BASEBALL AWAITS MCCOURT'S PLANS VOTE ON DODGERS SALE MAY BE DELAYED.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

PHOENIX - Unless Frank McCourt's group submits the necessary financial paperwork to commissioner Bud Selig's office in the next couple of days, baseball owners will not be able to vote on McCourt's bid to purchase the Dodgers next week as hoped.

An agreement between McCourt and News Corp. was announced Oct. 10, but baseball officials have yet to receive complete details of how McCourt plans to finance the proposed $430 million deal.

Baseball's owners will meet next week in Chicago, and a Nov. 20 vote had been tentatively planned.

A source close to the situation said Monday that McCourt's ability to finance the deal is not a problem, even though similar questions dogged McCourt's bid for the Boston Red Sox two years ago.

If a vote doesn't take place next week, it could still happen at any point during the offseason. But many Dodgers employees whose futures are in doubt are eager for a resolution, and general manager Dan Evans is working at the GM meetings this week without a definite budget for 2004.

``We're waiting for a lot of paperwork,'' Selig said Monday after he addressed the GMs. ``(McCourt) has a deal with Fox but he has to submit a lot of paperwork to us, which we're awaiting.

``We really haven't seen the particulars of his deal yet. ... They've announced the deal and they say we're getting the details, so we're waiting for the details. It has not come yet.''

--World champs?: In the wake of the United States' failure to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics baseball tournament, Selig made a pitch for a baseball World Cup. The tournament, unlike the Olympics, would most likely feature major-league players and could start as early as 2005.

``I was disappointed, I was sad,'' Selig said of the U.S. loss. ``It proves how good a World Cup would be, because the quality of baseball being played in a number of countries has clearly improved.''

Selig stressed, however, that he would never interrupt the major league season for any international competition, although he hoped to work out the ``pragmatic'' problems for a professional World Cup.

--State of the game: After he spoke to the general managers, Selig answered questions from the media on a variety of topics.

He said results of the 2003 steroid testing will likely be available later this week, and the designer steroid known as THG, discovered last month, has been added to the list of banned substances for 2004.

If more than five percent of players tested positive in 2003, more extensive testing will be done in 2004, which could eventually lead to player suspensions.

He also said that despite published reports that he would reinstate Pete Rose in November, Selig said there is ``nothing new'' to say about Rose's status.

The status of Montreal Expos will be determined soon, Selig said. Baseball officials are working with the players' association to see if games can once again be played in Puerto Rico in 2004.

And the war in the Middle East caused Selig to scrap plans to have the 2003 season begin in Japan, but Selig said he is ``very hopeful'' that the 2004 season could open there.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com