Steinbrenner Tries to Avert Suspension

New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner may ask a federal judge to issue a court order preventing baseball from suspending him.

Steinbrenner was suspended last month from the sport’s ruling executive council, which took the action after he filed a lawsuit accusing baseball of interfering with his team’s marketing contract with Adidas. For now, he still is allowed to run the Yankees. In the past, he twice was given lengthy suspensions to prevent him from running his team.

“Widely published reports support the plaintiffs’ belief that major league baseball is planning further retaliatory actions against the Yankees and Mr. Steinbrenner,” the Yankees said in a motion filed with U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. “They may therefore require preliminary relief from this court to remedy and prevent such actions.”

Adams reserved his decision on the motion, wanting to hear baseball’s response before taking any action.

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The Yankees put outfielder Tim Raines on the 15-day disabled list and activated second baseman Pat Kelly, who had been sidelined because of a foot injury.

Raines strained his left hamstring while running the bases Sunday in Boston. The move is retroactive to June 1.

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The Cleveland Indians released outfielder Kevin Mitchell, who failed to earn a place in the lineup and got into a fight with a teammate during a short stint with the team.

Mitchell batted .153 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in in 59 at-bats.