DODGERS: WHY NOT MOVE UP MUELLER? THIRD BASEMAN THRIVES NEAR BOTTOM.

Byline: TONY JACKSON  Staff Writer

Grady Little has been watching Bill Mueller go about his business in as professional a manner as humanly possible for a long time.

He managed Mueller for a season in Boston that included an American League batting title amid all the fanfare of a corporate board meeting. Little has him again in Los Angeles, where Mueller's molasses-sweet swing is in a lineup not especially loaded with quality hitters.

Little just wishes he could see it more often.

"I think it's a strategy that whoever is hitting, and a lot of times it just happens to be me, the other team is trying to (set up) a doubleplay ball," said Mueller, referring to the frequency with which opposing pitchers have walked him, intentionally or otherwise.

Teams have avoided pitching to him because he has been one of the league's hottest hitters since Opening Day and the guys coming up behind him, for the most part, have offered little protection.

All of which leads to the question of whether Mueller, who had batted sixth in every game he had started this season until moving to fifth Wednesday night at Houston, should move even higher in the order.

If Mueller thinks the answer is yes, typically, he won't say so.

"I really don't think in terms like that,"he said. "Just because, one, I don't make the lineup, and two, it doesn't really matter much to me."

But according to Little, it does matter to Mueller, at least where his production is concerned.Little said he tried moving Mueller to the two spot in 2003 with the Red Sox, but, in Little's words, "it didn't work too well." Mueller went back to sixth and recovered quickly enough to lead the league in hitting. For the most part, he has been a bottom-half-of-the- order guy ever since.

"Everybody in the world probably gets into a comfort zone, and this is a comfort zone for Billy," Little said.

When opposing clubs have deigned to pitch to Mueller, he usually has burned them. He is hitting .320 - just six points lower than the average which which he won his batting title - with two homers, 13 RBIs and a team-leading seven doubles.

The free agent signing of Mueller, 35, was one of a flurry of offseason moves by new general manager Ned Colletti, and appears to be one of the most significant. At $9.5 million over two years, he already has proven to be one of the most economical.

"He's a smart hitter," Little said. "It's not all natural (ability), either. This kid just really works hard."

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- Tony Jackson