by Ken Rosenthal

Actually, he's not. Selig still enjoys his job, and in another part of the interview he spoke with delight about the unpredictability of the pennant races, saying, "You can handicap football. You can't handicap baseball."

In truth, Selig is buoyant about the state of the game, even though the national economy is uncertain, even though Major League Baseball is unlikely to set an overall attendance record for the first time in five years.

Speaking from his office in Milwaukee, Selig addressed a wide variety of topics in a question-and-answer session with FOXSports.com, ranging from the controversial move of the Astros-Cubs series to Milwaukee to the possibility of Mark Cuban becoming Cubs owner.

Q: You have taken criticism for your decision to shift the Astros-Cubs series to Milwaukee's Miller Park after Hurricane Ike ravaged Houston last weekend. What happened?

A: Those have been questions in Houston, obviously. Look, what happened is the tragedy of the hurricane. We bent over backwards. We considered all of the options. I had three weather services — I can keep you all day going through all this.

When we knew early Saturday morning about the devastation, we knew we couldn't play in Houston. We had to consider other options.

We called Minnesota. They had the (University of Minnesota) Golden Gophers (football game) on Saturday and the (Minnesota) Vikings on Sunday. In Arizona, the Diamondbacks were playing. Atlanta, all three weather services said there was going to be rain. Tampa, the Red Sox were playing on Monday. Washington ... we went through every alternative.

Q: St. Louis?

The storm went through St. Louis. You know what happened to Chicago last week. St. Louis got all that rain. All three weather services said, "Don't even think about going there."

Q: Texas?

A: Every weather service predicted that the storm would go right up through Texas — and that the devastation might be worse. And Texas was playing at home on Monday.

We had decisions to make on Saturday. The more we went through it, the only option we had left was Milwaukee.

(The teams played two games at Miller Park, and the third game will be made up in Houston at the end of the season, if necessary.)

I kept the third game (in Houston). We're not supposed to do that.

We're supposed to play all the games during the season. But I gave Houston the third game if it means something the following Monday.

This was a tragedy.

I frankly wanted to go to Minnesota. The Cubs would have had a lot of fans there as well. Wherever the Cubs go, that (phenomenon) takes place. But Minnesota was out. We had no choice. Between the rain and the domes in use, we had no choice.

We couldn't send them out to the West Coast. The (Astros) had to be in Florida (on Tuesday night). If I sent them to Dodger Stadium or Seattle, they would have played a double-header Monday, then flown all night to Miami.

People can sit around and second-guess. But as I go back through my notes, there were no other viable alternatives. I couldn't send them somewhere where it was going to rain.

Playing in Milwaukee certainly worked out well for Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs. (Morry Gash / Associated Press)

Q: Your options would have been greater if Astros owner Drayton McLane had agreed to postpone the games before the hurricane hit.

A: A lot of people are blaming him for that. I don't think it's fair. I want to protect Drayton. He was very hopeful that the hurricane wouldn't be as severe as it was. Only Saturday morning did we realize that we couldn't stay in Houston.

Q: Let's talk about attendance. Your paid total of 79.5 million last season was a record for the fourth straight year. What are the chances that you will set another record this season?

A: I don't think we're going to make it. But we're still in very healthy territory. As my friend George Will said to me the other day, "You can't break an attendance record every year." Given the economy and the weather — and we've been really hurt by the weather — we're going to come awfully close.

Q: Any concerns about the decline, however slight it might be?

A: No, none whatsoever. The average team will draw 2.5-2.6 million. At worst, it will be the second-best year in history. Between the weather and the economy, most people are surprised (by the numbers). And the gross revenues for the industry will be stunning this year, higher than I thought. Which, in a greater sense, is actually more important.

Q: If that's the case, should we expect a robust free-agent market?

A: That's an interesting question. Clubs have to make their own decisions. The sport has never been this popular or this successful. I have to say that. The fact of the matter is, the sport is extremely healthy in every way.

The economy is a grave concern for me. I don't mind telling you that. The last three days have been very troubling. But at the moment, it's easy for me to say that the sport is more popular than it has ever been.

Concerned about a possible attendance decline? Not Bud Selig. (Mike Stobe / Getty Images)

Q: How worried are you about Tampa Bay? Here are the Rays, in the middle of a dramatic pennant race, and they're still not selling out.

