WORLD SERIES / CINCINNATI REDS VS. OAKLAND ATHLETICS : NOTES : No Dissension as Far as La Russa Is Concerned

Manager Tony La Russa said Friday his remarks about Jose Canseco’s outfield play Wednesday reflected an honesty that characterized his manner all season and did not indicate dissension on the Oakland club.

La Russa had said Canseco should have been able to catch a fly ball by Billy Hatcher that became a triple and began an eighth-inning rally by the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium. However, he stressed that he did not say the play had cost Oakland the game.

“It happens all the time here, a guy saying, ‘I don’t think somebody’s quite right,’ ” he said. “You people (reporters) lose credibility when you try to make something of that. If Stew (Dave Stewart) says Jose was distracted or I say he should make a play, it’s not dissension.”

Stewart, who lost Game 1 and will start again tonight in Game 4, did not consider his comment about Canseco’s lack of concentration either newsworthy or devastating. He said he had spoken with Canseco about it several times during the season and meant it as helpful advice rather than criticism.

“I didn’t see it to be that fatal when I say that he’s not bringing his total attention to each at-bat,” Stewart said. “It’s what I feel is distracting him from doing his job. I’m sure if he thought there was something I was doing that was distracting me, (he would say it) as constructive criticism. . . . I think sometimes ball-and-strike calls are big distractions for him. Not just Jose, but if you allow other things to interfere, it makes the one job you have to do tougher.”

Never reticent, Stewart said, “It’s going to be tough for (the Reds) to win” tonight because he’s enjoying the comforts of home. Stewart gave up four runs in four innings Tuesday night in the A’s Series-opening 7-0 loss at Cincinnati.

“I like pitching on three days’ rest versus five or versus four. I feel a lot more in control of what my body’s doing and of my natural stuff,” he said. “I’m pitching in a situation I like to pitch in with the fourth day. I’m real comfortable in this ballpark and I’ve had a chance to see that ballclub and see what they’re capable of.”

Outfielder Willie McGee and Stewart will probably be fined for arriving at the Oakland Coliseum less than an hour before Friday’s game.

A’s spokesman Jay Alves said both players thought the game started at 8:30 p.m., instead of the actual 5:30 p.m. start.

McGee arrived at about 4:30 p.m., missing batting practice, and Stewart arrived at 4:50 p.m. Neither was in Friday’s starting lineup, but Stewart was 15 minutes late for a news conference in which he discussed his thoughts about starting Game 4 tonight.

Stewart made the ceremonial first pitch to honor his selection as the 1990 Roberto Clemente Award winner for community involvement.

McGee hit for Mike Gallego in the seventh inning and struck out against reliever Rob Dibble.

Jose Rijo, who will oppose Stewart tonight, said his initial concerns over a blood blister on the middle finger of his right hand have proven unfounded. Rijo pitched seven shutout innings in Game 1 before raising the blister, which he said he’d never had before.

“I don’t think it will interfere in any way,” he said. “People think it’s going to be a big deal but it won’t be.”

Reflecting on his experiences as a player in the Oakland Coliseum, Red Manager Lou Piniella said: “I never liked to hit here, but I think it had more to do with (former A’s pitchers) Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman and Rollie Fingers than the stadium itself.

“Playing is more fun than managing, but I get more satisfaction out of coming here (to the Series) as a manager because I feel I was more responsible for it.”

Billy Hatcher’s World Series-record hitting streak ended in the first inning, when he grounded into a double play. Hatcher had five doubles and two singles (plus two walks) in his first seven Series at-bats. He was two for five Friday night.

Third base umpire Larry Barnett was unable to work Friday’s game because of the flu.

He was replaced by Bruce Froemming, a National League umpire who was working for CBS as an analyst on matters involving umpires. This is Froemming’s fourth World Series.

The home run by Oakland’s Harold Baines in the second inning was only the 10th by a designated hitter since the DH became part of the World Series in 1976.

It was the first time a player hit a home run in his first at-bat as a designated hitter.

Commissioner Fay Vincent said he is guardedly hopeful that talks with the National Assn. of Professional Baseball Leagues, which governs the minor leagues, will produce a new bargaining agreement in the next few weeks, allowing the major leagues to conduct their annual winter meetings in conjunction with the minor league convention, scheduled for Los Angeles in late November and early December.

If there is no agreement, Vincent said, the major leagues will meet elsewhere--reportedly in Dallas.

The commissioner also said he continues to dislike the designated hitter rule and the impact it has on managerial moves and strategy, and may make a new attempt to have the American League revoke it.

Times staff writers Ross Newhan and Bill Plaschke contributed to this story.