NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: House of X, Post Malone and more
Sep 10, 2019, 5:01 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!
It's Tuesday, are you going to own this week or is it going to own you.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
The Bahamas are in trouble and need help our help. Donate to the Red Cross please, there are 100s of thousands of people in need.
HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X
In House of X #4 that came out last Wednesday, nearly every important X-Men just got killed. For those who aren't following the book, the basics are this. Moira Mactaggert, long time X-Men ally is revealed to be a mutant who has the power of reliving the same life line over and over. She has dedicated her life to solving the problem of humans and mutants living together in harmony and over and over and over again she fails, dies and restarts her life. She is now on what appears to be her tenth life and now knows she can't allow the creation of Nimrod, so she sends the X-Men on a suicide mission to destroy the machine and the scientists who are building it. So Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Archangel, Nightcrawler, Husk, Monet and Mystique go on this likely suicide mission. One by one they fall as they complete their individual missions and eventually it's down to just Cyclops and Jean Grey after Wolverine goes out like the bad ass he is, in open space hacking away at the last obstacle to their mission, burning alive due to exposure to the sun and open space. Then both Cyclops and Jean are killed. This series, and its counter part Powers of X, has been insane and I have no idea what will happen next.
POST MALONE
Just dropped a new album last week and so far it's honestly amazing. He is one of the lone bright spots to come out of this new era of rap where everything is mumbled and they're not lyrically creative and the beats are very melodic and musical. There is an element of that which is clearly appealing but overall it's too far moved from old rap which I loved. Enter Post Malone, no he isn't old rap, but he's music. He's talented and he can play great music and he makes wildly successful and entertaining music. If you are looking for something different and great, this is the guy to check out.
FINAL SPACE
The second season of Final Space is rapidly coming to an end on Adult Swim and if you are looking for a fun animated show, it's Final Space. The show has an amazing start, Olan Rogers pitched it and won a small contest where he won a small cash prize, he then used that to make an 8 minute pilot, he posted it on youtube and within days Conan O Brian's production company had reached out to him about making the show and they picked up the first season. It's hilarious and touching, it's big and has action and great moments it's well written and funny and sentimental. It's worth checking out.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So The Saints came through on a last minute field goal. It sucks but I'm not that mad, Kenny Stills proved his worth, Watson was awesome and the defense looked ok. This was a tough loss but a road loss, and honestly even good teams lose on the road. I'm not that upset about this week and I like most of what I saw.
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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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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