The growing outrage over the decision of the Major League Baseball Players Association to set an Aug. 30 strike date only figures to grow as that date approaches, but don't hold your breath waiting for the union to back away from another work stoppage just because of a few million disgruntled fans.
There are plenty of emotional reasons for the players to keep playing through September and October, regardless of the progress of the current set of labor negotiations, not the least of which is the approaching one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The popular wisdom of the moment is that if union director Donald Fehr had a heart, the players would never consider going on strike at such a sensitive time. There is a growing consensus that it is just the willingness of Fehr and a few high-ranking union executives that is preventing the industry from enjoying long-term prosperity and labor peace.
It's never that simple, of course, but Fehr's personality is very much an issue in this and every other labor dispute since he made it his personal mission to protect the gains achieved by the players union under Marvin Miller in the 1970s.
One of the reasons that baseball's union is so much stronger than those of the NFL and NBA is the strong personality of its seemingly fearless leader. Fehr has never shied away from appearing the villain if he felt that the issue was important enough to fight over.
The next two weeks will tell whether he really feels that a luxury tax on the game's giant payrolls is onerous enough to justify shutting down the sport at a time when the national perspective has been changed so dramatically by the Sept. 11 attacks and the ongoing war on terror. We'll have to wait until Aug. 30 to find that out.
If history gives any indication, the players will go on strike if the owners stand firm in their desire to even the economic playing field (and slow salary growth) with heavy revenue sharing and huge luxury taxes on the game's richest clubs.
The union has a huge public relations problem, because the average player salary is nearly $2.4 million a year and the highest-paid player - Alex Rodriguez - is guaranteed enough money over his 10-year contract to buy his own team. Joe Fan, who just lost part of his retirement savings in the stock market downturn, doesn't want to hear Fehr lecture him on free-market philosophy.
Joe Fan would love to go to arbitration and get his salary doubled, but it just doesn't happen that way in the real world.
The owners, who have quite a bit of explaining to do themselves, can only hope that the public and political pressure on the players will cause them to cave in and accept a new economic order.
There's a first time for everything.
Palmeiro eyes 600 homers
Former Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro isn't shy about his desire to follow Barry Bonds up the game's all-time home run list, and the Texas Rangers' slugger doesn't hesitate to predict that he eventually will join the exclusive 600-homer club.
"Oh yeah," Palmeiro said. "I'm confident I can get there. I know what I can do. Is it a long shot? Maybe. But I know what I'm capable of doing, and I believe I can hit 600 home runs."
Some might call that cocky, but you've got to give Palmeiro - who turns 38 next month - credit for being refreshingly honest. He has 480 career home runs and would have to play into his 40s to reach 600, but it isn't entirely out of the question. He keeps himself in excellent shape and enjoys the game so much that he'll play as long as he possibly can.
Of course, by the time he gets to that milestone, Sammy Sosa will likely be waiting for him along with Bonds and the three Hall of Famers - Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays - he joined last weekend.
"I think I have four good years left in me," Palmeiro said. "I plan on playing at least four, maybe five more years. I think big. Why not think big?"
On deck: Mays
The next big home run challenge for Bonds is his godfather, Mays, who ranks third on the all-time home run list with 660. Bonds should eclipse that number in 2004 if he stays healthy, but he isn't quite sure how he feels about the possibility.
"Yeah, but it's still easier said than done when [it's] somebody you looked up to your career, your whole lifetime," Bonds told reporters. "It's really hard to surpass someone that you put so high on your pedestal. You always want to cherish that moment.
Mays might be the greatest all-around player in the history of the game, a distinction that Bonds insists would not change if he was passed on the all-time home run list by his godson.
"I don't want to be compared to him," he said. "Willie has his status in the game, and that's where it should stand. Barry Bonds' mark should be Barry Bonds' mark. We're different players. We're all different individuals and people should respect are own individuality."
Class act
Aaron, the home run king, once predicted that Bonds might break his all-time record, and he apparently isn't dreading the possibility.
"When he finishes his career, he's probably going to have all the offensive records," Aaron told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. "With his smartness and knowledge of the game, he can do it."
"I've been out of baseball since 1976, so I've held the record long enough. Records are made to be broken."
Ripken safe
Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez owned the longest active consecutive games streak (446) until he was pulled from Tuesday's game with inflamed cartilage in his right rib cage.
Gonzalez had not missed a game since Sept. 30, 1999 when then-manager Buck Showalter rested several regulars after the club clinched the National League West title. Manager Bob Brenly didn't make the decision to sit Gonzalez lightly, but it clearly was the right thing to do.
"It probably makes him very sad in one respect," Brenly said, "but I'm sure there's part of him that's relieved that it's over, because there have been days when he probably should have had a day off."
The longest current streak now is held by Oakland A's shortstop Miguel Tejada, who entered the weekend with 391 consecutive appearances.
Trade bait
The next big trade date is on Aug. 31, which is the deadline for traded players to be eligible for the postseason. The only catch is that players dealt after July 31 must clear waivers before they can change teams.
The frontline pitcher most likely to be moved might be Rangers left-hander Kenny Rogers, who reportedly has cleared waivers and is coveted by the Seattle Mariners. Rogers can veto any deal - and already has done so this year - but is believed to be open to the possibility of joining a strong playoff team.
Good genes
Mariners second baseman Bret Boone had such a great season last year that he received his share of first-place votes for American League Most Valuable Player. Reds third baseman Aaron Boone is on pace this year to become only the third Cincinnati player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases.
Must be great genes, huh.
Well, maybe.
Bret and Aaron are third generation major-league players, but their father - Reds manager Bob Boone - was known as a player for his great defensive ability behind the plate. He displayed neither great power nor great foot speed, yet his sons both have developed into strong all-around offensive players.
Take a bow, mom.
Quote of the week
White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, in the midst of a disappointing season in which his batting average has dropped into the .230s: "All I need is a hundred hits over the next three weeks and I'll be fine."
Compiled from interviews, wire services and reports from other newspapers.