Baseball players will have to use the abbreviated spring training schedule to get ready for a full season.
Following the end of the 32-day lockout, and word the season will be delayed a week, it was feared part of the 162-game schedule would be lost because of a conflict with CBS.But Commissioner Fay Vincent announced Thursday a compromise with the television network that extends the season and pushes back the start of the playoffs and World Series. Details of the full schedule will be released in the next few days.
At the time the settlement was announced early Monday morning, baseball said all teams were set to play 158 games, and that efforts would be made to restore the missing games.
Late Thursday afternoon, the efforts were completed.
CBS holds the rights to televise the playoffs and World Series, and had to give its permission for the postseason schedule to be changed.
The National League playoffs will begin Oct. 4, instead of Oct. 2. The American League playoffs were switched from Oct. 3 to Oct. 6. The World Series will begin Oct. 16 instead of Oct. 13.
If the World Series goes to seven games, it would end Oct. 24. Last year, after an 11-day delay because of the Bay area earthquake, Oakland completed its four-game Series sweep of San Francisco on Oct. 28.
Baseball said that one of the two series missed because of the delayed start will be made up during the regular season. The other series will be played from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.
Bryan Burns, baseball's senior vice president for television, said there were provisions to deal with rainouts at the end of the regular season, but he did not detail them.
Doubleheaders, day-night doubleheaders and playing on open dates are ways the missing games can be played in the middle of the season. Open dates seem to be the alternative that baseball would prefer.
Meanwhile, players continued to drift into spring training camps in Florida and Arizona with less than 2 1/2 weeks to get ready for opening day on April 9 and all 162 games.
In Phoenix, Jose Canseco arrived at the Oakland A's training camp on Thursday and said he was disappointed that the club used his off-field problems with the law in their salary arbitration case.
"I think it was a low blow," said Canseco, who has been ticketed many times for speeding and once was discovered with a gun in his glove compartment.
For managers, the problems had to do more with the law of averages. With such a short time to evaluate talent, some of the young players were bound to be overlooked.
"It's really unfair," Cincinnati first-year manager Lou Piniella said. "It's a shame. But in three weeks, we've got to get the veterans ready. It's plain and simple."
Cleveland Indians manager John McNamara is hoping to keep his pitchers from trying to be too ready too soon.
"We're going to take it slow, at least as slow as we can with the time we have," McNamara said. "We'll look at pitches, not innings, probably 45 pitches for each man, and then we'll take a closer look toward the latter part of spring training."
Spring training also brings aches and pains.
Outfielder Kirk Gibson reported to the Los Angeles Dodgers' training camp at Vero Beach, Fla., but did not participate in drills because of a sore left leg.
Gibson, recovering from surgery performed last August to repair a torn hamstring tendon, said the leg was sore from batting practice he took Tuesday at his home in Lapeer, Mich.
The career of 36-year-old outfielder Tony Armas might be in jeopardy because of a leg injury. Armas, who still hasn't reported to camp with the California Angels, is nursing a severely pulled hamstring in his native Venezuela. Armas injured the leg while playing winter ball.
"I don't think he wants to come to camp limping," said Preston Gomez, the Angels' assistant general manager.