what we need. I tend to agree with you there. I don't think.
00:41:38
Speaker
there's a player that's going to win you a championship that's going to be out there. Anything you do right now is a Band-Aid. And I mean, I'd trade a bench player for the bench player, right? Like I said, I think we need a backup point guard. I think and a guy who can slow things down at the end of the game is needed. So if I have to trade, I don't know, Aaron Holliday for a backup point guard, a true point guard,
00:42:07
Speaker
I'm okay with that. What's Pat Beverly doing these days? Huh? What's Pat Beverly doing these days? Podcasting. i mean He's not in basketball shape. I mean i would have loved Pat Beverly last year, but like i mean the guy's not in basketball shape. Two years maybe two years ago. There's guys out there, right? like We just need a competent Veteran point guard that when Fred van fleet is out can give you 15 or 20 minutes at the end of the game can slow it down Because a minute Thompson is fantastic. He's wonderful in the open court. He is dynamic. He is electric He's also young and he's prone to turnovers and in the biggest moments of the biggest game so far He's made some great plays, but he's also turned the ball over and made bad plays And so sometimes having that veteran out there to help him to guide him to teach him is is really really important You had case Keenum
00:42:58
Speaker
in a, you know, you wouldn't sign Case Keenum at a time that you drafted a quarterback with the second overall pick. And it wasn't so Case Keenum could go out and play. It's so Case Keenum could teach him how to be an NFL quarterback. And so veteran leadership is good. I'm okay with trading out a bench piece for a more efficient bench piece. But outside of that, I'm with you Scott. This team needs to see who they are under the brightest of lights and then and make some decisions based off of that.
00:43:27
Speaker
I mean, I was encouraged overall, but what we when we saw from Reed Shepard, I mean, he made it, you know, a bad decision to shoot, you know, that three at the end of the game, you know, so soon in the shot clock, but, you know, 16 points, quite a few rebounds. I mean, that's, you know, that's an encouraging performance for him. I would love, you know, somebody, another veteran point guard that can sit there and go like, at the end of practice, Reed, you're working with me. We're going to work on your point guard skills.
00:43:54
Speaker
We're going to see what we can get from you yeah in the future. Because right now, that's your future. I did see on and NBA trade rumors that you know Fred Van Vliet and the Rockets are beginning exploratory talks about an extension. Depending on what you know the terms are, that could be a good move. Yeah, we talked about that before. We want them back. We just don't want them back for like $39 million. dollars Yeah. So if it were like $20 million or $15 million, you'd be like,
00:44:24
Speaker
Okay. I get, you know, we could buy that. And so, and and I thought Aaron holiday could play point. I thought he was too, but he, that like, he he does not ever seem to do that. Or if he does, it's not, um, with efficiency, but yeah let's keep it moving, Scott. Let's start giving out some awards. Let's get to that time. Um, who do you have for us as your horse's ass of the week? Horse's ass. We brought him up before Scott Boris.
00:44:53
Speaker
Um, or as I love, I'm going to call him Scott Borass. Um, I've told this story before I've told it on this podcast before, but I'm going to tell the story again.
Scott Boras's Negotiation Tactics
00:45:04
Speaker
Uh, we had the Hendricks brothers, uh, come and talk to us, uh, my saber group, the Hendricks brothers, uh, for those of y'all don't know, they were a big time baseball agency back in the nineties and aughts. And they represented Roger Clemens and Andy Pettit, among other players. Um,
00:45:24
Speaker
And when free agency started, Andy Pettit told them that you're essentially, you're going to go with either the Yankees or the Astros. And as it turns out, he ended up, he ended up getting an offer from the Red Sox that was worth more money. And the Hendricks brothers flat out told the Red Sox, no, because my client does not want to go to Boston.
00:45:52
Speaker
Now, why did he not want to go to Boston? Maybe it's because, you know, the Yankees hate the Red Sox and Red Sox hate the Yankees. And maybe he just couldn't look at himself in the mirror if he became a Red Sox. Maybe he wanted to be a Yankee. And the only thing he would do is come home to Deer Park, you know, where he was from, whatever the case may be. But that is a case where the player told the agent, this is who I want. And we've talked about this before with Alex Bregman.
