HOUR 1 - Looks Like Stroud Won't Make Top 100 + HR Derby Recaptured Its Magic + Headlines

Summary

Payne & Pendergast (Audacy) – HOUR 1
Episode Date: July 14, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne & Chris Partee (in for Sean Pendergast)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the current controversy around Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud's absence (so far) from the NFL Top 100 list, the revived excitement around the MLB’s Home Run Derby, Astros team news, and key sports headlines. Seth Payne, former NFL player, is joined by Chris Partee, as Sean Pendergast is out with a minor medical issue. The duo brings a blend of sharp sports analysis and candid, humorous banter focused on all things Houston sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. C.J. Stroud and the NFL Top 100 (05:35–19:42)

• Where is C.J. Stroud?

  • The latest NFL Top 100 list has yet to include Stroud, even as quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson (#69), Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, and Bryce Young have already been ranked.
  • Last year, Stroud was in the 50s, ahead of Baker Mayfield, who sits at #77 this year. There's surprise and disappointment over his omission thus far.

• How the Top 100 Voting Works

  • Seth explains that voting occurs before the postseason, with players ranking only their top 20 peers, which skews the results (07:35–09:17).
  • “It's kind of dicey accepting the rankings of anything where people aren't ranked…a lot of guys that I might not put in the top 20…but that might be consensus top 40 guys.” – Seth Payne (07:40)

• Does the Top 100 Matter to Players?

  • Payne admits that while it didn't exist during his NFL days, today’s players—growing up in the social media era—care more because these lists are unavoidable and part of the athlete's daily narrative (10:55–12:25).

• Omission: Whose Fault Is It?

  • Partee asks if Stroud not making the list would be an indictment of him or the coaching staff. Payne leans toward circumstances (injuries, team support), but acknowledges that eventually, more responsibility shifts to Stroud (13:24–14:37).

• The “Sophomore Slump”

  • They discuss quarterbacks who started hot and then regressed without injuries (e.g. RG3, Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert), and how rare Stroud’s sudden drop-off is (14:37–19:01).
  • “With CJ, what people were impressed by was, wow, he looks like he's got a lot more polish…than a lot of young quarterbacks do.” – Seth Payne (15:15)

• Emotional Fans & Media

  • Both recognize that while the NFL Top 100 is subjective, it drives fan conversation and media storylines.

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2. Home Run Derby Recaptures Its Magic (21:32–28:49)

• A Throwback Derby

  • Both hosts rave about how the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby delivered drama and nostalgia.
  • “To me it made me feel like I was 10 years old again…I love the Home Run Derby growing up and last night's had exactly what you would want…It had drama…almost like a buzzer beater.” – Chris Partee (21:32)

• New Format Praised

  • They love the simplified, bracket-style tournament, how it created drama, and especially the climactic final between Jordan Walker and Kyle Schwarber (22:17–24:08).

• Memorable Moments

  • Walker needed six consecutive home runs on his last swings and delivered, silencing the Philly crowd (23:12–23:27).
  • “He literally silenced the crowd…It's Philly, so it's fun to silence a Philly crowd.” – Payne (23:27)

• Home Run Derby Pressure

  • Partee and Payne discuss how the event is deceptively pressurized and taxing—even for professionals—and imagine how poorly they'd fare in it themselves (24:08–25:18).

• ‘Aura’ and MVP Voting

  • They muse about whether Derby performance subconsciously boosts MVP candidacy, as voters may be impressed by a player’s “aura” (27:25–28:25).
  • “There's a little extra aura that goes with winning the Home Run Derby.” – Payne (28:04)

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3. Astros All-Time Home Run Derby (28:49–34:00)

• Drafting the All-Time Astros Derby

  • If the Astros could run their own Derby, Payne and Partee both include Jeff Bagwell and Yordan Alvarez at the top of their lists. Emotional favorite George Springer and José Altuve (for the “shock and awe” factor of his size) round out Payne’s picks, while Partee includes Lance Berkman instead of Springer.
  • “I want to base this on nothing but pure emotion.” – Payne (29:26)

• Debate Over Recency Bias & Legends

  • Payne admits more “majestic” home runs may sway him toward Yordan, but acknowledges the franchise’s history means some legends (like Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz) inevitably get left out by younger fans (32:15).

• Personalities and Team Culture

  • Payne brings up how he never ‘cottoned to’ Kyle Tucker, referencing past lack of “urgency” and team culture fit as noted by A.J. Hinch (33:08).

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4. Houston Astros Headlines (36:40–42:32)

• Mike Burrows to IL

  • The Astros have placed pitcher Mike Burrows on the IL with “elbow neuritis.” Payne details the unusual specificity and potential seriousness, noting it’s related to the ulnar (“funny bone”) nerve (36:47–38:32).
  • “This might be the most specific diagnosis we’ve gotten on an injury…elbow neuritis, which is inflammation of the ulnar nerve.” – Payne (37:09)

• Team Status & Trade Deadline

  • Astros are 47–51, three games out of first and 1.5 games out of AL Wild Card.
  • Payne now prioritizes acquiring a starting pitcher (over a left-handed outfielder) at the trade deadline, but doesn’t want to give up prospects, reflecting on the team’s thin farm system (39:44–42:32).
  • “I’m ready for a half measure of some sort. And that doesn’t really vault you up into World Series contender.” – Payne (40:27)

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5. NFL Quarterback Rankings Headline (42:36–45:51)

• Mahomes Dethroned By Josh Allen

  • NFL coaches and execs now put Josh Allen ahead of Patrick Mahomes as the league’s top QB, citing Mahomes' lack of offensive weapons and a less dynamic Chiefs’ attack.
  • Partee and Payne agree Mahomes is entering the “second act” of his career, needing to win in more conventional, less improvisational ways.

