Astros should take advantage of their situation and become sellers

Summary

Payne & Pendergast Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Astros should take advantage of their situation and become sellers
Date: July 21, 2026
Hosts: Sean Pendergast & Seth Payne
Podcast: Payne & Pendergast (Audacy)

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Episode Overview

The central theme of this episode is whether the Houston Astros, in the midst of a middling season, should embrace the opportunity presented by a crowded but underwhelming American League and become sellers at the trade deadline. Sean and Seth break down the current state of the roster, pitching and hitting highlights, and debate whether it’s time for Houston to cash in on assets like Jeremy Peña and focus on a longer-term rebuild or retool, given limited upward mobility in 2026. The hosts also sprinkle in their trademark banter, baseball analogies, and sidetrack briefly with Texans and NCAA sports updates.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Astros' Recent Win and Roster Positivity

• Opening Recap (00:44–02:08):
  • Sean and Seth celebrate a rare Astros win post-All-Star break, highlighting key performances: Jeremy Peña's grand slam and Yordan Alvarez home run.
  • They acknowledge that while the victory was energizing, it remained “a little bit more harrowing than it needed to be,” illustrating the underlying issues of the roster.

"Kind of the perfect encapsulation of what you have with this baseball team. Yeah, you’ve got some really good players...and yet it was also a little bit more uncomfortable than it needed to be."
—Sean Pendergast (01:44)

2. Pitching Woes and Blanco’s Return

• Analyzing Starter Performance (02:08–04:04):
  • Renell Blanco’s first start off Tommy John surgery is discussed. Though encouraging, it was far from dominant (didn’t make it through five innings, high pitch count, allowed two home runs).
  • Command was improved: “He got ahead of almost every hitter he faced...” (Seth Payne, 02:22)
  • The notion that “our deadline acquisitions are just the injured guys coming back” is both joked about and criticized as insufficient.

3. The Yordan Alvarez Factor & The Trade Deadline Dilemma

• Triple Crown Watch and Asset Maximization (04:37–06:39):
  • Yordan Alvarez leads or is tied at the top in all major Triple Crown stats (HR, RBI, AVG) in the AL.
  • Reference to Chandler Rome's article: Does Alvarez’s transcendent season obligate the Astros to buy at the deadline to not “waste” it? Is it a “moral obligation” to build around generational performances?
  • Both hosts question the wisdom of trading young prospects just for an outside MVP/Triple Crown bid.

"We owe it to this guy...to put the best team around him...But is that a good reason to go trading prospects so that one individual can win a piece of hardware?"
—Sean Pendergast (05:59)

4. The Mediocrity of the AL and the Seller’s Opportunity

• Market Analysis (08:08–14:41):
  • Widespread AL mediocrity means more teams fancy themselves contenders—even with small playoff odds.
  • External chatter: Alex Rodriguez suggests the Yankees should trade for Jeremy Peña.
  • The Red Sox’s surge, Jeremy Peña’s New England ties, and heightened theoretical demand for Astros assets put Houston in a seller’s market.
  • Seth raises whether Houston fans should hope for one-off wins, or instead prefer a clear-eyed opportunity to maximize returns from this year’s “elite flea market” of buyers.

"There is an opportunity here in the mediocrity of the American League...if you look at the team rationally and you go, ‘we don’t really have much to trade to go compete for the better players that are going to put us over the top’...There is an opportunity to start playing these teams off of each other and turn it into an eBay situation..."
—Seth Payne (09:29)

5. The Comparative Team Analysis: Astros vs. Tigers

• Run Differential & Real Quality (12:09–14:17):
  • Astros’ minus-50 run differential vs. Tigers’ plus-33, despite identical records.
  • The Tigers are trending up, likely to be buyers, not sellers—a lens on why record alone is misleading and why Houston’s on-field product is particularly flawed.
  • Seth lists 9 potential AL buyers, suggesting a robust sellers’ market if Jim Crane (Astros) were to move premium assets.

6. Farm System, Prospect Value, and Trade Philosophy

• Rebuild Debate (15:06–16:16):
  • Sean is hesitant to trade away any farm-system depth mere months after a rare strong draft.
  • They mull over what trades (player-for-player or seller-style) could look like if Houston pulled the trigger on moving stars like Peña or shedding salaries (Christian Walker discussion).

7. Lance McCullers Jr. Tangent

• Reliever Role & Former Astros (16:24–20:59):
  • Lance’s debut in Milwaukee is recapped; Sean is frustrated at him embracing a reliever role now after years refusing it in Houston.
  • Seth is disengaged: “I like Lance. I don’t care about Lance McCullers anymore. I don’t care about him anymore as a baseball player.” (20:01)
  • Humorous, lightly exasperated tone; the kind of sidebar that makes their on-air rapport shine.

8. Jeremy Peña Trade Value

• Prospects and Arbitration Clock (21:31–22:59):
  • Listeners ask what a Jeremy Peña trade would net. Seth admits he doesn’t know the prospect names, but “at least one or two guys are significantly high up the food chain of those respective teams.”
  • Peña’s arbitration status provides extra value; acquiring teams would get a year and a half of control.

9. Astros Season Reset & Fan Sentiment

• Managing Expectations (23:00–24:13):
  • Some listeners blame Payne & Pendergast for “resetting the season” and jinxing the Astros.
  • Sean retorts that “they got up to mediocre,” and disagrees that just returning to average is any form of organizational triumph.

"You can’t credit the same manager and GM and baseball team who got off to the extremely slow start for getting themselves back up to mediocre."
—Sean Pendergast (24:09)

10. Texans Linebacker Depth Brief

• Secondary Segment (24:56–30:09):
  • With E.J. Speed out, they review the prospects of several new linebackers (Wade Woodaz, Marte Mapu, Aiden Fisher) and D’Amico Ryans’ ability to evaluate and develop that position.
  • Expectation is at least one young LB will “rise to the challenge.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Astros’ Deadline Dilemma:
  "Should the Astros be the 10th team that’s doing that? ... I’m not so sure they should be right now."
  —Seth Payne (14:35)

• Astros’ Run Differential Real Talk:
  "The Tigers are plus 33 and the Astros are minus 50. That’s an 83 run difference between the two."
  —Seth Payne (14:17)

• About Reliever Lance McCullers:
  "I like Lance. I don’t care about Lance McCullers anymore. I don’t care about him anymore as a baseball player. I care about him as a coffee entrepreneur and a human being."
  —Seth Payne (20:01)