00:46:22
Speaker
And we, you know, we brought it up before you can make a list of clients a mile long, Chris Bryant in Denver, Jordan Montgomery last year in Arizona, Blake Snell in San Francisco, JD Martinez in New York. And the list goes on and on and on of these guys, Matt Chapman, turning down over $100 million. dollars you know, from the Toronto Blue Jays to take a short term deal with the Giants. The problem is, is that it's twofold what Alex Bregman is concerned. So let's say you sign a four year deal with an opt out. Okay. What do we know about Alex Bregman? Alex Bregman is trash the first month or six weeks of the season. I mean, if you, you can,
00:47:17
Speaker
set your your watch to it, that he's going to suck. Every time that you know he's coming in early in the season, and particularly last year when he bulked up and he was trying to justify getting big money, and he became he turned right back into mostly the same Alex Bregman, but an Alex Bregman that was taking fewer walks and just you know maybe striking out a little bit more than what he did before.
00:47:45
Speaker
So he wasn't as good in Alex Bregman. So what are you going to ask him to do? Let's pretend that he goes to Chicago. ah So going to bring Tim back in here. So talking about Alex Bregman. So let's pretend Alex Bregman goes to Chicago. Now, as a father of a young family, let's pretend you moved to Chicago. What are all the things that you would have to think about and consider?
00:48:15
Speaker
Just as a part of your, you know, part of your life. House. Okay. Cool. I don't think he has any school age kids, but we can insert daycare. New pediatrician, new dentist, new childcare of some sort. Um, I don't even, I mean, furniture shopping, clothes shopping, cause we're moving to Colorado or wherever Chicago where it's going to be a lot colder. So now we gotta.
00:48:42
Speaker
Make sure we have the right clothes. I don't know, like just everything, right? I need a new friend group for my kids, mommy and me, all that other stuff, like everything. So he would sign, if he signed that deal tonight, he's basically got what, about a week and a half until players report, because I think it's less than 10 days for pitchers and catchers. So yeah, on top of that, where does he grocery shop? I mean, he's an HEB guy.
00:49:11
Speaker
I don't think there's any HEB's in Chicago. You're going to be a weakness guy now. You know, where, you know, you mentioned schools. I don't think he has any, any school age kids, but yeah, you got all that stuff that you got to, you know, you got to fight through. And then it's like a new manager, new clubhouse. He knows Kyle Tucker. He knows Ryan Presley. That's basically it. And then you got fans who are probably going to be like,
00:49:37
Speaker
Man, isn't that the cheating bastard that was from Houston? I don't know if we like that. So he's going to have to fight that off. I don't see any way that he goes to Chicago and gets off to a good start. For a guy who already starts slow in general. Exactly. So let's say it's May 15th and here's Alex Bregman hitting 200 with maybe two home runs. What's everybody thinking? Bossed. Exactly.
00:50:04
Speaker
Now, in Houston, we're just like, hey, man, he's just getting warmed up. A typical fragment. He's just getting warmed up, but anywhere else. and And here's the difference. Christian Walker signed, so I remember exactly when he signed because he signed on my last day of teaching in the first semester in December. Because I remember going out to lunch and all of a sudden I hear the blip on the radio. The Astros have signed Christian Walker. So he had all the rest of December.
00:50:34
Speaker
He had all of January. He had, you know, half of February in order to get acclimated to all these things that you were talking about. And so the odds are is that he is set up to be a whole lot better than what Alex pregnant is being set up for. And you look at all of these other players that I mentioned, and I mentioned the long list of, you know, board clients that have had to take less because he fucked his clients over and Blake Snell finished strong, but he started off like shit. Jordan Montgomery started like shit and finished like shit. And now doesn't have a home. I mean, he's a guy that, you know, if you're at the Astros, maybe you go out and he offered him $5 million dollars to see if he can, you know, Huh? He opted into his contract. Oh, he opted in. Oh, nevermind. Sorry. But, you know, JD Martinez got off to the slow start with the Mets.
00:51:31
Speaker
All of these things. And the thing is JD Martinez doesn't have a home. Mainly because when you looked at his numbers last year, you were like, well, he can't play, Tim, he can't play left field. Not everybody can be a left fielder, Tim. He's like David Justice circa money ball. David Justice is available. He is. He can play left field. Yeah, it is senior league.
