He’s Not Heavy, He’s My Bother: Trade of Lightweight Praised

Hugh Alexander, a former scout for the Philadelphia Phillies now working for the Chicago Cubs, thinks the Phillies made a good deal when they traded shortstop Steve Jeltz to the Kansas City Royals for rookie pitcher Jose DeJesus.

How good?

Alexander: “I’d carry Steve Jeltz on my back all the way to Kansas City and drop him at home plate to make that deal.”

Note: Among position players with at least 1,000 at-bats, Jeltz has the lowest batting average in the majors at .213.

Trivia time: A letter from Doug Hays of Glendale inspired this one: What do former Stanford running back Harry Hugasian, former big league manger Bob Lillis and Jerry Tarkanian have in common?

What a catch: Milwaukee’s Terry Francona, formerly of Cleveland, played with the Indians’ new catcher, Sandy Alomar Jr., in winter ball and says:

“He’s the best catcher I’ve ever played with. He’s better than Gary Carter when Carter was good. He might not drive in 100 runs like Carter did in his prime, but overall he’s a better ballplayer. He’s the best defensive catcher I’ve ever seen. His arm is almost incredible.”

In Cleveland’s final exhibition game, Alomar hit two home runs.

Just ask mom: The offensive line of the Indianapolis Colts includes a pair of Pro Bowl players in Chris Hinton and Ray Donaldson, but Eric Dickerson says: “When my mother, who is 85 years old, and watches football, says, ‘These guys are not blocking,’ then you know they’re not doing their job.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: The winner of $438 in the Atlanta Hawks’ pool on the Final Four was Alexander Volkov, a native of the Soviet Union.

Now hear this: Oklahoma basketball Coach Billy Tubbs, a recent luncheon guest of Clipper owner Donald Sterling, told Jan Hubbard of Newsday he wouldn’t take an NBA job unless he had the last word on trades and the draft.

“I’ll tell you a fact,” he said. “You give me equal talent, and I’ll win. You give me better talent, and I’ll kick . . . I don’t care whether it’s college, Russia or the NBA.”

B-r-r-r: From San Francisco 49er Coach George Seifert, recalling in the Pittsburgh Press how he and assistant Lynn Stiles double-dated on their honeymoons:

“We were in Yellowstone. We went up six miles to this little lake. It was a steep climb, it was freezing, the mosquitoes were huge and we had these light sleeping bags and blankets. Almost froze to death. Really impressed our wives.”

For the record: Hugh Malay, who submitted a recent item on boxer Anthony Hembrick, works for FNN Sports, not CNN Sports.

Trivia answer: They were teammates on the 1947-48 Pasadena High basketball team. Other members included Al Kirkland, who played football at Stanford, and Dick Davies, 1962 British Amateur golf champion.

The team came up short in the league race, losing out to Alhambra High. Alhambra was led by Bob Boyd, future USC player and coach.

Quotebook: General Manager Bob Quinn of the Cincinnati Reds, on his previous job as general manager of the New York Yankees: “The two biggest expenses for Yankee employees are housing and going-away parties.”