NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Spider-Man, Lootcrates, and new comics
Aug 21, 2019, 7:37 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!
Half way through, how we looking world?
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week I found a very odd thing that I want to point everyone's attention towards, it's this Saturday's James Harden & Friend's Charity Concert w/ Secret Special Guests. It's at Revention Music Center and it's at 6 p.m. on Saturday and tickets are on sale. That's literally ALL of the info. I don't know yet who it benefits or who is performing, but I do love a good mystery. Check it out!
FALL OF THE LOOTCRATE
Many moons ago on my show Nerd Thug Radio, I told people that the rumors circulating were that Loot Crate was having trouble paying their bills. Which is always bad news but honestly not always the end. So after some time passed I honestly thought they had figured some stuff out because they still existed, until suddenly influencers weren't getting their free boxes and people were complaining about repeat items in their boxes from previous boxes. Suddenly boxes started slipping behind on their schedule also, later and later until, not at all. So now Lootcrate it slowly winding down, they've announced bankruptcy and are trying to take care of open orders and owed boxes but are also doing layoffs and winding down things. It's unclear if they'll be able to honor all the open orders still remaining but they sound like they're going to try. Quote of the whole story, a former employee was on reddit saying they knew it was bad when their boss was sending job postings to apply at while at work.
BIG FIRST STEP
Comixology announced they are debuting four original series in September. They had mentioned before they were going to shift from media distributor to content creator as well, awhile back and this appears to be the first big stab in that direction. Comixology has a strong indy scene and they have an open submission process they work through with anyone, allegedly. This is their first genuine attempt to launch what seems to be content they had a hand in also producing. One of the books is by friend of the show Vita Ayala. Her first comic book was a Nerd Thug Radio favorite and we spent some time talking to her at Comicpalooza two years ago and since that time she has exploded all over comic books! You need to make you check her out give her new book Quarter Killer a looksie on September 26th!
SONY'S TANGLED WEB
Disturbing news out of Hollywood, Sony and Disney are going to cancel their deal and Spider-man will no longer be a part of the MCU moving forward. This is an absolute moron of a move by Sony, who hasn't gotten Spider-Man right on their own either time they tried it. Tom Holland has one more solo Sony film on his contract and it's unclear what direction he'll take from there, but this is obviously a huge blow. The root of the conflict stems from Disney wanting some of that box office cheddar that Marvel left on the table the first go round. In the first deal, Disney got all the merchandising and Sony got 95% of the box office money with Disney getting 5% of the first weekend sales. In the new deal it seems like Disney was asking for 50% of the box office haul, Sony has a mixed bag with the Spider-Man rights as their other Spider projects have gone OK but Disney had much more success with Spidey than Sony ever did alone. This is a bad move on their part.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Got new pages in for issue #2 of Another Day at the Office and I love them!! They're gorgeous!! So pumped guys, so pumped!
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.