The Slow Climb Back

 

Even as every team goes through a rough period, the AL Central is beginning to finally right itself. The Twins are in last, the Royals have had a good week and are looking to lap the White Sox. Things are finally straightening out. That doesn't mean the Royals have no cause for alarm after the dismal first month of the season, but...it means things aren't as dire as they looked.

What's helped most recently is the fact that Jac Caglianone can finally hit at the MLB level. He's got a .788 OPS, 4 homers, a heroic moment or two under his belt. He's not looking as lost as he did last year. Same with Carter Jensen, who's actually leading the team in homers with 6. It's a nice spike until you realize that they're really the only first or second year guys actually doing well right now. Noah Cameron's fallen off since his strong 2025, Isaac Collins isn't hitting, Luinder Avila isn't MLB ready yet. The whole point around building a team around Witt and Garcia is for the pieces to fall into place around them, and barring those two lineup pieces it hasn't quite happened. Lugo, Wacha and Bubic are off to great starts, but that's not really foundational.

The antithesis to that statement is that if you don't have to worry about your top 3 guys, that's not a drawback. Michael Wacha is 34, he's been in the league for fourteen years now [!!!!!], and he's somehow gotten better with age. What's great about Wacha is even if he wasn't giving pristine starts, he was still there for the majority of the season and gave you your money's worth innings-wise. Since signing with KC, he's made nearly all his starts, averaged 168 innings and a 3.50 ERA, and kept the ship steady whenever needed. Right now he's got a 3.05 ERA, a 3-2 record and 36 Ks for the Royals. He's not meant to be the ace, but he's meant to be a strong middle option, and that's exactly what he's been. Same with Seth Lugo, who isn't at full 2024 power but still has a 2.68 ERA through 7 starts. Bringing in Stephen Kolek to potentially liven up the rotation is a very good idea as well.

I'm just not seeing the full depth that scared the Yankees a few years ago. Beyond Witt, Garcia, Cags and Pasquatch, what really is there to this team? The back half hasn't woken up yet. Massey, Thomas and Collins haven't proven their worth. Perez is resting on mythology. India's done for the year. I know a lot can develop, and the Royals are hoping it can, but as is I really don't see the story. Luckily, I can't really see much of a story with the rest of the division either.

Coming Tomorrow- The Cardinals have a lot of guys who were supposed to be THE guy on their team right now. Matthew Liberatore, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Dustin May. Here's the latest and greatest. He's doing alright so far. 

What Constitutes a Run These Days

 

I've been trying to wrap my head around this for the last week, and it's still not completely making sense to me. So...the Royals bought in at the deadline, sustained enough of their team to go for a wild card spot, and they're currently 57-58, 4 games out from a spot. The Miami Marlins have become a surprise sleeper favorite, have been winning a ton of close series', and might be going for a spot themselves. They're 56-57, 6 games out from a wild card spot.

But the San Francisco Giants, who sold at the deadline, vivisected their bullpen and even gave a major piece TO THE ROYALS...are 58-57, above .500, and closer in the line of succession to a wild card spot than the Royals or the Marlins. I don't understand why Buster Posey and his committee thought that his team didn't have enough to go for it when they very clearly still have an outside chance of sneaking their way in. Was it just more cost effective to give up than to go for a run? Who knows.

The Royals have always been a 'they're right there but just don't have enough' team in the divisional race. The Tigers were always gonna be the favorite, and the Guardians had enough to chase teams even though they completely ran from what made them a success last year. The Royals had the team, but not the luck- Ragans got hurt, Bubic got hurt, Pasquantino's been *okay*, and Caglianone's been below replacement level since the call-up. This is a very okay team that happens to have some excellent performers lifting them. Bobby Witt Jr. is still elite, he's hitting .287 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs, and leads the league in doubles with 37. Carlos Estevez leads the league in saves with 28. Maikel Garcia proved he's got serious staying power. Noah Cameron's a rookie mop-up guy who can also have big-game starts. And Michael Wacha of all people has been having a strong, consistent year, with a 3.36 ERA and 98 Ks in 23 starts. The hope is that Bailey Falter comes around and provides that back-half security, but that first start was rough. 