• Parallels to Tom Brady

  • Payne likens Mahomes’ evolution to Tom Brady’s midcareer adjustments (45:14), signifying the challenge of remaining elite as athleticism naturally fades.
  • “Mahomes is in that margin of his career now where certain things have to change…for him to be as good on the back nine as he was on the front nine.” – Payne (45:47)

• Eric Bienemy’s Return

  • Noted as a potentially positive influence as offensive coordinator, despite past rumors of friction (45:51).

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6. Other Sports Headlines (46:24–47:03)

• World Cup Update
  • France vs. Spain and England vs. Argentina in today’s matches. Partee checks if Payne cares.
  • “You asked me…‘are you much of a soccer guy?’…I tried really hard to get into it – no, that's bogus. You haven't tried hard at all.” – Payne (46:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stroud’s NFL Top 100 Omission:

  • “I don't think CJ has shown that he's a better quarterback than Lamar Jackson by a long stretch. And yet…I’m kind of hungry for the controversy…the disgruntled Ravens fans.” – Payne (06:42)

• On Modern Sports Lists & Social Media:

  • “We're into a generation of young football players who've only grown up in this environment, with social media, with all that stuff. So I think it matters more now than it did back then.” – Payne (11:36)

• On the Home Run Derby Pressure:

  • “Even some of those guys were getting tired, and they do it for a living. Imagine us trying to be out there.” – Partee (24:43)

• On Astros All-Time Derby:

  • “Altuve in the home run competition…There is a shock and awe factor that comes from just him being so diminutive.” – Payne (29:26)
  • “There's just something about Kyle Tucker that's just always rubbed me the wrong way.” – Payne (33:08)

• On Mahomes’ Next Career Stage:

  • “He’s kind of almost…like Tom Brady, who changed and became more sophisticated…certain things have to change in terms of how [Mahomes] operates…” – Payne (45:47)

• On Soccer:

  • “I’ve taken a surface level appraisal of all of this and enjoyed watching it. But…the Viking looking fella is out for Norway, I’m not as intrigued.” – Payne (46:47)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• C.J. Stroud/NFL Top 100: 05:35–19:42
• Home Run Derby Recap: 21:32–28:49
• Astros All-Time Home Run Derby Draft: 28:49–34:00
• Astros Pitching Injury & Trade Talk: 36:40–42:32
• NFL QB Rankings (Mahomes vs. Allen): 42:36–45:51
• World Cup/Other Headlines: 46:24–47:03

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Tone & Format

Conversational, humorous, insightful—Payne & Partee riff with chemistry, delivering both stats and stories. Payne’s former-player insight pairs with Partee’s sharp hosting, while the mix of nostalgia and candid local sports opinions keeps even tough news relatable and entertaining for Houston fans.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Seth Payne]

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[Chris Partee]

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[Seth Payne]

Click on Sports Radio 610 presents Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast.

[Chris Partee]

We come to eighth time to get the working man. Let's go.

[Commercial Announcer]

Great day.

[Seth Payne]

Great day.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, give me some juice, baby.

[Seth Payne]

Oh, yeah. Let's do it.

[Chris Partee]

Good morning H town. Seth Payne and Chris Partsee here filling in this morning for Sean Pendergast. Seth, what's going on, brother?

[Guest or Analyst]

Good.

[Seth Payne]

No, nothing, man. We gave a little, we just gave a little hint or a tease of Sean Pendergast yesterday and then, and then he decided to take another vacation.

[Chris Partee]

Another vacation. It must be nice.

[Seth Payne]

He's got, I don't know how much he wants me to divulge about his medical situation, but it's not really a medical situation. He had. He's got something, something going on with his throat. So they were in an abundance of caution. We're going to let him rest his voice for a day or two. So I'm glad. I'm excited though. This is the first time I've worked with Chris Partee.

[Commercial Voice]

Yes.

[Seth Payne]

And I was just looking at your high school online. Pinole Valley High School. Yeah. I think I'm kind of sold on Pinole Valley. This is.

[Chris Partee]

You're sold on it?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got a national park right next to it. You're next to San Pablo Bay, one of my favorite Pablo bays. And. Yeah. So. No, but I'm excited to work for you, Chris. I've only. I've only been on the radio with you for tosses at times.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly. For. For crosstalk.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

That's been the only time so far. Yeah.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

And speaking of my old high school, it looks a lot nicer now in the area than. Than it did 20 years ago when I was there. I'll just tell you that.

[Seth Payne]

That's a lot high school is like, too. Do you end up. You ever go back to your old high school and you kind of like, start sneering? Kids are driving nice cars and stuff?

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, I've been back. They got gates up around everything now. Back then we didn't want gates because we were just walking off on and off campus as we please. So now we didn't. Oh, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

That's my big complaint about a lot of these high schools. That was the first time when I moved to Houston. It was the first time, like I used to. Even when I was playing in the NFL, like this time of year when I might be driving around, like, traveling a little bit, but I want to get my workouts in. You know, usually you just go and I would like to go and work out at a high school and out in the country, you can just walk on into a lot of fields and, you know, like, it's no big deal. My old high school still like that. But. Yeah. That all of a sudden you're. You're in a city and they got everything under lock and key.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly.

[Seth Payne]

And you got to jump. I've scaled fences. I got booted off of a high school in. When I was in Jacksonville, as I went out, I was using their blocking sleds and everything, and this guy came out and chased me off.

[Chris Partee]

Now, is that when you were in college, you were already in the NFL or when.

[Seth Payne]

That's when I was in the NFL.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, my goodness.

[Seth Payne]

And I never wanted to pull it. Do you know who I am? I'm trying to remember. I know it happened once in Houston. I'm gonna have to ask my wife if she can remember. But I did. I scaled a fence, so it was probably over at Episcopal or Somewhere like that. And I'm like, ah, they'll probably recognize me if they catch me. No, it didn't work. And I didn't have the. I was like, what am I going to. Like, I was never going to pull the. You know, that's the most pathetic thing about the pulling the do you know who I am? Like, obviously they don't. So whatever in your mind, you think your level of notoriety or celebrity is, it's not. It's not what you think it is.

