Phil Nevin's route to the major leagues as a player was hardly a direct one, even though he was the No.1 overall draft pick by the Houston Astros in 1992. (The decision to pick Nevin over Derek Jeter(notes) upset scout Hal Newhouser so much that he quit his job and left baseball altogether.)

No. 1 picks are often foundational players for a team. Think of names like Ken Griffey, Jr., Chipper Jones(notes), and Joe Mauer(notes). They get big money to start and often find themselves on career tracks that don't lead to coaching and managing. But by Nevin's third season, he wasn't panning out like a Junior or a Chipper and the Astros gave upon him, making him the player to be named later in a 1995 deal with the Detroit Tigers for reliever Mike Henneman.

In three seasons with Detroit, the Tigers couldn't figure out whether to make Nevin a third baseman, outfielder or catcher. They dealt him to the then-Anaheim Angels. After one season, the Angels were so impressed that they sent Nevin to

Anheuser-Busch would like a word with Major League Baseball. That word appears to be "lawsuit."

The makers of Budweiser (among many other adult beverages) claim MLB reneged on an agreement reached back in April to renew its 30-year sponsorship. Just weeks after striking the deal, MLB demanded to renegotiate the terms, asking for an "exponentially higher rights fee," according to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

"A change in marketplace dynamics" was the reason for the higher rights fee demand, a report in The Wall Street Journal says. In non-legalese, that means "mo' money."

From the WSJ:

"We are excited about the extension of this amazing partnership. Congratulations partner!!," an MLB Properties marketing executive allegedly said in an April 22 fax regarding the agreement, according to the lawsuit.

Well, MLB was excited — until learning how much Anheuser-Busch's deal with the NFL was worth.

The lawsuit asserts that MLB wanted to renegotiate in May after

The Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Marlins flipped the switch on their offseasons this week by annoucing their new skippers.

In Milwaukee, Ron Roenicke takes over for the fired Ken Macha. Roenicke spent the last five seasons as Mike Scioscia's bench coach with the Los Angeles Angels. He'd been on Scioscia's staff since 2000.

In the Marlins' dugout, the new boss is the same as the old boss. Edwin Rodriguez had the "interim" label scrubbed from his job title and was retained as manager for next season. Rodriguez replaced Fredi Gonzalez, who was dismissed in late June.

Brewers play-by-play man Brian Anderson(notes) calls Roenicke "a baseball Tony Dungy." Marlins president Larry Beinfest is "excited" about bringing back Rodriguez.

That all sounds wonderful, but we're wondering why neither team hired Bobby Valentine. (We could add the Seattle Mariners to that mix, who passed on Valentine in favor of Eric Wedge a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and let's not forget the Toronto Blue Jays, who

The Texas Rangers came into the World Series flexing their muscles, boasting a lineup that destroyed opposing pitching in their first two playoff series.

In the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Texas scored 21 runs in five games. They roughed up one of the American League's best pitchers, David Price(notes), for eight runs and 17 hits in two of those contests.

In the ALCS versus the New York Yankees, the Rangers put 38 runs on the board in six games. Their lineup pounded CC Sabathia(notes) for seven runs and 17 hits the two times they faced him.

Texas looked like the favorite to win this series and the franchise's first championship with an offense that would surely overpower yet another pitching staff. But the heavy lumber the Rangers carried ran into a San Francisco Giants buzzsaw that turned those big bats into toothpicks.

Against a dominating group of starters and relievers, the Rangers mustered only 12 runs in five games. They were shut out in Game 4, and until Nelson Cruz's

Sunday night was Halloween, and the favorite costume among the Texas Rangers' big bats at Rangers Ballpark appeared to be The Invisible Man.

Coming into the World Series, the power of the Rangers' lineup was thought to be one of the team's biggest advantages.

But hitting for extra bases and driving in runs has been almost non-existent through the heart of the Texas batting order as the Rangers have already been shut out twice.

• Michael Young(notes)? No extra-base hits or RBIs in four games.

• Ian Kinsler(notes)? He has the one double that was oh-so-close to being a home run. But every line drive he hit on Sunday found its way into Cody Ross'(notes) glove. And he still has no RBIs in the World Series.

Madison Bumgarner's(notes) brilliant pitching didn't allow many chances to score, but the Rangers had their best opportunity in the seventh with two runners on and two outs. Kinsler swung at a high changeup, however, lining out softly to left field and ending the inning.

• Vladimir

The second inning of Sunday night's Game 4 of the World Series looked like it was going to be trouble for both starters: Tommy Hunter(notes) of the Texas Rangers and Madison Bumgarner(notes) of the San Francisco Giants.

But thanks to stellar defensive plays from Josh Hamilton(notes) and Freddy Sanchez(notes), both hurlers — as well as first base umpire Jeff Kellogg — got out of the inning unscathed.

Hunter, who hadn't issued a walk against 89 straight batters, walked Cody Ross(notes) on four straight pitches. (Though all four pitches, especially ball four, looked to be on the edge of the strike zone.)

However, the real problem presented itself two batters later when Travis Ishikawa(notes) was ruled safe by Kellogg on a throw to first that would've completed an inning-ending double play. Replays showed that Elvis Andrus'(notes) throw hit Mitch Moreland's(notes) glove before Ishikawa's left foot landed on the bag.

Then the batter that Hunter arguably shouldn't have had to face, Edgar

San Francisco lent some local celebrity power to the first two games of the World Series at AT&T Park. For instance, there was former Journey lead singer Steve Perry in the stands, singing one of his most famous songs with 43,000+ of his best friends.

Those who prefer celebrities of a more literary vein might be interested to learn that The Bay Citizen asked author Dave Eggers ("A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," founder of literary magazine McSweeney's) to tote his sketchbook around the ballpark during Game 1 and use pen and marker to capture some of the people he encountered.

One of the fans Eggers met was still so dazzled by Giants' dream World Series run that he couldn't even look at them directly. He needed some distance to comprehend what he was witnessing.

There's plenty more where those sketches came from, including other beard-bearing Giants fans, a pair of Rangers fans who made the trek to San Francisco, and ... a Mexican wrestler?

Clearly, the gauntlet has been

For all the attention and praise Cliff Lee(notes) has received this postseason — at least until he finally displayed his mortality in Game 1 of the World Series — it turns out that Colby Lewis(notes) may have been the right guy to pitch for the Texas Rangers in a must-win win game.

Coming into Saturday's Game 3, Lewis had allowed only three runs in his three postseason starts, averaging a strikeout per inning. Right-handed batters also hit just .216 against him this season, which would surely help against a San Francisco Giants' lineup whose right-handed bats have been lethal in the first two games of this series.

In the first inning, however, it appeared the Giants were going to make Lewis work. He threw 20 pitches, allowing a single to Freddy Sanchez(notes) and walk to Buster Posey(notes). But Lewis struck out Pat Burrell(notes) (who looks absolutely lost at the plate right now), wiping out a chance for San Francisco to take an early lead.

After dodging trouble, Lewis locked in for