The A's will not miss Jason Giambi on defense; he is slow going to his right because his first move is always to the bag, and he's not an accurate thrower. They surely will miss his considerable leadership skills, but pitcher Tim Hudson, among others, has those qualities. Giambi has been the American League's best offensive player over the last two seasons -- that production, that lineup presence, is what the A's will have the most trouble replacing.

That responsibility will fall upon several A's, including rookie first baseman Carlos Pena and Giambi's brother, Jeremy. But mostly it will rest on David Justice. That's a pretty good place. Wherever Justice has gone, he has hit. And wherever he has gone, his teams have not only won, they have finished in first place. Starting with the 1991 season in Atlanta, Justice's teams -- the Braves, Indians and Yankees -- have won division titles in every full season.

This can't be coincidence. Oh, he has said and done some things over the years that have irritated more than a few teammates, but there's no underestimating the effect he has had on the clubs for which he has played. Now he joins an A's team that is remarkably talented and equally young.

"He's really excited about being here," says Oakland general manager Billy Beane. Already, Justice has volunteered to talk to the young players about the virtues of winning.

He came to camp in tremendous shape, energized and enthused about playing behind what he calls "the best pitching staff in the game." That staff has gotten loads of run support in recent years, thanks in great part to Giambi, and now it's up to Justice, Eric Chavez, Miguel Tejada, Jermaine Dye and Terrence Long to provide the power. "I wouldn't want to face our lineup," says A's pitcher Mark Mulder. No one will, assuming Justice hits like he did in 2000.

That year, Beane says, "David was an MVP candidate." He had 41 homers and drove in 118 runs, and it was his acquisition that hoisted the Yankees to the AL East title, and eventually to another World Series championship. Last year, however, Justice dropped to a .241 batting average (nearly 40 points below his current career average), hit 18 homers and drove in only 51 runs. In September, he drove in only three runs in 50 at-bats. He was better in the playoffs, but in the World Series he struck out in eight consecutive plate appearances, tying the World Series record held by Vida Blue in the 1973-74 Series. Justice looked as bad as any good hitter can look.

But Justice hadn't fully recovered from a groin injury that limited him to only one at-bat last July. Still, when the Yankees had a chance to get third baseman Robin Ventura from the Mets this winter, they traded Justice. His stay with the Mets was predictably short -- they had no interest in playing him in the outfield, and sent him to the A's for reliever Mark Guthrie.

The question now is: can Justice play every day in left field? He is nearly 36, he is slowed this spring by a slight hamstring strain and he has never been a great defensive outfielder. But the A's have never been a great defensive team, especially in the outfield. And Justice is better defensively than the alternatives, specifically Jeremy Giambi. "He really wants to play the outfield," says Beane. "He's really excited about playing out there. We think he'll be fine."

There's no reason to think he won't hit. He has always been able to hit left-handers. He has always been a patient hitter who draws his walks and works the count, which is vital to the A's style of offense. Plus, he has hit 294 career home runs. Surrounded by three of the best young hitters in the game -- Chavez, Tejada and Dye -- Justice is sure to get a lot of pitches to hit.

The A's are the fourth team (counting the Mets) Justice has been on in three years, which would suggest he has become an itinerant player. That would be incorrect. The teams he goes to are always looking to win, and they know he's the type of player who can help. Should the A's finish first in the AL West this season, that would make 11 full seasons, 11 division titles for four teams for David Justice.

And Justice for all.

Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a regular contributor to Baseball Tonight. E-mail tim.kurkjian@espnmag.com.