Wrestling Report
WWE comes out swinging after Stomping Grounds
Jun 26, 2019, 5:47 am
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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. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
Coming out of Stomping Grounds the feeling was that the status quo had been maintained. Some things actually happened though to shake it up, including an interesting booking for Extreme Rules in three weeks. A mixed gender tag match scheduled between Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans vs Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins is now set for Extreme Rules; it's cool because you don't see a lot of mixed gender matches in the WWE but there are all the rage in the indy scene. The Undertaker made a surprise appearance in aiding Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon and Drew Mcintyre, a tag match between those four would be pretty exciting. Having both shows tag team champions on Raw fight The New Day and the Usos in an elimination match was an odd choice and the match between R Truth and Drake for the gimmick 24/7 title was just mean but overall Raw was entertaining.
Smackdown kicked off with a flat promo from Shane threatening the entire Smackdown roster, and then Kofi cut a great promo before it was interrupted by two time loser Dolph Ziggler. Kofi has been incredible for the WWE this week having a cage match Sunday, two matches against Samy and Kevin on Monday and then taking a beating from Samoa Joe before agreeing to another match on Smackdown, but yeah there's no chance of athlete burn out working for WWE or anything. Having the Smackdown tag team champions lose all the time is a really odd way to position the champs but for the second tag fight in a row involving the champs versus The New Day, they lost again. Mustafa Ali cut a promo where he gives his best green lantern impression and tries to seem like a super hero, if he's fighting injustices then why isn't he fighting Shane McMahon or Samoa Joe? Also in the category of odd promos Aleister Black continued his campaign of begging for a fight in a company full of professional fighters, it's confusing.
Overall this was a good week for WWE but there are genuine concerns or there should be genuine concerns about overuse for some of the more important WWE stars like the title holders. The Smackdown tag title holders, the WWE Heavyweight Champion both competed on both shows and on Sunday's big event. So what's the usage plan for these guys, how much longer can guys like Kofi and Daniel Bryant keep it up? The New Day being focused on is a great push for them and I think it's worth staying with for a huge amount of time but not all at once, spread it out and make it a brand specific story, don't burn these guys out in four months.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help fight 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.