Steinbrenner Suit Begins to Heat Up

The lawyer for George Steinbrenner said Wednesday that defendants were being served in the antitrust lawsuit against baseball, filed earlier this month by the New York Yankee owner.

“It’s a lot of parties, but the process shouldn’t take too long,” Yankee lawyer David Boies said.

Steinbrenner and Adidas sued every other team in baseball and many baseball officials, alleging they violated antitrust laws by ordering the team not to sell merchandise with the Yankees and Adidas logo at Yankee Stadium.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. After the parties are served, baseball lawyers intend to try to get the case shifted to U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Steinbrenner was suspended last week from the ruling executive council for suing baseball. The Major League Agreement prohibits teams and owners from suing the commissioner’s office. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1922 that baseball is exempt from antitrust laws, a decision affirmed in 1972.

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Texas pitcher Roger Pavlik will be out for a minimum of 12 weeks after undergoing surgery Friday to have bone chips removed from the back of his right elbow.

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Former Minnesota Twin third baseman Scott Leius, signed earlier this month by the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League, was sold to the Chicago White Sox. Leius, whose home run won Game 2 of the 1991 World Series for the Twins, was scheduled to report to triple-A Nashville, Tenn.