A Random Sampling

I’m leaving Cleveland in about six hours and getting cozy with U.S. 23 and I-75 for most of the day on the way back to Charlevoix. So, I wanted to clear out the mental notebook.

• Did you see that Chris Shelton got designated for assignment by the Rangers? In almost two months in Arlington, Big Red didn’t hit: 216 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 41 games. Seriously, what happened with him?

• Denny Bautista made his debut with the Pirates on Friday night but the poor guy got nailed by a batted ball. He threw only 12 pitches and is likely out for a few days.

• I attended my first game at Progressive Field tonight. Craig Calcaterra of ShysterBall and I enjoyed about four innings before being spooked by lightning and threat of rain. The game was delayed about an hour before first pitch — my second rain delay in three days and probably the second of my baseball-attending life — so we cut our losses. Do yourself a favor and check out this photo I snapped of a guy sitting next to Craig. (The photo here is the view from our seats in section 409.)

That’s it from SABR…at least for me. The convention runs through Sunday.