It's easy to understand why contraction intrigues major league owners. Buying out two to four teams would eliminate the weak, bolster the strong and--to those who believe the ruse--help make the game's problems disappear.

The reality is, contraction shouldn't happen, can't happen and won't happen--not even if commissioner Bud Selig somehow unites the 30 owners for a fight that could cost the sport its antitrust exemption and hundreds of millions of dollars.

If Major League Baseball wants to throw money around, it would be better off paying the Giants and Orioles lump sums to relinquish their territorial rights to two lucrative markets: San Jose/Santa Clara, Calif. (a potential home for the A's) and northern Virginia (the Expos).

It would be better off helping finance new ballparks, NFL-style, in Miami and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Better off figuring out a way to get the Devil Rays from St. Petersburg to Tampa or Orlando.

Contraction is not "a viable option," as Selig claims. Heck, it's not even a viable threat. Cities in danger of losing teams aren't rushing to build new ballparks. And the players' union won't react to the potential loss of 50 to 100 jobs when it knows the owners lack the unity and vision to pull it off.

"It's a near impossibility," says Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor, author of a book on baseball economics and a consultant who has worked with the union. "If they actually try to force-feed it, there'd be hell to pay."

The lawsuits could come fast and furious. From owners who lost their teams. From players who lost their jobs. From cities that lost teams, cities that want them and maybe even cities that remain.

Say MLB zapped the Expos and Marlins, then threatened the Twins and Devil Rays with elimination or relocation unless their dries built new stadiums. Politicians in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tampa/St. Petersburg would rightly scream.

MLB has an antitrust exemption that protects its status as a monopoly, but if Selig & Co. push too far, Congress might wake up and ask, "Why should this sport enjoy special privileges when it is so poorly run?"

The owners overexpanded. They've discouraged barren markets by going 30 years without a relocation. And--surprise!--they're making contraction an issue only months before the labor agreement expires. No one should be fooled.