Selig Says Voices of Reason to Be Heard

TEMPE, Ariz. —  Disgruntled players such as Gary Sheffield and Frank Thomas have made the most noise this spring, but Commissioner Bud Selig, who attended Sunday’s Cactus League game between the Angels and Oakland A’s, believes they will be drowned out by the voices of reason--the players who have heavily criticized them for complaining about their contracts.

“I’m a fan at heart, and I talk to a lot of fans,” Selig said. “The one thing we fail to realize sometimes is that fans drive to work at 8 a.m., they’re a little aggravated, they work hard all day long, they struggle to put their kids through college.

“We have to put ourselves in their shoes. How do they feel about a guy making $10 million a year complaining about [a lack of] respect?”

Selig praised players such as Mark McGwire, Pedro Martinez and Gary DiSarcina, who have publicly ripped Sheffield and Thomas for being greedy.

“So many players have been so good and have spoken up,” Selig said. “It’s a wonderful thing.”

Selig, who broke his kneecap in December and is walking with the help of a cane, addressed several issues, including economic disparity, the possibility of combining struggling franchises, interleague play, and the gag order he placed on owners as they prepare to begin negotiations with players on a new collective bargaining agreement.

“One of the mistakes we’ve made is we’ve held labor negotiations in such a public atmosphere they’ve become a three-ring circus,” Selig said. “If we can move forward in a constructive way, we’re going to do so.

“The owners won’t even know when [negotiations] will start, because we won’t tell them.”

Last year Selig said he never would have considered contraction, or merging teams that are struggling financially, “but I’ve had a change of heart. None of us ever believed the disparity in terms of payrolls and revenues would get this bad. So no options are off the table.”

Baseball will add a new twist to interleague play next season, with teams playing opponents from other divisions on a rotating basis while retaining natural rivalries, such as the Dodgers and Angels. Of course, that’s assuming there is a season next year.

“The renaissance [of baseball] has been so good, we’re the only ones who can impede it,” Selig said. “I hope we don’t have what we’ve had eight times before--a work stoppage and a lot of anger.”

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Jarrod Washburn, who hopes to rebound from an injury marred 2000 season that was cut short in early August by a stress-fracture in his shoulder blade, pitched two scoreless innings in the Angels’ 4-2 loss to the A’s on Sunday.

If the Angels are to have any hope of contending in the American League West, they’ll need Washburn to remain healthy.

The left-hander has shown he can win in the big leagues--he’s 17-10 with a 4.46 earned-run average in 35 starts--and has a fearless approach that belies his inexperience.

“He has a quiet confidence that is a plus for him,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Some young guys need success to have confidence. Jarrod could go out and get rocked for three straight starts, and he’ll go out for the fourth game knowing he will succeed.”

Washburn, 26, credited his parents for this confidence.

“They always told me you’re not going to succeed in life if you don’t think you can,” Washburn said. “Whether it was school, football or baseball, I’ve always felt confident.”

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The Angels had only three hits off five Oakland pitchers, but two were home runs, by Troy Glaus off starter Mark Mulder and Shawn Wooten off closer Jason Isringhausen. . . . Right-hander Ismael Valdes, slowed by tightness in his right rib cage, is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Thursday against the A’s. . . . Infielder Jose Fernandez, whose trip from the Dominican Republic to Arizona was delayed because of visa problems, arrived in camp over the weekend, giving him a late start in his quest to win a utility spot. . . . David Lamb, who is also competing for a utility infield job, will not be able to play the field for a few days because of shoulder tendinitis.