Thames Without Frontiers

(Fine, Music Pun Streak #2. I can't let this Peter Gabriel one go unnoticed.)

So I guess the Brewers are gonna be alright after all?

Look, the NL Central is close enough, at least the first spots of it, that a team can have a major rise, then a major fall, then a major rise again...and still technically be in contention the entire time.

What have the major developments been with this division? The Brewers started on top, lost a ton of games, then the Cardinals took control of first, lost even more games, and now the Cubs seem to be in control of the division, while the Brewers take a steady second. The Pirates are also in the mix, though holding onto third amidst a brief come-up may not be the most aggressive approach.

The Brewers, however, seem to have found a groove again, which is nice. I was worried Christian Yelcih was gonna spend the year without support from his teammates again. But now that Yelich is playing beautifully, the rest of the team is beginning to follow, especially the pitching. Zach Davies, Brandon Woodruff and even Gio Gonzalez (!) are off to nice starts, and giving more life into this pitching staff than it had for most of the year.

The bench is also pretty impressive this year. Eric Thames is back to his 2017 work, hitting home runs without risking his average (take notes, Jesus Aguilar). Ben Gamel has been on a tear so far, and Hernan Perez is doing his usual utlityman work. It also helps that Orlando Arcia is actually hitting for average this year, and that Mike Moustakas has 9 home runs...which would be a lot if Yelich hadn't already hit 16.

There are problems, obviously, but...I mean, the Cubs have problems too. So does every one of the four teams going for first. It's gonna come down to which problems are the most manageable, and which ones can withstand the rest. And the Brewers are looking pretty intimidating right now, which is nice.

Coming Tonight: An insanely powerful reliever for one of the best teams in baseball.

Benching Eric Thames

Yeah, that'll be a wake-up call to April 2017. The big guy that's hit a bunch of home runs after coming back from Korea...yeah, he's gonna be hitting off the bench in a year's time. But not because he's doing badly, no no....cause the other 1st baseman is doing BETTER.

This is the kind of problem we have with this Brewers team. The bench is too damned strong, and if you blink or get injured, a bench player could be taking your place in the starting lineup. Eric Thames missed a month of playing time (after getting off to a pretty nice start, too), came back, and suddenly Jesus Aguilar was hitting over .300, and playing 1st base everyday. So...with apologize to Thames and his home runs...the Brewers made the right choice there. As good as Thames is, Jesus Aguilar is having a career year, and improving on his solid bench work down the stretch last year.

Additionally, Hernan Perez has gracefully slid into an outfield spot after the injury to Lorenzo Cain, and is improving his numbers, which aren't at 2017 caliber but...he's trying. Domingo Santana has been demoted, but might wind up as a bench arm the next time someone gets injured. And Ryan Braun? He's...hanging in there. As usual.

But this isn't really Braun's team anymore; Travis Shaw carries the lineup, Lorenzo Cain is the crowdpleaser, Christian Yelich is one of the top offensive producers, and Junior Guerra is the star pitcher. Matter of fact, most of the pitching has been pretty nice this year, with Jhoulys Chacin taking a prime role, Brent Suter getting a ton more mound time, and some kid named Freddy Peralta giving a STELLAR audition to nail the last rotation spot even when Davies gets back in the picture.

The Brewers are dealing with overflow right now, which is a really good problem to have. Everybody's just pretty great this year, and everyone's just building the lead right into the All Star break, because as long as they can hold off the Cubs, they'll be clear. They might be the most dangerous team in the NL Central...and they will stay that way if everyone resumes being on.

Coming Tonight: The big power hitter for the #1 rivals to the defending champions.

Revenge of the Thames

One of the best parts about baseball is having stories come along every once in a while that are so quirky, so impossible-sounding, yet so inspiring, that you can't help but put your ear to the box and listen in. And Eric Thames' impossible comeback in Milwaukee is CERTAINLY one of those times.

This is the kind of shit that sportswriters pray for by their bed stands every night. Eric Thames was a strikeout machine back in Toronto, so he bopped around the majors for a year or so, left for KOREA, where most MLB careers just sort of lead to, albeit ten years after where Thames was...and he becomes this home run monster in Korea. I don't know what it was, but I imagine he worked on his mechanics, and figured out how to stop good Korean pitching...and this principle probably also applied to good MLB pitching.

Right now, Eric Thames has eight major league home runs. Let's put this into perspective with some dumb statistics.

In 2012, Eric Thames hit nine home runs over the course of 86 games of bopping between Toronto and Seattle. If Thames hits another homer today he ties that mark in 18 games.

In 2012, Eric Thames hit twelve home runs over the course of 95 games in his rookie year in Toronto. Right now, Eric Thames has hit 2/3rds of his seasonal home run record.

So, let's do some mathematic reasoning here. Eric Thames never hit more than twelve home runs in a season during his entire MLB career. Eric Thames currently has 8 home runs in 2017. If he plays his cards right, Eric Thames will have been more powerful ballplayer in ONE MONTH of MLB play than he had been during an entire YEAR of MLB play before his move to Korea.

Or, to put it simply- Right now, Eric Thames is better than he's ever been in the United States. Now, whether he bests his Korean Career Best of 47 Home Runs is another thing entirely, but barring catastrophe, he's gonna fly past his MLB career best, as well as probably hit more than 22 home runs this year, meaning he'll have hit more homers in 2017 than he did in his entire pre-Korea MLB career.

I'm sorry, but you can't help but root for the guy. Stats or no stats.

Coming Tonight: I'm gonna try to fit in the second half of the DK break, but I'll try to program a custom for tonight. If so, it'll be one of the few reasons left to go to an Angels game (besides Mike Trout of course.)

Year by Year Customs: 1991

This design is pretty tough to customize, but I pulled it off anyway. These ones are pretty good.


I made this one in October. Then the Brewers lost.

Coming Tomorrow- For 5 players who have changed teams, featured in Year by Year, I'll give them the old 70's Topps treatment. Airbrushing.