Schott Out of the Park

PICK YOUR BASEBALL METAPHOR: MAJOR LEAGUE baseball owners could have benched Marge Schott, called strike three, hit her with a pitch. Instead they balked, bunted, let her off easy. Charges that the Cincinnati Reds owner used such phrases as "dumb lazy nigger" and "dirty Jews" led the owners' executive council to fine her $25,000 and give her a one-year suspension starting March 1. Schott is a millionaire, so the fine is just lunch money; if she behaves herself and attends "multicultural training programs," she can return to baseball by Nov. 1 -- more of a seventh-inning stretch than a suspension. Schott won't be allowed in the owner's box to watch the Reds, but she can sit in an executive suite. She'll stay involved in major decisions, and gets to pick someone to control the team's day-to-day operations in her absence. Ironically, Schott may end up making other owners look bad in contrast. Recently she hired a Hispanic manager, one of just six minority managers in the majors.