"People are concerned about the problems with the two-team cities," said one person involved with the realignment committee.

The realignment committee had been directed to submit a report by June 30, with the clubs making a final decision by Sept. 30.

Bud Selig, the acting commissioner, and John Harrington, the chairman of the realignment committee, have begun to campaign for the radical plan.

With the baseball owners' self-imposed deadline less than a month away, their executive council and realignment committee met in Chicago yesterday and discussed a variety of realignment plans.

When the owners created the realignment committee last January, they set Sept. 30 as a deadline for adopting a new alignment.

The realignment committee, facing a ticklish task, is supposed to submit a report to the owners by the end of the month.

Two people familiar with a conference call of the realignment committee that was held Thursday said Steinbrenner, a member, was not on it.

John Harrington of Boston, chairman of the realignment committee, said his group still had a half-dozen plans under consideration but did not provide details to the owners.

Tagliabue named a realignment committee to study the issues and to report back to the owners.

Steinbrenner, for example, is a member of the realignment committee, which is discussing possible shuffling of some teams between the National and American Leagues.