A's part ways with Macha

Ken Macha will walk away from the Oakland Athletics after seven years with fresh memories of another winning season, despite a young and injury-depleted lineup.

He hopes potential employers appreciate that, too.

Macha was out of a job as A's manager Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract, which he called one of several "massive disappointments" in his tenure.

"Who knows how the rest of baseball views you?" Macha said hours after general manager Billy Beane announced there would be no further negotiations to keep the third-year skipper.

Macha led the A's to the AL West title in his first year as manager in 2003, the club's fourth straight playoff berth. But Oakland failed to reach the postseason the past two years despite a 91-win season in 2004 and 88 victories this year.

"We offered a three-year deal with a club option and they countered with a three-year deal without a club option," Beane said on a conference call. "I don't think we were ever going to be able to bridge the gap. It was a significant gap."

The option would have allowed the A's to decide whether to keep Macha after three seasons.

"There are no hard feelings whatsoever," Beane said. "This is part of the business."

Macha was 275-211 in three seasons with the A's. He came to Oakland in 1999 following four seasons as a manager in Boston's farm system. He was promoted from bench coach when Art Howe left for the New York Mets following the 2002 season.

Baseball, union negotiating

Baseball and its players are still negotiating over a tougher drug-testing agreement, commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday, one week after union head Donald Fehr testified a new agreement could be in place before the end of the World Series.

"There's been no change," Selig said while watching the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in the first round of playoffs. "I'm very hopeful. We need to get it done."

In an April 25 letter to the union, Selig called for a 50-game suspension for an initial positive test, a 100-game ban for second-time offenders and a lifetime ban for a third violation. But Fehr rejected that proposal, saying it was meant to quiet criticisms of baseball's current policy, not deter steroid use. Instead, Fehr said players are willing to accept a 20-game penalty instead of 10 days for first-time steroid offenders along with tests for amphetamine use.

-- From wire reports