Hemstitiching: More on Mangini, Hayhurst Opines, and Dress Codes

Hubble Advent Calendar, Day 13

In the weaver’s world the word hemstitching is used for two purposes: to tie up loose ends (literally, because an “end” is a thread in a warp) and for decoration.

• As mentioned earlier, we think there’s a good chance Bulls fans will get to see Matt Mangini play for the Durham Bulls next year. Sure would be fun to see two local lads (Matt is from Holly Springs, RHP Chris Archer is from Clayton) on the field together. Certainly the Bulls front office would like to see that happen. Why is he available? That is not entirely clear. He was the Tacoma Rainiers’ (the Seattle AAA team) MVP in 2010, with very solid numbers. But looks like 2011 was a bit of a nightmare for Matt with quad injuries that must not have healed properly and then a concussion in July. As to why the Mariners released him, someone who knows the team better than I would have to guess at that. I’d speculate that they were happy with their 1B/3B situation and needed to make room on their 40-man. Played for Apex High School, NC State, and Oklahoma State before being drafted by the Mariners. Interesting mid-2010 interview here. I wish Matt well at Spring Training, but it sure would be nice for the Bulls to have a solid player at 3B for a change. For that matter, with Dan Johnson gone and (in my modest opinion) Leslie Anderson not working out, 1B would be interesting.
• Former Bull Dirk Hayhurst is providing an insider’s view of the Ryan Braun situation and the Pujols and Matt Moore deals while he waits for his new book to hit the street and obsesses about the greyhound he rescued.
• And then there’s the dress codes that have been established for baseball's sports writers. Who knew? Who cared? But it is interesting to learn that there’s not supposed to be any cheering in the press box.