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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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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