Rico Brogna, Good Fit (Cont.)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ricardo Jordan has been getting a larger than normal share of hits on the UMDB yesterday and today, and a little investigation has revealed why:

]Former pitcher sentenced in drug case WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A former major league pitcher was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to charges of selling cocaine and marijuana. Ricardo Jordan, a 36-year-old former reliever for the Blue Jays, Phillies, Mets and Reds, also has been ordered to pay fines totaling US$150,000, his lawyer, Grey Tesh, said. Jordan did not use cocaine, but was "lured into selling the cocaine" to make up for the income he was no longer receiving while playing baseball, Tesh said. Jordan was 5-4 in the major leagues from 1995 through 1998.

[Frayed Knot]

I've done all kinds of things to make up for the income I'm not receiving from Major League Baseball.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Wow. Can anybody come up with a list of Mets Who've Done Time?

[Guest Edgy DC]

According to Dennis Holmberg, there are apparently a lot of such guys:

Former major league pitcher from Delray sentenced to 7 years for drug dealing

By Nancy L. Othón

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Posted March 9 2007

He was a left-handed pitcher with a killer curveball, a local boy who made it to the big leagues.

A standout at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Ricardo Jordan pitched shutouts and hit home runs before joining the minor leagues and eventually suiting up for the majors. During his short career, he pitched a total of 69 games for the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds before being released by the Reds in 1998.

Now Jordan is going to prison.

Sometime between the time he played his last professional baseball game and March 2006, Jordan turned to a career of selling drugs.

It was not a casual, small-time endeavor, authorities said.

Jordan, 36, pleaded guilty Thursday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court to three counts of trafficking in cocaine and one count each of sale and distribution of marijuana. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, a minimum mandatory sentence for selling more than 200 grams of cocaine. He was facing a maximum of 205 years in prison after being charged with selling drugs to undercover agents on three occasions last March and August in Delray Beach.

Assistant State Attorney Uriel Neto said Jordan was a mid-level drug dealer who was selling powder cocaine and hydroponic marijuana, an especially potent form of marijuana harvested in grow houses.

Unaware that he was dealing with undercover agents from Delray Beach police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Jordan sold the drugs from his Delray Beach home on Jaeger Drive twice and met agents for another buy at a restaurant on West Linton Boulevard. The largest cocaine buy was worth $5,800; he also sold a pound of marijuana for $4,500.

He told one agent he had the ability to move 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine, noting that a kilogram in Palm Beach County was going for about $22,000, according to police reports. Agents did not arrest Jordan during the first buy March 23 or the second one five days later, waiting until August, when he handed more than 255 grams of cocaine in a McDonald's bag and was arrested on the spot.

Every transaction was caught on tape.

With the evidence recorded against Jordan, his attorney, Grey Tesh, said, he had to try to get the best deal he could for his client instead of going to trial.

"It's a sad case," Tesh said. "He is sorry for it."

Jordan declined to comment Thursday, but Tesh said Jordan sold the drugs to keep up with a lifestyle he had enjoyed as a baseball player. Jordan was not a user himself, Tesh said, but the temptation to earn quick money selling illegal drugs was too strong.

Jordan was not just a local street dealer, said Lt. Tommy Mitchell of the Delray Beach police vice, intelligence and narcotics section. He was a distributor who would sell his portion to street dealers, so removing him from the scene had a significant impact, Mitchell said.

On Thursday, Jordan seemed resigned to his fate.

Dressed for court in blue sweatpants and a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, the man who began his run at baseball excellence in Delray Beach's Little League answered questions from a judge with brief "no sirs" and "yes sirs" before getting fingerprinted and taken into custody. In addition to serving every day of his seven-year sentence, Jordan was ordered to pay $150,000 in fines.

Reached recently at his home in Palm Harbor, Jordan's former minor league manager with the Dunedin Blue Jays was surprised and sorry to hear about Jordan's arrest.

"I never thought Ricky would have fallen ill to this trap," said Dennis Holmberg, who now manages the Auburn Doubledays. "Many are called but few are chosen. Ricky had enough talent that he could have and should have pitched for many years."

Left-handed pitchers are particularly valuable, Holmberg said, and Jordan showed much promise. Holmberg described Jordan as a serious, "intense kind of kid" who was a good competitor and a hard worker.

"Sounds like another one of those sad stories of professional athletes turning to another avenue of quicker success in terms of money," Holmberg said. "It's a shame. He had a lot of potential."

Staff Writer Chrystian Tejedor contributed to this report.

Nancy L. Othón can be reached at nothon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5502.

From an old Faith and Fear post:

Tom Gorman, meet Joe Sambito. Joe Sambito, meet Randy Niemann. Randy Niemann, meet Gene Walter. Gene Walter, meet Bob McClure. Bob McClure, meet Jeff Musselman. Jeff Musselman, meet Dan Schatzeder. Dan Schatzeder, meet Doug Simons. Doug Simons, meet Rich Sauveur. Rich Sauveur, meet Paul Gibson. Paul Gibson, meet Lee Guetterman. Lee Guetterman, meet Jeff Kaiser. Jeff Kaiser, meet Eric Gunderson. Eric Gunderson, meet Don Florence. Don Florence, meet Bob MacDonald; Bob MacDonald, meet Ricardo Jordan. Ricardo Jordan, meet Yorkis Perez. Now all of you dismal left-handed relievers who clogged up the basepaths with your ineptitude for almost fifteen years, meet Dennis Cook and watch him get batters out. What? He looks so angry all the time? No wonder. Look at the mess you left him!

Rico Brogna for Ricardo and Toby Borland. Owitch.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I associate Ricardo Jordan with the earliest days of my noodling on the Internet for Met stuff and subsequent participation in discusssion of stuff there.

