21.   Garciaparra is the man in the middle of a nice problem the Red Sox have with middle infielders.

22.   Gil primarily is a middle infielder, but he has been able to make the necessary adjustments having played most of his career as a utility player.

23.   Gillespie knew the Trojans signed a potential star middle infielder when he beat out UCLA, Arizona State and others for Brewster.

24.   Griffey, who got no help from his middle infielders, got a late jump and allowed the ball to fall in for a gift single.

25.   He hits for average and has decent power for a middle infielder.

26.   In this era of offense, when even middle infielders hit opposite-field homers with regularity, Martinez and Johnson are dominating the game.

27.   Instead, they took middle infielder Edwin Diaz from the Rangers with their sixth pick in the first round.

28.   Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino, the middle infielders, also are new by way of the Mets through Cleveland.

29.   Kent, who has provided tremendous power for a middle infielder, must stay healthy.

30.   Kevin Patrick, a middle infielder at Fresno City College, is now playing third base for the first time in his life.