00:52:00
Speaker
but But in all seriousness, he's bucked over how many different guys. and And the problem is, is again, it's not that, you know, it's not that he's leaving Houston. It's the fact that he's leaving Houston taking less and he's putting them in a horrible position to gamble on himself on a short term deal. yeah i I want Alex Bregman to have success. I'm with you, but The way that this has gone down is frustrating because we were the best offer the whole time and you got bad advice. And now, you know, the team that would have been the best fit for you has essentially moved on. Right. Like, and that's where I'm going to move into my horse's ass is sports media because.
00:52:51
Speaker
We live in a world, Scott, where, like, it used to be more important to get it right than it was to be first, right? Like, you want to be first, but you want to be the first one to get it right. That doesn't matter anymore. Now it's just clicks and views and whatever. So you are okay becoming a soundboard for Scott Boris. You are okay leaking stuff for, you know, Drew Rosenhouse or NBA, um, agents, right? like These reporters have just put bullshit out about the Alex Bregman negotiations that never even happened. They have stuff out there that the Rockets were going to be involved in a three-team trade to acquire Kevin Durant as Jimmy Butler moves to Golden State. like No, they weren't a part of that. like Get it right. you know and and As someone who considers himself a i was a journalism major, I work
00:53:50
Speaker
for a major newspaper, right? So like I'm journalist adjacent. I'm not claiming to be a journalist, but I work in the industry and getting it rights important, especially right now, especially right now. And I get that it's quote unquote, just sports, but there's more important things in just generating conversation. You can have the cover. You can have a great article about the internal talks the Astros are having.
00:54:20
Speaker
But to say that they've re-engaged conversation and then Chandler Rome comes out and says all talks have been internal Well, hmm. Oh and Dana Brown said that too. Right, but Other reporters have said that they re-engaged and then Chandler Brown Chandler Bob Nightingale, I wasn't gonna name names so but I will You know Chandler Rome
00:54:46
Speaker
i trust his I trust him. I know some people do not like the way that he covers the team. I think he does a great job. He's not a fan. He is a beat reporter and he gives you the facts. Yeah, I was going to name namesense. Bob Nightingale has been carrying water for Boris throughout this whole thing. And it's just comical hearing Dana Brown. Yeah, he texted, Scott texted me. I guess I owe him a text back. That was so great. To hear that Dana Brown left Scott Boris on red is Cause you know, they both have iPhones, right? And you know, and he's just like, you fucking read it. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I'm with you there. And I don't know if you've ever, if you reread your stuff and if you find a mistake in your writing, it gnaws at me and that's a grammatical error. Imagine a factual error. Imagine if I just said like,
00:55:44
Speaker
There are four branches of government in the United States. We're going to include, I don't know, Doge is now the fourth branch of government. And you're like, everybody's reading that going like, what the fuck is this guy talking about? How do you venture to be reading it like, this guy's so fucking smart. This guy's onto something. But that's a whole other thing. Let's tip a cap scout before I blow a gasket. You mentioned him.
00:56:14
Speaker
Uh, Dana Brown, thank you. I want to say thank you to Dana Brown for two things. Number one, when it became clear that you were being Scott Boris back in December, you made moves in order to fix it. You went out, you traded Kyle Tucker because you were also being Scott Boris there too. And you knew that, you know, you weren't going to sign them. So you went ahead.
00:56:43
Speaker
and you've fixed your third base problem. So there you go. I heard Isaac Corratus third base. You got a good hitter in the future who can play third base or outfield. And, you know, you got a pitcher who could conceivably be a fit starter. So good on you for that deal. And then you turn around and you sign Christian Walker, who in my opinion was the best first baseman on the free agent market.
00:57:09
Speaker
Yeah, he's not making as much as Peter Lonzo, but Peter Lonzo is, you know, maybe a statue at first base. Whereas Christian Walker is a gold glove level first base. So you made moves in order to figure out how to fix the problem that Alex pregnant was not coming back. You didn't pull what we did back in 2004, 2005. We're like, well, I think Carlos Beltran might come back to us.
00:57:36
Speaker
We're just going to wait by the phone. We're going to wait for Scott to call us back. And I'm sure, Oh shit. We got to play Willie Tavares. So we didn't do that. We actually, you know, Dana Brown made moves to set this team up to be as good as it possibly can be. Now, are we as good a team as we would have been with Kyle Tucker? Maybe not. I'm sure that's, you know, but.
