The veteran Venezuelan accepted his assignment and went down to Triple-A and then was back in LA for September after getting added back onto the 40-man roster. Down the stretch, Abreu only appeared as a pinch-hitter.

Well, to say it was a seamless process would be a lie; it took a lot of work for Minor to evolve into one of the three starters the Braves trusted enough to put on the Wild Card game roster.

There are a few things that jump out from Beltre’s 2012 season. The most striking item is his work against righties. The right-handed hitter didn’t exactly scuffle against them in 2011 (836 OPS vs. 1076 against southpaws), but this season he dominated righties to the tune of a 984 OPS (compared to a surprisingly low 737 mark against lefties).

There’s certainly some reasons to consider his season a success. He was far better than most expected he’d be a shortstop for one. Secondly, he did set a new career high in homers (albeit, in a career high number of games).

Giambi is not hitting nearly as well this year, but it’s his complete lack of extra-base pop – especially in light of last year’s showing – that is most shocking. He can still draw a walk, but it’s not like he’s going to steal a base or anything once he gets on. Giambi has also reduced his strikeout rate, but the better contact is not manifesting itself in a better BA.

Meanwhile, the White Sox are falling apart, but — fortunately — not losing too much ground on a Detroit team that isn’t exactly taking advantage. Still, the loser of this division race is putting themselves in deep trouble in the Wild Card standings.