Replacement Games

NEW YORK -- This was supposed to be Opening Day, but it appears that everything about the 1995 baseball season -- including the actual day that regular season games will begin -- remains open to question.Baseball owners decided yesterday to cancel tonight's replacement opener between the New York Mets and Florida Marlins, and it became apparent last night that teams already are beginning to disband replacement rosters.The Associated Press, citing an unnamed source, reported late last night that the players and owners had tentatively agreed to start the season on Wednesday, April 26, if there isn't a lockout.

Morgan State's quest for a third consecutive winning football season has become a little more difficult with the addition of Division I-A San Jose State to the schedule. The Spartans from the Western Athletic Conference will entertain the Bears on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m., replacing I-AA Towson University on the Morgan schedule. "It's a wonderful opportunity for our program," said Morgan athletic director Dave Thomas. "We began talking to San Jose in January, and the game just recently became official."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The baseball labor negotiations fell apart yesterday, leaving little hope that the 1995 season can be spared the prospect of replacement games.Major League Baseball Players Association head Donald Fehr went home to New York after expressing disgust at ownership's latest proposal. Most of the ownership contingent headed for Palm Beach, Fla., where the owners will begin a three-day meeting tomorrow to work on expansion and discuss the deteriorating labor situation."There is no use staying here," said special mediator William J. Usery.

Are the New York Jets better off without wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson? That's the soap-opera story line in today's showdown of unbeatens, the Jets at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which has been touted as "The Final Say by the Bay." For Johnson, it's his long-awaited opportunity to stick it to the team that traded him to the Buccaneers in April for two first-round draft choices. For the Jets, it's their only chance to silence Johnson. "I think you can always replace a guy statistically, but you can't replace that magic that he brings," Johnson said.

NEW YORK -- With President Clinton already on the record with his views of the baseball shutdown and Congress preparing for hearings on the game's antitrust exemption, state and city politicians are joining the battle to get striking players back on the field.Richard Brodsky, Democratic assemblyman from New York's Westchester County, said Monday he would introduce a bill in the New York State Assembly Tuesday that would prevent the Mets and the Yankees from playing games with replacement players in Shea and Yankee Stadiums.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hours after the Orioles called up left-hander Jimmy Hurst from Triple-A Rochester yesterday, to replace the disabled Arthur Rhodes, they released Hurst when they found out he had been a replacement player during the spring."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Suppose the strike continues. Suppose the Orioles stand pat and decline to participate in replacement games once the regular season starts.Now suppose that some Orioles major-leaguer, desperate for money, crosses the picket line and tells the team he's ready to play -- for a team that's not playing.What will the Orioles do then?This brain teaser, a real possibility if yesterday's National Labor Relations Board decision does not end the strike, is something the Orioles' front office hasn't thought about much.

Besides the prospect of playing in a major-league ballpark or creating space for themselves in the Baseball Encyclopedia, the primary draw for the replacement players was money. Lots of quick cash.Now they may never get the big payoff, because owners may postpone or even cancel the replacement games. Going ahead with replacements could cost some teams at least $960,000.Each replacement player receives a $5,000 signing bonus, payable April 16. Many teams have already signed all or most of their replacement players, so that money is gone.

Good thing Peter Angelos saved himself the expense of buying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now he can use the money to fight Major League Baseball in court.For some crazy reason, Angelos doesn't want to join commissioner Bud Selig and the rest of the dinosaur capitalists plotting to desecrate the national pastime.Selig insists that each of the 28 clubs would be required to field replacement teams, but let's see him prove it. Let's see him force Angelos to play Buddy Ball.What can Selig do, order the Orioles to forfeit their replacement games?

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hours after the Orioles called up left-hander Jimmy Hurst from Triple-A Rochester yesterday, to replace the disabled Arthur Rhodes, they released Hurst when they found out he had been a replacement player during the spring."

