Big Unit, D-Backs raise flag, Rocket opens for Yanks

<br>After more than a month of spring training, Rafael Palmeiro is all set to play ball for keeps. <br><br>``Everybody's optimistic, but this year is extra special,'' the Texas first baseman

Monday, April 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

After more than a month of spring training, Rafael Palmeiro is all set to play ball for keeps.

``Everybody's optimistic, but this year is extra special,'' the Texas first baseman said. ``We really have some good players and we have a quality team.''

Same goes for Luis Gonzalez.

``The last time we took the field for real, when we walked off we were world champions,'' the Arizona star said. ``All the guys are anxious and eager.''

And so, after an acrimonious winter filled with talk about contraction and more labor trouble, baseball can finally focus on what it does best _ playing ball.

The season started Sunday night with an Easter special as Bartolo Colon pitched the Cleveland Indians past the Anaheim Angels 6-0.

On Monday, it revs up with opening day at 10 ballparks.

Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks will raise the World Series banner before they play the San Diego Padres at Bank One Ballpark.

Pedro Martinez pitches at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens starts at Camden Yards in his drive toward 300 career victories.

Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr., both within range of 500 career home runs, face each other as the final year begins at Cinergy Field. The Minnesota Twins, after escaping offseason elimination, play at Kansas City.

Cal Ripken, Mark McGwire and Tony Gwynn, all gone. Yet new stars on the way _ are Florida pitcher Josh Beckett and Texas third baseman Hank Blalock really as good as the scouts say?

Patriotic tributes and reminders about Sept. 11 will be present. American flags will appear on players' jackets, ``God Bless America'' will continue to be sung during the seventh-inning stretch and there will be a minute of silence at 9:11 p.m. during each team's first home night game.

That is, if the games last that long. Baseball has once again tried to institute speed-up rules _ pitchers must throw the ball within 12 seconds of the batter stepping in the box if no one is on base.

Among those in charge of enforcing the regulations is Joe West, one of the five umpires rehired after 22 of them lost their jobs 2 1/2 years ago in a failed resignation plan.

At Arizona, fans are still celebrating after Gonzalez's bottom-of-the-ninth single beat the New York Yankees in Game 7 last November. But Johnson, the winning pitcher that night, already is looking ahead.

``I've put all that behind me,'' the Big Unit said. ``How is that going to make me better out there against the San Diego Padres?''

The NL Cy Young Award winner will not have to face Padres slugger Ryan Klesko. He'll start serving a suspension for a pair of brawls with Anaheim in spring training.

The Yankees will unveil a juiced-up lineup that now includes Jason Giambi when they visit Baltimore. Clemens begins his bid for 300 career victories _ he needs 20 _ while Scott Erickson starts for the Orioles for the first time since elbow surgery in August 2000.

Clemens is coming off a 20-3 season and his record sixth Cy Young Award. He will start for a team that, for the first time in four years, is not the World Series champion.

There are other changes, too. While adding Giambi, Robin Ventura, Rondell White, David Wells and others, the Yankees lost Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius and Chuck Knoblauch.

The Yankees will begin the year with the majors' highest payroll at about $125 million, dwarfing Tampa Bay's total of around $34 million.

``It doesn't feel any different,'' Clemens said. ``We came up short, but the goals are still the same.''

Chances are, fans at Camden Yards might have more than baseball on their minds at opening day. At night, many of them will be watching their TV sets as Maryland plays Indiana for the NCAA men's basketball title.

The college hoops championship will be played at the Georgia Dome, a few miles from where newly acquired Gary Sheffield and the Atlanta Braves open against Philadelphia at Turner Field.

Pedro Martinez, hoping his shoulder is ready for the whole season, was new manager Grady Little's easy pick to pitch for the Boston Red Sox against Toronto. Blue Jays starter Chris Carpenter, who grew up in New Hampshire, was thrilled about opening at Fenway Park.

``It's going to be outstanding, it's probably going to be the best and biggest game of my life,'' said Carpenter, an avid Red Sox fan as a boy. ``I'm excited for it and I can't wait for it to happen.''

A lot of fans are enthused about watching Sosa and a healthy Griffey hit home runs this year. Slammin' Sammy needs 50 to reach No. 500 while Junior is only 40 away.

Barry Bonds, whose record-breaking 73 gave him 567 overall, and the San Francisco Giants open Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

The revamped Mets, with Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno, are home to play Pittsburgh on Monday. The St. Louis Cardinals, minus Big Mac, get a visit from Colorado.

Texas, with a fearsome lineup now that Juan Gonzalez has returned, hopes newcomer Chan Ho Park can give it a good start at Oakland. AL MVP Ichiro Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners, coming off a record-tying 116-win season, will be at Safeco Field for a visit from the Chicago White Sox.

The Mariners and A's are planning to return to the playoffs. This early, even the lowly Orioles are raising their expectations.

``It's kind of nice to be the underdog,'' Erickson said. ``I think everybody here wants to go out there and show them that we're a pretty good team.''