• On Trading Prospects vs. Short-Term Moves:
  "There’s something about...I don’t want to go out and blow my paycheck, you know, on Friday evening, just this moment, they just picked four guys in the top 93 last draft."
  —Sean Pendergast (16:16)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:44 | Astros snap losing streak; Peña grand slam & offensive highlights | | 02:08 | Renell Blanco’s return & pitching analysis | | 04:37 | Yordan Alvarez's Triple Crown run; Chandler Rome trade deadline argument| | 08:08 | Jeremy Peña trade buzz; AL mediocrity & seller’s market opportunity | | 12:09 | Astros vs. Tigers – run differentials, playoff outlook | | 15:06 | Farm system, prospect valuation, trade philosophy | | 16:24 | Lance McCullers Jr. as reliever; emotional detachment | | 21:31 | Q&A: What could Peña net in trade? | | 23:00 | Fan blame for “reset”, redefining success | | 24:56 | Texans linebacker depth camp preview (secondary segment) |

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Tone & Flow

The episode is emblematic of Payne & Pendergast’s lively, unfiltered H-Town sports vibe: a mix of sharp baseball insight, self-deprecating humor, and frank opinions. The hosts allow disagreements and “what if” debates to flow naturally. The baseball discussion dominates, with NFL and college sports treated as brisk asides.

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Summary – For Those Who Missed It

This episode breaks down why the Astros’ best move at the trade deadline may no longer be clinging to faint playoff hopes but instead leveraging the American League’s unusual glut of hopeful buyers to spark a retool or rebuild. The stars have trade value (especially Peña), but pitching is unreliable, and run differential tells the real story. Houston should consider acting like the smart seller and fueling the market frenzy. The hosts even brush off sentimental attachments (McCullers, Peña) and emphasize the dangers of sacrificing long-term prospect value just for one-off hardware or nostalgia.

For Astros fans seeking an honest assessment rather than feel-good spin, this episode delivers clear-eyed realism—and a roadmap for turning mediocrity into long-term opportunity, if the front office is willing to act boldly.

Transcript

[Sean Pendergast]

How We Made youe Mother is a

[Seth Payne]

rewatch podcast that looks back episode by

[Sean Pendergast]

episode at the hit TV show How I Met yout Mother. It's hosted by me, Josh Radner, along with series co creator Craig Thomas.

[Seth Payne]

In seasons one and two, we were joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Bryan Cranston, Ashley Williams, Wayne Brady, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey, Joe Manganiello, and my brilliant co creator Carter Bayes. And now we are diving into season three. So whether it's your 50th rewatch or

[Sean Pendergast]

your first time through, follow How We Made youe Mother wherever you get your podcasts.

[Seth Payne]

Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Sean Pendergast]

We coming to eighth time. Let's get the work in, man. Let go.

[Seth Payne]

Great day. Great day. Oh, give me some juice, baby. Oh, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Let's do it in the air. Shallow right center. Pena calls off Nick Allen. And the Astros win the opening game of this three game series, snapping a four game losing streak eight to five. The final tonight against the Marlins.

[Seth Payne]

Todd Callis on the call Space City Home Network. Hey, a win, that's what it feels like. We hadn't felt a win in well over a week because of the All Star break.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was. I was afraid that they'd forgotten that that was an option in a baseball game. You know, they come back and you got all these guys. Yiner. Yiner might think it's spring training again or something.

[Seth Payne]

These games are real.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of Yiner getting an attaboy when one out of two times he get, he gets a challenge call.

[Seth Payne]

Correct.

[Sean Pendergast]

Where I'm like, yeah, that's, that's still worse than catchers do.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Okay. Yeah, he's not gonna be, he's not gonna be batting zero. Yeah. On it. No, no. Last night, good positivity. That was, that was fun.

[Seth Payne]

Fun.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was a. That was fun. A little bit more harrowing than it needed to be. Yeah. Kind of the perfect, kind of the perfect encapsulation of what you have with this baseball team. Yeah, you've got some really good players. You got some guys at the bottom of the lineup that can load up the bases too. You got Pena that can hit a grand slam and Yordon hit a home

[Seth Payne]

run immediately after steal RBIs from Jordan in the Triple Crown race.

[Sean Pendergast]

Got good things. You're not destitute.

[Seth Payne]

You got some nice stuff.

[Sean Pendergast]

And yet it was also a little bit more uncomfortable than it needed to be. And it was after a performance by Blanco, which is very, very promising coming off his Tommy John surgery. Yes, he allowed some home runs, but, yes, he struck a bunch of people out, too.

[Seth Payne]

He struck a bunch of people out. He had a lot of whiffs. The biggest thing to me, I think Chandler Rome had all the number in this because, yeah, it's. It was. It was about as good as you can feel with Renell Blanco about a performance where his ERA was nearly eight, right? He gave up four runs and he didn't make it through five innings. But that's through 86 pitches, which he threw 68 pitches in his last rehab start. So I think the feeling had been like, all right, if he gets to 80, then it's, you know, the clock's going to be ticking. And the pit, the pitch count got unnecessarily high, you know, to. To no fault of Renault Blanco in the second inning, but he gave up a couple of two run homers. That kept this game to your point, Seth, a little closer than it needed to be. To me, the biggest thing that I liked with Renell Blanco is he got ahead of almost every hitter he faced, like he wasn't pitching from behind. There's so many of these guys this year when they're walking all these guys. Hunter Brown loses his command. Tatsuya Imai has been a circus all year long. There's a reason why Mike Burroughs got sent to the Miners, then had it negated and now is on the il. You know, like, these guys have just had trouble with their command. I didn't think Renell Blanco had trouble with his command. I just thought in a couple of bad spots he gave up two hits. They're both homers.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was. Honestly, it was one of those things where if he hadn't been injured and if he'd been having a good season, you look at that performance and say, okay, well, yeah, these things happened, but it was a good performance overall and whatever. It's just, we're like, first game back from Tommy John. I'm very, very encouraged. I'm encouraged, very encouraged by that. I allow myself to think, okay, yeah, this might be. This might be one of those mythical. Hey, don't worry about the trade deadline. Our trades are actually the guys coming back from the il.

[Seth Payne]

We just picked up Renell Blanco. Oh, where'd you pick him up from? Karma.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's right.

[Seth Payne]

That's what we picked him up from. We need something.

