Players, owners resume labor talks

New York Baseball players and owners resumed labor talks Thursday but again avoided the central subjects of increased revenue sharing and a luxury tax that would slow the increase in salaries.

Instead, the sides focused on the amateur draft, with owners responding to the union’s proposal of last Friday.

After the main negotiating session, management lawyers Bob DuPuy, Rob Manfred and Frank Coonelly met separately with union officials to go over what happens next in the drawn-out talks to replace the agreement that expired Nov. 7.

The sides are scheduled to meet Friday, then three times next week.

Devil Rays were late paying nearly $1 million

New York The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, said to be having cash-flow problems earlier this year, were more than two weeks late before making nearly $1 million in deferred payments to Steve Trachsel and Gerald Williams, several baseball officials told the Associated Press.

Trachsel, now pitching for the New York Mets, was due $428,571.43 on June 30 under a contract he signed with Tampa Bay two years ago. But the Devil Rays did not direct deposit that amount until Wednesday, according to four management and player sources, who all spoke on the condition they not be identified.

Williams was owed $526,875 by the Devil Rays on June 30. The outfielder’s overdue payment was received Tuesday by his agents, two of the sources said.

Expos’ Robinson quit, then changed mind

Frank Robinson said he was quitting as Montreal Expos manager earlier this week, angry with his players, then changed his mind.

Robinson tried to resign after Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to Philadelphia, then was talked out of it by the players.

His attempted resignation, first reported Thursday by The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, was confirmed to the Associated Press by a top major league team official who spoke on the condition he not be identified.

Robinson, a Hall of Famer, became manager of the Expos earlier this year after the commissioner’s office took over operation of the team. He denied trying to resign.

“Nobody convinces me not to do anything that I don’t want to do,” he said in Montreal following Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the New York Mets. “I make my own decisions. Nobody convinced me not to quit, and I’m just not going to go into that type of thing.”

Twins ballpark plan dies in St. Paul

St. Paul, Minn. The Twins’ push for a new stadium appears headed back to the Minnesota Legislature after St. Paul leaders canceled a referendum to approve a tax to fund ballpark construction

The council voted unanimously Wednesday to withdraw a resolution proposing a Sept. 10 referendum on a bar and restaurant tax. Talks between the team and the city broke down last week because the Twins wouldn’t guarantee to move from Minneapolis if the referendum gained approval.

City Council President Dan Bostrom said it was “disappointing.”

“The Twins simply would not agree to the terms that we felt were absolutely critical for us to put it on the ballot,” he said Thursday.

Larsen opts to auction perfect game garb

Oak Brook, Ill. Don Larsen is putting the last ball from his World Series perfect game along with the spikes and glove he wore that day up for auction.

Larsen’s perfect game on Oct 8, 1956, is the only no-hitter in Series history.

Larsen said he had decided to sell the memorabilia to create a legacy for his grandchildren. “I look at it as trading one treasure for another, the grandkids,” he said.