NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Tom Holland, Zeke and Marvel Comics
Sep 5, 2019, 6:42 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!
Let's finish this week strong!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
With Hurricane Dorian going strong, and the first images coming in from the Bahamas, its important to be donating to the Red Cross and other aid agencies around the country. These guys are going to need it.
I'M CALLING BS
Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics just held an interview with a big comic book website and when asked about what he could do to improve, he said nothing. He thinks everything is going great. That's crazy talk, there's always room to improve. The former editor in chief, Joe Quesada used to move from project to project, fixing thing after thing. He brought in Grant Morrison to fix the X Men, and then Brian Michael Bendis to fix the Avengers, then when it was time to redo the X Men afterwards he had Bendis do House of M and change everything. He moved from "issue" to "issue" building up characters and creating opportunities and now the new guy doesn't see things that need to be addressed? That feels like he just wasn't being honest or he isn't being honest with himself. I'm hoping it's that he didn't want to get into a public list with the website but honestly it's likely to be that he thinks it's all blue skies.
MORE MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS
Both Zeke Elliot and Jared Goff got contract extensions announced yesterday. For both of them this now means we're past the "yeah, they're good but how good are they" phase and onto the "will they win Super Bowls" phase. The pressure has shifted; if Zeke is the best running back in the NFL then winning is the only acceptable outcome and with the Rams, as good as they've been, Goff was awful in the Super Bowl, so now it's up to him to step up in those post season moments. $50 million in the first four years? Way to go Zeke.
THE DIVA OF COMIC BOOKS
Rob Liefeld, the true diva of comic books, is one of the guys who co-founded Image. He was also the first founder to be "fired" or "left" or whatever. He made millions during the speculator bubble and then spent the next 20 plus years burning tons of bridges and just being the worst guy possible. There are some in the industry who consider him a Rockstar and perpetually support him in all things he does. But over the last few months he's been in controversy after controversy, from outing a secret DC project about a potential DC/Image crossover, to losing control of Youngblood, to now blaming fellow Image co-founder Todd McFarlane for killing their big project Image United, where each founder was going to draw their characters into the same book written by Robert Kirkman the guy who made Image cool again. I'm honestly over this guy, he recently worked with Marvel on some stuff and I hope Hickman immediately retconned it out of existence. This guy has always been the worst guy in comic books that I've ever heard of and none of this new story makes him seem better.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I feel bad for Tom Holland at this point, he was asked about the Marvel issues in in GQ and he had to give the ultimate "I love both parents" answer. Now the reality he has to love working in the Marvel universe because he got to work in this crowded but friendly world. There's no way he's more excited about making a third movie with Tom Hardy than he would be making a movie with Sebastion Stan, Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth, you know? I feel like this was a massive let down for him.
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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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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