Red Sox CEO John Harrington met with reporters on
Friday and gave an "unqualified endorsement" to the radical
realignment plan he is currently "selling" to MLB owners as
chair of the realignment committee, according to Gordon Edes
of the BOSTON GLOBE. Harrington said that the plan, which
would see 14 teams in the AL and 16 in the NL, has the
support of "all AL teams but is facing some resistance in
the NL." Any team being asked to switch divisions can veto
a move, which is why Harrington "forecasts some changes in
the plan if adopted." Harrington predicted that a vote
"probably will be taken this month, with a chance the plan
would be implemented for the 1998 season" (BOSTON GLOBE,
8/9). Harrington: "We're trying to create meaningful
geographical rivalries ... where all of our fans know the
rosters of the other teams. The games in the division will
be much more meaningful. The quality of the games will be
much more meaningful and intense" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-
BULLETIN, 8/9). D'Backs Chair Jerry Colangelo: "The
networks love the concept. ... It will make so much
difference in terms of time zones, having games on TV at a
decent hour. ... It makes so much common sense, it's
ridiculous" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/10).
UNION ROLE: Harrington added that any union concerns
"have to be addressed" (JOURNAL-BULLETIN, 8/9). In N.Y.,
Murray Chass reported that "some people on the owners' side
don't believe the union has to agree to realignment for them
to implement a new format, but the union holds otherwise."
Chass noted that if the owners realigned without MLBPA
consent, the players could either veto interleague play or
reject the schedule (N.Y. TIMES, 8/10).
NOTES: Rockies Chair Jerry McMorris, asked during "MLB
on Fox" on Saturday about the search for a new commissioner:
"We've narrowed the field of candidates down to roughly ten
and we will have someone in place by the first of the year"
(Fox)....In N.Y., Richard Sandomir reported on a lawsuit by
author David Kaplan, who co-wrote an unpublished
autobiography with former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent.
Kaplan is seeking to publish the book on his own after
Vincent "pulled out." Sandomir noted a 28-page excerpt from
the book in court papers where Vincent discussed his actions
toward Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner in '90 (N.Y. TIMES,
8/10)....The BOSTON GLOBE is running a four-part series,
which started Sunday, on the state of MLB, three years after
the players' strike (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/10).