00:58:03
Speaker
are we built to be sustainable through 2025 and then 2026 and beyond? I would say yes, we are. And then further from that, instead of sitting there going like, well, I don't know, maybe Bregman will come back now, you know, because Bob Nightingale is reporting that we're talking, even though I know that as the general manager, we're not, maybe we're talking, maybe maybe something's happening, maybe Crane's talking to him,
00:58:32
Speaker
He went out and said, okay, we're going to sign Ben Gamble. Now has Ben Gamble going to blow anybody's skirt up? No. Ben Gamble is probably good for three, 400 plate appearances exclusively against right-handers. And, you know, he is the mere definition of a good fourth outfielder. Are we done? I don't know. But here's a guy that apparently was given marching orders that you need to spend underneath the first tax threshold.
00:59:02
Speaker
And I would say he's put about as good a baseball team together under those constraints as you possibly can. I tend to agree with you, Scott. And I think the best thing that Dana has done this whole time is if that number for Bregman drops, if, if he has to take that one year deal to prove it, you can still get him in. Like you, you haven't closed the door. That's what he's done. Nicely is like the talks are internal, right? Like we're not opposed to it, but we're not.
00:59:29
Speaker
We're not bidding against ourselves. We've put a number out there. they They didn't like that number. We didn't say later. We just said, okay, and we made some moves. And and and that's a good GM, right? Like you didn't go out there and said, we enjoyed Alex pregnant services, but we've moved on, right? You said that we made moves. We've you know done other things, but the door's never truly been closed just in case, but you're not waiting on it, right? Like you're willing to take advantage of an opportunity But I'm not going to hold everything up for it. And I agree. That's a great hat tip.
01:00:04
Speaker
All right, Scott. i I'm going to tip my cap to the Broadway Dallas or i think's Dallas Broadway. I don't know. The musical this week was phenomenal. It was called Ann Juliet.
01:00:23
Speaker
I don't know if you've seen that one before, no but essentially it's Mrs. Shakespeare shows up on the, on the opening night of Romeo and Juliet. And like William very excitedly tells her about the play and she's like, your ending sucks. We're going to rewrite this ending and Juliet doesn't die. And it's a story of, you know, female empowerment and basically one bad breakup. Does it ruin your whole life? And, um, the girl who played Juliet was so fucking talented.
01:00:53
Speaker
such such good pipes could dance um and then the music for the play was all uh like backstreet boys britney spears in sync very well done um i know you're a theater guy yourself so anytime i i get to see a great show like that um i do want to make sure you you tip the cap to the uh to the talented thespians that that got it done we we actually went to a play that was a world premiere And we got audience participation, Tim.
Theater Experiences and Audience Participation
01:01:25
Speaker
So basically they were, um, it was basically a couple following them over like a 20 year period where, and the first scene, one's a professor, one's a student. And so they can't, and it was an older, it was an older woman who was 20 years older than, than, than the guy. And so then they come up, the second scene is like eight years later and they're just reconnecting. And so, uh,
01:01:51
Speaker
the the the female actress, like, I think it's time for you to go and this guy from the first row, yeah, get off the stage, man. And and you're just like, and you can see his wife was just mortified. um So that was that was pretty funny. Yeah, it was pretty bad. You know, my wife and I have talked about the, I don't know, degradation or just the,
01:02:20
Speaker
dropping class of the people who attend the theater, but it's different now, right? Like I still like to dress nice. I like, she she mentioned I could just wear a polo, but like, no, I i felt like I needed to have ah at least a full button down shirt. Like I'm not wearing a jacket, but I get there and there's dudes in fucking shorts, jeans, leggings. You know, we had, I don't know what, like the place that you guys do yours, but like in our theater, they have the option You can have dinner there first. They have like a restaurant that has a really nice buffet carving station Unbelievable do 37 bucks a person and I'm eating filet mignon and chicken marsala and salmon and and soup and Sal is wonderful but like you look around this restaurant, it's like you have people like myself who are you know button down or whatever you've got people in in jackets and
01:03:10
Speaker
And then you've got shorts, t-shirt, and fucking hat. Like, this isn't the movies. This is the theater. Step it the fuck up. Yeah, we've seen that at ours. we We don't have food beforehand. We're actually next to beer paredes. So I don't know if you're familiar with beer paredes. um But, you know, pretty good Italian food. I mean, not bad. um So, you know, they they pretty they accommodate us pretty well when we do go there because they they know that most of their patrons are going to the play.
