Brendan Ryan Sets Mark For Ninth-Place-Hitter Plate Appearances

Tony La Russa revived the old pitcher-hits-eighth tactic Tuesday, and Brendan Ryan, the ninth-place hitter, started the winning rally. Almost as importantly (to us, at least), Ryan also happened to surpass former teammate and fellow shortstop Cesar Izturis for the most plate appearances as a non-pitching starter batting ninth (in non-DH games):

Fungoes

This Annotated Week In Baseball History: Dec. 7-Dec. 12, 1959

One of the great baseball pastimes is complaining about trades. I'm a Yankees fan, which means that I spend most of my time worrying about deals involving the Red Sox. Sometimes this concern is for nothing; much as I griped that Texas just gave away Eric Gagné in 2007, he did not do much for the Red Sox.

The Hardball Times