BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Keeper Steinbrenner Is Out, but Yankees Are Still Bronx Zoo

Who needs George Steinbrenner? The New York Yankees can resemble the Bronx Zoo without their banned owner.

Angered and frustrated by his inability to make an offer to any free agent because his superiors, Leonard Kleinman and Robert Nederlander, have delayed in providing budget guidelines, General Manager Gene Michael reportedly staged a midday walkout last week.

“There’s a definite clash taking place in the Yankee front office,” said Los Angeles agent Alan Meersand, who represents free-agent third baseman Steve Buechele.

“It was 10 days ago that Michael told me he’d love to have Steve, that he wanted him, that he’d have an offer to me by the end of that week.

“I’m still waiting. They seem unable to have even a preliminary discussion. Maybe they want to catch the Cleveland Indians.

“They have to realize that players aren’t dying to play in New York anymore. They have to be aggressive. They lost out on two third basemen (Gary Gaetti and Terry Pendleton) last year. I thought they’d go hard at Steve.”

Meersand is seeking a four-year, $13-million deal for Buechele, who went from the Texas Rangers to the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August and hit 22 homers for the year, drove in 85 runs and led major league third baseman with only seven errors.

Meersand left Los Angeles Friday to meet with an unspecified Eastern club, one of about a dozen he has heard from, he said, including the Dodgers, whose interest has yet to evolve into an offer or meeting.

The Pirates, facing the possible loss of free agents Bobby Bonilla and Mike LaValliere as well, have offered Buechele four years at $10.5 million--his best offer through Friday.

Michael can only sit and steam as Buechele seems to slip away, Bronx native Bonilla gets romanced coast to coast and the cross-town Mets make a run at every leading free agent.

“There’s nothing I can do until the money is spelled out,” said Michael, knowing it might be too late by then.

The San Diego Padres’ withdrawal from the pursuit of free-agent outfielder Danny Tartabull was viewed by some as an indication that they are close to completing a trade for Eric Davis that would send Bip Roberts, Thomas Howard and pitcher Jose Melendez to Cincinnati.

The negotiations might resume today, when Red owner Marge Schott and Manager Lou Piniella are expected to return from a trip to Japan, where they were probably celebrating their steal of pitcher Greg Swindell from the Cleveland Indians.

Davis is one year away from free agency, and the Reds want more than a draft choice for him. They no longer tolerate his frequent absences from the lineup and believe Reggie Sanders is ready to replace him in center field. Roberts would play left, improving their speed.

The Padres are confident that Davis would be invigorated by the cooler weather of San Diego, the grass playing surface and a reunion with Greg Riddoch, his first pro manager and the man who moved him from shortstop to the outfield.

Both Davis, who played in only 89 games last season and 127 the season before, and the Padres apparently would worry about a contract extension later.

“We would do our best to keep him there because that’s where he wants to be--San Diego or L.A.,” said his agent, Eric Goldschmidt.

“I wouldn’t expect the Padres to ask permission to talk to me first. I think they would trade for him, see how he acclimates, then deal with the contract later.”

The announcement of his selection as the National League’s most valuable player gave Terry Pendleton a platform from which to urge the Atlanta Braves to re-sign Otis Nixon, who will begin the 1992 season with about 15 days left on his 60-day drug suspension.

“I can’t stand here and say we would have won without him,” Pendleton said of the Braves’ pennant and Nixon’s impact after his acquisition on the eve of the season. “Nothing against Lonnie (Smith), but Otis did things at leadoff no one else did. We need to do whatever it takes to keep him. Losing him would hurt a lot.”

Nixon, 32, appeared in 124 games, stealing 72 bases and batting .297. The Braves, responding to his imminent free agency, were in the process of negotiating a multiyear contract when Nixon was suspended. They have since made a one-year offer for about $150,000 more than his 1991 salary of $550,000.

Nixon is still hoping for a multiyear deal, agent Joe Sroba said. The Angels, rebuilding with speed and managed by Buck Rodgers, who liked Nixon when they were together in Montreal, would seem to be a realistic possibility.

