The New Haven Youth Baseball League had a problem: nine-year-old Jericho Scott was too good of a pitcher for the other kids. Their solution? Ban him from pitching. And when his coach sent him to the mound anyway, the league decided to disband his team. Parents protested, demanding that they let the little the junior Kelly Leak play, and as the AP reports, the whole thing has turned into a giant, litigious mess.

Parents of opposing teams say that Scott’s pitches are too dangerous for their kids, even though he hasn’t beaned anyone this season. I can feel his pain - I was told that I was “too dangerous” and asked to not play in my Little League anymore, but I vaguely remember something like “danger to myself and others” and “lack of motor skills” being used.

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Dubya dribbles with some Irish kids. We need a Guinness after viewing that.

• Tiger Woods’ win in San Diego is Wall Street’s loss in productivity.

• Speaking of the ex-Eldrick, Sports Illustrated needs help with next week’s cover.

• Doug Christie’s better half is blackballing him from the NBA.

• ESPN wants to keep an eye on you - a big, bloodshot eye.

• Meanwhile, the Worldwide Leader should keep an eye on Jemele Hill’s Hitler-Celtics comments.

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Hank Steinbrenner was understandably upset. His Wang came up lame in a place it should have never been in the first place, leaving his team rather impotent for the rest of the campaign when Chien-Ming Wang hurt his foot during interleague play while running the bases.

Still, when he rattled on about how “(the National League) need to grow up and join the 21st century,” we couldn’t help but compare his latest bloviation against the actions yesterday of another son of an owner no longer able to run his team.

While Hank kicked the dirt and waved his arms wildly until someone gave him a microphone to suck on, Rocky Wirtz of the Chicago Blackhawks was deftly handling a delicate situation by not being anywhere near it.

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Sir Charles hasn’t paid back that $400,000 he owes? What a dumbass.

• When you lend Ken Griffey Jr. money, it’s quite the changing experience.

• Joe Paterno was rushed to the hospital for dehydration, and we ain’t (Nittany) Lion.

• But it’s a good thing JoePa wasn’t buying bikes at Wal-Mart, otherwise he would have died of thirst.

• Yankee Stadium, Michael Strahan, streakers in robes running the bases - what NYU grad could ask for anything more?

• You’ll fall head over heels for this flipping filly.

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We thought we knew where we saw Hank Steinbrenner’s nascent managerial style before when he showed flashes of his father with his vitriolic rants. We’ve been flogging this as the Retro Yankees for months now, with the return of the old Steinbrenner kneejerk reactions and roster flailing, though we know it’s supposed to be some kind of Sister Sledge system there now.

(Alleged photo of Hank Steinbrenner in business school)

However, we’re now convinced we’ve seen his method of leadership elsewhere since we read this brilliant quote from him:

“They’ve got to play smarter and harder… The injuries make a huge difference. At the same time, you’ve got to get it done. We still have plenty of good hitters. We need to get the job done.”

Work harder and smarter for success? Get the job done? Really? That’s the leadership skill set you’re bringing to the table, Hank? Vague demands for greatness while letting the underlings explain what “playing smarter and harder” means? Do they strap a thesaurus to their gloves? Viva Viagra bats? Is this how you inspire the troops, General Hank Patton?

And now we know, despite all the bluster and fuming, whose leadership style Hank really emulates:
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As the New York Yankees pay a visit to the Chicago White Sox this week, Ozzie Guillen was asked if he could ever see himself working in pinstripes under the iron fist of Hank Steinbrenner.

Mark Gonzales of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE posed the possibility to the outspoken manager of ever having to answer to the outspoken owner.

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We’ve been enjoying the reax from Alex Rodriguez’ wagon circlers after Jose Canseco accused him of being interested in acquiring steroids. Hank Steinbrenner’s defense of Rodriguez to the BERGEN RECORD left us chuckling (and hungry and thirsty):

“Consider the source, that’s No. 1,” Steinbrenner said of Canseco. “He wouldn’t have been able to hit the ball out of the infield without steroids.

“And No. 2, if Mantle or Ruth were playing today, with the 550-foot home runs they hit, everybody’d be saying they were on something. They didn’t even lift weights in those days. They played on alcohol and hot dogs.

Great stuff. Though we actually got more of a kick out of comments from ARod’s former confidant (great gig!) to the NEW YORK POST.
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Sadly, Mr. October can no longer be Mr. March for the Yankees this year. Major League Baseball, still in a tizzy about the continuing ticklefest between the Yankees and Rays, has ordered Reggie Jackson to take off the Yankees pinstripes for the remainder of this season’s spring training games and fined Jackson the grand sum of $250.

(Make love not war, Reggie)

Jackson claims to have only been wearing his Yankees windbreaker and cap when he stepped onto the field for the latest fracas, clearly confusing the uniform violation for jogging out during a flight just to show the old man’s still part of the team. The best part of his ‘explanation’, though? Don Zimmer did it, so I can, too.

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The CAMBRIDGE (MA) CHRONICLE reports today that “a group of men — some with Irish accents — beat up a 23-year-old Cambridge man and sent him to the hospital after they spotted him sporting a Yankees baseball cap.

“Witnesses told police the group of apparent diehard Red Sox fans beat up the victims after an argument inside a Central Square bar. The group then ran away on Mass. Ave. towards Harvard Square.”

We love the “they had irish accents!!!” part of the story, which leads us to believe that the Yankee hat may have had incidental bearing on the incident. Read more…

Winning doesn’t come cheap, as Tony Massarotti of the BOSTON HERALD points out. After crunching the numbers, the Red Sox’s 2007 World Series championship cost the club around $300 million.

The breakdown:

• 2007 payroll: $165 million

• The rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka: $51 million

• Contribution to MLB’s revenue sharing: $80 million

• Luxury tax: $6 million

But there’s one sum John Henry & Red Sox Nation value most of all:

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