NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: The Clowney Saga continues, more Spidey drama and extreme yoga
Aug 30, 2019, 6:31 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!
I hope this week went as well as you wanted it to, if not get 'em next week!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
In honor of college kids going back to school, I want you to look on facebook find one of your teacher friends and click on their Amazon wishlist. They're all doing it this year, they all should be doing it this year except that education is the most important thing in the world for children and we as a society should care more to educate them, poor or rich, white, black or brown. We should be teaching them how to think and ask questions and let them make this world a better place since obviously we don't know how.
TEXANS BAD, DOLPHINS BAD
To continue the Clowney drama we touched on yesterday, the Miami Dolphins have apparently made everything worse. We've been in talks to trade Clowney to them and we apparently are insisting on OT Laremy Tunsil, which according to players on the Dolphins will cause a revolt. The Dolphins have a rookie head coach and it sounds like he might not have total control of this franchise yet and honestly there's no clear answer on what that means exactly but you don't want to hear that if you're a coach. Football is the ultimate team sport to borrow every sport cliché, and the reality is it does require 100% buy in from the players. So if they're not behind the coach or if they're doubting the organization, there's no chance for this season.
HAVING A BAD DAY
Apparently, in Mexico an Instagram influencer was doing yoga on a patio balcony six stories up and then fell. She survived but they say her knees and ankles will need to be restructured and that it'll take over three years to get back 100%. Having dealt with my own personal crazy leg injury, I'll tell you this, there is no worse experience than a long, hard rehab where you can only do a few hours of work a day and then you're stuck the rest of the day in bed. Time becomes the enemy and there is no way to make it go faster. I'm not going to be overly mean, it was a dumb thing to do, people are doing dumb things for attention all the time but honestly there's nothing I can say that's worse than what she's dealing with. Also, lots of people die every year taking selfies, like an embarrassingly high number… maybe we should start putting the phones down?
WEB OF SPIDER MAN
Word broke yesterday that Tom Holland filmed a scene in the movie Venom but Marvel flipped their lid and demanded it be deleted. This adds another layer to the whole Disney-Sony feud to me, it starts to paint the level of control that Marvel wanted to exercise over Spider-man. They may be right and they may not be, it's tough to know until we see the scene and find out what was in it. Was it bad? Was it good? Was it a mess? There's literally no way to know but it does start to paint Marvel in a bad light.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
My fantasy football draft is this weekend, this is where championships happen boys. Step one is drafting like a champion. We got this!!
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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Lance McCullers Jr. gave the Astros a much-needed boost Tuesday night with his first win since 2022 — a feel-good moment for a pitcher who's battled through years of setbacks. But while it’s a step in the right direction, expectations should remain measured. The most anyone can realistically hope for is a return to something close to his 2021 form, when he posted a 13-5 record over a career-high 28 starts — the only time he’s cleared 25. It’s taken six outings just to notch his first win this year, making another double-digit victory season feel unlikely. And as encouraging as McCullers’ presence is, one healthy arm won’t be enough to fix a team still searching for consistency.
That’s especially true when the Astros’ current rotation issues have already begun to place an unsustainable load on the bullpen. Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon have done an admirable job, but they've struggled to provide length with most of their outings, averaging just 4-5 innings.
However, manager Joe Espada remains hesitant to go with an opener strategy. “We’re not there yet,” he said recently to The Athletic's Chander Rome. He likes what he’s seen from the middle-inning relievers, but even he knows the current formula has an expiration date. The Astros’ bullpen — a strength all season — can’t continue carrying the weight without eventually cracking.
Pitching isn’t the only concern
The offense continues to sputter, and it’s now reached a point where even a soft schedule doesn’t offer much comfort. In Wednesday’s loss to the Pirates, the Astros were shut out. And for the sixth straight game, Houston has scored three runs or fewer. Christian Walker, the hero just one night prior with a go-ahead home run off Paul Skenes, followed up with two strikeouts and a double-play ball. One step forward, two steps back.
Outside of Jeremy Peña, the rest of the lineup looks stuck. Over the last seven days, Houston ranks 26th in OPS, 23rd in slugging, and 27th in runs scored. Somehow, they still managed to go 3-3 in that stretch, a testament to their pitching depth, but hardly a sustainable formula.
In the big picture, the inconsistency is what hurts most. Some weeks, the Astros look like a top-five offense. Other times, they can’t seem to scratch out a single run. That’s how you end up 14th in OPS for the season — squarely in the middle — and 18th in total runs scored.
If Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker don’t find their stride soon, this team’s ceiling starts to look a lot lower. The starting pitching probably won’t be much better than what it’s already shown. Which means the offense, as flawed as it’s been, is going to have to do the heavy lifting.
McCullers may finally be back, but unless others start stepping up soon, Houston’s climb back into World Series contention will only get harder. Fortunately, the AL West isn’t exactly a powerhouse — a reality that gives the Astros some breathing room. Still, fans in Houston expect more than just winning a weak division. They’re used to chasing banners, not just playoff spots.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! 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!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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