ASTROS head to Chicago + JAE’SEAN TATE signs with Rockets

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast — July 24, 2026

Episode Overview:
This episode dives into Houston sports’ latest headlines, focusing on the Astros’ road series against the Chicago White Sox and the news of Jae’Sean Tate’s return to the Houston Rockets. Hosts Sean Pendergast and B. Scott (in for Seth Payne) blend analysis and friendly banter to unpack the Astros’ season outlook, the legitimacy of their upcoming opponent, and roster depth questions for the Rockets. The conversation also touches on broader NBA perspectives and fan questions about radio coverage, delivering both insight and entertainment for Houston sports fans.

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Astros Head to Chicago: Litmus Test Against the White Sox

Main Theme:
The Astros’ upcoming series against the surprisingly strong White Sox is a key measuring stick for Houston’s season, highlighting where they stand against top American League competition.

Key Discussion Points:

• White Sox’s Turnaround:

  • B. Scott points out how the White Sox, long a struggling franchise, have mirrored the Astros’ upward trajectory from a decade ago.
  • “The Chicago White Sox for the last few years have basically been what the Astros were from, like, 2010 through 2013. So this was kind of maybe supposed to be their 2014 year.” (01:04 – B. Scott)

• White Sox Lead the Division:

  • With a strong record (54–47), the White Sox aren’t merely a wild card contender; they’re atop their division by a game and a half.
  • “The White Sox are not in there [wild card]...because they lead their division by a game and a half right now.” (01:47 – Sean Pendergast)

• Quality of Opponent & Astros’ Season Context:

  • B. Scott compares this series to the recent series against the Rays, calling it a “litmus test” for the legitimacy of the Astros against top AL competition.
  • “It’s a legit opponent...this kind of reminds me...when they played the Rays. It’s like, this is a good litmus test, because these are supposed to be the good teams in the American League. How do you stack up against those?” (02:02 – B. Scott)
  • The Astros are described as a “middling to below .500 baseball team” at this point in the season. (02:23 – B. Scott)

Memorable Moment:

B. Scott’s family connection to the area brings a personal touch:

• “My dad’s from Gary, Indiana. Chicago sports fans...so Comiskey Park is the only other ballpark that I’d ever been to before I started doing this professionally...I met Doug Drabek by accident at a birthday party in the Woodlands.” (02:51-03:39 – B. Scott)

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Jae’Sean Tate Re-Signs with the Rockets: Depth, Experience, and Realism

Main Theme:
The show transitions to the Rockets re-signing Jae’Sean Tate, exploring his role as a consummate role player and the team’s roster outlook for 2026.

Key Discussion Points:

• Tate as the Archetypal Role Player:

  • “He is a role player’s role player. Yeah, he is. He is in the NBA on blood, sweat and tears.” (05:00 – Sean Pendergast)
  • Comparison to Daria Gumba Wale (NFL) as a cross-sport example of a valuable but specialized veteran presence.

• Roster Stability & Concerns:

  • The presence of veterans Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams gives some stability, but there is caution about relying too much on older, injury-prone players.
    • “I am nervous because they are still so reliant on the old guys. They’re an old team.” (07:02, 07:10 – B. Scott)
  • B. Scott questions the wisdom of hoping for full health from aging stars:
    • “They're a year older and a year more injured, and everything's just going to work out like it did two years ago?” (07:14 – B. Scott)
  • Both are particularly concerned about Steven Adams’ and Fred VanVleet’s injury histories and the necessity of load management:
    • “You're going to have to load manage this team. Because of biology. Because of anatomy. Because of an exploding knee.” (09:12–09:22 – B. Scott & Sean)

• Team Outlook and Standing in the West:

  • Despite their concerns, B. Scott sees the Rockets as a tier below San Antonio and Oklahoma City but competitive with the rest of the West.
    • “They're clearly in a tier behind San Antonio and Oklahoma City, but I still like them against the rest of the West.” (09:24 – B. Scott)

• Projected Win Total:

  • B. Scott places the over/under at 51 wins, noting past results and that the team will likely remain in the playoff mix, if a slight step back from recent years:
    • “I'm going to go 51. They've won 52 each of the last two years...They take a slight step back, but they're relatively the same team and right there in the thick of it.” (10:21–10:27 – B. Scott)

Notable Quote:

• “Anytime you hang around in any professional league for seven years, yeah, you're clearly doing something right.” (04:51 – Sean Pendergast)

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Listener Q&A: Radio Signal Reach

Main Theme:
A quick listener question addresses the upcoming shift from AM to FM radio broadcasting, with assurances to local fans.

