LOS ANGELES (AP) - In an attempt to further solidify their lineup, the Los Angeles Riots did absolutely nothing during the offseason. "We just didn't have too much interest in what was out there on the open market," said General Manager O.J. Simpson, "Rodney [King, LA Manager] and I sat down and discussed things, but there just isn't anything out there. It's especially frustrating when we put two of the league's top players at their positions on the block don't receive any respectable offers.

What Simpson is referring to are the offers which the team received from Amity and Luxor, neither of which were in the better interests of the team. One of the deals asked for budding superstar Jeffery D'Amico, who the team refuses to part with.

Going into this 2004 season the Riots only have one question mark: who is going to play leftfield? On one hand you have the incumbent Ubaila Khidr, but he is now 33 years old and the years seem to be weighing on him as Khidr has failed to contribute as the team would like for the past two seasons. On the other hand you have Kevin Curtis, who had his rookie season last year - at the age of 27. Curtis, now 28, the superior fielder of the two, seems to have the ability to hit 30 homers, and still possesses solid speed. Word is that Khidr will be given a chance to prove that he can still play. Should he falter, however, manager Rodney King will not falter in plugging Curtis into the starting lineup.

Besides leftfield the Riots seem to be set on the rest of their lineup, one that will look very much like the one the team went with towards the end of last season:

LF Ubaila Khidr
DH Ron Wright
CF Ken Griffey Jr.
1B Jimmie Foxx
SS Sendai Ashikaga
RF Raul Mondesi
C Todd Hundley
3B Gabe Alvarez
2B Qual Vero

"We feel extremely comfortable with our lineup," boasted bench coach Reginald Denny, "Looking over it on paper there are no weak spots when looking at the players' career numbers. With Ron Wright we finally have a solid number two hitter, which was a surprise in itself. I suggested we try him there during last season to Rodney, and sure enough he caught fire and helped carry the team to our second consecutive division title."

One of the surprises the team had during the offseason was Sendai Ashikaga and Ron Wright pairing up as workout partners. Their goal: to shed a few pounds to help with their speed without losing any strength. Well not only did were the two successful in speeding up, Ashikaga looks to be in the best form of his career and Wright seems ready to follow-up his breakout season last year with another outstanding season, something that should be easy to do with slugger Ken Griffey, Jr. hitting behind him.

Within the pitching staff the Riots are blessed with superstar Greg Maddux, but it doesn't end there. Last season the youngster D'Amico, who was acquired with Khidr from Atlanta [then Baghdad] three years ago, came up big down the stretch last season and looks to be in top form coming into this season, as he inherits a full-time slot in the starting rotation. Besides Maddux and D'Amico this staff includes steady vets such as Tom Glavine and Zanjan Hamadan, along with veteran Ozzie Thornton, who looks to forget his miserable season of a year ago and build on the success he had during the championship season of 2002. Should Thornton be able to rebound, there would be nothing to hold this Riot club short of the 2004 Weaver Series.