01:00 AM EST on Saturday, April 1, 2006

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

Major League Baseball will check its players for amphetamines. And investigate possible steroid use from 2003 and beyond.

Johnny Damon no longer is in Boston. Manny Ramirez and David Wells still are. So is Theo Epstein . . . And who would have thought that on Halloween night, when he donned his gorilla suit and skipped out of Fenway Park after announcing he was leaving the Red Sox?

After years of serving as a de facto taxi squad -- fielding teams filled with veteran minor-leaguers who could be called upon to fill limited roles in Boston -- the Pawtucket Red Sox once again will be loaded with Grade A prospects, the way they used to be back when McCoy Stadium was known as a place where dreams begin.

There's no easing into things; not this year. The 2006 baseball season already is filled with compelling stories, and the first pitch hasn't even been thrown.

The Journal's three-day baseball preview package begins today; a schedule is elsewhere on this page. All these topics, and many more, will be examined between now and Monday, when the Red Sox open their season at Texas.

Yes, the opener isn't until Monday. Thanks to the plethora of news we've already had, dating back to Epstein's temporary departure last October, it just seems like the season already is under way.

amartone@projo.com / (401) 277-7345