June 23, 2008 -- The Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays are baseball's biggest surprises this season, and baseball seems poised to incorporate instant replay after having resisted longer than other sports. Still, the matter of performance-enhancing drugs is not going away. In an interview in his Milwaukee office, baseball commissioner Bud Selig sat down with ESPN.com's Howard Bryant and discussed these and other subjects.

Despite the resignation of Peter Magowan (as managing partner), have you decided to take disciplinary action against the San Francisco Giants for their inclusion in the Mitchell report?

I've been talking to a lot of people about it, but I have nothing to say at this time.

Major League Baseball once again toughened its drug policy. What feedback have you received from Congress, and are you certain that you have satisfied their mandates?

We do have the toughest testing policy. It's clearly working, but I'm talking to trainers all the time, I'm talking to doctors all the time, and the medical people involved, and Dr. Gary Green, who is our expert. And I'm satisfied with the results. Congress? I don't hear a thing. I think they are more than satisfied. Look, I hired George Mitchell, whom I have a lot of respect for. And I said it before: There weren't a lot of happy people -- both with my place, at the union, anywhere -- and I didn't care. But I thought it was the right thing to do. And we adopted all of his recommendations. So, I think Congress, the last two times I was there, they were great to me. Nobody says anything to me. The only word I get out of Washington is that they're done with us.

Yes, but U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., recently asked baseball to provide additional information regarding yours and the union's testimony from the 2005 hearings.

We recently had a request from Congress on a narrow factual issue, but I have seen no indication of dissatisfaction with the actual program and the progress we have made.

You have always referred to yourself as a purist. Are you on board with the momentum toward instant replay? How much of a role should it play in your mind?

Well, I don't know. The GMs voted 25-5. I guess the only thing I would say if we do it -- and I've made no decisions, because I'll agonize over that -- it will be a most limited way. I know other sports are using IR and I have different thoughts on that. I am a purist, but I'm the same purist that went to interleague play and the wild card. I took a terrible pounding for that; now everybody loves it. Those who were critics forgot they were critics. And there is revenue sharing, so I'm probably the greatest agent of change in baseball history … but I don't want to tamper with the game. I'm sensitive about that. If there's something I'm convinced will help the game, I'll do it, but I haven't quite gotten to that area yet.

Will you sell the Cubs to John Canning?

Well, look. That's a fair question. John Canning is an outstanding Chicago citizen. But there are seven groups bidding. What happens in this case … and John is a friend of mine, there's no hiding that. He was a partner in the Brewers. A very close personal friend of mine, and many people in his group who are leading citizens in Chicago are close personal friends of mine. But the Tribune Company will get the bids and come to us and they will recommend who they want and who they think and it comes back to me and baseball's ownership and they will approve or disapprove. So, I know people will say, "He's a friend of Bud's." But the fact is that the ball is in the Tribune Company's court. They're a public company and I understand that, so whoever makes the high bid …

Tampa Bay has been the league's success story in the first half, but it has not translated to better attendance. What is your level of concern for the future of baseball in Tampa?

Look, they're really pushing on a new ballpark. I think if they can get it done, it will really help them, no question about it. They've got a good club. They've done a great job scouting and drafting. Their attendance is up 4,500, but it's not enough. They can't make it in that ballpark. Have you been there?

Many times.

Do I need to tell you any more than that? And so, they need a new stadium. The demographics of the Tampa-St. Pete area are good enough for baseball.

On the St. Pete side, though?

Well, they're going to have to make that judgment. If they can get rights … I know there are people who think it needs to be on the Tampa side, but I'm going to leave that to (principal owner) Stu Sternberg. If they can get a new ballpark built, yes, I think they can be a very successful franchise.

Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He is the author of "Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball" and "Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston." He can be reached at Howard.Bryant@espn3.com.