[Chris Partee]

It's not as great as you thought it was in your head.

[Seth Payne]

Right, right, right, right. The only time I'd ever pull that is if I was some kind of, like, you know, city council member or something. With a cop. Yeah, I totally do that. Caught on camera, you know, the body cam footage comes out like, what a jerk this guy is.

[Chris Partee]

So you never. You've never pulled the do you know who I am?

[Seth Payne]

Oh, God, never. No, no, no. The do you know who I am is just. I. I gotta guess. It's got about a 5% success rate. I think that now if you can casually kind of drop some kind of a hint or something, okay, then it might work out. But, yeah, the do you know who I am? I. I feel like. I feel like most cops and. Or custodians at a high school are gonna. Are just. They're gonna. They're gonna get even. They're gonna get more angry or dismissive of you if you try to pull the who do you know who I am?

[Chris Partee]

Like, who are you now? All right, Seth, we got a lot to get into today. Had the All Star game, actually. All Star Game tonight. Home Run Derby was last night. But first, I want to get into this with you. NFL's top 100. Now, there's been a lot of talk where I believe we're 31 players in. Now, yesterday, 70 and 69 were announced, and still no Houston Texans quarterback C.J. stroud.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. And. But Lamar Jackson is 69.

[Chris Partee]

Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson comes in at number 69,

[Seth Payne]

which Jordan love is already on there. Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy and Bryce Young, weirdly. But he's at number 98. Yeah, this is the one that's weird because last year CJ Stroud was. He was ahead of. He was ahead of Baker Mayfield last year.

[Chris Partee]

Was he in the 50s?

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, he's in the 50s.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And I think Baker was, you know, a little bit higher up the list as well. But Baker Mayfield comes in at 77. Would C.J. stroud, who, like, by and large, they had pretty Similar seasons.

[Commercial Voice]

Baker.

[Seth Payne]

Baker's numbers are better in a lot of regards, just because he's. If I remember correctly, he just played more games. But it. The. The. So that one, I was still thinking, all right, Baker Mayfield. It's debatable. Jordan Love. Okay. He was. We'll see. Lamar Jackson at 69 with no CJ shroud yet. Yeah, I don't think. I don't think CJ has shown that he's a better quarterback than Lamar Jackson by a long stretch. And yet I kind of. I'm kind of hungry for the controversy, the angry. The. The anger and the disgruntled Ravens fans, because nobody gets more disgruntled than Ravens fans. I'm kind of hoping that really happens now.

[Chris Partee]

Now, I told you this before we came on the show this morning. I think if CJ doesn't get announced this week, I don't think he's on the list. I'll be honest.

[Seth Payne]

This is crunch time for him. This is. If you think about the way that the balloting works, players, for one, it's before the postseason, so players submit them by the end of the regular season, and what they do is they list out their top 20 players. So it's one of those things where I always feel it's kind of dicey accepting the rankings of anything where people aren't ranked. Like, you're taking a bunch of people that people either believe they're in the top 20 or they're not. And. And then, you know, there's a lot of guys that I might not put in the top 20, but that might be consensus. Top 40 guys.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But I definitely wouldn't put them in the top 20. Do you know what I mean?

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So it's just like, I always feel like it's unfair to rank everybody based on that. So, like, I don't think, like, realistically, nobody should have put Bryce Young in their top 20 of NFL players, but because he gets a vote or two, he ends up in the top 100. But for CJ so the question is, is anybody going to actually say, yes, CJ is one of the 20 best players in football? And I think at this point, you gotta. Based on last year's performance and remember, it was before the playoffs, I think it's still, if I put myself in the shoes of an NFL player, I'm probably going to be like, okay, you got to have a few quarterbacks on here, obviously, but you run through the top few guys, and CJ is not going to be in the top 20. So it comes down to guys who either went to Ohio State or our friends with CJ Now, I think that's probably what happened with Bryce Young. There's probably a couple Alabama guys that gave him a top 20 vote. I don't know if you're allowed to vote for your own teammates or not. I think you are, but I don't know for sure. Or maybe just somebody on his own team.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And there's a dynamic, too, where I feel like people that care about C.J. stroud or Bryce Young or any of these guys, they might. They might decide in their own mind, like, you know what? I gotta. I gotta do him a solid.

[Chris Partee]

I gotta help my boy out.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't want him to have to deal with an offseason where they're. The people are discussing how he fell precipitously out of the top 100.

[Chris Partee]

Now, do you know why they do it before the. The offseason? I mean, I'm sorry, the postseason.

[Commercial Voice]

Like, why.

[Chris Partee]

Why is it done specifically at that?

[Seth Payne]

I think it's partly just because that's the best way to. They can go in. And as they're doing these interviews that you see, that's also when guys are doing the ballot, so they know they can get the most number, the most guys on. On camera and everything.

[Chris Partee]

Got it.

[Seth Payne]

And then also, yeah, like, they don't want to be trying to track people down in the off season when teams are out of the playoffs, guys don't, you know, tracking some guy down in Fiji for him to submit his ballot.

[Chris Partee]

That definitely makes sense there. Seth, I want your opinion real, real quick on this. Like these. Now, this is the time of year. There's not a lot in terms of sports going on other than, you know, we got baseball every day, but there's no NFL. There's no even NFL practices going on right now. We got training camp coming up in, you know, a couple weeks here. But this is kind of that dead time of the. Of the sports calendar. No back. I only got some relief, but we'll get into that later.

[Seth Payne]

World cup stuff.

