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Right-hander Phil Humber — who pitched a perfect game on April 21 for the Chicago White Sox — was claimed off waivers Friday by the Houston Astros. Gee, guess that means he won’t be going into the Hall of Fame with a Sox cap. Oh, you mean the Sox might have oversold his ability to their fans? A big-league ballclub wouldn’t do that, would it? The previous sentence is what’s known as a rhetorical question. But the intelligent readers who populate this page are well aware of that, don’t you think?
Did someone say perfection? Playboy Playmate Jaclyn Swedberg sure comes close.
* Speaking of the Hall of Fame, on the ballot for the first time are Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Three ballplayer who compiled Hall of Fame statistics; three players associated with performance-enhancing drugs. Three players who would not seem bound for Cooperstown, N.Y. The Associated Press surveyed Hall voters. Of those who responded, 18 percent said they would vote for former Chicago Cubs outfielder Sosa, 45 percent for Bonds and 43 percent for Clemens. To enter the Hall, a candidate must receive 75 percent of the votes. Well, either that or buy a ticket. OK, so nobody’s perfect.
* The Texas Rangers did not tender an offer to catcher Geovany Soto, whom they acquired in a trade last season with the Chicago Cubs. If nothing else, he was consistent. He batted .196 with five homers and 25 RBI in 47 games for the Rangers and hit .199 with six homers and 14 RBI in 52 games for the Cubs. So much for consistency.
* Speaking of non-tendered players, the Cubs did not offer a contract to Ian Stewart, their starting third baseman on opening day. Of course, the Cubs can negotiate a new contract with him. After all, he did hit .201 with five home runs and 17 RBI in a season limited to 55 games by a wrist injury. Not impressive numbers by any stretch of the imamgination — unless compared to third baseman of the future Josh Vitters.
* The NFL fined Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher $15,750 for a horse-collar tackle of Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson in the Nov. 25 28-10 victory vs. the Vikings. Also fined was quarterback Jay Cutler ($10,000) for flipping the ball at A.J. Jefferson, defensive tackle Henry Melton ($7,875) for grabbing Peterson’s facemask and receiver/kick returner Eric Weems ($7,875) for unnecessary roughness. Urlacher said he will appeal his fine, even though he did grab Peterson by the collar. Details, details.
* Speaking of fines, NBA commissioner David Stern fined the San Antonio Spurs $250,000 because coach Gregg Popovich opted to send players Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Tony Parker back to San Antonio at the end of a six-game road trip rather than have them travel to Miami to play the Heat in a nationally televised game. Would Stern have been any happier — or more financially lenient — of Popovich had the players on the bench for the entire contest? A coach has the right — make that an obligation — to do what he needs to do in the best interests of his team and not worry about the folks in the stands or watching on TV.
Ah, videos. Where would we be without them? Probably looking at blank white space right about here. Or not looking at anything. Well, the video-research department at elliottharris.com has come up with some video — gratutious and/or otherwise — that it sincerely believes is worth a look.
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