'The Players These Days Don't Seem to Know the Basics of the Game'

Finally, help is on the way for the beleaguered New York Mets.

Jerry Manuel's coaching staff just got a lot bigger.

Boasting more than a millennium's worth of experience, a feisty group of elderly Long Island softball players filmed an instructional video yesterday that they hope will re-introduce the not-so-Amazin' Mets to the game's fundamentals.

"I may not be able to get around like I used to, but I know the basics," said Ed Ottinger, 74, of Seaford. "And I think the Mets need a little help with that."

The rangy outfielder with deceptive speed said that he and his crew of septuagenarian swatters had grown tired of the Mets' bumbling ways and hoped that the Tom Emanski-style video might wake them up.

Things came to a head when the group convened for one of their three weekly doubleheaders after Luis Castillo's infamous flub of a pop-up against the Yankees in June.

"They griped that we're 70 and we're better than these guys," said Howard Cannon, a spokesman for the Bristal assisted living company that sponsors their league.

Sonny Richards, 71, said that the Mets season had come to resemble a blooper reel of dropped pop-ups, baserunning atrocities, and inexplicable balks.

"The players these days don't seem to know the basics of the game," he said. "It's all in fun, but we wanted to show them how to do the simple things."

Yes, the simple things. Like catching popups and busting it to first base, the latter of which they've been allergic to for several seasons. The basics that most of us learned in Little League.

Slick gloveman Sal Frosina, 71, lamented the loss of fundamental baseball knowledge that ruled the summertime pickup games of his youth.

The former Brooklyn Dodgers-turned-Mets fan said that the kids who didn't know the basics of tagging up, putting the body in front of grounders, and backing up plays at the plate were left to watch their buddies have all the fun.

"When I was growing up, if you didn't know the game, you didn't play," he said. "It was that simple."

Speaking of the Mets, if you're waiting for real help on the field rather than fielding abuse from retirees, be prepared to wait a long time.

If you're wondering why the Wilpons won't open their wallets, according to this fish-faced freak, it's because Bernie Madoff cleaned them out to the tune of $700 million.

NO wonder the injury-plagued Mets can't hire some hitters, it turns out team owner Fred Wilpon lost $700 million in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Estimates put his loss at below $500 million, but Wilpon's pal Larry King told GQ it was $700 million. "Freddie says he's not angry, he's betrayed," said King, who lost $2.8 million.

Don't expect to see Madoff pal Chuckie Schumer throwing out the first pitch any time soon.

Angels Pitcher Killed in Auto Wreck

Very sad story.

Williamsport High School graduate Nick Adenhart, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, died early this morning in a car accident in Fullerton, California, according to a family member.

Three people were killed in the crash and another person was seriously injured.

Authorities are blaming the three-vehicle accident on a motorist in a mini-van who ran a red light at East Orangethorpe Avenue and South Lemon Street.

Authorities say the driver of the van fled the scene, was later captured and charged with felony hit-and-run.

A gray Mistubishi, hit by the van, slammed into a light pole.

Two of the occupants in the Mitsubishi were declared dead at the scene and a third died just after 6 a.m. on Thursday.

A fourth occupant is at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange in critical condition.

Adenhart took to the mound on Wednesday night for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The 22-year old right-hander was the starting pitcher at a game opposite the Oakland Athletics.

It is unclear if Adenhart was killed immediately or died after being transported from the scene.

A passenger from the van was taken to Western Medical Center in Anaheim with minor injuries.

A third vehicle, which was stopped in the intersection at the time of the accident, was also involved but the driver was seriously hurt.

Adenhart was the starter in LA's 6-4 loss to Oakland last night.

'He's An Unsavory Character'

Just when you thought the whole A-Roid brouhaha was about to die down, here comes another potentially damaging revelation of a known steroid dealer who traveled with the Yankee slugger all throughout 2007. I was getting the feeling there was some piling on going on earlier this week, but if this story proves true, this will dog Rodriguez for a long time.

