THE MEDIA\Baseball getting Foxified\Ads aim to boost its battered image.

Byline: Tom Hoffarth

"I can't stand the phrase, 'National Pastime,' " Tracy Dolgin, Fox Sports' executive vice president of marketing, was saying the other day from his Hollywood office.

He was referring to the slogan about the sport some of us remember as major-league baseball.

"We're changing it. It's going to be the 'National Present-time.' "

That, along with a few million dollars, should not surprise anyone. It's how the Fox Network operates, giving its latest sports property a marketing overhaul - otherwise known as "Foxify" - before the season begins in about five weeks.

Damage control? Too late. Fox skips the disinfectant and goes straight for the approach it used to bring the NFL and NHL into the '90s: a bizarre sense of humor, exposing as many star players/budding comedians as possible.

When CBS had major-league baseball for four years (1990-'93), it did no marketing at all. It didn't even have a VP of sports marketing.

Two more fragmented seasons with The Baseball Network and its overlapping postseason telecasts might have been baseball's darkest TV moment.

Having that to work with, Fox has already started shooting what it calls the most aggressive on-air baseball promotional campaign in broadcast history. This week, Dolgin and his troops were in Arizona shaking down the Cactus League. Next week, it's off to Florida.

Dodgers Mike Piazza, Eric Karros and Hideo Nomo, along with Angels Jim Edmonds and Tim Salmon, are among the 42 major-leaguers who agreed - for free - to participate in the offbeat personality spoofs similar in nature to what ESPN has done with its "SportsCenter" spots.

Fox will start airing them during its primest-of-prime-time shows, like "Melrose Place," "The Simpsons" and "The X-Files," plus on kids' programming in April, even though the new five-year, $565 million deal for game coverage starts June 1. It's not too early to get the bullpen warming up.

A small taste of where Fox is going with this:

Baltimore's Cal Ripken recently was in Santa Monica to play the role of "Hal Ripken," Cal's twin brother who lives in a trailer park and sits around drinking beer with a remote control. "Hal" talks about how he's the forgotten Ripken - he actually helped Cal set the consecutive-game record by playing for him when he wanted to skip a few games.

Hal watches video of Cal's career. Cal strikes out. "That was him," says Hal. Cal hits a home run. "That was me," says Hal.

How can a jilted fan not love that? Anything that doesn't include Chris Farley these days has to be considered inventive.

"Baseball has a ton of tradition, but you don't have to do black-and-white spots of Ripken with pictures of Lou Gehrig," said Dolgin. "A kid today doesn't care if his grandfather watched Gehrig play."

In another spot, Piazza is in a park having a picnic with his girlfriend.

"We need to have a serious talk," she says.

Piazza goes into his catcher's stance, flashing signals to her.

"I'm not bothered by the chest protector or the shin guards," she says.

Piazza signals again. She looks at him with surprise.

"Mike, I didn't know you spoke French," she says.

Piazza smiles and winks.

(Wait until you see how Fox gets Nomo to say "I love this game" in English).

"Marketing is a momentum game," Dolgin said. "We have shown that with football and hockey we can increase ratings by keeping the core audience - all you have to do is tell them the game is on - and bring in the young Fox audience."

Dolgin noted that Fox's NFL ratings were up 7 percent this past season, and its NHL ratings were up as much as 20 percent in some key demographic age groups this season.

Reverse momentum is something baseball has been trudging through the last few years. It'll be interesting to see if Fox can perform the miracle of miracles and bring viewers back to a game many have irreconcilable differences with because of its financial bickering, selfish athletes and lack of fan appeasement.

"You can't hate something that you didn't at one time love," Dolgin reasons. "We have to turn them around instead of showing everyone the negative side. What the strike showed us was that people took a personal affront because they deeply cared about the game. When they are reintroduced, they'll fall in love because of the game again. The new young faces can help.

