League Baseball Players

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Once again, the baseball labor talks have moved across the emotional spectrum, this time from hope to despair. Negotiations have deteriorated to the point where it seems unlikely that the 1995 season will be spared the prospect of replacement ball."

Whether Robert "Lanky" Bilbrough, who grew up cheering for the late but not always lamented Philadelphia Athletics, fits the profile of an average baseball fan can't be arbitrarily decided, but it's his contention that he does -- a so-called member of the silent majority.Admittedly, it's one man's opinion. But he insists that as a spectator he is entitled to offer an observation, the same as any player, club owner or sportswriter. It's obvious from the tone of his talk that Bilbrough is not for keeping his feelings to himself.

THE BASEBALL offseason went by so fast, I'm starting to suspect it was on steroids, too. The newly relocated Washington Nationals are scheduled to report to their spring training base in Viera, Fla., tomorrow and open pitcher and catcher workouts Thursday. The Orioles aren't in quite the same hurry. They report Saturday and hold their first official workout a week from today, with all the position players due in camp late next week. But it's still difficult to believe they're already breaking out the bats and balls again.

News item: Former Sen. George J. Mitchell sent a letter to the Major League Baseball Players Association last month requesting that 45 more players cooperate with his steroid probe. My take: Didn't he announce a couple of months ago that he was close to wrapping this thing up? Maybe I'm just a cynic, but the only thing we don't really know already is what happens when you multiply 45 more players by six lawyers by $350 per hour. Related news item: St. Louis Cardinals pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel, the feel-good story of the baseball season, has joined the list of high-profile athletes implicated in the Albany hGH probe.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Baseball's winter meetings meandered through another uneventful day as frustrated player agents milled around the Opryland Hotel trying to market players that no one seems to want. It is an odd spectacle. Multiple Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux, who was 16-6 with a 2.62 ERA last year, remains unsigned and seemingly underpursued. Superstar catcher Ivan Rodriguez has garnered public interest from just the Orioles and the Chicago Cubs. Dozens of lesser players sit home wondering when - or if - the phone is going to ring.

San Francisco Giants first baseman Matt Williams was on pace to hit 61 home runs. San Diego Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn was flirting with a .400 batting average. Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas had an outside shot at baseball's first Triple Crown since 1968.That's where baseball was a year ago today -- on its way to one of the most exciting offensive seasons in history. But a year ago tomorrow, the Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike and the sport headed into an economic and political storm that still has not abated.

RYE BROOK, N.Y. -- The baseball labor dispute edged closer to a declared impasse last night with an emotional and contentious negotiating session that lasted past midnight but apparently did little to bridge the wide philosophical gap between the players and owners.Management officials had expressed optimism on Sunday that their modified taxation plan could open the door to a negotiated settlement in baseball's protracted labor dispute, but that was before the complicated proposal was picked apart by union economists.

NEW YORK -- The resumption of collective bargaining in the 13-day baseball strike brought together individual players and owners for the first time, but that did not lead to any significant change in the position of either side.If there was any progress, it did not come so much at the bargaining table as in the cordial dialogue during the nearly seven hours of meetings yesterday at New York's Intercontinental Hotel.The good news is that both sides seem to understand each other. The bad news is that there was no misunderstanding in the first place.

MILWAUKEE - Baseball's annual All-Star festival has everything a fan could want, but the 73rd midsummer classic will be played in the shadow of everything that baseball fans have come to fear. The All-Stars will come out tonight at Miller Park for what is supposed to be the sport's most fan-friendly event. Curt Schilling will start against Derek Lowe in a dynamic pitching matchup. Super-sluggers Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa will bat in the same lineup. Milwaukee, long one of baseball's backwater towns, will be the center of the baseball universe.

Those three "wise men," known as Selig, Harrington & Fehr, are hoping to return baseball to its earthly state. They ride not on the backs of camels nor follow a star in the heavens. It's the money machine that drives them.Still another meeting is scheduled this week between the owners of the major-league teams and the Major League Baseball Players Association. If a settlement is reached, they'll describe it as a "Christmas present for the fans." Believe that and you deserve to be institutionalized, taken off to a padded cell where you won't be a danger to yourself or the lives of others.