ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
Well we made it, it's Friday and to quote renowned American philosopher Homer J Simpson, "Woo Hoo!"
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Right now according to the Houston Food Bank, one in five children in Southeast Texas doesn't have enough to eat. Not in Africa, not one of those commercials with a person who used to be famous, shows you some pictures of people with flies flying around living in little mud huts but here in Texas. So look, it's payday, it's Friday, lets put some food on people's plates. For every dollar you donate to the Houston Food Bank it helps provide three meals, you can even make your donation a regular monthly event. Let's get those kids fed, then we can get drunk and get happy!
WHO ME?
So on Fridays I'll try and give you a peek into my life and let you know what I got planned this weekend. Today I plan on getting the weekend "chores" done, grocery shopping and whatnot, then I want to catch the rest of the first round of the Overwatch playoffs somewhere, especially after the #2 New York Excelsior were stomped out of the first round in a crazy upset (shout out to #7 Seoul Dynasty)! Saturday, friends of the show The Adventure Begins Comics, Games and More in Conroe are having Hellboy day, so I'll be swinging by and seeing what all of that's about and Sunday is pleasantly unplanned as of right now, I might hit up a certain Tacopalooza.
THIS WEEKEND IN STREAMING
Now that I've ruined you plans for kicking back and watching The Dirt, if you are struggling to find something to watch this weekend, I have a fun recommendation. If the kids are around and you're looking for a fun thing for everybody to watch, Oscar winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse is out for purchase and I really can't recommend this movie enough. Great soundtrack, crazy visual style, it's the kind of movie you should want your kids to watch because it makes them think a little and still has a great fun ride. If no one's around, go see Us. It's going to be one of those things people are talking about for weeks, just like Peele's last movie Get Out, Jordan Peele is rapidly proving he's one of these guys who when he makes it, we go see it. I'm not mad about that.
WHILE YOU'RE OUT
So this weekend as you're running around, if you're looking for something fun to do that you might not have done here lately, hop into your local comic shop. Comic books actually come out every Wednesday, but only the die-hard guys get out there then, most people wait for the weekend. Swing in and take a look around there's lots of cool things going on, Batman next week is releasing his #1,000 issue most stores are doing something to celebrate that. Go in and ask but there's all kinds of comic books for all kinds of people these days and I think there's something for everyone and that includes you. Justice League is in the middle of a great story, The Avengers mini-series features Conan the Barbarian helping out some Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy are in the middle of a crazy storyline involving the Death of Thanos, and there are tons of great independent books too. Companies like Image, Valiant and Aftershock are putting out comic books that are different and worth looking at if you're curious. There are science fiction, fantasy, super heroes, dramas all kinds of madness, it's well worth your time and still a great way to enjoy art.
A WEEK UNDER A SMOKE CLOUD
I don't live in Deer Park, so let me first start off by saying that I feel for those guys and hate that this has happened to them. They basically spent an entire week without knowing what's going on, what will go on, are they in danger? Are they being exposed to harmful chemicals? Was it even safe for them to stay there at all? They did it by trusting the system and the city and the plan in place, but it's starting to sound like overall there were numerous breakdowns in this system. I've heard people express a ton of disappointment in the young, inexperienced county judge. That's probably fair, but she didn't start the fire, she didn't run a company that still a week later can't tell anyone how many gallons of chemical are still onsite. ITC has had very few answers and it doesn't seem like they're going to expedite the answer-getting process anytime soon. The reality is from a corporate standpoint it's in their best interests to say as little as possible, a workplace incident will determine a lot of who bears responsibility for all of this. If it was poorly handled by the company and they knowingly failed in some way that led to this incident then they're at fault. For the sake of their bottom line, they want to solve this as quickly and as quietly as possible without admitting any fault and having to payout as little as possible. I hope local government and the regulating bodies get involved and the people who really were hurt by this, the people of Deer Park, I hope whatever they need to have done, gets done.
EVEN THOUGH NOBODY ASKED ME
I think it's awesome that Harlem Heat are going into the WWE Hall of Fame, but I'm not thrilled overall by this class. I mean it's exciting to have DX get together again, but it's the large version including The New Age Outlaws and X-Pac and not the Shawn Micheals and Triple H version that made the Monday Night Wars so interesting. Honky Tonk Man is a questionable choice also, while he was the longtime holder of the record for longest intercontinental title run, he was overshadowed by the guy he dropped it to, The Ultimate Warrior. It's just not a great class and overall that's my complaint not anything to slight Stevie Ray and Booker T just an observation about the overall class. All of that being said, sincere congrats to everyone!
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great weekend and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Monday and we'll be bringing more good times your way. Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House, or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where every shirt is now under $20, or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.