Beltre Ruling Doesn’t Stop Dodgers

Business as usual?

That seems to be the case for the Dodgers in the Dominican Republic, even though Commissioner Bud Selig’s ruling in the Adrian Beltre case apparently said that they were out of business there for a year.

Selig concluded that the Dodgers had signed Beltre before his 16th birthday, a violation, and ruled in late December that the Dodgers: (1) could not sign any first-year players from the Dominican Republic for a year, (2) would have to close their Dominican academy for a year, (3) would be fined $50,000, and (4) would have to suspend Pablo Peguero, the scout who signed Beltre, and Ralph Avila, who formerly headed the club’s Dominican operation, for a year.

Since then, only the suspensions of Peguero and Avila, who had already retired, have been implemented, although the Dodgers are said to be closing the academy.

The Dodgers have continued to sign first-year Dominican players--they recently won a $1.4-million bidding war for 16-year-old third baseman Willie Aybar. They also are making arrangements with former Cincinnati pitcher Jose Rijo to train their Dominican players at his recently built Dominican academy.

Baseball, apparently, has no problem with any of that.

“Everything the Dodgers are doing is consistent with the [commissioner’s] decision,” said Sandy Alderson, baseball’s executive vice president.

He said that the Dodgers, under terms of the penalty, were not prevented from operating a summer league team in the Dominican, only from having it at their academy.

“We wanted to penalize the Dodgers, but not their young players whose development would be stunted by shutting everything down,” Alderson said. “Closing the academy was more symbolic than anything, and renting another academy won’t be as good.”

The ban on signing first-year Dominican players did not take effect until Feb. 1, Alderson said, by which time the commissioner--anticipating a grievance by the Major League Players Assn.--thought there would be a decision.

The Feb. 1 deadline also was kind to the Dodgers, because it gave them a one-month window to replenish their Dominican stockpile. A six-month signing ban levied as part of a previous penalty for another violation--the illegal signing of two Cuban players--ended Jan. 1.

The union, on Beltre’s behalf, did file a grievance Jan. 3, asking that the third baseman be declared a free agent. Arbitrator Shyam Das will rule on that, although when is not clear.

It has been learned, however, that if he declares Beltre a free agent, possibly depriving the Dodgers of their young third baseman, Selig has retained the right to review his own penalties and could reduce them.

THE ROCKER DEFENSE

While attending a dinner benefiting the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in San Diego last Saturday night, Buzzie Bavasi suggested that John Rocker got off easy. Rocker, the Atlanta Braves’ relief pitcher, was suspended for 2 1/2 months and fined $20,000 by Selig for comments that “offended practically every element of society.”

“Imagine if Rocker had called Jackie or one of those old Brooklyn Dodger players a fat monkey,” said Bavasi, the former Dodger and Angel general manager still vibrant at 85. “Guys like Jackie and Carl Furillo would have taken him below the stands and he would have ended up missing three or four months.”

Today, the players’ union, which must often play the role of a defense attorney representing a seemingly onerous client, goes to bat for Rocker, who in an interview with Sports Illustrated disparaged gays, minorities and foreigners.

In asking arbitrator Das to overturn or reduce Rocker’s penalty during what is expected to be a two-day hearing in New York, the union is defending the principle more than the person.

“Rocker’s comments were undoubtedly offensive to a lot of players and were offensive to me,” said Gene Orza, the union’s associate general counsel.

“But the players understand and have a stake in ensuring that in an industry that encourages them and sometimes insists that they talk to the press, they are not penalized for pure speech unaccompanied by bad conduct--particularly when the penalty for that pure speech is as enormous as this.”

Whether Orza has heard directly from Tom Glavine isn’t clear, but Rocker’s teammate did tell the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he hopes the penalty isn’t overturned completely, that Rocker deserves some measure of discipline. Orza suggested that some discipline was warranted but said, “We weren’t on the same planet,” during discussions with management lawyers on what it should be.

Orza said the commissioner violated the collective bargaining agreement, which requires “just cause,” and did not have the authority to penalize Rocker to the extent he did. It is believed that only one other player has been suspended for speech. Jake Powell, a backup outfielder with the New York Yankees in 1938, was suspended for 10 days by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis after a Chicago radio interview in which Powell said he was an off-season cop in Southern Illinois and enjoyed “beating up on blacks” and “throwing them in jail.”

Many in baseball believe the Braves should have delivered the punishment. They didn’t, however, leaving it in Selig’s hands.

Many also believe that Selig came down heavily for public relations’ sake, knowing that the union would appeal and that the penalty probably would be reduced.

“I don’t think they fooled anyone,” Orza said. “It should be obvious that they imposed the penalty, if not in defiance of, certainly with an eye toward the arbitration process.”

Rocker’s penalty begins with spring training. Atlanta’s pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 17. The union hopes Das has a ruling before then.

LEARNING CURVE

Major league clubs have always had a tenuous relationship with player agents, but longtime agent Tony Attanasio and associate Dave Meier have been winning plaudits from general managers this winter for a program they initiated a year ago.

The San Diego agents recently flew in nine of their top young pitchers for a full day of seminars with Charlie Hough, Goose Gossage and Todd Stottlemyre on the mental aspect of pitching and preparation, or as one general manager put it, “the most overlooked components in the schooling of young pitchers. Tony deserves a lot of credit for this.”

NOW A WORD FROM OUR . . .

In baseball’s ever-expanding search for revenue, the San Diego Padres’ recent move is believed to be a first. The Sycuan Native American tribe has bought title rights to the Padres for an estimated $1.5 million.

The team will be marketed as “Padres 2000, Presented by Sycuan” and is thought to be close to signing three other sponsorship deals, unrelated to the Sycuan arrangement.

Baseball is expected to approve the partnership.