Embattled Yankee Alex Rodriguez has had a long relationship with a steroid-linked trainer who's been banned from major league clubhouses, four independent sources told the Daily News.

Angel Presinal, who was banned from private areas of every MLB ballpark after an October 2001 incident involving an unmarked gym bag full of steroids, has been tight with the Yankee slugger dating back to his time with the Texas Rangers, several sources said.

A former New York-area scout says Presinal, whose named surfaced in the Mitchell Report, was with Rodriguez in New York and Miami as recently as this past fall.

MLB has warned players to stay away from him.

"He's an unsavory character," said a source.

Another source said Presinal accompanied A-Rod for the entire 2007 season, staying in the same hotel as the A.L. MVP, but in a separate room with the "cousin" Rodriguez pegged three days ago as his steroid source from 2001-03.

The cousin was identified Thursday as Yuri Sucart.

The source said Rodriguez avoided being seen in public with Presinal.

"He was around Alex in 2007," the source said of Presinal. "Every hotel they went to, he stayed in the same room with Yuri. You would never see Alex with [Presinal]. They would meet in one of their rooms."

Shocka! A-Fraud Tested Postivie for Steroids

For a guy who's probably already the most loathed man on baseball, this surely can't help an image already in ruins. Can't wait to see how the fans in Boston react the first time he bats at Fenway this season.

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."

You suppose the Yankees regret keeping this guy around?

'We Don’t Want to be Overly Opportunistic and Exploit This'

No, can't be exploitative while cravenly cashing in on Obamamania. Of course they'll probably turn off a good portion of their fans, but let's face it, are they going to go root for the Cubs?

No doubt by using the Obama logo there'll be a portion of the proceeds going to Obama's favorite charity: himself.

The Chicago White Sox are aiming to release a President Barack Obama-themed version of their cap in time for the start of spring training.

The club has developed two prototype designs of its club hat with Obama marks on the side and back. The hats have been approved by MLB Properties, and the White Sox now are awaiting a formal blessing from the Obama administration before league licensee New Era goes into production. Both designs will be made if accepted by Obama.

The White Sox enjoy a special relationship with the newly inaugurated president due to his roots in south Chicago. Should the hat happen as intended, proceeds from its sale would be donated to charities, likely ones that provide services near U.S. Cellular Field.

His roots in Chicago? I thought he grew up in Hawaii? Or was it Indonesia?

Retail distribution would likely be tied, at least at the outset, to official league and club channels, such as the team’s stadium store and MLB.com’s online shop, but a wider release could occur should demand warrant it.

“We know exactly what we want to do with this [hat]. It’s just a matter now of getting sign-off from Obama’s camp, going through the proper channels and moving forward,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox vice president and chief marketing officer.

“We’re very excited. This is somebody who’s obviously a White Sox fan, but more importantly, really embraces and embodies the attributes of our brand: the notions of pride, passion and tradition we rally around. He’s made it hip to be a White Sox fan,” Boyer said.

Let's just hope those nice kids in south Chicago don't start killing each other over the hats. Lord knows the murder rate in Obama's community is already off the charts. Maybe they can donate the hats to the poor, underprivileged youths as a magnanimous gesture.

Nah.

Of course in all this frenzy, they don't want to appear as if they're, you know, shamelessly cashing in.

The club is devising other marketing and merchandising opportunities around its most powerful fan and have developed an area within the team’s official Web site devoted to Obama.

While team officials said there is not a concern about upsetting conservative-leaning White Sox fans, pointing to baseball’s historic role as a political unifier, they are aiming to draw a careful line about how much they do in connection with the president.

“We don’t want to be overly opportunistic and exploit this,” Boyer said.

George W. Bush used to be an owner of the Texas Rangers. I wonder what the reaction of sportswriters would have been if the franchise put a W logo on the caps of the players back in 2001?

I doubt anyone ever considered it and if they did, something tells me Bush would never have been such a megalomaniac to go along with it.

Yankees Reel In Big Fish, Land Sabathia

When I say big fish, this dude, at 6-7, 300, is the Orca of pitchers.