01:03:40
Speaker
so that they speed that process up. But yeah, it would be nice to have you know an in-house meal. it's It's the first time we did it. um And my wife and I, while we were sitting there, made reservations for the next play because of how much we enjoyed it. Because normally we had been trying to find a nice restaurant and yeah time it. And then you know even leaving the house at 5, get the downtown area by 6, play starts at 7.30. So really want to be there by 7.15 so I can get my hearing device, all that stuff.
01:04:09
Speaker
and just being there and getting phenomenal food and you're already there. Like it was just, it was great. I highly recommend it for any of our Dallas listeners to go see, and and I recommend Ann Juliette. It was so fucking good. If you're a 90s kid like me, you'll love the music and and the girl who played Juliette Scott, like again, I cannot talk enough about how talented she was. She's from Dallas. She played the part on Broadway.
01:04:37
Speaker
And then she reprised the role with this touring group as well. So really has a connection to the part. and She just, she fucking nailed it, man. And it's like, you've been there when you see someone nail in it and it's just like, it's, it's, it's, it's amazing to see. So for the next portion, I think we have a tandem thing going. So did you want to lead off or did you want me to lead off? I'll lead off. ah I'll go ahead and lead off and I'll make a big
Criticism of NFL and DEI Issues
01:05:03
Speaker
announcement. The NFL made the announcement.
01:05:06
Speaker
They've ended racism Scott. Let's have a round of applause. for really everybody kind of applauduse racism everybody Racism is done. Racism is finished. We did it guys. We fucking did it. But no, for real. That's why the NFL is a scumbag. You've had end racism in the back of your end zones for like four years now. I think it is. You've had it all season long. And then Donald Trump announces he's going to come to the Superbowl.
01:05:32
Speaker
And faster than it's going to take for brawny james to get cut when the broad signs somewhere else you announce that you're removing the end racism sign From the stadium and out of the end zone very obvious what happened you Are bending a knee to the fucking fascist is your So that way he becomes the first president active sitting president to come to super bowl. Who who cares? Like i'm, sorry. Do you are you?
01:06:01
Speaker
thinking that we need to spend the money as taxpayers to make sure that the Super Bowl is secure enough for the fucking president to be there. Because I don't think we need to spend that much money. He can watch at home like everybody else. But no, we're going to we're going to bend the knee to him and remove the end racism signs. So that way, Donald Trump shows up at the Super Bowl like. Well, but you can't. Most of the players are black. What are we fucking doing? You can't make him feel uncomfortable, Tim, you know, that that Bishop, you know, asked him to live out the beatitudes. And that it was just horrible, Tim. How could you ask your president to live out the beatitudes? How could you ask him to show mercy? And so, you know, having him sit there and having a sign that says end racism when he's one of the biggest racists in the country, that's going to make him feel bad, Tim. We can't do that. We can't make him feel bad.
01:06:58
Speaker
You would think that sitting in a diaper filled with your own human shit would make you uncomfortable. Apparently that does it, but a little spray paint on some grass. who Fuck that. Well, I guess you get used to it over the intervening years. Do you think he gets diaper rash? I have to put some cream on my baby's bottom if we don't get to that poop fast enough. I wonder if someone has to.
01:07:24
Speaker
Put a little doctor doctor. He's got the boudreaux. He's got the boudreaux fucking ass. He's got the Diet Coke. I thought I hit the Diet Coke button. Why are you bringing me the boudreaux? I should let whoever does it know that aquifer, I think is the name of it. We have a new, we've had some luck with that on the, on the diaper rash. So, uh, maybe they should try that. We were big boudreaux, big boudreaux family. So, you know, that's, that's where we went on that one. But yeah.
01:07:52
Speaker
So to tandem off of you, so I'm going with the new undersecretary of state and then I pulled it up on my phone because I have to make sure I read this quote on X word for word. Darren Beatty, the new undersecretary of state, quote, confident white men must be in charge if you want things to work.
01:08:18
Speaker
Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities and demoralizing competent white men. So I'm sure you're shocked to hear this, Tim, but education is a female-dominated field. There is no way I could function if I believed like this. There's no way.
