Talks YieldNo Deal

Players and owners failed Tuesday to finalize an agreement that would delay eliminating teams until at least 2003, and the meetings were scheduled to resume after an overnight break.

The union’s grievance to block contraction remained on hold.

The hearing was to have resumed Tuesday before Shyam Das, but the arbitrator was kept waiting until late afternoon, when talks were put off until today.

The Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos, the teams most likely to be folded, would survive for 2002 under an agreement, saving the jobs of approximately 60 major leaguers for another season.

Contraction was put on hold by the Minnesota courts, which issued an injunction that forces the Twins to play next year at the Metrodome.

Baseball’s lawyers failed to get an accelerated review by Minnesota’s Supreme Court, and the injunction remains in force until at least Dec. 27, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals holds a hearing.

Also on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in Tallahassee, Fla., refused to temporarily block subpoenas by Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who says he is concerned the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays are targets for elimination.