The bones of a good team are still there with the Royals. The only issue is that, as opposed to last year where they had a strong middle and road that to the playoffs, now they have to be the 2024 Tigers and get momentum late and sneak in on that. And that is very hard to do. Heck, the former strategy only worked so well for the Royals anyway last year. Their goal was to be better than the 2024 team, and I don't know if they are.

The Giants, meanwhile, made every effort to retool and get a leg up on the competition and it didn't initially work. That Willy Adames looks as good as he does now, with 18 homers and a team-leading 61 RBIs, shouldn't distract you from his very rough first two months. He's getting hot in a Giants uniform now, which is very good, but while the team was in the thick of the race he was struggling. The inverse of that is Jung-Hoo Lee, who was excellent in the earlier part of the season but took a downturn when the team did. He's now hitting .246 with a .737 OPS. Very average. And Rafael Devers has hit for power, but not as often as the team would like, with 5 homers and 20 RBIs in 43 games.

For the Giants to make a playoff spot, they'd need to fight against the luck the organization has made for them. That means continuing to ride a strong stretch from Dominic Smith, getting better innings out of Carson Whisenhunt and Justin Verlander, keeping Heliot Ramos producing for more than a second and not letting the loss of Yaz completely upend them. It will be very tough for this team to compete now that the brass has lost faith in them, but it's still possible. 

What I'm saying is if, of these three teams, the one that makes the playoffs is the Marlins, I'll be very amused.

Coming Tomorrow- Catchers turned 1st basemen aren't that exotic anymore, but this is one that I'm still getting used to.

Heavy Rotation

 

There's a Simpsons gag where Homer and the family are trying to watch TV, and when their dog blocks the TV with its paws it's endearing and cute, but when the cat does it Homer yells 'GET THAT CAT OUT OF THE WAY'. 

That's basically where I'm at with both the Royals and Astros trading for rotation updates they don't especially need. It's fine if the Royals do it because they replace a C starter with a B+ starter. It's not great if the Astros do it because for the love of god, there's like 20 pitchers waiting to come off the IL and you're already saying there's no room for them. 

So after dealing for Michael Lorenzen, the Royals will be headed into the last two months of the season with a rotation consisting of Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Lorenzen. That is...insanely good. Everybody in that rotation has an ERA lower than 3.80. Lugo is still a Cy Young candidate, but Singer and Ragans are honestly just as good. And Wacha, now active, is having a nice season himself, with a 7-6 record and a 3.65 ERA. Wacha is one of those guys that doesn't need to be the star of the rotation but can deliver consistency and solid work wherever he goes. He's played for a different team in each of the last six seasons, and while he was a little more impressive in Boston and San Diego, he's been very good here and only has room to improve.

Putting Lorenzen in this rotation gears the Royals for a playoff run, and it comes at a time when they're dangerously close to the Twins in the standings. Both teams are very good, and could progress to October, but in a playoff picture where the Yankees, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers are also after wild card spots, it's gonna take a lot to truly stand out. I think the Royals can do this with this rotation, and their improved pitching picture [thanks to Hunter Harvey, who I really hope didn't just immediately hurt himself]. 

It also helps that Bobby Witt, Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin and Vinnie Pasquantino are all having great seasons. I think the lineup is missing one more true power piece, and while there's a lot of great defenders on this team not all of them are hitting well at the moment. But having Witt in full 'decade defining superstar' mode is extremely good for this team, and could be the element that makes them a competitor again after years of being a third-at-best team.

I really hope the very smart moves the Royals have made this year amount to something, because it's a really cool strategy, and a really good underdog team. 

Coming Tonight: Probably a 'Top 10 Deadline Deals' post. Expect Lorenzen to be somewhere on it.

A Moment with the Fringe Wild Card Teams

 
The Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres are both currently in the outer rung of their respective wild card races. The Sox are 6.5 games back from the last Wild Card spot, and have four teams in front of them. Their nearest competitor, the Blue Jays, are 2.5 games back, and in a better spot to wait for one of the AL West teams to drop. The Padres, meanwhile, are 7.5 games back from the last NL Wild Card spot, which is the same amount of games back the Washington Nationals are. The Padres have six teams in front of them, and are 4.5 games behind the nearest competitor, the Miami Marlins.

