Uncustomed Heroes of 2017: Nationals

For a team that's perennially left the playoffs in the first round...the Nats have become pretty damn great.

I mean, they haven't made many fundamental changes, sticking with what works and slowly adding insanely talented people, and keeping the base around the MVP and Cy Young winners that bookend this post.

Bryce Harper was injured for a bit this year. But that didn't stop him from staying near his 2016 numbers when he wasn't. He's still one of the best in the league, and he's still the powering presence behind one of the best teams in baseball. So nothing's really changed.

Trea Turner moved to the infield indefinitely this year, which definitely helped mend the absence of Danny Espinosa, as well as moving the Zim-Murph-Trea-Rendon infield into even more of a legendary status then the last iterations of it. He's proving he has legs, and he's hopefully gonna keep the numbers up.

Tanner Roark was the fourth of the four deadly Nationals starters yet again this year, giving fantastic numbers and keeping his end of the bargain. At this point, I feel like they don't even need the 5th guy- the four are just so good.

Michael Taylor was the backup-outfielder of the year, in that once Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth became injury-plagued, he became one of the few constants and did a pretty nice job of it. I imagine he'd be in line to start, as Eaton and Harper will definitely be back. If they re-sign Kendrick (or Werth?), expect him to return to his backup role.

Adam Lind was a surprisingly powerful force coming from the bench, doing his best numbers since his Toronto days, and actually hitting above average for once. I don't think he'll be back with Washington next year, nor will he be anywhere near his 2017 numbers (hell, maybe some poor schmuck will start him).

Howie Kendrick was a late-season pickup for the Nats that worked like a charm, as he continued his unstoppable numbers from Philly and plugged right into the Washington outfield. It's unclear what role Kendrick will have next year, as he wasn't used in the postseason, but I hope someone will at least pick him up.

Victor Robles is the outfielder of the future for the Nats, and could very easily overtake Michael Taylor and Brian Goodwin for the last OF spot next season. His 2017 numbers weren't the greatest, but if the Nats believe in him, they could give him a shot for 2018.

Now...THIS GUY won his SECOND CY YOUNG in 2017, and proved once and for all that he's not only one of the most consistent pitchers in the game, but he's also one of the greatest pitchers working right now. He's on the way to 3000 strikeouts, he's got some amazing career numbers already, and the Nationals have him working alongside another strikeout artist, Stephen Strasburg. Couldn't be going any better for them, or for Max Scherzer.

Coming Tomorrow- They had a nice start, and...couldn't pull the rest together.

The Brew-th is Out There

Yeah, if the Dr. Phil pun yesterday wasn't a stretch, THIS ONE is. Especially considering the Chris Carter-X-Files connection. Whatever. If I'm not having fun blogging, there's no reason to blog, and god knows I'm not done yet.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. The Brewers, and Chris Carter.

The Brewers are one of those teams that have gone through a couple phases of being really good, only to trade people away the next year. This seems to be an ongoing cycle for them, as they'll only get so far into the playoffs, or, like in 2014, they'll come so close to the postseason and lose out at the last second.

This season looks, sadly, like another down one for the Brewers. Currently they're not in last, the Pirates are, but the NL Central race is so close that this probably won't be the case for very long. Pitching-wise, they're depleted. Lineup-wise, they're depleted, and the guys they have left will likely be gone by July (lookin' at you, Lucroy).

Chris Carter is in the Adam Lind position. He's a career DH-1B who's brought into the NL, thrown into first base, and so far he's been performing well. Chris Carter has the ability to strike out so many times that he makes his accomplishments look meek in comparison, which makes him kryptonite for fantasy players.

Not sure if he'll be blasting homers throughout the season, but so far he's at least been worthy of some mentions, which is more than I can say for most of the Brewers this year.

(Sorry if this post is so cynical. I'd be less cynical if the Brewers were doing better)

Coming Tonight (?)- A shortstop for another team that's not making a ton of news this year.

Custom Card of the Night: Lind Edition

Gotta love throwbacks.

I mean it. Whenever I get to a custom of a dude wearing a throwback, it's so much fun. I get to match up the design with the uniform, and plus, there's that nostalgia factor. It's not an everyday uniform, and it really pops out. The 80's Brewers ones are great for that, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of the Brewers' current uniforms. That dark navy and bland gold are kind of...blah. They don't stand out. I mean, they could be the Brewers' late 90's dude, but they're not great. I'd love to see them go back to their 80's stuff.

Topps, in their Opening Day release, did a whole insert set devoted to throwbacks. They had a ton of variety, throwing in some negro league uniforms, and going all the way down to the 80's Brewers and Angels. I really liked that set, and I got a few of them (through JustCommons, because I'm not gonna pay 99 cents for a meaningless product, inserts or no). I think I might have gotten one of the Brewers, but it might have been Carlos Gomez, or someone like that.

Adam Lind was dealt for because he's a bat, and the Brewers could sure use another one of those. His only problem is that he's a career DH, and he was never used as an everyday 1st Baseman in Toronto. I think he's gonna have an okay season, unless something spectacular happens.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of power-hitting NL Central first basemen...yeah, y'all know who's next, I think.

It's on!!!

It only took a couple of days for the first big trade of the offseason to happen. Thankfully, it involved one of the biggest pieces of the Blue Jays. However, he's headed to the Brewers.

Since Prince Fielder left, the Brewers had been looking for a reliable first baseman. Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay were their only options last year, and they weren't working. Now that they have Adam Lind, it could work extremely well for them, and Lind could go back to having great seasons with the Brewers.

Besides, anything that gets him out of Toronto is a great move to me.

Uncustomed Heroes of Baseball: Blue Jays

 I feel like I've been utilizing a lot of fisheye lens shots this year of people warming up. A lot of those, incidentally, will be considered for my Top Customs of 2013 post, which is definitely forthcoming. Fittingly enough, this is not the last to feature Camden Yards in the background. But yeah, I love this custom, which is more than I can say about the Blue Jays, or Adam Lind.

Rajai Davis is one of those fringe players, one that just ends up on multiple quirky teams, and never really does anything notable but at the end of the year you hear about how nice he did, and you didn't even notice. So yeah. He's so mediocre that Brian Cashman most likely wants him in pinstripes (yep, still pissed at him).

Coming Tomorrow- Members of the Atlanta Braves, ones who hopefully won't be joining my team next year.