JETHAWKS NOTEBOOK: A BIG-LEAGUE EXPERIENCE JETHAWKS MEET DIAMONDBACKS MONDAY IN LANCASTER.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

TUCSON, Ariz. - The dream of someday reaching the big leagues helps minor-leaguers get through the long hot summer.

On Monday, for a few hours, the JetHawks players will get to live their dreams when they play an exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 3 p.m. at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

The JetHawks, who are in the first year of a new player development contract with the Diamondbacks, played an exhibition game against the Seattle Mariners, their former parent club, prior to the team's 1996 inaugural season.

The Diamondbacks, like many major-league teams, play exhibition games against their minor-league teams to reward the affiliates and their fans for the support they give their players, while giving the younger players a taste of what its like to be in the big leagues.

``You'd have to be nuts not to be excited about it,'' said infielder Billy Martin, who is on the JetHawks tentative roster. ``That's where you want to go, so you get to see what they've got.''

``It should be a lot of fun,'' he added. ``It'll be a good story.''

Veteran Diamondbacks infielder Jay Bell said he's looking forward to the chance to meet and play against some of the top prospects in the organization.

Bell, who played in the California League as a member of the Visalia Oaks 17 years ago, expects the experience will take him back a little bit.

``It's interesting to go down and remember what we went through to get to where we are now,'' he said.

But for Diamondbacks pitcher Brian Anderson, who played for Triple-A Tucson as recently as two years ago, playing against minor-leaguers won't take him very far back at all. When he was in the Cleveland Indians organization, he pitched against his parent team for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in an exhibition game in 1997.

``That was a big game for us,'' he said. ``All the players wanted to show what we could do.''

JetHawks catcher Josh Glassey is excited about playing the Diamondbacks, but he's trying to keep the event in perspective.

``I'm sure I'll tell people that we played against the Diamondbacks, but we've got a whole season to look forward to,'' he said.

--Good start: Right-hander Andrew Good has been tentatively slated to be the JetHawks starting pitcher against the Diamondbacks Monday, pitching coach Mike Parrott said. Good, the organization's minor- league pitcher of the year in 1999, missed the entire 2000 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Good will likely work three innings and Castillo will be the first pitcher out of the bullpen.

--No Unit: The Diamondbacks will not bring Randy Johnson with them to Lancaster on Monday, a team official said. Johnson is scheduled to pitch in the Diamondbacks season opener at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.

Johnson was in Lancaster for the 1996 exhibition game against the JetHawks as a member of the Seattle Mariners.

--First change: The first change to the JetHawks tentative roster involves a swap between first basemen Steve Neal and Ryan Jones.

Neal, who played for the Mavericks last season, was expected to play in the California League again this season, was promoted to Double-A El Paso. Jones, who had been playing with the El Paso group this spring, replaces him on the JetHawks roster.

``I have mixed emotions,'' Neal said. ``I wanted to play in Lancaster, but I'm looking forward to moving up.''

Neal, a left-handed power hitter, would likely have feasted on the prevailing jet stream that blows to right field at the Hanger.

The right-handed hitting Jones, a second-round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays June 1993 draft, has also served stints with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians organizations, and most recently with the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the Independent Northern League.

--Homeward bound: The JetHawks play their last spring-training game at 10 a.m. today against the Chicago White Sox advanced Single-A team, and then immediately afterwards embark on a 500-mile journey through the desert to Lancaster. They are not expected to reach the Antelope Valley until late Saturday night.

JetHawks boosters are spending the day busily baking cookies to leave in the players' lockers.

The JetHawks have their first workout at Lancaster Municipal Stadium at 3 p.m. Sunday. The boosters have scheduled a pot luck dinner for the players at 5 p.m.

--Movin' on up: Typically in Single-A ball, one third of a team after each season advances to the next level, another third remains at the same level, and the remaining third are released.

But the 2000 JetHawks, who were 89-51 in the regular season, were no typical team and 18 players who logged significant playing time on last year's team will start the 2001 season at an advanced level.

Pitcher Josue Matos, who spent the first half of last season at Lancaster before being promoted to Double-A New Haven, was promoted to Triple-A Tacoma to start the season.

Outfielder Juan Silvestre, the California League most valuable player last season, leads the cast of last season's JetHawks who made the Double-A San Antonio team. Pitchers Jeff Heaverlo, Enmanuel Ulloa, Scott Atchison, Brandon Parker, Cody Morrison, Allan Simpson, Melqui Torres, and Kenny Rayborn, infielders Willie Bloomquist, Craig Kuzmic, Antonio Perez, Bo Robinson, and outfielder P.J. Williams, are all headed to San Antonio.

Pitchers Chris Mears, Aaron Looper, and Caleb Balbuena, infielder Robert Gandolfo, and outfielders Wilfredo Quintana and Sheldon Fulse, who all played at least some time in Lancaster last season, return to the California League with the San Bernardino Stampede, the Mariners' new affiliate.