• “If you're in Alvin, you got nothing to worry about...with the changeover to 95.7 The Fan.” (11:08 – Sean)
• “Short answer, you good.” (11:11 – B. Scott)

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Overall Tone and Style

The conversation is lively, opinionated, and friendly—balancing real-sports analysis with relatable Houston anecdotes and listener engagement. The hosts’ chemistry shines through personalized stories and mutual banter.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On the White Sox’s rise:

  • “They are surprisingly good. And this is not fool's gold...you got enough data...to say just what it is, right?...The White Sox, meanwhile, are legitimately good...Really good run differential, one of the best in the American League. So, yeah, they're legit.” (01:56 – B. Scott)

• On Tate’s NBA tenure:

  • “He is a role player's role player. Yeah, he is. He is in the NBA on Blood, Sweat and tears.” (05:00 – Sean Pendergast)
  • “Seven years in the NBA for Jayshawn Tate. Props, dude.” (05:52 – Sean)

• On Rockets’ injury concerns:

  • “I am nervous because they are still so reliant on the old guys.” (07:10 – B. Scott)
  • “You're going to have to load manage this team...because of biology...because of anatomy...because of an exploding knee.” (09:12 – 09:23 – B. Scott & Sean)

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Important Timestamps

• White Sox Discussion Begins: 00:30
• B. Scott’s Family/Comiskey Story: 02:51–03:39
• Jae’Sean Tate Returns: 04:22
• Rockets Roster Depth Concerns: 07:02
• Projected Win Total: 10:21
• Listener Q&A on Radio Shift: 11:08

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In Summary

This episode of Payne & Pendergast delivers a tight Houston-centric sports hour, assessing the Astros’ position against a surging White Sox club and the realities of the Rockets’ aging roster. The banter is equally instructive and entertaining—making it easy for any H-Town fan to catch up on their teams’ latest storylines, concerns, and optimism.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, my name is Lloyd Lockridge, and I'm the host of a new podcast from Odyssey called Family Lore. In this podcast, I'm going to have people on to tell unusual and sometimes far fetched stories about their families.

[B]

I've heard my whole life that she invented the margarita.

[A]

And then we're going to investigate those stories and find out how much of it is true.

[B]

He gets a patent one month before the Wright brothers. Oh, my God.

[A]

Please follow and listen to Family Lore, an Odyssey podcast, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.

[B]

Protective Services, pain and pender gas with today's headlines. All right, let's get to headlines. No Astro headline from last night. They didn't play and nothing happened in the standings to affect them. At least as I checked. Going to bed last night, two games out. It would probably be a good solid radio thing to do to actually check and see if anything happened late in the evening to. To affect their standing. Just know that the Astros are in Chicago to take on the resurgent Chicago White Sox. Yeah, they. The Chicago White Sox for the last few years have basically been what the Astros were from, like, 2010 through 2013.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So this was kind of maybe supposed to be their 2014 year. Like when the Astros went from being a 51 win team to like, hey, they won 70 games. I think the Astros went 70 and 92 in 2014. So you could start to see, you know, you could start to see the vision, the features of the, you know, like, oh, yeah, that, that could be good someday. Oh, this Springer guy, I like him. They brought him up. They drafted this Korea guy, hear good things about him down in the minors. That was kind of supposed to be this year for the White Sox. Lo and behold, the White Sox are 54 and 47. Yeah, they're leading the way right now. If you're. If you go look at wild card standings, the White Sox are not in there. Why? Because they lead their division by a game and a half right now.

[C]

Yeah, man, they. They are surprisingly good. And this is not fool's gold. Cause we were talking about this earlier in the show. We're at a point in the season where you got enough data, sample size, whatever you want to call it, to say just what it is, right? And unfortunately, the Astros are, you know, middling to below.500 baseball team. And the White Sox, meanwhile, are legitimately good, leading their division. Really good run differential, one of the best in the American League. So, yeah, they're. They're legit. It's a Legit opponent. This kind of reminds me of a couple of weeks back or whatever it was when they played the Rays. It's like, this is a good litmus test, because these are supposed to be the good teams in the American League. How do you stack up against those? Makes the series all the more interesting for me.

[B]

And they took two out of three from the Rays.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

Yeah. And now they go on the road against the White Sox. You have family up in that part of the country, roots up there?

[C]

Yeah, my dad's from Gary. Gary, Indiana. Chicago sports fans.

[B]

Yeah. Which is basically like, Gary is almost attached, like, at least psychologically, to the south side of Chicago.

