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!
Friday! We made it, it's the weekend and it's time to get crazy.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
AICF and Mark Clayton Scholarship Golf Tournament, help some kids go to college, it's expensive. #NerdsUnite
THE NBA DRAFT
The NBA Draft was last night and it's crazy. There were seventeen trades during the draft and honestly I'm confused about a lot of team's direction. Atlanta clearly knows what they're doing, they've built a great young core. A lot of other teams though are clearing space and moving pieces all so only one of them can sign a hobbled Kevin Durant who might even just resign with the Warriors and be traded later. The Lakers who have been trying really hard to be the most incompetent team in sports lately continued the trend by buying a draft pick and adding a player, wait what? I thought they were looking to clear space for a Max player? Now they're adding players? Say what? I'm not sure New Orleans should be all that thrilled with their line up but I guess if you have to trade a superstar this is what it looks like.
WHILE YOU'RE OUT
As always and as usual, you should support your local Comic shop. There's some interesting stuff going on in Marvel, they're bringing the Infinity Gems back to the forefront and did so with Marvel's favorite X Man, Wolverine. The story culminates in Wolverine: Infinity Watch #5, which is supposed to set up the stones back in Marvel proper where they haven't been around for well over a decade. If Superman has always been your thing but you've never been able to get into it, DC launched Superman: Year One under their Black Label line. Black Label is a more adult approach to superheroes and DC comics has been really selective about what books come out under this line, so an intro to Superman is an interesting choice. If Indy books is more your thing then makes sure to check out Lab Raider #1 from Black Mask, they're taking a lot of risks and telling new stories with new superheroes and breaking a lot of new ground. Check this thing out.
WHO ME?
Tonight I'll be up at The Adventure Begins playing Heroclix with Joey Savage, we'll be hanging out and having a good time. It's BYOB and a great time, so why aren't you going to come hang out with us? You should, you really, really should.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So hopefully, by the time you read this, I'll be releasing my first complete digital comic book. I am SO PUMPED about this next step. This is the next step in me pushing and developing my career and I am super excited. This is hopefully a big and great next step for me. Fingers crossed and thanks in advance for the support.
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.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
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!
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!