[Chris Partee]

We got World cup stuff. But that's not every year. This is, you know, this is a. That's every four years. This is a. Not an anomaly, but this is not the ordinary year. But these rankings, like, what do. Player. You're a former player. What do you guys think about these rankings? And do they even matter to you?

[Seth Payne]

I think the. I. So they didn't have any of this stuff when I was playing the top 100. Yeah, like any of the so much of the stuff that fuels all of the media right now, I came in right on the very beginning of, like, there was Facebook. When was Facebook invented? 2005 or so. And I was in my last year in the NFL was 2006. Like, the only social media for the most part was MySpace at the time. That's how old I am. So that it's been weird for me to watch as it became so much more of the. The sub. Like the substantial thing that guys grew up with. So now we're into a generation of young football players who've only grown up in this environment, you know, like, with. With social media, with all that stuff. So I think it. It probably matters more now than it did back then. I think it used to be more of a. It used to be easier to kind of blow off things that were said in the media because there just wasn't that much media.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And like, you didn't have to pay attention to it if you didn't want to. You could read the actual paper or something, but you just didn't see it a whole lot. You could ignore it. Now it's just. It's just everywhere. And people are going to talk about it, and even if you try to ignore it, people are going to ask you questions about it. So I just. I do think that. I think it's in that category of things where people. You don't want to care about it, but whenever you find out you're part of a competition or a ranking or something, you're going to want to be in there. You probably care about it a little bit. A little bit.

[Chris Partee]

Um, now, let's just say CJ is not announced this week. Let's say he's not on the list at all. Who is it a bigger indictment of, C.J. or the coaching staff?

[Seth Payne]

I think it's for right now. I think that if you look at, say, the. The top 10 quarterbacks on ESPN or CJ just barely made the article yesterday, basically ends up ranked based on voting somewhere between 18th and 21st. But I think if you look at the guys that are ahead of him, you look at a lot of guys who I think have also had better circumstances around them. And for the most part, you know, like, okay, Dak Prescott's got some great tools to work with. Justin Herbert is as much a product of, I think, Jim Harbaugh at this point and them managing his. The strengths and weaknesses around him. But he also had a horrible, horrible offensive line last year.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So Justin. You know what? Justin Herbert might Be the one that I have to look at and say, all right, he's seventh on the list on ESPN that's voted on by executives, coaches and everything. Had a horrendous offensive line last year. I think he's ranked too high. For whatever reason. Justin Herbert hasn't gotten dinged because he's been horrible and like, he's been in horrible in the pro season every single time he's had an opportunity. But he's also with a veteran NFL coach and Jim Harbaugh who's managed to just get the most of whatever meager circumstances they have compared to saying, having Bobby Slowik and then Nick Caylee. So I would, I would put. I think right now I'm still, I'm still in that mode of I'm making either excuses or explanations for J. For C.J. stroud. But you can only do that for so long. And I feel like this, this is the year where I think the, the circumstances around him, as long as guys, as long as his running backs don't all get injured or something like that, are enough. That, yeah, you should see him take a step forward this year. If he doesn't take a step forward statistically or whatever, then I'm going to put a way more of it on cj But I'm still. Either because of bias or whatever else, I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt to a certain extent.

[Chris Partee]

Let me ask you this real quick. Have you ever seen a quarterback have such a hot start his rookie year and then fall off? The way we've seen CJ when it's not due to injury now, right. RG3, similar great first year, got hurt, kept getting hurt. But CJ hasn't really been hurt like that. It's been more so production his decline. Like, have you ever seen. And then have you seen them bounce back? Is really the, the, the pointer there.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, the biggest. I mean, Kyler Murray gets thrown out there a good amount, but it wasn't like Kyler Murray's rookie year was as impressive as CJ's.

[Guest or Analyst]

No.

[Seth Payne]

And with KY, too, there was also that dynamic of like, all right, let's see how Cliff. Like, let's see how the scheme ages. And this is a guy that, you know, got the benefit of his just being so ridiculously athletic that you were just. You needed to see him grow into being more of an NFL quarterback. Where with cj, what people were impressed by was, wow, he looks like he's got a lot more polish in terms of adapting to the NFL than a lot of young quarterbacks do. You know, RG3 would be another guy that you know, and that's probably who you're thinking of when you thought about injuries and everything. Yeah, like, RG3 would be the biggest one that just jumps out in my mind. But also he hadn't, like, he had. He had like a crazy deep ball, like, arm talent. He did, but he also had his running ability and everything else. And then injuries kind of tore him asunder. I don't know if this is a good one for the Tex line. I don't know if there's anybody that quite had an impressive rookie year, the way C.J. did it, the way he operated and why people were excited about him and then is fallen off quite like this, like. So if you go to the top 10 quarterbacks back in 2024 after his rookie year, he was ranked seventh on that ESPN poll.

[Commercial Voice]

Wow.

[Chris Partee]

After one year.

[Seth Payne]

After one year after his rookie year. And the things that a lot of people were, you know, pointing out about about him was like, let's see, here's an NFC executive. This is after his rookie season where he ended up finishing seventh on this list going in 2024. He set the standard for a rookie QB, has so much poise, he stands in the pocket and delivers the football. Stands tall, doesn't see colors coming at him. Several voters pointed out that Houston did a masterful job supporting him. Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Dalton Schultz and offensive coordinator Bobby Sloik consistently put Stroud in advantageous spots. His 4,108 passing yards were third most in the NFL in NFL history behind Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert. You know, I mean, Justin Herbert, in a weird way, might be the best example in that Justin Herbert, he.

[Chris Partee]

He's.

