PHOENIX -- Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew is headed to the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

 

Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin made the announcement following the club's 5-3 loss to the Giants on Saturday at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks will make a corresponding roster move Sunday, Melvin said.

 

Drew's MRI on Saturday revealed the injury, Melvin said.

 

"I don't know what grade but enough to put him on the DL," Melvin said. "We figured if it's six or seven days before he would be able to play again and rather than go short (on the roster) for that long, go ahead and put him on the DL and get him healthy."

 

Drew is hitting .205 in 13 games this season. He left in the fourth inning of the game against the Giants on April 17 because of left hamstring tightness and was listed as day to day. He returned to the starting lineup the following Wednesday and struck out three times in four at-bats against the Rockies. He went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts Friday against the Giants.

 "I felt like when he was back in the lineup he was ready," Melvin said. "With those type of injuries you want to make sure you are OK and I thought he was."

 

Melvin said Drew tweaked his hamstring on a play up the middle Friday against the Giants. Augie Ojeda started in Drew's place Saturday.

"You never want to see that thing happen, especially with a kid who's only about 22, 23 years old," Guillen said. "That gives you an idea you're not invincible. You've got to pray and you've got to thank God every day for what you have. You've got to thank God every day what your situation is, no matter what kind of situation you have because all of a sudden your life can go.

"You don't know how you're going to die, when you're going to die. I feel for them. I feel most for the family and the organization right now. I think they're going to go through a tough time, especially when you're in your 20s. You're supposed to die someday, but I don't think you should die that way and that young."

ARLINGTON - The Rangers cruised past the Cleveland Indians on Opening Day at The Ballpark in Arlington on Monday but a different type of game started right around the time the fans reached their cars in parking lot and scoreboard stopped blinking, "Hello, Win Column.".

In the victorious Rangers clubhouse, reporters twirled their pens and cameramen checked their batteries. Off to the side, a few television personalities patted their microphones with their palms while their colleagues stood nearby in silence.

The most ambitious - read: pushy -- media-types jockeyed for position in front of the locker of rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus before they really needed to but nobody seemed to care.

Everybody else patiently played the waiting game and it was no big deal.

Andrus has played only one game for the Rangers, a 9-1 win, but if Monday's reception was any indication, he is on his way to winning over those that think a 20-year-old infielder belongs in the Minor Leagues. Andrus has already won over a legion of North Texas baseball fans. The crowd at The Ballpark in Arlington gave him a loud reception during pre-game introductions.

He gave the Rangers' faithful plenty more reasons to cheer during the contest.

"Everybody always talks about his age and how he's going to struggle but like I said before, 'This guy is a baseball player,' Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I have confidence in him."

Andrus, hitting in the ninth spot, went 1-for-4 in his big league debut. His first hit, a double to right field in the second inning, came in his first at-bat and off of reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee.

After the game, Andrus was given the now-sentimental baseball. It's headed for a mantle or a case at his home in Venezuela, he said.

"I tried to let the game to me and everything went good," Andrus said. "After the first hit or the first out you make, everything calms down. ... I'm really not too nervous when I go hit, but maybe a little bit when I'm on defense."

Nervous? The laid-back Andrus appeared just as cool on defense.

In the fifth inning, Andrus showed his range, snaring a sharp groundball up the middle off the bat of Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and throwing him out at first base. Andrus was also instrumental in a pair of nifty double plays.

"You have to know where you are going to play with different hitters," Andrus said. "Sometimes you go 'pull' and sometimes you go 'straight.' I was a little bit in the middle. It's the first day and I was really excited. I got the ball and I made a good play."

When asked about his defense prowess, Andrus confidently shrugged. He expects to make good plays, better plays. Like Washington said, he is a baseball player.

"It's baseball," Andrus said. "It's different being here on this level with professional hitters and they know what they are doing but it's still baseball. It's still groundballs. You just go after it aggressively and get the out."

See? No big deal.

"I've been preparing for this my whole life," he said. "I've always had challenges in my life. I was always the youngest kid in the league every where I played. Sometimes you hear people talk bad about you but that just motivates me to be the best player I can be, to get better. I know things are not going to go perfect this year. There will be good things and bad things, but I'm ready for it. I prepared for it."

Andrus gives credit to his teammates, especially to countryman Omar Vizquel, Kinsler and third baseman Michael Young, for helping him deal with the pressure of opening the season in the big leagues. His teammates are his family - at least for now. Andrus's mother Elvia and  brothers Elrod and Erikson didn't make the trip from Venezuela. He has a sister in New Jersey but Emily didn't come to Texas, either. Emilio, the shortstop's father, passed away in 1996. Andrus is currently living in a nearby hotel provided by the team. He expects to move into his own place soon.

"He's a confident kid and he's always smiling and having fun on the field," Kinsler said. "You could tell last year in Spring Training that he was a little overmatched but not at all this year. Good players make that adjustment fast and he has been able to do that."

Andrus made one major adjustment before the first pitch was even delivered by Lee. Last year before opening up the season with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate in nearby Frisco, Andrus says nerves and anticipation kept him up all night. On Sunday, he slept like a baby.