"Actually, I'm less concerned with people already alienated than I am with bringing in new young fans. We'll be able to do for baseball what (NBC) did for basketball - make it a hip, young, cool thing to watch.

"We'll spend millions in marketing because that's how we do things. Watch the pendulum swing back when we're done. All the baseball bashing will stop. These promos are the first step."

OK, kiddies. Have a ball.

Catching on: KCAL (Channel 9) and Prime Sports has picked Jeff Torborg, the former Angel and Dodger catcher who also managed the Chicago White Sox and did a sharp job on CBS Radio games the last two years, as the new Angels analyst to work with play-by-play man Steve Physioc. They replace the Ken Wilson-Ken Brett team the Angels used at KTLA (Channel 5) for five years. Dave Winfield, rumored to be an Angels analyst candidate, will likely work for Fox. Brett will take the year off after coming in as a runner-up for jobs in Boston and Kansas City.

A numbers game: CBS did a 9.2 rating/24 share nationally for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. But in one of those TV optical illusions, L.A. (4.1/12) and New York (3.0/8) actually had more people watching than the ratings champs, Charlotte, N.C., and Orlando, Fla. (both with a 19.6). Because the rating represents a percentage of households with televisions in each city, L.A.'s 4 percent share of more than 5 million homes (200,000) and New York's 3 percent share of 7 million homes (210,000) were more than the households watching in Charlotte (141,360) or Orlando (172,710).

Static cling: The Association of Volleyball Professionals, which this year took charge of producing its TV events and wants to spice up its look, has yet to officially decide if it will use two major assets - Chris Marlowe and Paul Sunderland - on the telecasts that air on Prime Sports this season. Both Marlowe and Sunderland are under contract to do the AVP's NBC telecasts. . . .

HBO's next "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," scheduled for March 11, will likely not get in-depth with the story that has the Feb. 20 Globe tabloid screaming from its cover: "BRYANT GUMBEL CAUGHT WITH SEXY BLONDE!" . . .

Cheryl Miller takes her chewing gum to work as a sideline reporter with the Bob Neal-Hubie Brown team broadcasting tonight's Lakers-Mavericks game on TNT, while Reggie Theus takes her place in the studio. . . .

STATION BREAK

Most of us have become accustomed to the cause/effect relationship we have with L.A. analysts. They speak 'cause that's what they're paid to do. We, in effect, tune them out and make up our minds about what just happened.

The Daily News' Top 10/Bottom 5 rankings of the sports broadcast's little buddies hopes to snip any dangling participles these folks might have left while on duty.

THE TOP 10

1. Bill Walton, UCLA basketball TV (Prime Sports), Clippers TV (KCOP): Having finally learned to enunciate, Walton continues to make up for lost time by pretending he's rhetorically gifted. A play-by-play man is almost nonessential if he's in the building, particularly for Bruins games. However, if provocative insight, brutal honesty and even a bizarre throw-away line from someone with Hall of Fame credentials are required, we'll lob a pass to him in the low post on every possession. Last year's ranking: 1.

2. (tie) Jimmy Fox, Kings TV (Prime Sports) and Brian Hayward, Ducks TV (Prime Sports, KCAL): Two different styles, but both help raise the So Cal hockey intelligence to a greater plus-minus ratio. Fox, a former goal-scorer, has evolved into the princeS of the Telestrator. Hayward, a former goalkeeper, keeps Chris Madsen's hair piece out of the crease while protecting the five-hole. Last year: 2 (Fox) and 5 (Hayward).

4. Paul Sunderland, beach volleyball TV (Prime Sports): Never complacent, always in motion, perpetually tan. The man who puts the sun in Sunderland is NBC's analyst for the Olympic beach debut coverage this year, and for good reason. (And take a bow for your college hoops work, too.) Last year: 4.

5. Rich Marotta, boxing (Prime Sports): Also made the top 10 play-by-play list, but he's a true, well-schooled colorman who knows his duties better than anyone in town. We miss Marotta on Clippers broadcasts and for what he did with the Raiders, too. Last year: Not ranked.

