MILWAUKEE — After a toughened drug agreement was passed unanimously by baseball’s executive council, Bud Selig expects an easy path to ratification when owners meet today.
“We have no controversy. None. Zero,” the baseball commissioner said Wednesday as the two-day session began.
Players and owners have until May 23 to ratify the drug agreement their negotiators signed off on last month. The deal increases the frequency of tests and the authority of the program’s independent administrator.
“When you think of where we were, and where we are today, it is remarkable,” Selig said.
Footnotes.
Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir agreed to a $28.5 million, three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise its value to $39.5 million over four seasons.
• The Red Sox placed pitcher Clay Buchholz on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken nail on his right middle finger and recalled outfielder Jonathan Van Every from Triple-A Pawtucket (R.I.).
• Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson was sent back to Washington for tests on his sore right wrist.
• The Cubs and Jim Edmonds agreed to a contract five days after the outfielder was released by the Padres. Outfielder Felix Pie was sent to Triple-A Iowa.
• Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez threw 55 pitches during a simulated game in Florida, the latest step in his recuperation from a hamstring injury. There was no timetable available for his return.
• Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit will be sidelined at least a month because of a broken left thumb.
The Associated Press
