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.
As we barrel toward Opening Day which is now less than four weeks away, so far it’s been largely a case of no news is good news at Astros’ spring training. Meaning no major injuries to key players, no controversies brewing. There are numerous question marks that can’t truly be answered until we get into the games that count, such as how will Jose Altuve fare as a left fielder. The most exciting thing to happen over the first week of Grapefruit League games would probably be the two-home run game from top prospect Cam Smith, he of the Kyle Tucker trade. Both came off minor league caliber pitchers, but so what. Smith turned 22 years old last Saturday, the ideal is that he forces his way to the big leagues by the end of this season.
A strong majority of players who go on to greatness in Major League Baseball get to the big leagues before they turn 23. I spoke to this with Astros-specific perspective this week during an episode of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. The ten greatest offensive players in franchise history as measured by Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric are: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Cesar Cedeno, Jimmy Wynn, Jose Cruz, Alex Bregman, Joe Morgan, and Bob Watson. Eight of those ten debuted in the majors at 22 years old or younger. Cedeno was 19! Morgan and Watson were 20. Wynn and Altuve were 21. Biggio, Bagwell, and Bregman were 22. That leaves Cruz and Berkman as the exceptions. “Cheo” debuted with the Cardinals and didn’t get to the Astros’ organization until he was 27. Berkman arrived at 23. He should have been up sooner but was backlogged in 1998 behind a fabulous outfield of Moises Alou, Carl Everett, and Derek Bell, with youngster Richard Hidalgo as the top reserve, while first base was manned by Bagwell in the heart of his prime.
The point is, special talents should be fast-tracked and/or fast-track themselves to the Major Leagues. There are numerous exceptions (team mistakes, late bloomers), but a very high percentage of eventual big stars get to The Show at a young age. Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout entered at 19. Ronald Acuna Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Freddie Freeman, and Jose Ramirez did so at 20. Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Yordan Alvarez were 21. Not all tear it up immediately the way Yordan did upon his promotion in 2019, but rare tools and talents merit accelerated opportunity. The focus here is on hitters, but this isn’t a bad spot to note that among the four greatest pitchers ever to hurl for the Astros, only Randy Johnson was older than 22 when he started (25 as a notoriously raw and wild Montreal Expo). Nolan Ryan was a 19-year-old New York Met, Roger Clemens a 21-year-old Boston Red Sox, and Justin Verlander a 22-year-old Detroit Tiger.
This is not predicting mega-stardom or a plaque in Cooperstown for Cam Smith, but if the Astros have such a player in what is presently a lousy farm system overall, the odds overwhelmingly favor Smith being that guy. He should be ticketed for double-A Corpus Christi to start this season after having had just 96 at bats in single-A and 19 at AA in the Cubs’ system after being drafted last July. Should Smith excel with the Hooks, it’s not preposterous to see him getting to the Astros over the summer, especially given the shaky state of the big club’s outfield going into the 2025 campaign. Plenty of players have skipped over AAA. While Smith was drafted as a third baseman, unless the Astros grow offensively desperate enough to move Isaac Paredes to second base, Smith’s fastest path to Daikin Park right now might lead to right field. Coming off a relentlessly bad 2024, it’s make-or-break time for Chas McCormick. Chas is making three-point-four million dollars this season and turns 30 in April. If he is not a heckuva lot better this year, there is no way the Astros are bringing him back at an even bigger salary number in 2026.
Jacob Melton is another outfield prospect, but he’s already 24 years old and has yet to show any sort of elite hitting traits in the minors. Melton looms as a cheaper replacement for Jake Meyers in center.
Those who will ultimately be great only have time siphoned from their careers when not brought up as soon as reasonable. Of course there is risk of unfulfilled potential or straight up bust status. If early failure crushes a player, he wasn’t headed for greatness anyway.
On the upswing
Closing aside: a pinging endorsement for the Astros’ Annual College Classic Friday through Sunday. The reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and runner-up Texas A&M Aggies head the field. Rice, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, and Arizona fill out what is always an excellent six-team event. With gorgeous weather forecast through the weekend the roof should be open throughout. RIGHT?
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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