6. Mike Lamb, USC football radio (KMPC-AM): For a first-timer, Lambchop has been anything but a sock puppet for play-by-play man Shari Lewis Kahn. From his three-point stance, Lamb comes out like a lion with preparation, turns those who get his humor into laughing hyenas and refrains from monkeying around with nonessential info. Lamb shows that not all ex-offensive linemen are big, dumb and Dierdorf. Last year: Not ranked.

7. David Norrie, UCLA football radio (XTRA-AM): Monotone? Maybe. Boring? No way. He could be an assistant coach for the team. Last year: 6.

8. George Raveling, college basketball TV (Prime Sports): He can charm a group of reporters with the George Burns routine, but Raveling's schtick kind of unravels in this medium. Why rank him here, then? Because on strategic matters, he definitely has got something to say. Which means he's best suited as a studio analyst, his role with CBS. (Although we'd love to hear his take on USC basketball this season during a courtside telecast.) Last year: Not ranked.

9. Kurt Rambis, college basketball (Prime Sports): A role player his entire NBA career and an assistant Lakers bench coach, Rambis knows how to fit in. That makes him a play-by-play man's dream partner. With Rambo's raw talent and sense oSf humor, he can excel here if he wants to. Last year: Not ranked.

10. Heather Schoney-Cox, women's basketball TV (Prime Sports): The surprise is that someone with her talent, knowledge and looks hasn't been hired by a network. She does the near-impossible: makes women's basketball watchable. Last year: Not ranked..

Honorable mention: Reggie Theus, Lakers pregame TV (Prime Sports): has the looks plus the connections; Rory Markas, Clippers radio (KMPC-AM): has the long arm of Lawler to get away from; Tom Ramsey, UCLA football (Prime Sports): was relegated to a season of tape-delayed replay games because of Prime's expanded Pac-10 live coverage; James Worthy, college basketball TV (Prime): the Barry White of hoops; Anne Meyers and Nancy Lieberman-Cline, women's basketball TV (Prime Sports).

THE BOTTOM FIVE

1. Mike Warren, UCLA basketball radio (XTRA-AM): Remember that episode of "Hill Street Blues" when Warren and Ed Marinaro got in trouble for putting decaf in Daniel J. Travanti's coffee mug? I don't either. Warren's post-acting broadcast career has been about as memorable. He double-dribbles so much with his commentary that the refs have stopped calling it. Last year: Not ranked.

2. Bob Starr, Angels radio (KMPC-AM): He's the guy driving home in the fast lane of the freeway with his left-turn signal on for the last 14 miles. Honk at him, and he waves back because he thinks you recognize him. Last year: 3 (bottom 5).

3. Stu Lantz, Lakers TV (Prime Sports, KCAL) and radio (KLAC-AM): True, The Human Eraser must do what no other analyst in L.A. should have to - particularily, work a simulcast while constantly correcting what the play-by-play man recites as the score, time of game, official's call and the pronunciation of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauff. Yet it's tough to overlook the mouthful of cliches Stu spits. He still talks too much for the radio broadcast, not enough for the TV broadcast, and ends every sentence with the phrase "on the Lakers' basketball network." Last year: 8 (Stop 10).

4. Mike Lamb, USC basketball radio (KMPC-AM): What he lacks in hoop experience, he makes up for with his appetite at the weekly Trojan luncheons. This is definitely a Kahn job. Last year: Not ranked.

5. Hubie Brown, Clippers TV (KCOP): Many admire his X-and-O knowledge. But consider: 1) He's a New Yorker, 2) He talks as if he knows everything, 3) He's obnoxious, 4) He's an obnoxious New Yorker who talks as if he knows everything. Hey, man, this is El Lay. When Walton's out of town, give us Herbie The Love Bug instead of Hubie The Used Hub Cap. Last year: Not ranked.

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