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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Still No Deal, But Baseball Inches Closer To Agreement

From Wire Reports

Baseball players and owners remained on the verge of a deal Monday, the second anniversary of the start of the strike that wiped out the 1994 World Series and part of the following season.

The sides met for 1 hour, 15 minutes Monday night in New York and discussed the remaining obstacles to a collective bargaining agreement:

Player service time during the strike.

The union releasing owners from all damage claims stemming from the walkout.

Management’s desire to have three-man panels for salary arbitration in all years of the contract.

Talks began shortly before 7 p.m. PDT and are to resume today.

The owners’ labor committee held a conference call with management negotiator Randy Levine that lasted 3-1/2 hours Monday afternoon. Union leader Donald Fehr held a conference call with player representatives.

Players said there won’t be a deal unless they get credit for the 75 regular-season days that were wiped out by the 232-day strike. With those days, 20 additional players would become eligible for free agency this autumn, including Chuck Knoblauch, Moises Alou, Alex Fernandez, Bernard Gilkey and Tim Naehring.

Butler targets Sept. 6

Brett Butler, out of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup since May 1, has established Sept. 6 as the day he would like to return to the ballclub, and Sept. 9 at the latest, according to his wife, Eveline.

The Butlers have been in New Orleans since Aug. 5, when he began a program designed to bring him back from cancer surgery and radiation treatment, and to prepare him to return to the Dodgers.

The plan is to continue his work with trainer Mackey Shilstone until Aug. 23. He then will return to his home outside of Atlanta in order to be examined by doctors.

If he is cleared, Butler could join the club in Montreal on Aug. 27 and spend the next 10 days working out under the guidance of the club physical therapist.

Seay off list

The Chicago White Sox, unable to reach a contract agreement with top draft pick Bobby Seay, have asked the commissioner’s office to remove him from their negotiating list.

Seay, an 18-year-old left-handed pitcher from Sarasota, Fla., had filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office, claiming the White Sox had failed to offer him a contract within 15 days of the June 4 draft. No ruling has been made on the complaint.

Seay was 9-2 with an 0.70 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 14 games with Sarasota High last season. He was the 12th player chosen in the draft.

Seay has said he may attend the University of Miami if he did not sign with a major league team.

Clearing the bases

Mets pitcher Jason Isringhausen has only three complete games in 38 major-league starts. … Last year, the Cleveland Indians were 54-18 at Jacobs Field. Since June 21 this year, they are 10-13 at home.