That means 10 years ago this spring. YEOW!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Tom Grieve, Yankee fan:

He's solid as a rock

Tom Grieve's life in Pittsfield set the stage for pro career

By Brian Sullivan,

Berkshire Eagle

Staff

Wednesday, March 14

PITTSFIELD

You can take Tom Grieve out of Pittsfield, but you can't take Pittsfield out of Tom Grieve.

That may sound funny on the surface, but Grieve lived a true Pittsfield life during a time when the city had so much to give. Grieve embraced his opportunities and experiences here, and to this day lists the 1966 state baseball championship he won at Pittsfield High ahead of any other sports highlight in his life.

When you consider that Grieve enjoyed a very credible nine-year career in the majors, then you might think Grieve has his priorities out of whack. After all, he was drafted sixth overall in the first round by the Washington Senators in the spring of 1966, appeared in almost 700 major-league games and cracked out 65 career home runs, including 20 for the Texas Rangers in 1976.

At different times he was managed by the likes of Ted Williams, Billy Martin and Joe Torre. When he retired, he rose through the ranks of the Rangers' front offices to become the team's general manager for 10 years. He was released from that job by George W. Bush, who was managing partner of the team at the time.

Whew.

All that and Grieve still falls back on the spring of 1966? Is that really true? Absolutely.

"That state championship with PHS is right at the top," said Grieve, who will speak tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., at Taconic High about his life in baseball. "People might say that it's just a high school memory, but the sense of accomplishment for that championship was just as good as anything I accomplished in professional baseball.

"We still have reunions and we always get about 80 to 90 percent of the players attending. I've got some lifelong friends from that team. When I daydream about my life in baseball, I reflect back on that 1966 season as much as any big-league game or season I played in."

Grieve comes in at No. 9 on The Eagle's list of top 50 Berkshire County athletes of the 20th century.

Grieve came through the city ranks. He was a Pittsfield South Little League all-star, a Babe Ruth all-star and a key component to great Pittsfield High teams and the Post 68 Legion team. He was a regular at the Boys' Club during the winter and a Camp Russell kid for many years in the summer.

His love for the Boys' Club, said his mother, Polly Grieve, was so strong that at one point he asked if the facility had any rooms so he could move in and live there.

Grieve grew up on outer Elm Street and had an empty lot near his home where neighborhood kids gathered to play ball. He threw the ball with his father, Alan Grieve, who in his day had played baseball and hockey for Pittsfield High.

Alan, though, was also musically inclined. He played the trumpet, had his own band for a time and crooned a bit. Tom gave the trumpet a try at an early age, but the genetic musical transfer apparently didn't happen. It took a while, said Tom, just to figure out how to make a sound.

Alan soon sold the trumpet as it became obvious that Tom was born to excel athletically.

Tom Grieve lives in Arlington, Texas, and has been a television announcer for Rangers' games for a number of years. When he does come home, he loves to visit some of the old haunts. He goes to Deming Field and thinks about his Little League days and Clapp Park and Wahconah Park where he can reminisce about his legendary high school and Legion years.

But the place he really likes to go is the field in back of Egremont School.

"That was our sandlot field," said Grieve, who attended Egremont as an elementary school student while later attending South Junior High prior to his years at PHS. "Maybe between the ages of 6 and 12 we played there a lot. What I remember is that there were no bases, just dirt spots on the infield that represented the bases. There was a smaller field for the little kids and a bigger diamond for the older kids. But they each had those dirt spots where first, second and third base would be.

"I came back to Pittsfield one time and went back there and the dirt spots were gone. It was all grass."

Grieve's sandlot games were complete with those legendary "imaginary runners."

Said Grieve, "Oh yeah, all those things. Like picking what field you were going to hit to — stuff like that. It's interesting how things don't change. When my sons were growing up they did the same thing. But they called the imaginary runners "ghost runners." It was the same kind of sandlot rules, but different phrases."

When Grieve's neighborhood crew got a bit older, they slung their gloves over their bike handles and sought out competition from other neighborhoods.

"You always thought your own neighborhood was was the best," Grieve said. "But you realized quickly there were some pretty good ball players elsewhere in the city."

Still, life was good.

As a younger player, Tom Grieve knew he was good. He just didn't know how good.

"Yes I was a Little League all-star and a Babe Ruth all-star," Grieve said. "And I hit .500 and all that. But do you know how many thousands of kids across the country can say the same thing? It was hard to tell just how you stacked up."

Until one night at Wahconah Park during Grieve's sophomore year. It was, as they say, a telling moment.

PHS coach Buddy Pellerin had two tough games — a home contest with Springfield Tech and a road game later in the week against Drury and its tough and talented southpaw Pete Foote. Pellerin was close enough to Tech coach Howie Burns to call him and ask for a favor. Pellerin wanted Burns to throw a lefty against Pittsfield High in order to give his team a look against a port-sider in advance of the Drury game.

Burns chuckled, Pellerin recalled.

"Their lefty was a kid named Bennett and he threw smoke," Pellerin said. "He was up in the 90s and stood about 6-foot-2. He was Tech's best pitcher by far."

Bennett, as it turned out, was as good as his reputation on that night at Wahconah Park. He struck out 18 PHS batters (a nine-inning game) but it was a long two-run home run by Grieve that was the difference in Pittsfield's 3-1 win.

The scouts were many that night. They were interested in Tech shortstop Kevin Collins, who would later play with the New York Mets. But Grieve's bomb to the deepest part of the park in left-center gave the scouts something else to think about.

"After the game," said Pellerin, "they were hanging around asking 'How do you spell Grieve.' "

Grieve recalled the at-bat.

"Maybe I swung and the bat went where the ball was," Grieve said. "I could barely see the ball that night. The lights (at Wahconah Park) were terrible."

Maybe so, but Grieve on that night put himself officially on the radar screen of major-league scouts.

It's a good thing, because as Grieve recalled he didn't do much against Foote.

