A few thoughts on the clubhouse  —  The Red Sox played just shy of 1,500 innings this season spread out over 181 days.  In an ideal world, all 25 players would pay rapt attention to all 1,500 of those innings and be at their best all 181 days.  But that's not the case for any team.

Six pressing Rangers-Cardinals questions … ST. LOUIS — It's not the Yankees, it's not the Phillies and it certainly isn't the Red Sox here in the World Series.  FOX will fret.  And MLB has to worry.  But of course, the Rangers and Cardinals know they deserve to be here, and they figure they're going to put on a pretty good show.

2011 Draft Report Card Chat With Jim Callis and John Manuel  —  Moderator: Jim Callis and John Manuel will answer your draft questions as well as other baseball questions beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.  —  Jim Callis: Hi, everyone.  I wrote the NL Draft Report Cards (minus Houston) and also did Boston in the AL.

RSS Local Selig to retire to Madison to write memoirs on UW campus  —  IMAGE (8)  —  As the World Series begins, the most powerful man in baseball readies a nest in Madison for retirement.  It contains bubble gum, pretzels, a basket of baseballs and a cable connection to Major League Baseball's TV channel.

Notes: Scouting meetings, Kuroda & Soriano  —  Here are a few notes that have come up in the phone calls we have made the past few days.  —  * The Yankees will begin their scouting meetings on Wednesday.  They are scheduled to go three days.  When asked what they are like …

Occupy St. Louis to show commercial-free World Series  —  (Reuters) - Occupy St. Louis invited baseball fans on Tuesday to watch the World Series for free on a big screen at its campsite, and said it would stream its message against economic inequality between innings.

Baseball: Darvish ready for major league challenge  —  TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Yu Darvish sweepstakes are set to begin.  —  Nippon Ham Fighters ace Darvish, long said to be Japanese baseball's next biggest export to the majors, is ready to make a move stateside through the posting system this offseason …

Q&A: Kelly Johnson, Sabermetrically Savvy FA  —  Kelly Johnson may or may not be a Toronto Blue Jay next season, but wherever he ends up, he promises to have a better year with the bat — regardless of how many times he strikes out.  The free-agent-to-be second baseman hit a respectable .270/.364/.417 …

Gooden missed Mets' 1986 parade to do drugs  —  While his 1986 New York Mets teammates basked in the glory of millions during a ticker tape parade to celebrate their World Series title, Dwight Gooden sat in a drug dealer's apartment, too high and paranoid to join them.

An Interview with Ralph Branca  —  Every now and then, as co-proprietors of a blog that a few people sometimes deign to read, we get emails from publishers or publicists (most accurately, publicists for publishers, but there's no non-goofy way to say that) offering advance copies of baseball or other sports books.

Source: Dirk Nowitzki denied first pitch  —  The Texas Rangers nominated Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki to throw out a first pitch before one of their home games in the World Series, but sources with knowledge of the team's plans say that the recommendation has been nixed by Major League Baseball.

Free Agent And Trade Market For Catchers  —  The Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Twins may seek help at catcher this winter, and none of the available players will be expensive to acquire.  —  Starting Catchers Available In Free Agency  —  Ramon Hernandez and Rod Barajas qualify as starting catchers …

Finally in World Series, Rhodes guaranteed ring  —  Cards lefty reaches first Fall Classic, began year with Rangers  —  ST. LOUIS — October is deer-hunting season in northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, the typical autumn haunts of Cardinals reliever Arthur Rhodes.