BOSTON -- Countering criticism from players -- including one inside their own clubhouse -- Boston Red Sox officials voiced support for commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday and said he has the support of baseball's owners in negotiations over a new labor contract.

``Bud's being vilified, we think unfairly. It's his platform that we all stand for,'' Raed Sox president Larry Lucchino said. ``He is being criticized unfairly by the other side.

``There is a misperception that Bud Selig is a one-man band marching to his own drummer. He really is carrying the water for a unified set of clubs and pushing issues that are being thrust upon him by one of his constituencies,'' the owners.

Perhaps the most focused comments came from right inside the building.

Boston pitcher John Burkett said last month that he would boycott the All-Star Game in Milwaukee because he wouldn't want to benefit Selig, who owns the Brewers. (Selig put the voting rights to his shares of the team in a blind trust when he became commissioner and the club is now run by daughter Wendy Selig-Prieb.)

``I don't want to go to Milwaukee and play in an All-Star Game that would benefit him,'' Burkett told The Boston Globe on June 14. ``It's something I feel strongly about, and I'm willing to stand up and make that decision.''

Burkett, who started the season 7-0 but lost his next three decisions, was not selected for the team, either by the fans or by AL manager Joe Torre. No other players have made a similar threat.

The union will hold an executive board meeting on July 8, the day before the All-Star Game, and it is possible that a strike date will be approved then. August has been the time most mentioned as a strike date, which would be baseball's ninth work stoppage since 1972.

Lucchino and Red Sox owner John Henry said they thought no good would come from setting a strike date because the players, not the owners, are the ones dragging their feet.

``We want to be at the table. Every day,'' Henry said. ``We ought to be at the table every day.''

Henry also noted that many fans were angry at Selig over the owners' attempt to eliminate two teams, most likely Montreal and Minnesota. But the move was approved 28-2 by the owners and Selig was among the last to come around, Henry said.

``Yet he has been vilified personally,'' Henry said. ``I think you have to hold 28 owners responsible.''

Also Wednesday, Lucchino said there were no plans to address the status of interim general manager Mike Port this season. Port was given the job when Dan Duquette was fired during spring training, but it wasn't known then whether he would keep it for days, months or years.

``We're at the All-Star break and it's clear to us that neither Mike nor the club has missed a beat since he took over,'' Lucchino said. ``It's an issue we feel no need to address until after the season.''

Both Lucchino and Henry also repeated that no decision has been made whether to renovate or replace Fenway Park. When Henry purchased the Red Sox in spring training and brought in Lucchino, they said they would like to see how the park works for a season before making any decision; that is still the plan.