[Seth Payne]

He fell off and did some. He looked more lackluster in a lot of ways, but I don't think he ever. He never had the complete crash in terms of no estimation. And I think I'm like, might have been. He might have actually benefited from hardly ever making the playoffs, like, never being exposed to that the way C.J. did, because, I mean, the crash came in the playoffs like this. But meanwhile, Justin Herbert threw four interceptions against the Texans in the playoffs a couple years ago. And people haven't clamored for, you know, just gone on a wholesale assault on how much he sucks as a quarterback.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it does. And don't get me wrong, I'm a big. I guess I'm a fan of Justin Herbert. I got to cover him a little bit when I was out In Portland, Oregon, got to cover him while he was at University of Oregon. So I like Justin Herbert, but I agree that it kind of feels like he gets the, the benefit of the doubt a little more than a guy like cj. Right.

[Seth Payne]

The thing about Herbert, though, the other, I mean, the other thing though too is like it was his first three years where, I mean, he threw. It was 5,000 yards in his second season.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

You know, and it was, it wasn't really. It was like. It was. First few years were really impressive and then he went into a lull. So like CJ's going into a lull in his second year. That's what makes it a little bit unique. Like the disparity between his first year, his rookie year, where he looked like high level impressive, not just some impressive physical traits. That's the part that's such a conundrum with cj.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, hey, we got number, I think. Was it 68 and 67 coming up later today? That'll come out.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I think it's gonna be mayhem, man. It's gotta be. It's gonna be.

[Guest or Analyst]

Absolutely.

[Seth Payne]

It's either that or it's gonna be Sean. Sean and I disagree a lot on how much value to put in this NFL top 100. I don't put nearly as much value into it as Sean does, but people do care about it. And the. Just the optics of having CJ Stroud above Lamar Jackson will be fascinating to watch. Just the. It'll be. You know what, it's going to be awesome because it'll be on first take. It'll be. It'll be all over everywhere about just what a, what a travesty this is.

[Chris Partee]

If nothing else, it's all entertaining. All right, we're going to hit the break right now, but on the other side, we're going to talk a little bit of Home Run Derby and the All Star game coming up.

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[Seth Payne]

I'm Susie Welch, the host of Becoming youg a podcast where I help you

[Commercial Voice]

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5am I'm up with a crisp Celsius energy drink running 12 miles today. Grab a green juice, quick change and head to work. Meetings, workshops. One more Celsius. No slowing down, working late, but obviously still meeting the girls for a little dancing Celsius Live Fit. Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate [e-mail]

[Chris Partee]

yes it is Payne in Pendergrass he Seth pain I'm actually Chris Partee. I'm in for Sean Pendergrass this morning and we had a Home Run Derby last night and All Star Game this evening. Now we'll get into to how the Astros tie into this evening's All Star Game and whether or not you care. But Seth, last night's Home Run Derby, to me it made me feel like I was 10 years old again. It made me feel like a kid again. Honestly, I love the Home Run Derby growing up and last nights had exactly what you would want in such a competition. It had drama, there was intrigue. It really came down to the end. Almost like a buzzer beater.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. The format is after all the experimenting with different formats and everything, I just, just like simplifying it the way they did and having a finals and all that. I like. I like that format. I do too. I don't know how long has it been? How long have they been with this current format then?

[Chris Partee]

I think, I think this year, I mean I know they made some rule changes as far as the 20 pitches, the 15 pitches, but I believe the this format, they've done it maybe a couple years now. Where they do, it's more like a tournament.

[Seth Payne]

So brackets. So for those of you who didn't watch the highlights or see it or anything, it came down to the finals was what Jordan Walker versus Kyle Schwaber.

[Chris Partee]

Kyle Schwaber.

[Seth Payne]

Right. Simple as that. And. And it came down to the final swing for both those guys.

[Chris Partee]

Yes. Yes. And so Jordan Walker he got to his last swing and needed what, six. He needed six home runs. He needed to hit basically six in a row.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

And he actually did it. And, and, and as he's hitting these home runs, you can actually hear the fans in Philly because Kyle Schwarber is the hometown player, hometown hero. They got quieter and quieter. I mean, he literally silenced the crowd.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, that, like. Yeah, yeah. And it's Philly like, so it's always. It's fun to silence a Philly crowd.

[Chris Partee]

Always.

[Seth Payne]

That was. No, that was really, really cool. I like the, I like, I like hearing the stories around those guys too. And Jordan Walker had some of the best, like, all time cliche baseball stories.

[Commercial Voice]

Yes.

[Seth Payne]

Slept with his glove under his pillow from the time he was 3 years old. Hit his first out of the park home run at the age of six and hit his grandma's car and then comes into the clutch moment and has to hit six home runs in a row and hit six home runs in a row. And that was after Schwarber, Schwarber's home run on his final swing. That was the first time all night that's. Somebody hit a home run on their finals.

[Chris Partee]

It was.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. So it was. No, it was all like the way you'd want to try to create as much drama as possible. I thought it worked out really, really well and it was cool. It's fun that the Home Run Derby is always that one thing that, like, as much as impressive as it is to watch people run a 4, 340 and do all that stuff, I feel like the, the Home Run Derby is the athletic event that if I were to try to enter right now, would be most embarrassing for me, just not being in the kind of physical condition to do it. You know, like when you, you can imagine you're trying to hack at the ball that many times in a row and you just be gassed.

[Chris Partee]

It's time. I mean, even some of those guys were getting tired and they do it for a living. Imagine us trying to be out there.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Taking 20 swings in a row and it's. And you got all eyes on you. It's because there's a little bit of that dynamic too. Almost like, you know, you never appreciate how much pressure is on golfers until you're in some kind of like nothing that approaches the PGA or anything. But when you're put in those situations where all of a sudden there's a boatload of people watching you and you're just a hacker golfer that. Yeah. You realize like, oh, man, well, I'm not as mentally tough as I thought I was. And those guys are up there and like in front of a stadium full of people kind of in a golf like situation.

[Commercial Announcer]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

I think that's something we take for granted as fans. And I mean, you, you know this better than any of us here. Being on the field, whatever field it is, court, and just being out there in front of so many eyes watching you.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

In the crowd, on television, what have you.