[Sean Pendergast]

We're due. That's. Look, this is just simple mathematics. You know, I'm. A lot of people might call me A genius, mathematically. Many others would not. But I would say I would. The smart people say regression in the mean or something at some. I mean, you gotta. Somebody's gotta successfully come back from Tommy John surgery. It's a. It's largely become one of those. These things that in baseball is no big deal.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Unless you're in Houston.

[Seth Payne]

I wonder. And we're. You know, you mentioned the pain, your grand slam. Yordan hit a couple of bombs last night, too. Jordan is out in front in every Triple Crown, stat right now. He's. I have to go check.

[Sean Pendergast]

I didn't leave Jordan out.

[Seth Payne]

He's. He's tied for the major league lead now in home runs.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So he was leading the American League. He's tied. That would be something else. If Jordan won a Triple Crown. That was for. For all three categories for the. The Triple Crown. If you win it just for your league, that you're in the American League, it counts. It's a Triple Crown. If he wanted. For all of baseball, that would be badass. And he's way out in front right now, at least in the American League, last I checked, for batting average, which is, you know, for a power hitter, that's always the most impressive one. Like, wow. Yeah. The guy we senior don't hit bombs. He's hitting like.330.

[Sean Pendergast]

Now, Chandler Rome wrote a piece last night, and I don't want to mischaracterize it, but the basic thrust of it was that, you know, Jordan shows why the Astros might really want to pick somebody up or be a buyer at the trade deadline. And it was, you know, it was classic. When I read a Chandler rome piece at 3am Sometimes I get some of the details wrong. But, like, you could go multiple ways with that. If we depart from his article and say, well, there's a. Just the actual competitive baseball side of things that you do have the ability to do things like this, B, I guess is just almost out of, like, out of a moral obligation to Yordan to not have this be a wasted Mike Trout type of season with the Angels.

[Seth Payne]

It's funny you say that. I didn't see the article. You mentioned the article to me before the show, and you're mentioning it now. I. My gut reaction when you just give the kind of. The general, like 30,000 foot of what the article was about, if I had to guess, I would say, oh, okay, he must be talking about how you have this player who is beloved here, who's having a transcendent generational season. We owe it to this guy. Yeah, to put the best team around him that we can to a take advantage of that generational season but also help him win an MVP award. Now is that a good reason to go trading prospects so that one individual can win a piece of hardware?

[Sean Pendergast]

And again and I'm just guessing I'm

[Seth Payne]

open to yes on this without just

[Sean Pendergast]

after I had scanned through it and didn't read it critically enough. Like knowing Chandler, I'm guessing it's more on the actual baseball ball side of things that, that if you're sitting in a room with Chandler and you said hey, you know, isn't it just the right thing to do? Is it, wouldn't it be nice to give it to like. I don't think so. I think Chandler's more along the lines of look, they, they still are capable of these great things and I think it's in line with just and again last night Blanco, I thought it was a very, very good performance and yet at the end of the night you just, you allowed more runs from the pitching staff and you got into some dice your situations even with Josh hater than you'd like to have that it for me it reaffirms that man. Yes, it'd be nice to have a left handed outfielder, etc. Etc. But there's just too many games where the it doesn't matter what your downer Pena does. The pitching just lets you down. And aside from guys getting better, you know, Hunter Brown stabilizing Spencer Getty hopefully looking more like he has recently Renell Blanco Imai that those guys certainly could keep the arrow pointing up but there's still room to add somebody.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, there is. And yet I'm looking at this, I'm seeing, I'm starting to see all this conjecture about Jeremy Pena and in fact do we have a rod here? Byron, this was, this was Alex Rodriguez talking about how the Yankees should trade for Jeremy Pena. I will go get Mason and Pena. You know why? Because a shortstop, I mean look what

[Sean Pendergast]

Derek Jeter did here.

[Seth Payne]

You watched him here for 20 years. He was the leader.

[Sean Pendergast]

He was your Jalen Brunson.

[Seth Payne]

Everything starts with that leader up the middle. But you need that guy to be rock solid. Okay, so I'm seeing a rod. Talk about the Yankees. I'm seeing a lot of chatter about, boy, the Red Sox. Now that the Red Sox have won 14 games. They've won. The Red Sox have won 14 games in a row and they're now in the third wild card spot. Astro fans, you know, if you're just focused on The Astros right now. And if I were to bring up the Red Sox, you're like, oh, you mean that trash team the Astros swept the first week of the season? You and I were there for one of those games, Seth, I think. Or no, you. Yeah. You weren't with me. It was. I was sitting in the seats with somebody else.

[Sean Pendergast]

Got so many relationships.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. You. We were in the. I was sitting in the seats when you and I were there.

[Sean Pendergast]

When Kyle found the receipts in your pockets, Sean.

[Seth Payne]

Kyle Tucker bang that ball off his shin. Yeah, no, but anyways, the Red Sox are in there. They would be in the playoffs right now if the season ended today. And Jeremy Pena is from that part of the, Part of the world. He's from New England. So there's people like, well, they could use a shortstop, too. There is part of me, and I'm wondering how Astro fans feel about this. Like, I literally wonder how Astro fans felt last night. Putting your Don aside. Cause I think every Astro fan would love for Jordan to win the Triple Crown and the MVP and everything else. But I do wonder if Astro fans, if there's a faction of Astro fans, because I know there is, because there's people out there that root for their football and basketball teams to tank. Yeah, there are Astro fans right now that don't necessarily want the team to win these one off games that sort of keep Jim Crane in this mindset that I'm going to keep the window open. There is an opportunity here. The, the. There's an opportunity in the mediocrity of the American League and the talk for May and June, was it. Well, the opportunity is that it keeps the Astros alive in the playoff hunt, which is true. But I think there's also an opportunity that if you look at the team rationally and you go, we don't really have much to trade to go compete for the better. The better players that are going to put us over the top.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

There is an opportunity to start playing these teams off of each other and turn it into a, A, an ebay situation with your team with certain assets.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right. I don't know because I think there's a lot.

