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00:00All right, y'all, Jim Crane, owner of the Astros,
00:02if you've been living under a rock for the last 15 years.
00:05How long has Jim Crane owned the Astros, by the way, boys?
00:08Since right after my first show here at Sports Radio 610.
00:13Which was what year?
00:14This was back in 2011.
00:16I was doing, I think, a show the day after he had,
00:21for a discount to purchase the team,
00:24moved the Astros from the National League to the American League.
00:28I'll be damned. How about that?
00:2915 years. I was guessing, but I was right on the damn.
00:31You said 2011. It's 26. That's 15 any way you slice it, I think.
00:34That's Arkansas math, but it is.
00:36Or Baytown or Arkansas math. Take your pick, baby.
00:39But Jim Crane, the owner of the Astros,
00:42if he's ever going to back up that old Brinks truck for a player.
00:45In other words, if he's ever going to give a young player
00:48a longer-term contract for top-of-the-market money,
00:52or let's just call it big money.
00:54I don't even know what top-of-the-market money is for baseball,
00:57to be completely honest with you.
00:59If he's ever going to do it, y'all,
01:01I believe that the guy that he's going to do that for
01:04and do that with is Hunter Brown.
01:08And what spurred this is recently,
01:11Dana Brown was speaking about Hunter Brown and Jeremy Pena
01:16and speaking specifically to Chandler Rome, I believe it was,
01:20on the possibility of extending both of those guys.
01:24Dana Brown says, quote,
01:27Pena and Brown are two big targets for us right now.
01:31You got the pitcher and you get the position player,
01:33and those are our two pillars for the future.
01:37I think if you can get those guys extended, those are wins.
01:40We're going to have some conversations with them for sure,
01:42but it's a goal to have those guys sign extensions here.
01:47Now, make of that what you will.
01:49I don't know here nor there.
01:50It's Dana Brown.
01:52It's a GM talking.
01:53But I believe, Paul, that Hunter Brown is the dude that you back the Brinks truck up for.
02:00And I like him.
02:01I mean, hell, I'd have done it for several guys.
02:03It ain't my checkbook.
02:04But when I look at Hunter Brown, I can't help but see Verlander.
02:10You know what I mean?
02:11Everyone's been saying that for a while.
02:12Well, that was his idol or whatever.
02:15From Detroit.
02:16Yeah, the whole thing coming up.
02:17That's who he watched.
02:18But, you know, when – and we say that in passing,
02:21and it's just like, oh, it's a good mentor to have, good idol to have,
02:24good guy to pattern your game after or whatever.
02:27But correct me if I'm wrong.
02:29Don't Verlander and Crane have a pretty good relationship?
02:31Almost an uncomfortable player-owner relationship.
02:36They play golf all the time.
02:37Yeah.
02:37Yeah, well, that's one of those where it's –
02:39and I'm not knocking it, hell, good for Verlander, good for Crane.
02:41But I'm just saying, isn't that one of those –
02:43like almost – doesn't Jim Crane almost admire –
02:46and maybe he admires a bunch of guys,
02:48but doesn't he admire Justin Verlander in a little different way
02:52than he does the other players?
02:53They were thinking about bringing him back this offseason.
02:54Right.
02:55A little bit.
02:55It wasn't serious, but they were having conversations.
02:57Right.
02:58And so we hear – there's – I guess where I'm going with it, Paul,
03:01is there's some – there's a lot of parallels to the admiration,
03:05the love for – from the owner to a veteran player,
03:10and now you've got a younger player that patterns himself after that guy
03:13that spent time with that guy that has a lot, lot of similarities.
03:17I think there's that bulldog mentality in there that Verlander has.
03:20I think there's a work ethic in there that Verlander had.
03:23I think there's a perfectionist.
03:24I think there's a professional.
03:25Like, I just think that all of those stars that I just spoke of,
03:31there's a real chance that they align.
03:33And Jim Crane, if he's ever going to pay big money over an extended contract,
03:39Hunter Brown could be that guy, man.
03:40And I hope he is.
03:41To be honest with you, I hope he is that guy.
03:43To take it further with Jim Crane and his role in this,
03:47I used to make a joke at the other radio station.
03:50I'd call Jim Crane, Jock Jim Crane,
03:52because Jim Crane was a hell of a pitcher back in college.
03:55Okay.
03:55Missouri guy, right?
03:56Right.
03:56He had a record for – some record of some sort.
04:00I think it was for strikeouts in the level of college baseball
04:03that he was pitching at in the World Series.
04:04He was an awesome pitcher.
04:06He really was for the level that he was playing at.
04:07So I think he's got an itch that not every single baseball owner has.
04:10As a result of that, I think that he might look at a pitcher like Hunter Brown
04:14and say, hey, we brought this guy up from the inn.
04:17Then this is the guy I'm finally going to give a contract
04:20that's longer than six years.
04:22That should lend itself to what you're asking for.
04:26And I'm asking for the same thing.
04:27Yeah.
