NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: X-Men, Gary Glitter and Batman: Hush
Oct 11, 2019, 5:38 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!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week I've been focusing on Extra Life which will be November 2nd. Donations will be going towards the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals as they have every year. Extra Life is this great charity that we've worked with for the last few years at Nerd Thug Radio and I love it. We game for twenty four hours and we literally just have fun and raise money for a great cause benefiting the local branch of the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals. Check it out.
THE X-MEN ARE COMING
Next Wednesday marks the debut of X-Men #1. Hickman has done an amazing job changing everything but keeping it familiar and this is a great time to be a fan of Marvel's mighty mutants. Like in sports, the NBA is better when the Lakers and the Celtics are good, Marvel is better when the X-Men are good. They've struggled in the last few years to find a nice rhythm and this is such a great moment for this stable of characters. Here's hoping this leads to a many great things as this initial line up is incredibly intriguing.
NEW ANIMATED FILMS
Batman and Wonder Woman both recently had animated releases. Batman: Hush, the storyline made famous for Jim Lee's return to monthly art and to mainstream comics after being in an executive role for the past few years and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines based on a storyline from the comics written by Gail Simone. Gail was a blogger made good, who after a few years of writing a popular pop culture blog (*ahem*) was hired to try her hand at comic books, she is now one of the most prolific writers in modern books and is getting a lot of credit for the plot of the upcoming Birds of Prey movie. Hush was a big deal at its time and is getting strong reviews but as comic fans watch it they are commenting on the lack of solid storytelling, but what's funny to me is that I'm not sure that isn't all that different from the pretty comics with a lack of storytelling. Wonder Woman has lower reviews but is from a much better story, interesting to me.
MR. GLITTER
So there's a guy named Gary Glitter, from the 80s obviously, he was a UK based pop star. His music is everywhere here in the United States and he makes over $250k a year in royalties from his tunes, including the one that plays in every sporting event that goes "nah nah nah nah HEY!" (Actually called "Rock and Roll Part 2"). So far this isn't a big deal, except the song, like every other Gary Glitter song, is blacklisted in the UK because Gary is a repeat offender pedophile. He famously got caught after bringing his computer tower to a computer fix it guy who went through it and found all the horrible stuff and turned him in. He then made the world tour of suspicious countries with sex tours and laid low until eventually getting arrested in Vietnam and deported back to the UK. So in the UK, everyone knows these songs are by this terrible guy and for years they've totally ignored them but here in the States, we gleefully play his music and continue to fund his sad, pathetic living. Most recently using Gary's music in the dark hit Joker. It's time we had a talk about Mr. Glitter.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So earlier I wrote I was in the running for a new secret gig. I got it. It's weird and unconventional but it's an opening for a reoccurring project with these guys if it works and I'm excited. Everyone stay tuned, just saw the cover for the second issue of Another Day at the Office and it's great.
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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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.