The BASEBALL Rap....

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Grady Little, center, confers with relief pitcher Franquelis Osoria, right, as catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. listens during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 5, 2006, in Los Angeles. The Braves won 9-8. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Manager Grady Little may yearn for his days of leisure without a job in the majors if the injury bug continues to bite the "bums" of LA.

A few days into the season, a couple of trends are starting to develop, magically, out of nowhere. Ned Colletti, taking a page from the Brian Sabean book of assembling a team is a bit worried as some of his stars are dropping out of the azure SoCal skies. Kenny Lofton, a mediocre centerfielder, is starting the season on the DL. As is a real favorite player of mine, Nomar Garciaparra. I witnessed Nomar’s first major league homerun against the Oakland A’s and have always like him as a player and as a character kind of guy. But his body is apparently giving out on him. A strained rib cage muscle seems to be a peculiar ailment for baseball players.

Albeit they swing bats and throw a small ball in a very unnatural manner, but this particular injury truly baffles me. I am just not sure HOW it happens. And Eric Gagne is out for the season, probably and his career is in jeorpardy as he will undergo yet another elbow operation, this time to remove a nerve from his arm. If he comes back, he will not be the same and his ungodly season of two years ago, an unprecedented string of successful save opportunities, will not be repeated anytime soon, and the suggestion that it might have been enhanced by drugs and these injuries since are not unexpected is real.

Oakland Athletics' Marco Scutaro rounds second base on a grounder by teammate Mark Kotsay against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of their baseball game, Thursday, April 6, 2006, in Seattle. Scutaro, who singled to start the game, scored on the play. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Bobby Crosby, the ss for the A’s is injured again. Last year he went down in the first game of the year, and this season….same story, but a less serious injury. Still one must wonder about this proclivity to get injured. In the meanwhile, super Mario Scutaro fills in admirably, striking a game winning 9^th inning hit against the Yankees and generally filling in with the type of energy

reminiscent of traditional shortstops from a past era – good fielding little guys with some timely hitting at times, not unlike his Venezuelan counterpart and hero, Omar Vizquel. The A’s lineup is a good one with Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley (inexplicably batting sixth for this team), and if they get any pitching at all, they will win the AL West.

San Francisco Giants' closing pitcher Tim Worrell, right, is greeted by catcher Mike Matheny, left, after the Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves in their opening day baseball game in San Fracisco, Thursday, April 6, 2006. Worrell earned the save and the Giants won the game, 6-4.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

And the Giants appear to be facing life without a closer for yet another year. When Rob Nen went down in 2003, Tim Worrell filled in admirably but for some reason is not considered closer material in spite of his 38 saves that year. The additon of lefty Steve Kline and contributions from Scott Munter, the designated ‘set up’ man and last year’s closer and local SF product, Tyler Walker bodes well for Alou as he will undoubtedly tap into this bullpen as often as he did last year. Lowry going down with a strained muscle in his back is bad news for a team which is not deep in starting pitching in the minor league system. They do have Kevin Correia, a Cal Poly graduate, at Fresno and he had a tremendous spring, arguably better than any other pitcher on the staff, only to be rewarded with a trip back to Triple A ball. He has not fared well as a starter in the big leagues, but has electric stuff and may have to be recalled if Lowry goes on the DL.

The quiet dismantling of the Yankees by the upstart A’s reconfirms my feeling that their pitching is generally weak aside from the aging Randy Johnson and closer Mariano Rivera. And Josh Beckett pitched great in his first outing for the Red Sox, taking a cue from Curt Schilling who leads the staff. Beckett will undoubtedly be better than he has ever been, having Schilling around with whom he can confer and from whom he will learn much. He has never had a mentor; the young Marlins staff was led by HIM, and he is a young pitcher still, just barely 25 years old. And watch out for the Indians - Peter Gammons too picked this team to win the Central and they will be tough, with one more year of experience under their belts, they will compete, not only for the division crown but the AL pennant as well.

Oakland Athletics' Frank Thomas swings for a three-run double off New York Yankees' Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth inning of Oakland's 9-4 win in a baseball game Wednesday, April 5, 2006, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) The Big Hurt has been hurt, big time, but put the game out of reach with a late game rbi double against the Yankees. Notably, their high priced setup man gave up the blast, Kyle Farnsworth.

Barry Bonds stands out in left field, with the greats of the game looming large in the background, including godfather Willie Mays (obscured), Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Giants management will celebrate Bonds' achievements in spite of what the media or the rest of the country thinks of him. They invested $18 million into this celebration and they will see it through. While there is no doubt he has taken steroids, at least in the minds of most people, Bonds continues, undeterred, in his quest for immortality.

So the season slowly gets in gear, with lots of hitting, some mediocre pitching and lots of hope on the part of the fans for each team.