"I'm sure Buddy believed in what he was doing," Grieve said. "But against Foote I think I popped out and struck out a couple of times."

Grieve was drafted by the Washington Senators in the first round and his son, Ben, was also drafted in the first round by the Oakland Athletics in 1994. They are the only father-son combination in the history of the game to be part of such a feat.

The Senators became the Texas Rangers, and Grieve has been part of the organization for over 40 years. It's been a nice relationship, but it's one that might not have happened had the New York Mets toed the line in the 1966 draft.

Reggie Jackson was the big plumb in the draft coming off his prolific career at Arizona State. The Mets were scheduled to draft first, the Kansas City Athletics second. The A's had flown in to give Grieve a private workout at Clapp Park and were prepared to select him second.

But the Mets surprised many and took catcher Steve Chilcutt — he never made the majors — as the first overall pick. The A's then went with Jackson, and Grieve slid to No. 6 with the Senators.

Since Grieve has spent his entire professional baseball life with the Texas organization, does he ever wonder what his life might have been like had the Mets taken Jackson and the Athletics had taken Grieve at No. 2?

"I don't look at it in any depth," Grieve said. "But I do find it interesting from a baseball history perspective. Imagine what might have changed. If you take Jackson off the A's, then you wonder if they would have won those three straight World Series in 1972 through 1974. And the Mets had such great pitching in those days, you wonder if they might have won five World Series with Jackson in the lineup."

The Grieve family had contracted a painter to do some work in the basement. Tom was hanging around when the painter looked at him and said, "So, you're a Red Sox fan, huh?"

Grieve, probably about 7 at the time, didn't like the tone of the question and became defensive.

"I told him I liked the Yankees," Grieve recalled. "It was the only other team I knew at the time."

That began a lifelong love for the team in the Bronx, something he shares with Polly. Naturally, Grieve loved it when he was able to play in Yankee Stadium. And one of his favorite Yankees during the 1970s was catcher Thurman Munson.

The two were friendly enough, because both had played for Chatham of the Cape Cod League a year apart.

"Maybe one of the smartest players I ever saw," Grieve said. "We were playing New York one day and we needed a runner. The third baseman was playing back and I thought I might drop down a bunt. I moved my back foot just a few inches back in order to get a better angle to put the bunt down.

"Then I heard Munson: "You're not thinking about bunting are you?"

One time, said Grieve, Texas manager Billy Martin had set up a secret camera in the outfield. The plan was to pick up the catcher's sign and relay it to the hitter before the pitch. Munson, though, wasn't buying any of it.

"After a couple of batters he walked over to our bench," Grieve recalled. "He said, 'I don't know how you're getting my signs, but if it doesn't stop now someone's going to get hurt.' "

Grieve was the Texas Rangers player of the year in 1976. It was his best season in the majors, and he offers just one explanation.

"I played just about every day the last two-thirds of the 1975 season and much of 1976," he said. "Manager Frank Lucchesi was the only manager I had in the big-leagues who thought I could be an everyday player."

But if 1976 was Grieve's high-water mark as a pro, 1966 remains his emotional high. The state championship meant that much to Grieve, who always kept an even temper and led both vocally and by example.

"I coached Tom as a Babe Ruth all-star and again at Pittsfield High," Pellerin said. "I used to think that it would be nice to be like Tom Grieve when I grew up."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Eddie Sanchez ®, after spending a week at the head of the line for single-game tickets, receives contratulations on his purchase from (l to r) Mr. Met, Ed Kranepool, and Ed Charles.



It's, like, Ed Day.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I was gonna go early Sunday morning to get in line but Junior decided to cry all night and destroyed that plan. We drove in around 1:30 and walked directly to the window.

Without MFY or opening day tixxx to offer, the ticket window guy said there crowd was only thick for the first 90 minutes.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Gene Clines is a good fit as the new Dodger outfield and baserunning coordinator.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Hey, um, HoJo, congratufuckinlations."

Carter returns for a night

By ERIC PFAHLER

eric.pfahler@scripps.com

March 21, 2007

PORT ST. LUCIE — Before the 2006 season, Hall of Famer Gary Carter welcomed St. Lucie Mets players to the "2006 Florida State League champion."

On Tuesday, Carter — no longer the team's manager — and the '06 squad received rings for accomplishing just that. The St. Lucie Mets had a ring ceremony at Tradition Field before the New York Mets played the Baltimore Orioles.

Carter, who will be replaced by Frank Cacciatore this season, guided last year's St. Lucie Mets to a Florida State League championship after finishing 40-30 in the first half and 37-32 in the second half of the split season.

"It was great seeing them," said Carter, who will not be with the Mets organization this season. "It was nice to be recognized tonight."

Carter, 52, said he will take some time off but hopes to be back in baseball soon after disagreeing with the Mets this offseason regarding their preferred assignment for him.

"It's going to be tough being away from the ballpark," Carter said. "I miss it already and it's only spring training."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Kevin F. Tapani? Wow.

Hall of Fame banquet tickets on sale

IRON MOUNTAIN — Tickets are available for the 36th annual Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet April 28 in Iron Mountain.

Two former professional standouts are among the 10 inductees, former major league baseball pitcher Kevin Tapani of Escanaba and 1952 NFL Player of the Year Lynn Chandnois of Fayette.

Also scheduled for induction are: Allison (Bailey) Bottoms of Ewen-Trout Creek, Tom Wender of Iron Mountain, North Dickinson football coach Joe Reddinger, Al Erickson and Jim Pinar of Escanaba, Tom Csmarich of Ontonagon, the late Marion “Mingo” Anderson and the late Wesley “Wackey” Olson of Marquette.

Tapani helped the Minnesota Twins capture the 1991 World Series and also pitched for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs.

Chandnois was a standout running back at Michigan State University before joining the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wender directed Iron Mountain High School to a pair of state football championships while Reddinger has led North Dickinson to 15 state football playoff appearances.