[Seth Payne]

This mediocrity is keeping a lot of teams in the race that are going to look at things the way, unfortunately, in the mind of many Astro fans, the Astros are looking at things right now. It's like, hey, 2% is a big chance here to win this whole thing.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think a 13.4% chance to make the playoffs when they awoke yesterday morning. So here's here's the cree. Here's the key paragraph, I think where Chandler, kind of Chandler is saying it's Chandler in this article writes a kind of a lot of open ended. Like, hey, it makes you wonder, makes you think having Alvarez is the sort of advantage that should be a separator within the pedestrian American League. That the Astros have not seized better advantage of. It is an indictment on the roster they've built around him and perhaps an impetus to augment it. So, yeah, yeah. Like it should. Jordan should be a separator right now on this team. It's he alone cannot be the separator.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I got bad news for the Astro fans that want them to start selling. There's a better chance the Astros are thinking like that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

The what you just read than thinking like I just put out there, which is. Well, there's probably four teams that would love to have Jeremy Pena on there.

[Sean Pendergast]

It is there. I mean, because you could look at it either way because of the mediocrity. It's too tempting for teams to think that they're better than they are and yet also remember, because of all that mediocrity, it's not as hard to be better than everybody else. American. There's some teams out there that are going to make the business decision or the long term decision and they will be Sellers. Even though they're in the exact same situation as the Astros. The Tigers. You know, people are talking about the Tigers being Sellers at the trade deadline going into last night, they had the exact same winning percentage as the Astros.

[Seth Payne]

And here's the thing with the Tigers, because I'm going to go through these teams in a second here. Here's the thing about a team like the Tigers is that they are seven and three in their last ten. So they're ascending. They got their ace back.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So they fell into that. They fell into that, that rut in part because Tarek school ball was out for two months. Their run differential is plus 33. The Astros are minus 50. So if you're looking at the quality of a team. Yeah. They got the same, virtually the same winning percentage. They've got virtually the same record. They haven't. They. There's an 83 run difference between how they've outscored or been outscored this year. The Astros and the Tigers. Tigers just a better baseball team than the Astros.

[Sean Pendergast]

Their runs margin. Their runs is positive. Plus. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Plus 33.

[Sean Pendergast]

83.

[Seth Payne]

Plus 33 and the Astros are minus 50. That's an 83 run difference between the two. So you look at the American League, you got three teams that are leading their division. They theoretically are buyers, right?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You've got the Yankees who are contending in their division. You got the Guardians who are contending in their division. The Red Sox, all of a sudden are above.500. That's six buyers right there. Oh, by the way, the Rangers are sitting right there with the Mariners at the top of their division. Not that you want to make a bunch of deals with the Rangers if you're the Astros, but just in terms of the sheer quantity of teams that are looking at themselves in the mirror, like Homer Simpson looking at himself in the mirror, flexing his mythical pecs that he has. That's seven teams. The Orioles just swept you. They're on a bit of a roll lately. They're seven and three in their last 10. That's eight teams. Minnesota never expected to be here. They're ahead of you right now. Minnesota may be a buyer. Who the hell knows? Detroit, I think, would definitely be a buyer right now. I. You know, all the talk with Detroit was, who are they going to trade school ball to? I think there's a better chance they're hanging on to school ball and thinking they can make a run at the postseason here with him in his last year. So that's nine teams right there that are all buyers.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That. You got a chance to create a flea market out of this thing. An elite flea market out of. That's.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. The Tigers getting scubal back and. And like, again and playing better is not a reason for them to trade school.

[Seth Payne]

Right, right, right. There's a better chance to keep him now.

[Sean Pendergast]

Sorry, I got confused. You misspoken. You said that The Tigers were plus 58 and the Astros were minus 50.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. I said the Tigers are plus 30.

[Sean Pendergast]

They are plus 33.

[Seth Payne]

Right. And the Astros are minus 50. It's 83 run difference.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, right. No, I'm just saying you misspoke when you said it, so I got a little bit confused.

[Seth Payne]

No worries. No worries. So. So.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So there's. Anyways. So there's nine. There's nine teams at least right now that I think look at themselves going. We need to add.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I. The question is, should the astros be the 10th team that's doing that? And I'm not so sure they should be right now.

[Sean Pendergast]

It's.

[Seth Payne]

They've got. And the thing about it is, like you said at the very beginning of the show, is that they've got good things. There's some good things on this roster,

[Sean Pendergast]

you know, they're like every baseball team.

[Seth Payne]

There are good things about there, good things about this team.

[Sean Pendergast]

Not every team is the 2013 Astros.

[Seth Payne]

No. So do you flip some of these good things and take advantage of the sheer quantity of teams that would seemingly be in the market to buy those things?

[Sean Pendergast]

Right. I guess the question is okay if it ends up being a lot more player for player trades this year because of this situation where teams all feel like they're in a position or what have you. Where do you feel so good and so deep that you're cool trading away guys of equal value or what adds up to equal value? You know, like we say, hey, trade Christian Walker. Cool. You're not going to get a whole lot back for Christian Walker now. You're going to have to add more people to the mix.

[Seth Payne]

No, but you get out, you're trading a guy like Christian Walker. I've said this before. You're waving the white flag.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

You're not going to get much for him. You do get out from underneath his $20 million salary next year.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right. Which is more of a long term play. Not as much about right now.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Or. Well. Or to clear space to bring somebody else big in. But then you've got a. You've still got to trade more away. I'm just so. I am very miserly right now about anything in the farm system. I. There's something about. Hey, hey, you got a bunch of draft picks high in the draft for the first time in whenever. That, that's a good feeling. I don't want to go out and blow my paycheck, you know, on Friday evening, just this moment, they just picked

[Seth Payne]

four guys in the top 93 last draft.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'd like to. I'd like to learn some of the lessons from my poor financial management in the past and be financially responsible.

[Seth Payne]

Did you see that Lance made his debut?

[Sean Pendergast]

Sorry. There's some construction going on next door. Freaked me out. How'd he do?

[Seth Payne]

He. It was weird because they. Somebody showed the one of these accounts that picks like just select pitches to throw, put it on Twitter, and they're like, look at this. 92 mile an hour cutter from Lance McCullers. Yeah, we know some guy out. I'm like, oh, he probably had a really good debut for the Milwaukee Brewers. Three innings pitched, two hits, two earned runs, a walk and four strikeouts. Okay, so he struck four out in three innings. I didn't watch.

[Sean Pendergast]

The only thing about what Blanco's line was last night we were gushing about it.

[Seth Payne]

Maybe they're gushing about it. Maybe the two hits were little, like, three innings.

[Sean Pendergast]

It was. Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Like, maybe the two hits were seeing ice singles. He only walked one guy in three innings. You know, he. He struck out four in three innings. That's 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

[Sean Pendergast]

Did they win?

