MLB begins two days of meetings today in Milwaukee and
the "disparity of payrolls among the 30 clubs" will be the
"chief topic on an otherwise mundane agenda," according to
Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. MLB
Commissioner Bud Selig: "I know what my job as commissioner
is, and I know what I have to do. And I'm going to get
started on it." Selig has studied the payroll disparity and
"has accumulated considerable financial data to show owners
that they are headed down a dangerous path if corrections
are not made." Selig: "It's a subject I've promised
everybody will be addressed and I'm going to start with my
very first meeting (as full-time commissioner). ... I've
been doing a lot of thinking about it since my election."
Selig said he intends to hold joint league meetings on both
days, instead of the usual one (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/16).
WAITING FOR CLAUDE: Beaver Sports President Don Beaver
will be in Milwaukee, "waiting" for Expos President Claude
Brochu at the meetings. Beaver Sports VP Tim Newman: "We're
trying to ascertain what the situation with the Expos is."
Newman added that if MLB allows Brochu to talk to potential
buyers, "we'll certainly talk to him" (Stan Olson, CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 9/16). For more on the Expos, see (#22).