Custom Card of the Day: Gyorko Edition

Rookies. Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em.

In some cases, you absolutely have to live with them, because they make up 9/10ths of your team. And the Padres is one of these cases. Jedd Gyorko, Jedi Knight from the Planet San Diego (so that would make him a San Diegan, according to Fred Willard), is the Padres' starting 2nd basemen this year. And yes, we haven't heard of him either.

Gyorko is evidently doing well for the Padres, hitting as well as a rookie second baseman for a struggling team can. As long as he's not throwing bats and taking offense to beanings, he's doing just fine. Also, just like many other Padres, you can't find anybody else in the world with his name. Him, Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal and Edinson Volquez should all join the All Odd Names Team, along with Adeiny Herchevarria and ex-MLBer Tim Spoonybarger. But I digress.

Gyorko is also sporting an awesome throwback uniform, one that dates back to the 70's, a time when nobody on the Padres was named Gyorko. Sure, there might have been a Gossage on their, but he's not like Gyorko. Matter of fact, his name is just fun to type. Gyorko. Gyorko.

Still, hopefully Gyorko will soldier on for his failing squad.

Gyorko.

(Dear God, I hope he or his mom isn't reading this.)

Coming Tomorrow- Another Rockie? Another Rockie.

Custom Card of the Day: Puig Edition

I took yesterday off, partly due to forgetting, but mostly due to me being tired.

Evidently there's been a lot of buzz about this guy, namely being the fact that the Dodgers finally have someone who's hitting well. Puig, while another Cuban player like Yoenis Cespedes, one-ups his companion in Oakland by kicking off his career with a multi-homer game, and already establishing a great onfield presence.

So is Puig a great player for the long run? It's too soon to tell. It's like asking how the Avengers 2 is going to turn out. Just let thing get going, let the good stuff get really good, and then we'll know whether or not this will be totally awesome.

Coming Tomorrow- With the name of a Jedi knight, this Padres rookie was been doing surprisingly well, given the whole 'team in last place' thing.

Custom Card of the Day: Didi Edition

Look at those Diamondbacks go! No, really. I mean it this time. After all those times I've hyped up the Diamondbacks, they're still in (or circling) first. They have a young team in the place of all those stars they gave up. One of those youngsters was cobbled from a trade with the Reds.

Didi Gregorius was probably let go because the Reds had Billy Hamilton on deck, and he evidently held the 'speedy middle infielder' category. Because he's certainly played in an MLB game.

Didi has been smoking it up for the D-Backs, giving some much-needed speed to a roster that's all about bats (See: Goldschmidt, Paul and Hill, Aaron). Sometimes Didi even gives a much-needed run or two in between his speed on the paths.

So please, believe me when I tell you that Arizona's for real in this season's race for the top. Didi will attest to that.

Coming Tomorrow- Four years ago he was the best pitcher in the AL. Now he's struggling to retain his title while stuck on a middling NL team.

Custom Card of the Day: Ichiro Edition

Right now, the Yankees have a very nice team, despite falling 2nd in the standings currently. Still, the roster is full of future Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, quite possibly Andy Pettite, and of course Ichiro.

Ichiro, without any question, is the greatest Japanese baseball player ever to come to the US. I know there are a lot of Matsui purists, and a lot of people who think I should consider Hideo Nomo or Yu Darvish, but no. Nobody else comes close to the achievements Ichiro's pulled off in the last 13 seasons. He's had a number of consistently hit seasons, with some homers and fielding in there to boot.

What makes Ichiro so awesome is the fact that I can say that he played for my team. When all of this goes down, he'll probably enter Cooperstown in a Mariners cap, but he'll still have that speck in the corner that says he was a Yankee, and in my mind that's pretty awesome. I don't even care what the Yanks do with him after 2013, as long as he doesn't go to Boston. Just the feeling of Ichiro on the Yanks is enough to get me by.

Even though he hasn't had the greatest season so far, he's still one of the best, and he's still a favorite of mine.

Coming Tomorrow- Another Diamondback. This one's different. This one's NOT a pitcher!

Custom Card of the Day: Iwakuma Edition

I hate to give you another 'I'm tired, here's a card' posts, but it's been another long day for me. Hell, it's been a pretty long weekend. And there isn't too much to say about Hisashi Iwakuma, other than the fact that he's a great pitcher for the Mariners.

