TOLEDO, Ohio -- It was the Fourth of July, hours after the Detroit Tigers had completed a grueling series at Wrigley Field in oppressive humidity.
But Dixon Machado hadn't played that day, or any day for nearly a week, and as the team's chartered flight landed in Detroit and pulled off the runway, he was about to get some bad news.
Machado was being designated for assignment. He was off the 25-man roster, off the 40-man roster and any flicker of hope left of locking down a permanent job in the big leagues was gone.