Pendleton said no one should worry about Nixon’s condition--physically or emotionally.

“Otis keeps himself in great shape,” Pendleton said. “He’ll be able to play two or three years down the line.”

Tom Trebelhorn, former Milwaukee Brewer manager, was so impressive in his interview for the Chicago Cubs’ managerial job that General Manager Larry Himes is believed to have made it a requisite of Jim Lefebvre’s hiring that he agree to include Trebelhorn on his coaching staff--either at third base or as dugout lieutenant, with Chuck Cottier taking the other role.

The irony of that is Trebelhorn and Lefebvre weren’t on good terms as rival American League managers. Lefebvre, then managing the Seattle Mariners, blamed Trebelhorn for inciting a 1990 brawl between the teams, and Trebelhorn said Lefebvre’s comments on his role were the reason Trebelhorn drew a five-day suspension.

There were other incidents, but Trebelhorn said of the chance to coach for the Cubs: “I could work like a demon for Jim Lefebvre. We’ve always competed hard against each other--in the minors and majors--but we’ve always respected each other both personally and professionally.”

Lefebvre was the runner-up when Himes, then general manager of the White Sox, selected Jeff Torborg as that club’s manager in 1989, opting for Torborg because he was more pitching-oriented and because owner Jerry Reinsdorf already had hired Walt Hrniak as hitting instructor. That was Lefebvre’s area of expertise and likely to create a conflict. “I don’t believe in cloning hitters,” Lefebvre said after his hiring by the Cubs, a shot at Hrniak.

Philadelphia Phillie General Manager Lee Thomas, having made a five-year offer estimated at $23 million to Bobby Bonilla, said he feels strongly that Bonilla is determined to remain in the National League East, meaning it comes down to the Phillies, Cubs, Pirates or Mets. “We like him and I think he knows we like him, but we’re not going to get into a bidding war where it’s another $1 million every time the phone rings,” Thomas said.

Even more than the money or the hard times the Pirates have put him through contractually, the one thing mitigating against his possible return to Pittsburgh is Bonilla’s conviction that the team still would probably disintegrate, with Buechele and LaValliere probably leaving this year and Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek leaving next year.

Baseball Notes

On his decision to cancel a scheduled meeting with Bobby Bonilla, pull out of negotiations with Wally Joyner and just say no to Danny Tartabull, St. Louis Cardinal General Manager Dal Maxvill said: “I think they’re fine players, but I don’t think any are $25- to $30-million guys.” Fearing what may happen in the next TV negotiations, the Cardinals also will let first baseman Pedro Guerrero leave as a free agent and pursue a trade for Montreal’s Andres Galarraga, with Gerald Perry available as insurance.

The White Sox have narrowed their list of managerial candidates to Larry Bowa, Rene Lachemann, Gene Lamont and Terry Bevington.

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, said that he will attempt to arrange a peace meeting with Kal Daniels and Darryl Strawberry, although it won’t be necessary if Daniels is traded. Clubhouse morale is important, but the need for right-handed balance is critical. The Dodgers had a league-low .243 batting average against left-handed pitching, with the switch-hitting Eddie Murray batting .217, a key reason the Dodgers are offering Murray only a one-year contract.

Several teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, are waiting until Dec. 7 to put a major move on Dave Winfield, the Angel free agent. If the Angels do not offer arbitration on that date, and they are not expected to, the club that signs Winfield does not have to give up a draft choice as compensation. . . . Cecil Fielder is the ninth player to finish second in the MVP voting in consecutive years. Of the previous eight, seven are in the Hall of Fame, and the eighth, Eddie Murray, might be headed there.

The San Francisco Giants have reportedly offered Willie McGee for Kansas City Royal pitcher Kevin Appier, probably the most wanted pitcher on the trading block since Swindell was traded. The Royals, anticipating the loss of Tartabull’s 31 homers and 100 RBI, are hoping to rebuild their offense, with the idea that they will again have to play a Whitey Herzog speed game on the artificial turf.