Minor League Umpires Are on Deck to Call WBC

Associated Press
Thursday, February 23, 2006

While many of the best players are getting ready for the first World Baseball Classic, it appears the top umpires won't be calling the tournament.

Talks between Major League Baseball and its umpires' union broke down yesterday. The commissioner's office also has been negotiating with the Association of Minor League Umpires, and minor league umps are likely to officiate the 16-nation tournament, which runs from March 3-20.

"As of today's date, at this point it does not appear that major league umpires will be working the World Cup," World Umpires Association President John Hirschbeck said.

Rob Manfred, executive vice president for labor relations in the commissioner's office, has been handling talks with the umpires.

"No matter what happens, we will have umpires working these games that are familiar to major league fans because they will be, at a minimum, guys who have worked games as part of the fill-in process," Manfred said.

The tournament is being run by the commissioner's office and the MLB Players Association.

Gene Orza, the MLBPA's chief operating officer, said 22 to 24 minor league umpires would be used along with about eight international umpires. The major league umpires were seeking more money than WBC organizers were willing to pay.

"The umpires were looking for far too much," Orza said.

· DODGERS: Vin Scully agreed to return for his 58th and 59th seasons as a broadcaster with the team, accepting a two-year contract extension through 2008.

The 78-year-old Scully was typically humble.

"I've never had a press conference before, so I hope I don't mess up," he said in Los Angeles.

Scully's career with the team began in Brooklyn in 1950. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.

"All my career, all I have ever really done, all I ever have accomplished, is to talk about the accomplishments of others," Scully said. "We can't all be heroes. Somebody has to stand on the curb and applaud as the parade goes by."

· YANKEES: A city commission voted to approve a plan to build a new stadium for the club in the Bronx.

The unanimous approval by the City Planning Commission sends the plan for the privately financed $800 million project to the City Council, which must vote on final approval within two months.

"A new facility would be a benefit to both the Yankees and the city," Commission Chair Amanda Burden said.

The new ballpark will be just north of the current stadium, which opened in 1923, and the Yankees have said they hope to break ground this spring.

· BRAVES: Arthur Blank, a co-founder of Home Depot Inc. and owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, said he's no longer trying to buy the team.

In a statement through his AMB Group LLC, Blank said talks with Time Warner Inc. and its Atlanta-based Turner South cable network have been suspended.

Time Warner, the world's largest media company, put the Braves up for sale in December and had been in negotiations with Blank for the past two months. Time Warner acquired the ballclub in 1996 when it bought Ted Turner's Turner Broadcasting System Inc. . . .

Chipper Jones was missing something when he reported to spring training -- nearly 20 pounds. Jones said his weight dropped from 228 to 210 while he had stomach flu.

"If I turn sideways, I disappear until I stick my tongue out," Jones joked.

· RANGERS: Outfielder David Dellucci decided not to play for the Italian national team in the WBC.

"I'm not going," Dellucci said. "I'm 100 percent Italian and my family makes a trip there once a year. That made it a tough decision."

Dellucci, in his third year with the Rangers, is fighting for an outfield spot and is expected to see duty as a designated hitter.

· BLUE JAYS: Center fielder Vernon Wells probably will miss the first round of the WBC because of a left leg injury.

Wells, who won his second straight Gold Glove last season, is among 30 players on the U.S. roster for the tournament.