Sure, they overpaid, but these are the Yankees, and they're seemingly recession-proof with the mega-millions they have rolling in with the new Stadium.

Now he better get the job done. Oh, and don't expect this is the end of their shopping. Expect another starter in the fold soon, be it Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett or even possibly Ben Sheets. Or perhaps two of them.

CC Sabathia is not going to play on the West Coast. He is not going to play in the National League. CC Sabathia is going to be a Yankee, The Post has learned exclusively.

After three straight days of face-to-face meetings between GM Brian Cashman and Sabathia, the big lefty decided he wants to spend the next six years of his career as a Yankee. The decision came late last night after Cashman flew to see Sabathia at his home in San Francisco. By the time the meeting was concluded, Sabathia had informed the YankeesNew York Yankees that he had made his decision to call New York his baseball home, the Post has learned.

There are still minor hurdles to finalize, notably that Sabathia must pass a physical. But after so much belief that Sabathia was stalling because he wanted to avoid New York, he agreed to the largest pitching contract in major league history, at least $140 million.

It means that the Yankees have lassoed the player they were building their offseason around: An ace in his prime. Sabathia is just 28, and last year between the Indians and Brewers he went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA. The previous season he won the AL Cy Young. Now he is the first major new piece to be put into the new Yankee Stadium.

In other news, New York's junior varsity squad landed a closer.

Overrated First Ballot Hall-of-Famers

You have to just chuckle over these anonymous polls.

Derek Jeter was voted the most overrated player in baseball in a Sports Illustrated poll of over 495 major leaguers. Not surprisingly, both the Yankees New York Yankees captain and his manager could not care less.

Joining him on this dubious list was teammate Alex Rodriguez.

In the survey to be released in the June 23 issue, the Yankee shortstop got 10 percent of the vote. Teammate Alex Rodriguez was tied with Boston outfielder J.D. Drew for third with 7 percent.

Oddly enough, Jeter and A-Rod are so worthless, these same players would choose them to build a team around.

But in a clear case of opinions-are-like-you-know-what, when Sports Illustrated did a survey of "Whom would you pick to build your team around" just a week earlier, Rodriguez finished first and Jeter second. Make up your minds, fellas.

Professional jealousy, it appears, leaves many major leaguers very confused.

Clemens Denies Steroid Allegations

What else do you do when your reputation goes down the crapper?

You lawyer up and deny, deny, deny.

After being implicated of steroids use in the report former Senator George Mitchell released this afternoon, Roger Clemens has enlisted the services of powerful Houston attorney Rusty Hardin to defend him from the accusations.

"Roger Clemens vehemently denies allegations in the Mitchell report that he used performance-enhancing steroids, and is outraged that his name is included in the report based on the uncorroborated allegations of a troubled man threatened with federal criminal prosecution. Roger has been repeatedly tested for these substances and he has never tested positive. There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today,” Hardin said in a release sent to the media.

“The use of steroids in sports is a serious problem, it is wrong and it should be stopped.

“However, I am extremely upset that Roger’s name was in this report based on the allegations of a troubled and unreliable witness who only came up with names after being threatened with possible prison time.”

In the release, Hardin's office specifically addressed the claims that were made in the Mitchell Report by Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee, who also linked Andy Pettitte to steroids use.

"Brian McNamee, a former trainer who worked with Clemens on the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, has repeatedly denied these current claims, including in June of this year when he was first contacted by federal investigators," the release stated. "According to McNamee, after a day of repeated denials to federal investigators, he changed his story under the threat of federal criminal prosecution. He says he was then forced by those federal prosecutorial authorities to tell the same story for inclusion in the Mitchell report."

Frankly, I believe little of what Clemens has to say. He should just fade quietly away and count the millions the Yankees threw at him.

I always considered Andy Pettitte more of a straight shooter and am disturbed to find out he may have also used performance-enhancing drugs.

Here's a complete list of players named in the Mitchell report, 77 in all. Many no longer are in baseball and quite a few I've never heard of (Tim Laker? Bobby Estalella? Bart Miadich?).

