They're stuck.
Cross the picket line, and the striking major-leaguers would never forgive them. Honor it, and the clubs might seek their own retribution.
They're confused.
Some have changed their minds on whether they'd play. Others loathe the idea of becoming a scab, but might not be financially secure enough to stand on principle.
They're divided.
Some recognize this might be their only chance to reach the major leagues.
"If this is the way it's going to come, this is the way it's going to come," said Matt Riemer, a third baseman who played at Single-A Albany and Frederick last season.
Others would never accept such a promotion.
"I tell you, there's no way I'm going to cross, no way I'm going to be a scab, no way," said Kevin Ryan, a reliever who was 8-2 with a 3.67 ERA for Double-A Bowie.
They're the potential replacement players, the game's last innocents, and now they're getting dragged into this mess, too.
When will the madness end?
For these obscure minor-leaguers, not soon enough.
If the strike ended today, the game's wounds would heal in due time. But if replacement players are used, the damage would be far more permanent, far more lasting.
The owners don't care -- they canceled the World Series, didn't they? But just once, they should think twice about their union-busting strategy.
The potential replacements are minor-leaguers who are too young or too modestly skilled for major-league clubs to protect on their 40-man rosters.
Asking them to play in the majors would compromise the major-league product, disrupt the minor-league system, and foster enmity among players for years to come.
It also would force the potential replacements to make a decision that would be far more complex than it appears. Their finances -- and careers -- might be at stake.
"You say no to them, you might never get a promotion again," Riemer said.
That's a frightening thought to players who already are on the fringe. The clubs, however, probably could not force them to serve as replacements, according to Baltimore attorney Ron Shapiro.
"My view is, you're not obligated," Shapiro said.
"When you're called up, you go onto the 40-man roster. You then have all the rights of a player who is a member of the collective-
bargaining unit. And you can assert your rights not to cross."
What if the clubs threaten to release players who refuse promotions? Shapiro said the union could then file an unfair labor practice charge on their behalf with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union already is trying to block foreign players from obtaining visas to serve as replacements -- a reaction to the belief of some owners that Latin players will defy the union.
The Orioles' Rafael Palmeiro called such thinking "racist." Baltimore attorney Mike Powers, the agent for many of the Orioles' Latin prospects, said the owners underestimate his players' resolve.
"They're not that easily pushed over just because they're poor," Powers said. "They'll stay cohesive and unified.
"You get Jose Rijo from the Dominican and Ruben Sierra from Puerto Rico saying, 'Hey guys, we're not going to do that' -- I'll guarantee you, they'll be hard-pressed not to follow what they say.
"If the direction comes from the senior players, I think most
would follow that direction."
In fact, Powers said there is "absolutely no way" his Dominican clients on the Orioles' 40-man roster -- shortstop Manny Alexander and pitcher Armando Benitez -- would cross the picket line.
Still, the question remains:
Could the potential replacements -- whoever they might be -- afford to sit out?
None is getting rich in the minors. Few were drafted high enough to command large signing bonuses. Most supplement their income by working off-season jobs or playing winter ball.
The minimum salary for a Triple-A player is $1,800 per month. The minimum drops to $1,400 in Double-A, $1,200 in Single-A and $850 in rookie ball. Players are paid only during the season.
"I haven't accumulated any kind of income over the last few years, as far as salary from baseball," said Rochester infielder Brad Tyler, who has played five professional seasons.
"You just don't make any money. You really don't make money in the off-season. You're walking a thin line. I'd be in a financial
situation where I'd have to do anything I could."
Tyler, 25, works in the off-season as a substitute teacher in his hometown of Aurora, Ind. He could be the second baseman on the Orioles' replacement team, but said he "probably" would not cross the picket line.
"I think a future with the Orioles is still a possibility," said Tyler, a left-handed hitter who batted .261 last season, with 43 RBIs in 314 at-bats. "I do not want to step on anybody's toes in the process of getting there."
Scott McClain, 22, could be the third baseman for the Orioles' replacements, but he, too, said he doubted he would become a scab.
"If the opportunity comes up, it'll be a tough decision," said McClain, who played last season at Double-A Bowie and is spending the winter playing for the Maui Stingrays in Hawaii.
"I'm not sure a lot of us would do it. I feel like I have youth on my side, still. I don't think I would do it. Maybe if I was an older player, on my way out. Right now, there's no way, I don't think."
Riemer, 22, was the only one of four potential Orioles replacements contacted by The Sun who said he would play. But he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea.
"The word sounds horrible -- scab," Riemer said. "It bothers me. I don't want to be called a scab. I'm far from a scab. I don't know. I guess I would be a scab, a fill-in until the big-leaguers settled."
Riemer graduated from Patapsco High, and grew up idolizing Cal Ripken. It disturbs him that he might be part of a team that contributes to the end of Ripken's consecutive-games streak.
"That's a tough, tough question," he said.
Ryan, 24, was the most adamant of the minor-leaguers about honoring the strike -- and Ripken's streak was a major reason.
"I wouldn't want to have any part of breaking Cal Ripken's streak -- I couldn't live with myself," Ryan said.
Could the club persuade him to play?
"They'd have to offer me something I couldn't turn down, something absurd," Ryan said.
Otherwise?
"I guess I'd go back to college."
He shouldn't have to make that decision.
The minor-leaguers don't deserve this.
No one does.