Dodger Cuts to Include 25 Positions

On the day before his team is expected to eliminate 25% of its front-office positions, Dodger owner Peter O’Malley went to Milwaukee on Tuesday to discuss the state of the game with baseball’s acting commissioner, Bud Selig.

O’Malley could not be reached for comment, and Selig said only that the meeting was “extremely cordial” and included a thorough discussion of where the industry is as it copes with a players’ strike that began on Aug. 12 and has caused cancellation of the playoffs and World Series.

O’Malley’s seemingly tenuous relationship with Selig and outsiders’ role in the labor dispute has been chronicled.

The Dodger owner recently apologized to former commissioner Fay Vincent for joining Selig and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in the movement that led to Vincent’s resignation.

O’Malley has also questioned Selig’s dual role as club owner and acting commissioner and said that at some point someone has to assume responsibility and accountability for the failure to reach a bargaining agreement. “The focus keeps coming back to Buddy,” O’Malley said.

Meanwhile, reacting to the financial impact of the strike, the Dodgers are expected to eliminate 20 full-time and five part-time positions today, it was learned.

The team had previously cut the salaries of management personnel by 15% and non-management personnel by 10%, reducing their work week to four days in the process.