Either of these teams making the postseason, things as they are currently, is unlikely. But 'unlikely' and 'impossible' are not the same word.

The Red Sox, from almost the beginning of the season, have been the biggest spoiler in the AL. They weren't good enough to truly rock the AL East, but they had enough to really surprise some teams, and spend most of the year above .500. A lot of the slow roll of rookies the Sox have brought out in the last few years is paying off, as Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Connor Wong and Masataka Yoshida have all played big roles in this team's success. And now Ceddanne Rafaela, a 22-year-old SS/OF-type, is making waves 2 games into his career while Wilyer Abreu, conveniently on paternity leave, is hitting .353 with 5 games under his belt. 

The rookie success is relieving because so many trusted veterans, like Chris Sale, Trevor Story, Bobby Dalbec, Corey Kluber and Garrett Whitlock, have let the team down this year. And if the young guys were gonna pick any season to start blooming, it might as well have been this one. Even if Crawford started the year in the bullpen, he's been excellent as a starter, with 6 wins and 84 Ks in 18 starts. Brayan Bello may be the true crowd-pleaser going forward, but Crawford seems like a durable workhorse. As Sale begins to wind the last curve of his contract next year, I see Bello and Crawford forming the foundation for a new intimidating rotation for future Sox teams.

As for the Padres, they fell way below expectations despite several of their stars, including Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Ha-Seong Kim, having awesome seasons. It really amounts to a series of misguided decisions, like signing Nelson Cruz, Matt Carpenter and Rougned Odor at the start of the season, banking on Austin Nola as the starting catcher and Jake Cronenworth as the starting 1st baseman, building the team around a Joe Musgrove performance that wouldn't be healthy all year, and trading for Rich Hill, Garrett Cooper and Ji-Man Choi. Ultimately, a team weighed down this much by its own foibles couldn't stand a chance against the Dodgers, or even the Diamondbacks.

And it stinks because, as I said, so many of these guys actually played well this year. Michael Wacha has somehow figured things out after the Cardinals cut him loose a few years ago, got the gist of it midway through 2021 in Tampa, became great in Boston last year and now is back to where he was. I don't think the Padres figured they'd rely on veterans like Wacha and Snell as much as they have, but they've gotten strong seasons out of them both. Wacha's gone 10-2 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.105 WHIP in 18 starts. He's just been a steady, reliable veteran force on this team. Maybe not as flashy as Darvish or Musgrove, but he's getting the job done.

And while the Sox are over .500 and have had some big wins this month, the Padres are 10 games below .500, and they've been struggling all August. This could have been an opportunity for them to build back momentum, and that just hasn't happened. Meanwhile, the six-man wild card race isn't getting any closer to them, and it's becoming clear that any attempt to avenge their 2022 NLCS loss won't come until, at least, next year. 

If there's one thing I never would have thought I'd be saying this year, it's that the Red Sox have a better chance at the playoffs than the Padres. Yet here we are.

Coming Tomorrow- Just had the game of his life last night. 

Wacha the Line

 

Well, the inevitable may soon be approaching. After a nice couple of weeks, the Boston Red Sox might actually be approaching .500.

It was really a matter of waiting for everybody to get hot. So, now that Trevor Story has 9 homers and a team-leading 37 RBIs, Enrique Hernandez and Jackie Bradley are hitting more than they were, Rafael Devers is at full capacity with a .345 average and 11 homers, Christian Vasquez is actually hitting .300 for once, and Nick Pivetta, Rich Hill and Garrett Whitlock have nice seasons going, now we can actually talk about this team from a full perspective rather than just from 'oh, none of these people are actually doing what they're supposed to'.

What was funny was that even when the rest of this team was struggling, Michael Wacha was having his best season in years, with a 3-0 record, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.086 WHIP. He missed a few starts, and rejoined by the time the Sox were actually able to win games again, and now he's a lot more at home. The crappy part is that in this time we've lost Nate Eovaldi's better numbers after a few rough starts, but...somehow, Eovaldi-Wacha-Pivetta-Whitlock-Hill is actually a pretty strong rotation. I thought they'd be set back a lot without Sale, Rodriguez and Paxton, but this actually does work. I'm honestly really happy that Rich Hill can still strike people out at 42 years old. 

