MLB Notes: 4 teams bidding for Irabu

Thursday, April 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

While his team flew across the continent and halfway across the Pacific, San Diego Padres president Larry Lucchino was trying to move Hideki Irabu the other way.

Lucchino was in New York the last few days, where he met with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon about the star Japanese pitcher.

The Yankees and Mets are among four teams that have made strong offers for Irabu, whose fastball has been clocked at 100 mph. His major league rights belong to San Diego, but he has refused to negotiate with the Padres, saying he has always wanted to play for the Yankees.

Whether he would play for the Mets remains to be seen.

The Mets reportedly have made a two-tiered offer. They would send the Padres a minor league player for Irabu's rights, and if the pitcher signed, New York would send $1 million and another player to San Diego.

Mets manager Bobby Valentine was Irabu's manager two years ago with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan.

The Japanese commissioner's office ruled last week that the Padres have Irabu's rights for two seasons.

"I'd hate to speculate that anything's imminent because, hell, we've been close other times before and nothing's happened," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

"I would doubt anything's imminent tomorrow, but I know (Lucchino) spoke with the Yankees and the Mets," Towers said. "I plan on talking to him tomorrow afternoon. I know he plans on sticking around one more day to try to get something done. If not, from talking to him tonight, I think he is willing to walk away and say it's all over with."

Lucchino was supposed to have joined the Padres on their flight Wednesday night from Pittsburgh to Honolulu, where they'll play the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game series this weekend at Aloha Stadium.

The Hawaii series is part of the Padres' expanding interest in the Pacific Rim, which includes the deal with Chiba Lotte that gave San Diego Irabu's rights.

* ALOHA:The historical significance of the first major-league baseball games to be played in Hawaii is lost on the St. Louis Cardinals. Forget the sun and fun. They're dreading the flight. The Cardinals faced an 11-hour trip to the islands today after concluding a three-game series at Florida. After a day off Friday, they'll play a doubleheader on Saturday at 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium in Honolulu against the San Diego Padres. St. Louis will play a single game on Sunday against the team the Cardinals swept in last year's playoffs, then it's back on the plane bound for Los Angeles to conclude an eight-game trip. "You go to Hawaii for a nice vacation," reliever Tony Fossas said. "I don't really see the point. To me, it's just a baseball game." The Hawaii detour came about in part because Jack Murphy Stadium is undergoing $78 million in renovations for next year's Super Bowl.

* GASTON CHARGES RACISM: Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, a frequent target of some Toronto writers and broadcasters, fired back with the suggestion that some of the criticism is racially motivated. "There's a couple who continue to take shots at me for no reason at all," Gaston was quoted as saying in today's editions of the Toronto Sun. "I just wonder if they would take the same shot at me if I was white." The newspaper said Gaston, who managed the team to World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, was critical of Sun sports columnist Steve Simmons and Globe and Mail sports editor David Langford. "I'm not surprised," Simmons said Wednesday. "If you disagree with Cito, you're racist. ... I put my opinion on the line and it has nothing to do with race, color or anything else." Langford said he was caught off guard by Gaston's remarks. "I'm shocked that Cito would say something this silly," Langford said. "It's the farthest thing from the truth. In my opinion, Cito was the right manager for the job during the World Series years. Since then, he's done virtually nothing to improve the performance of the team."

* TIGERS CUT COLEMAN: Vince Coleman, sixth on baseball's career stolen base list, was cut by the Detroit Tigers, who designated him for assignment. Coleman was dropped to make room for Phil Nevin, who had been on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained wrist sustained in spring training. Coleman, 35, was 1-for-14 (.071) with no homers, RBIs or steals in six games. He was invited to spring training as a nonroster player, and the Tigers added him to the roster March 31. Nevin sprained his left wrist March 21. He began a rehab assignment at Class A Lakeland and continued at Triple-A Toledo before rejoining the Tigers. He was Detroit's designated hitter in Wednesday's 7-3 loss to Seattle.