01:08:46
Speaker
And the reason I know this is because I had a former colleague, I'm not going to name. In the first year our building opened, he got his ass shit canned because, you know, he was struggling as a teacher. And I and other people were sitting there trying to tell him like, this is, you know, what you need to do, dude. And he wasn't doing it. Like one time he came with me like a stack of papers of graded papers. I mean, see if you can see it on camera this tall.
01:09:16
Speaker
And they've been all been graded over the course of like nine weeks. And he's came to me, he's like, what do I do with these? I was like, you hand them back. And he's like, really? And so we had a, um, our English specialist now, but and but then was a white female. His mentor teacher was a white female.
01:09:46
Speaker
And so he said, I do not want to be mentored by a woman. I refuse to be mentored by a woman. So they had to bring in a guy from somewhere else in the district to come in and watch him teach and basically model a lesson for him. And of course it didn't work because he didn't follow that guy's instructions either, but.
01:10:13
Speaker
I am so sick and tired and and I saw this quote today and I actually believe it. If you are against DEI, you should be forced to say each of those words fully out loud. And you should tell us which one of those words are you against. Diversity, equity, inclusion. So tell me, which of those three words are you against? Oh, I don't like diversity.
01:10:42
Speaker
Okay. Well, you're a fucking racist or you're a sexist or you're both, you're an equal opportunity asshole. I don't know. Are you against equity? I don't like things being equal motherfucker. I'm a white male. I should be in charge. I should be promoted above my level of competence because I'm a white male inclusion. Maybe we're going to cancel all this special ed crap because, you know, why do we want to include children that might have a disability?
01:11:12
Speaker
Why do we want to try to include people that might be talented, but, you know, come from backgrounds that are underrepresented? Why would we want to do that? What's the purpose of that? So basically this guy is announcing on X that I'm a racist and sexist asshole. And he gets hired to the second highest position in the department of state. So I don't know.
01:11:38
Speaker
And then I saw what, you know, the head of the department of state negotiated today, which I sent you in a text. So, you know, this whole country is going to hell in a handbasket pretty damn fast. Yeah. It's, uh, it's pretty fucked up because I don't know about you Scott. Like I'd like to think I'm pretty competent. Um, and I don't feel like I've been passed over any point. I don't, you know, if I didn't get a job, I'm sure there were people that were better than me.
01:12:06
Speaker
If a black guy got a job over the me, he's probably deserved it more than me. Like I am just now becoming really fucking good at what I do. Um, and I don't feel like my race has ever hurt me at all. And as you're a girl, dad, I have two beautiful daughters. If you make this fucking world harder for them, can I have to deal with me? Right? Like I, you deal with my, you're a teacher.
01:12:37
Speaker
And what is your least favorite kind of mom, Scott? Uh, usually the helicopter mom. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. They get up in your shit, right? They have no problem dropping by the school, telling you off, telling you it's your problem. Want to guess what kind of dad I can be? Wanna guess if you could stop by some elected officials' offices and bitch my fucking ass off when you fuck with my kids?
01:13:01
Speaker
Cause phone calls don't cut it, but your office can be visited and I can watch my complaint in person and it'll be loud and annoying. And it's my right to do so. I'm not trespassing. I'm just going to show up every day. Say, Hey, you fucking suck. And then leave. How about that? How about that? Well, here's, here's what we know, Tim. Uh, you mentioned our daughters. Your wife is one of the tops on her field.
01:13:26
Speaker
As you mentioned it before, and based on the honors that she has been given, you know, and the responsibility she's been given, she's one of the best teachers at her school, if not the best teacher at her school. My wife is the smartest person I know. And she is more, much more than competent. And I can tell you that she's been passed over numerous times because she's a woman. And she could run laps around the guys that they hired mentally.
01:13:55
Speaker
but We don't need DEI because obviously, and like the NFL said, racism's over. Good job, guys. We did it. we and On the back, we did it. you know and We got a governor who's in a wheelchair. We don't need DEI in Texas because we have a fucking wheelchair governor. We're good. We're covered. He's our total fucking invalid. And this is what kills me and to be honestly dead serious here for a second. And this is what I think those people don't realize is that you know,
01:14:25
Speaker
know you're one of the best at what you do. 10 years ago, Tim wasn't that guy. I know now I'm one of the best at what I do. 10 years ago, Scott wasn't that guy. And so 10 years ago, Scott would have been like, Oh, getting my passing me by I don't understand because I wasn't fucking good enough, had to get better.
