31.   KEY TO SEASON They are going nowhere with the leagueUs lowest payroll, but, with the new veteran pitchers and young hitters, could surprise now and then.

32.   Last month, the Mets decided that Dwight Gooden was the kind of veteran pitcher they could not really afford.

33.   Little wonder manager Jerry Manuel is hoping the White Sox pick up another veteran pitcher . . . Ex-Sox righthander Pat Rapp could be available.

34.   Maybe general manager Doug Melvin inadvertently had the answer when he was talking Thursday about his failure to pursue a trade for veteran pitcher Kevin Appier.

35.   Minnesota veteran pitchers Mike Morgan and Bob Tewksbury may have been taken off the trade market last week after each landed on the disabled list.

36.   Mussina is not only a veteran pitcher, and a hugely successful one, he is also an economics graduate of Stanford.

37.   Need a veteran pitcher for the stretch?

38.   No matter the size of the crowd, the veteran pitcher John Franco said there is a special feeling in the home opener.

39.   Now that the two veteran pitchers have had their day, it is up to the two young starters, Wright and Pettitte, to help decide the series.

40.   One of the things a veteran pitcher told me a long time ago is that as an opposing pitcher, you have the ability to shut up a stadium.