NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig exxpected "potholes" along the way in his plan for contraction, but the Players Association is trying to set up a roadblock.
Gene Orza, the union's associate general counsel, has confirmed the Players Association filed a grievance immediately after Selig announced on Tuesday that baseball's owners had begun the process of eliminating two teams before next season.
The grievance charges that the owners violated their collective bargaining agreement, which expired at midnight Wednesday, by unilaterally deciding to fold two teams. The union claims the contract, which rolls over until a new deal is negotiated, requires the owners to consult with the players before it can eliminate teams.
Shyam Das, baseball's impartial arbitrator, will hold a hearing which the owners hope to expedite in order to proceed with their plans.
Management lawyers presented an outline of their plans on contraction and player distribution in the form of a dispersal draft Thursday at the Players Association's offices in Manhattan. The meeting, first between the sides since the owners voted to reduce the major leagues to 28 teams, included Players Association executive director Don Fehr, Orza, Paul Beeston, Major League Baseball chief operating officer, and Rob Manfred, executive vice president for labor relations.
Baseball's owners voted 28-2 on Tuesday to allow Selig to pursue the elimination of two teams, likely the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins.
Despite the union's grievance, at least two players favor contraction.
Expos reliever Scott Strickland told a radio network Thursday that contraction "has to be done" and salaries "have definitely gotten out of control."
In an interview with ABC Sports Radio Network on Thursday afternoon, Strickland did not seem to flinch when discussing contraction, even though his team is among those believed to be among the leading candidates.
"I've realized it has to be done," Strickland told the radio station. "We're struggling in Montreal. It's really no fun playing in front of a few thousand fans every night."
En route to losing 94 games, the Expos drew 642,743 fans to Olympic Stadium, an average of just 7,935 per contest. Their total attendance was half the total of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the next lowest team.
Free agent pitcher David Wells also understands the need for contraction.
"A lot of these teams aren't generating no revenue," Wells said.
"They're not getting the fans in there."
In addition to the Expos and Twins, it is believed the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays are being considered as teams whose ownership possibly would receive $250 million apiece to fold their franchises.
"We are going to operate as usual," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "We are going to go about our business and see exactly what transpires in the next month or so. There's not a whole lot you can do.
"Our names come out in the forefront of possible contraction, but until someone tells us different, we are going to go about our business and do things the way we've done it in the past."
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