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Memorandum says clubs must reinvest to improve

Critics of baseball's new labor deal point to the absence of a minimum payroll, which seemingly could allow the owners of low-revenue teams to pocket their enlarged checks for revenue sharing. That, commissioner Bud Selig said Monday, is "just a myth going around."

Selig and Major League Baseball vice president Rob Manfred told the Chicago Tribune that the deal struck with the union on Aug. 30 to avert a strike includes a provision requiring teams to reinvest any funds they receive from revenue sharing.

According to a copy of a "memorandum of understanding" drafted by Major League Baseball and revised by the players union, the deal requires each team receiving revenue sharing to report its usage to the commissioner annually.

The exact language is "each club shall use its revenue sharing payments to improve its performance on the field. ... The commissioner has the authority to enforce this provision."

Ishii recovering

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers rookie left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii, hit in the forehead by a line drive, had a two-hour operation to remove bone chips from his nasal passage.

He will remain hospitalized for at least a few days, Dodgers head trainer Stan Johnston said.

A CT scan after the operation was deemed normal and the pitcher was eating and walking, according to the team. Ishii also sustained a small skull fracture and a concussion.

Also, the team brought up Chin-Feng Chen, making the 24-year-old first baseman-outfielder the first Taiwanese player on a major league roster.

INDIANS: Catcher Victor Martinez, one of the top players in the team's minor-league system, was recalled from Double-A Akron.

METS: The team got outfielder Brady Clark from Cincinnati to complete last month's trade that sent left-hander Shawn Estes to the Reds.

RANGERS: infielder Herbert Perry agreed Monday to a $3-million, two-year contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2004 season.

Perry, an ex-Ray who had been eligible for free agency at the end of this season, is batting .271 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs in 117 games this season. He will get $1.3-million next year, and $1.7-million in 2004, and has the chance to earn an additional $250,000 in performance bonuses in the two seasons.

Perry came to the Rays in the expansion draft and hit .249 in 73 games, before he was picked up on waivers by Chicago on April 21, 2000. He was acquired by the Rangers from the White Sox last year.

YANKEES: Closer Mariano Rivera, out because of a right shoulder strain, will step up his throwing program after being examined by James Andrews.

INTERNET: Major league baseball will offer video streaming of eight additional games this season but will charge $4.95 for the package.

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