It's Pavarotti rapping or Jay-Z doing opera.

It's Helen Mirren taking a pie in the face or Tina Fey doing Hamlet.

It's coach Augie Garrido's Longhorns winning with the bat, instead of pitching and defense.

Is the moon in the Seventh House?

"Every year is different," says Garrido, who acknowledges that 2007 has been quite different compared to his other seasons since arriving in Austin in 1996.

"The offense has performed well," Garrido continued. "It (the offense) has been consistent and productive, so sometimes you just have to adjust."

As the team entered the home stretch of the regular season and prepped for the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Oklahoma City in late May, the Longhorns were hitting .330, averaging more than seven runs per game, slugging at a .534 rate and reaching base at a .421 rate.

These kinds of numbers surpass Garrido's 2002 National Championship outfit's offensive prowess.

And tops among the coach's hit men is sophomore Kyle Russell, who eclipsed the all-time Texas seasonal home run mark of 20 barely two weeks into April.

"I try not to make it complicated," said Russell of his success at the plate. "It's seeing the ball and hitting the ball."

Russell is not alone in scorching the ball for the Longhorns.

Bradley Suttle and Chance Wheeless were hitting for a better average than Russell, and Wheeless paces the team in sacrifices which likewise thrills Garrido.

Lest you think this edition of the Longhorns has won most of their games 10-9, pitching and defense remains a staple of the team. As May began, Texas ranked fifth in the nation in fielding percentage at .978.

Adrian Alaniz, James Russell, Randy Boone and Joseph Krebs have been a formidable pitching staff. Sophomores Pat McCrory and Keith Shinaberry provide depth in the bullpen in a regular season that saw the Longhorns become the first team to sweep Oklahoma State in their home ballpark.

"Year to year, even if you have a lot of returning players, it is different," Garrido said. "They may be the same faces and wear the same numbers, but the next year is different. The next year those same players might not be as productive."

Such is not the case with this team.

"There has been a lot of excitement and enthusiasm with this team," Garrido said.

Yet one of the most exciting moments thus far this season came in March when the Horns opened the Big 12 season against Baylor and Garrido was at the center of the excitement as he won his 1,600th game.

That victory made Garrido one of two men in college baseball history to reach -- and now eclipse -- that mark. Only he reached this milestone in NCAA Division I.

And don't for a moment think it was not a memorable moment for the man who is tied for second with his five national titles -- two of those at Texas.

"Please understand, 1,600 means something to me," Garrido began. "I would be remiss not to thank all of the players and all of the people who helped me reach this point -- all of those people who made it possible for me to be able to reach 1,600 wins.

"This record is a tribute to a lot of people. I am thankful for all of those people. This record reflects all of the relationships along the way. That's ultimately what means the most to me."

While UT patrons already are looking toward the Big 12 Conference tournament and the NCAAs after that, you will never find Garrido doing such.

"For me, it is a day-to-day thing," he said. "I live in the moment. You look at all of this as a work in progress."

The work and the progress continues.