Bottoms is the all-time scoring leader in U.P. girls high school basketball history and was a star at Michigan Tech.

Erickson played baseball at Western Michigan University and was in the minor leagues with the San Francisco Giants. Pinar has been a long-time sportscaster in Escanaba and also served as sports information director at Northern Michigan University.

Csmarich was a football star at Michigan Tech, Anderson was a pioneer in women’s sports and Olson is a member of a highly regarded athletic family that excelled in hockey.

June 1 is the deadline each year to make nominations for the Hall of Fame. Information on nominees should be sent to UPSHA executive secretary Dennis Grall, 600 Ludington St., Escanaba, Mich., 49829.

The induction banquet begins at 5 p.m. (CDT) at the Premiere Center in Iron Mountain. Tickets for the banquet are $20 and are available from UPSHF council members, including:

Escanaba — Dennis Grall and Dave Lahtinen.

Hermansville — Frank Rodman.

Manistique — Art Allen

Tabs on Troy Tabler. What's the deal with Moeller High? Are they like the most powerful schoolboy athletic program ever?

Bloodlines

HARDBALL Cincinnati Moeller senior Troy Tabler is the son of former major-leaguer Pat Tabler. Troy, a 6-4 senior guard, averages 14 points a game and is headed to Wright State. Pat played 12 years in the big leagues with the Cubs, Indians, Royals, Mets and Blue Jays, accumulating a career .282 batting average. The 49-year-old Hamilton, Ohio, native had his best season in 1987, when he batted .307 with 11 home runs and 86 RBIs for the Indians. He was 43 of 88 (.489) with the bases loaded during his career.

Smoke Break With Wally!

Backman makes Albany debut

PAUL DEHNER JR.

paul.dehner@.at.albanyherald.com

Albany picks a famous face to manage its independent league baseball team.

ALBANY — Standing in front of the entrance to Johnny Carino’s restaurant, Wally Backman pulls a cigarette out of his pack and lights it up.

The smoke serves as a welcome reprieve from the seemingly endless string of handshakes that marked his official introduction Wednesday as the first manager of Albany’s new independent league baseball team, the South Georgia Peanuts.

The peace only lasted a minute. Backman was soon motioned over to a car pulling out of the parking lot to talk about baseball.

For Backman, who boasts 14 Major League Baseball seasons and a 1986 World Series ring as second baseman for the New York Mets, free minutes will be hard to come by in the coming months.

It’s something he learned firsthand Wednesday as Albany finally put a famous face on its new team.

“I just love the game,” Backman said. “And I want to teach. We are going to play hard baseball and we are going to put an entertaining product on the field.”

In his first speech to the media, Backman talked with the same gritty, full-speed nature with which he played, leaving no doubt what fans will see when they come to Paul Eames Stadium beginning with the May 24 home opener against the Charlotte County Redfish.

“We will steal more bases than anybody,” he said, “we will hit and run more than anybody and we will go into the base hard, but honest.”

By playing that form of baseball Backman hopes to do more than just win games. He believes the Peanuts should produce players who can move out of the non-affiliated league and restart their careers within an MLB farm system.

“We want to get the top players who played behind prospects,” he said. “Let scouts see a kid play and give him an opportunity to get back to the organization.”

Known most as a player for his time with the Mets, Backman went on to manage the Lancaster JetHawks in 2004, and won Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. That November, he was hired as skipper for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But his hire only lasted four days as Backman was fired when problems from his past surfaced, including a 2001 DUI .

The Peanuts job is his first since the Diamondbacks incident and a fitting pairing with a manager and players who can help each other.

“Because the independent league is all about second chances, Wally’s hope is that he can help these guys get to the (Major Leagues),” Toole said. “And we feel like right now Wally has the tools to manage a major league club, so we also see this as a second chance for him to get back there as well.”

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mike Bordick, old-school prep coach.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/images/standard/baltimoresuncom_425.gif

Learning to teach

In his first season as baseball coach at Boys' Latin, former Oriole Mike Bordick is making an impression

Originally published April 18, 2007

The sounds and sights around the Boys' Latin baseball field and the makeshift batting cages are a relentless ping, ping, ping of balls making contact with aluminum bats combined with the image of balls flying through the air or on the ground or trapped against netting.

Eventually, though, the eyes and ears are drawn to the sight of a man with flecks of gray hair around where his baseball cap fits on his head, holding a fungo bat, taped heavily around the barrel. And the sound coming from the bat is immediately foreign, but ultimately familiar, that of wood meeting horsehide, probably the way God intended it and certainly the way Mike Bordick has always known the game.

"He's definitely old school," Boys' Latin athletic director Michael Thomas said.

It's precisely that back-to-basics, do-the-little-things-well-and-the-big-things-will-take-care-of-themselves approach that endeared Bordick to Orioles fans during the five seasons he played shortstop here and that he is selling to the Lakers as they make a run for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference crown.

"It's funny, but I think young baseball players see major league players do their things, and major league players make it look so easy sometimes," Bordick said before a team workout last week. "So, they feel like they have to kind of look smooth and easy. Well, that's not the way it is. It's hard work. You've got to get in there and get sweaty and dirty and get down and see the ball and all that stuff. You really have to work hard."

Given his general diffidence about talking about his 14-year major league career, spread among the Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Orioles, Bordick, no doubt, will hate this story. More to the point, he'll hate the fact that it isn't entirely about his players, who have powered their way to an 8-0 start and a 6-0 conference mark.

The Lakers, who are tied for first in the B Conference with St. Mary's, have been potent offensively this season, scoring at least nine runs in all but one of their games. With just two seniors but eight juniors, Boys' Latin has a nice mix of youth and experience on a team that went 13-1 in the regular season last year but was bounced in the league playoffs.

