THE NERD REPORT
Nerds around town: What next for TV, not legal weed and Rockets
May 1, 2019, 6:24 am
THE NERD REPORT
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!
It's Wednesday and we're already cruising through another week. From here we're a hop, skip and a jump from the weekend and maybe going to see Avengers again!
The American Red Cross came to Houston during the hurricane a few years back and they helped out a lot of people. They weren't perfect and there were tons of people who got declined and had to deal with more issues but they also came here and put food in front of a lot of people who didn't have it, clothes on a lot of people who needed them and that's more than some churches *AHEM* did during the hurricane in their own hometown where they take money and resources in the name of a certain lord and savior who was known for turning the other cheek and giving charity and aid for those in need. I'm just saying. #NerdsUnite
For a little while The Woodlands will be the center of the oilfield world as Anadarko is in the middle of a rather interesting buyout deal. Two competing offers, one from Chevron and one from Occidental, a much smaller oil company than Chevron with Chevron's being smaller in value than Occidental but Anadarko chose to sign a "walk away" agreement where if the deal falls apart Chevron gets a billion dollars in cash. A billion dollars. The deal got even crazier as now Warren Buffett has stepped in and bought a ton of preferred shares with an option to buy more preferred shares at a set price later, injecting even more cash into Occidental to help make this purchase go through. Shareholders of Anadarko have votes to make, for the fate of their shares, then Occidental or Chevron has votes to make to decide to follow through on the purchase or not. We live in interesting times.
With Avengers over, Game of Thrones coming to an end and the Star Wars story ending this December it is time to start looking ahead to what's next? Amazon is gearing up to begin making their Lord of the Rings television series, HBO is working on as many as four prequel shows from the Game of Thrones universe, there are of course going to be more Marvel Universe movies and there will be streaming shows from Disney set in the Star Wars universe, but really, what's next? What will be that next thing that catches fire and becomes the big unexpected hit? This is a real opportunity in the world of Nerds to make the next big thing, find a way to spark America's zeitgeist and steal the pop culture wave again. I'm going to say it's going to get harder and harder to find the next big thing because of streaming services dividing audiences. Shoot me an e-mail and give me your picks, corydlg@gmail.com
So I saw a headline the other day that basically said the marijuana bill in Texas' Senate is basically dead. What kind of nonsense is this? Are we really going to be the last state to get on board the legalization plan? This is crazy, we can't have casinos but for some reason we can have lotteries, dog tracks and horse racing. Now we're going to hear that in Colorado they brought in almost a billion dollars in tax revenue from pot and we still want to be the guys who go, "naw, we're good."? Are we crazy? We want more money for schools, we want money for roads, we want money for firefighters but we don't want to do the things to bring in more money? How is this going to go exactly? What's the plan?
There was a ton of conversation in the build up to Rockets game 2 matchup against Golden State about the referees. I have a few thoughts on this. First of all, if the Rockets have actually put together an accurate report showing that some 70 fouls were missed over the seven game Rockets vs Warriors series then it bears being turned in and discussed before this series. If I'm the Rockets, I want the league to have a talk to the refs before the playoffs and remind them to call fouls equally and fairly and correctly. The two minute reports are destroying the league's credibility, no one in Houston wants to hear that Curry should have been fouled out well before he makes the three pointer that puts the Rockets away, no one. I also would say that complaining to the refs isn't a good idea but then I remember the Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban putting together a film package of Yao Ming not being called for his moving picks in 6 games and in game 7 he was in constant foul trouble and Dallas won by double digits because Yao was on the bench. So it's either brilliant or a terrible idea…. It's tough to say.
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 $.50 from every shirt is donated to a good cause or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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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