Well, that was certainly a dull and uneventful end to the first MLB season to end on a Wednesday. Yawn.

Okay, okay, this comes to you a little later than usual because of my waiting for the last day of the season (and I’d thought for awhile it might be even another day later as catcher Luis Exposito in Boston and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky in Atlanta waited to see if their services would be needed in one-game wild card playoffs — as it turned out they weren’t, and neither appears here. Sorry, guys, See you in April?)

Plus, I stayed up into the wee hours (well, I went to sleep then got up again in the wee hours) to read all the coverage of the game details. If you were a borderline baseball fan then and are not a full-fledged one now … well, you’re probably not reading this anyway.

And no, I won’t tell you who I’m rooting for. There is not one Ray of hope that the Queen of Diamonds will go Back on her word on that.

So, where were we? Oh right. Major League Debuts. And while there were only seven debuts in this final winding down span, some were REALLY big. Like, huge. Let’s put it this way — when the Yankees’ team charter takes off for its road trips, we will hope that the two newest right-handers in the Bronx will be seated on opposite sides of the plane. Former first-round pick Andrew Brackman, who tips the height chart at 6-foot-10, and million-dollar bonus baby Dellin Betances, a New York City native who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs in at 260, both saw their first action (back-to-back, in fact) in a Sept. 22 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, a night after the Yanks clinched their 16th playoff berth in the last 17 years. Scary numbers, yes?

DELLIN BETANCES
RHP, New York Yankees
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-8/260 BORN: March 23, 1988
ACQUIRED: Selected in the eighth round of 2006 out of high school in Brooklyn, N.Y.
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Sept. 22 when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 22 in a 15-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays: The fifth of six pitchers, he allowed two runs without giving up a hit, walking four and hitting a batter with a pitch over two-thirds of an inning.
NOTES: Betances fell to the eighth round in 2006 due to his commitment to Vanderbilt but the Yankees’ seven-figure bonus lured him into pro ball. He’s moved up slowly due to elbow surgery he underwent in 2009 but ranked as the top pitching prospect in the system coming into 2011 thanks to his fastball in the mid-90s, plus curveball and changeup. Still working on his command, as evidenced in his debut, his stuff projects as potent and he certainly is an intimidating figure on the mound, not to mention a hometown kid. Between Double-A Trenton, where he spent most of 2011, and Scranton, he combined to go 4-9 with a 3.70 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings, limiting opposing hitters to a .217 average. In 2010 he combined for an 8-1 record and 2.11 ERA in 17 starts between Trenton and Advanced A Tampa in his return from surgery.

ANDREW BRACKMAN
RHP, New York Yankees
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-10/230 BORN: Dec. 4, 1985
ACQUIRED: Selected in the first round (30th overall) of 2007 out of North Carolina State
PROMOTED: Recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Sept. 6 when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 22 in a 15-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays: The fourth of six pitchers, he allowed one hit and one walk in a scoreless inning and a third.
NOTES: The tallest player in the Yankees system has, as oversize players often are, been slowed by injuries. After undergoing Tommy John surgery right after signing in ’07, he missed all of 2008 as he recovered, coupled with an appendectomy, postponing his debut until 2009. The rust showed in that pro debut at Class A Charleston in ’09 as he posted just a 2-12 record and 5.91 ERA in 107 innings there. In 2010, between Advanced A Tampa and Double-A Trenton, he posted a 3.90 ERA (5.10 at Tampa but 3.01 in the bump to Trenton). Armed with a fastball in the mid 90s, a plus curveball and good athleticism for his size, this year at Scranton he split his time between starting and relief, posting a 3-6 record and 6.00 ERA in 33 games, 13 of them starts, striking out 75 but also walking the same number of batters in 96 innings.

STEVE CLEVENGER
C, Chicago Cubs
B/T: L/R H/W: 6-0/195 BORN: April 5, 1986
ACQUIRED: Selected in the seventh round of 2006 out of junior college in Florida
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Double-A Tennessee Sept. 19 when rosters expanded and the Smokies lost to Mobile in the Southern League championship series.
DEBUT: Sept. 26 in a 2-0 loss to the San Diego Padres: The starting catcher, he batted sixth and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
NOTES: The scrappy catcher has quietly impressed every year with his live bat and tenacious work behind the plate, especially impressive since he was converted from shortstop when drafted. He spent most of the 2011 season at Double-A Tennessee, where he hit .295, but batted .407 in 25 games mid-season at Triple-A Iowa when their catcher was injured, to combine between the two stops for a .319 average, eight homers and 54 RBI. He had hit .317 at Tennessee in 2010, .290 between Tennessee and Iowa in 2009, and .298 between Tennessee and Advanced A Daytona in 2008, after hitting a hefty .340 between Daytona and short-season Boise in 2007.

RAFAEL DOLIS
RHP, Chicago Cubs
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-4/215 BORN: Jan. 10, 1988
ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in August 2004
PROMOTED: Recalled from Double-A Tennessee Sept. 19 when rosters expanded and the Smokies fell to Mobile in the Southern League finals.
DEBUT: Sept. 26 in a 2-0 loss to the San Diego Padres: The second of four pitchers, he walked one and struck out one in a scoreless, hitless inning and a third.
NOTES: Another shining example of a successful return from Tommy John surgery, the Southern League All-Star reliever had shone in his brief 2007 campaign when he posted a 1.80 ERA in six starts but underwent elbow surgery and missed all of 2008. He returned as a starter at Advanced A Daytona in 2009 with a 3.79 ERA and combined between Daytona and Double-A Tennessee in 2010 with a 3.42 ERA but his move to the bullpen in 2011 earned him his promotion. Pitching at Tennessee, he went 8-5 with a 3.22 ERA and 17 saves, limiting hitters to a .227 average. Like his Tennessee batterymate Steve Clevenger, Dolis was also a converted shortstop but his cannon arm and light bat inspired the switch. He’s been clocked in triple digits with his fastball as he continues to refine his repertoire.

