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.
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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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