Commissioner Bud Selig

DETROIT - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig would love to use the sweeping powers of his office to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs ... if only his powers were as sweeping as some people would like to believe. Selig has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to join him in adopting a much tougher steroid-testing program than the one that currently appears to be working just fine, because the fact that it seems to be working is only half the battle. "I believe this is an integrity issue," Selig said yesterday.

DETROIT - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig would love to use the sweeping powers of his office to rid the sport of performance- enhancing drugs if only his powers were as sweeping as some people would like to believe. Selig has asked the Major League Baseball Players Association to join him in adopting a much tougher steroid-testing program than the one that currently appears to be working just fine, because the fact that it seems to be working is only half the battle. "I believe this is an integ rity issue."

Midnight was within an arm's reach. The bags were packed, and the players cleared out of the Orioles' clubhouse. Outside, even the few fans who stayed until the very end had filed out of the ballpark for the final time. The team had left. The fan base had left. And what exactly was everyone left with? Certainly not hope. The three remaining games at Tampa Bay are just formalities. This season is over. Wait till next year, right? Not exactly. Much of the optimism was doused this week, and it took only five words.

PITTSBURGH -- Baseball still has work to do to clean up performance-enhancing substances in the game, but its top official staunchly believes his sport is now the toughest on performance-enhancing substances. Commissioner Bud Selig, in his annual luncheon with the Baseball Writers' Association of America, continually championed baseball's revamped drug policy, pointing out that only one player has been suspended this season compared with a dozen in 2005. He also said he is especially proud of this year's agreement between baseball and the players union that bans amphetamines.

I can't believe that Major League Baseball has been sneaking around behind our backs the past few weeks, negotiating a new labor agreement without any fanfare or frightening headlines. What fun is that? The owners and the players union finally have figured out that labor peace actually has a dollar value all its own, so both sides were motivated to bargain quietly while baseball fans were distracted by an intriguing postseason. If they can get the thing on paper in time, commissioner Bud Selig can announce the agreement this week at the World Series.

The time for Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron's career home run record is fast approaching, which means it's also time for baseball commissioner Bud Selig to make a call: Should he be present when Bonds passes Aaron and takes possession of one of baseball's most hallowed records, or should he suddenly have, ahem, "something else to do" and skip the moment because Bonds is so closely linked to the steroid scandal staining the game? The longer Selig avoids making his plans known, the hotter the debate will get as Bonds approaches 755. (He has 745 after going 0-for-3 last night.

NEW YORK - Last night's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York ended too late to be included in this edition. A full report on the game can be found at baltimoresun.com. At his annual appearance before the Baseball Writers Association of America, commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday that the sport continues to prosper, partially because the attention is on the field of play these days and not peripheral issues that have haunted the game. Still, Selig acknowledged that some off-field matters still concern him, including federal investigations into bonus-skimming in the Dominican Republic and a gambling ring that reportedly enveloped former Orioles national crosschecker Alan Marr, who was fired in June.

THEY ARE high school kids, playing on this Saturday morning amid the ping of aluminum bats and the sizzle of a backstop barbecue grill. Some fans sit next to the dugout in lawn chairs. Others sit behind home plate on a picnic table. There is no loudspeaker, no scorecards, no music other than the shrill cry of an upset dad. But make no mistake. When the Calabasas (Calif.) High Coyotes take the field, they want to look and act like major leaguers, even the most notorious of them. Check out their baseball pants.

Major League Baseball apparently remains committed to disbanding two franchises, but commissioner Bud Selig hinted yesterday that the industry's controversial contraction plan probably won't be implemented before the 2002 season. "Baseball will contract," Selig said, after owners huddled for the second time in three weeks at the O'Hare Airport Hilton Hotel outside Chicago. "I can't give you a timetable today. Some things are out of our hands." The owners gathered to receive an update on the plan to reduce the number of franchises, but the only decision announced yesterday was that Selig's term as commissioner had been extended through 2006 by a unanimous vote of the 30 clubs.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds is only five home runs away from setting the all-time mark of 756, but baseball commissioner Bud Selig still hasn't decided whether he'll be in attendance for the historic clout. "I have made no decision yet," Selig said yesterday while speaking at the annual All-Star luncheon with members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "None, zero on the Barry Bonds situation." Earlier in the day, SI.com reported that Selig would be on hand for the home run, "barring something unforeseen and drastic."