Singer Is Fired by Mets for Comments to Ng

Former Dodger and Angel pitcher Bill Singer was fired by the New York Mets on Tuesday, a week after he made racially insensitive remarks to Kim Ng, a Dodger vice president and assistant general manager.

At the meetings of general managers in Phoenix, Singer reportedly asked Ng questions about her background and later spoke in gibberish, making fun of the Chinese language.

Singer was hired by the Mets on Nov. 6 as a special assistant to General Manager Jim Duquette after spending the 2003 season as a special assistant to the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“As a matter of policy our organization cannot and will not tolerate any comment or conduct by an employee that suggests insensitivity or intolerance to any racial, ethnic or religious group,” Duquette said in a statement. “Any deviation from this standard is not acceptable.”

Singer, 59, and the Mets later apologized to Ng, one of the highest-ranking women in baseball administration.

Singer was a two-time 20-game winner during his 14-year pitching career in the majors.

Ng had no comment regarding Singer’s dismissal.

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The Oakland Athletics traded left-hander Ted Lilly to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Bobby Kielty and cash or a player to be named.

Lilly had a 12-10 record with a 4.34 earned-run average last season.

Kielty batted .244 with 13 home runs and 57 runs batted in with Toronto and Minnesota, which traded him to the Blue Jays on July 16 for Shannon Stewart.

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Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Jason Boyd was arrested for the second time this month and charged with hitting a man in the face with a beer bottle during an argument Sunday on the dance floor of a bar at Alton, Ill.

He was charged with felony aggravated battery, authorities said. He was free after posting $1,500 bond.

Boyd was charged less than two weeks ago with punching a man during a recreational basketball game. He is to appear in court Dec. 10 on the misdemeanor battery charge.

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New York Yankee first baseman Jason Giambi had arthroscopic surgery to remove inflamed tissue from his left knee and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

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Right-hander Pat Hentgen, 35, returned to the Blue Jays, agreeing to a $2.2-million, one-year contract.

Hentgen spent the last three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. He played his first nine seasons in the majors with the Blue Jays.

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Left-hander Andy Pettitte met with Houston Astro owner Drayton McLane and General Manager Gerry Hunsicker, and the Boston Red Sox also may be interested in pursuing the free-agent who is coming off a $35-million, four-year contract with the Yankees.

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Dave Miley, who finished the season as the interim replacement for former manager Bob Boone, is one of four finalists for the Cincinnati Reds’ managerial job.

The others are Jerry Manuel, fired by the Chicago White Sox after last season; Brian Graham, director of player development for Pittsburgh the last two years and John McLaren, who has spent the last 12 seasons as a coach on the major league staffs of Tampa Bay Manager Lou Piniella.

Miscellany

Hoping to add allure to the Los Angeles Marathon, race organizers will match the elite women against the elite men in a unique handicap format next spring.

In the race March 7, elite women will start first, approximately 20 minutes ahead of the men.

The first person across the finish line will earn a $50,000 bonus to go along with traditional first-place men’s and women’s prizes of $25,000 and new cars valued at $24,000 each.

The time difference between the men’s and women’s winning times in the previous 18 Los Angeles Marathons, and the most recent performances of the elite runners in the race, will help determine the starting time differential.

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Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the Bush administration’s lack of support in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sports could lead to sanctions against the U.S. team at the Athens Olympics next summer and affect New York’s bid for the 2012 Games.

Jennifer de Vallance of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy called Pound’s comments “disingenuous and unproductive.”

Pound said the U.S., Italy and Ukraine were among the major countries yet to pay their annual dues to WADA, which is jointly funded by the Olympic sports movement and national governments.

De Vallance said Congress is expected to pass the federal budget in the next few days, clearing the way for payment to WADA.

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The U.S. men’s volleyball team rallied past winless China, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19, in a match in the World Cup, a qualifying event at Tokyo for the Athens Olympics.

Twelve teams are competing in the round-robin tournament, with the top three advancing to the 2004 Games. The U.S. is 2-1 in the tournament.

Jurisprudence

Former major leaguer Ozzie Canseco, twin brother of former All-Star slugger Jose, was sentenced at Punta Gorda, Fla., to four months in jail for possessing an anabolic steroid and driving with a suspended license.

Passings

Bob Carmichael, a top-10 tennis player in 1970 who went on to coach Australian star Pat Rafter, died unexpectedly at Melbourne. He was 63.

In 1979, his last year on the circuit, he was a semifinalist in doubles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.