NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Team USA, Kawhi and Westbrook
Jul 8, 2019, 6:55 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!
Hey Nerds!
Welcome to Monday, this week is going to be a great one because we're going to make it that way, right? Set it up and knock it down!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This Saturday, from 3pm to 11pm the Stixx and Stonez Cigar Society is throwing a huge party slash donation drive, asking everyone to bring socks, washing powder and toiletries for donation at the Stixx and Stonez Sundresses and Summershirts Day Party. Check out the info, it looks like it's going to be awesome.
CONGRATS TO TEAM USA
First of all, congrats to Team USA for winning a record breaking fourth Women's World Cup. This is the kind of thing that should be celebrated at all levels by all Americans. This team was incredibly deep, incredibly talented and incredibly confident bordering on arrogant. They had the misfortune of playing France in Paris and survived, eliminating a host country in a World Cup is already one of the hardest things in sports and USA handled it with ease. Megan Repino has been fantastic as a leader who puts her money where her mouth is and scored so many clutch goals for this team and took so much of the pressure off the team and onto her own back. There has been some blowback on this team though with people mentioning the pay being unfair and making comments, internet sensation Nicole Arbour trying to say fan money should determine the pay for the Women's team. The reason that's a grossly inaccurate take is simply this, the Women's team is run by Team USA and even though the women's team beats the Men's team in ratings, attendance and probably sales of merchandise, they get paid less, get booked in worse stadiums and don't receive the same perks as far as travel and accommodations go. It is truly a pay disparity that warrants discussion, because while one team has won four world cups, the other didn't even qualify for the last World Cup.
THE KAWHI HAS LANDED
So did anyone see The Clippers coming? Anyone? I know I didn't, I'll cop to that in a heartbeat. So keeping their core roster intact and getting two max contract players is impressive, however I don't think this team is all that well positioned in a crowded West. Portland and Houston were already really good teams, the Lakers while adding Anthony Davis were a roster in progress and Utah added a great point guard to what was a quality roster and Dallas may be on the rise leaving The Clippers somewhere around the fifth or sixth best team in the West? Also Paul George isn't the guy everyone thinks he is, his metrics are all great. But when he matches up against quality guys like Dame Lillard, he gets beat. When there's a game 7 he scores ZERO points in three quarters, he's a shrinking violet in my estimation and I don't know that this team is going to be as successful as the roster indicates which after giving up all those picks to get him is exactly the kind of news they don't want to get because as presently constructed this is the roster.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK TO HOUSTON?
So yesterday afternoon the news broke that the Rockets were heavily pursuing a trade for Russell Westbrook, while keeping Chris Paul, meaning the team would basically be Harden, Paul, Westbrook and some people. Honestly, I say go for it. The reason I think this is a good move for the Rockets is because no one is going to bail us out of the Chris Paul deal, no one. So if we have Chris Paul for the next three years then this is the window, load up as best as you can and just maximize your opportunity in what is still a wide open Western Conference. No team got that vaunted third star on their roster and Toronto proved you don't need two stars even to win a championship if the roster is deep enough and theirs obviously was, so literally anyone in the West can win this year, why not try and be the best team in the West and go from there.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I told you guys the NBA free agency was one of the most exciting in sports, I hope you believed me.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House 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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No. 1 seed Houston romps past SIU Edwardsville in NCAA Tournament opener
Mar 21, 2025, 1:10 pm
Spring has officially sprung and the Astros are about to head home from spring training, meaning the regular season is almost here. Throw in the ongoing NCAA Tournament and late-March Houston weather, and this is one of the best times of the year. There is more uncertainty about the quality of the Astros heading into a season then there has been in nearly a decade, which frankly makes for an even more fun season if the most critical questions get positive answers. Let’s delve into a few issues.
Is it the Cam-shaft if the Grapefruit League phenom isn’t in the Astros’ lineup opening day? No it isn’t, but there really is no downside to giving Cam Smith a shot in right field right out of the gate. The hype has gone over the top given Smith’s spring consists of fewer than 40 at bats with most of them coming against minor league caliber pitchers. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old has looked the part of a big leaguer. If it’s because he’s ready to be one now it’s just wasting time of his career keeping him in the minors. The raw talent is irrefutable. If Smith gets the shot and is overmatched by big league pitching, it’s not catastrophic to have to send him down for some more seasoning. Basically learning to play right field on the fly at the big league level would be an additional challenge. But it’s not as if the Astros would be benching a good player to see what Smith can do.
Manager Joe Espada by nature and by de facto job requirement has to present a positive front. Espada has talked of Chas McCormick making good contact and hitting balls hard. Blah, blah, blah. Three singles and one double in 28 at bats doesn’t make anyone tingly with excitement. Again, spring training statistics should be taken with buckets full of grains of salt, but last spring McCormick hit .366 with an .865 OPS. Then, when the games started counting, his season was pretty relentlessly atrocious. Paraphrasing myself from one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week: in 2022 Chas was a Champ. 2023 was the year of the Chas Chomp. In 2024 Chas was a Chump. You know who hit .308 with a .919 OPS during spring training 2024? Jose Abreu. We heard about his exit velocities and bat speed (and of course the back of his baseball card). Blah, blah, blah. Mauricio Dubon had a gaudy .471 average last spring. Then the real games began. Alex Bregman sizzled in Florida, then started the regular season in a six-week offensive coma. I have covered repeatedly how a very high percentage of bonafide star-level players are in the majors at 22. They don’t all crush it from day one. They absolutely, positively cannot crush it until given a shot.
So far, so bad?
The Jose Altuve left fielder experiment has not gone well so far. Some of it is very problematic, some of it much less so. Altuve botching two routine catches this week may have induced wincing and/or groaning, but there is going to be a learning curve. As a second baseman Altuve never had to worry about trying to catch a ball with his glove in the air, make a quick transfer, and throw the ball a distance longer than from second base to first base. That he rushed a couple times and dropped the fly ball may actually be a good thing because it should reinforce that while you want the catch and throw to be one fluid action, the first component must be secured first. The advice to Little Leaguers may be worth noting too: “Two hands!” Altuve’s weak arm is indisputable and an inescapable problem as long as he is out there, but it is highly doubtful that catching routine fly balls remains an adventure. If it does, aborting Altuve’s outfield becomes near mandatory. All this drives home how substantially the Astros see Altuve’s defensive erosion at second base (as backed up by all the advanced metrics). It’s not as if Altuve was removed from the position at which he’ll be recognized as a Hall of Famer because a Dubon/Brendan Rodgers/Luis Guillorme second base option is exciting. Ideally, 2023 first round draft pick Brice Matthews becomes the Astros’ future regular at second. But Matthews is not close to ready. Basically, would you/they prefer Altuve in left with anybody else playing second, or Altuve back at second with Smith and Jake Meyers manning two outfield spots with some combo of McCormick, Ben Gamel, and Zach Dezenzo in the third. Obviously the Astros see the former as better. For now at least.
Arms race
If the Astros are to win the American League West for the eighth time in nine years (eight straight full-schedule seasons) the starting pitching will almost certainly be the biggest reason. With the Yankees losing Gerrit Cole for the entire season and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil for at least half the season, there isn’t one American League rotation that definitely rates above the Astros. The Mariners’ rotation probably rates better, maybe the Royals’. Framber Valdez makes his fourth (and last?) consecutive Astros’ opening day start Thursday. The New York Mets will go with converted former Yankees’ reliever Clay Holmes who will make his first start since 2018. Play ball!
Opening Day is almost here! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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