AROUND THE MAJORS

Cecil Fielder was cut for the second time this season, this time by the Cleveland Indians.

Fielder, who will turn 35 next week, was five for 35 with the Indians (.143), who signed him Aug. 13 after he was released by the Angels. He struck out 13 times and didn’t drive in any runs.

*

Prospective Florida Marlin owner John Henry said he hopes to meet next week with Manager Jim Leyland, who has yet to announce whether he’ll return in 1999.

Henry said his goal is to complete a purchase agreement with founding owner H. Wayne Huizenga the week of Sept. 28, and he hopes that baseball owners will approve the $150-million deal by Oct. 31.

Leyland, 53, has three years remaining on his contract, but the terms allow him to quit and receive a $500,000 severance if the team is sold.

*

Chicago Cub rookie pitcher Kerry Wood said that he plans to have another full throwing session to determine if he can return to the rotation before the end of the season.

Wood, who tied a major league record in May by striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, was diagnosed last week with a sprained elbow ligament. He has missed three starts and hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 31.

*

Mike Veeck, the son of former major league owner Bill Veeck, was hired as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Mike Veeck, 47, has been out of the major leagues since his father sold the Chicago White Sox on Jan. 29, 1981, to a group headed by current White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

*

Former Angel Ruben Amaro Jr. will join the Philadelphia Phillies’ front office at the end of the season as assistant general manager. Amaro, 33, is hitting .190 as a reserve outfielder for the Phillies.

*

New York State Supreme Court Justice Richard Braun ruled that the change-of-venue motion to move Yankee Stadium to Manhattan must be filed in the Bronx, where the original lawsuit originated.

Jonathan Pines, a lawyer for the city, said that as soon as he heard about Braun’s ruling, he filed the change-of-venue motion in the Bronx.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been trying to develop a plan to move the Yankees from the Bronx to a new taxpayer-financed stadium in Manhattan. But when City Council President Peter Vallone called for a referendum to let taxpayers decide whether to pay for a stadium, Giuliani established the City Charter Revision Commission. By law, a Charter Commission referendum keeps any other referendum off the ballot.