The salary-cap proposal that triggered the strike that killed the World Series is about to become even less appealing to the players.

But the players' willingness to do that wouldn't matter because the owners who want an extension rather than a stoppage don't have the numbers or the clout to table the salary-cap proposal.

The new proposal is the last barrier to the owners' plan to declare an impasse in negotiations and implement their salary-cap proposal.

Take a salary-cap proposal now, take it after the season because they impose it, or strike.

If the two sides can't reach agreement by Thursday, the executive council, whose chairman is Bud Selig, would implement the salary-cap proposal the owners presented Nov. 17.

The salary-cap proposal calls for the players to receive 50 percent of the revenue, and that level is the owners' goal in the tax proposal.

It would not be enough for the owners to agree to withdraw the salary-cap proposal in exchange for elimination of arbitration.

It has been nearly six months since Ravitch presented the salary-cap proposal, but the only way the owners will get it is to implement it unilaterally.

July 18: Players reject salary-cap proposal.

The salary-cap proposal calls for a payroll limit - that's where the cap comes in - of 10 percent above the average payroll.