Coming Tomorrow- To prove that this isn't a bias against any race, tomorrow's an Ichiro custom.

Custom Card of the Day: Lincecum Edition

To coincide with that amazing Tim Lincecum custom, let's talk about last month. I know, it was only a day ago, but it needs to be talked about, because I'm doing these every month.

In May, I predicted 5 things would happen. Let's see if they did:

1. Granderson to come off the DL and start hitting like crazy again. Well, he did...for a week or so, anyway, until he got womped back onto the DL again.
2. Matt Moore to just chill down a little bit. This one hasn't really happened, but him and Masterson still have 8 wins.
3. The Dodgers to start getting good again. Uh...no.
4. The Royals to stay exactly where they are. This hasn't happened. The Royals are in last now.
5. Justin Verlander to be as hot as Anibal Sanchez and Rick Porcello are. Verlander has more wins, but less strikeouts than Sanchez, and is bested in both categories by Max Scherzer. He's getting there.

Now, 5 things that surprised me during the Month of May.
1. The Indians' awesome run. Like, mid-month these guys were going absolutely crazy, pitching well, hitting well, and playing great baseball (and sweeping the Phillies). Of course, now they're tied with Detroit for first, so it's sorta gone down a bit, but they're still in it.
2. Jason Grilli, the most surprising successful closer since Fernando Rodney last season. Grilli has been throwing consistently well in the ninth for the Pirates, a much-deserved season after a career of bit parts.
3. Look at those Diamondbacks go! Not only is the pitching awesome, but the lineup featuring young stars like Paul Goldschmidt, AJ Pollock, Didi Gregorious and more have been playing incredibly well, and ruling the NL West. Will they keep it up? Well, since the Rockies couldn't, you never know.
4. Domonic Brown. Ladies and gentlemen, as someone who has been waiting so long for success from this guy, I am happy to report that Domonic Brown is leading the NL in home runs, and giving the Phillies the bat they deserve. And this is a guy I thought was just gonna die in the minors after his first few seasons. Now he's playing so well. He must keep it up.
5. Granderson being sidelined within a week of his return.

And 5 things that didn't surprise me at all last month.
1. The Cardinals pitchers stayed the exact same level as in April. Yeah, people talk about how awesome they are, however they neglect to mention that they WERE that awesome last month. And they probably will be next month.
2. Jose Valverde returned to dominating in Detroit. Because what, were they gonna sign Brian Wilson?
3. Slumping Phillies. After three years, we all kinda saw this coming.
4. The Marlins and Astros continue to stay at the very bottom. Imagine if they have to play each other. That'll be something.
5. Miguel Cabrera is playing beautifully. This is always kinda bound to happen. However, he's currently leading in RBI and Batting Average. Now if only Chris Davis would let him have that May Triple Crown.

And finally, 5 things that I want to happen in June.
1. Granderson, Teixeira and Youkilis to all come back and start hitting...and maybe stick around for a while.
2. The Cardinals pitching to be exactly where it is right now in 30 days.
3. Both LA teams to start playing well.
4. The rest of the Philly lineup to start hitting well again.
5. The Yankees not to be mercilessly swept by any mediocre teams, like the Mets.

So that's May for ya. Bring on June.

Coming Tomorrow- A Mariners pitcher that is not Felix Hernandez who is pitching well.

Custom Card of the Morning: Grilli Edition

First of all, I love that throwback. That's just too cool.

I feel like Jason Grilli is one of those players that's just been around for too long and deserves a big break like this. I remember he was with the Tigers for a while, on those teams that either had Joel Zumaya or Fernando Rodney as a closer.

Thankfully, now he's pitching beautifully as the closer for Pittsburgh. I'm very happy for the Pirates, because they really deserve a season that's worth more than just 3rd place. The division is currently wide open, as the Cardinals, Reds and Pirates are all circling around the top 3 spots. The Pirates have a chance of taking the wild card, unless the Cardinals rotation succumbs to the firey death previously expected for David Freese.

I really hope the Pirates finish well, and I hope their closer is on the same page.

Coming Tonight- another 90's Upper Deck custom, plus May in review.