[C]

It is, it is.

[B]

So do you have White Sox fans in your family? Yeah, he's a White Sox.

[C]

So Comiskey park is the only other ballpark that I'd ever been to before I started doing this professional. The old Comiskey Park. And you know who pitched that day? This is funny now. Doug Drabeck, former Astro at the time, who I had actually met as a little kid. Cause his son, it was either Kyle or whichever one is my age, was at a birthday party for my cousin.

[B]

No way.

[C]

In the Woodlands. Dude. So I met Doug Drabek by accident at a birthday party in the Woodlands. And then two years later, he's pitching for the White Sox. Watching him pitch, and I'm watching him in Comiskey Park.

[B]

That's crazy.

[C]

All of this before I'm like, 9 or 10 years old.

[B]

This is your life, B. Scott, brought to you by. Yeah, yeah. There's space available.

[C]

Yeah. But all that to say the White Sox are good. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I just got thinking when I was putting headlines together, I'm like. I like, in my. In my gut, I feel like B. Scott's got ties to that part of the country. I'll be up Gary, Indiana. Oh, okay. Cool. Visiting family up there.

[C]

Just doing a trip. I actually have not been to Chicago or Gary since I was a teenager.

[B]

So you're going to Chicago?

[C]

Going to Chicago. But I'm going to drive my girlfriend to Gary to show her the.

[B]

Show your roots.

[C]

I'm one of those memory lane people.

[B]

Show your roots.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Do people. Is Michael Jackson's house a big landmark up there?

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

Okay, so you'll drive her by that, too? Absolutely.

[C]

On Jackson Street.

[B]

Be fun. Safe travels, my man.

[C]

Yeah, man.

[B]

All right, headlines. We continue. Guess who's back, B. Scott. Jayshawn Tate is back with the Houston Rockets.

[C]

You don't say.

[B]

Trying to think of who the Equivalent of Jayson Tate is across the other teams.

[C]

Daria Goomba Walla.

[B]

He's the Daria Goomba Walla. Yes, that's exactly what it is, Daria.

[C]

But I, I mean, I like Jean, like personally and everything. Dari is actually, I think he probably more value. At least. Dory can like kick. He can kick for you. He can run the ball. He's special team.

[B]

Dari. This is no disrespect to Jay Shante who anytime you, anytime you hang around in the, any professional league for seven years, yeah, you're clearly doing something right.

[C]

And he is.

[B]

And he is. He, He's. If he gets brought into big games at big times against good teams, there is, there is a noticeable difference in Jayshawn versus a lot of the other guys out on the floor. It's just what it is. Like he's a, he is a role players. Role player. Yeah, he is. He is in the NBA on Blood, Sweat and tears.

[C]

It's. It's almost like. And I, I know a lot of people didn't watch a whole bunch of summer league, but, but you can watch the summer league sometimes and tell who are the NBA players. Like even potential NBA players and who are the guys that don't belong in the NBA at all. Like, maybe they'll make money overseas, but they're not an NBA player. It's kind of like that when Jayson Tate is in the game. It's like, okay, this is an NBA player. This guy looks like you can really tell he did everything he could to get here.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, these are NBA players. This is a guy who has a check with an NBA logo on it.

[C]

Bingo.

[B]

And so, but, but I honestly like seven years in the NBA for Jayshawn Tate. Props, dude. Yeah, yeah, like props. Now he may not even make the team ultimately. Who knows? Michael Shapiro of the Chronicle laid out kind of what the Rockets roster looks like right now. It is nice having the roster have Fred Van Vliet's name on it and Stephen Adams name on and go, okay, well, at least for a while we can count on these guys. You know, like, okay, these get. We, we can, we can talk about a Rockets team that includes these names, right? And we don't have to talk about them like, well, when they come back next year. The Second World War is the largest event in human history. A 20 part series with Tom Hanks. No part of the globe was untouched. No life unchanged. Experience.

[C]

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[B]

Every single person had a story. These are the stories that make us who we are.

[C]

Listen to World War II with Tom

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Hanks on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. It's going to be much, much, much better. So how do you feel about the depth of this team right now?

[C]

So I actually am nervous because they are still so reliant on the old guys.

[B]

They're an old team.

[C]

I didn't mind.

[B]

Their old tier is old.

