Wells also said MLB waited to announce Rafael Palmeiro's steroid test until Aug. 1, a day after the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, to avoid attention. The Aug. 1 announcement followed a lengthy appeals process; the Baltimore Sun, for one, reported that Palmeiro failed his test as early as May. Palmeiro, Wells said yesterday, ''singlehandedly whipped our butts" in early July, when the Baltimore slugger knocked in nine runs in a four-game series vs. the Sox, with Boston losing three times.
Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations, answered back on Selig's behalf last night, calling Wells's account of the Palmeiro case ''pure fiction."
''David Wells has once again created a distraction with a series of ill-informed and ill-conceived comments," Manfred said in a statement. ''With respect to Rafael Palmeiro, Mr. Wells has absolutely no accurate information concerning the processing of the Palmeiro case.
''As the Players Association has stated publicly, the Palmeiro case was processed in strict compliance with the Basic Agreement and the discipline was announced as soon as the appeal was completed. Mr. Wells's statement that the discipline was delayed is pure fiction.
''Mr. Wells's dissatisfaction with his appeal says more about his poor behavior than it does about the quality of the appeal process."
The Sox, in a statement released at 10:30 p.m., took the highly unusual step of apologizing for the comments -- an apology that came at the request of Major League Baseball.
''While the Red Sox are disappointed to lose David Wells for six games, the Club recognizes that the disciplinary process has run its course, and we accept the results," the statement read. ''However, the comments made by David today regarding the Commissioner of Baseball do not in any way reflect the views of the Club.
''The Club believes the Commissioner has demonstrated visionary leadership and integrity, and we recognize that his contributions to the game have been enormous. Thus, we apologize to the Commissioner."
