CORDOBA (AP) - As the dawn rises on the 2006 season, the Argentina Archers seem to be on the verge of competing in the Polanski Division. Finishing just 4 games under .500 in 2005, the Archers were without 2 of their most productive hitters for a total of a month and a half.

"With Duane (Singleton) and Carlos (Guillen) coming back healthy, we are very hopeful that we will move up once again in the standings," said owner and GM Robert Wyatt. "We also made a trade that plugs the only real hole we had in our lineup last year."

The Archers added 3B Jason Giambi who has good career numbers, though had his worst season last year for Long Beach. "The price was high, but we were looking to get out of the draft this year since we had a major need at 3B especially against left handed pitching, which Jason hit .278 against for his career." That number should increase signifigantly in hitter friendly Roy Campanella Memorial Park. "We came into the offseason looking to upgrade the production there. Joe (Trippy) put in a lot of effort and played great defnse, but 148 strikeouts with just 21 homeruns, especially in our park is unacceptable."

Giambi, 31 is expected to play for only a couple of seasons, as the coaching staff in the Low minors have been instructed to start working prospect Dave Hanyzeski at 3B. "With Dave we have a great arm and the potential offensive threat we want at third, so we are going to roll the dice. He has shown good ability in the outfield in the early stages of his career, hopefully he can make the adjustment."

Speaking of the Low minors, the subject of last seasons draft raised some eyebrows in Argentina, when they selected two pitchers instead of opting for the top projected offensive prospects. "Pitching wins championships. It's that simple. We are lookign for people who can get outs, since our current pitching staff have struggled the past few seasons." The Archers chose Brady Weathers and Donnell Miller, making them the first 2 pitchers selected. "They both had tremendous upside potential and both had excellent offseasons. We are very optimistic that they will be Cy Young candidates in the near future."

Only time will tell, however looming large this season are expectations. Just 2 short seasons ago, Wyatt predicted that the Archers would be IL Champs next season. "I'm not backing down from the prediction. We did project having another starter or two change this season that didn't happen yet. We are still waiting to have (Melvin) Lowry step up. When that happens, we see him being a strong third starter that will balance out our rotation. However, we have serious offensive fire power, and that can get you far in this league."