01:14:51
Speaker
And so all these people is like, I can't stand all these minorities and women who get hired over me. Well, man up, be better at what you do. Yeah. I think that's an interesting point too, Scott, because I applied for like similar jobs to what I do now 10 years ago, right? Like I wanted to work in marketing at the level that I do now and I never got the role. And was there some thoughts on why I did it? Get it? Sure. But now that I work there.
01:15:20
Speaker
and understand what it involves. I also know like I had no fucking experience. I had no idea what marketing was. I i i lied on a resume and hoped I would get the call because I ran the street team at Grimaldi's. But at the end of the day, I hadn't paid my dues. I hadn't done anything to deserve that position and I hadn't shown it on paper. If you can't show what you're worth, you don't deserve any of it. And we live in um a world where The mentality is that people are owed things, right? And they've been kept down for too long or, you know, other people got things that should have been rightfully theirs because of their race or because they are a woman or because, um, you know, I don't know. Because they're from California and I live in a farm land state, whatever the fuck it is, right? Like people have gotten it in their heads that other people are getting something that they didn't get. And at the end of the day, you may not have got something.
01:16:18
Speaker
But it doesn't mean that someone else got it because you didn't. It means we live in a competitive world and and you got beat. When when we play golf and and I beat you, it's not because I'm white. It's not because...
01:16:38
Speaker
Yeah, right. it's like If I beat you and I play golf, I'm not talking about you, Scott. I'm talking about anybody who listens to the podcast. the other You're not fucking beating me. But the odds are, if I do beat you, it's not because I'm white. It's not because I have IBS. It's not because anything other than the fact that I'm fucking better than you. And I've put in more hours in this game than almost anybody I know. That's the difference. I'm a fucking expert.
01:17:05
Speaker
I'm an expert at what I do now, so I have the job that I have. I was it earlier, so I couldn't get it. That's the difference. Make yourself fucking good at what you do, and none of the other shit matters. That's what should, that's the world we should live in, but we don't. To buy into the golf analogy the for a second, this is where people are talking about stuff that really doesn't matter at the end of the day.
Golf and Voting Analogies
01:17:28
Speaker
So to go into your analogy of why you beat me and go like, you didn't beat me, I hit more fairways than you did.
01:17:36
Speaker
You didn't beat me. I didn't have any penalty strokes. You got a penalty stroke. You didn't beat me. I hit more greens than you did. You notice how it's everything except for the score, Tim. It's the same thing with the voting. Well, look at all the land that voted. Look at all the counties that voted. Look at, you know, the size of his rally. Look at all the people buying his shit. And none of that matters.
01:18:04
Speaker
And the same thing with golf. You're going to beat me because you're a better putter than I am. Even if I could hit the ball like you, you're a better putter than I am. So you're going to beat me. And so I could sit there and go like, I hit more fairways than you. And you'd be, yeah, cause I'm 300 yards down here and you're 205. Fuck you. And then that would be what it, that's exactly what it is. Yeah. It's a great analogy, Scott. It really is. Right.
01:18:33
Speaker
Like at the end of the day, all the other shit doesn't matter if you lose. Like final scores is what we live and die by as athletes and and the other shit shouldn't matter. But for some reason we've made it matter. Um, and, and we don't understand as a society how to work together and we don't understand.
Political Insights and Podcast Conclusion
01:18:50
Speaker
We're being paid against each other, right? Like corporations want us fighting so they can keep fucking stealing from us. And I know this is a sports podcast, but we talked at the top of the show. It's going to get a little political today. Um,
01:19:02
Speaker
I do hope that those who listen to us maybe check out our substack.
01:19:07
Speaker
it's It's getting real out there, guys. And I don't want to end on a somber note like that, but it's it's a very scary world here in America right now. Absolutely, Tim. All right. Well, we appreciate everybody who joined us this week. We look forward to being back next week. Hey, maybe Alex Bregman will pick a home. We don't know. I doubt it.
01:19:27
Speaker
but He's going to be like Dallas Keichel on the sign in April. But we appreciate everybody who joined us. We look forward to seeing everybody back next week here on Born on the Bayou Sports. So long, farewell. We'll see you next time.