04:27Well, Paul, you look at it, bro.
04:29There's also – also, if you look in the rearview mirror,
04:31I think all the decisions in the past have been made
04:34with a really healthy farm system with guys like Hunter Brown coming up,
04:38guys like Hunter Brown – I mean, Frambois Valdez under control, right?
04:42Even Christian Javier before the wheels.
04:43Even a better Lance McCullers at the time.
04:46So, like, you can let guys walk when you've got that pipeline.
04:51I don't know that if you look in that – you know, you look down the road here
04:55with the Astros that you're real excited about, you know, these arms that you –
04:59now, you were excited this year about Burroughs and MI
05:02and maybe a new Lance McCullers.
05:03But I don't know that you look over your shoulder and you're like,
05:06yeah, I got the next Hunter Brown.
05:07I got the next Frambois Valdez.
05:08I got the next great coming up.
05:11There's not one guy that's a big prospect, you're right,
05:14that you're thinking to yourself, this guy's going to develop into something.
05:16Now, the Astros pitching staff, as far as what they do for all these guys
05:20that they bring in, it's probably the best in all of baseball.
05:23So, hey, they're going to make the most out of whoever they have.
05:25Yeah.
05:26But to what you were saying, I want that to happen.
05:29I think Jim Crane wants it to happen.
05:30But I'm wondering if Jim Crane has perhaps distanced himself
05:33from the actual decisions that are being made.
05:35And this is what really flusters me when it comes to Hunter Brown.
05:39It's probably too late.
05:40And did you know that back in the spring of 2024,
05:44Hunter Brown was asking Dana Brown and the Astros to start contract extension talks?
05:51Yeah.
05:52Now, this was right during that first month of the year where he was god-awful.
05:56Then he discovered the two-seamer.
05:57He wasn't a big-game Hunter Brown yet.
05:59Right.
05:59So, it's hard to fault them for the way that they handled these messages that were being given.
06:04But do you want to know what they did in response to the message that Hunter Brown gave
06:08to Dana Brown and the Astros front office?
06:10Please tell me they didn't let it down on a vine.
06:12They didn't respond.
06:13They didn't respond.
06:13No.
06:14They didn't respond.
06:15And then he hires Scott Boris.
06:16He starts pitching differently.
06:18I mean, you played sports.
06:21Yeah.
06:22At a high level.
06:24Doesn't that stick in the back of your crop?
06:25Oh, yeah.
06:26Hell, I was a third-string quarterback, and that stuck with me,
06:28much less if I had that kind of ability.
06:30Yeah.
06:30No.
06:30Look, I mean, I hope there's enough water under the bridge at this point
06:33because we've heard him talk this year about wanting to play in this uniform.
06:38I think Carlos Correa having tested the waters and get out there and make some money
06:42and come back and go, hey, man, this is a special place.
06:44I think the timing, I think there's a lot of things that are happening right now
06:47with the Astros on both sides, with him and the organization, Paul,
06:52that just really, you know, at least me as a fan,
06:55gives me some hope that they can overcome that mistake, right?
06:58I mean, that mistake at that point in time.
07:00I'm just – now, I do want to move on to the part of Dana Brown's conversations
07:05because I think we all agree, it seems we all agree,
07:07that Hunter Brown is a guy that we would all love to keep around.
07:10You see – look at Pena as one of them guys.
07:12Yeah, Pena too.
07:13Both of those guys should be here long term.
07:15And the frustrating thing with Dana Brown,
07:17who always is giving us things to talk about,
07:20is that it seems he's always putting his feet in his mouth
07:22because he was saying the same thing about Alex Bregman.
07:25We're going to extend him.
07:26We're working to extend him.
07:28And if he's saying we're working to extend both Hunter Brown and Jeremy Pena,
07:32that sounds great.
07:33That's good lip service for the casual fan.
07:35Yeah.
07:35But the fans who've been paying attention,
07:37they know exactly what's going to happen,
07:38which is they're not going to give a deal that's longer than six years.
07:41And both of those guys, there's a good chance they're playing elsewhere.
07:44Well, you let Tucker walk.
07:45You know, Bregman obviously is no longer.
07:49Boy, you've got to lock some of these guys up longer term.
07:52We'll see.
07:53We'll see.
07:53I mean, he's shrinking, though.
07:54Did you hear that story that Bregman's shrinking?
07:56He went from six foot to 5'10".
07:57And all of a sudden, because he –
07:58Who listened to him at six foot, though?
08:00He did.
08:00The Astros did.
08:01He did.
08:02I guarantee it was him going, hey, y'all listen to me at six foot.
08:04Now, all of a sudden, he doesn't mind being two inches shorter
08:06because that automated ball and strike zone is being calculated.
08:10There we go.
08:11Okay.
08:11Yeah.
08:12All of a sudden, all these arrogant big leaguers are like, oh, no, two inches ain't no big deal.
08:17I mean, I'm really 5'10".
08:18I'm not six foot.
