I keep thinking about all the surgery Bert Blyleven has had this offseason -- hip replacement, cataract and skin cancer -- and how the good thing is he should be in one piece for what figures to be a whirlwind year, assuming he's elected to the Hall of Fame today.

The vote will be announced at 1 p.m. Check back here for updates. Meantime, here's the story we ran Christmas Day after spending an afternoon with Blyleven last fall.

Also, here's our Hall of Fame primer, which includes this fact: On the all-time shutout list, the top 20 pitchers are all in the Hall, except Blyleven, who ranks ninth with 60. That's more shutouts than Jack Morris (28), Pedro Martinez (17) and Johan Santana (eight) combined.