NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Tom and Jerry, Overwatch Minor League and Crawfish for a Cause
May 22, 2019, 6:37 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, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
Today is Wednesday and if you thought this was the blow off week you're crazy, you got this, let's focus up and make this week do your bidding. You got this!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week the Good Deed of the Day is focusing on an awesome one, it's a buffet for charity. It's an ALL YOU CAN EAT Crawfish boil, that's right! It's the Light of the Phoenix Charity All You Can Eat Crawfish Boil, and also there's a waterslide and bounce house. Boom! Get pumped, $25 if you get your tickets early. $30 at the door, how are you not excited? This is the kind of thing I live for, doing a good deed and eating a bunch of food as you do it. #NerdsUnite
FAN APPRECIATION
One big complaint I think is fair of Houston sports is that the fans are rather fair weather. The Rockets just got eliminated from the playoffs and you don't feel a lot of pressure in the city for big changes. The contracts to players like Chris Paul are going to weigh this team down but instead of hearing criticism for the General Manager and applicant for self-proclaimed smartest guy in the room, Daryl Morey. You don't hear other sports fans being this lax, if you look into Chelsea fc latest news the soccer club facing a transfer ban is under pressure with every decision they make, fans are worried about the future of their sports franchise and have the franchise under a microscope, versus here in Houston where we can't even be bothered to push the Rockets for any real changes.
THE OTHER GUYS
The Overwatch league is on break right now after their All Star event last weekend but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to follow. Make sure to check out the 2019 Overwatch Pacific Showdown this weekend as 6 of the top teams from their minor league, called The Contenders League. Two teams from China, two teams from South Korea, a team from Australia and a team from the Asia-Pacific are in this epic six team tournament, showcasing the talents of the next generation of esport athletes. Overwatch has a long term view on their talents and they've smartly been watching out for both their main league and their minor league team and this long view on their talent includes showcasing them in events like this, wisely.
HE SIGNED UP FOR WHAT
One of the most beloved actors discovered by Marvel Studios has been Michael Pena, who is in a lot of other movies but never comes across as well as he did in Ant Man and Ant Man and the Wasp. News coming out of Hollywood though is that he is signing on to make a live action Tom and Jerry movie. Who on earth is beating the drums for this movie? Is there anyone nudging each other in celebration of the announcement of a Tom and Jerry movie? I don't mean to be so critical of a franchise but the reality of it is that this is a terrible idea for a movie. Before people hammer me over the head with Pokemon movies and things of that nature, I'd point out Pokemon has an active fan base in the millions and when people show up in droves for things like Pokemon Go apps on a phone then a movie makes sense. So that being said, I propose we test the want for a Tom and Jerry movie by making a Tom and Jerry game first on a phone, heck, make it a free app and if no one plays that then please, please, please don't make this movie.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I've been following a news story where a lunch lady let a student roll over an $8 dollar debt to eat lunch at school and the cafeteria lady was fired by her supervisor and accused of dishonesty. Seriously sometimes we need to check ourselves and make sure our compassion meter is on every day, who the heck fires a lunch lady for giving a kid a lunch? Beyond that, who the heck is firing a lunch lady? It's not that great of a gig, I mean no offense to the lunch ladies of the world but I feel like the threshold is low for this gig and here we have a woman being kind to people and letting them carry a small debt so they can EAT A LUNCH. Why aren't we just giving kids lunches anyway at this point? I don't understand why this isn't something we can get figured out? What is going on in our planning and our administrations for education that we can't feed school kids? What's the case against this?
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.