Two quick points: If Mark Benjamin's letter is signed incorrectly, it's because of an interesting interface issue with our staff Premium account that we're fixing (if it's fixed, I apologize for confusing people!)

And while any time the editor needs to clarify something, it means she could have done a better job editing, I will say that what we found newsworthy in Mark's excellent piece is that a) the number of waivers has jumped sharply during the Iraq war and b) the Army isn't being transparent about that. Second chances are terrific, but let's all be clear about what's going on.

I'm a day late replying to King's column from yesterday about the injustice of not inducting Buck O'Neil into the Hall of Fame, because the whole topic made me not quite see straight, and I couldn't find my way to the letters link in that condition. I met Buck O'Neil in 1994 when he gave a tour of the Negro Leagues museum in Kansas City to a group of grassroots community development activists I was traveling with. He gave us so much time and told so many stories that we missed the next phase of our site visits, but it was the highlight of my baseball life, and I've had a pretty wonderful baseball life.

Belatedly: King was exactly right about everything, as usual, even about Effa Manley -- I hated myself for it, but I had the same reaction: As proud as I am to see a woman honored, I can't help but wince at the injustice. If her efforts on behalf of the Negro Leagues are good enough for induction, Buck O'Neil should have been first on the list.

But today he's not quite right about the petition to correct the injustice. Hey, just sign the damn thing. Because there is always an element of politics and popularity about Hall of Fame decisions -- and more important, public pressure plays a role too. As hard as it is for me to give San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan credit for anything, he deserves credit for mounting campaigns to get a belated induction for Orlando Cepeda as well as broadcaster Lon Simmons. Leaving out Buck O'Neil is one of those boneheaded decisions that can ultimately be corrected.

I ran into Buck in Scottsdale during spring training last year and he was frail but so wildly happy, being mobbed by fans who almost knocked him off his cane (wait, I think that was me), making time for every last one of them. It would be a tragedy to me -- though not to Buck -- if baseball corrected this injustice when it's too late for his fans to enjoy seeing him on that platform in Cooperstown.

First of all, King is the king of team chemistry at Salon, which is why I tolerate his ambivalence about the concept, which I deeply believe in. Team chemistry works, except when it doesn't, and it clearly works best when you're winning and making money. I think Barry's shot at team chemistry worked yesterday -- worked for me, that's my team too -- and I also agree that chemistry might be at its most fundamental when players are grownup enough to know that sometimes faking being a regular ol' team player is as good as the real thing. So if Barry's an arrogant ass who's decided to pretend to be one of the guys in drag, hey, that can work, we'll see.

Yeah, sign the Buck O'Neil petition even though it's still only a relative handful of us. And if King's really feeling our team chemistry, maybe he'll even put up the link again tomorrow. C'mon, King. I am not well enough connected to MLB any more to know if any people with political capital are trying to spend any of it on Buck's behalf. Sadly I don't have any to spend anymore. If my never darkening AT&T park again could lead Peter Magowan to launch a Cepeda style crusade for Buck, man, well, I'd do that. I bet Dusty Baker would too...oh, right, he doesn't work at AT&T park anymore. But maybe it's worth floating.

Any other good ideas?