Briefs | Baseball: Brewers owner says salary cap may be in order

Baseball

Milwaukee's Attanasio says Yankees' spending may warrant salary cap: Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said Major League Baseball may need to impose a salary cap to preserve competition after the New York Yankees spent $424 million to sign three players.

The Yankees agreed on an eight-year, $180 million deal with Mark Teixeira, according to a baseball official familiar with the contract, continuing to acquire the most expensive free agents on the market before moving into a new $1.3 billion ballpark next season. New York signed former Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia for seven years and $161 million, and got pitcher A.J. Burnett for five years and $82.5 million.

"At the rate the Yankees are going, I'm not sure anyone can compete with them," Attanasio said in an e-mail. "Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap."

Baseball is the only one of the major U.S. professional sports that operates without a salary cap, which sets a ceiling on payroll. The sport imposes a tax when teams surpass a payroll threshold and redistributes revenue from the highest-grossing teams like the Yankees to the clubs that produce the least revenue like Milwaukee.

The Yankees have exceeded the payroll limits every year since baseball began imposing a penalty in 2003 and has accounted for 90 percent of the money collected, The Associated Press reported. The methods baseball implements to curb spending aren't working for the Yankees, Attanasio said.

"Obviously, the 34 percent they kick into the revenue-sharing pool and the luxury taxes don't affect them one whit," said Attanasio.

Griffey to conduct baseball clinics in Panama: Ken Griffey Jr. will give baseball clinics for children during a visit to Panama next month in his new role as American Public Diplomacy Envoy.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall says the star outfielder will be in Panama for five or six days. The exact date has not been set.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introduced Griffey as a public diplomacy envoy last month.

The 39-year-old is fifth on the career home run list with 611. He played for Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox last season, and later filed for free agency.

His father, Ken Griffey Sr., befriended Panamanian Omar Moreno when the two played in the majors. The younger Griffey will give one clinic at an academy directed by Moreno.

San Diego agrees to deal with Rodriguez: The San Diego Padres agreed to terms on a one-year deal with infielder Luis Rodriguez.

The switch-hitting Rodriguez batted .287 with 12 runs batted in and 22 runs scored in 64 games in his first season with San Diego.

Yankees sign catcher Cash: The Yankees have reached an agreement with catcher Kevin Cash on a minor-league contract.

If Cash, a career .184 hitter, is added to the 40-man roster he will receive a $700,000, one-year deal.

Mench signs with Hanshin: Former Toronto outfielder Kevin Mench signed a one-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan.

The 30-year-old Mench hit .243 in 51 games for Toronto last season. He has a career batting average of .269 with 89 homers and 330 RBI in 702 major-league games with the Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers.

Mench's contract is worth $1.8 million. He is expected to take the place of former major-leaguer Lew Ford, who struggled last season with the Tigers in the Central League, hitting just three homers and batting .225 in 47 games.

Mixed Martial Arts

UFC eyes Canadian sites: The UFC is looking to return to Montreal in the spring and is also eyeing the Rogers Centre in Toronto should mixed martial arts finally get sanctioned in Ontario.

"We are going to attack Toronto," UFC president Dana White told reporters Tuesday. "And we're going to get that done. We want to get a fight done in Ontario bad. And we're going to do a big stadium there too. We're not talking 10, 15, 20,000, we're going to do a big stadium in Toronto."

Sailing

Eleven yachts compete in Sydney to Hobart race: Australia's toughest and most famous yacht race will have one of its biggest international contingents when 11 overseas boats line up for Friday's start of the Sydney to Hobart race.

None of the visiting yachts from nine countries in the 100-boat entry list appear quick enough to challenge for line honors — where 98-foot maxi Wild Oats XI is heavily favored to win for the fourth year in a row — or emulate the overall handicap victory of American boat Rosebud last year, which finished fourth overall.

Seattle Times news services