NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Bush, X Men and sharks

Nerds Around Town: Bush, X Men and sharks
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!

The whole thing starts again, it's Tuesday, go get them!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

This weekend is Father's Day, there's a lot of emotions for me this year. It'll be the first since my Father passed and there's a lot that comes with that. My mom did remarry after my parents divorced and I have an awesome stepfather and we have a great relationship and honestly I'm not sure what kind of man I'd be if he wasn't in my life, but there's just a weirdness to all of this. Anyway, this week just make sure you talk to your Dad, tell him you love and him and thank him for the things he's done and if you're not close, think about reaching out, and if you can't then maybe just let someone important know how you feel and if you're sad then make sure someone who loves you knows. Everyone needs people from time to time. Ok on to lighter faire. #NerdsUnite

DID EVERYONE KNOW THIS?

So recently I've gotten back into Spotify while I write, I don't know about everyone else but I go back and forth in cycles like the moon. Sometimes I play music covers on YouTube and sometimes I listen to podcasts and right now I'm back on a professional music kick. Anyway I was streaming through some different playlists and eventually wound up on a 00's one and Bush was playing and I was like, man I loved Bush, so I then searched just Bush and started listening and suddenly a whole album I've never heard of started playing. Bush made an album in 2017 called "Black and White Rainbows" and I had never heard of it. Never heard a single from it, never even knew it existed and then Spotify played a song from John Wick 3's soundtrack Bush recorded. Are they back together? Did I not know this? Are they coming to Houston?

SHARK TANK

I love watching Shark Tank, and I love watching the Profit, those kind of shows get me jazzed. They tickle my entrepreneur bone and make me want to launch another business. Part of my background is that I've had my own company three different times and launched a company with a buddy and obviously Nerd Thug Radio with my cousin and my brother. These kind of adventures and opportunities are what I live for, they're the kind of chances that you just have to take, you have to bet on yourself and go big every once in a while, otherwise, how do you know you're even alive? Anyway, my pet peeve about those shows are when someone just doesn't get it. Sometimes it's the sharks and they're like "I don't think you solved a problem very many people have, or I don't think anyone is going to spend $X for that," sometimes it's the business owner just not communicating their vision correctly, it drives me crazy. I watched a rerun of Shark Tank where they all turned down a premium cooler that kept everything cold for days, it wasn't the brand you're thinking of but another one and each shark said "I don't think anyone will pay $100 for a cooler." We now know that's not true…

X MEN DARK PHOENIX

X Men Dark Phoenix has been out for a few days and it looks like it's a total bomb. I'm honestly not surprised and frankly I'm a little disappointed in the lack of willingness to take on challenges that the X Men franchise showed by the end there. I would like to have seen a little more continuity between Apocalypse and this next film but I also would have done something different story wise. You know Beast, Mystique, Magneto and Professor X's contracts are up so you kill them and pass the torches to two new leaders. For this movie I would have introduced only one new mutant into the equation so there would have been Jean Grey, Storm, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Beast, Mystique and Quicksilver and I would have introduced Polaris as Magneto's daughter and for a villain I would have done the Reavers. Magneto has his own little mutant haven and Professor X has just found Magneto's daughter. This leads to a reunion between them and suddenly Archangel arrives holding the wounded body of Psylocke and the Reavers have been hunting them. During the horror inspired, mutants on the run story, Beast then Xavier, then Mystique and finally Magneto all die, leaving Cyclops as the new Prof X and Polaris as the new Magneto. Quicksilver and Archangel stand with her and Jean, Storm and Nightcrawler stand with Cyclops, boom the franchise continues. Of course then Disney buys Fox and my movie would be over anyway but at least I wouldn't have just remade Last Stand again.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

So I wound up not going out and having a drinky, dranky drunky time. It just wasn't a fun weekend overall so I don't have any cool stories, I did have maybe the best sausage and cheese kolache I've had in a while though so that's always nice.

I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Tuesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Wednesday 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 some proceeds help fight cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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Jose Abreu is chasing history, but not in a good way. Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images.

I left for vacation on April 14. Came back home on April 24. Eleven days in England and Germany.

Astros first baseman Jose Abreu went 0 for my vacation.

The last time Abreu reached base via a real-life hit was April 13 when he got two hits (fully half of his season total) and his batting average soared to a robust .122.

Since then, while I was dining on shepherd’s pie and schnitzel, Abreu has gone hitless in 21 at bats and his batting average has plunged to a squinty .065.

There’s an expression in baseball when a player is having a horrible, dreadful season: “He ain’t hitting his weight.”

Abreu ain’t hitting his uniform number. If you’re keeping score at home, Abreu weighs 250 pounds and wears number 79.

Abreu is chasing history. The record for suckiest single-season batting average for a player with enough plate appearances (502) to qualify for the batting title is held by former Orioles slugger Chris Davis.

In 2018, Davis batted .168. Despite being in the middle of a wildly overpaid 7-year, $161 million contract, the Orioles essentially fired Davis and his career was over in 2020.

Abreu is in the middle year of a guaranteed 3-year, $58.5 million, money down the toilet contract. Will he be an Astro next year when owner Jim Crane chokes on signing yet another $19.5 million paycheck for Abreu? Unlikely.

Other modern era batters have turned in disastrous single-season averages. Dan Uggla batted an unattractive .179 for the Braves in 2013. Rob Deer was a deer in the headlights swatting .179 for the Tigers in 1991.

Abreu is turning futility into an art form. If he continues his .065 pace he will obliterate every record for crummiest season in baseball history.

He has appeared in 19 games and has 4 hits in 62 at bats, with no home runs and one measly RBI. He had his latest oh-fer Tuesday night against the Cubs.

Fans are clamoring for Astros manager Joe Espada to open his eyes, stop looking at the back of Abreu’s baseball and bench the flailing, failing first baseman.

I say the opposite. In fact move him back to fifth in the batting order. If Abreu stays focused on doing what he does best this season - striking out with runners in scoring position - fans can witness the worst batting stats anybody’s ever had.

Oh, by the way, Abreu is a horrible fielding first baseman. We don’t know if he’s a good base runner. He’d have to get on base for us to tell.

Abreu is on pace to get 502 plate appearances. So this counts.

There actually is a player who’s having worse time at the plate than Abreu., though.

Abreu’s meager stats look positively Ruthian compared to what former Astro catcher Martin Maldonado is putting up for the White Sox. Maldy has 2 hits in 42 at bats for a subterranean .048 batting average with no homers and no RBI in 15 games. Maldonado won’t get to 502 plate appearances, however.

Who will end 2024 with a lower batting average: Abreu or Maldonado? This epic battle could go down to the final game of the season.

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