THE BASEBALL STRIKE : Radinsky Still Not Satisfied

Play ball?

Scott Radinsky would love to. In fact, Radinsky said, he is more eager to return to the playing field than any other major leaguer.

Yet Radinsky, a left-handed reliever for the Chicago White Sox and former star for Simi Valley High, was not satisfied Friday with the news that players had agreed to end their 232-day strike after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, ordering owners to restore provisions of baseball’s expired collective-bargaining agreement.

And as uncertainty prevailed as to whether players would report for an abbreviated spring training before starting the season, or be locked out by owners, Radinsky was certain of one thing: This was not the news he had been waiting for.

“It just sounds like the same old (stuff),” he said.

Radinsky, who last pitched in a game during the 1993 American League championship series, is tired of waiting.

He missed the entire 1994 season--all 4 1/2 months of it--because of Hodgkin’s disease, which doctors diagnosed during spring training.

Since then Radinsky, who as a senior in 1986 led the Pioneers to a No. 1 national ranking and the Southern Section finals, has served as pitching coach at his alma mater while undergoing eight months of treatment for the disease.

All traces of the illness have vanished, Radinsky said, and his arm is in good condition. “I’m ready to go throw 15 or 20 pitches in a game right now,” he said.

Radinsky plans to spend the weekend awaiting word from player-union representatives on whether to report. Owners are expected to meet this weekend in Chicago to vote on a lockout.

But returning to his full-time profession while owners and players remain without a new agreement doesn’t make sense, Radinsky said.

“If we go back and play baseball without a deal . . . then all season long they’re going to be talking about going on strike,” Radinsky said. “What’s the point of that? I just want to go back and play a baseball season knowing that every day we’re going to be trying to win, not worrying in the back of our minds about ‘We’re going on strike, this is the date.’

“I don’t want to deal with that (stuff) anymore. I’m tired of that.”

Radinsky said he would rather see the season go forward with replacement players until an agreement is reached.

Likewise, Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers would not mind having his former ace around a bit longer. “We’ve kind of grown accustomed to having him here,” Scyphers said.

But for now, Radinsky will wait and see if he will be pitching soon.

“Just hang out,” Radinsky said of his immediate plans. “I’ll find out on TV, just like everybody else. I’m either going to get locked out or go back and play. I don’t have much of a choice.”