AJ Pierzynski

Atlanta Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski recorded the 2,000th hit of his career during the second inning of Wednesday's 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, becoming the first catcher to reach the 2,000-hit plateau since Ivan Rodriguez in 2004, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Pierzynski's milestone hit wasn't particularly noteworthy, as he merely deposited a one-out bloop single into left field off Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright, allowing Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman to advance from second base to third.

A.J. Pierzynski's first season with the Atlanta Braves was a resurgent one, so it's no surprise the team acted swiftly to bring the veteran catcher back on a short-term pact. 

Free-agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski could have called it a career after 17 MLB seasons, but he will play at least one more year after reportedly signing a contract with the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

MLB.com's Mark Bowman provided the details of Pierzynski's new deal:

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported on Friday, Dec. 26, the financial details of the deal:

After breaking into the major leagues in 1998, A.J. Pierzynski has been the player many fanbases and even some teammates have loved to hate. Now we're waiting to see when or if he'll be able to continue his MLB career.  

According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Atlanta Braves have expressed interest in Pierzynski:

After losing his job with the Boston Red Sox, A.J. Pierzynski is ready to return to the major leagues. The team announced the deal on Saturday:

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the St. Louis Cardinals were attempting to sign the veteran catcher:

With a brand new World Series championship banner hanging on Yawkey Way, the Boston Red Sox have some pretty big shoes to fill as we move towards the 2014 MLB season.

This year, fans will be treated to an injection of youth with Xander Bogaerts likely taking over as the everyday shortstop and Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field.

In Major League Baseball, veterans are always a key component to the success of a team, but there are some elder statesman who will have a major role for their respective clubs in 2013.

Guys like Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees and R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays will each be of vital importance to their respective team's pitching staffs. Meanwhile, A.J. Pierzynski will have to make an impact on both sides of the ball for the Texas Rangers.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has just reported that the Blue Jays could be close to signing catcher A.J. Pierzynski, formerly of the Chicago White Sox.  With the catching position not fully determined, the Jays seem to be looking for insurance behind the plate.

Sources of the Chicago Tribune have said the Texas Rangers are interested in acquiring 33-year-old White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski via trade.

Pierzynski is best known for his role in carving together one of the best pitching staffs in MLB, dropping the White Sox ERA from 4.91 in 2004 to 3.61 in 2005, his first year with the team, leading to a World Series championship. Unless you watch ESPN, then he's best known for causing controversy for playing baseball intelligently.

Of course mere hours after I glorified the White Sox lineup for their work two nights ago, Chicago goes out and gets one-hit by Ricky Romero of the Blue Jays in a 4-2 loss. All this after I had bashed the lineup just days before.

What I'm trying to get at is that the lineup is inconsistent.

The impressive pitching performance by Ricky Romero who walked two, gave up one hit, a two-run home run by Alex Rios in the eighth, and struck out 11, was not the story.