Dodgers ready for opener, but buyers not playing ball.

With the Dodgers season opener at Chavez Ravine this week, Chairman Peter O'Malley has yet to even receive a bid on the club.

Dodger officials last week confirmed there are no offers are on the table, even as the team prepared to take the field against the Philadelphia Phillies for Tuesday's home opener.

"We do not have offers at this time. We are not evaluating offers at this time," said Bob Graziano, executive vice president of the Los Angeles Dodgers Inc.

Nevertheless, last week O'Malley told reporters his plans to sell the Dodgers were still on schedule - and he indicated in January he was looking to sell the team within six months.

If so, a Dodger sale would be consummated mid-season. Some observers have said an off-season sale would make more sense, but last week one sports industry lawyer said a mid-season sale would be par for the course.

"These days, sports is a 365-day-a-year business. You do business during the season, the off-season - it doesn't matter," said Alan Rothenberg, sports industry lawyer with law firm Latham & Watkins.

Graziano also downplayed any concerns about a mid-season sale.

"Selling a team mid-season is a bit more complicated, but our expectation is that there would be a very smooth transition," he said.

And no one is ruling out the possibility that O'Malley would remain at the helm, even after a sale of the Dodgers.

"Peter has left the door open for that," said Graziano. "He will keep running the team if it makes sense for the new owners and for Peter."

Graziano did toss cold water on speculation that O'Malley might sell only the land and Dodger Stadium, but retain the operating side of the Los Angeles Dodgers Inc.

"Peter hasn't limited any options, but I'll be honest with you, the franchise and land is for sale, we really have not focused on splitting assets. Our philosophy has been that it makes sense for one entity to be the owner. A landlord-tenant situation is not desirable," said Graziano.

O'Malley's name has re-surfaced as the possible steward for a new city professional football franchise - and, O'Malley in January let loose a rare public complaint that the City of Los Angeles' unwillingness to help him land an NFL team was one reason for his decision to sell the Dodgers.

But again, Graziano downplayed any hopes that O'Malley might recant his decision to sell the team, even if he would emerge as a lead candidate for an NFL franchise.

"The decision has been made to sell, independent of the football franchise. Right now, we are supporting the city's decision to back the Coliseum," he said.

Talk of selling the team apparently has had little effect on season ticket sales.

"We are expecting to surpass last year's level. We are very pleased that the downtrend has reversed," said Debra Duncan, the Dodgers executive in charge of season ticket sales.

Dodger season tickets sales peaked in 1992, when they were capped at 27,000, said Duncan. They slid to about 21,000 by 1995, due to the baseball strike and the poor economy, she said.

"Season ticket sales weakened when the economy started to fall apart in the city," she said.

But last year season ticket sales firmed, and this year it looks as if they will rise slightly. "The important thing is, we have seen the turnaround," she said.

Most Angelenos, even those with cable, will be shut out from watching most of the home games on TV.

Cable TV broadcaster Fox Sport West 2, an arm of West L.A.-based Fox Sports West (formerly Prime Ticket) and ultimately owned by Rupert Murdoch's New York-based News Corp., last week said it had agreements with TV cable companies to reach only 450,000 subscribers in Southern California - far short of its target audience of 1.8 million.

FSW2 filed suit Feb. 24 alleging that Burbank-based Wait Disney Co. pressured cable operators not to carry FSW2, as Disney wants to launch its own regional sports cable channel. Disney, by policy, does not comment on lawsuits.