Hall vote could be shutout

ATLANTA — Dennis Eckersley might make the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America finally have given relievers their due.

Closers Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith also appear deserving, and they may be excluded again when the 2004 inductees are announced Tuesday.

Eckersley and Paul Molitor top the 15 newcomers on the ballot, which includes 32 names. To be inducted, a player must be named on at least 75 percent of the ballots.

Last year, Gary Carter and Eddie Murray made it to Cooperstown. This year, there is a chance that no one will make it.

Sutter was third in the 2003 balloting, but got just 53.6 percent of the votes. Outfielders Jim Rice and Andre Dawson were the only others to be named on at least half the ballots.

Eckersley and Molitor will both eventually make the Hall of Fame but some voters may think that they are not worthy of first-year induction.

ROSE BLITZ BEGINS: This could be a key week in Pete Rose's attempt to be reinstated by Major League Baseball and therefore eligible for the Hall of Fame.

A new autobiography of the all-time hits leader will be released Thursday and Rose is scheduled to appear on ABC's "Primetime" that night.

Rose, suspended in 1989 while managing the Cincinnati Reds, has always insisted publicly that he didn't bet on baseball. Commissioner Bud Selig is reportedly considering reinstating Rose, but it is not known under what conditions. Stay tuned.

WELLS IN, MADDUX OUT: San Diego's signing of 40-year-old lefty David Wells eliminated the possibility of Greg Maddux pitching for the Padres. San Diego was interested in Maddux, but general manager Kevin Towers said the Padres couldn't afford the 289-game winner.

Wells, a San Diego native who was 15-7 for the New York Yankees, was much cheaper. He gets a base salary of $1.25 million, with incentives that could push the deal to $7 million.

Before the Padres moved in, the Yankees thought they had an oral agreement with Wells, who had arthroscopic back surgery after the season. But it was just a minor league contract and he would have had to make the team in spring training.

YANKEES PAY UP: The Yankees, the only team hit with a luxury tax bill, must pay $11.82 million to Major League Baseball by the end of January. A tax rate of 17.5 percent means that the Yankees 2003 payroll, for tax purposes, was $184.5 million.

Next season, the payroll threshold increases from $117 million to $120.5 million and the tax rate goes up to 22.5 percent. The Yankees' payroll for next season is projected at between $175 and $180 million.