Two months ago, West Springfield coach Kenny Munoz issued a piece of advice for first-year Lake Braddock coach Jody Rutherford. Considering Munoz replaced a highly successful coach the previous year, he knew what faced Rutherford.

But Munoz's advice had nothing to do with playing baseball. Rather, when he heard Rutherford talk about playing basketball, Munoz pounced.

``My first advice,'' Munoz told him, ``is to stop.''

After all, Munoz, who replaced Ron Tugwell, conducted his first tryouts in 2001 from a golf cart after he ruptured his Achilles' tendon playing hoops.

But Rutherford didn't listen. And a week later, he showed up at another clinic with a splint on his finger, courtesy of basketball.

Rutherford, though, has listened to what Munoz has to say about following a tough act. Rutherford takes over for Dan Griel, who won 262 games in 18 seasons. That won't be easy.

``I almost see it as a challenge,'' said Rutherford, a 1992 Fairfax graduate who spent the past four seasons as a Bruins assistant. ``A lot of people will say what a great coach Danny was and a lot of people will point out a lot of things that I do wrong in certain situations and compare it to Danny. But I have a little bit of confidence that I can do a good job this year.

``You'll have players that will test you, especially with me being so young. But they'll realize this is business as usual. I'm a different coach, but I have a lot of the same expectations.''

Last season, Munoz inherited a team that was expected to contend for a Northern Region title. Rutherford is not in that spot this spring.

Actually, it's hard to even pick one team that enters the season as a Patriot District favorite. Which means six of the seven teams believe they can win.

The Patriot has undergone a facelift the past two years. Hayfield's Ron Simms, in his 13th season, is the district's longest tenured coach.

After that, it's West Potomac's Mike Ginn, in his fifth season. And Simms already has said this is his last year.

Another difference: the Patriot lacks the pitching studs it's had in the past. The four all-district pitchers from a year ago were seniors.

Also, underclassmen filled only three of the 10 positions on the all-district team.

``Everyone has the impression our district is down,'' second-year Robinson coach Bill Evers said. ``We lack the dominating number-one pitcher."

The best pitchers are outside of our district. We may be without one of the top three or four teams this year. It just means the race is wide open.''

But it's also true that the Patriot might have set itself up for another successful run with yet another young coach in Rutherford. The Patriot teams have replaced top coaches with energetic youthful ones. Not to mention confident.

Rutherford still talks with Griel, picking his brain for more advice.

``But I don't have to compare myself to him,'' Rutherford said. ``The bottom line is, kids need to go out and play ball. We have, as usual, a good group of kids.''

Like the rest of the district, though, the Bruins have question marks. They return five starters from an 11-8 team that lost in the first round of the region tournament to Centreville.

Seniors A.J. Broadbent (first base), Matt Coleman (third base) and Brent Hitz (pitcher) and junior Scott Hoar (catcher) all return. Senior Byron Caswell, who will start at short also played a lot in 2001. Coleman made second-team all-district after hitting .298 a year ago.

Lake Braddock has 11 juniors on the roster, including likely starters Shawn Harrison (outfield) and Dan Griffin (second base).

Hitz doesn't allow that many on the mound, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.87 ERA in 39 innings pitched last season. Rutherford likes what he's seen of Hitz, especially his control. Junior Mike Barchok and Coleman also will pitch.

``Danny was smart and he took care of me,'' Rutherford said. ``He knew this would be a year where there was some talent, but not one where the expectations would be that we're expected to win the region. He could have gone another year, but he realized this might be a good year to let someone else take care of the program.''

Which leads to Munoz's last piece of advice.

``He just needs to do the things he knows,'' said Munoz, who said his adjustment took several weeks. ``Both programs were built up. You just have to come in and hope you don't mess it up.''

ANNANDALE

Annandale might be the only school hoping for rain. With a new $3,500 tarpaulin, the Atoms know they'll be able to play even on bad days. And the Atoms will take any advantage they can get in this district.