[Seth Payne]

You know, the nice thing about being a defensive tackle though is that you never have that kind of pressure because when you get. If you have a really bad down, there's still two other levels of the defense for it to be a genuinely highlight worthy play. Usually another couple people have to screw up or get their butts kicked too.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So you're kind of protected. People don't notice the good stuff you do as well. They don't notice that as much either.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But you're like literally protected by 21 other people that are around you when you start off with the ball like that. So like being a cornerback or just like being an offensive tackle, when you screw, screw up, it's a big, big deal and people see it. Defensive tackle, it's a little bit, you know, like unless you get baptized and you know, completely trucked, you're not gonna, you're not gonna show up on the low light reel.

[Chris Partee]

It's crazy because, you know, playing in the trenches like you did.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

You talk about how, I guess what you do can be overlooked. Yet it's probably the most important area on the field.

[Seth Payne]

What's happening in the trench contract negotiations.

[Guest or Analyst]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

Did it work?

[Seth Payne]

I don't think you guys understand the value I bring to this organization. And let me tell you why you're being stupid right now. Yeah. That. No. The no. But it's different than like, yes. Standing there at the Home Run Derby in a completely meaningless situation. The only thing. But because it's, you know, Camino Jr. Camino right now is second in the ALMVP odds for Jordan. And any voter for the MVP would tell you like, oh, it's stupid for you to think that this might have some kind of an effect on my voting. But I always wonder just a little bit like let's say if Jordan gets injured or something and the odds get a little bit closer. Jordan has to miss 10 or 15 games. I feel like this kind of stuff. Not that I want your Don in the Home Run Derby. I don't want him.

[Chris Partee]

You don't.

[Seth Payne]

You would gladly wasn't in there.

[Chris Partee]

You wouldn't want to see that.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. But if it came down to more of the wire, I wonder if sometimes, like if Junior Camino had won the Home Run Derby or something. I think that that weighs into the subconscious of the voters a little bit.

[Chris Partee]

Well, that's.

[Seth Payne]

Luckily he didn't. He wasn't in the final.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

But that's the thing about these, about something like the Home Run Derby and voting for mvp. There's really no, like, set criteria to vote for mvp. It's very subjective. So you might be right. There may be voters out there that say, oh, well, he did have a very good showing or he won the Home Run Derby. That might. Maybe that puts him over the top for me.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Even if it's not conscious.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

It's aura. It's all about aura. As the kids, we talked last segment about how I did. They didn't invent social media until I was just about done in the NFL. So, yeah, like, aura. Aura just meant what Aura meant where now the way they. The way that they, the kids use the word aura, I feel like there's a little bit of aura. There's a little extra aura that goes with winning the Home Run Derby.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly. So I asked you, I want to ask you this question, Home Run Derby last night, and you just mentioned how you do not want to see Jordan Alvarez in the Home Run Derby. What if we did an Astros all time Home Run Derby? Oh, you get four. You get four Astros hitters from any area you want to put in this Home Run Derby. Who you got?

[Seth Payne]

Okay. So Jeff Bagwell is the all time.

[Chris Partee]

I think everyone's going to say Jeff

[Seth Payne]

Bagwell, Home Run Derby champion. Yeah. And not to mention just to see his swing yet again or to see his stance yet again. That part of it. And I feel like, you know, there's a younger generation of Astros fans that do really understand Jeff Bagwell because they might only know him as his, you know, front office member, color commentary.

[Chris Partee]

I don't understand how good he was that.

[Seth Payne]

Don't appreciate that. I honestly, I had a hard time thinking about this and I think I. I think I put. I would still put Yord on first.

[Chris Partee]

Okay.

[Seth Payne]

And then I would put Bagwell. I want to base this on nothing but pure emotion. I think I put. I think I would put Springer third again based on pure emotion, and then Altuve a fourth, if only just as a reminder that, hey, hey, everybody. I know they say it all the time and everything. Yeah, he's really tiny, but which makes it that much more impressive. It's kind of like a short guy in the dunk competition. Altuve in the home run competition. There is a shock and awe factor that comes from just him being so diminutive. Yeah. That I think would be awesome that it would just be an awesome spectacle for him to. To win the Home Run Derby and he'd get extra style points because he'd be the smallest guy out there that is.

[Chris Partee]

Now I'm kind of surprised you went your don over Jeff Bagwell. Now is that more of a recency bias there or. I know you said it's emotion but yeah I know Jeff Begwell is the all time leading home run hitter in the franchise.

[Seth Payne]

I think this is the other thing about it that I feel. One thing I was thinking last night was I do wish they would make the same statcast data part of it. Like if you get. I feel like you should get bonus points for anything over 350ft. It's like things like our like or like you get you hit one over 400ft and you're. You get three extra points or something for it. So I think for part of it with Yordon would just be the. The majesty of it. I think there's just more of a potential for just a more. More majestic home runs and Lance than Jeff Bagwell. Unfortunately we don't have all the stat cast data on Jeff Bagwell's home runs.

[Chris Partee]

No.

[Seth Payne]

Unless somebody. Somebody's probably gone back in time and done all these great guys and everything.

[Chris Partee]

I'm sure someone has gone back retroactively

[Seth Payne]

and you know calculate the parabola of all of his hits based on the television broadcast.

[Chris Partee]

Yes. You know somebody that had a lot of time on their hands. I'm sure somebody has done that. We'll have to find that one day. It won't be today but. But but one day. So I got some of the same guys as you. I put Jeff Bagwell first all time leading home run hitter in franchise history. Then Jordan actually put Lance Berkman up there.

[Seth Payne]

Oh yeah. You know what. Yeah. That's where. Yeah. Do when you ask if recency by. See Lance Berkman is the George Springer of the the for why I might put him on there. There's just a certain lovability or emotional attachment to him aside from their actual home run hitting prowess.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But the Springer Springer vaults ahead of a couple of guys that the re. And the recency bias is probably affecting me more than it should.