"They're playing really well. They learned how to win last year," said Bordick, who took over in August for Roger Czerwinski, who left to become athletic director at Pennsylvania's West York High. "They had a lot of success and they're carrying it over to this year."

Junior shortstop Austin Knight, who entered the week hitting over .600, said Bordick has walked a fine line of instructing the Boys' Latin players without pulling out the "I played major league baseball, what have you done, Sonny?" card.

"We obviously know that he knows what he's talking about," Knight said. "Everything he says we take to heart. Your character is on the field in everything you do. Even if you get out, you always have another at-bat and not to leave anything out there and to be a good person on and off the field."

Some might consider the routine of teaching the fundamentals of baseball to high schoolers mundane and a serious step back for someone like Bordick, who amassed a .260 lifetime batting average in a career that included four trips to the postseason, two World Series appearances and, at one point, 544 fielding chances without an error.

And that might be the case for most ex-major leaguers. But, for Bordick, coaching the Lakers gives him the chance to do a more important job from a close proximity, namely that of full-time dad to his five sons, three of whom are enrolled at the Lower School at Boys' Latin.

"To be around them and watch them grow up is my goal," said Bordick, 41, who went back to college to obtain his degree since retiring after the 2003 season. "One day when they're out of the house, I'll see if there's another opportunity professionally. We'll see how it goes."

Of course, Bordick has had to do a little learning of his own, namely that the baseballs that are used during home games don't get rubbed up for play by themselves and that someone - OK, him - has to figure out team stats and call the local newspaper to phone in game scores.

"One of the coaches asked me about stats. I said, 'I don't know. Who keeps the stats?' " Bordick said with a sheepish grin. "He said, 'Are you kidding me?' I said, 'Well, I guess I'd better get on that.' "

Bordick says the Boys' Latin parents have been "so supportive" so far, and while that might continue, former Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola cautions that that situation may change.

Viola, who won 176 games in a successful career that included being named Most Valuable Player in the 1987 World Series, has coached at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Fla., for the past six years, warns that at private schools like his and Boys' Latin, parents can get the idea that the tuition they pay gives them a say on who plays.

Viola, who coached his son, now rising through the Chicago Cubs organization as a pitcher, said Bordick will need to learn to be patient, to be willing to teach the same thing "six or seven or eight or nine times" to his players, and to be able to laugh at their mistakes.

In the end, Viola says, it will pay off handsomely for Bordick because of his attention to detail.

"Mike was a great, great player," Viola said. "He worked his butt off to be as good as he was. That's going to help him more than anything as a coach. He's not going to take things for granted. If you put his talent against other guys, he couldn't match up against [them]. But what he didn't have in talent, he more than made up for in work ethic. When you can choose those examples and tell your kids how you succeeded, that, more than anything, will get more out of your kids than you know."

That's a lesson Bordick apparently already knows.

"One thing I told them early is the one thing you can control in this game is your effort," Bordick said. "In practice, if you put in the effort and you try to prepare yourself, good things are going to happen. Come game time, if you give your effort, who can be upset about that?"

[Guest Edgy DC]

Rico Brogna, Good Sit:

Brogna content with sitting in the stands

By ARTHUR SHERMAN

Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH -- Rico Brogna sat a few rows up behind home plate. He made notes and likely compared some previous assessments, standard procedure for a scout.

Brogna, who grew up in Watertown and now lives in Woodbury, is in his second year scouting for the Arizona Diamondbacks, with his responsibilities including all of the Eastern League and parts of the International League and the East Divisions of the American and National League.

"I get a whole new perspective on the game -- how to evaluate players, roster construction," the 37-year-old said prior to Sunday's first pitch at Dodd Stadium. "It's great because I'm learning a lot about the game from a different vantage point. So I really find that stimulating."

Brogna, who previously served a similar role with the Mets and Rockies, spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues, including four seasons of more than 130 games played. The career .269 hitter with 106 home runs spent most of his time with the Mets (1994-96) and Phillies (97-2000).

"It's pretty much a combination of both of those teams, but the Phillies were a little bit longer," Brogna, who was an every day player in Philly before his trade to Boston, said of which clubs he most identifies himself with. "I was a little bit more tied into the community in Philadelphia."

A graduate of Post University in Waterbury, Brogna is benefiting from his playing days in this latest endeavor, although the differences are great as well.

"My job is basically to focus on the individual players, rather than a team," he said. "So breaking down each individual guy and their skill set or their tools in a piece-by-piece manner, and then building the player back up to what his value is for a major league roster, that's unique. As a player, you're looking at the opposing team, but having played it does help you in certain areas."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Kevin Tapani, Hollafama

Area quartet joins Hall

By Dennis Grall - dgrall@dailypress.net

Four Delta County athletic standouts were inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame Saturday in Iron Mountain. They are, from left, Lynn Chandnois, Jim Pinar, Al Erickson and Kevin Tapani. (Daily Press photo by Dennis Grall)

IRON MOUNTAIN — A trio of former professional athletes and a noted broadcaster were Delta County’s respresentatves at the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet here Saturday.

Kevin Tapani of Escanaba pitched for five teams during a 13-year major league baseball career, Lynn Chandnois of Fayette was the NFL’s player of the year in 1952 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Al Erickson spent four years in the minor leagues for the San Francisco Giants after leading the Mid-American Conference in batting at Western Michigan University.

Jim Pinar, a sportscaster at WDBC in Escanaba among several other stations, was Erickson’s fastpitch softball teammate.

This was the 36th induction banquet. Ironically, Tapani wore No. 36 for the 1991 World Series champion Minnesota Twins, along with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs.

Chandnois, who moved to Flint at age four after his parents died, “said I never expected to be inducted into the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame. I always enjoy returning to the U.P. You can take the boy out of the U.P. but you can’t take the U.P. out of the boy.”

Two of his golf partners attended the banquet, UPSHF inductee Roy Bergman and Flint Central and Michigan State teammate George Guerre. Bergman is a former Escanaba physician.