Now at least we know perhaps why John Rocker behaved so erratically.

Still, back in 2003, it was reported 7% of major leaguers failed drug tests, so I find the list to be fairly limited. Jose Canseco alleged in his book that many players used steroids or HGH, and I have to think many more than 77 managed to escape this report.

Still, it's a dark day for baseball, which really has a dilemma on its hands as to how to treat the records of some of the players listed. I think those who are Hall of Fame candidates such as Barry Bonds and Clemens may now have a long wait before they're ever enshrined in Cooperstown.

Bonds Nailed With Perjury Charges

Never saw this coming. After all, doesn't everyone's head swell to grotesque proportions naturally over time?

Bonds Indicted By BALCO Federal Grand Jury

SAN FRANCISCO -- Major League Baseball's all-time home run king Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday on perjury and obstruction justice charges, according to KTVU reporter Rita Williams.

The five-count indictment -- four counts of perjury and one of obstruciton of justice -- capped one of the longest federal grand jury investigations in Northern California history -- a proceeding that introduced the sports world to the acronym BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) and led to the downfall of American track and field world and Olympic champions Marion Jones, Kelli White and Tim Montgomery.

It touched the NFL with several current and former players called to testify including former All-Pro linebacker Bill Romanowski.

It also sparked the ongoing debate surrounding Major League Baseball and its problems with athletes taking performance enhancing drugs. It's a debate that has gone to such lengths that the home run ball that Bonds ripped out of AT&T Park to break Hank Aaron's all-time record was headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame tattooed with an asterisk.

The charges against Bonds stem from his Dec.4, 2003 grand jury testimony when he allegedly testified that he did not knowingly take performance enhancing drugs.

Joba Rules Oz

New York Yankees' Joba Chamberlain, left, is dressed as the lion and Ian Kennedy is Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz as they sign autographs outside Yankee Stadium after MLB baseball Monday, Sept. 24, 2007 in New York. The rookies had to dress in costumes as they left for a road trip. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

I've seen some bizarre hazing rituals, but this one is most creative.

Yankees rookies dress up in Oz costumes

NEW YORK - Joba Chamberlain raised his oversized paws, shook his shaggy brown mane and let out a feeble roar. Looking and acting every bit the Cowardly Lion, the big reliever was ready for a scrap Monday.

"Put 'em up! Put 'em up!" he said, playfully challenging Jason Giambi and Mike Mussina. No takers — they were laughing too hard at Chamberlain's head-to-toe costume.

It was rookie hazing day for the New York Yankees, and this well-worn baseball tradition came with a theme: The Wizard of Oz.

So after their 4-1 loss to Toronto, and while the movie's soundtrack played over the locker room speakers, about a dozen rooks slipped into their outfits for the bus ride to the airport and the flight to Tampa Bay.

They're off to see a playoff spot, they hoped.

"I'd rather be here dressing up than anywhere else," pitcher Ian Kennedy said, stepping into the sparkling ruby red slippers as Dorothy. "It makes you feel like one of the guys."

Phil Hughes wiggled into his shiny silver pants as the Tin Man. Shelley Duncan put on sunglasses to complement his Scarecrow get-up. Tyler Clippard flapped around with Kei Igawa as flying monkeys.

Edwar Ramirez faced a more difficult dilemma: How to shimmy into that little Wicked Witch of the West dress?

He eventually made it, then pulled on his pointy black hat and looked into a mirror. Just for confirmation, he called across the clubhouse to Derek Jeter.

"Jeet! Jeet!" the pitcher said. "Nice?"

Jeter studied the ensemble and smiled.

"Yep," he said. "Bueno."

Former Met Attendant Naming Names

Looks like the dog is starting to hunt upstream now.

Report: Ex-clubhouse attendant revealed names of clients to Mitchell

NEW YORK -- A former Mets clubhouse attendant revealed the names of major league players who bought steroids from him to baseball's chief steroid investigator, SI.com reported Tuesday.