[Chris Partee]

And then I put out to a fourth.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

I mean he's the, he's that. I mean he's the franchise guy. He's going to end up being a lifer here in Houston. So gotta, gotta throw him in there.

[Seth Payne]

And he's, he's what currently how many behind Craig Vigio is he on the all time? 76, 30 something? 25 behind.

[Chris Partee]

Okay, 25. Yeah, he could get that.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, that's where I get. But you know, and then when you talk about that, I'm completely and totally biased from guys that I've watched in my adult lifehood because the guys like, you know, Jimmy Wynn and others just aren't there. Jose Cruz I could have put on there, but he's not nearly as high up on the list as those guys.

[Chris Partee]

No, no, there were some other guys you could have put on there, but picking just four, you know, those are the guys that I went with. And I think everyone, you know, automatically the first two you're going to say is back well in your dawn in whatever order.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I tried to, I did a little. I had to test myself with Kyle Tucker. Tucker is not nearly as high on the list, but no, I thought about him too. I just for the esthetic part of it, just for the beauty of his swing and everything. But then there's also the side of me that just, just, just, I just don't cotton to Kyle Tucker. There's just something about Kyle Tucker that's just always rubbed me the wrong way.

[Commercial Voice]

Really?

[Seth Payne]

Oh, yeah. No, ever since AJ Hinge had. There's always been something about Kyle T. That in that golden era, Chris. Yeah. Like you have to remember that when Kyle Tucker was a young player, AJ Hinch just flat out said that he had to have a conversation with Kyle Tucker about being like having a little bit more urgency to him, like being more of a like doing things the Astros way where he just, there was something about this is not like the others. And he just never fit into kind of just the core and the feel of what some of the golden era players had. And it's always just, it's always been a little bit of a square peg in a round hole. That's why. And I think emotionally when you talk about the really good players that have left in recent years, I would guess if you did a power ranking of how much emotional attachment guys felt to some of the genuinely good all Star caliber players, I think he's probably lowest on the, on the ladder.

[Chris Partee]

I can agree with that. Baseball Talk On Sports Radio 610 is presented by Xfinity Score, the most reliable Wi Fi 1 price 5 years guaranteed. Xfinity. Imagine that. Coming up next, we will do some headlines.

[Commercial Voice]

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[Guest or Analyst]

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[Seth Payne]

Pain and Pendergast with Today's headlines powered by Men's Tea Clinic.

[Chris Partee]

All right, Seth, let's get into these headlines here. First up, the Astros. Mike Burrows was placed on the il. How you feeling? Feeling about this? Yet another pitcher.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

Injured for the.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. And he was, he was sent down to. He was optioned down to AAA on July 7th. So this is retroactive then. And he's got.

[Chris Partee]

I.

[Seth Payne]

The thing that shocked me first was this was. This might be the most specific diagnosis we've gotten on an injury. Like we moved on from the days of just general discomfort or in the case of imai, shoulder arm fatigue or whatever to like, he has elbow neuritis, which I don't, I don't recall anybody recently who's just on the short term IL being given this, this quick a diagnosis. Elbow neuritis, which is inflammation of the ulnar nerve, which is basically the. Commonly called the funny bone, the ulnar nerve, where it passes beside the inside of the elbow. So it's the funny bone nerve. And when the nerve is compressed there, it's often diagnosed as ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. So I don't know if this is a good sign or a bad sign that we have some specificity on it. It feels like everything we've been reading and hearing about Mike Burroughs is that his arm slotting is all messed up. So he's trying to correct his arm slotting, which sounds like exactly the type of thing that might put some, some extra stress on your elbow.

[Chris Partee]

It definitely does. And now we actually know the, the technical term for your funny bone.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, well, I guess. Yeah. Or at least it's part of, I think. Yeah. When you hit your funny bone, it must be that you, you hit the ulnar nerve.

[Chris Partee]

Whenever you hit it, it sounds, it feels like you've hit a nerve.

[Seth Payne]

Does he probably got a constant funny bone feeling going.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, God, that would be horrible.

[Seth Payne]

What he Pray for Mike Burroughs.

[Commercial Voice]

That sounds awful.

[Chris Partee]

That would be horrible to have a constant feel, feeling like you've hit your funny bone on the edge of a table.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. There's no way you can't pitch baseball effectively. That's how you end up allowing 10 runs in a game against the Nationals.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Seven. Seven earned. Only seven earned, but 10 runs on his watch.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, my goodness. Astros are currently 47 and 51. Dude. Three games out of first place and

[Seth Payne]

one and a half game out of the wild card.

[Chris Partee]

One and a half game out of the wild card and less than stellar AL West.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. You know, though the other one, the other move that happened Sunday was they sent Alomar Santa down to aaa. And I don't just. That bothers me only because I'm just so intrigued by him. He's got a 1.17 ERA and 15 and a third innings. So like, I get it and all, but just. Yeah, it's more, there's just more churn and more discomfort, both literally and figuratively, emotionally, when it comes to the pitching staff right this moment.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, there's a lot going on there with the Astros. Seth, the trade deadline is less than three weeks away. Which way are you leaning right now knowing that they've gone into to the break.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

Losing that, that series to the Rangers. Are you selling your bind? You still think the Astros have a shot to do something this season?

[Commercial Voice]

I bet.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I mean they, they, they have a shot to do something. Realistically, it's really hard for me to envision them having that shot to do something impressive in the playoffs. So they certainly obviously have a shot at making the playoffs. I've, I just, I've pivoted in the last couple weeks from being fixated on a left handed outfielder to just a starting pitcher of some sort. And I, But I don't want to give up any prospects for it, you know, because I'm greedy and selfish.

