NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds around town: Lakers dysfunction, NBA playoffs and home runs/unwritten rules
May 29, 2019, 6:42 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, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
And just like that it's Wednesday! Stay with it and stay on it, don't let this week slip away!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Feeding America is one of the biggest and highest rated and well reviewed national charities in America. It sounds tacky to say but when it comes to Food Banks, more than your canned goods and non perishables, the thing they need more than anything else is cash. They negotiate great deals from food vendors and are able to use the tax laws and incorporated laws to their advantage and turn that money into as many meals as possible for the hungry. This is just one of the hard truths of charity, that while it's a great thing for people to give them canned goods they really need your donations more than anything, so please please please, donate to Feeding America! #NerdsUnite
NBA FINALS
The NBA Finals start this Thursday night and that is exciting. I am honestly excited about what might happen. I think the Raptors win, I've honestly been of the mindset that it's just too hard to win four out of five and be in five straight at all. The Warriors are in unknown territory already in modern NBA, when the Celtics won eleven in a row it was pre free agency, and really it was a prehistoric NBA, now everything is different and these guys have a lot to prove and a lot on the line. The five appearances I didn't believe would happen as it's just a lot to keep getting back but they are one of the most talented rosters in modern sports and with that comes this opportunity. I think the Raptors will win it, I've been doubting them the whole post season as well but this feels like a scenario where there's enough trouble in Golden State that Toronto can surprise people.
ALL OF THE LAKERS PROBLEMS
So this story about The Lakers becoming dysfunctional, I think it's unfair to say it's because of Magic Johnson and these other people. I honestly think this franchise went in the wrong direction with the last few years of Kobe's run with the team. The Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Kobe era I think is really where the issues come up. If you recall, in the meeting to get Dwight Howard to stay Kobe sat in the meeting and then there were meetings with other great players and Kobe basically made an ass of himself and Lamarcus Aldridge doesn't sign with the Lakers and goes to San Antonio and Dwight Howard leaves and Steve Nash is just too old honestly. The team had leveraged tons of picks and cap space to try and get Kobe some temporary help to chase one more title and the end result is the team we have in front of us today. A team that needed all this time to rebuild anyway, and I do agree that Luke Walton isn't a great coach and Lebron isn't enough on his own to carry a team in the West, but the idea of a part-time president? That's a terrible idea, and the idea that a sport's agent can be a general manager? That's an even worse idea. This was a bad set up but it's all built on an even worse foundation and I think people are forgetting that.
THAT'S CRAZY
So a weird stat appeared yesterday, there is an active streak of 36 seasons in a row that a player in the NBA finals has played with Shaquille O'Neal. That's a statement on a couple of things, first it's a statement that he and his team did a good job surrounding himself with talented players. It's also though an indication of how many rosters Shaq has been on. Orlando to LA to Miami to Phoenix to Cleveland to Boston, did you remember he played in Boston? I did, but I've looked it up before because I even doubted myself on that one once or twice. He's been out of the league since 2011 and still the streak is alive. Now Lebron helped there but Danny Green is on the Raptors and he's a former Shaq teammate so the streak is alive. It's an interesting facet of a massive basketball legacy that Shaq has built.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I hate "Baseball's Unwritten Rules." Seriously. They don't make any sense and one I hate the most is no showboating. There is no other sport where people say "no showboating;" there just isn't. The Reds and the Pirates have a series going on and a kid named Dietrich is jacking homeruns like nobody's business and likes to stand in the box and admire them. I don't mind that at all, I would admire homecruns too, especially if I struck out as much as this guy does. He's a classic power hitter, just as likely to strike out as he is to hit a home run and so yeah he showboats but he also strikes out. This is a professional league, if you don't want him to gloat, then strike him out. If he hits a home run he should gloat, he should take 12 minutes to round the bases, because I promise you, I would take 20.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Wednesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Thursday 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 or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! 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!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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