Rays/MLB

Selig won't put up with cheapskates

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published July 16, 2006

PITTSBURGH - Commissioner Bud Selig has a way of slapping people across the face without leaving a mark. His polite but stinging comments complaining about Manny Ramirez's absence from the All-Star festivities were a prime example.

But generally overlooked was his rebuke of teams who still use the big-market, small-market dynamic as an excuse for a lack of competitiveness.

"There have been franchises that have been through 11 or 12 rebuilding programs over the last 60 years. They don't always work," Selig said during his annual All-Star Game conversation with newspaper reporters.

"But I can tell you specifically, we will not tolerate people not spending the money."

The money is the $323-million Selig said Major League Baseball will distribute this season through revenue sharing to help level the playing field.

"I'm very sensitive to all the constituents, particularly the big markets because they're paying," Selig said.

"I want these clubs to see who spent the money and where it's spent, every (bleeping) nickel."

Selig said it has not determined how the money will be split and that MLB has done studies to make sure the money is not being put into owners' pockets.

He also said he has not had any complaints from big-market teams that small markets are squandering the cash.

"Are we there yet? No," Selig said of a level playing field. "But we have made enormous progress."

Which really means, no more excuses.

MANNY'S PROBLEMS: Speaking of excuses, Ramirez apparently does have something wrong with his sore right knee. The question is, how serious?

Baseball Prospectus reported Ramirez has a torn right medial meniscus. But the Boston Globe quoted manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein saying the report was wrong.

The Globe also reported Ramirez has not had an MRI exam.

"It's status quo," Epstein told the paper. "His knee was an issue in the first half, and we were able to manage it by getting him out of games early.

"A big part of the treatment was getting him three days off at the All-Star break. Now that he's had that, we hope to be able to keep an eye on him."

As for symptoms, Epstein said of Ramirez's knee, "It does swell up occasionally."

NOT THE WORST: How about this for a minor victory? The Rays are not the most unpopular team in the majors.

That according to the latest Harris Poll that pegs Tampa Bay as second to last, in front of the Blue Jays.

The Yankees and Mets are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Check out the entire list at harris interactive.com. Click on News & Events and go to the 2006 archive.

SAFE FOR NOW: It does look like Cubs manager Dusty Baker's job is safe, for now.

General manager Jim Hendry told Chicago reporters too much was made of his declaration he would spend the All-Star break "evaluating" everything, including the status of Baker and his staff.

"I've never wavered from what I've said," Hendry said. "I will do what I feel is in the best interests of the Cubs.

"(Speculation about Baker) never came from me. My stance has not changed. I'm on my own time frame. It's not up to anybody else but me."

LOST IN TRANSLATION: Mariners rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki got all existential when asked at the All-Star Game how his team can make a run at the playoffs.

Through an interpreter, he said, "If there is a problem, we need to notice it, what creates the problem. The problem usually isn't just on the cover. You need to look much deeper.

"For example, if you're talking about a tree and the tree has a problem, you need to look at the root. But you cannot see the root. The mistake is to keep watering the fruit. That's not going to solve anything."

A BLUE JAY: General manager J.P. Ricciardi spent an awful lot of money to make the Blue Jays players in the AL East.

But more than three months into the season, he still doesn't know what kind of team he has. Ricciardi told the Toronto Sun inconsistency hurts most, especially because the Jays are still close to the top of the East.

"We go into Colorado and get swept. We go into Florida, we get swept. We go into Kansas City and can't play decent. We're just a hard team to figure out," Ricciardi said.

He also said he wants to see quick improvement or the team could be a seller by the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.

"I just get frustrated when I know we're a better team than we play sometimes," Ricciardi said. "It just seems like the better teams find a way to win, and we're not doing that at certain times."

Closer B.J. Ryan wasn't thrilled with the GM's comments, especially that starters Casey Janssen and Ty Taubenheim "are killing us."

"We don't point fingers in our clubhouse, and that should run through the whole organization," Ryan said.

GOING FORWARD: What's it going to take for the A's to get on track? Perhaps the return of starter Rich Harden, who has been on the disabled list twice with a strained ulnar collateral ligament.

Oakland is 6-0 this season when Harden starts, 44-25 in his career.

RAYS TALES

[Last modified July 16, 2006, 01:50:32]