NERD AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Super heroes on TV, Sonic chicken clubs and Chris Rock
May 15, 2019, 6:39 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!
Here comes Wednesday, which means the weekend is right over the horizon. You got this!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Here's the long and short of it. Exit 73, this Sunday at noon. My buddy has cancer and it's a benefit to help him and his family deal with all the costs. It's a sad state of affairs when being sick can ruin you if you survive. He has a wife and three daughters, they're great people, they could use some help. #NerdsUnite
HAVE YOU TRIED THESE?
Sonic just debuted a new King's Hawaiian Chicken Club Sandwich and it's awesome. I'm big on chicken sandwiches in general anyway and this is one of the better ones. Obviously the bread is awesome that's sort of the point of this one right, using King's Hawaiian bread. Well it works, it's delicious and I recommend more people eat it. The other part of this one is the sauce, it's got one of the better sauces that a fast food has put on a sandwich in awhile, it's a Sonic Signature Sauce so I have no idea what it is but it's a tastier rip off of the big mac sauce meets honey mustard I think. Either way, it's awesome.
THE RETURN OF FARGO
So I might be the only one who still loves this show, but I freaking love this show. I thought every season of it has been great and I can't wait to see what's to come next. The new season is said to have Chris Rock as the head of one of two families that trade sons to keep the peace between two crime families, then enters the mob. Every season has kind of been about these smaller criminal organizations that rule their world like a king but then a real organization comes in and changes everything. How long can you hold power in the face of real power? I think that's what it all comes down to.
THE LANDSCAPE OF COMIC BOOK TV
The world of television is changing, a few years back there were tons of comic book television shows building up on the horizon and little by little they came and went and now on the horizon there are maybe only about a third as many comic book shows. I think that's ok, actually that may be great because it means we've passed the "fad" phase of programming, there were probably a few shows that got picked up and made simply because they were comic book shows. Not that they were great and would help a television line up but just because "everyone loves comic books." That's now no longer the case it looks like and I think it's great.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Yesterday they announced they're lining up a major relaunch of the X-Men line of comics. The comparisons and the conversations are this is the next big chapter in the history of X-Men. Jonathan Hickman is coming back to Marvel to write it and it seems like he's going to be the lead architect behind all of it. He was the shaper of the whole massive Fantastic Four story that ended in Secret Wars, with Dr Doom realizing Reed Richards is truly the better man, it was a great run. Brian Michael Bendis seems to have started this trend by jumping to DC and basically being given a whole line of youth oriented comics to relaunch Young Justice with and it seems like Hickman has the same control over the X Men stable for the near future. I'm excited for the X-Men having an organization wide plan with one cohesive story and plot built into it with one guy leading the world of the mutants, I think it's what's been missing here lately from a lot of the lines at the big companies, cohesion without events, I hope it works.
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.
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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.