By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BOSTON - Though tight-lipped regarding Pete Rose specifically, baseball commissioner Bud Selig spoke candidly on a related topic Thursday.

Selig took his turn refuting this week's Internet report that Rose, banned from the game since 1989, was close to being reinstated.

"I don't know how people can justify that," Selig said after the conclusion of the quarterly owners meetings at The Ritz-Carlton. "I know the story. I know the subject. I know what hasn't happened. When I first heard it, I thought it was some kind of joke."

The report in question appeared on the Baseball Prospectus Web site and stated that Rose had signed an agreement clearing the way for his return and potential spot in the Hall of Fame.

MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday refuting the report.

Selig backed that up Thursday.

"That (report) was not only indefensible, it's so wrong," he said. "I don't even know how people justify when they do things like that.

"Everybody should be offended by it. It's fiction, pure fiction that is indefensible in this case."

The commissioner has said little about the status of Rose's application for reinstatement.

The two met in late November and Selig confirmed in March that he was considering Rose's application, but offered no timetable.

"I'm the judge in this case and it's inappropriate for me to comment. So I'm not going to," he said.