But they have developed a solid program under coach Matt Caudle the past two years, reaching the region tournament both seasons. Annandale returns four starters from an 11-11 team that lost by one run to Jefferson in the first round of the region tournament.

Caudle calls senior shortstop Jay Athey, ``the best I've ever had [at short]. He has great hands and never gets a bad hop.'' Athey, a three-year starter, also runs well and batted .400 last season.

Two other seniors are in their third varsity season: Willie Freeman (second base) and Justin Klunk (center field). Senior Kevin Rudd (third base) is the other returning starter.

Senior Chris Bagot will help in the outfield and on the basepaths with his quickness. Senior Matt Bickert (pitcher/first base/DH) will again fill various roles.

Two sophomores - Evan Ashe and Ted Gibson - likely will split time at catcher.

Junior Travis Johnson, who moved in from Florida, will help on the mound along with Bickert. Caudle said seven others can pitch, but all are untested.

At the plate, Caudle expects big years from Athey, Freeman and Klunk, a second-team all-district player in 2001.

HAYFIELD

Hayfield will look to its pitchers to help lead the Hawks into the region tournament. After all, seniors Matt Clark and Brenton Flynn combined to throw more than 62 innings a year ago.

Clark posted a 2-1 record with a 3.98 ERA, but coach Ron Simms said the right-hander has added weight, gained velocity and worked on his control.

``He could be a real surprise,'' said Simms, retiring after this season, his 13th as head coach. Flynn is a solid pitcher who went 2-3 with one save and a 3.06 ERA. Junior Nick Rogers learned a third pitch in the offseason and now can throw two changeups. He'll also start in center.

Two more juniors should help on the mound: hard-throwing Matt Waddon and Kyle Morgan, also the quarterback on the football team.

The Hawks return two all-district players in seniors Matt Small (catcher) and Curtis Marion (DH). Small batted .433 with 26 hits, 21 RBI and 18 runs scored; Marion hit .412 with 28 hits, 21 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Junior Mark Weaver, a returning starter, has moved from third to shortstop. He and sophomore second baseman Danny Puhek should form a solid double-play combination. Sophomore right fielder Andy Heard is strong defensively.

Simms said the Hawks only need some confidence to pair with their pitching and defense. If that happens, he said, ``we'll play deep into the postseason.''

ROBINSON

Coach Bill Evers expects to be more balanced offensively than last season, when four players handled the bulk of the fireworks. Now, Evers says, each of the nine hitters can contribute.

But ...

``How that translates into wins and losses I still don't know,'' said Evers, who graduated three all-district players. They combined for 61 RBI during the regular season and led the 16-6 Rams to the district championship.

Senior Mack McDevitt returns at catcher, where he's battling with junior Andrew Fritz, a strong defensive catcher, for the job. Regardless, McDevitt will play somewhere.

Senior Chris Smith played well in the outfield last season, but will move to his more natural spot at second base. Senior Jayson Basanes will start at short.

Junior Mark Genovese, whose brother Mike was named all-region by the coaches last season, will start at third. Junior Ben Reade will start in the outfield. He'll also serve as the No. 2 pitcher.

Junior Jake Bruton will be the ace after getting valuable experience last season when he defeated West Springfield, Hayfield and DeMatha.

Bruton is not an overpowering pitcher, but Evers likes that the right-hander can throw four pitches for strikes and understands how to pitch.

The Rams will have 11 new varsity players.

``Some of them are talented,'' Evers said. ``But we don't know how they'll deal with playing at the varsity level.''

T.C. WILLIAMS

T.C. is starting over once again with a new coach, its fourth one in the past five years. The challenge remains the same.

This time it's Scott Lodgek who must convince the Alexandria school to embrace baseball. They did so four years ago when the Titans reached the region semifinals.

Lodgek hopes that can happen again. The numbers suggest it probably won't this season as only four starters return from a 1-18 squad.