"Today got here quick," he said. "There are a lot of things going on but I've been able to relax and concentrate on the game, have some fun."

No big deal.

There's a traditional strategy in professional baseball that everybody knows about and almost every manager follows to a tee. This conventional wisdom is employed during certain hitting match ups, pitching match ups, and game situations - on offense and defense. Call it the "book." And it's based on years of baseball games and years of statistics. You either follow it, or you don't. But be prepared, when you don't go by the book, you will be chastised - at least a little - for going against traditional beliefs and following a hunch, your hunch.

Aside from game situations, conventional wisdom most often comes into play when making annual predictions for a season. Prognosticators look at stats, health, past performances, talent level, the schedule, the match ups and the etcetera. It all makes perfect sense. I do the same thing. Well, I did up until now. Because today not only will I offer the conventional picks for the 2009 season but I'll also share my hunches. Yes, the hunches count as my official picks. I'm going with my feelings this year. Conventional wisdom has its place in baseball, just not in every single place.

But that's just me.

So without further delay, here are my picks (hunches) for the  2009 season. And if for some reason, I pick against your favorite team, don't throw the book at me. Remember it's just a hunch. I do believe that anything can happen on any given day at the ballpark.

Remember the Tampa Rays?

National League East: Here's where conventional wisdom, going with a hunch and just being a smart baseball fan come together. Who is not going to pick the Phillies to repeat as World Series champions? Yes, Cole Hamels is not completely healthy yet, but that team is loaded. Raul Ibanez was a great addition and I expect catcher Carlos Ruiz to improve his game. Conventional wisdom has them winning the division -- again. They are the champs, you know. I have them finishing in second place behind the Mets. I have a hunch the Mets are not going to disappear in the final month of the season the way they have the past two years. Here's why: Frank Rodriguez makes the entire bullpen better, Gary Sheffield makes the bench stronger and age is a factor. I can't see Sheffield or Carlos Delgado wanting to ride off into the sunset after a solid big league career as losers. And I don't care how much is he beloved in Queens, if General Manager Omar Minaya doesn't win, he will be gone. The pressure is on. That's what the book says or at least it should. That's what I say, too.

National League West: Nobody loves reading more about Manny Ramirez than I do, but it's going to take more than personality, dreadlocks and one Hall of Fame caliber hitter to win the division for the Dodgers. Conventional wisdom has the Dodgers repeating as the division champions. That's just how it goes for a defending division champion. I say they finish in third place behind the Diamondbacks and the Giants. The Diamondbacks and the Giants can flat out pitch and that's the difference and that's why they will win. I do have a hunch that I will buy a Manny wig for my father when I go to Dodger Stadium, so that has to count for something.

National League Central: This is the year for the Cubbies. That's what their fans say and have been saying for the last 100 years. And it's hard to argue their logic (did I call Cubs fans logical?) because one look at the roster and it immediately says "division champion." The Cubs are everybody's pick -- just not mine. I think Mr. Everything Mark DeRosa will be missed at Wrigley and the bullpen is talented but not proven. Even Carlos Marmol, the only reliever returning this year from last year, can be unpredictable at times. You want to go with a hunch? Go with the Reds. The team is loaded with talent up and down the lineup and has enough starting pitching - Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, Johnny Cueto -- to beat any team in any series. Veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez just might be a perfect fit behind the plate. He calls a good game and has an easy-going personality to boot.

American League East:  The Yankees won't make the playoffs. It's just a hunch. The Red Sox won't make the playoffs. That's just a hunch, too. The American League wild card winner will come out of the American League Central which leaves the Rays as the division winner in 2009. Yes, I know it's hard (and unpopular) to pick against the Yankees or the Red Sox but I'm not ready to anoint them the favorites in the division yet. Tampa can still pitch and as long as they can pitch, they will win games. They might also be the most athletic team in the division. And oh yeah, they are the reigning AL champs. I'm not sure what conventional wisdom says about the AL East, but I say it's time for the Rays - again.

American League West: Is it right to even think this? Is this real? Did I just pick the Rangers to win the division on a hunch? No, I didn't. The Angels are back and they will always be the top team until somebody knocks them off. I know John Lackey is out and Kelvim Escobar is a question mark but it's hard to pick against a team as talented as the Angels. Will they make it out of the first round of the playoffs? They sure will. In fact, if the team comes together the way I think it can, it's going to feel like 2002 in Anaheim all over again. But if the Angels are plagued with injuries this summer, the Rangers win the division. There, I said it. Call it a hometown hunch.

American League Central: Cleveland wins the division. Minnesota finishes as the runner-up and still makes the playoffs. The Royals and the White Sox are talented enough to win a lot of games and they will do so - out of the division. Need more? Look at the rosters. I just have a feeling on this one. That's why it's called a hunch.

National League champion: Reds.

American League champion: Angels

World Series champion: Do the winners of the World Series still go to Disneyland? It won't be a long drive for the 2009 champions. The Angels play a few miles away from the happiest place on earth.