“This is a great honor. I will cherish it for the rest of my life,” said Chandnois.

Tapani credited his father, Ray, for preparing him to pitch and compete and providing the work ethic. “The things instilled in me at an early age had a big impact,” he said. “He told me ‘if you want to get better, play with people who are better than you.’”

He played high school football and basketball with 1994 UPSHF inductee Dean Altobelli and played for coach Jerry Cvengros, a 1981 UPSHF inductee, and was a teammate on the Minnesota Twins with major league baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett. “You have to associate with Hall of Fame people and they will bring you up to their level,” he said.

“My dad was right. Playing against better players made me better but also being around better people made me a better person.”

He also singled out UPSHF inductee Karl Dickson, who started Little League in the U.P., because that helped build his baseball foundation. “I didn’t know it at the time but I didn’t realize how well I was prepared for what was to come coming out of playing baseball in the U.P.

“My sports highlight growing up in the U.P. definitely was that ‘81 championship football team,” Tapani said, adding he learned more playing for that program than he did anywhere else.

Playing for Cvengros and EHS coaches Dan Flynn, Jim Hirn, Russ Bluse and Gary Seehafer “taught me how to compete and how to prepare yourself and how to move to the next level.”

An inductee into Central Michigan University’s athletic Hall of Fame, Tapani said “this is an award I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Erickson credited much of his baseball success to playing for UPSHF inductee Al Ness of Escanaba. After Erickson helped Escanaba win the 1951 Little League state baseball championship, Ness promoted most of those 13-year-old players to the older American Legion team. The Escanaba Cubs, with that base, won the state title in 1955 and finished second in 1956.

His career was short-circuited by a shoulder injury one step from the major leagues. But he proudly pointed out he became a teacher, coach and guidance counsellor for the next 30 years at Powers, Manistique and Gladstone schools.

Pinar, who played football at Holy Name Central and Northland College, briefly coached football at Gladstone and Escanaba before becoming a broadcaster. He also spent 14 years as an award-winning sports information director at Northern Michigan University.

“I learned a long time ago that you have a good chance to be successful in life if you surround yourself with good people,” he said, “I’ve been very fortunate.”

Pinar pointed out in particular his long association with Cvengros as being vital to his career. “There is one person that I’ve looked up to, at times I think he’s been like a father to me, a brother, but most of all a friend. I’ve tried to learn many things from him. I’ve tried to pattern many things that I do after him,” he said.

“It’s been so much fun to broadcast games,” he said, citing partners such as Ed Gadnis and Al Gerou of Escanaba among others. “I never had to buy a ticket. I never considered it a job. It’s fun, it’s a passion. I’ve never looked at it as work.

I’m proud of working in the Upper Peninsula,” he said, noting he broadcast four prep state championship teams (Mid Peninsula and North Central basketball, Escanaba football and Gladstone softball) and NCAA hockey and volleyball championship teams at NMU.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is there a rumor going around that Kevin Mitchell is dead?

He's getting a lot of UMDB hits today, so I checked the logs. There have been several searches on "kevin mitchell dead"

A few others for "kevin mitchell reds" so I wonder if the report, if such a report exists, may have come out of Cincinnati.

Anyone hear anything?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Former NFL linebacker Kevin Mitchell dies at 36
The Associated Press
2007-05-01
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Former NFL linebacker Kevin Mitchell died in his sleep at the age of 36.

Mitchell died overnight Sunday at his home in Ashburn, near the Washington Redskins' training facility, according to the team. An autopsy was performed Monday by the Virginia state medical examiner's office. The cause of death was not immediately announced.

Mitchell was drafted in the second round out of Syracuse in 1994 by the San Francisco 49ers, who moved the undersized college defensive lineman to linebacker.

"I was blown away when I heard of Kevin's death," 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young said. "We were in the same draft class and we always roomed together in training camp and on the road.

"When Kevin left the Niners, we talked periodically. You take for granted that people will be here forever, and I feel bad that we can never have the chance to catch back up with each other. My heart goes out to his wife and family during this devastating time."

Mitchell played with San Francisco until 1997, then signed with New Orleans (1998-99). He played his final four seasons (2000-03) with the Redskins.

"Anyone who knew him was touched by his smile, joy for life and love of his family," Washington owner Dan Snyder said. "Anyone who ever played with him or against him never forgot it. He earned our deepest respect."

Mitchell was a graduate of Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania.

"When we retired his number a couple of years ago, it looked like he could still step on the field," Harrisburg High athletic director Kirk Smallwood said.

Relatives told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg that his physique had not changed much since his playing days, when he was listed at 6-foot-1, 260 pounds.

"He had some pains from his playing days, bone spurs and regular stuff. But it wasn't like he retired and blew up to 350," said cousin Kenny Mitchell of Lower Paxton Township, Pa. "He was in good shape; I don't understand it."

[Benjamin Grimm]

Well, that explains that, then.

I was afraid that our Kevin had beheaded another kitty.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Draft Al.

[stevejrogers]

Yeah he is the Skip, but news like this seems like a Rico post

Willie Randolph to give the Commencement Address at Fordham on the 19th

]The University will also award an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree to Randolph. Randolph's daughter, Ciara, a Fordham College at Rose Hill student, will be among the graduating seniors... Details about commencement are available on the Fordham website. The main ceremony will be broadcast on WFUV-FM 90.7, and streamed live on the Internet at www.fordham.edu/media .

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's it Mets. Take the Bronx. Fuck 'em.

By the way, my link above didn't work. Draft Al.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Chuck. Check out the lush grass.

Chuck Taylor tourney a blast again

By JARED HASTINGS

jhastings@dnj.com

— Jared Hastings, (615)278-5167

The annual Chuck Taylor Golf Tournament started as a fundraiser, but in the years since has turned into an MTSU tradition.

http://cmsimg.dnj.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D4&Date=20070606&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=706060338&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&MaxW=290 Chuck Taylor, left, talks with golfer Brad Albertson during the Chuck Taylor Golf Tournament Tuesday at Indian Hills Golf Course.