[C]

Well, and here's the thing. I liked the idea of what they were trying to do last year. The team that they were trying to put together last year. I didn't think there was any shame in that. In Fred Van Vliet, Stephen Adams, this kind of like bully ball. We're going to get offensive rebounds. We're going to be kind of a rugged team. I didn't hate what they were trying to do last year. I question if that is the proper approach to try to just replicate that this year and just say, we're going to insert these guys that weren't healthy for us last year. They're a year older and a year more injured and everything's just going to work out like it did two years ago.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So I'm, I am nervous about it. I like. I actually like what they've brought in. I just don't know if it's enough.

[B]

I'm nervous. I'm nervous about both Fred Van Vliet and Steven Adams for different reasons. Well, actually, same category, reasons injury related. I'm nervous about Steven Adams because he's. He's been injured a lot.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Over the last few years in a, you know, in an ankle sprain, knocks him out for the entire season last year after 20 games in.

[C]

And you got to see how clearly important he was to what they were trying to do.

[B]

Clearly important.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The Van Vliet thing, you know, Van Van Vliet, if I'm not mistaken, before tearing his knee up last year, had been really durable. Like Van Vliet answered the bell. But a guy north of, you know, 30, 31, 32, whatever Fred is, I think he's 32. And then when he. I don't know, what were your thoughts when he revealed that the injury was actually maybe more damaging than we thought it was, that there's some meniscus involved. As I felt gas lit because they

[C]

were talking about him coming back after the All Star break or trying to make a run for the playoffs.

[B]

They were still talking about him like in February and March, like giving updates on him.

[C]

And I'm like, well, surely they already knew that his knee had Blown up at this point. So why would they ever even say that? You know, like, there was clearly no chance that the guy was ever coming back last year. And even to the point now where I think we can confidently say that the dude's not going to even be able to play back to backs this year. Coming off of an ACL and meniscus.

[B]

Yeah. Like age 33 or 32, whatever he is.

[C]

You will have to. And not because of the wussification of sports. Because we're soft. You're going to have to load. Manage this team.

[B]

Because of biology.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Because of anatomy.

[C]

Because of an exploding knee.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

Trying to recover. So, yeah, no, I still think that they're. They're clearly in a tier behind San Antonio and Oklahoma City, but I still like them against the rest of the West. I think they measure up fine against everybody else. That's just that those other teams are also.

[B]

What do you think? Their Vegas. They may have Vegas season win totals out right now. I think everything's on hold till LeBron makes a decision.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And by the way, we've got some audio that we'll get to in the 7 o' clock hour. There is one prediction out there about LeBron and the Rockets from a former Rocket. Yeah, I just want to kick it around, you know.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I was glad to see this guy. I thought he'd fallen off the face of.

[B]

Yeah, I was, too. I was, too. So we'll get to that in the. In the. In the seven o' clock hour. But if you had to put a season win total out there for the Rockets, it's the B. Scott Sportsbook. And you got to put a number out there that you think is going to get fair amount of action on both sides. So you get to collect your vig. What do you think it is?

[C]

I'm going to go 51.

[B]

51.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

They've won 52 each of the last two years.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

They take a slight step back, but they're relatively the same team and right there in the thick of it. Now, 52 got him the 2 seed one year and it got him the 5th seed the next year.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

So what does that mean for them? I have no idea.

[B]

Yeah, the. The context will come in the rest of the West. For what it's worth, 52 and a half was their number last year.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But I think the vibes on the team were better last year than they

[C]

are right now, you think?

[A]

Correct.

[B]

This time a year ago they were.

[C]

Yes, they absolutely were.

[B]

Yep. Text message. So going from AM to 100,000 watt FM. How much more of a radius will the signal be in terms of broadcasting? Miles. That's from Choppa and Alvin. I'm telling you, if you're in Alvin, you got nothing to worry about, right? Zero to worry about with the changeover to 95. Seven the fan.

[C]

Yeah, the short answer is a lot, but you're good.

[B]

Short answer, you good?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Short answer, you good. All right, Sean Pendergast with you. B. Scott in for Seth Payne. Into the 7 o' clock hour we go. We will hit some Rockets and some NBA at about 7:27 25 today. Coming up next, CJ Stroud. You and I have not talked much about CJ over the last couple of days, B. Scott, but CJ is getting it from every corner of the NFL universe in the off season. Not in a good way. We know that front office and personnel. We know what that vote looked like. I'm starting to get the feeling. I'm not starting to. I've got the feeling of what the top 100 is looking like right now. There's another corner of the universe, too, that I feel like kind of little dismissive of. C.J. we'll tell you who that was coming up. Hey, this is Richard Deutsch, the host of the Sports Media Podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with

[C]

all the places where you consume sports,

[B]

the sports media podcast has you covered. I've been turning down interviews all week. Coda Copy reached out. Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said no. I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.