Somewhere, Izzy Alcantara is smiling

Former Red Sox All-Star Jose Offerman was suspended indefinitely a day after he went wild in the minors and hit the opposing pitcher and catcher with his bat in an Atlantic League game. Offerman was charged with two counts of second-degree assault. The catcher sustained a concussion and the pitcher had a broken finger. No, stat geeks, that doesn’t count towards Offerman’s slugging percentage.

You bet your life

Former referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges and faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. So now it’s official. Charles Barkley once again has the biggest gambling problem in the NBA.

Cox gets the thumb

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox set a new major league record for ejections after getting tossed for the 132nd time in Atlanta’s game against San Francisco on Tuesday night. Regardless, when I think of ejections, I’m always going to think of Earl Weaver or Lou Piniella. It’s not the quantity of the ejections, it’s the quality.

Figure 8

Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Inc. were unable to reach an agreement that would allow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take his familiar No. 8 with him when he leaves DEI for Hendrick next year. Given the literacy rate among NASCAR fans, Earnhardt could probably get away with putting an & on his car door anyway.

Please release me

The Arizona Diamondbacks released Byung-Hyun Kim Wednesday following two awful starts by the right-hander since the Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers from Florida. Kim had a 23.62 ERA in two starts with Arizona. And that’s in the National League. That’s the equivalent of a 47.24 ERA in the American League.