You've also watched her father's powerful press conference:

And read her father's poignant statement of gratitude:

We have been very humbled at the response received over the past few days and by the countless kind gestures, words and prayers offered to every family of every victim. I am grateful that the words spoken on Saturday night have found a way to be of comfort to some. The numerous requests to learn more about our dear Emilie have been truly humbling. Although no one can be prepared what to do at a time like this, I do know for certain that it is imperative that we all spend more time with our families and focus on those who are most precious in our lives.

May we use all our energy and strength to overcome this terrible tragedy. May we focus our energy on those who were taken from us and let their memories inspire us to do good. May we look for opportunities to give service and work toward bettering our communities. I feel that if we can do these things we will again feel empowered, and we will make a difference. Remember these beautiful children; keep them close to our hearts. Do not let their bright shining faces become extinguished. Let us do everything in our power to ensure their light will continue to shine brighter and brighter in all we do to remember them.

Adam is currently running a donation drive to the Emilie Parker Memorial Fund on Lone Star Ball, and Jamey will be collecting donations for the Emilie Parker Memorial Fund at the Newberg Report Bound Edition release party at Sherlock's in Arlington. It's my understanding that the Texas Rangers will be making their own donation, as well. There are numerous other collections being taken up both online and in person for the Emilie Parker Memorial Fund and other funds going to benefit the families of the victims, and the outpouring of public support in the wake of this senseless tragedy is a beautiful, bright light in a dark time. 

BBTiA will also be collecting donations for the Emilie Parker Memorial Fund. If you would like to make a contribution through BBTiA, send your contribution via PayPal to joey.matschulat@gmail.com -- I will be sending the total contribution early next week. Or you can contribute through LSB, or at Jamey's party, or however you'd prefer to do it. If you have the means and the inclination to contribute, your genorosity will be felt regardless of which contribution channel you select.

I don't know whether it's appropriate or not to bring up concussions as a possible reason why Freel made the tragic decision to take his own life, but it's going to end up out there anyway, and, frankly, the extent of Freel's head injuries shocked and saddened me:

On May 28, 2007, Freel was injured in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates when chasing a deep drive to right-center field. Freel and right fielder Norris Hopper collided, resulting in Freel's head and neck hitting Hopper and finally the warning track. He was transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was reported to be coherent with feeling in his extremities. Freel began working out on June 15, about 2 weeks after the collision. He was briefly sent to the AAA Louisville Bats for rehabilitation. Freel began getting random headaches and pains in his head, which delayed his return for another 2 weeks. On July 3, 2007, 1 month and 5 days after the accident, Freel returned to play for the Cincinnati Reds and was healthy until being placed on the 15-day DL with torn cartilage in his right knee on August 7.

In 2009 with the Baltimore Orioles, he was hit by a pickoff throw in the head while on 2nd base. He was put on the Disabled List after the injury.

[...]

He also was known for going all out. He dived into the grass, the dirt and the stands chasing after balls. He would crash into fences. He would collide with teammates. And all of the violence against his body caused him significant harm. Freel said in 2007 after a particularly brutal collision with teammate Norris Hopper that he had "probably nine or 10" concussions in his life, but he couldn't remember for certain.

I don't know what triggered Freel's terrible choice to take his own life. I don't know if he was experiencing personal problems or money problems or health problems or something else serious enough to push him over the edge. From the perspective of an outsider, though, it's hard to imagine someone with a wife and two daughters depriving them of his existence while possibly being in his right mind. I can't wrap my head around it. 

If concussions are eventually proven to be the main cause behind yesterday's tragic events, then I can only hope Freel's story will serve an instructive purpose for future generations of baseball players ... and regardless of whether or not this was concussion-driven, I hope Freel's loved ones can someday find peace and closure in his untimely departure from this earth.

Rangers claim LHP Jeff Beliveau on waivers from Chicago Cubs. Roster now at 40.

— John Blake (@RangerBlake) December 21, 2012

So, then, we turn to Beliveau's minor league numbers (aside from the below numbers, he amassed 17.2 innings of high-strikeout, high-walk, high-homer relief work out of the Cubs' bullpen last season):

* * * * *

* * * * *

Twenty-five years ago they spotted it, fifteen years ago they plotted it, and five years ago they tried to stop it, but the nukes weren't enough. And there was no time or technology to try anything else. Two years ago the spot in the Urals where the asteroid 17045-2003AF is going to hit was narrowed to a hundred-metre square, and the evacuation began. Now humanity, huddling far below the horizons around me as the red glow overhead slowly grows, is a few minutes away from almost total incineration. The hammer of God is coming.

I have known I wanted to come here from the minute I heard the nuclear missiles had failed to divert the rock sufficiently from its course. I knew I wanted to take a shot, the one-in-a-billion shot. I used to play professionally, after all, and I know that humanity, except for a lucky twelve thousand, is going to be extinct after this whatever happens. I have no close friends, no family. I have nothing to lose.

I turn my eyes from the bitter wind and stare upwards. I'm hoping that nobody knows I'm here. I wouldn't want them all to be pinning their hopes on me, because I honestly have no idea what will happen next. All of humanity is going to be annihilated today. I'm just going to be the first. Unless there's a miracle.

The redness high above me is a glowing, growing glare now, occupying more sky than anything I've ever seen. I'm not used to this angle. I can see distant cloud formations being torn apart as it descends, cutting a swathe over the Pole directly towards this mountaintop. Size - we've all known since '03 that it had half the diameter of the Moon, but I never realised how small I had mentally interpreted that as up until now, and I see it, filling an entire hemisphere of my consciousness with hellish orange flame. It's not a thing in the sky anymore, the sky itself is on fire, and it's falling. Nothing that big should be airborne, and in a minute, it won't be. Wind is starting to pick up. It's getting warmer. I can't make this hit. There's still ten seconds until it reaches me. Gravity's getting ever so slightly weaker.

I'm gonna be toast before it even gets close. This was an insane idea. Only God Himself could make this hit. This is it, this the end of the world. I'm no saviour. I'm just a nut with a baseball bat.

Closing my eyes against the howling wind and whipping dust, attempting to block my ears against the ascending roar, and bracing my feet against the slippery mud and melting snow, I keep my stance. I count down the last few seconds from my wristwatch, and swing blindly. The bat connects

R.A. DICKEY OR BUST, YOU GUYS.

Today, we have two poll questions. First, the obligatory matching poll (keeping in mind that the Rangers never would have done $125 million on Hamilton even if he had allowed them the opportunity to match the Angels' offer):

And second, which may be the more interesting poll:

Rangers have claimed C Eli Whiteside on waivers from Toronto Blue Jays. Club also re-signed INF Brandon Snyder to minor league contract.

— John Blake (@RangerBlake) December 12, 2012

Snyder is the known quantity here, the former first-round pick whom the Rangers brought in last winter and ultimately slotted into their Opening Day roster as a four-corners bench player with some utility as a lefty-masher ... however, Snyder amassed only 69 major league PA on the season, and he was ultimately supplanted by Mike Olt down the stretch, with Snyder likely not figuring into the 2013 big league picture in any meaningful way. You could do worse in a pinch, though.

Whiteside, however, is better known for being handed off from the Giants to the Yankees to the Blue Jays (and now to the Rangers) in the span of a few short months, and as you might expect, there's a good reason for that -- he's a catcher who can't hit even a little bit: