Today's bullets are going to be a little shorter, because the big story was last night's Royals win over the Athletics, which ended too late to really get any reactions. And I don't think there is any point in posting any of the preview stories to a game that has already been played.
- Published mid-game last night, David Schoenfield says that Ned Yost putting Yordano Ventura in as a reliever shows why he's a terrible manager. And I'm sure we'll have something to say next time about what Pedro Martinez said about Yost in the post-game show.
- What was Billy Butler thinking getting picked off first?
- The Kansas City Police Department had a request for their citizens.
- On to other matters. For the first time since 1986, the Minnesota Twins fired a manager as Ron Gardenhire was shown the door.
- Gardenhire was classy about his exit and said "I think this is the right thing."
- Joe Posnanski thinks that Gardenhire got too much credit during the good times and too much blame in the bad. Kind of like all managers, no?
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels said that although he wasn't going to fire him, it might have been for the best that manager Ron Washington resigned.
- Bud Black will return as Padres manager next season.
- The Astros hired A.J. Hinch as their new manager.
- Jay Jaffe says that Hinch has a big task ahead of him and that he'll need to avoid the problems and mistakes that marked his tenure as Diamondbacks manager.
- Former Twins manager Tom Kelly is recovering from a minor stroke. Of course, no strokes are really minor. Some are just worse than others.
- Braves hitting coach Greg Walker has resigned.
- The New York Times notes that this postseason has a real neighborly feel to it, marked by several teams in close proximity to each other.
- Looking ahead to tonight's Giants/Pirates game, Andrew Baggarly says that both teams have a secret weapon in the bullpen.
- Tim Brown explains why he's fascinated by Hunter Pence.
- With the Dodgers/Cardinals matchup coming, Tracy Ringolsby explains how both franchises are shaped by the legacy of Branch Rickey.
- The Cardinals had the highest local TV ratings of any team this season.
- Grant Brisbee asks now that the Royals have made the playoffs, was the widely-criticized James Shields trade the right move after all?
- Will Leitch notes that while the Royals have been bad for many years, Kansas City has been a hotbed of great baseball writing for a long time.
- Richard Justice lists his favorite memories of previous postseasons.
- What is anyone going to write about now that we don't have the Derek Jeter farewell tour to discuss? I know. Derek Jeter's first day of retirement!
- Craig Calcaterra does not think it's a problem that Derek Jeter is still baseball's most popular player.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi expects Alex Rodriguez to be the Yankees third baseman next season.
- Ichiro Suzuki says he has no plans to retire. I really hope he gets a chance to play somewhere next season.
- Josh Hamilton says he's ready to play in the ALDS.
- For both League Championship Series and the World Series, MLB is going to add a seventh umpire to run the replay booth.
- Ryan Braun is going to have thumb surgery in the offseason.
- Francisco Rodriguez wants to return to the Brewers next season.
- GM Ben Cherington outlined how he plans to fix the Red Sox.
- The Red Sox would like to sign Yoenis Cespedes to a contract extension.
- Bartolo Colon and his wife became U.S. citizens on Saturday.
- Finally, LSU head football coach Les Miles explains baseball sabermetrics as best he can.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Although it will be tough to beat last night's game.