or "Crazy Like a Fox"

or "Fox in the Cubhouse"

or any of numerous possible inane headlines. The Cubs have signed righty reliever Chad Fox to a minor league contract. Fox, 34, has often been an effective reliever, but he also may no longer have a throwing arm. At least that's what I gather from the meager 58.7 innings he's pitched over the past three seasons.

AGE YEAR  TEAM  ERA    IP   H    HR  unBB  SO
26  1997  ATL   3.29  27.3  24   4    16   28
27  1998  MIL   3.95  57.0  56   4    20   64
28  1999  MIL  10.80   6.7  11   1     4   12
30  2001  MIL   1.89  66.7  44   6    29   80
31  2002  MIL   5.79   4.7   6   0     4    3
32  2003  BOS   4.50  18.0  19   2    15   19
32  2003  FLA   2.13  25.3  16   1    12   27
33  2004  FLA   6.75  10.7   9   1     8   17

Still, this is a pitcher worth a minor league contract. Why not? Maybe you catch lightning in a bottle, even if only for 30 innings.

I just wouldn't count on Chad Fox being a bullpen savior for the team. After all, a Fox may change its skin but never its character. Doh! I did that asinine tomfoolery with his name again...