THE NERD REPORT
Nerds around town: Sonic, poker raids, comicpalozza and more
May 2, 2019, 7:14 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!
It's Thursday and we're almost through it, if you squint you can basically see the weekend and maybe going to see Avengers again!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
The American Red Cross is a charity that comes to people when they are down and steps in to try and help out. They aren't perfect and there are tons of fair criticisms to be made about these guys, but imagine a world where they don't exist. It's not the world we're trying to make right? Let's help people out. #NerdsUnite
WHY IS IT EVEN BEING MADE?
Sonic the Hedgehog released a trailer and it was horrific. This trailer may be the worst thing I've seen in a little while and I'm honestly confused why is it even a movie? I know everyone thinks every property is a movie now and honestly I thought the Detective Pikachu movie sounded like a horrible idea but the trailer came out and it looked pretty good. Not good enough for me to go see it on my own, maybe if a lady wants to go I'll take a nice nerd lady out to see it, but on my own? Not likely, but it did look good at least. This one though? Sonic looks unwatchable, and here's the weirdest part about all of it, Sonic has been animated in cartoons, video games and other things, we know what Sonic is supposed to look like, they completely redesigned him for this movie. They didn't base it on the old ones, they didn't update or make it modern, they made a brand new looking Sonic. What the heck? Who asked for this? Where was the demand? This movie looks awful.
WTF?
So I guess we're going to continue the trend about talking about if something is legal or not. The police raided a poker room yesterday and took the position that poker rooms are against the law again. Last year people asked the state attorney general if he was going to go after poker rooms and he didn't, now they're getting raided and words like money laundering are getting thrown around. They are saying all kinds of things and obviously this is going to go to trial and get sorted out, in the comments to the news article I saw some people mad at the police chief. That doesn't even make sense, he didn't issue the warrants on this, this is clearly coming down from a state level. Also, in other news the Kraft tapes might be getting suppressed because people were having their privacy violated while they were committing prostitution. Is that relevant? I thought if you are in the process of committing a crime privacy isn't important. I mean it's a weird thing to think a sex crimes unit thought prostitution was going on, got a warrant for that, filmed it occurring and then the judge in a trial says "people were going there with an expectation of privacy" yeah, to commit crimes. That's an odd decision.
COMICPALOOZA
Next weekend is the biggest nerd weekend in all of Houston, Comicpalooza. This year Emilia Clarke is one of the guests and by Sunday night there will only be one episode left of Game of Thrones. I am one of the hosts of Comicpalooza currently booked to host a few panels and who knows what other troubles I'll get into while I'm there but man I am pumped. I love Comicpalooza it's always such a big weekend so many people out there in the world, going and getting their nerd on. It doesn't matter what your fandom is or who you follow or what you're nerdy about it's all there and it's all in good fun. There will be costumes and cosplayers and artists and celebrities all in one place all having a great time. If you've already bought your tickets, check out the website because they're about to start letting people pick up their tickets early. It is a great time to be a nerd.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So I have many pet peeves, many, many pet peeves. I think I might even be described as a grump. Perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves though is when people don't respond to text messages. Man, everyone has their phone on them these days, everyone checks their phone every ten minutes, so who are we kidding for the sake of my sanity, return my text messages! My little brother is the biggest culprit of it, he'll even talk to me about text messages he didn't return which makes it even worse in my book. That's like a double sin. Anyway, I'm just venting.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Thursday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Friday 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 $.50 from every shirt is donated to a good cause or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. 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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