And now that Story and Hernandez are hitting, they join the already strong core of Bogaerts, Martinez and Devers, who were all doing pretty well before, and battering down opposing offenses. The Sox are now 2 games under .500, and are heading into series' against the Orioles, Reds and A's.

....oh crap.

I know I have enough to worry about with the Blue Jays' inevitable rise next month, but the Sox could very well lap some people and make a run at first as well. I kind of ruled things out from the start, but I also thought this Sox team would have the best playoff case before the season began, and...maybe they just took a bit longer to keep going. I'm still hoping they're not entirely for real, but...I did think they'd eventually put things together. Now we see where this puts them in relation to the other 3 competitors.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the many preventions against Rays salary cap overflow that's paying off for other teams this year. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2021: Rays

 

Kinda thought the Rays would be making another World Series this year. Red Sox had other plans. 

The Rays did a ton right this year. They had a consistent run of things and waited for the Sox to drop out to get even stronger. As usual, their GM made the biggest moves this year, dropping Willy Adames to make way for Wander Franco and strengthening the bullpen. 

Like usual, the Rays had a ton of characters bobbing around and performing accordingly. Ji-Man Choi was injured for a lot of 2021, but he still had some decent power numbers, hitting 11 homers and 43 RBIs in 83 games. He still rakes, but he's not quite as indispensable as he was in 2019.

2022 Prediction: Takes 1st base back, and does alright, but eventually loses the position to someone younger.

In Choi's absence, most reps at 1st went to Yandy Diaz, who'd usually be covering third if not for Joey Wendle. Diaz had a solid, if unspectacular, year, hitting .256 with 119 hits, 64 RBIs and 13 homers. He's become a pretty steady switch-infield guy, but he hasn't had huge numbers in a bit.

2022 Prediction: With Vidal Brujan on his toes, Diaz needs to have a nice season to keep third, and I predict he'll have a massive improvement that'll put eyes on him during the offseason.

With Glasnow and Chirinos hurt, Morton and Snell gone, and Archer hella inconsistent, one of the few trusted starters the Rays went into the season with was Ryan Yarbrough. That said, his season was a bit of a disappointment, as he sported a 5.11 ERA in 30 games, only 21 of them starts. He did have 9 wins and 117 Ks, but as McClanahan and others were rising, he wasn't staying with them, hence the move to the pen.

2022 Prediction: Stays in the rotation, has a modest improvement, but with Patino and McClanahan rising, I think he'll be one of the lower-key names in the rotation, and may be moved eventually.

After a disappointing year in New York, Michael Wacha tried Tampa for his next chance at recapturing his Cardinals numbers. His numbers don't show how sneakily on-point he could be when he could- a 3-5 record and a 5.05 ERA in 23 starts, but he only gave up 4 earned runs against the Yankees the whole year, with a 1.66 ERA over 5 appearances, his best record against a division rival [the Jays and O's kicked the shit out of him]. So even if he was a disappointment, he was a surprising Yankee killer. 

2022 Prediction: And said-Yankee killer just wound up in one of the most unsettling places for a Yankee killer to be...the Boston rotation. I don't think Paxton's gonna be healthy the whole year, so Wacha will get some crucial starts, and improve over his 2021, but only marginally. 

 

2020's postseason unsung hero, Brett Phillips, continued his under-the-radar work in several factions. In 118 games, Phillips hit .206, but with 44 RBIs, 13 homers, and 14 steals, which was most shocking to me. Plus, in an extended role, Phillips has become a smart defensive substitution in the outfield, with great defensive numbers. 

2022 Prediction: A similar role, with slightly starrier numbers, but more starts upon an injury late.

As for the guys the Rays sneakily went out and got, Luis Patino was a return in the Blake Snell deal, and in the second half he was an unlikely starting weapon, with a 4.74 ERA in 15 starts, including 63 Ks. He also made 5 postseason appearances in relief, and struck out 2 despite a loss in the ALDS. For a 21-year-old, some flashy stuff to start out with.

2022 Prediction: Now that he knows the ropes, Patino will mellow out a little. He's not gonna start the season in the rotation, but I see him getting starts down the stretch. In a few years he'll be like Julio Urias.

