When the Somerset Patriots won their record third Atlantic League championship last season, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone tell you that it was the hitting that led them to the title.

The Patriots team batting average of .272 ranked dead last among the eight Atlantic League teams; and of the league's top 25 hitters, the Patriots had only one.

But there is good news, as that hitter, Ryan Radmanovich (.319) will come back for his fourth year to lead the team into its 2006 season.

"Radmanovich is really good," said 2004 Olympic teammate Simon Pond, who's now in the Pirates organization, "he's better than that league, that's for sure."

But the Patriots are fortunate enough to not only have the Canadian-born right fielder return for his fourth season, but third baseman Jeff Nettles will come back as well. Nettles, who along with Radmanovich hit 28 home runs last season to set the franchise record, will have a new infielder across the diamond this year, as Todd Betts has departed for Korea.

Former big leaguer Larry Barnes will take over as the team's new first baseman after spending his 2005 season with the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins.  

After the retirement of second baseman and team captain Emiliano Escandon, the team decided to bring George Sandel back from last year's team to attempt to fill the gap in the middle infield. Popular amongst his teammates, manager Sparky Lyle is going to need to see an improvement over the .229 batting average Sandel posted last season, not to mention a little more power.

In his third season of minor league baseball, Sandel hit his first and only professional home run last year. He would have been the first Patriot to go a full season without a home run since Duke Baxter achieved that dubious distinction in 2002.

Shortstop Kevin Nicholson wants to come back to the Patriots, and the club wants him to come back. So what's the problem? Visa issues are holding up the process, and if Nicholson misses the start of the season as a result, it would be a huge blow to the team's championship hopes.

Nicholson, who represented Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic with fellow countryman Radmanovich, is a former first round pick that played with the San Diego Padres in 2000 and hit .281 in his first season in the Atlantic League last year.

If Nicholson can't return, the Patriots have another former big league infielder with them in Spring Training. Felix Martinez spent five seasons in the show with Kansas City and Tampa Bay, and is the team's backup plan. The likely scenario is for Martinez to be returned to the Road Warriors once Nicholson is able to get his visa.

While the Patriots have ample amounts of talent behind the plate with former Braves backstop Fernando Lunar and Atlantic League All-Star Travis Anderson, the outfield isn't quite as stable.

Ex-Boston farmhand Mike Lockwood appears to be the Opening Day centerfielder, while fourth year utility player Tony Gsell will likely start in left. That leaves Pat Boran and Jim Burt, Jr. on the outside looking in. Both players are listed as outfielders, although Boran played a good part of his games in the infield last season, and Burt was a first baseman at both the University of Miami and in the Mets system.

But even with the uncertainty in the outfield, the Patriots will need to figure out their middle infield first if they want to take home the title in 2006.