08:19I don't even know about 5'10", Clint.
08:21I'm telling you, that's what they're saying.
08:23He was six foot here.
08:24He was 5'11", in Boston, and now he's in Chicago.
08:26He's 5'10".
08:27Oh, you don't think he's even 5'10".
08:28I know.
08:28No, I don't.
08:29And listen.
08:30You know what?
08:30We had him on one time, and I don't know that I really sized him up the way I should
08:34have.
08:34I've stood next to him, and I'm not the tallest person.
08:37I'm not the shortest person.
08:38Girlfriend claims that I am exactly six feet on the dot,
08:40and I'm taking that with me to the grave.
08:41But I've always thought to myself, I'm like a very tall 5'11",
08:44and I thought to myself that I wasn't sizably taller than Alex Bregman,
08:49but I felt very confidently taller than Alex Bregman.
08:51You know what an inch looks like, right?
08:55You had it.
08:56All right.
08:56I tell you what, man.
08:59When you look at Dana Brown and the conversations about extending Brown and Pena,
09:05I got to tell you, I asked you about Pena.
09:08I don't know if I'm there with Pena.
09:11Why not?
09:13Well, I mean, I get probably, you know,
09:18I think folks probably get tired of hearing it from me,
09:20but I just, it's one thing to be a good player, a really good player.
09:25It's another thing to be the alpha and the leader and bring, like,
09:29Carlos Correa.
09:30Like, I know there's a lot of people that got tired of me talking about it.
09:32And, look, I'm glad the Astros didn't pay him because it was good money at bad,
09:36obviously, with the issues that he had.
09:38And now you got him back and it's all good.
09:40But the dynamic that Correa brought to the table when he went to that mound,
09:45on that mound visit with Frambois Valdez, when Frambois had clearly lost it,
09:48and he basically snatched him up and said, hey, man, get your mind right, man.
09:51Damn, come on.
09:51Like, that's powerful, man.
09:54That is, especially when you got leaders like, you got your better players
09:59or guys like Altuve, who's a quiet dude.
10:02You got Jordan Alvarez, who Tyler thought his interpreter was a little,
10:07his voice was his interpreter, sounded like a little white guy.
10:10He don't even know if he speaks English very clearly.
10:12Right?
10:12So, I mean, like, you got to have that kind of presence.
10:15And I just don't know if Jeremy brings it.
10:19Interesting.
10:19The talent, I would, look, I would love, I love Jeremy Pena.
10:23I love him even more.
10:24I could have lived without Jeremy Pena until I moved him in the start
10:27and into the leadoff spot, to be completely honest with you.
10:30I like Jeremy Pena.
10:33Is he a guy that I'm just going to be hell-bent on, like,
10:35I can't believe you let walk if they let him walk?
10:38No, I'm not going to be.
10:39Hunter Brown, I'm going to be upset about.
10:40I would be upset if either of them walked.
10:42Jeremy Pena will always have a fond place in my heart
10:45because during the 2022 playoff run where he was so awesome,
10:48I was constantly singing,
10:51Jeremy Pena, home run today, like Jeremy Pearl Jam.
10:55Is that Pearl Jam?
10:55Yeah, man.
10:56Yeah, look at you.
10:57You got it.
10:57I tell you, man.
10:58I mean, I didn't have it at first.
11:00I had to lean in.
11:01I mean, I've been processing gibberish for most of my career.
11:05I didn't have that one, man.
11:06I sang it to him.
11:07And it was a very uncomfortable moment.
11:09Yeah, right before the World Series.
11:10I was like, so, do you like this?
11:11Let me get it one more time.
11:13Jeremy Pena, home run today.
11:15Oh, you're saying, I got you.
11:18Something different on that front.
11:19I got you.
11:20You're changing the lyrics.
11:21A little bit.
11:21Yeah, I wrote an entire song.
11:23It was like a 40, 50 second song.
11:25It's on my YouTube somewhere.
11:26You can find it if you really want it.
11:28I was really leaning in waiting for, isn't it Jeremy Spoken?
11:31Yeah, yeah, it is.
11:31I was thinking Spoken.
11:32That ain't what he's saying.
11:33Pena, what the hell is he talking about?
11:34Okay, I got you now.
11:35You changed the lyrics.
11:36I got you.
11:37I sang it at karaoke once because most Pearl Jam songs, like, you have no idea what the hell they're
11:40saying.
11:41Like, I love Pearl Jam.
11:41It was like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
11:44Yeah.
11:44That's a tough one.
11:45Oh, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello.
11:48So I sang it and I read the lyrics and I'm like, oh, my God, it's about a kid who
11:51shot himself in class.
11:53I just sang this, like, we're trying to have a good time at karaoke.
11:57I just picked a song about a kid who killed himself.
11:59Everybody's going, who's this sick bastard?
12:00He's up here singing about a guy that killed himself.
12:03No, I love crunch.
12:03And I was like, oh, it's actually, the lyrics are sad.
12:06Okay.
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