A minor addition to the Willy Adames deal, Drew Rasmussen also wiggled his way from the bullpen to the rotation, earning 10 starts with 3 wins, a 1.93 ERA and 28 Ks...even though he notched 45 Ks in 25 relief appearances. Bottom line, Rasmussen is a flexible asset that has a number of different uses.

2022 Prediction: I put Rasmussen slightly below Patino in terms of who gets thrown into the rotation on an injury, but I do see him starting games with similar power next year.

And, of course, there's Nelson Cruz, a high-profile steal from Minneapolis, who was already hitting like mad and lifting the team before the trade. Upon arriving in Tampa Bay, his numbers became a little more typical for a 40-year old. Yes, 13 homers and 36 RBIs in 55 games, but Cruz only hit .226 in this time, and had the same number of strikeouts as he did in 85 games for the Twins. He did start during the ALDS against Boston, and garnered a postseason homer, but again, did not hit for average.

2022 Prediction: I think the wisest thing for Nellie to do would be retire. But he's not going to do that. So, my guess is DH'ing in Oakland and not making it to July.

Tomorrow, some selections from the Red Sox team that almost had it. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Mets (Part One)

For the second consecutive season, the New York Mets were the best bad team in baseball.

NOW WHAT I MEAN BY THAT...hang on, don't close the tab yet...

What I mean by that is that the Mets weren't good enough to compete, but they were good enough to keep others from thinking they could compete. For the second year in a row, they were in charge of determining which nearly-there teams were playoff ready, and that once again included giving the Phillies a bunch of losses and keeping them from a playoff spot. It also meant having one of the best lineups in the game despite being hampered by bulging, sagging rotation. 

Hopefully if the Mets keep the pieces that made them nearly compete this year, while also fine-tuning the pitching, they'll actually be able to take on Miami and Atlanta for the division. It just didn't happen this year either.

Brandon Nimmo was one of the many Mets that really excelled this year. He once again was in the shadow of Michael Conforto, but still got a lot done this year, including batting .280 and hitting 8 homers with 18 RBIs. Nimmo seems to be far from a fluke, and if he AND Conforto are both on next year, they could be an immortal OF duo.

2021 Prediction: Of him and Conforto, Nimmo will have the better contact hitting year, and the ASG nod.

Now...to talk about two players that the Mets still don't know what to do with. Dominic Smith was one of the best players on the team this year, but he's not the starting 1st baseman on the Mets. Pete Alonso is, and will likely continue to be. So unless the DH stays in the NL and they trade off DHing, Dominic Smith is gonna be stuck on the bench for a bit. I don't think you want a guy who led the team in RBIs with 42 to be stuck on the bench at all.

2021 Prediction: A half year of similar production and then, finally, he's traded to a contender and gets a starting role at 1st. 

Similarly, the time has come for the Mets to trade Amed Rosario. No more waiting around for the guy to hit for average, it's probably not going to happen. Once again Rosario underwhelmed in 2020, hitting .252 with 15 RBIs in 46 games. As Andres Gimenez has begun to close in on the position by actually hitting for average, the need for Rosario is slowly lessening. How much more time is this team gonna spend waiting for Rosario to match up to the scouting reports? Especially now that the Cohens are in charge.

2021 Prediction: He gets traded this offseason. To, like, Milwaukee or something. 

Good news is Jeff McNeil is still very much for real. Due to steroid-related reasons, McNeil didn't play a lot at 2nd base this year, but thanks to Luis Guillorme, I think he's gonna find a home in the outfield. He seemed to do well there statistically, and he fits in well with Nimmo and Conforto. Also, he's still a handy little contact hitter, as he hit .311 with 57 hits and 23 RBIs. 

2021 Prediction: Top 3 MVP voting. Yeah, it's happening. Gonna lead the league in hits, too. 

I don't think Mets fans are ever gonna come to a consensus on Edwin Diaz. So, statistically, Diaz had a very nice season- dude had a 1.75 ERA, 50 strikeouts and a pen-high 1.3 WAR. For all intents and purposes, this is technically a comeback year for the former Seattle closer aficionado. 

However.

