Anyone surprised by this?


At least Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Hampton displayed some creative flair in extending his absence from the starting rotation.

After missing two seasons while recovering from two elbow surgeries and seemingly being one hard sneeze away from breaking a rib since then, Hampton went on the disabled list after being scratched from Thursday night's scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hampton strained a pectoral muscle during bullpen warmups and was replaced by Jeff Bennett.

What's next for this guy?

Mercury poisoning? Gangrene? Whooping cough? Shingles?

Hampton has been that star-crossed, that unlucky, that ... susceptible to misfortune.

When news of his most recent injury came across the Associated Press wire Thursday night, I happened to be in the office talking to a couple co-workers. My initial reaction: ''How can he be so brittle. Is this guy made out of Dresden china or something?''

To which my esteemed colleague David Ching responded: ''No, but he was made in China.''