NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: DC Comics, bad movies and Rocket talk
Jun 24, 2019, 7:55 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!
Hey Nerds!
Monday is where all the magic happens, stay focused and get pumped, this is your week!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week we'll be honoring First Responders like my buddy Jon Stewart with The Branch Gives Back. A bike ride to benefit the first responders. #NerdsUnite
TROUBLE IN PARADISE?
DC Comics announced they were cancelling Vertigo, their creator friendly line where they got to take big risks with relatively unknown characters and also got some ownership with the characters they created for those stories. Overall it created a massive opportunity for award winning writers to spend time on characters they normally wouldn't be asked to write because honestly, it wouldn't be worth anyone's time or money. This line was responsible for some of the best comic books that DC had ever made and also several movies and TV shows such as Lucifer, Constantine and Doom Patrol. Combined with a recent announcement that DC comics wanted to publish fewer individual titles, suddenly DC Comics was making people nervous and some even thinking they were falling apart. This weekend they announced a massive expansion into the young adult graphic novel area. See Marvel basically owns comic sales monthly usually in both units and money in, and graphic novels too. But in the Young Adult market there is literally no one on the comic book side pushing content into that sector, there are book makers making comics which fans will tell you, aren't the same thing. This is a brilliant pivot for DC, to find an open area to grow revenue and develop more properties while avoiding Marvel. This is how you change a major company.
ROCKETS TALK
So if I'm Houston, I don't trade Chris Paul. Everyone is seeing all the stories and hearing the news about Harden and Paul not getting along and D'Antoni not wanting to re sign with the team potentially because of this issue. Here's the thing, Paul's contract first of all makes him essentially untradeable and honestly, he's an amazing asset to the team. I think Harden's offensive run over the last few years has been amazing, but the truth isn't that complicated, it's not enough. Just like Westbrook's run of triple double seasons wasn't enough to get OKC into a conference finals, Harden alone isn't enough. With this season opening up like it has, it seems like the smartest move is to take one more run at it, just go as hard as possible at it this year. Portland is probably the strongest team in the west this season that isn't named Houston and it's between us and them until either LA team makes a move of some kind. SO I say ride this out one more year and then see where you stand.
MOVIE STARS
So one time in an interview Tom Cruise said that he only has so many movies he can make before he's not capable of making movies anymore so he needed to be selective in the movies he makes. It's a wise way to evaluate films and it's an even smarter way to do business. That being said, how do so many good movie stars make awful movies? Liam Hemsworth is in a ton of bad movies, Chris Hemsworth keeps taking bad role after bad role and they aren't alone. I have no idea who looks these things over, or who tells them yes or no or if they have to do these movies for different reasons, BUT, lots of bad movies. Who gives these people advice?!
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
You know what I love about summer, getting in a pool. So seriously, invite me to your pool parties. All of them. If I'm available I will go to all of your pool parties at the drop of the hat, this is not a drill or a joke. Pool parties all day long.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House 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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