Diaz only had 6 saves, and blew 4 others. The general consensus seems to be that Diaz is a great reliever, but still cannot resist the urge to blow a save or put runners in scoring position. Which has to be frustrating for the Mets. The stats may not show it, but Diaz may still be a liability to this team if he's going to keep blowing saves.

2021 Prediction: He doesn't last til the end of April in the ninth.

 

Speaking of people the Mets fans are fed up with, Steven Matz, as one of the two remaining 2015 Mets young hurlers still active this year [Thor was hurt], pissed away a lot of the goodwill he had left. In 9 games, he had a 0-5 record, a 9.68 ERA, and led the team in home runs allowed. I'm not saying this is the last of Matz' stellar years, but it's definitely a warning sign.

2021 Prediction: An improvement, but it might not be enough to keep him in the rotation. 

In the absence of the once-strong youth rotation movement, the Mets called in two veteran hurlers this offseason. Neither did especially well. I guess you can say Rick Porcello was the better of the two, mostly because Porcello is also just the more consistent pitcher of the two, but Porcello still had a 5.64 ERA and a 1-7 record, despite 54 strikeouts. After a few too many seasons of losing more games than he's won, Porcello seems to have bottomed out a bit.

2021 Prediction: Perhaps someone else will give him a chance, but I don't expect a full career turnaround.

The other of the two veterans the Mets brought in was Michael Wacha, the former Cardinal hero. Wacha's been shaky the last few years, and 2020 was no deviation from this: 1-4, 6.62 in 8 games. Not a great impression in a bit of a rebuilding year.

 2021 Prediction: Signs a minor league deal somewhere and mostly works relief. 

I'll post the other 6, who came in as the year progressed, tonight. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Cardinals

I never thought the Cardinals would respond to the loss of Mike Matheny by...performing better than they did with him as manager. I never could imagined how insane their August was, and how inexplicably they rose to, and fell from, power. They were the A's, only without the stability.

And...truth be told, they weren't a bad team. Granted, they weren't good enough to sneak into the playoffs, and lost too many crucial September matchups to land on a WC spot. So...they just have some accolades.

One of them is still having Carlos Martinez, one of the most notorious strikeout artists, and one of the perennial leaders in walks, in baseball. He had a down year by his own standards, but...he's still Carlos Martinez, and he's still one of the closest things the team has to an ace.

Well...aside from...

...oh yeah, their ACTUAL ACE.

Adam Wainwright, who's been fairly hit-miss in his last few seasons, decided to use his late-year return from the DL as a way of reminding people he can still throw hella hard. 40 strikeouts in 8 starts hard. Granted, his W/L ratio still isn't back, but the Cards are definitely banking on a return to form in 2019.

The numbers may not completely illuminate this, but Kolten Wong had another strong season at second, being one of the primary offensive leaders for the Cards with a 3.5 WAR. I'd put this year down a few pegs from his 100+ hit 2017, but he's proved his ability to be consistent in a constantly-shifting Cardinals environment.

The more consistent infield option is still Jedd Gyorko, who has proved to be an insanely crafty presence in the lineup, giving another 90+-hit season, and playing some top-tier defensive infield. He's got one more year of St. Louis mayhem before being released onto the general public of the MLB, so expect either some tricky postseason stuff for the Cards, or...a midseason trade sending him to Atlanta or something.

 Michael Wacha missed a portion of the season due to injury, but after his return he was back to his old tricks, improving on his 2017 season with a 3.20 ERA, an 8-2 record, and some general dominance. He'll likely be relied upon quite a bit during the 2019 run.

If not for Harrison Bader and Jack Flaherty, Tyler O'Neill would be the team's most powerful rookie. He only finished with a .254 average, but his 1.5 WAR, his 23 RBIs and defensive versatility speak for itself. Guys like O'Neill make me feel like St. Louis is gonna continue their roster interchangeability of late. O'Neill, while primarily an outfielder, can also be used off the bench, and can be swapped with Bader, Gyorko and Paul DeJong, all multi-positional guys.

 Daniel Poncedeleon's story is a nice pick me up- he comes back a season after being hit in the head with a line drive, his first start in the bigs is a near no-hitter, with multiple strikeouts and a ton of promise. Poncedeleon's stuff varied from starting and relieving duties, but he was an intriguing extra arm to have in the pitching staff, and might have an even more impressive 2019.

 Matt Adams landed in St. Louis in September, after a nice year benching in Washington. He proceeded to shed all of his good bat mojo from DC, and return to the effeteness he displayed in St. Louis before being dealt to Atlanta. Hopefully he'll find his stuff again soon enough.

Of all people to hold the fort in the ninth this year....Bud Norris? Former Houston and Baltimore starter Bud Norris? Well...okay then! Norris had 28 saves in 32 opportunities, with a 3.60 ERA, which made for a nice comeback year for the man. He's a free agent now, so hopefully someone will take a chance on this man for the ninth...hell, maybe it'll be Boston.

Coming Tomorrow- They went from being in control of the division to watching the playoffs from the sidelines...in a week's time. That's the kind of luck that used to get fans of this team down.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2017: Cardinals

So...the St. Louis Cardinals...in 2017...were okay.

They didn't go to the NLCS and piss me off. They didn't stay in last like the Blue Jays were nice enough to do. They skirted around second and third, occasionally being in first, and eventually being overtaken by the Brewers and Cubs. It was an up-and-down season, with wins, losses...and some breathtaking ineptitude during their game in the Bronx I got to see in April.

Michael Wacha, after a down year, was one of the few sources of consistency in St. Louis, having a great season as a 2nd-3rd man (behind Carlos Martinez), and batting them down.

I'd like to first say that this is one of my favorite photos of the year, and that I'm very sad that I had to crop out a line of stormtroopers glaring at Kolten Wong from this photo. Still hella cool, though.

Kolten Wong, a year after being demoted to the minors thanks to a holey average, and the presence of Aledmys Diaz in the infield, had a nice comeback year, hitting well and playing back into the starting lineup. With the number of young rookies, it's hard to see how solid he'll be in the gameplan, but with Diaz gone I'm thinking he'll be there more.

Jose Martinez was an infielder that had some great outings off the bench this year, culminating in more and more playing time as the year went on. He'll probably be a starter next year.

This guy, though, might be the future. He came up late in the season, played extremely well, and will be fighting for an outfield spot next season alongside Piscotty and Grichuk (coming off disappointing seasons). Tommy Pham and Dexter Fowler will definitely be there, and it'd be cool to see Magneuris Sierra get the nod as well, as he's probably gonna be great.

Coming Tomorrow- They didn't exactly win the World Series, but they didn't do too badly, either.

Custom Card of the Day: Wacha Edition

I kid that the Cardinals do a lot of staying in first place despite having really no business being there, but i think that this year, they do have a lot built up.

True, a lot is working against them, like the loss of their star pitcher, but at least they have Michael Wacha, and he's been doing really well this season. I remember when he came up, they touted him as this ultra-mega-prospect, and then they kept him in the bullpen for a little while. I thought, 'well, is this gonna happen or not?'

Thankfully, this season he's back in the rotation, throwing fire and impressing a lot of people. Plus, this is a season where the Cards' rotation has sort of been counted out. Other than Lance Lynn, there aren't a lot of definites. Now that Wacha's back, there's a lot less confusion in that area, and a lot more confusion as to why Jason Heyward still has the starting job.

I honestly have nothing against Wacha. If I'm gonna hate a Cardinal, it's gonna be Matt Carpenter. Wacha is fine, and he throws some nice games, so I've got no problems with him. Simple as that.

Coming Tonight: Last season he owned in Oakland. Now he's owning in Toronto.

Custom Card of the Day: Wacha Edition

Oh, Cardinals. Why must you be so good at things?

I mean...the Pirates HAD this one. They were gonna clinch the NL Central for the first time since 1992. And you had the GALL to send them fighting for the wild card...which they'll probably win, BUT STILL.

I mean....that is kinda mean, especially considering the fact that you're already the St. Louis Cardinals. You've been giving noogies to the Cubs for a damn near century. But THIS? I mean, back in August, the Pirates were indefinitely the best team in baseball. No Red Sox could rebut this. And, knowing you, you had to stay in the race and knock them off their horse. It's kinda maddening, too.

Still, I really hope somebody does to you what you just did to Pittsburgh. And I hope it HURTS.

Coming Tomorrow- Ironically, a Pittsburgh Pirate.