[Chris Partee]

So what are you giving up?

[Seth Payne]

Well, I, Everybody's saying that because there's so many teams in the mix that there might be more player for player trades.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

But then I'm stuck in that same position of, you know, where are they so heavily loaded on this team right now that you can do without one of these guys? And I just, I'm, I'm kind of stingy when it comes to that too. So I like. And then you end up okay. So what I'm basically saying is I'm, I'm, I'm ready for a half measure of some sort. And that doesn't really vault you up into World Series contender.

[Chris Partee]

What player of note right now on the Astros are you willing to part with to get that, that picture?

[Seth Payne]

I don't see. That's where I get the. I, I get greedy. And if you start thinking about guys that other teams might realistically really want or go after, give up something substantial for like, despite the highs and lows or anything else, I don't, I don't want to part with Christian Walker. I don't want to part with Isak P. Paredes. I certainly don't want to part with Jeremy Pena. And I, I don't know. I don't know so you.

[Chris Partee]

So, so that pitcher that I'm willing

[Seth Payne]

to part with, any outfielder that you name right now, other than Cam Smith, that's about it. Okay.

[Chris Partee]

Seth, you just want it all. You want your cake and you want to eat it.

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. Which is where I realized. No, if anything, like. Yeah, that's where I. When I talk myself into it and I go through the little. The exercise every time, I kind of fall on that. All right. I really. I can't claim that I want to be a buyer at the trade deadline because. Because honestly, what this team needs is for their farm system to get restocked, improving. And they made like, look, they end up with four players in the top 90 in the draft or the top 90, however many in the draft the other day, which is the most they've had in a long time. And that if you ever want to just rip the band aid off and acknowledge that, man, you guys are going to be treading water and you're going to be treading lukewarm water for a long time until you really start to build back up this farm system that I'm okay with kind of marginal moves at the trade deadline to balance things out, but I don't need a. I don't need an over the top move. I don't. I just don't think this is the year.

[Chris Partee]

So no big splash is what you're saying. Yeah. Okay.

[Seth Payne]

All right.

[Chris Partee]

Moving on. NFL. NFL coaches and executives are no. No longer looking at Patrick Mahomes as the number one quarterback in the league. Josh Allen has now taken over that top spot.

[Seth Payne]

I think with Pat Mahomes, people are in a point where they're trying to figure out, all right, they haven't really given him what he needs at wide receiver the last few years. The offense for the Chiefs has been really like, in a lot of ways an unimpressive offense in the regular season. You know, their last super bowl was fueled as much by their defense as it was their offense. And I think you're just kind of almost like. And it's a weird parallel to CJ Stroud situation just done at a higher level. If people kind of reassessing. All right, like, at what point do we have to acknowledge that he hasn't performed nearly at the level of when he was just clearly the best quarterback in football.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And how much of it is his fault versus various offensive coordinators faults. I. And then you factor in the fact that he, you know, didn't play the entire season last year. I think like him getting bumped down from number one to number two in place of Josh Allen. I don't think it's as cataclysmic a thing as it might feel or as it should be.

[Chris Partee]

And as bad as the chief season was last year, along with him getting injured, I think they're going to bounce back this year.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I think the one. The funny thing is, I think with Josh Allen, you look at him and you think, okay, boy, there's a certain point where at some point you just can't also have to rely on him being one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the NFL and carrying the team. But he also hasn't had the help at wide receiver ideally that he should have had over the last few years. Like this is what happens when you pay your quarterback. You know, these guys have to prove that they can do more with less. And I think both those guys have done that. I think it's. Sometimes I think people forget because he's not. Because he's not like a huge runner and he's not as athletically impressive. I think sometimes people forget that Pat Mahomes fall off physically like the natural fall off as you age does make it more difficult for him to make those out of structure plays. And some of the really impressive crazy things that he's been able to do and when he has to rely just on simple accuracy, conventional accuracy, particularly on throws deeper than 10 yards downfield, like without that extra, that extra touch of improvisational ability, he's not quite the same guy.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And he's kind of almost. It almost feels like Tom Brady, like Tom Brady never used his legs to make a living or his athleticism or anything or his circus throws or anything like that. But he did have to when he got into his, his 30s, when he was like that year in the early 2000s, he kind of changed and became more sophisticated as a quarterback. And I think Mahomes is, is in that, in that margin of his career right now where there's, there's certain things that do have to change in terms of the way he operates for him to be as good on the back nine of his career as he was on the front nine.

[Chris Partee]

Well, one big change in Casey is Eric B. Enemy is back in the building.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

So we'll see what that does.

[Seth Payne]

I know. And that's where, you know, after the Enemy left, remember there are all these kind of stories that like they kind of hinted up against. Well, the guys weren't actually get along with him as well. And Mahomes and him were at odds a lot. I always wonder about stories and reports like that because there's a healthy amount of conflict that you should have. Like, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay for quarterbacks and coordinators and head coaches to butt heads and disagree about stuff. As long as it's productive conflict. Maybe it was the right amount of productive conflict with Eric B. Enemy.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah. And real quick before we hit, hit the break, World cup today, France versus Spain, England versus Argentina. Any thoughts?

[Seth Payne]

No, no, no. You asked me during the break. You asked me during the break. So are you much, are you much of a soccer guy? And I, and I started to say, you know, I tried really hard to get into it and then I realized as I was saying it was like, no, that's bogus. You haven't tried hard at all. You've kind of just. I've taken a surface level appraisal of all of this and I've enjoyed watching it. But now that the, now that the Viking looking fella is out for Norway, I'm kind of, I'm not as intrigued.

[Chris Partee]

Not as intrigued anymore. All right, that's going to do it for the, for these headlines. And on the other side, would you be interested in a reunion with a former Texans offensive playmaker? We'll get to that. Sports radio 610.

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[Seth Payne]

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