MILWAUKEE, July 9 — The online question came from Troy of Tasmania, Australia, who began it in a friendly, colloquial manner. ÿG'day from Down Under,ÿ Troy of Tasmania wrote. The person who read the greeting out loud promptly interrupted himself.þþÿThe way I feel today, I feel like I'm down under, too,ÿ Commissioner Bud Selig said.þþWhat's that, Selig was feeling less than ecstatic on the day that should have been one of the most enjoyable and satisfying of his baseball life? The All-Star Game was being played tonight in the new park in his hometown, and he was the man responsible not only for the game's being here but also for major league baseball's being here. þþAfter Selig completed his second annual online town hall, a reporter asked why he was feeling down.þþÿNo,ÿ he said, indicating he wasn't feeling down. ÿEach day I have to engage in some sort of humor of some kind, and I've just been going at a very frenetic pace the last five days.ÿþþIn reply to another online question, about his hometown being the host of the game, Selig said, ÿI am very proud and it's been a great experience.ÿ Despite the obvious problems baseball has in a labor-negotiation year, he added, ÿI don't mind telling you this has been a very nice three days.ÿþþSelig especially considered Monday a good day. That was the day the union's executive board did not set a strike date. That development, though most likely only temporary, was the subject of the first online question.þþÿI'm happy that they didn't set a strike date,ÿ Selig said, seated at a table on a stage at the Midwest Express Center. ÿAs I have often said, this has to be settled at the table.ÿþþBut, he was asked during a news conference after the electronic town hall, wouldn't a strike date serve as a deadline, which could induce the owners and players to become more serious in their talks and move more quickly toward a compromise of their positions?þþÿThere's so much pressure on both sides now,ÿ he said. ÿI don't really think we need any pressure and I don't think there really is anything that we need to really make us more aggressive in making a deal.ÿþþIn answers to other questions, Selig, the commissioner and former operator of the Brewers, talked about the impossibility of continuing with the status quo on the revenue disparity that separates the rich clubs from the poor clubs. Would he prefer a work stoppage, if that is what it took to change the status quo? he was asked. ÿOh, no,ÿ he said. ÿI'd like a settlement in the next three or four weeks so we can move on. That's what I'd like.ÿþþHe later noted that some people have suggested that it would be better to have a work stoppage. ÿThe clubs have convinced themselves that they cannot maintain the status quo,ÿ he said. ÿIt is not working. In fact, there are people who really believe that of all the alternatives facing us, status quo is the worst of the alternatives.ÿþþSpeaking for himself, though, Selig said, ÿWe have come so far,ÿ meaning since the 1994-95 strike. ÿWe were lucky the last time.ÿþþTalking about baseball's comeback from that strike, he cited the magical night of Sept. 6, 1995, when Cal Ripken set the consecutive-game streak, and the compelling 1998 home run contest between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa — ÿSammy's personality, Mark's drama.ÿþþHe said he did not want to have to rely on the development of some unknown, similar factors to bring baseball back from another disastrous work stoppage.þþÿNobody understands the heartache of a work stoppage more than I do,ÿ Selig said. ÿIt is a nightmare. We've had eight of those now.ÿþþThe Yankees are the biggest thorn in Selig's side because it is their money that other clubs are trying to get in his proposal that the clubs share 50 percent of their local revenue.þþRock from Wooster, Ohio, asked during the online questioning whether Selig could negate the Yankees' recent trades for Raul Mondesi and Jeff Weaver. Rock told Selig that many people believe the trades ÿare clearly not in the best interests of baseball.ÿþþÿYou're right,ÿ Selig said. ÿA lot of people do believe that.ÿ But as far as negating a trade, he added, ÿThe answer is really no.ÿþþÿThe Yankees properly say that this is the system; they are playing under the system,ÿ he said. Selig acknowledged that, in the Mondesi deal, he waived the rule against including more than $1 million in cash in a deal. ÿI have to consider not only the Yankees but the team they are making the trade with and other teams,ÿ he said.þþBut he called the recent Yankee deals ÿa manifestation of the very subject that I have been talking about,ÿ adding, ÿI am not going to be critical of the Yankees because they can properly and rightly say they are playing by the rules that exist, and they are.ÿ þþDuring the news conference, Selig was asked about another topical issue. He was asked whether anyone had asked him to become involved in the plans of Ted Williams's son for Williams's body.þþÿI have not,ÿ Selig said. ÿI have talked to John Henry and his sister, and I saw her last night.ÿ Selig added that he loved Williams and would miss him but said: ÿI'm sorry for what's going on. But that's a family matter that they are going to have to settle.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
