B.S., Bud

Baseball's death has been greatly exaggerated

Bud Selig is as good as his word.AP

By Jacob Luft, CNNSI.com

"Professional baseball is on the wane. Salaries must come down or the interest of the public must be increased in some way. If one or the other does not happen, bankruptcy stares every team in the face."

Albert Spalding, owner of the Chicago White Stockings, said that in 1881.

More than 100 years later, the owners' tune has not changed. The names may change -- from Spalding to Bud Selig -- but the song remains the same: We're drowning in debt ... the game is in ruin ... the sky is falling ... the end is nigh!

Please.

If we all had nickels for every doomsday claim owners have made in the past 150 years, we could pay the Yankees' salaries for a whole day ... or at least three innings.

Selig was at it again this week, letting everybody know that one club might not make payroll next week and another might not have enough money to finish the season. As is his custom, Selig did not actually name the teams in peril.

Yankees who have hit at least 10 home runs this season. No other team has more than five.

"It's going to take blood in the streets and bodies lying there for people to see we have got real live problems here." -- Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker on the sport's economic woes

Possible career changes for Bud Selig 1 Spin doctor 2 New host of To Tell the Truth 3 Tie salesman 4 Bouncer 5 Arthur Andersen accountant 6 Used car salesman

No, the commish simply let us consider the possibilities. The more time we rattle our brains trying to figure out who it might be, of course, the less time we have to realize that's he's full of donkey manure.

The New York Times reported Friday that the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays recently experienced payroll problems and needed bank loans to pay their players. But Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said his team would have no problem meeting its next payroll, while Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli called reports of his team's financial problems "the same old crap."

The sad episode took a predictable turn Thursday when MLB announced that no team would miss Monday's payroll after all, allowing us all to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"Unless something happens, we're all going to be out of business. When you have as many teams as there are losing money, something has got to give."

Patrick J. O'Neill, Cleveland Indians chairman, said that in 1985.

In 1991, an unnamed owner told the Boston Globe, "Believe me, we are much closer to seeing clubs in bankruptcy than people think. It just can't go on this way much longer."

All this time has passed since Spalding's lament, and owners have yet to come up with a better strategy than this. It's like the owners get into a huddle and say, "Cry poverty on two ... break!"

If Bud and the owners really want us to believe them, perhaps they should first get their stories straight -- it's obvious Selig and Dombrowski and Naimoli aren't all on the same page.

Until we see a little bit more proof, we'll just have to call B.S. on Bud.

Breakthrough season Seattle's Joel Pineiro threw eight scoreless innings at Tampa Bay on Thursday for his sixth win in as many starts. His ERA during the winning streak is 1.14, lowering his ERA for the season to 2.50 -- second in the AL behind Boston's Derek Lowe (2.36).

White hot White Sox second baseman Ray Durham has hit safely in 13 of 14 games, batting .468 (22-for-47) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

He's cookin' Gary Sheffield has reached base in 37 consecutive games, two shy of the Atlanta club record held by Chipper Jones. Sheffield has 10 RBIs in eight games this month.

Like father, like son Joel Skinner made a little history by becoming the Indians manager. His father, Bob, managed 216 games in the majors with Philadelphia and San Diego. The Skinners are the second father-son managerial tandem in baseball history, joining George and Dick Sisler.

Encarnacion   If Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't come back healthy in the second half, the Reds are going to miss Juan Encarnacion's all-around ability. He's a top-notch outfielder and provides a lot more pop at the plate than Reggie Taylor, who will get the bulk of the playing time while Griffey nurses one injury after another. ... If Cliff Floyd is upset about being an Expo today, he has only himself to blame. His contract allows him a limited no-trade clause to six teams. He had the Expos as one of the six, but changed his mind before the season when it looked like there was no way Montreal would contend for a playoff spot. ... Jim Thome might be more willing to waive his no-trade clause now that Charlie Manuel has been fired. Manuel was a father-type for Thome, who will be a free agent after this season. ... The Twins' 7 1/2-game lead at the All-Star break was the biggest in team history, including 1987 and 1991 when they won the World Series. The last time they had a winning record in the second half was 1991, when they went 48-31 to finish 95-67. ... Arizona's Craig Counsell has driven in seven of the club's past 16 runs.

 

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