Last week was Roberto Clemente week in Major League baseball as MLB announced the winners of the "Roberto Clemente Humanatarian Award." 

In honor of this, "Baseball Tonight" did a tribute to Clemente, narrated by Tim Kurkjian, which was sort of a Clemente 101.  I was a bit insulted by this as I saw Clemente play not only on TV but in person as well.  Then it hit me.  Clemente died 35 years ago and to many people that watch ESPN, he's like Ted Williams is to me, just an image on film with no real appreciation of how good the guy was.

So let me tell you.  He was good.  He was really good.

I've seen some great arms in right field in my life in person.  Guys like Ellis Valentine, Dwight Evans, Dave Parker and more recently Ichiro and Jeff Francour.  But there was no one I ever saw play in TV or in person that had a cannon like Roberto Clemente.  The guy could thread a needle from right field.

Clemente could also hit and while he didn't have power numbers like Aaron and Mays (he only hit 240 during his career), he could hit a lot of gaps in the outfield and had the speed to make doubles triples (he was among the league leaders in triples fourteen of his eighteen major league seasons.)

One of the reasons you don't hear a lot about Clemente is because he didn't set any records and he didn't hit home runs.  But if you were like me, and you liked the slightly less sexy player that could get it done, Clemente was your choice.  And, at the time I was growing up, Mays and Aaron were a little older.  Mays was winding down his career which climaxed in 1973 with his infamous Mets world series appearance.  Aaron would go on to break Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 and then have two undistinguished years as a Milwaukee Brewer. 

Clemente, whose skills were beginning to erode in 1972 (the season after he dismantled the Orioles in the World Series, hitting .414 and winning the Series MVP award) will forever be the guy standing on second base, acknowledging the crowd after his 3000th and final hit.

If you had the good fortune of seeing Roberto Clemente play, you know what a great player he was.  If you didn't, you are just going to have to take my word for it, the same way I take my Dad's word on Foxx, DiMaggio and Williams.

Lightning Round

• The Sox lose to the rain and the Indians even though Pink Gavin Floyd seems to be improving.  Too bad his defense isn't.  I'm not sure because I don't speak the language, butI think the Spanish word for Sox killer is " Asdrubal." The same two teams go tonight with the pitching matchup heavily favoring Cleveland: Paul Byrd, who the Sox can't beat (3-0 this season and 7-2 lifetime) vs.. John Danks, who is 1-2 against the tribe this year.  BTW, the preview article which has been linked says Danks is a right handed pitcher.  Only if he is looking in a mirror.
• 
  The Cubs may have finished off the Genius for good with a pasting of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.  The Pirates meantime, continue to be a factor in the race as a spoiler and clobbered the Brewers 8-0.  The Cubs and Brewers are now timed atop the division while the Cardinals are three games back.
• The Cardinals chances may have taken another blow with Chris Duncan's groin injury.
• The Bears lose two key cogs on defense for the season: Mike Brown (again) and Dusty Dvoracek (again.) You feel bad for both of them because they were both out most of last year and came to camp ready to play.  Darwin Walker will adequately replace Dvoracek, but the Bears go soft in the middle of the secondary without Brown.
• The injuries after week one of the NFL season look like an all-pro team.  Eli Manning is out for a month with a slight shoulder separation; Orlando Pace tore his labium;  Cadillac Williams hurt his ribs; Chester Taylor hurt his ankle and on and on.  In last night's game, the Ravens lost Steve McNair (groin) and Ray Lewis (arm) (although Lewis returned to the game.  Chad Johnson of the Bengals also got banged up.
• The cruelest injury by far during the opening weekend was Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett who most likely will be paralyzed permanently from a blow he took while making a special teams play in Buffalo's loss to Denver.
• 
  Pittsburgh AD Jeff Long will be named the new AD at Arkansas.  SEC fans are hoping long brings his football coach with him.  That's SEC fans except for the ones at Arkansas.
• Here's this week's SI Major League power rankings.
• A hilarious bit of satirefrom our friends at Bugs & Cranks.
• Apparently Sara Evans' marriage wasn't perfect after all.
  
• New democratic ploy to pander to Hispanic voters: Blame the conservative media for pumping up the volume on illegal immigration.  Good thing Rush Limbaugh isn't running for President.
• Today's list: The ten most evil women of all time