The Blue Raider baseball team held the 14th-annual edition of the tournament Tuesday at Indian Hills Golf Club with more than 90 fans, former players, and area golfers participating for a possible total of $125,000 in prizes.

The tournament, named after former Blue Raider great Chuck Taylor — who played nine years of major league baseball with the Cardinals, Brewers, Mets, and Expos — raises between $8,000 and $10,000 each year.

"This tournament has turned into a big thing ever year, but it starts first and foremost with Chuck and Joyce Taylor," said MTSU baseball coach Steve Peterson. "We wouldn't do it if the community didn't want to support it, but a big thing is for Chuck to lend his name, notoriety, and love for baseball in this community. It gets a little better each year."

Competitors competed for prizes ranging from golf bags, shirts, golf clubs, hats as well an opportunity to win one of several cars on various holes for a hole-in-one. As part of the $115 entry fee, participants also received complimentary beverages on the course, goody bags, and lunch, while prizes were awarded for long drive, closest to the pin, and putting.

But the real winner, according to Peterson, was the Blue Raider baseball team.

"The people that put this together for us do such a good job," he said. "I have very little to do with it. I just show up and do what I'm told. But Tommy Wheeler directs this every year and does such a good job, and Pam Humphrey too. With the sponsorships they work out, all of these prizes are taken care of and every dollar we raise goes towards Blue Raider baseball."

Wheeler says the key has been the relationships with area sponsors like Indian Hills Golf Course, Alexander Ford and Chevrolet, Stones River Nissan and Bridgestone.

"Coach Pete has a first-class program and he wanted a first-class tournament," said Wheeler, the tournament's director since its inception. "He didn't want a big tournament, but a good tournament and that's what we have. There were over $125,000 worth of prizes out there today, and you won't find another tournament around where you pay $115 and get to play for that. We raise money for the MTSU baseball program, but the people that support us get their money's worth."

For Peterson, the added financial support makes it easier for him to further his program in both on- and off-field endeavors.

"This money goes to a lot of things," said Peterson, who just wrapped up his 20th season at the helm of the Blue Raiders. "Some of it has gone to our new stadium, some of it has gone just to keep air in the tires to get to the next game. But the support is great, and we're happy to have it."

[G-Fafif]

My conversation with player agent and hitting maven Steve Springer:

http://faithandfear.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/6/7/3005730.html

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Fantastic! Thanks MgiM too.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Jack Aker does work on reservations teaching kids baseball thanks to a grant from the National Indian Youth Leadership Project (sez his site).

Well he's doing a lesson in the town I went to high school in at the park we played ball in, according to this small blurb.

Dig how the hometown paper thought his name might sound better with an "s" at the end, until the last sentence where there inexplicably get it right.

Silly hometown paper.



Friday, June 8 2007

Sports

Having a major league time

Jack Akers, a former major league baseball player, instructs kids at Kerr McGee Park on Thursday. Akers worked with 15 kids on the finer points of fielding and hitting. Later in the day, Akers was scheduled to work with pitchers, a position he held in the majors for 11 years with the A's, Yankees, Cubs, Mets and Braves. Aker retired in 1989 from baseball as the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

The funny part is that the editor is probably lamenting leaving the "s" off in that last sentence.

Actually, I think it has a nice flow to it with the "s" tacked on the end.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yankee tribute days are good days for ex-Mets. Seaver stole Rizzutto Day from Phil Cone stole Berra Day from Yogi.

David Cone visits Coast

All-star pitcher helps out at baseball camp

By JAMES JONES

jkjones@sunherald.com

BILOXI --Pitcher David Cone had one of the most accomplished careers in major league baseball.

Cone earned five World Series rings during his playing days between 1986 and 2003, including four with the New York Yankees.

The Kansas City, Mo., native shared his playing experience with kids at the Barry Lyons Baseball Camp on Thursday at the Biloxi Sports Complex.

"It's always nice talking to kids," Cone said. "Barry's a good friend and was my catcher with the New York Mets in 1987. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina. The complex is a nice facility."

Lyons, who earned a World Series ring with the Mets in 1986, remembers their first meeting. Cone joked about Lyons calling a wrong pitch, costing him a no-hitter in 1987.

"David and I became best friends," Lyons said. "I was impressed with his pitching. I am so proud of what David accomplished."

When Detroit's Justin Verlander threw a perfect game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, that brought back memories for Cone.

Cone threw the first perfect game in interleague play, as the New York Yankees beat the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999.

"Everytime I see a pitcher with a chance to throw a perfect game late into it, that piques my interest," Cone said. "It's so special and rare to have a perfect game that you need a combination of luck and skill. Luck is that element you need. I threw my perfect game on Yogi Berra Day."

The best statistical season Cone enjoyed came in 1988, going 20-3 with a ERA of 2.22 for the Mets. He was eventually traded to Toronto during the summer of 1992, helping the Blue Jays win a World Series title.

Cone won a Cy Young award with the Kansas City Royals in the 1994 strike-shortened season, but his career changed dramatically after that year.

The 44-year-old was a part of the New York Yankees' World Series' championship teams in 1996, 1998-2000. He went 20-7 in 1998.

"It's a little different element playing in New York," Cone said. "Everything's tougher, from driving, dealing with the press, high expectations and playing in front of sellout crowds. I played six years with the Mets and Yankees. I spent most of my career in New York."

Cone looks back fondly at his 17-year Major League career, posting a 194-126 mark. He currently ranks 21st all-time with 2,668 strikeouts.

"I have no regrets," Cone said. "I was real lucky. I grew up in Kansas City and was drafted out of high school by the Royals. I wouldn't trade my career with anyone."

