00:00I'm curious your feelings of Lance McCullers
00:04and the way he sounded the first time we heard from him
00:13since coming back from Kent.
00:15Are you, and I want to play this,
00:17I want to play this for the people as well,
00:18those of you on the Bass Power text line 735-724-610,
00:22those of you on YouTube and Twitch,
00:24you can check in on that as well.
00:28Do you get the feeling that you're concerned that Lance
00:34is somebody who is really ready to go
00:37and really ready to compete this season
00:39to play baseball for the Astros?
00:42Like, he's somebody that I've seen mentioned
00:44in their projected rotation,
00:46somebody that they potentially may have to lean on.
00:49But listen to him as he met with the media earlier this week
00:53going into this spring training.
00:57I've always just been in this kind of battle
00:59to just try to get out there.
01:02And then, you know, when I get out there, you know,
01:05try to compete and try to be the best version
01:08of whoever I was at the time.
01:10So, you know, I think that has dawned on me more.
01:13I think my wife's helped me with that a little bit too.
01:15You know, just like, you know, we're going to,
01:18I'm going to be, you know, I'm going to be good either way.
01:20And I think I just need to kind of let go,
01:22you know, stop trying to control everything,
01:24stop trying to just micromanage everything.
01:27And, you know, I would love to be good,
01:29not because I want to necessarily continue to play,
01:32but just because I would love to be good, you know,
01:34for this organization, this fan base in my last year here.
01:42His heart won't go long.
01:43I don't like this, Lance.
01:46That was...
01:47I'll be honest with you.
01:48Look, I think what, I know at least my fandom,
01:51I know one reason I was like a fan of his through thick and thin
01:54and stuck with him was like that edge that he clearly had,
02:00that the intensity that he brought to the table.
02:05And that sounds like a guy, to me,
02:08that sounded like a guy that's trying to talk himself
02:10into walking into Joe Espada's office and saying,
02:12hey, man, I'm going to go spend time with my wife and my baby girl.
02:14Shut it down.
02:15Like, I just, like, I don't know how you compete at that level.
02:21And now I'm not, I don't mind if there's a shift in Lance McCullough
02:24because I understand he's probably built himself up
02:28to be let down with injuries over and over and over again.
02:31There may need to be a little bit of a shift there
02:32in kind of how, what his expectations are.
02:34But to take the approach of, hey, man, you know,
02:39I'm good without the game.
02:40I'm good if I don't ever play again, it seems like to him.
02:44Like, that's a hard one for me to root for, boys.
02:47That's a hard Lance for me to like.
02:49Oh, I can root for him.
02:51And I hope he does well.
02:53I just, like, that, there's a certain, just in our time,
02:58everybody's different.
02:59There's a certain edge and a certain, like,
03:05like, ego and almost delusion that some of these players have.
03:09Yeah.
03:10That, like, that sounds like a player who should shut it down.
03:15It felt like you were going to.
03:16Like, that sounds like somebody who's unsure, not just of himself,
03:21but unsure almost if he can be any good or if he wants to be there.
03:27I mean, it just sounded like he's really, he's really down.
03:31Well, it just, I mean, I think to compete at that level, Ron,
03:34there's certain, you have to have a certain drive to get up every day
03:39and do what it takes to be great.
03:41And when you look at Lance, I mean, I think Lance is an example,
03:45probably an extreme, of overwork and overthink and, you know,
03:53overprepare, overpitch.
03:54You know, that's always been his MO.
03:56Now, again, the extreme shift to where it sounds like you're ready to retire
04:01is concerning for me.
04:03And I just, I don't, again, I just don't know, like, as an Astros fan,
04:07I want my guys to deny that Father Time's ever going to beat them.
04:12I want my guys to go, hey, man, I can go out here and play at this level
04:16because of my work ethic, because of my strength,
04:18because I'm that good when I'm healthy no matter what.
04:21And it sounds like he's doubting every bit of that.
04:23Yeah.
04:24I mean, I respect his honesty of where he is.
04:27It don't really look like he had to hide it or gave a rip to hide it.
04:33But I'm just, like, I would be, I listen to that, I'm like, hmm.
04:38Like, yeah, I wonder what his mindset is.
04:40Is his mindset in, like, I want to go get a job?
04:44Like, I mean, he's already, he's like, this is my last year here.
04:49Like, he, like, it's not even a focus on just to get better day to day.
04:55It's like, hey, man, if it, if I do well, I do well.
04:58If I don't, I don't.
04:59That's just, that's just not something normal.
05:02Well, I hate it for him.
05:03I hate that the guy that was just hell-bent on being an absolute stud
05:07and felt like, I mean, every, his whole approach to baseball
05:09always led me to believe that he thinks he's an ace even when we know he's not.
05:14And to now not even know if, you know, to not even know if he's,
05:18if he's, you know, hungry enough to do what it takes to play this year
05:22and be his best this year, that's a hell of a shift, man.
05:26And look, like I said before, I'm an Astros fan first.
05:29I don't, I won't, I expect more out of my, out of my, my horses.
05:35Well, I think he's telling you.
05:37Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm good.
05:38I'm, I'm good.
05:39I'm, I'm good with, I'm, I'm, I'm good on the Lance McCullough.
05:43We'll see, hopefully, hopefully that, uh, maybe he comes back
05:46and he's a little bit more fired up.
05:48Maybe, maybe, maybe mellow, maybe mellow Lance is, is a better Lance.
05:51I hope, I hope so.
05:54We, we, we shall see.
05:56All right.
05:56Yeah.
05:56This didn't bring a, breed a lot of confidence.
05:58None.
05:59Yeah.
05:59Not a lot.
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