TTM: "What Happened to the Nationals?" Edition

Hey everyone, Drew back here. I was shocked to find a TTM return in my mailbox a few days ago; my first and only success in the past month. I've had a lot out in the mail at this point, but I don't expect much of it to come back. Either way, here's a look at my latest autograph!

Doug Fister: 1/1 (c/o Washington Nationals)

What the heck happened to the World Series favorites this year? Yesterday, as most of you saw, the Nationals hit a new low, with midseason acquisition Jonathan Papelbon starting a dugout brawl with MVP favorite Bryce Harper. Papelbon yelled at Harper for not running out a fly ball, which was valid to an extent, but gave him no reason to start a physical fight. Just another reason why the egotistical closer is my least favorite player in baseball.

I picked the Nationals to go up against the Seattle Mariners in the World Series prior to this season, and with the Mets' recent clinching of the NL East that officially became impossible. I went out on a limb with Seattle, as many others did, and came out seriously empty. But Washington was the heavyweight favorite after acquiring Max Scherzer for over a decade's worth of salary. Scherzer joined an elite rotation that had six starters capable of being at least a third starter for just about any other team in the game. Doug Fister was one of them.

Fister was coming off a 2014 in which he recorded 16 wins and a 2.41 ERA. He was becoming one of the National League's elite pitchers after several underrated seasons between Detroit and Seattle. This year was a different story, as a slow start wound up pushing him out of the mega rotation and into the bullpen. As of today, he has a 4.19 ERA with only 15 starts to his name. Disappointing, to say the least.

Hopefully next year goes better for the Nationals, as they do have some of the more likable young players in the game. Doug Fister will be a free agent, and I have a hard time believing Washington will want to hold on to him with Jordan Zimmermann leaving as well. This was supposed to be their year, but usually that sentence never means anything by season's end.

But anyway, thank you Mr. Fister for signing my 2014 Topps Heritage. All the best to you in 2016 and over the rest of your career! 

See Ya!