Cone now resides in Greenwich, Conn., with his wife and year-old-son.

"It's nice to be home with my son after all of those years of travelling," Cone said.

James Jones can be reached at 896-2320.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jay Bell, dragging infields

Back to basics

=gray]World Series hero Bell taking on new challenges

http://www.ahwatukee.com/pictures/1183661008-coachbell1.gif

After one of the daily Little League All Star practices last week, Jay Bell spent about 20 minutes cleaning up the infield at Ahwatukee Park.

He wetted the dirt, swept and picked up equipment.

It�s a far cry from where Bell was a year ago, when he was serving his second year of a two-season stint as bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team he played five of his 18 Major League seasons with. The team for which he scored the winning run for in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Now, instead of hotels, ritzy locker rooms and coaching at the highest level of baseball, Bell is content to play the occasional grounds keeper for a pack of 12-year-olds.

�It reminds me of high school because this is what I had to,� said Bell, an assistant coach with this year�s Ahwatukee Little League Majors All-Star team. �We had to do field prep and then fix it back up after you tore it up. It�s a blast. I love doing it. You get out there and play in the dirt and you get to be 12 all over again.�

He also gets a chance to coach his son, Brantley, a longtime Ahwatukee Little League player who is in his third season playing all stars.

But the first of Brantley�s two seasons, Bell couldn�t make it to many of his son�s games, much less coach.

Bell originally intended to coach Brantley�s regular season team four years ago in 2003. He played his last season with the Diamondbacks in 2002 and thought his career was finished. But just around the time tryouts for Ahwatukee Little League began, Bell got an offer to play with the New York Mets for one final season in MLB.

�I was at tryouts one weekend and then the next weekend they were supposed to have another round of tryouts,� Bell recalled. �Then the Mets called me Monday or Tuesday of that week and by Wednesday or Thursday I was out the door.�

After completing his career in New York, Bell was able to take almost a year off. That is until Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin came calling before the 2005 season, offering a job as bench coach with Arizona. Bell accepted and was back on a Major League schedule again before he had much time to do anything else.

For the next two seasons, he learned intricacies of the game he never knew existed while coaching side by side with Melvin. He coordinated spring training and got to instruct a whole new generation of Major Leaguers.

But Bell missed his family. He knew his oldest child, daughter Brianna, was already in high school and wouldn�t be around too much longer. And of course Brantley, 12, and youngest son Brock, 9, were at that precious Little League age. So Bell called Melvin during the offseason and said he wouldn�t be returning to the Diamondbacks in 2007.

�In 2004, I was off then all of a sudden I get the call from Bob and I�m right back in it again,� Bell said. �That year off was more of a semi-year off. To get back into it was great, but the two years traveling made me realize I probably got back into it a little bit too quick.�

Since then, Bell has had a blast actually getting some time at home. He attended Brianna�s basketball games at Mountain Pointe High School. And he coached Brantley�s Little League team to a runner-up finish in the regular season. Now an assistant with the Majors All Stars, the memories just keep on coming.

�It�s a thrill to be able to coach your kid and his team,� Bell said. �The thing for me is you have an opportunity not only to teach them baseball, but you get to teach them life skills too. You get to teach them how to respond to adversity. You get to teach them how to act towards others. My main desire was to try and help the kids think of those other than themselves. If they do that, then it was a pretty decent success.�

Of course other than the obvious differences between Little League and Major League, Bell has had to adjust his mannerisms a bit while coaching to help the youths reach their potential.

�In the Major Leagues, you don�t have to repeat yourself quite as many times as you do in Little League,� he said. �You�re constantly reminding them of how many outs, how many guys are on base, what the situation is.

�Basically what you try to do is love on them as much as you possibly can. You get on them gently, but if you do get on them, give them something positive before you tear them down and then build them right back up after you tear them down so you�re giving them two positives with one negative. That was my philosophy and it worked OK, I thought.�

Brantley Bell said having his dad coach at the yard has been an interesting experience.

�It�s been kind of tough on my part because he gets on me the most and tells me what to do,� Brantley said. �But it�s been fun because we�ve got a lot of practice and he�s been there to help me.�

While Bell is enjoying the opportunity to play with his kids while he can, he said he intends to get back into coaching at the Major League level.

�Coaching or playing (professionally) is something I�ve done for 22 years � that was part of who I was,� Bell said. �Certainly, baseball doesn�t define who I am but it is something I�ve done. I love it. I know a lot about it. And, yeah, I anticipate getting back into it at some point again. But I wouldn�t trade this year off for anything. I really have had a great time.�

Christopher Drexel can be reached at (480) 898-4906 or

cdrexel@aztrib.com

.

[G-Fafif]

Jay Bell's Mets career is one of the few in my sentient lifetime that I almost always forget occurred, even if it took place just four years ago. He didn't do enough for it to be memorable (a la Mike Hampton) and did too much for it to be trivial (like maybe Jeff Duncan). It's just, "Oh yeah, Jay Bell was a Met, wasn't he?" Kind of like Willie Randolph's playing tenure would be if a) Willie hadn't mentioned being a Mets fan as a kid which always made me forgive his resume while he was building it, he hadn't hung around the NY baseball scene for the next dozen years and c) he hadn't become Willie Randolph, Mets manager.

If there's a question that would require me to name nine Mets who did something specific, chances are Jay Bell would be my elusive ninth if in fact such a question exists.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Willie more or less gave the Mets an honorable 90 games before he got hurt. He reached at .352 and turned the double play smoothly, which is more or less all we could've hoped for. His range was already shot before he got hurt, and when he did get hurt, he didn't get better.

But Jay Bell was simply done, and may have given the Mets as little as any Met ever who stuck with the team pole to pole.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Jay Bell was probably the most laughable No. 44 in team history. He practically cried out to be 11 or 3 or maybe 9.

44?