When Commissioner Bud Selig announced Thursday that the season would be extended by a week to replay the games postponed because of terrorist attacks, he said the integrity of the 162-game schedule had to be maintained.
White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko said Tuesday that if the owners follow that logic they won’t be able to lock out the players next spring if a new collective-bargaining agreement is not reached with the players union.
“If we lose 10 games next season because of a lockout, that would take away from the integrity of the schedule as well,” Konerko said. “Hopefully [Selig] feels the same way when he’s negotiating against us. . . . If it’s integral now to play 162, then we have to play them next year too. I don’t want to hear, `Oh, well, we can’t get something done.’ I think I speak for a lot of players. We don’t want to be locked out or to strike.”
Konerko agreed that in light of last week’s tragedy, it’s hard to imagine the players and owners getting into another extended labor fight over money. He understands that the public would likely be appalled at another work stoppage, no matter which side was blamed the most.
“If something happens in baseball [and it shuts down], honestly, I don’t think people would even care,” Konerko said. “They’d say, `You guys aren’t going to agree on this? We have people dying.’ It would be like saying, `We don’t care.’ The best thing might be to extend [the negotiating] for one more year and do it next off-season.”
Durham down: First-base coach Gary Pettis and Ray Durham both were ejected by first-base umpire Mike Winters during the bottom of the sixth inning after Durham hit a shot down the first-base line that Winters ruled a foul ball.
Pettis was ejected first for arguing the call and Durham was thrown out while banging his bat around in the dugout after subsequently striking out. After getting the thumb, Durham shot out of the dugout and headed toward first. Jose Valentin put a bear hug on Durham and stopped him from getting to Winters, perhaps saving him from a lengthy suspension.
Manager Jerry Manuel said Durham was taken over by “the emotions and heat of the battle.”
“That was a turning point as far as us having any momentum,” Manuel said. “We really never got it.”
Wandering minds? Manuel was asked whether his players’ minds would wander after the events of last week.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Baseball is funny. You always kind of hurry for the end, and then when the end happens, you hurry for it to start again. Those days off have probably, for the most part, rejuvenated people to get back to what they love doing, and that’s playing baseball. Hopefully everyone can take it up to a level where it can be entertaining and exciting for the country.”
Sox files: Sandy Alomar Jr. was taken off the disabled list Tuesday. Alomar said he still can’t catch right now but would be available for pinch-hitting duty. . . . Manuel said Rocky Biddle would pitch out of the bullpen the rest of the season because of continued soreness in his shoulder. . . . The Yankees are 26-3 in Roger Clemens starts heading into Wednesday night, when Clemens faces Gary Glover. Clemens is the first right-hander to win 19 of his first 20 decisions. No pitcher has won 20 of his first 21.
