Players likely to set strike date Monday

NEW YORK -- Baseball players are likely to set a strike date for later this month or early September when their executive board meets Monday in Chicago, two lawyers familiar with the union's deliberations said.

"If we don't make a deal by Monday, then we will probably be forced to act, but it's not inevitable," Arizona player representative Craig Counsell said Friday.

"I think sometimes unless you set a deadline, things don't get done," Florida's Mike Lowell said. "The irony is that setting a strike date might avoid a strike."

Union head Donald Fehr said it was too early to determine what action would be taken by the board, which includes two representatives of each team plus two players representing each league.

"It depends on what happens over the weekend," Fehr said. "We will go through all the options with the player, and the players will decide what they need to do."

While it's possible the players might pick a range of dates for a strike, they probably will pick just one date, the two lawyers said, speaking on condition they not be identified.

On July 28, 1994, the executive board set a strike date for Aug. 12. The walkout lasted 232 days, ending only after a federal judge issued an injunction restoring the work rules of the expired contract.

This time, players have seemed reluctant to set a deadline that could trigger the sport's ninth work stoppage since 1972. However, they would rather set a date than take the chance of being locked out following the World Series.

"We've pushed this back as far as we could as far as setting a date," Arizona pitcher Mike Myers said. "We could have earlier in the summer and we chose not to. Now we've decided that Monday is going to be the day."

Negotiators from both sides have repeatedly expressed optimism in the talks, but the sides have avoided discussing the most difficult economic issues, preferring to make progress on lesser topics.

"I remain cautiously optimistic about our ability to reach an agreement in the near future," Rob Manfred, the owner's top labor lawyer said. Asked when, he replied: "I don't want to talk about specific dates."

Owners made a counterproposal on drug testing Friday and both sides discussed the amateur draft. However, they did not spend much time on the key economic issues of increased revenue sharing and a luxury-tax on high-payroll teams. Negotiators planned to work through the weekend.