Owners vie for votes as clock ticks

It’s all about counting votes now. As any good politician knows, all the arguments and posturing finally come down to who has the votes. The political battle is in full swing among MLB owners as the countdown continues toward a baseball strike or settlement.

Some years ago the rules of MLB were changed to require a majority rather than a two-thirds vote to pass matters such as collective bargaining agreements. The owners at the time wanted to prevent a small group from being able to control such vital issues.

This year the Montreal Expos are being run by MLB. They do not have a vote, or do they? Will MLB commissioner Bud Selig say he can vote for the Expos?

If Montreal does get a vote, 15 votes will be needed to pass any agreement among the owners. If Montreal has a vote, it will be 16 votes needed. That issue may very well matter.

The hawks and doves, small and large markets, rich and poor, Selig and anti-Selig alignments are wandering all over the place, in and out of one another’s nests trying to find a home.

John Moores in San Diego is leading the count for shutting down the game for a year in order to get what his group wants: a salary cap. He counts Texas, Baltimore, the White Sox, Houston and Atlanta as solidly in his camp, for now.

The Yankees are onto themselves. Owner George Steinbrenner has a hired a lawyer to sue MLB if an agreement is reached that he believes is directed specifically at the Yankees and unfairly restricts Yankee decisions on payroll issues. He will agree to a luxury tax that would cost the Yankees millions of dollars in distributions to other teams, but there is a limit.

Red Sox ownership just wants a deal. Toronto could care at this point and will go with the commissioner because it will need his help to get of a financial mess. Tampa Bay is just barely above water and cannot afford a shutdown. Tampa Bay wants luxury-tax money and plenty of it.

Minnesota’s ownership is absolute Selig, even if the city is angry over the contraction issue. Cleveland, Kansas City and Detroit will move with Selig.

Seattle’s making money and wants to keep the cash registers open. Anaheim is still owned by Disney, who wants desperately to sell, but can’t find a buyer to take the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the sports buildings in one deal. Disney needs the games to go on to keep the value of the franchise up. Oakland is watching.

A similar breakdown exists in the National League, and the entire counting process is very fluid.

As the deadline approaches next week, there will be final positions taken by not just the owners and players, but more importantly, among the owners. That is where the real battle goes on.

The players are never going to surrender salary issues to the point desired by the Moores’ group. Can that group hold together at the deadline and add the votes they need to prevent a moderate proposal from being passed?

For now, Selig is sitting on a wagon seat with 30 reins in his hands, connected to 30 work horses pointed in every direction. Every day, one or more of the critters goes careening off on a separate trail, threatening to turn the wagon over.

Selig recites the mantra that “things must change.” “But how?” whinny the horses.

Follow the countdown and remember to keep counting.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.