[Seth Payne]

Milwaukee destroyed whoever they played. Lance came in and, like, he pitched three innings, but it wasn't a start. He came in in, like, the fifth inning or. Oh, the Miz started the game.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

He only pitched four innings. I have to go check and see.

[Sean Pendergast]

Maybe there's a planned piggyback.

[Seth Payne]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Sean Pendergast]

Lance went in and was like, hell, yeah, I'm the piggyback guy from now

[Seth Payne]

piggybacking with the most electric pitcher.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've been begging for years to be a reliever in Houston. They never would let me do it.

[Seth Payne]

I got to go check.

[Sean Pendergast]

That's the only. That's the one thing that could turn me against Lance. What if he all of a sudden just openly embraced being a reliever and it was like, yep, this is what I'm all about.

[Rachel Braethon]

That would.

[Sean Pendergast]

That would annoy me.

[Seth Payne]

He was definitely. I watched his media availability.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

In Milwaukee, his first one that he did, kind of sitting in the dugout, meeting the media for the first time, and he was all about, like, whatever they need, Whatever they need, whatever. They remember how adamant he was that he was a starting pitcher.

[Sean Pendergast]

I remember it. It's burned into all of our souls. That's been a constant. People started. They didn't even bother asking anymore, would you be. And he always had a good, rational explanation from, hey, it's actually not any easier physically to be a reliever and everything. I get what you're saying.

[Seth Payne]

That's how you would feel. I would recommend not finding that media availability.

[Sean Pendergast]

Can we try something different at least? Yep. No. Sean, if he becomes their middle relief or just doing anything and everything, and he's openly embracing it, not just saying it's a temporary thing. Yeah, that's gonna. That's gonna sting a little.

[Seth Payne]

Yep. Well, that's what he's doing. I just want you to know he's

[Sean Pendergast]

done it before for the Astros last year. Right, right, right. I'm saying, like, in a small amount, I'm not thinking too much about it, but if this is who he ends up being in the entire second half of the season, I mean, you couldn't at any point in your tenure here, you couldn't just openly embrace it.

[Seth Payne]

Like, I think this is who he is. If he wants a job in baseball after this year, I think he needs to embrace. I think he needs to embrace being.

[Sean Pendergast]

I know, but that's. You could have said that any time in the last four years.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I have been saying that.

[Sean Pendergast]

It would not annoy you.

[Seth Payne]

That wouldn't bother you if he were embracing being. No, because I think that's what he needs to do to stay in baseball at this point.

[Sean Pendergast]

Right, but that's what we've been saying. I know, but it doesn't bother you that he would just all of a sudden, like, after wanting to do.

[Seth Payne]

Like, if he wants to keep a job. I. I understand.

[Sean Pendergast]

I understand his personal motivation, but why couldn't he do it? Why couldn't he do that when he was with the Astros?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I'm over it. I'm just so. He. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm astounded that this wouldn't bother you more than usually. You're the one that would be by this stuff.

[Seth Payne]

I just can't get worked up about a guy with a 7 ERA and what he's talking about, you know, like, you're mad at me that I'm not worked up about this.

[Sean Pendergast]

You're worked up that I'm not worked. Astounded.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. That.

[Sean Pendergast]

That wouldn't. After a decade of him, just adamantly, just angrily, you're gonna make it.

[Seth Payne]

Because I like Lance. I don't care about Lance McCullers anymore. I don't care about him anymore. As a baseball player.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I care about him as a coffee entrepreneur and a human being.

[Sean Pendergast]

I don't know.

[Rachel Braethon]

Life can feel overwhelming. But on my podcast, from the Heart with Rachel Braethan, we're in it together. Every Friday, a new episode brings you a new story with topics on motherhood, wellness, self, love, and more. Listen to from the Heart with Rachel Braethon. Wherever you get your podcasts, I said it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. No, this would really, really bother me. It would change the way I feel about Lance.

[Seth Payne]

I just can't. He.

[Sean Pendergast]

I've been very. I've been very charitable in the way that I can feel about Caveat here,

[Seth Payne]

because we're way over. If he became good again.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

If he became a good reliever and he was embracing it.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But if he sits here with a. Like he had. He gave up two runs of three. He has a six ERA now with. I just. I can't get worked up about a guy's not good at baseball.

[Sean Pendergast]

So if he does become a good reliever, and this is the experiment that they could have done in Houston and that he would have openly embraced it.

[Seth Payne]

But until I see him having an era below 12, all right, I'm not going to get worked up about it. He's not a good baseball player.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm going to hold you to this.

[Seth Payne]

Okay.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm just going home. I'm going to be watching brewers games late at night.

[Seth Payne]

Thank you. Baseball Talk on Sports Radio 610 presented by Xfinity. Score the most reliable Wi Fi 1 price 5 years guaranteed Xfinity. Imagine that. Coming up next, question number seven in our series of questions leading up to Texans training camp. We've done the first three. We've got number seven coming up. It's about linebackers.

[Sean Pendergast]

We'll do the oh six ten presents. Live from the West Point Lincoln and West Point Lincoln of Sugarland Studios, here's Pain and Pendergast.

[Seth Payne]

All right, couple questions on the text page and we answer the question of the day for the Texans. What prospects will we get for Pena, say if they traded him with the Red Sox? I'm not going to bury the audience at 6:30 in the morning underneath a bunch of names they don't know. Mostly because I don't know the names either. Like, I'm not, I don't follow minor league baseball outside of the Astros in a manner where I would be doing anything but faking how awesome all these players are.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, no, you know, even the people who are dialed in on all this stuff, it's just there's so many, there's

[Seth Payne]

so many I the thing I've seen from people whose opinion I respect, like proposed trades for Pena, whether it's the Yankees, the Ash or the Red Sox or whoever is significant, at least one or two guys are significantly high up the food chain of those respective teams. You know, if you're getting a couple guys that you feel like can it can contribute to the Astros in a couple of years for Pena. That's good. The one big benefit a team gets with Pena, especially a team like the Red Sox or the Yankees that are willing to pay high salaries for guys Red Sox not as much as the Yankees, but they're, you know, they're, they're, they're not poors, they're haves. They're not have nots. They'll get Jeremy Pena for one more year of arbitration next year also. So they, they'll, if you trade for Jeremy Pena at the trade deadline, you're getting him for a year and a half. Yeah, it's like when the red side or when the Astros made the Verlander trade back the first Verlander trade back in 2017. You're getting it for two more years after that. That was a big selling point to that deal. There's. There's also a texter blaming us.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, no.

