Ortiz had not spoken to any MLB officials as of yesterday afternoon. “But I will,’’ he said. “I know there’s going to be some discipline going against myself. Things got out of hand, but I don’t feel I was the one who started it.’’
Players typically appeal suspensions. The Sox start a three-game series with the third-place Rays Friday night before playing three games at woeful Baltimore.
“It all depends on what they come with. We’ll see,’’ Ortiz said about whether he would appeal. “You can do nothing until you see what is on the table.’’
Bases covered Commissioner Bud Selig took questions from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America at a luncheon and touched on several hot topics.
Selig said he did not expect there would be significantly more replay used to assist the umpires. What he described as a “modest’’ addition will be announced soon. That is expected to be for balls hit down the line or trapped.
Selig said that all 30 teams are reacting to Rangers fan Shanon Stone tumbling over a railing to his death last week while trying to catch a ball thrown into the stands by Josh Hamilton.
“It was horrible accident. It’s heartbreaking. It really is. It’s almost beyond comprehension to believe something like that could happen,’’ Selig said. “I think everybody is reviewing parts of their ballparks where something like this could happen. Maybe there’s some things that they can or can’t do.’’
Selig said there are no plans for expansion, but he did voice concern for the lingering stadium issues with the Rays and Athletics. He said the sale of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane was going smoothly. He also noted that baseball was in favor of David Einhorn purchasing a $200 million stake in the troubled Mets.
As part of the ongoing collective bargaining talks, Selig hopes there will be a strict slotting system for paying draft picks and the start of an international draft.
“Make it fair so that three or four or five or six or seven teams don’t have an inherently huge advantage over everybody else,’’ he said.