Kirk Radomski, who pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in April to felony charges of distributing steroids and laundering money, met recently with former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, according to the report. He faces up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine at his sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 7.

As part of the plea deal, Radomski agreed to testify before a grand jury, if needed, and to meet with investigators from baseball's own steroids investigation.

Now, understand that it is a far cry from this guy coming up with a list of names and proving the players took the stuff. They can always try the Gary Matthews Jr. defense of saying "yeah, I bought the stuff but I never took it and you can't prove otherwise."

True, but baseball does not have to prove it in a court of law to take action. Several things to consider:

First, Commissioner Bud Selig, if he ever grows a pair, can ban players for the good of the game. That is a possiblity here, and I think eventually he will have to make an example of some players, similar to the Black Sox scandal and Pete Rose, to put this behind them.

Second, Congress may decide they've had enough of this and step in, especially if it starts looking like the Player's Union is going to bluster their way through this. If I were involved in the union right now, I would be very careful and step very lightly in this situation.

Third, how long do you think it will take for that list of names to leak out? And won't it get interesting if a certain big-headed left handed home run hitter shows up on that list of names?

So far he admitted he took the stuff but said he did not realize it was steroids at the time. If he shows up on that list, then even that transparent cover story falls apart.

Then we will have asterisks everywhere in the record books.

Point Differential Update

Just updated my baseball point differential spreadsheets. There has been some movement to report. The three division winners in each league per my analysis are Boston (.609), Detroit (.600) and the Angels (.588) in the American League and the Mets (.569), Brewers (.561) and the Padres (.622) in the National league.

There are two key points. The numbers indicate that the Tigers (currently in second place) should overtake the Indians for the division if trends continue. Second, the Brewers have played a lot better lately and now the numbers indicate that they should hold onto their division lead over the Cubs.

On the other hand, we also have the garbage of each league. The three teams most stinking up the joint in the American League are Tampa Bay (.388), the White Sox (.413) and the Royals (.430). The three worst teams in the National League are the Nationals (.352), the Cardinals (.402) and the Pirates (.413).

Out of this bunch I would look for the White Sox GM Kenny Williams to start dumping aging/expensive pitching (Buehrle, Vasquez and Contreras most likely to go) for anything he can get. Also, Thome, Dye, Konerko, Uribe and Iguchi could probably be had for a cracked bat and a bag of practice balls.

The White Sox got old, bad and slow real fast, their minor league feeder system is a vast wasteland right now, so I look for the White Sox to overtake the K.C. Royals for the drive for last place in the Central Division before much longer.

Baseball Run Differential

Here's something for you sports nerds (like me) out there, point differential analysis. Almost all team sports contests boil down to a series of opportunites to either score points or prevent your opponent from scoring points. You can do all the obscure analysis of varoius statistics you want to (and I've done them), but at the end of the day the team that scored more points than their opponent wins, so the points scored/points allowed ratio is a clear indicator of team performance. I then compare points the scored/points allowed ratio to the won lost ratio to see if teams are underperforming or overperforming

I performed that analysis this morning and came up with the following observations:

The team most underperforming their runs scored/runs against ratio in the American League is the New York Yankees, who have RS/RA ratio of .604 as compared to their current .522 won/lost ratio. Unfortunately for them, the Red Sox .624 RS/RA ratio is close to their .647 won/lost ratio, so the Yank's are not likely to overtake the Red Sox for first place (and I think that jack Reyes hit off of Clemens the other night is still going). The team in the National league most underperforming their RS/RA ration is the Chicago Cubs, who have a RS/RS ratio of .535 as compared to their .456 won/lost ratio. The Brewers RS/RA ratio is .518 as compared to their won lost ratio fo .551 so I look for the Cubs to eventually overtake the Brewers for 1st place in the division.

The teams most overperforming in each league are Tampa Bay with a RS/RA ratio of .383, and thus should end up in last place in the American League East. In the National League the team most overperforming is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have a RS/RA ratio of .390 and also should be in last place by year end.

Per the RS/RA ratios I predict the division winners to be the Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers.