Theres something weird that happens to ballplayers when they strap on their spikes at Dodger Stadium.

Maybe, its the glitter and glamour that gets to them.

Or it could be the balmy weather, even in April.

Possibly it is because there are such gorgeous babes in the stands, in various states of undress.

Within a year or two of arrival, they kick back, or nurse injuries, or just lose all the starch that was in their caps when they played for the Marlins, or Braves, or Toronto.

Look at Brian Jordan, Shawn Green, Gary Sheffield, and then that litany of pitchers gone badDarren Dreifort and Kevin Brown, to name a few of the vastly overpaid.

Now, we have a new regime in town, a new General Manager from the archrival Giants, Mr. Coletti, and a team of hastily assembled veterans, with questionable health credentials.

Can this team make a credible run at the division championship?

It can, if only because its peer group is mediocre, at best. The Padres topped the division in 05 by winning slightly more than half of their games. So, hobbled and knarled veterans could patch together a better record, simply by showing up.

But dont expect them to get into the second round of the postseason. By then, the only man left standing may be Jeff Kent.

Thats no surprise: hes the only gamer among them, who Hollywood hasnt been able to seduce.

Yet.