KELVIN HERRERA
RHP, Kansas City Royals
B/T: R/R H/W: 5-10/190 BORN: Dec. 31, 1989
ACQUIRED: Signed as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in December 2006
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Omaha Sept. 21 after rosters expanded and the Storm Chasers advanced to the Triple-A championship game.
DEBUT: Sept. 21 in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers: The fifth of six pitchers, he took the loss, coming on with the score tied at 3-3 in the eighth and allowing three runs on two hits in one inning including a homer by Don Kelly.
NOTES: Once regarded as one of the Royals’ top pitching prospects, chronic elbow issues limited Herrera’s action for most of two seasons which saw him drop off the radar to a degree. But his showing this year has certainly brought him right back onto it. Kansas City’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, he cruised through three levels, starting at Advanced A Wilmington where he posted an 0.61 ERA before moving to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. There he went 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA to earn the promotion to Omaha, going 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA. Combined, Herrera was 7-1 with a 1.60 ERA and 14 saves, striking out 70 while walking just 15 in 67 2/3 innings and limiting opposing hitters to a .176 average. After missing virtually all of 2009 with his elbow woes, which consisted of a variety of stress fractures, he posted a 4.35 ERA in eight starts for the Class A Burlington squad in 2010. In 2008, his first season stateside split between Class A Burlington and short-season Burlington (the former in Iowa, the latter North Carolina), he had a 1.56 ERA in 14 games. When healthy, as he seems to be, he throws a fastball in the low-mid 90s, a changeup and a slurve.

JARROD PARKER
RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
B/T: R/R H/W: 6-1/195 BORN: Nov. 24, 1988
ACQUIRED: Selected in the first round (ninth overall) of 2007 out of high school in Ossian, Indiana
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Double-A Mobile Sept. 19 when rosters expanded and the BayBears had won the Southern League title.
DEBUT: Sept. 27 in a 7-6 10-inning win against the Los Angeles Dodgers: The starting pitcher, he didn’t factor in the decision, leaving in the sixth inning with a scoreless tie at the time. He allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out one. Had the official scorer been allowed to award the win to the starter as the most effective pitcher, Parker would undoubtedly have that W, as the winning pitcher in relief allowed five runs in the 10th.
NOTES: The team’s top prospect and their No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, Parker made his pro debut the next summer close to home when he went 12-5 with a 3.44 ERA at Class A South Bend, just two hours from where he grew up. In 2009 he got off to a quick start with an 0.95 ERA in four starts at Advanced A Visalia, moving up to Mobile where he continued to have success on the mound with a 3.68 ERA over 16 starts but was plagued by elbow soreness. After rest did not cure the ills, he underwent Tommy John surgery and did not return to action until this past season. He is another example of the success of this procedure, going 11-8 with a 3.79 ERA in 26 starts for the Southern League champion BayBears, and posted a 1.50 ERA in two starts for the club in the post-season, before being brought up to join the playoff-bound Diamondbacks. Despite his injuries and not having played at all in 2010, he still ranked as the top prospect in the organization coming into 2011 with his smooth mechanics, plus fastball, killer slider, changeup and curve.

JOE SAVERY
LHP, Philadelphia Phillies
B/T: L/L H/W: 6-3/215 BORN: Nov. 4, 1985
ACQUIRED: Selected in the first round (19th overall) of 2007 out of Rice University.
PROMOTED: Contract purchased from Triple-A Lehigh Valley Sept. 16 when rosters expanded.
DEBUT: Sept. 20 in a 4-3 10-inning loss to the Washington Nationals: The third of six pitchers, allowed one hit in one-third of an inning.
NOTES: Am I the only culinary dork that thinks it is totally awesome that Savery went to Rice? Okay then. A two-way star at the Houston university in his hometown, he went the pitching route and was solid if not outstanding for his first few years. But after going 1-12 with a 4.66 ERA in 2010, the Phillies decided to try him out on the other side of the plate this season, and in fact he began the summer splitting his time between first base/outfield/DH at Advanced A Clearwater, hitting .307 in 54 games. However, despite this success, when he started cooling off he returned to the mound, this time as a left arm out of the bullpen and upon his return there he dominated with a 5-0 record and 1.50 ERA in 25 games among Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley (where he posted a 1.80 ERA in 18 games), combining for 41 strikeouts and just six walks in 41 innings. He admitted to shedding a few tears when he got news of his call-up. This photo was taken in the fall of 2007 at the legendary Scottsdale, Arizona, baseball restaurant Don & Charlie’s when Savery (L), Ricky Romero (C) and Andrew McCutchen (R) joined my MLB.com cohorts and their fellow AFL bloggers for a celebratory dinner. You can read more about it at the MLB.com blog “B3,” written by my longtime comrade-in-arms and dinner companion that night, Jonathan Mayo, at http://minors.mlblogs.com/2011/09/20/saver-ing-the-moment/