Houston Astros: Talking Stros, the journey so far. (Links)

A New Houston Astros Talk Show Called Talking Stros

Most of you have followed me on my journey of writing for Climbing Tal’s Hill in my spare time. I always had the all this seemly useless information in my head that my wife got tired of hearing all the time, and it’s hard to find fans at work that truly care about the Houston Astros like I do. Even before I started towards my blogging career, I would spend all offseason checking the internet for the latest Astros news. I needed to work on my verbal communication, so I applied for CTH and learned a lot from Jason Burke and became the editor in June.

Then I got an offer from Cris Roth of KTXF-Db, part of the Texas Sports Review network. He asked if I was interested in starting an Astros talk show, so with the help of Cris and Brandon DelCastillo, Talking Stros has taken off. While we have a long way to grow, I am glad that I have been able to link Talking Stros and CTH. I have used several of my contacts and have found a few more to organize interviews for the show, so if you haven’t taken a listen to Talking Stros, it’s not too late.

For this post, I would like to present a notable quote from each interview we have done and link the post that it belongs to. Get caught up and see what you have missed, and thanks to Jay Carr for designing the Talking Stros logo.

Lance McCullers

“I’ve actually seen many guys leave in my time with the Astros. Rio Ruiz is a really good friend of mine, he’s going to be at my wedding, he got traded to the Braves. Then Brett Phillips got traded to the Brewers; he’s in my grooms party. Then you have Velasquez and Mark Appel, who both will also be in my wedding. It’s part of the game man, the best way for me to understand it is that these guys are getting great opportunities with other teams. They are extremely talented dudes; they will make an impact.”

Chatting with the Houston Astros: Lance McCullers

Preston Tucker

“I was excited, obviously, that did shake things up for me, but Colby is a great guy. Colby is a good friend of mine and was a mentor to me throughout the season. It was weird, though, it kind of left my future a little uncertain. I don’t know if I’m going to be with the Astros in Spring Training, don’t know what type of role I will have.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Preston Tucker (interview)

Billy Wagner

“The guys that I hated to face were guys like David Eckstein, he’s not the big guy, but he was a guy who would foul off 8-9 pitches and maybe get a base hit or walk and next thing you know he scores. The guys who did well against me were the guys that you wouldn’t think had a shot against me. Miguel Olivo hit something like 8 million against me, I could never get him out, I actually threw him a knuckleball one time.”

Billy Wagner on his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame (interview)

Joseph Musgrove

“I’d like to stay a starter, that’s where I am comfortable at and have the most success at, but I’m an athlete if they tell me to pitch in the bullpen, I’ll adapt. I might struggle a little, but I would figure it out. I’ve been told that they want me to be a starter, not a reliever, but it’s not up to me.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Joe Musgrove (Interview)

Alex Bregman

“I just try to be the best Alex Bregman I can, I don’t try to be someone that I’m not, I know who I am as a baseball player when I play shortstop I try to do two things, catch the ball and throw the guy out.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Alex Bregman (Interview)

Jon Kemmer

I must have been five or six, it was around St. Patricks day. I was in my room, and my door in my room was always closed when I was sleeping. I happened to wake up in the middle of the night and my door was wide open, I was kind of startled. I sat up in my bed, and there was a ghost Leprechaun in the doorway of my room. He tipped his hat at me and walked around the corner, I raised my covers over my head and hid until it was time to wake up.

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Jon Kemmer (Interview)

James Hoyt

“In Venezuela, they started calling me ‘Grilled Cheese,’ I think they thought I looked like Jason Grilli, I don’t know why. I guess maybe I let my hair go a little, but I made some good contacts, I even had some interest from Japan this year.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with RP Prospect James Hoyt (interview)

Tyler White

“I got up to Triple-A, I was hitting well in Double-A when I was called up, I think I just found myself in a groove, and I felt good. Every day I went to the park, I got into a good routine, the hitting coach really helped me out. I got into a groove, when I had a few games that I struggled in a row, I never really got down on myself.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Tyler White (Interview)

Jordan Jankowski

“I’m not sure, it’s kinda unique. My dad always jokes with me that I got seven picks better after four years in college. It was pretty cool, I got to go to the same team, and it was a no regrets type of thing.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Fresno POY Jordan Jankowski

Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper

“If you were talking trade, I think the other team would ask for Martes before they ask for Bregman, so that’s a point for Martes. If you are talking ultimate impact, I would have to give that point to Martes over Bregman.”

Astros Prospects: Talking Stros w/ JJ Cooper, Defends Martes over Bregman

Matt Duffy

“We had just beaten Round Rock, we went out and had a team dinner in celebration. The next morning I got a knock on my door of my room, it was like 8:30 in the morning, and three coaches were standing outside. They said, ‘pack your bags, you are going to the big leagues!'”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with the Real Matt Duffy (Interview)

A.J. Reed

“No, I kind of figured after that year that I would be drafted as a hitter, I started to prepare to become a better hitter for pro ball. I was more prepared for it than you might think.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with A.J. Reed (Interview)

MLB.com Jim Callis

“To be honest, if you told me that Bregman was the Astros opening day third baseman in 2017, I don’t think that is impossible at all, there is a chance that it could happen.”

Houston Astros: Talking Stros with Jim Callis, Defends Bregman over Reed

Next: Houston Astros Bold Roster Prediction: Tyler White Part II

This is not the end of the interviews, this week we interviewed Geoff Blum an Tony Kemp, I will transcribe the interview soon. Please give Talking Stros a follow on Twitter and like us on Facebook. As always, do the same for Climbing Tal’s Hill. On April 4th, come join Talking Stros at Jackson Street BBQ for a game watch party. Spring is here.