The members of the Major League Baseball Players Association laughed at the replacement games last March. No way the caliber of those games, the big-leaguers insisted, is anything close to the product produced by real big-leaguers.And they were absolutely correct. Replacement games were dominated by pitchers with 80-mph fastballs, hitters who couldn't drive the ball out of most parks. The fans ignored the games during the exhibition season. In the end, the replacement games were a moot issue, having zero effect on the ultimate truce arranged by owners and players.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hours after the Orioles called up left-hander Jimmy Hurst from Triple-A Rochester yesterday, to replace the disabled Arthur Rhodes, they released Hurst when they found out he had been a replacement player during the spring."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hours after the Orioles called up left-hander Jimmy Hurst from Triple-A Rochester yesterday, to replace the disabled Arthur Rhodes, they released Hurst when they found out he had been a replacement player during the spring."

NEW YORK -- This was supposed to be Opening Day, but it appears that everything about the 1995 baseball season -- including the actual day that regular season games will begin -- remains open to question.Baseball owners decided yesterday to cancel tonight's replacement opener between the New York Mets and Florida Marlins, and it became apparent last night that teams already are beginning to disband replacement rosters.The Associated Press, citing an unnamed source, reported late last night that the players and owners had tentatively agreed to start the season on Wednesday, April 26, if there isn't a lockout.

Besides the prospect of playing in a major-league ballpark or creating space for themselves in the Baseball Encyclopedia, the primary draw for the replacement players was money. Lots of quick cash.Now they may never get the big payoff, because owners may postpone or even cancel the replacement games. Going ahead with replacements could cost some teams at least $960,000.Each replacement player receives a $5,000 signing bonus, payable April 16. Many teams have already signed all or most of their replacement players, so that money is gone.

More and more broadcast outlets are turning away from the stench of baseball replacement player games.Cincinnati's WLWT-TV has announced that it does not want to carry tomorrow's Reds exhibition game, thanks to lack of interest from advertisers. WLW-AM, the longtime radio home of the Reds, is still waiting to hear from team owner Marge Schott about its desire to drop weekday coverage of Reds replacement games, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.KRON-TV in the San Francisco area will reduce the number of Oakland A's games it will carry.

More and more broadcast outlets are turning away from the stench of baseball replacement player games.Cincinnati's WLWT-TV has announced that it does not want to carry tomorrow's Reds exhibition game, thanks to lack of interest from advertisers. WLW-AM, the longtime radio home of the Reds, is still waiting to hear from team owner Marge Schott about its desire to drop weekday coverage of Reds replacement games, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.KRON-TV in the San Francisco area will reduce the number of Oakland A's games it will carry.

The members of the Major League Baseball Players Association laughed at the replacement games last March. No way the caliber of those games, the big-leaguers insisted, is anything close to the product produced by real big-leaguers.And they were absolutely correct. Replacement games were dominated by pitchers with 80-mph fastballs, hitters who couldn't drive the ball out of most parks. The fans ignored the games during the exhibition season. In the end, the replacement games were a moot issue, having zero effect on the ultimate truce arranged by owners and players.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Suppose the strike continues. Suppose the Orioles stand pat and decline to participate in replacement games once the regular season starts.Now suppose that some Orioles major-leaguer, desperate for money, crosses the picket line and tells the team he's ready to play -- for a team that's not playing.What will the Orioles do then?This brain teaser, a real possibility if yesterday's National Labor Relations Board decision does not end the strike, is something the Orioles' front office hasn't thought about much.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The baseball labor negotiations fell apart yesterday, leaving little hope that the 1995 season can be spared the prospect of replacement games.Major League Baseball Players Association head Donald Fehr went home to New York after expressing disgust at ownership's latest proposal. Most of the ownership contingent headed for Palm Beach, Fla., where the owners will begin a three-day meeting tomorrow to work on expansion and discuss the deteriorating labor situation."There is no use staying here," said special mediator William J. Usery.