[Seth Payne]

For resetting the season. That. That. This is. This is our. This is a pain and Pendergast issue, the way the Astros are playing. No, no, no. It says this. It says the. The. The last two years after terrible starts, the Astros straightened things out by the All Star break. Yeah, this year started the same way. But you two decided to reset the season on May 15, and look what happened. Yeah, that's karma. Don't mess with the baseball gods. Hello. They're 31 and 26 since we reset. They're better since we reset the season. They're better for being playing baseball in the town that we do our show.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think he's saying you guys yourselves should recognize and realize that they've turned it around a little bit.

[Seth Payne]

Blaming us.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, this is the problem, though. Okay, great. They got off to horrible starts the last two seasons. They didn't make the playoffs last year, so, like. And then they had a miserable showing two years ago. Like, what exactly is the great triumph there? Like, oh, they came back and they turned into a mediocre baseball team or slightly above mediocre. That's not. You can't credit. You can't credit the same manager and GM and baseball team who got off to the extremely slow start for getting themselves back up to mediocre.

[Seth Payne]

You are what you are. That's the end of the day.

[Sean Pendergast]

Any kind of a triumph I want to be a part of. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yep. All right. So 10 days.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, honey, I cheated on you three times, but here I am. I've been faithful for six months.

[Seth Payne]

I'm back.

[Sean Pendergast]

Why don't you trust me?

[Seth Payne]

I'm back, baby. Ten days until Texans training camp. It was actually a few days ago. It was 10 days, but this is just the theme. We've been counting it down. We're at question number seven. If you want to go back and listen to the previous three questions, you can do it on the pain and Pender Gas podcast on the Odyssey app. We're doing it this segment each day leading up to next Wednesday. A week from tomorrow is the first day we will be out there in the heat for Texans training camp. I can't wait. Question today, Seth. How big an issue is. Is linebacker depth with this team? Especially considering that E.J. speed is out for the season?

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. And E.J. speed played 45% or so snaps. Last year of the defensive snaps, he was a big deal. Especially when Jalen Petrie went down. They started leaning into playing three linebackers more. It's a big deal. I feel. I feel pretty confident for a couple reasons. In Marte Mapu and Wade Wood as. So Wade Wood as the fifth round pick. Marte Mapu. It was a guy who in New England, remember was there through two different head coaches and I don't think was a great scheme fit perhaps for. For. For Mike Vrabel and they trade him for late round picks. It wasn't much like one of those pick swap. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But I think he might be a better fit for the Texans. He can play safety like you talk about. Okay. When Jalen Petra goes down last year and they just want to put their best football players on the field, they put in EJ Speed a lot more. He's not great in pass coverage. Marte Mapu, if, if he fits the scheme well, I think might be better in pass coverage. He's played safety before.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

So I like how they might use him kind of in the same way that they use DJ Speed last year. Wow. Guys got a lot of physical upside. Hasn't really. Hasn't really become maybe the best version of himself. You know, in Indianapolis he came here and they were really happy with him. They gave him an excuse extension. Marte Mapu might be that guy. But it's. It's going to be very, very competitive. And I think like remember Henry To a Toa is going into his free agency year. As of right now, they haven't extended him. I think. I think he's in a perhaps more competitive situation than people might think.

[Seth Payne]

What's there a better chance of Henry Toa. Toa getting an extension before the season or Henry Toa Toa's job getting taken by any of the guys in camp right now? Oh, when I say job, like he's going to be on the team as a starter.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, that's a really good question. I don'. I don't think that would be something that would happen during camp. It might be an in season thing. So there's more of a chance that he gets an extension. I think a moderate extension. Yeah, moderate extension. I mean he's the classic kind of. He's a good football player and they're a very good defense with him on the field. But they've got so much money committed to the defense that Toa Toa and his agent might be looking at it and saying, you know, whatever. The Texans have offered or whatever discussions they've had. We feel like, we feel like you, there's, there's more for you out there. And the Texans, I think, really like Toa Toa, but they, they gotta be smart at this point about how much they pay guys who aren't the, the premier players on the defense.

[Seth Payne]

There's some interesting names. You know, Wood as is the one you mentioned him. Wood as is the one I'm most intrigued by because he, he flat as much as you can flash in minicamp and OTAs and things like that. Like you, he was one of those guys you watch out there, like, oh, okay, that's somebody right there. You know, there's 90 guys out there. So he, so he flashed a little bit.

[Sean Pendergast]

He's like, he's impressive physically. He's tall, he's long, he's a former safety thing. There was a, there are a few snaps when, when you see Marte Mapu and Wade Wood as out there together. Like, oh, that's a, that's an impressive looking. That's an impressive looking linebacker core right there.

[Seth Payne]

Yes.

[Sean Pendergast]

So. But he's very raw. He's a convert to the position himself. And like, there's. It might take a little bit of time. I think he's going to be a special teams contributor immediately. But this is what d' Amico Ryan's and Billy Davis have done a great job of, is developing these linebackers. So I think getting the most out of those two guys, I expect at least one of those guys to kind of rise to the challenge. Aiden Fisher is an interesting one because he's a seventh round pick. All the measurables don't look like he'd be a great NFL linebacker, you know, who's a lot measurables really didn't look like he could be a good NFL linebacker coming out of college. One Aziz Elshire. Like, he was Aziz. You look at his spider chart and everything like, okay, I don't know, I'm. He's a thumper. Maybe he'll have a chance or something. He works with d'. Ameco. Ryan's becomes one of the best, you know, one of the best linebackers in the NFL right now.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. And. And two things on that one specific to Aiden Fisher, there was a press conference D' Amico did at some point in OTAs or minicamp where he gushed about Aiden Fisher.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I don't know if the question was directly about Aiden Fisher or if it was about the linebacker position, but I'm like, wow, you did not hear Head coaches talk about seventh round picks.

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no. He's exactly the kind of guy that, you know, it comes from a national championship defense. It was the leader of that defense at linebacker. Especially with d'. Ameco, I really trust his ability to see the guys who have really good recognition when to pull the trigger. All of those, all of those intangible linebacker traits. I think d' Ameco's got a really good eye for that.

