00:01How you doing, Roflo?
00:02I'm good. I started my happy hour about three hours ago.
00:05I'm faded as hell right now.
00:06Faded as hell.
00:08Robert Flores.
00:10Come on.
00:11Lock in, H-Town.
00:14From the clubhouse to the front office,
00:16nobody knows the Astros like a hometown guy
00:20now found in the national spotlight.
00:23Some people need to get those verbal hands every now and then.
00:25In fact, more often than not.
00:26We're talking Strohs with Roflo.
00:30I'm athletic enough.
00:32Live on the drive.
00:35Damn, Roflo, you done got it open.
00:38How about that?
00:39How about that?
00:41Legendary.
00:42That's crazy.
00:44Damn.
00:45You done got it open.
00:47The big voice guy got it open for Roflo.
00:49This is for real now.
00:51I don't know.
00:52The production team was fire.
00:56There we go.
00:57FM now.
00:58Big time, baby.
00:59FM, baby.
00:59I know.
01:00Big time.
01:01Big time.
01:02Now, I thought my Venmo is looking a little light now with the open.
01:08I was just wondering maybe, you know, a little do-re-me.
01:12But, hey, that's what I guess, you know.
01:13We'll move on and discuss that at a later date.
01:16But we're off to a great start.
01:17Yeah, check that Cash app.
01:18All right.
01:21Robert.
01:22Check that Zell, too, while you're at it.
01:24Yeah, keep checking him.
01:25Robert Flores, MLB Network, joins us.
01:28By the way, guys, Roflo and his MLB Central crew, Mark DeRosa, Lauren Shahadi,
01:36they'll be out in New York, Citi Field, where the Mets play on Friday, 9 a.m. Central,
01:44as Major League Baseball commemorates the 25-year anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th.
01:53MLB Network also has a new documentary out called When America Took the Field,
01:59debuting tomorrow, 9 a.m. Central.
02:03And it looks back at the role that baseball played to help the nation to get over September 11th.
02:10So we are glad to have you in, and we are glad to have you in with the Astros starting
02:18to make a move.
02:19And they find themselves in first place in the AL West, coming up with a huge –
02:25last night felt like playoff baseball to me, especially the late innings and the Houdini act
02:31that they had to get out of the 7th, 8th, and 9th.
02:33But overall, Roflo, do you believe, looking at the field,
02:40do you believe the Astros have a real chance to make a run in the postseason?
02:45Well, I think it depends on – I think there's levels to it, right?
02:51I think that because the American League is open,
02:58I think I would put the Rays or the Astros scene later in the week.
03:03I think right now that would be my favorite to come out of the American League.
03:08The Yankees close behind, although we don't know what Aaron Judge is going to look like
03:14in a month.
03:14So I think that the Astros have shown, particularly when you look at their record
03:20against 500 teams, that more often than not, they can play with
03:26and have had good success against teams above 500.
03:30But they clearly have some areas that need to be addressed and need to be shored up,
03:37and clearly we have about three weeks left before the postseason begins.
03:41But I was very impressed with what I saw from this group last night.
03:46And, you know, a few weeks ago, their worst loss of the season, in my opinion,
03:51was when they blew a 5-0 lead, I think it was, to the A's on that Sunday home game.
03:55I thought that was the worst loss of the year.
03:58I thought the best win of the year may have come last night
04:01because they've got to deal with Christopher Sanchez tonight, Zach Wheeler tomorrow.
04:07So getting that win last night against Andrew Painter, that was paramount
04:11considering what they have facing them this week
04:15and also who's chasing them.
04:18Of course, that's the Texas Rangers.
04:19Roe Flo, you mentioned that a lot has to be filled here
04:24and figured out for Houston going down the stretch.
04:27Two things that are currently, I mean, big positives for the Astros,
04:33but I don't know that we know what to expect the rest of the way
04:38in Wisniewski as well as Peter Lambert.
04:42I mean, those two people, we go nowhere without those two at this point
04:46following up behind Hunter Brown.
04:48What's your thoughts on those two guys in particular?
