Owners Want Final Decision on Expos

At their meeting Wednesday in Boston, baseball owners remained hopeful that they can make progress on the Montreal Expos’ situation by Labor Day.

“The longer we go, the harder it becomes,” said Bob DuPuy, baseball’s president and chief operating officer after the first of two days of meetings. “But we have not given up the idea of a permanent solution for next year.”

The Expos were purchased by the other 29 teams as they struggled to stay afloat in Montreal. They played 22 games in Puerto Rico this season, and San Juan has offered to host all of the team’s 81 home games next season. A group in Monterrey, Mexico, has also put in a bid to host the games.

The Expos are also being sought by groups in Northern Virginia; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C.

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The Atlanta Braves sent left-handed reliever Jung Bong to triple-A Richmond and put struggling right-hander Roberto Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list, juggling their bullpen to accommodate the arrival of left-hander Kent Mercker.

The Braves also took reliever Trey Hodges off the 15-day disabled list. He had been sidelined since July 26 with a strained muscle in his right elbow.

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The Cincinnati Reds put infielder-outfielder Russell Branyan, who has a sprained right ankle, on the 15-day disabled list. He suffered the injury on Aug. 1 when he slid into a wall in foul territory while playing third base against the San Francisco Giants.

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Investigators in Orlando, Fla., are examining whether a note stating that Ted Williams wanted to be frozen after his death was forged, and if so, whether a crime was committed, a prosecutor said.

The inquiry is the result of a criminal complaint made last year by the husband of Williams’ eldest daughter and renewed after Sports Illustrated reported new details on the state of Williams’ body.