Last August the infield became awkwardly different. They had Adam Dunn at first and David Eckstein at second, both of them post-trading-deadline acquisitions. D'backs color commentator Mark Grace said it looked "like a father son game" on the right side of the infield, and that was scarily accurate. Now they're both gone, and the infield looks more familiar. Wait, where'd Orlando Hudson go? No worries. Let's take a gander in counterclockwise fashion:
• CHAD TRACY, 1B — It's hard to believe this is his sixth season in Arizona. That almost makes him the institutionalized one. They keep flopping him between first and third, goatee and no goatee, so hopefully the lefty can stay (a) healthy and (b) at first, where he can repeat his 2005 season, when he hit .308 with 27 home runs.
• FELIPE LOPEZ, 2B — You gotta believe the nadir in his baseball career was getting released by the Nationals last year at the trade deadline. But he had two fantastic months when picked up by the Cardinals, and he's done well at getting on base this spring training. Like Tracy, his best year was in '05 when he actually made the All-Star team, mainly because he was on the Reds and the NL had a down year for shortstops. Arizona would love to see that happen again this year.
• STEPHEN DREW, SS — Last year was pretty good for the young 2004 first-round pick, but everyone knows he can still improve. This could be his breakout season, since it is a contract year.
• MARK REYNOLDS, 3B — I never know what to say about this guy. Truthfully, I keep forgetting he's on the team. It's either because he has a very common name or he struck out 200 times last year, leading the NL. Maybe if he can cut down on those babies, my selective memory won't omit him.
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