A: OK, but I'm looking at their numbers. They're at 1.658 million, up almost 411,000. I guess we've got to watch it. I have concerns. But they're going to wind up at a number where they've never been before. It's an amazing story, one of the great stories.

I'm thrilled by it. It's a manifestation of everything I'm trying to do — competitive balance, parity, all that. But of course, I have concerns. I think we need to watch that situation in the next year or two.

Q: What about the Washington Nationals? This is their first season in a new ballpark, and their TV ratings and radio ratings reportedly are terrible.

A: I still have a lot of confidence in the Lerners. I like (managing principal owner) Ted Lerner a great deal. He doesn't seem to be concerned.

The TV ratings are startling — we need to get into that. The attendance is not that bad, given their team. They're averaging almost 30,000 a game.

I have faith that the Washington franchise is going to be a great franchise. They need to be competitive. They know that. Ted Lerner knows that.

Q: Instant replay. Baseball implemented it three weeks ago yet has used it only twice. How would you assess it thus far?

A: The two that we had worked out beautifully. The thing I like is that it has saved time.

Q: Some say that this is only the start, that baseball eventually will extend replay beyond home-run calls, using it on the bases and even on balls and strikes.

A: I meant what I said: As long as I'm commissioner, we're not going to expand it. The umpires are doing a great job. We have QuesTec. The umpires are rated far more aggressively than ever before. We just did this because of the configurations of the new ballparks. A lot of umpires told me that they just can't see.

Q: The players' union filed a grievance after first-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez refused to sign his contract with the Pirates. The union alleges that baseball violated the collective-bargaining agreement by allowing the Pirates to sign Alvarez after the deadline on midnight ET Aug. 15. Baseball admits that it extended the deadline for Alvarez and the Royals' No. 1 pick, Eric Hosmer. Why not just enforce all deadlines — trade deadlines, signing deadlines — to the letter?

A: I understand that people have said that. I'll accept that. I always say, sometimes you should use a little common sense. If you're talking about three minutes, eight minutes, 10 minutes, in everything I've done, I've always tried to use good old-fashioned common sense. It's one thing if it's 8 to 10 hours. But having said that, we will look at that.

Q: Some people within the sport believe that the Dodgers' three-way trade for Manny Ramirez was not completed before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on July 31.

A: Manny Ramirez was done. I have Rob (Manfred) involved in all of these things. He's our labor lawyer, a very good one. He tells me that deal was done before 4.

My job would be a lot easier if we adhered to the second. I don't have a problem with that.

Q: Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, reportedly is one of five finalists to buy the Cubs. Some, including myself, believe that the baseball owners never would approve a nonconformist such as Cuban to be a member of their club.

A: I've read that 1,000 times. None of that is true. People don't understand the ownership process. The ball is in the hands of the Tribune Company. They've got to vet a lot of people, as we do, then go through the bidding process. Then they will present anyone they want to us for approval.

(Tribune Co. CEO) Sam (Zell) knows what our economic rules are. We have a lot of 'em. We need 30 owners to approve it. We have had debates in the last 25 years about owners. Baseball has the authority to do that.

But it's a process. And (the Cuban talk) is way ahead of the process.

Q: Ten years ago, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa staged perhaps the greatest home-run duel in major-league history. Yet, many are now ambivalent about the Summer of '98, viewing it as a byproduct of the Steroid Era. Looking back, what are your thoughts?

A: It was a very emotional time. I remember coming to St. Louis late in the season. The city was so excited. People were so excited. It was a great moment in baseball history. Unfortunately, we learned a lot as the years went on.

I still have great affection for both of those gentlemen. I must tell you that. But I'm proud of how we reacted to it, really proud.

We've got the toughest testing program in sports. Baseball has addressed the problem and for the most part has solved it. We'll continue to work hard, do things with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. There isn't much more I can say.

Historically, it didn't produce the attendance boost that everyone said. I have the attendance from every year going back to 1901. People say, "The owners wanted to do this." But you know, in 1998 and '99, attendance actually dropped a little bit. We're at numbers now that you wouldn't have dreamed about 10 years ago.

Q: Finally, the toughest question of the day: Who is the National League MVP?

A: (Long pause. Selig mentions several candidates — Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia).

You know, I don't know. It's a very good question. There are a lot of candidates, for different reasons. I've got to think about that one.