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So I take the wife out shopping today. She shops, I sit in the car and read Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2008, everyone’s happy.
On page 145 of the Annual, I come across an amusing anecdote about a gentleman named Clay Dalrymple:
One July day in Baltimore in 1969, the umpires were faced with a problem. Clay Dalrymple was to catch for Baltimore that evening, but he emerged from the dugout with both a catcher’s mitt (on his hand) and a fielder’s glove (in his back pocket).
“I asked him about it,” reported home plate umpire John Rice. “And …read more

Former big-league right-hander Gerry Staley has died at the age of 87. Staley’s career spanned from 1947 to 1961, during which he won 134 games. He reached double digits in victories for five straight seasons, from 1949 to 1953, before later moving to the bullpen. As a reliever, he made four appearances for the White Sox in the ‘59 World Series against the Dodgers, earning a save in Game 1.
My thoughts go out to Staley’s family and friends.

Just time enough for haiku today…
Glavine returns home
Will one year in Atlanta
Erase his last start?
White Sox ship Garland
To Angels for Cabrera,
Have no pitching left
Three years of Lowell
Only in Red Sox Nation
Is he a bargain
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Yesterday we looked at my preseason picks for the AL West. Today we move to the AL Central:

Tigers – They enjoyed a solid season and stayed in the wild card race for a long time, but no repeat in Detroit. Despite some tremendous individual offensive performances, there just wasn’t enough pitching to carry them back to the playoffs.
White Sox – Geez, I picked them to win the wild card? They might not finish ahead of Kansas City.
Twins – Hey, look, I got one right. Minnesota should get extra credit for remaining somewhat competitive despite the continued presence of Nick Punto …read more

You may have missed it in the all the hoopla surrounding, oh, pretty much anything else going on in the world, but right-hander Colby Lewis got the start Tuesday evening for Oakland. Lewis hadn’t made a big-league start since 2004, when he still wore a Texas Rangers uniform.
The previous year, Lewis’ only full season in the big leagues, he went 10-9 in 26 starts with a 7.30 ERA. He finished in the top 10 in walks allowed (and just missed the top 10 in earned runs allowed) despite throwing only 127 innings.
On Tuesday, against the American League’s worst offense (White …read more