Nick Anderson’s best pitch is an 85-mph curveball

BOSTON, MA — At 4:00 EST, Nick Anderson stepped into the Rays clubhouse for the first time.

Anderson had been traded to the Rays the day before, and in the 24-hours in between he’d been hugged goodbye while sitting in the Marlins clubhouse . . . well, before anyone told him he’d been traded! Such was the chaos of the July 31 trade deadline, which saw several last minute deals finalized just before the buzzer. Twitter broke the news before the Marlins could do so themselves.

One late night of packing up with his girlfriend, and one 11:15 flight to Boston later, Nick Anderson was meeting the coaches and staff at his newly assigned locker. Getting sized for his uniform, he shook hands with Rays…