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44 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP JOSECARLOSFAJARDO;PREVIOUSSPREAD:JOSIELEPE;OPENINGSPREAD:ASSOCIATEDPRESS THE GIANTS aspectofthegame." Count another former Giants shortstop among those who admir e C ra wfor d and P ani k. Rich Aurilia, now serving as a special instructor with the club in spring training, agreed that the Giants' middle-infield combo is as golden as it gets. "We all know what Craw can do, and now he's on a national level," Aurilia said. "And Joe, I mean, in all reality, he probably would've won a Gold Glove if he played all last season, and don't forget that he's a shortstop who's still learning second base. "So it's two young guys who are athletic, who have good range, they're surehanded. I mean, every pillar you've got on there, they have it. And the way they play the game is fundamentally sound. They complement each other very well. "Plus we all know the best ath - letes on the field are shortstops." What position did Aurilia play, again? "Um, until I got too old?" he said, grinning. "Shortstop." So what attribute is the most im - portant in forming a seamless dou- ble-play combination? Aurilia went with range, because "we had to know how far we could play from the bag and how quick we could get to the bag. The more range we had, the better we could be." Yet ask Aurilia to list his best double-play partner, and he bypasses Bret Boone — who had plenty of range for a second base - man — and picks Jeff Kent. Was it because Kent played with more panache and creativity? "C'mon, you watched Jeff play for a long time," said Aurilia, leaning against the wall in a cinder block hallway. "Jeff played with as much panache as this wall here. But he was very surehanded, and we worked well together. We always knew where the other would be." That goes to teamwork and trust. Vizquel has turned more double plays than any shortstop in major league history. He said when he tutors young Tigers infielders on the art, he stresses the importance of continuity. Even though your instincts are to be as quick as possible, it's often worth taking that extra fraction of a second to make sure your feed is in the same place every time. "That's why I'd say timing and trust kind of go hand in hand," Panik said. "Because when you have trust in one another, the timing's going to be there. If you don't have trust, you're going to be a little more passive. It's, 'OK, if he's inaccurate, I've got to be wor - ried about catching the ball and securing it first instead of getting ready to throw.'" CRAWFORDSAIDITDOESN'T take long to become accustomed to a new double-play partner because the differences are subtle. He noted that former Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro liked double-play feeds to be led to his left side, maybe so he could come across the bag and clear himself a little better from onrushing base runners. Whether he is breaking in a new double-play partner or not, Crawford said he will spend the first weeks of spring training con - centrating on his footwork. He'll refresh his instincts in terms of positioning and angles. That way, the next time he goes deep to his right and has to make one of those blind, whirling throws to second base, it'll be right on target. Panik marvels at Crawford's spa - tial awareness. Come to think of it, that could be the seventh pillar. "It's off the charts," Panik said. "And as someone who came up as a shortstop, I appreciate what a gift that is. I'll be honest with you, there hasn't been one time he couldn't get to a ball that I felt I would've gotten. Even last year when he was banged up." Vizquel doesn't get to see enough NL baseball to make a de - finitive statement on the best dou- ble-play combo in the league. He admires his own guys in Detroit, Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias, and also mentioned the Rangers' duo of Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus. But all-time, it probably doesn't get better than those three sea - sons (1999-2001) when Vizquel overlapped in Cleveland with Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar. "What was so good about that combination is that we didn't take ground balls together too much," Vizquel said. "We hit in differ - ent groups. We did our work at different times. But all it took was a week or two in spring training. The creativity from both sides took over. He was so quick that basically whatever throw he gave me, we were going to turn the double play. "And we killed a lot of rallies. When you turn two, you're getting your pitcher out of a big inning. When you go to the playoffs and the World Series, to have a defense like that, you've got the game half won." And when you dive on your stomach, smother a grounder up the middle, creatively flip with your glove as Panik did, and start one of the most important double plays in World Series history? Well, you can add this to the Ron Wotus trifecta: enthusiastic applause. ABAGGARLY@MERCURYNEWS.COM Crawford completes a double play. "We all know what Craw can do, and now he's on a national level," says Rich Aurilia, a special instructor with the Giants in spring training.