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Marc S.NEW YORK -- Commissioner Bud Selig is not unhappy that Minnesota and Montreal are winning, and thinks the success of the endangered teams adds "a very exciting dimension" to baseball's contraction issue.
Selig, in an interview Thursday with a group of Associated Press Sports Editors, said baseball was not embarrassed that the two teams most often cited for elimination next season are doing well.
Minnesota is one game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central, and heading into Thursday night's games the Expos were in first place in the NL East.
"If we were going to contract a club and they win their division, we'll confront that issue at that time," he said.
Selig said he is asked all the time about the teams' success, with people telling him, "Look at how well the Twins are doing, and Kansas City stinks and Milwaukee stinks."
"I still think it adds a very exciting dimension and we'll worry about that later."
Speaking about the Twins, Selig added: "I hope they win. They have a nice young club."
"The fact of the matter that they're winning on the field doesn't solve their problems," he said.
The Twins say they need a new ballpark to survive. Last season, the Twins drew only 1.8 million fans to the Metrodome and were 29th in revenue -- ahead only of the Expos.
Owners voted Nov. 6 to fold two franchises, and their labor negotiators later told the union that Minnesota and Montreal were the targeted teams.
Selig, blocked by a Minnesota judge who forced the Twins to honor their lease at the Metrodome this season, put off contraction but vowed to eliminate two teams -- which remain unspecified -- for the 2003 season.