ANALYSIS : Al Baby, Whose Side Are You On, Anyway? : Pro football: Steve Ortmayer’s tenure as GM of the Chargers did little to defuse the team’s rivalry with Raiders.

Just you and me, Al Baby, up in the pressbox Sunday.

Crazy, crazy people in this world, Al Baby, and hard to believe, but you have to understand that some of them wonder how you could have advised Charger owner Alex Spanos that your special teams coach would make a great NFL general manager.

You know football, everybody knows that, but we got to know Steve Ortmayer.

And you know Ort, too, he’s now back as your special teams coach.

Spanos says you were only trying to be helpful a while back, and everyone knows how friendly the Raiders and Chargers have been over the years.

Take this neighborly Sunday. More than 60,000 Raider and Charger fans--not to mention the extra police and security personnel who have been hired--will gather together in fellowship at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Just you and me, Al Baby, what went wrong? You recommended Ort, and it’s not like you don’t have this commitment to excellence. But some folks wonder how one general manager could make so many mistakes.

They point to Barry Redden, and how anyone would trade Buford McGee, a second-round pick and a sixth-round choice for Barry Redden? Would you even go to Bobby McGee’s with Barry Redden?

They look at Ortmayer and what happened with Chip Banks, John Clay, Mark Malone and the suspension of Kellen Winslow.

There was Hank the Shank, the Pete Holohan trade, the Gary Anderson fiasco and the draft selection of Lou Brock. Ernie Broglio would have done more for the Chargers.

And there was Napoleon McCallum, Jim McMahon, Elvis Patterson and trading Ralf Mojsiejenko.

Holy Irwindale, there was also Jay Schroeder. The Chargers could have had Schroeder, but as Ortmayer noted, they didn’t need him because they already had Malone and Babe Laufenberg.

But everyone knew how much you needed a quarterback, and how hard you were trying to get a quarterback.

Washington said it wasn’t going to part with Schroeder, though, unless it got an offensive lineman the likes of Jim Lachey. They were pretty adamant about that, and, OK, so lo and behold Ortmayer trades you Lachey and you trade Lachey to get Schroeder.

It’s not as if the Chargers didn’t get anything in return. They not only received a fine sailor in McCallum, but one strong game out of Clay.

Maybe there wouldn’t be so many hard feelings if Ortmayer’s words didn’t ring so true today: “The story of this trade,” he said at the time, “will be told in the future.”

Now the Raiders are 5-1 and the Chargers are 2-4.

You know, Big Guy, losing will do things to people. They will jump to conclusions. There are some folks who think Ortmayer traded for McMahon only because he’s the type of heathen normally embraced by your Raiders.

They look at today’s Chargers and they are reminded that it seems like only yesterday that their destiny was being guided by Ortmayer.

They will take note that Schroeder leads the AFC in passing today, while Billy Joe Tolliver threatens all living creatures with every pass he hurls. You have Bo, and who needs Gary Anderson?

Take it all into consideration, Al Baby, and you have to ask: Are the Chargers and the Raiders what they are today because of Steve Ortmayer?

Ortmayer’s back in silver and black these days along with former Chargers James FitzPatrick, Patterson, Andy Parker, Thomas Benson, McCallum, Mike Charles and Jamie Holland. It’s like a stiffs’ who’s who, and yet the Raiders are 5-1.

You know better. It’s not like Ortmayer wasn’t trying to win: He did hire Dan Henning.

You probably wouldn’t find the humor in it, but wouldn’t it be appropriate if Ortmayer did something right, and the man he hired to coach the Chargers went ahead Sunday and derailed your Raiders’ Express?

Of course, you know all about Dan Henning, Al Baby. You talked to him, you almost hired the guy a few years ago to be your head coach. You could have had Henning and Ortmayer working for you, just like “pride and poise,” and then you would have been welcome down here any old time.

But the Chargers have Henning, and you were a coach with the Chargers yourself. You know how hard he will be working to beat you.

A victory and Henning’s Chargers are back in the thick of it. A defeat and the season is over. And with that in mind, if you had to feed your family, who would you rather go to war with?

The Chargers or the Raiders?

“The Raiders have gone back to an in-house type of continuity,” Henning said. “They are doing what the owner likes to do. They are doing what the head coach likes to do. And they’re doing it well.

“It comes through Mr. Davis. There has been a great deal more togetherness there from the top of the organization right down to the last man.”

Just you and me, Al Baby, up in the pressbox Sunday, and let me tell you: You better hope the last man isn’t Elvis Patterson.