But Lodgek is encouraged by the actions of the T.C. baseball boosters, who raised enough money to send the Titans to Cocoa Beach, Fla., next week. The school also paid for a new batting cage, which Lodgek calls ''one of the better ones around.'' The Titans also will have new uniforms.

It's a start.

``We're just trying to build a different atmosphere and attitude,'' said Lodgek, an assistant at T.C. last year. He played at the University of North Carolina and spent three years in the Seattle Mariners' organization. Lodgek also was a head coach at a high school in Hilton Head, S.C., and an assistant at a New Jersey school.

While the Titans are building for the future, any success this season rests on the returnees: seniors Josh Miller (catcher), Tristan Raycroft (center field/pitcher) and Andrew Beckman (pitcher). Sophomore Colin O'Neil started most of the season in left in 2001.

Juniors Simon Heiten and Brian Schmauder will start at short and third, respectively. Freshmen Roland Haskins (first base) and Jared Khumerker (second base) also will start. The trick, for the young players, is to remain upbeat and hard-working while taking their lumps, Lodgek said.

WEST POTOMAC

West Potomac is loaded with seniors, which will either help or hurt the Wolverines.

``On the one hand, they have that attitude that, `This is finally our year,' " West Potomac coach Mike Ginn said. ``At the same time, as a coach one of my concerns is a possible complacency.''

But Ginn also is confident that if some of the seniors slip, he has a handful of sophomores ready to play. And that, he hopes, should keep the seniors sharp.

Maybe that will help West Potomac, 9-10 a year ago, finally return to the region tournament for the first time in four years. The Wolverines always seem to be close, but often are the fifth best team when only four can advance.

They do have experience with four three-year varsity members, all of whom are seniors: Colby Snyder (catcher), Will English (third base), Ben Rankin (second base) and Zach Yoxtheimer (outfield). All but Yoxtheimer, a good hitter, have started for three seasons.

English earned second-team all-district honors after hitting .300 last season. Snyder batted .340.

Senior Braden Harrison returns to start in center. Senior Chris Brandenburg, a part-time starter last season, now has a permanent job in the outfield.

Three seniors pitched some last year: John Hassan, Shaun Hoy and Cole Smith. Hoy has looked good early; Hassan won three games last season.

Sophomore Paul Donaldson also has thrown well in practice and will be in the rotation.

Juniors Larry Green (shortstop/pitcher) and Greg Schmidt (outfield) have a chance to start. Donaldson also can play shortstop. Senior Travis Kerstetter will chip in behind the plate or at first.

Ginn likes his team's offense and defense. It's just a matter of piecing together a staff.

``We really have a chance to be up there,'' he said. ``That's a big If of course. When you're talking about a pitching staff, that's the name of the game.''

WEST SPRINGFIELD

West Springfield should have a balanced attack, run well and play solid defense. That leaves one area: pitching. How the Spartans fare on the mound will determine how far they advance.

``We need some senior pitchers to step up,'' West Springfield coach Ken Munoz said. ``If they do we should have a pretty good year.''

Senior Joe Bianchetta threw 26 innings last year, compiling a 4-1 record with one save for the 17-7 Spartans, who lost to Langley in the region quarterfinals. Bianchetta will be joined on the mound by junior left-hander Grant Bauley, who, Munoz said, has a chance for an excellent season. Senior Trey Jordan, who gets good movement out of his sidearm motion, also will pitch.

The Spartans should be strong up the middle with all-Journal center fielder Adam Calderone, a senior who batted .382 with 21 RBI. He also batted well in the clutch, with several game-winning hits.

Senior second baseman Hunter Peacock, a .268 hitter in 2001, and junior shortstop Danny Wuckovich, a new starter, both have good gloves. So, too, does senior catcher Jason McDonough.

Junior designated hitter Tony Jenkins batted .371 with 19 RBI en route to second-team all-district honors.

Junior Kevin Koblitz (outfield) and sophomore Kyle Murdock (outfield) both run well.