NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Westbrook, Area 51 and ghosts
Jul 12, 2019, 7:33 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!
Friday is here! Lets kick its ass!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
The Stixx and Stonez Sundresses and Summershirts party is this Saturday bring socks and toiletries for donation and be prepared to have an awesome time.
WHITE PEOPLE CRAZY
If you have ever heard the term "White People Crazy" and wasn't sure what it meant, let me help you out. A couple bought the house from The Conjuring on purpose and plan on having ghost tours and investigators come through there after they do some remodeling (something that ghosts notoriously love). That's "White People Crazy," if you believe in ghosts and the supernatural then the last thing you should want to do is invite the kind of crazy danger that might be associated with owning the house from The Conjuring. The family who used to live there who the story was based on, still maintain today that some absolutely awful stuff happened and The Warrens basically made their "bones" on that case and went on to become The Ghostbusters of the real world.
IS THIS CRAZY
Russell Westbrook! The Houston Rockets obviously made a crazy trade and swapped Westbrook for Chris Paul after giving Paul a massive contract last off season. The big thing about the Paul deal was that basically it meant we had maybe one or two more years of this high-level basketball before Paul would likely start breaking down and being unable to play at the high level his massive salary warranted. Westbrook is four years younger and therefore we hopefully have side stepped that problem. The other potential issue is that Russ is not a great shooter, that's ok, we don't want him to shoot, I'm assuming the biggest reason we got him is that in both playoff runs there were games where we would go several agonizing possessions missing 3's and suddenly fall behind. Well I'm guessing that's where Russ comes in, a dribble penetrator who plays a different ISO game than Harden does, and some critics have been saying well you clog the paint against Russ and it limits his effectiveness, well the Rockets are still going to have several shooters on the floor so they can't clog the paint too hard. I think this is an attempt to make sure this year there's no 0-27 run of shots.
THAT'S NOT MINE
A cargo ship allegedly owned by JP Morgan Chase was just seized in the port of Philadelphia with 20 tons of cocaine. I just want to point out first of all that JP Morgan owns a fund the ship is part of that they don't actually have control of the ship but still, how many people are in jail for being the driver of a car or the owner of a place where bad things happened even if they weren't in control. I don't think there's going to be any real consequences to them, I don't even think they'll pay a fine but cases like this will be what I think about when I read stories of people who maintain their innocence and say the drugs or a gun belonged to a passenger of their vehicle. It's good to be filthy rich. By the way the street value of that bust was $1.3 billion.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Also no one is going to storm Area 51, seriously. It's a really bad idea to even type that you're going to do that. Someone online started a petition that everyone should storm Area 51 and most of them will get in and find out the truth. That's an awful idea, the military won't want to shoot up a bunch of its own citizens but it will gladly arrest and redirect your crazy asses. Please don't be this person, seriously.
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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! 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.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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