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Kansas City Royals: The Royals bit the bullet yesterday on a $1.5 million contract and released Albie Lopez after a disastrous outing against the Twins. And by "after" I mean immediately after. It would have been even more dramatic if they had released him while he was still on the mound. The clubhouse attendant could have brought out his civilian clothes and bag and handed it to him right there in the fourth inning, leaving him to trudge out a service exit. David Boyce of the Kansas City Star reports that Ryan Bukvich is the likely candidate to replace him on the roster.

Oakland Athletics: Chris Singleton is not entirely happy that he has to play rightfield instead of center and may not re-sign with the A's again next year. (Why they signed got him this year remains a mystery, but that's another story.) Singleton has lost the centerfield spot to Eric Byrnes, a player who has emerged as an offensive juggernaut on a team that is not scoring enough runs. A's personnel say that Singleton has reacted fairly well to the situation, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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