The Check Swing: Week 17

How bad was Josh Hader's week? He struck out 1 batter in 1.2 innings, allowed 3 runs, blew a save and went 0-2. On the bright side, he did pick up a save and didn't say anything racist on Twitter.

We're keeping things simple this week because life is hard and time is short. Or is it the other way around? Whatever. The commissioners are exhausted from replacing their injured pitchers (Deka) and signing/cutting hitters for no good reason like Jerry DiPoto (Rich).

We have one week left till the playoffs, and the division races are far from settled. Heck, the best record in FBLG is only 10-7 (shared by four teams).

We're going to miss this weirdo in the National League.

1. Clemente's Bucs (3445.7, 10-7, last week 1): Ray picked up a win with a rotation of Zach Eflin, Dinelson Lamet and Trevor Williams — to go along with Stephen Strasburg's -0.3 for the week. Look out for the Buccos in the playoffs. TOP DOG: Starling Marte with 30 points.

2. The Rookies (3410.9 points, 10-7, last week 3): With Robbie Ray, Patrick Corbin and Zack Wheeler leading the way, Henry looks poised to make noise in the postseason. Oh, did we mention Nolan Arenado, Cody Bellinger and Eduardo Escobar? TOP DOG: Bellinger with 25.5 points.

3. Yari's Autonomics (3381, 8-9, last week 2): Hold up. Zack Greinke is with the Astros, but Dallas Keuchel isn't? And Yasiel Puig is in Cleveland? Adam's team is harder to follow than Dennis Miller's stand-up routine. TOP DOG: Robinson Cano with 24.5 points (player's health no longer valid).

4. When the Ledee Breaks (3316.2, 9-8, last week 5): Matt used an rotation of Caleb Smith, Joey Lucchesi, Drew Smyly and Jose Quintana to pick up a win. Jealous of all those lefties, the commishes are tempted to propose a complete pitching-staff swap. Except Hector Neris; you can keep him. TOP DOGS: Trevor Story and Michael Conforto with 23 points.

5. Hassey's Girl (3302.5, 10-7, last week 4): Hyun-Jin Ryu, German Marquez and Craig Kimbrel got hurt for the commishes in Week 17, turning the team's strength into a pretty big concern. At least they can always count on Christian Yelich and ... nope, just Christian Yelich. TOP DOG: Aaron Nola with 21 points.

Bryan Reynolds, who was acquired in the Andrew
McCutchen trade, is the first impact outfielder to
come up through the San Francisco system since ... ???

6. Arbitration Losers (3235.2, 10-7, last week 7): Madison Bumgarner and Kirby Yates combined for 2.7 points, and Tim still posted 222.7 for the week. Every hitter homered except for Adam Eaton, and Sonny Gray looks like an ace again. TOP DOG: Bryan Reynolds with 25.5 points.

7. Project Mayhem (3163.8, 9-8, last week 8): As much as we'd like to poke fun at Maikel "Generalissimo" Franco for getting sent down to wherever the hell the Phillies' Triple-A team is, we'll focus instead on Ketel freaking Marte entering the top 5 in hitting points. Good grief. TOP DOG: Walker Buehler with 28 points.

8. Fresh Fish (3160.8, 9-8, last week 6): Rick's pitchers outscored his hitters 69.3-68. Our expert analysis is: that sucks. We're calling out Keston Hiura (-1), Marcell Ozuna (1.5), Brian McCann (3.5), Kris Bryant (5), Austin Riley (6) and Alex Verdugo (8). TOP DOG: Chris Paddack with 18.3 points.

9. Lumber Co Lumber (3078.8, 7-10, last week 9): When Corey Seager scores 8, Willson Contreras scores 5, Jon Lester scores 3, Kenta Maeda scores 2.7 and Josh Hader scores -4.3, you know it's going to be a tough week for John's team. TOP DOG: Freddie Freeman with 23 points.

10. The Misfits (2773.5, 3-14, last week 10): Noah Syndergaard, Jon Gray and Jack Flaherty teamed up to lead Reid's team past the commishes for its 3rd win of the year. Getting 85.3 pitching points will do that. Will Smith's 2 homers and 3 doubles helped, too. TOP DOG: Syndergaard with 32.3 points.

Batting leaders after Week 17

1. Christian Yelich (HG) 402
2. Cody Bellinger (R) 398
3. Freddie Freeman (LCL) 382.5
4. Ronald Acuña Jr. (WLB) 373
5. Ketel Marte (PM) 366.5

Pitching leaders after Week 17

1. Max Scherzer (YA) 317.3
2. Stephen Strasburg (CB) 315.3
3. Trevor Bauer (M) 301.3
4. Aaron Nola (HG) 292.3
5. Patrick Corbin (R) 281.7