Two MLB owners said late last week that management will
continue to negotiate for a payroll tax system with the MLBPA and
"won't return to a salary cap proposal," according to Mark Maske
of the WASHINGTON POST. One owner said, "I wouldn't worry about
it. The cap is not coming back." Reports from Wednesday's
owners meeting in Itasca, IL, seemed to indicate that the payroll
tax was off the table in favor of a return to an earlier salary
cap provision. Another owner told the POST that the "mood was
'We really wish we could have a salary cap.' ... But most
realized it is impossible now" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/15)
DON'T INVITE THESE MEN TO THE SAME PARTY: At least three
owners, including the Orioles' Peter Angelos, called on their
fellow owners to hire a full-time commissioner at the Itasca
meetings. But Braves President Stan Kasten said that as far as
he is aware, owners "still plan to hold off hiring a commissioner
until after there is a labor agreement." Former Senate Majority
Leader George Mitchell and former Democratic National Committee
Chair Paul Kirk were among those mentioned as possibilities (Mark
Maske, WASHINGTON POST, 5/15). Acting Commissioner Bud Selig
continued to take a hit in the weekend press. In Toronto,
Richard Griffin writes that Selig "can't turn a profit with his
own organization, but is the man designated by owners to organize
baseball" (TORONTO STAR, 5/13). In Miami, Mike Phillips
criticizes both MLPBA Exec Dir Donald Fehr and Selig, writing "if
I wanted someone to get something done, I'd hire anyone but
Selig." Phillips calls for new negotiators (MIAMI HERALD, 5/14).
In Philadelphia, Frank Dolson reports on the owners return to
court last week in an attempt to lift the injunction. Dolson:
"The insensitivity and downright stupidity that seem to abound at
the top levels of this wonderful game boggle the mind"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/15). In the current issue of NEW
YORKER, Roger Angell writes on the game's return from the
"ruinous labor wars" (NEW YORKER, 5/22 issue). David Cone on fan
apathy: "We do not have an agreement. They don't trust us, and I
don't blame them" (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 5/14).
