ANGELS GETTING RELIEF; PETKOVSEK TO BE SENT TO ANAHEIM.

Byline: Ben Walker Associated Press 

No deal Monday for Roger Clemens, and none expected for him now at the winter meetings.

There were a few deals, though none of them major. And with one day left in the five-day session, the Cardinals traded pitcher Mark Petkovsek to the Angels for a player to be named or cash. The 33-year-old right-hander was 7-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 10 starts and 38 relief appearances for St. Louis.

Clemens was still a member of the Blue Jays and, with up to nine teams chasing the five-time Cy Young winner, it looked as if Toronto would leave town without making a trade.

``There's no chance it will happen here,'' Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks, promised.

The New York Mets traded outfielder Butch Huskey to Seattle and Minnesota moved outfielder Alex Ochoa to Milwaukee, and a couple of free-agent catchers found new homes - Bill Haselman with Detroit and Chad Kreuter with Kansas City.

And late Monday, the Florida Marlins traded 1997 World Series hero Edgar Renteria to St. Louis, leaving them with just four players from their championship team.

The Chicago Cubs also made a move, acquiring pitcher Jon Lieber from the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder/first baseman Brant Brown.

In off-the-field activity, general managers made no change to the playoff format. Some had been in favor of allowing wild cards to face their own division's winner in the first round.

As for trade rumors, Seattle's David Segui, San Diego's Randy Myers and Pittsburgh's Jon Lieber remained possibilities.

The New York Yankees, Houston and Cleveland remained at the top of the list of teams pursuing Clemens, with Texas, Colorado and the Mets also in the mix.

As is often the case, the World Series champion Yankees remained a wild card. Owner George Steinbrenner likes Clemens but has not indicated whether he wants to give up the necessary players and cash to complete a trade.

``In the end, when decisions have to be made, we'll make a recommendation and he'll decide one way or another,'' Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. ``Sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn't.''

The Mets, already one of the majors' most active teams this winter, sent Huskey to Seattle for minor-league pitcher Lesli Brea.

Huskey, 27, hit .252 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI last season. He has been slowed by an injured knee, on which he had surgery in October.

``I was prepared for this, but it's still a shock,'' said Huskey, who joined the Mets organization in 1990. ``They made a decision and I was the odd man out.''

Brea, a 20-year-old right-hander, was 3-4 with 12 saves and 2.76 ERA in 49 games for Class A Wisconsin in the Midwest League. He struck out 86 in 58 2-3 innings.

Another minor-leaguer with impressive numbers - in football - attracted attention in the major-league draft. At first, there was hardly a ripple in the room when Montreal announced it had taken Errick L. Williams. As many soon found out, that was really Ricky Williams, the Heisman winner and a cousin of Cecil Fielder.

``It doesn't really matter what I think about him,'' Expos general manager Jim Beattie said. ``He's an outfielder, I know that. I know he has some value for our organization by way of having value to another organization.''

Texas was expected to trade in the next few days for Williams, who had never hit even .240 in his first three pro seasons.

Kreuter, a 34-year-old switch-hitter, and the Royals agreed to a $725,000, one-year contract. He batted .250 last season with two homers and 33 RBI in 252 at-bats with the Chicago White Sox and Anaheim.

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PHOTO (Color) PETKOVSEK