[Seth Payne]

That's the second thing I was going to say. If d', Ameco, Ryan's is, and I know Nick Kasario is the GM and everything, but d' Ameco obviously has heavy input in all this. If the Texans are drafting linebackers and defensive linemen, I'm going to buy on those guys. Yeah, those are just two positions that historically we've seen excel in a demico. Ryan's coached defense and so I'm really, I mean, granted he's a second round pick, not a seventh round pick, but Kaden McDonald I'm very bullish on as a defensive lineman they drafted and similarly the two linebackers, they drafted Wood as an Aiden Fisher, whatever the bar is, whatever the expectations are for a fourth round pick and a seventh round pick coming into training camp, I think they're both going to exceed those.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. And then it's just a matter of, all right, how quickly does it happen? And so I feel, I don't feel awesome about just the proven ability of those guys, but I think between just those three guys that are new to the team, Wade Wood as Aiden Fisher and then Marte Mapu, I'd have a hard time believing that at least one of those guys doesn't rise to the occasion.

[Seth Payne]

I agree. I agree. All right, you can text the show. 713-57-246. Ten headlines. Coming up next, we'll circle back to the Astros. LeBron Watch continues. We'll get into that as well. And a firing in collegiate sports yesterday that I want to touch on as well. We'll do that. All in headlines.

[Rachel Braethon]

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[Seth Payne]

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[Sean Pendergast]

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[Seth Payne]

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[Rachel Braethon]

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[Seth Payne]

Hey, y'.

[Sean Pendergast]

All.

[Seth Payne]

I'm Maddie. And I'm Poodle.

[Sean Pendergast]

And together we host the podcast Reality Gays.

[Seth Payne]

We are two ridiculous homosexuals who love nothing more than talk. Talking about reality television and tearing in a new one. So whether it's 90 day fiance love is blind love after lockup or any

[Sean Pendergast]

other trash TV show about lonely hearts looking for love, your gay besties got you covered, y'.

[Seth Payne]

All. New shows every week. Follow and listen to Reality Gays wherever

[Sean Pendergast]

you get your podcast. Pain and Pendergast with today's headlines. This ball hit in the air to our right. Plenty deep enough to score one. Couldn't score four. That ball's good. A slam for Pena. The Astros take a 5 to 2 lead on a ball that just got over the wall in right field.

[Seth Payne]

That'll make me want to Jalapena.

[Sean Pendergast]

That was some late life. Going to the opposite field.

[Seth Payne]

Jeremy Pena grand slam. And that game is Todd Callis. Todd Callis, Jet Blum, of course. On the call there, Space City Home Network took a 52 lead with that Grand Slam. A 62 lead the very next at back because Jordan Alvarez bats after Jeremy Pena and he hits dingers. He had another one later in the game. And the Astros would go on to win last night, Seth, 8 to 5. That winning feeling back again after like 11 days, whatever it is. Because the damn All Star break. They hadn't won a game since the last series before the All Star.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, and it was such a. It was such a ridiculously miserable Experience with that, that, that sweep coming back where they just. They were doing so many dumb things. They just looked. They looked decrepit and dead. It was very, very depressing.

[Seth Payne]

He looked like they didn't care.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know, like in that Orioles series.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, no, and then it was the frustrating. It was those, the two plays. Einer kind of just strolling down the first baseline instead of covering home. Yeah. Disenzo. Disenzo. Just completely oblivious to the fact that on the, on the last rolling strikeout that he could have tried to make a play for first. Yeah. Yep. Just a lot of it was. It was a bad feeling. Yes. So last night, Yesterday felt good. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Last night it was nice.

[Sean Pendergast]

Blanco, the stat line doesn't look awesome if you didn't watch this game, but Blanco looked good. Let up some home runs, but by and large had a bunch of strikeouts. Was getting a whole bunch of whiffs. For a guy coming in his first appearance off of Tommy John, this is. It's very encouraging.

[Seth Payne]

He gave up two hits. They were both home runs.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know, so that's. I. That I look at that type of performance, I'm like, all right, well, that's something you can work with right there. Obviously. Just. You keep the ball in the ballpark and you're in good shape. So they win last night eight to five. They're back at it tonight, seven o'. Clock. The Astros right now, as we sit,

[Sean Pendergast]

Seth, are three and a half.

[Seth Payne]

Three and a half games back in the division, four and a half games back in the wild card. And because the Red Sox all of a sudden are a juggernaut, they've won 14 in a row and have sailed past. That's how. When there's a bunch of teams in between you and the playoff hunt.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, that's.

[Seth Payne]

That's how you sail past them. You win 14 in a row. He's getting the HOV lane.

[Sean Pendergast]

What's. What we've been begging for all year

[Seth Payne]

long for the astros to win 14.

[Sean Pendergast]

If they were just, you need this.

[Seth Payne]

That's the problem.

[Sean Pendergast]

They had the last couple years when they had those miserable starts and then ascended again. And they've done a good job of kind of scrapping and fighting and clawing their way back. A 14 game win streak would be in general, Sean. You know, I'm a baseball.

[Seth Payne]

Maybe a positive.

[Sean Pendergast]

I'm a baseball guy. Yeah, yeah, that. That a positive.

[Seth Payne]

I think it would be a positive if they won 14 in a row. The Astros back at it tonight. 7:10, first pitch, dollar dog night out at the yard.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, hell yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You going?

[Sean Pendergast]

No, no, I had to look.

[Seth Payne]

Remember the last dollar Dog night we went to?

[Sean Pendergast]

Ate two pizzas last night. I got so much sodium.

[Seth Payne]

So. Hold on a second. We had a meeting up here last

[Sean Pendergast]

night and there were five pizzas and two of them were for me. Yes. I didn't eat all day. I was on my one meal a day. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And your one meal.

[Sean Pendergast]

TikTok tells me it's the healthiest thing I could do.

[Seth Payne]

These are not personal pizzas.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. I don't eat all day and then I eat two pizzas. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

We had like a 30 person meeting. Five pizzas for 30 people. Seth ate two.

[Sean Pendergast]

I ate the veggie pizza. I have second heads. I have no guilt about eating the veggie pizza because I was the only one eating the veggie pizza.

[Seth Payne]

That's true.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That would have gone to waste.

