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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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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