04:51Are they going to run out of gas?
04:52Are they, you feel confident that they're just two guys
04:55that got to try a little harder but the production's going to be there?
04:58I think Wisniewski's going to be okay.
05:01I worry about Peter Lambert a little bit.
05:04He's obviously, look, if he's not on E,
05:08then that gas tank is between a quarter, you know,
05:11that needle is between quarter tank and E right now.
05:14But you're right.
05:15He has been the Astros' most consistent starter.
05:19And it's remarkable considering what his career was in Denver
05:24with the Rockies and also considering he didn't even make
05:28the big league club coming out of spring training.
05:30He started the year in the minors.
05:32And now fast forward, here we are with basically less than a month
05:36less in the season, and he's been their most consistent starter.
05:39At the same time, I don't know where this club would be
05:41without Hayden Wisniewski.
05:43He's a Houston area kid.
05:46He has made eight starts since, you know, returning from Tommy John
05:50and the Astros are seven and one in those starts.
05:52So, he has been everything.
05:55And I'm going to be interested to see what Hunter Brown looks like tonight.
05:59It looks like maybe he's starting to turn a corner.
06:02And if that is indeed the case, that is a huge step for this club
06:07moving forward.
06:08Robert Flores, MLB Network, joins us.
06:11You can catch him each and every morning, Monday through Friday,
06:16on MLB Central on MLB Network.
06:19Rofalo, I look at the numbers, especially since August 1st,
06:23and we had a conversation about this.
06:25I feel stupid because the numbers are still – like, I mean,
06:30Martin Maldonado would pay good money to have a month of the slash line
06:36of Jordan Alvarez.
06:37But it looks – it seems like he's off.
06:41What's going on with Jordan?
06:43Well, I think not only does it seem like that to you,
06:47but as of a couple of weeks ago, it seemed that way to Jordan Alvarez.
06:52I had a chance to interview Jordan.
06:54I had, you know, arranged it through Astros Media Relations,
06:58and shout out to them for helping make that happen.
07:01Because, one, I just rarely see Jordan do interviews.
07:05So, I was eager to chat with him, and we had a set time.
07:09But, you know, he was about a half hour, 40 minutes late,
07:13and bless his heart, he was hitting out on the field.
07:16He was doing extra stage work.
07:17He was doing batting practice on the field there at Citi Field
07:21when they were getting ready to play the Mets.
07:23And I'm told that that's something he rarely does.
07:26So, he's searching a little bit.
07:29But that being said, it's all about perspective, right?
07:32I think it's the alarm bells go off a little bit
07:36because of what his season was like prior to August.
07:40So, I tend to look, I am a half-glass, empty kind of guy.
07:44I am the most pessimistic person there is.
07:47But I think this little maybe blip in the radar might be good for Jordan,
07:51and maybe if the Astros are fortunate enough to get to the postseason,
07:55maybe he catches fire again.
07:57Is this affecting his chances at the MVP at all, you think?
08:02I don't think the MVP, but it's obviously affecting the triple crown chase.
08:06I know that Junior Caminero passed him in homers.
08:10I believe, I don't have the numbers in front of me,
08:13but I think Alonzo, Pete Alonzo has also jumped him in RBIs as well.
08:20But, look, we know all it takes for a hitter like Jordan
08:24is either a little jam shot the other way,
08:28a rocket the other way, or a 450 moonshot.
08:36Maybe not.
08:36All right.
08:37Well, I think we may be lost or a float there.
08:40All right.
08:41Right on time.
08:42Right.
08:42There we go.
08:42Robert Flores.
08:43Hello, hello.
08:44There he is.
08:45There he is.
08:45Go ahead.
08:45Finish it up.
08:47No, I was just going to say,
08:48I think it's not going to take much for Jordan to get back.
08:52I think it just takes one at-bat, one at one game,
08:56and he will be right back to where he was.
08:59Now, is it going to be too late for the triple crown?
09:01I don't know.
09:01But I think he still wins the MVP.
09:03I think he still wins the MVP.
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