Express Package ‘Surprised’ Hobson

Former Boston Red Sox manager Butch Hobson was bewildered when he received a packet of cocaine in an express delivery package, his lawyers said Tuesday.

“He was surprised to receive it. He was upset to receive it. And he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it,” said Hobson’s attorney, Stephen Famiglietti. “… It did not occur to him to take it to police.”

Hobson, coach of the Phillies’ Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre team, received the package, and 10 to 15 minutes later police knocked on his motel door.

Following his arrest Saturday afternoon, Hobson was booked at the Pawtucket, R.I., police station. He was released on personal recognizance and has since taken a leave of absence and returned to his off-season home in Fairhope, Ala.

Schott escapes penalty

Baseball declined to discipline Marge Schott for her latest remarks about Adolf Hitler - remarks for which she apologized on Tuesday because they “offended many people.”

During an interview broadcast Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds owner repeated assertions that Hitler was “good at the beginning” but then “went too far.”

After hours of consultations with baseball officials, Schott released a statement through her team:

“I am very sorry that my remarks on ESPN last Sunday offended many people. This was not my intent at all. Sometimes I do not always express myself well, as in this instance.

“Let me take this opportunity to set the record straight. I do not and have never condoned Adolf Hitler’s policies of hatred, militarism and genocide. Hitler was unquestionably one of history’s most despicable tyrants.

“I will continue to try to be more sensitive to all people, and in the future will be more careful of what I say and to whom.”