[Sean Pendergast]

Well, it was a veggie and meat pizza.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

It had everything you can get except for the pineapples. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Basically it's a grocery store pizza. LeBron watch continues. Not so much for us here in Houston, but around the NBA. He has yet to announce where he's going to go. And this is getting pretty funny now because I was listening, I saw some, some, some videos on Twitter and I was listening to some audio and some other shows and things like that. And now Rich Paul, his agent, is kind of making the rounds. He was on Max Kellerman's YouTube show and he's basically like, lebron's not going to be rushed.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah, okay.

[Seth Payne]

Like, everybody chill out. He's not going to be rushed. Meanwhile, you've got the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, openly saying at summer league this past week, like, we kind of need LeBron to make a decision so we can set our schedule for this coming year so we know what team he's going to be on.

[Sean Pendergast]

The little, the, the little prince is going to make his decision. When the little prince wants to make his decision.

[Seth Payne]

Wants to make his decision. Chill out. Adam Silver. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's really funny at, at 41 or whatever he is. He's over 40 at 41 years old. No longer, you know, even a third team, all NBA guy. He was the third option on his team last year at times in the Lakers. He still, he still holds the keys to the league when it comes to the marquee right now.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Now how interested are you? How interested are you in his decision as to where he's going to go? And I Asked that with the context of remembering back to 2010, where even though the Rockets and a lot of NBA teams knew LeBron wasn't going to their team, people were gripped by that.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Now that was LeBron in his prime. How, how interested are you?

[Sean Pendergast]

And where he ends up this time or. I love the NBA dynamic where more than in any other sport, people just, they allow themselves to dream based on name recognition alone. So I'm excited to. I'm excited to see whichever team gets him and then, you know, convinces themselves.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh.

[Seth Payne]

That this is the. Is a finishing move right here.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I, like, I compare. I'm just kind of thinking in general, like, the interest in this whole thing, like LeBron. LeBron in 2010 was, would be like a musician who was playing like huge stadiums everywhere. Like, that was the decision in 2010. Like, everybody watched it that night. This is more like. I'm not saying there's no intrigue with it right now. There is. Obviously. We're talking about it. This is more like playing like Toyota center, like, like smaller arenas, like interest level. LeBron can't fill a big stadium anymore for a concert. And Phil Smart financials.

[Sean Pendergast]

I think it's notable that, that. Look, the reason that things are on hold until LeBron makes his decision is because. It's because the basketball people really want LeBron too. So it's like as much as I'm kind of, you know, downplaying what kind of an impact it could make. Yeah. In the right situation is with him, with him being the veteran leader on your team. Yeah. I think the possibilities are very, very enticing.

[Seth Payne]

He's a winning basketball player.

[Sean Pendergast]

Yeah. And not to mention, I mean, but those teams also, like, they, they understand the financial impact to that too, of just having the marketing.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Cause LeBron. Yeah.

[Sean Pendergast]

But it isn't just the fans that are interested in this. Things that are on hold because teams themselves are, are waiting to see exactly what happens.

[Seth Payne]

Yes. There are four or five teams that are figuring out what their next move is going to be. Ward Manual out as Michigan AD at the end of the year after an investigation into the athletic department and the athletic programs in general at Michigan revealed that there were some pretty serious culture problems.

[Sean Pendergast]

No. Go figure.

[Seth Payne]

Michigan at Michigan with Sharon Moore as their head coach and a little cheating scandal going on.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jim Harbaugh currently serving A what, a 10 year ban from college football.

[Seth Payne]

Dude, do you know, you know how bad the culture problems have to be now? He's, he's stepping aside at the end of the calendar year. So he's one of their own. Ward Manual. He played for Lloyd Carr. He might have played for Bo Schembechler. He played football Michigan back in the day. He. You know how bad your culture issues have to be for you to be pushed aside as the ad for an athletic program that won a national championship in basket, men's basketball, and football in the last three years. You won championships in the two biggest sports in the last three years. And they're like, see ya. Yeah, that's got to be bad.

[Sean Pendergast]

Jeff Luno sitting at home nodding his head. Yeah, I know.

[Seth Payne]

Banging on trash cans up in Michigan, apparently. Click.

[Sean Pendergast]

Still wondering what the hell would happen.

[Seth Payne]

That's true. Culture issues. I was here.

[Sean Pendergast]

We're in here in Houston. Was like, yeah, this is what you do after you win championships.

[Seth Payne]

So I got let go.

[Sean Pendergast]

Get rid of the people that were in charge. Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So I got let go because we weren't meatheaded enough. James Click. Yeah, like, okay, I didn't operate, dad,

[Sean Pendergast]

look, for the state of Michigan, I mean, you know, there was like, Michigan State. You go from one of the most deplorable situations in football involved or in sports was Michigan State, and then you transition right into your other big state university.

[Seth Payne]

The hell's going on up there, man? All right, coming up next, 7 o' clock hour is. Is here. I did the Pender poll. I promised yesterday. Texans, if they go three and one to start the season next year, they open the season home, Buffalo, home, Cincinnati at Indy, home, Dallas. They're gonna. If they start three and one next year, you have to pick which team they lose to. There's not a great option here. Seth, have you looked at this Pender Poll?

[Sean Pendergast]

I have not. I've not guessed this.

[Seth Payne]

We're play the Guess the Pender poll game that Seth loves to play. We're gonna.

[Sean Pendergast]

Are you looking for a PO about pro football that doesn't put you to sleep with an avalanche of analytics or insult your fandom with brainless hot takes? Well, hi, I'm Dan Hanzas.

[Seth Payne]

And I'm Mark Sessler.

[Sean Pendergast]

Oh, hi, Mark. And we're the hosts of Heed the Call, the NFL podcast you've been waiting your whole life for. He the Call covers every game, every storyline, everything that matters, and we do it all with a touch of mirth. Football is fun. Why shouldn't your football podcast be the same?

[Seth Payne]

Follow and listen to Heed the Call

[Sean Pendergast]

NFL Podcast wherever you get your podcast.

[Seth Payne]

Podcasts.

[Sean Pendergast]

All new drinks are now at McDonald's with refreshers like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and the Mango Pineapple Refresher with Popping

[Seth Payne]

Boba to crafted sodas like the Sprite

[Sean Pendergast]

Berry Blast with berry flavors and cold foam. Who knew ice cold drinks could be so fire

[Seth Payne]

six?

[Sean Pendergast]

All new drinks are here now at McDonald's.

[Seth Payne]

Refreshers contain caffeine. I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast. Every week, we bring you in depth coverage on cases making headlines as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking, exploration, and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week, we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops, and neither do we. Listen to True Crime News, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.