Uncertainty the Name of This Game : Labor: ‘It’s 50-50’ that replacement baseball will start on time Sunday.

NEW YORK —  On the eve of a federal court hearing that could end the strike and stop replacement baseball, negotiators returned to the bargaining table Thursday night for the players’ response to management’s new offer.

Owners, during a midday conference call, formally approved using replacement players in a 26-2 vote, with only Baltimore and Toronto opposed. But with the court hearing and more bargaining, teams weren’t sure if replacement baseball would start as scheduled Sunday night.

“Right now, it’s 50-50,” Boston Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington said.

Asked how long the uncertainty could go on, Harrington replied: “How ‘bout 8:03 p.m. (EST Sunday). First pitch.”

Owners, who would commit about $22 million in bonuses to the replacements if the season starts Sunday, issued a statement saying all games with replacements would count in the standings.

With the Orioles still refusing to field a replacement team, the American League directed the Chicago White Sox and Texas not to travel to Baltimore next week for their scheduled games at Camden Yards and told the replacement umpires--the regulars are locked out--not to show up.

“Orioles managing general partner Peter Angelos has advised the league . . . that he will not field a team for the first two series of the season,” AL president Gene Budig.

Budig said he will hold a news conference Sunday to announce his decision on the fate of the team and of Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak.

Owners have agreed to keep basically unchanged the current system of free agency and salary arbitration from the expired collective bargaining agreement But the sides still are apart on the team’s demand for a luxury tax that would slow salary growth.

On the 231st day of the strike, U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor told the sides she was inclined to hear only oral arguments--not witnesses--during Friday’s hearing at the U.S. Court House.

The National Labor Relations Board has asked Sotomayor to issue a preliminary injunction to restore free agent bidding and salary arbitration, which were unilaterally eliminated by the owners Feb. 6.

Teams say they have a right to eliminate both provisions to preserve their positions in collective bargaining, but NLRB general counsel Fred Feinstein disagreed and issued an unfair labor practice charge against them on March 15. Feinstein then was given permission by the NLRB board last Sunday to seek the injunction.

The union’s executive board voted Wednesday to end the strike if Sotomayor issues the injunction. Owners could lock players out, but it appears the pro-lockout faction will be unable to get the necessary 21 votes from among the 28 clubs.

President Clinton, speaking in Tampa, Fla., said he hoped owners wouldn’t start a lockout.

“The judge is going to hand down a ruling apparently pretty soon,” Clinton said. “And I would just say, if the injunction stays and the players to do again state their willingness to go back to work, then I hope they won’t be locked out.”

Teams, many still at their spring training camps, prepared for the possible return of major leaguers.

“We have so many plans and logistical decisions to make. We’ll be prepared to do whatever it takes,” Cleveland Indians general manager John Hart said in Winter Haven, Fla.

Management is asking for a 50% luxury tax on the portions of payrolls above $44 million, which was 108% of the average last year. The union’s previous offer, made March 4, called for a 25% tax on the portions above 133%, which was $54.1 million in 1994.

Philadelphia pitcher Curt Schilling said Wednesday he thought the union’s new proposal would be for a 30 percent tax on the portions above $49 million or $50 million.

In a brief submitted to Sotomayor on Thursday, players belittled the owners’ brief of the previous day, saying their arguments were “nonsense,” a “red herring” and “dead wrong.”

Teams claimed Sotomajor shouldn’t rush to a quick decision and the court hearing was unconnected to the strike.

Owners are “simply trying to ‘hide the ball’ in arguing that there is no connection between this proceeding and the possible ending of the strike,” the union brief said. “The plain truth is that . . . the strike will end if the injunction is entered.”

The NLRB filed a response brief that said she should take into account that the owners’ latest offer is on the table only until the first pitch of the season.

“There is a substantial public interest in the resumption of the national pastime in time to preserve the season intact,” the NLRB said. “Baseball is a prominent feature of American culture that provides a common source of pleasure. To paraphrase the recent words of President Clinton, baseball is the glue that helps our nation together. The return of baseball in a timely fashion may therefore be viewed as a welcome relief for millions of fans.”