NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Chicken sandwiches, runaways and Vampirella
Oct 1, 2019, 8:22 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!
LIGHT THE FUSE
Dynamite comics are releasing a special acetate cover for Vampirella #6 meaning they will lose money on every issue sold. But to them they are happy to do it as they think the marketing and quality cover on the shelf are worth it. The covers, drawn by former DeviantArt user Artgerm, are awesome and honestly they're totally worth checking out but is releasing a cover that makes you lose money on a comic book a good idea? The talk about the comics industry is always, they're losing money, the industry is shrinking, but maybe they're all wrong if someone is willing to lose money like this. Also watching the rise of Artgerm over the past few years is awesome, he started out as a fan artist and slowly he's become one of the hottest cover artists in the game.
CHICKEN SANDWICHES WAR
So are the Popeye's chicken sandwiches ever coming back? Every time I look online to have one of them delivered they are sold out. But in the meantime twice Chic Fil A has twice had free chicken sandwiches delivered to my house while Popeyes can't even sell their sandwiches. It's certainly an interesting dichotomy in how two businesses are run isn't it. One company is trying to measure up and the other company is taking victory laps while still being closed on Sundays.
RUNAWAYS
The return of Runaways is being promoted here lately which means it must be due back on Hulu soon which is great news as the last two seasons has been great, except the end set up an awkward season of body snatching potentially, which isn't fun television-wise. I never really enjoy those type of manufactured suspenseful moments but these guys have done a great job so far so I'm willing to ride with them for one more season especially with Cloak and Dagger coming to town!
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Work is going great on the second issue of Another Day at the Office, the comedy about a cop in a city full of superheroes. We've gotten penciled pages in and those are going through corrections and we're in talks with a colorist, which is the next step in all of this. I'm hoping to start talking to publishers and hopefully maybe wind up at one of the smaller publishers with this project.
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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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.