Baseball's owners, meeting in Detroit, "are pushing hard" to
keep the Pirates in Pittsburgh, writes Peter Schmuck in this
morning's Baltimore SUN. Schmuck reports that NL President Len
Coleman is "guardedly optimistic" that Sacramento newspaper heir
Kevin McClatchy will make a successful bid for the club and keep
it in Pittsburgh. However, Schmuck reports that "if the
McClatchy deal does not materialize," William Collins' Northern
VA group "is poised to make a bid." It "appears to be a no-lose
situation for Collins" -- while owners may block a move for the
Pirates, he "stands an excellent chance" of gaining one of the
two expansion franchises expected to be awarded in '97 or '98.
Orioles Owner Peter Angelos is opposed to baseball in DC, but
Schmuck writes that such a move "might be the way the other
owners punish him for his unwillingness to go along with their
hard-line labor strategy" (Baltimore SUN, 9/14). McClatchy
agreed with Pittsburgh officials yesterday on a lease to keep the
team in Pittsburgh that includes $6.5M in lease concessions, an
$8M loan in exchange for a promise not to move the team if money
for a new stadium is secured by 2000. McClatchy also was given a
two-day extension to make a deal. The deadline is September 22
(AP/WASHINGTON POST, 9/14).
