NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Aquaman, Superman and the X-Men
Oct 21, 2019, 6:14 am
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 and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Nov. 2 is fast approaching and that means Extra Life is almost upon us. It's a great charity drive that benefits the Children's Miracle Network and Nerd Thug Radio has been a happy member of the process since we started our little show three years ago. Join in, donate, help kids, have fun... It's pretty simple.
KING OF THE SEA
Jason Mamoa continues to impress in how he handles his career. I've mentioned several times how he's incredibly famous for basically only being in about 4 or 5 roles his whole career, but he continues to impress apparently bringing in a whole pitch to his initial meetings with Warner Bros for an Aquaman 2. They currently say he is co-writing the sequel, which is an awesome credit to his resume, I'm not sure if he's got other writing credits, I know none of the DC stuff before this or the Game of Thrones he wrote for so this would be a heck of a debut movie to co-write. Anyway his passion for the characters and roles he takes on are I think what people cling to and he continues to impress with that passion.
CLARK WHO?
Rumors have been swirling for awhile about Brian Michael Bendis' big plans for Superman and it looks like one of those is him getting rid of the Clark Kent identity. They've been slowly rolling this story out overtime with Lois Lane and Superman kissing publicly recently resulting conversation about their relationship and how Clark Kent factors into it. From there the story is going to continue and eventually Superman will choose or be forced to reveal that he is Clark Kent and at that point, there will be all kinds of issues coming from this. Heroes will feel betrayed and allegedly it will inspire a villain of some merit to "repent" so to speak, it's interesting to see where this goes.
THE WOES OF THE X MEN
Cullen Bunn gives an awesome and honest interview on AIPT, which is a great comic book website to check out. He talks about how he had big ideas for lots of characters and stories but Hickman's coming House of X basically prevented him from being able to make too many major changes to the overall arc and characters of the X Universe. Although honestly, I think considering how Hickman's story would rewrite the very reality of the X-Men universe they could have done whatever they wanted. I personally would like to see a story where basically they say, go crazy, do whatever you want. This is ultimately the problem with working in someone else's sandbox though, they limit how you tell your stories but it is the X-Men.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Casting has been coming out about Matrix 4 and honestly I'm excited about the casting, Jessica Henwick was awesome in Iron Fist and fantastic in her limited role of Game of Thrones. Capable of great action and good acting, I think she's a great choice for any action movie, but the real question I have is, do we need a Matrix 4? What's it supposed to be about? I hear most of the cast is back but for real, what are we doing here? Another Matrix movie? Weren't 2 and 3 bad?
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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