Remember when Alex Rodriquez destroyed our national innocence by making some kind of contract decision or statement during the opening of the World Series? Maybe you don't because the effects of this move were so traumatic for so many, that your memory from those fraught days may be shaky. Well be afraid, because now information regarding Tim Hudson's employment is out there. Expect ten national columnists basically saying they want Tim Hudson dead tomorrow. Ten, or negative five.

After the jump: an update on TPJ, a cool WAR by birthday database, tickets for hot girls, the perils of baseball in the DR, an ode & obituary for GeoCities, a great blog devoted to horrible Orioles baseball cards, and much much more.

Royals:

• Royals interested in keeping hurler Pena | royals.com: News
• Wednesday Rafters Report: Aaron Crow Debut Edition | Kings of Kauffman | A Kansas City Royals Blog
• Butler Bops in K.C. | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
• Finishing Up The Outfield - Royals Authority
• Royalscentricity: A Restless Royals Ramble That Ends Up In Surprise
• Royals Caribbean Report (10/26) | Kings of Kauffman | A Kansas City Royals Blog
• It Was 24 Years Ago... - Royals Authority
• Royals Top 60 Prospects: #53-47 - Royals Review
• Royals Review on Twitter

Baseball:

• World Series Batting Order Optimizer: New York Yankees - Driveline Mechanics
• Things I Learned Watching A Few Hours Of The Venezuelan Winter League - Lookout Landing
• Top Birthday WARs (My birthday leader: Sandy Koufax)
  
• Tim Hudson nears contract extension with Braves - Talking Chop
• Dominican Baseball Handlers Stir Issues of Exploiting Youths - NYTimes.com
• Braves Top-5 Minor League Center Fielders - Talking Chop
• On Who Ought To Win - Lookout Landing
• The Most Delusional Man On The Planet | FanGraphs Baseball
• YouTube - KnuckleballAlley's Channel
• Orioles Card "O" the Day: Joe Carter, 1998 Fleer Flair Showcase Flair #62
• Random Small Sample Size Of At-Bats Transforms A-Rod Into True Yankee
• Early John Lackey Rumors - MLB Daily Dish
• Looking At What Exactly is Angels Baseball - Beyond the Box Score
• Can Drew Stubbs be as Good as Joey Votto? - Red Reporter
• Washington Nationals Farm System Discussion - Minor League Ball
• J.D. Drew’s Contract | FanGraphs Baseball
• Ross Ohlendorf Participating in Department of Agriculture Internship - Bucs Dugout

Grab Bag:

• How GeoCities invented the modern Internet. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine
• New Left Review - Perry Anderson: A New Germany?
• 1 Free ticket for tonight, Hot Girl only
• Fat Little Girlfriends :: Discussed - Double-T Nation
• Kansas vs. Texas Tech Matchup Breakdown - Rock Chalk Talk
• Historical odities from Colts-Rams smackdown - Inhistoric
• In the Muslim world, creationism is on the rise - The Boston Globe
• San Antonio Spurs 2010 Season Preview - Pounding The Rock
• Surveying the Wreckage | Newspaper Death Watch
• 'Most-hated' man is thorny reminder of Britain's past - Analysis, Opinion - Independent.ie
• Should the shape of the WNBA game change? - Swish Appeal
• Early attendance trends in the NHL - From The Rink
• Nehemia Shtrasler / The public sector wins - Haaretz - Israel News
• Oh, Betty!: Photos: GQ