They're no support group

Maybe it's too early for Roger Clemens to be kicking himself. Too early to admit he may have made a mistake choosing Houston over Boston. But over the last couple of weeks, when the Red Sox won 12 straight and the Astros struggled to score runs for their starters, including Clemens's two appearances, you had to wonder whether this is the way Clemens wanted to spend what may be his final summer in uniform.

``It would have been great to have had Roger in the middle of all of this [the streak]," said one Sox official late last week.

The optimists in Houston will point to last season, when the Astros overcame a 15-30 start, when they were 14 games back in the National League Central, and went on a 44-18 run that included a team-record 22 wins in June. The Astros were 44-43 by the All-Star break, in second place and 11 1/2 games behind St. Louis, and 57-48 at the trading deadline, 9 1/2 games back but very much in the wild-card hunt.

The Astros fell as far as 15 games behind St. Louis (Sept. 15) and finished the regular season 89-73, 11 games behind the Cardinals, but they clinched the wild card on the last day of the season.

Their Big Three of Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and Clemens -- in addition to closer Brad Lidge -- made the Astros a nasty postseason opponent, as they defeated the Braves and Cardinals before losing to the White Sox in the World Series.

Fast-forward to this season, when the Astros, like many NL teams, have not fared well in interleague play. During their recent skid against the White Sox and Tigers, Astros manager Phil Garner benched Morgan Ensberg, who hit .329 in March and April but slumped to .216 in May and .151 in June. Meanwhile, second baseman Craig Biggio has been given rest for a sore right shoulder.

``The good thing is we've gotten very good starting pitching through all of this," Garner said.

And therein may lie the Astros' salvation.

It's tough to go against three arms like Oswalt, Pettitte, and Clemens if you're a National League team, but even with those three, you have no shot against two of the better American League teams if you don't hit.

In Clemens's start Wednesday against Detroit (two runs allowed on three hits over 6 1/3 innings), the Astros had a runner at third with nobody out and couldn't get him in. It is moments like those that will have Clemens, 43, feeling like he's 53, and wondering, ``What have I done?"

Garner altered his rotation after the Tigers series so Clemens would skip Texas this weekend and pitch at home tomorrow against the lowly Cubs. With a 2.38 ERA, Clemens is pitching well enough to be 2-0, but it's the same old story in terms of lack of run support. Clemens is 0-2 for the first time in 19 years and only the second time in his 23-year career.

The Astros have been shut out 10 times over the last two seasons when Clemens pitches. There were four other games when the Astros didn't score until Clemens was in the shower. Seventeen times the Astros were shut out last season, and Clemens started nine of those games.

A trade to Boston is a long shot, but according to a league source, ``Monitor where the Astros are. If they're within striking range of a wild card, he's not going anywhere. If they're 10 or more games under .500, then all bets might be off. The Astros might want to save some money at that point."

With Clemens signing a prorated $22 million-plus deal he essentially committed to the Astros for the remainder of the year, but playing for a team out of contention was not what he had in mind.

``I think when he made the commitment to Houston he made it for better or worse," said one official involved in the pursuit of Clemens. But another said, ``The hope all along was that if the Astros were hopelessly out of it by the All-Star break, there'd be a possibility, though slight, the Astros would ship him off to Boston for prospects."

Clemens acknowledged to this reporter in Lexington, Ky., the site of one of his minor league tuneup starts, that choosing between Houston and Boston was tougher than anyone will ever know. The Hendricks brothers, Clemens's agents, advised Clemens that Boston was the place to go. Clemens agreed, but in the end it was difficult for him to walk away from his hometown.

Wonder how he'll feel a month from now.

Tandem system one of a kind

There are certainly many ways to skin a cat when it comes to handling young pitchers. The key is not to get them hurt. The Red Sox have individualized plans for each pitcher, taking into account arm strength, experience, body type, you name it. It's been successful, as the Sox have had the lowest rate of injuries among their young pitchers over the past few years.

The Padres are touting their system, as well. At San Diego's Single A affiliate in Eugene, Ore., and Peoria of the Arizona Rookie League, the starter goes 60-65 pitches and a second ``starter" then comes in for 40-45 pitches. The team then fills in with relievers, as needed. Four games later, the roles are reversed.

The plan was put in place by farm director Grady Fuson, who learned it from Bob Cluck when the two worked in Oakland. Cluck is now helping to implement the plan as the Padres' minor league pitching consultant.

``This is unique, and any time you do something unique in the game of baseball, you've got a lot of naysayers," Fuson said. ``This gets more guys on the mound and more often, and it's more protective of their arms at the younger levels."

Fuson coordinated a similar program in four years with the Rangers and found it reduced injuries and enabled fringe prospects to get more innings. One pitcher who seemed to benefit was Kameron Loe, who is now in the Rangers' starting rotation.

``It gets eight guys involved instead of five, and it gets them on the mound more often," Fuson said. ``To me, that's what separates the development of pitchers and hitters. Pitchers can't practice their craft as much as the hitters can. It also preaches efficiency. If you've got a 65-pitch start and you want to get that W next to your name, you've got to attack the strike zone."

What the program doesn't address is dealing with fatigue, but the point is to keep young pitchers healthy and then gradually build up their innings and pitch counts as they advance. The Red Sox' approach seems to work just as well, if not better.

On this suggestion, Orza overrules

Curt Schilling had an interesting idea during his weekly radio appearance on WEEI, suggesting in the wake of Phillies pitcher Brett Myers being arrested in Boston last weekend on a domestic abuse charge that the Players Association implement a code of conduct that players must abide by in order to keep their union standing.

