ANGELS : Castillo’s Major League Dreams Aren’t All Good

There has been no strike-related activity at Gene Autry Park during the first four days of spring training--no picket lines to cross, no canceled workouts because of union threats.

But the situation still has created a high level of anxiety for at least one potential Angel replacement player, pitcher Carlos Castillo, who attended Loara High School and Cypress College.

“I’ve had some nightmares, dreams where you’re running but you can’t get away,” Castillo, 24, said Monday. “And the other night I had a dream that my car had been trashed and spray-painted with the word, ‘SCAB,’ all over.”

News that a local Teamsters union was going to demonstrate outside the Yankees’ stadium in Florida Saturday--a rally that never materialized--also had Castillo’s family concerned.

“My mom called when she heard about that thing with the Yankees and she panicked,” Castillo said. “She’s really worried about me, but I told her I didn’t think anything was going to happen until we start playing games.”

Union activity probably will increase if teams open the exhibition season in March with replacement players--Gene Orza, union associate general counsel, has said picket lines will be used to block stadium deliveries and interfere with the transportation of players to parks.

But some replacement players remain unfazed.

“What am I supposed to do, walk off the field?” said Dion Beck, a former Cal State Fullerton pitcher and aspiring Angel replacement player. “I’m doing something I believe in, and we’re doing something--playing baseball--that will help down the line. There’s got to be some benefit down the road to this.”

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann agrees.

“How good or non-good they are may help end this thing one way or another,” he said. “If this brings (players and owners) to the table, it’s definitely served a purpose.”

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Decision day: Infielders and outfielders will join pitchers and catchers for workouts Wednesday, and after intersquad games next Monday and Tuesday, the Angels will return to Tempe Diablo Stadium for what will be considered their major league camp.

It will be at this point, if the strike continues, that Angel players will have to decide whether they will become replacements. Lachemann said he doesn’t expect any minor league prospects, of which there are only a few in camp, to become replacements.

But with only 48 players--some organizations have brought more than 100 players to camp--there’s a chance the Angel replacement team could be short-handed. Replacement rosters will have 32 players, but more might be needed for exhibition games.

“I hope we have enough, but this is an area where people can change their minds,” Lachemann said. “You just don’t know at this point. We’re in unchartered waters, and I hope we’re never here again.”

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Notes

Fearing a shortage of players, the Angels have canceled a March 6 split-squad exhibition game against the Colorado Rockies at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Only one Angel team will travel to Phoenix that day to play the Oakland Athletics. The Angels have only one other split-squad date during spring training, March 19, against the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, but it hasn’t been determined whether both games will be played.