Be grateful for little things, people always sermonize.

That must be where David Eckstein comes in for the Angels, who are at their wit's end trying to deal with a 10-game stretch of pitching excellence and offensive ineptitude that has thrown them into an identity crisis.

The 5-foot-8 dynamo has not only been the Angels biggest surprise of the young season, but a sparkplug the others now are trying to follow. He has even bucked the Angels' extended swoon, batting .316 in those 10 games while the rest of the lineup was doing the limbo under the Mendoza (.200) Line.

From being an early Spring Training cut brought back to stick his finger in the second-base dike when Adam Kennedy got hurt, the 26-year-old Florida native has become Mike Scioscia's Swiss Army knife.

Take the recent four-game series in Seattle (please, the Angels would add, considering they'd suffered their first-ever sweep there).

Thursday and Sunday, Eckstein started at shortstop. Friday, he came off the bench as a late-inning defensive replacement. Saturday, he was the DH, of all things.

From one day to the next, and from Glenallen Hill to Eckstein, the Angels lost seven inches and 60 pounds at DH, a role of which Eckstein said, "That's not one of the things I've ever thought about. But I'm happy to get on the field any way I can."

If Scioscia ever needs an extra hand to drag the infield, chances are Eckstein will be his first choice for that, too. The manager has seen Eckstein's talents with the bat and glove, and might want to see how he handles the rake.

"Anytime he's around the ball, he just seems to find a way to do the job," said Scioscia.

The key for Eckstein has always been to get "around the ball." He has been a career gate-crasher - once in, he has always turned heads.

Despite being a two-time All-Florida selection as a second baseman at Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida, he had to enroll without a scholarship at the University of Florida in 1994 and walked onto the baseball team. He was All-SEC by 1995, and All-America by 1996.

Despite his collegiate laurels, he wasn't selected until the 19th round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft, by the Red Sox. Naturally, he went on to hit .300-plus in his first three seasons in the Boston organization.

Despite that outstanding track record, he was left on waivers last August - and eagerly claimed by the Angels. Naturally, he hit .346 at Triple-A Edmonton for the final two weeks of the 2000 season.

Despite that eye-catching introduction, the Angels thought little of him during the spring's early camp, giving him few innings and at-bats in Cactus League play - until Kennedy's hand lost a fight with a Mark Guthrie fastball March 8. Naturally, he went on to land the job as the Angels' replacement Opening-Day second baseman.

By the time Kennedy rejoined the lineup April 13 (and quite spectacularly, lifting a two-run homer in his first at-bat), Eckstein had become too integral, and too popular among his teammates, to not stay. For now, he primarily shares shortstop time with Benji Gil.

Though far more familiar with, and comfortable at, second base, Eckstein isn't about to voice any preferences.

"As long as I'm on the field, that's the main thing," he said. "I have played second base a lot, but during the off-season, I worked out at shortstop a lot. Going from one to another is a little different, but in order to stick you do whatever it takes to stay up here. I think I have to be able to do both."

Is Eckstein becoming a baseball Cinderella, offered a Major League sip of coffee and turning it into a buffet?

"At the time (we had him filling in at second), it seemed like the chances were that this would be a short-term thing," Scioscia said. "But we kept an open mind and that allowed him an opportunity to work his way into more playing time and eventually stay on the team."

Eckstein still isn't signing any long-term leases.

"I take it one day at a time," he said. "In this game you never know. I just need to play hard every time I get a chance to play. When Mike Scioscia told me I made the team, he said now I have to find a way to stick. So that is what I am trying to find out how to do."

Eckstein isn't a guy who is going to take the big-league uniform on his back for granted. Not when he's had to hustle and fight for every rung up the ladder.

In baseball's workbench, he definitely doesn't fit on the five-tool shelf. Eckstein has outstanding bat control, fast feet and sure hands, but his arm is average, his size limits his range, and he won't reach the seats in many AL parks.

"I am not that big in stature and, to tell you the truth, if you see me play one time, nothing sticks out," Eckstein says. "You have to watch me every single day. I will go out there and will be consistent every day.

"In my family background, that is the way you earn things, so (being small) is not that big of a deal. I don't mind being small at all."

There is a saying in baseball (and if not, there should be) that the smaller the chimney, the bigger the fire. Eckstein fits the mold, playing with a desire and attitude typical of the small-statured, from Billy Martin to Freddie Patek.

"His makeup certainly reminds me of a lot of very good ballplayers, very talented players and winning players," Scioscia said. "As far as makeup, he reminds me of Steve Sax, Kirk Gibson, Darin Erstad, Alfredo Griffin.

"Those are all guys who played very hard and were dedicated to the game. His makeup reminds me of that. His stature is, uh, obviously on the slight side and that obviously is what has hurt his career. He was told that his arm strength wasn't what it should be. But he has proved a lot of people wrong all the way up to here (Majors)."

Eckstein is just the latest to also prove that, in baseball, size definitely does not matter.

"You usually are given a chance to play, regardless of how big you are," he says. "When I was growing up, I heard a little bit about my size being a detriment. Maybe that's why a lot of colleges didn't recruit me out of high school and stuff. But in the high school I went to, I actually was average size."

Eckstein hasn't grown tall, though he has grown up -- all the way to big-league.