Players Association chief counsel Gene Orza, however, didn't think it was the union's place to impose off-the-field rules of conduct.

``I've never heard any discussion of that among the players, and it's the first I've ever heard of it," Orza said. ``Our job as a union is to represent and protect the rights of each individual player. I think any rules concerning off-field conduct should be imposed by the teams."

Orza said he is in talks with George Mitchell and his staff on how Mitchell will interview players for the steroids investigation he's conducting on behalf of Major League Baseball. Orza said no players have been interviewed yet. Select players and front office officials from all teams are expected to be questioned.

Orza said it would be safe to assume that any player who agrees to an interview will have a union lawyer on hand to monitor the questioning.

Meanwhile, Orza said talks on a new collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners have been congenial and productive, but warned the sides are not close to a deal. The current agreement expires Dec. 15.

Dave Stewart is an analyst for nbx.com and we're not quite sure, but his recent comments about Dennis Eckersley sound like a bit of a slam against the man who saved a lot of games for him with the Oakland A's. ``He's a Hall of Famer but he just wasn't . . . I mean, there's Lee Smith, what's he got 487 [saves], not in the Hall of Fame? If I had to make a comparison between Eck and Mariano Rivera, I'd take Mariano Rivera in a minute," Stewart said. Eckersley took the high road, saying he'd take Rivera, too, but the fact of the matter is Eckersley was a starter for 12 years and then had some of the greatest years ever by a closer. It's one thing for Stewart to tout Smith and Rivera, but another to diminish Eckersley's accomplishments.

Sometimes when you study ballplayers, you can envision them as future managers. Gabe Kapler is one, and he says he'd love to manage someday. ``I think one of the big traits of a manager is being able to know the psyche of each individual player and push the right buttons," said Kapler. ``I watch Terry Francona and he's incredible in how he knows each individual player. He has a knack of noticing which player needs a pat on the back or a kick in the pants. You'll see him in the outfield before a game talking to certain players and you know they're the players he feels need to hear something from him."

Since Derrek Lee returned from his wrist injury, former Red Sox farmhand Matt Murton has been sitting in favor of Phil Nevin in left field. Nevin remains a very good hitter who could help a contending team, which is the reason the Cubs are showcasing him. Nevin was hitting .256 with six homers in 78 at-bats entering the weekend, but with Lee back, he's expendable. Murton has shown flashes that he's ready to blossom if he plays every day, and given the Cubs' plight, it would be a perfect chance to develop a young outfielder.

With a 9-4 record, it's a good possibility the Reds' Bronson Arroyo will make the National League All-Star team for the game in Pittsburgh July 11. That should raise the ire of Pittsburgh fans after Arroyo, a former Pirate, said he felt embarrassed when he lost to the Pirates in mid-May. ``At an All-Star Game it isn't going to be a complete hometown crowd, most seats are bought by out-of-towners, right?" Arroyo said. ``The chances aren't good I'll get booed real loud, but the outside chance is that I might get booed. But, then again, the Pirates lost [13] in a row, so maybe they might think I'm right and maybe they might cheer me."

Reds manager Jerry Narron, Grady Little's bench coach with the Red Sox, received a contract extension through 2008, along with Cincinnati general manager Wayne Krivsky. The two had never worked together until joining the Reds. ``I had never met him, but out of all the candidates interviewed for the job, Wayne was the only one who called me and that told me a great deal that he would call and ask me if I would talk to him about things. And I did," said Narron. Krivsky made three deals that turned the Reds' fortunes -- acquiring Arroyo for Wily Mo Peña, second baseman Brandon Phillips for a minor leaguer, and catcher David Ross for a minor leaguer.

Former Red Sox righthander Wade Miller is making rehab starts in the hopes of working his way back to the Cubs . . . Brewers reliever Matt Wise wasn't available to pitch last week after cutting the middle finger on his pitching hand in Kansas City while reaching for salad tongs. ``I've been trying to keep it quiet," said Wise. Wonder why . . . Brewers outfielder Carlos Lee has told friends he wouldn't mind playing for the Cubs next year. Before that, though, it appears he will be a major bargaining chip at the trading deadline as the Brewers look to continue revamping their team. It would not be a surprise to see the Yankees make a run at Lee.

The Pirates' fire sale could begin soon. You can start with their three offseason acquisitions -- Sean Casey (.290 but with only three homers and 15 RBIs entering the weekend); Jeromy Burnitz (.229, 12 HRs, 34 RBIs) and Joe Randa (.243, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs). Also attractive to other teams are lefthanded reliever Damaso Marte and starter Kip Wells.

The Elias Sports Bureau revealed that Mariner Jamie Moyer's RBI single against the Padres last week made him the oldest American League pitcher to get a hit or RBI since Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm on Aug. 1, 1967. Moyer is 43; Wilhelm was six days past his 44th birthday . . . After having team ERAs of 4.71 in April and 4.65 in May, the Rangers' ERA has risen to 4.96 (120 earned runs in 217 2/3 innings) in June. The seven starters used this month heading into Friday were 8-8 with a 5.89 ERA. In last Wednesday's loss at San Francisco, the Rangers trailed by at least three runs through five innings for the eighth straight game.

Torii Hunter has removed the Red Sox from his list of teams he can't be traded to. When the Sox were in search of a center fielder in the offseason, Hunter wasn't available. Now that they don't need him, he is. Apparently Hunter didn't like the angles in center field at Fenway.

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.