The Hot Corner

Astros closer Billy Wagner expects to hear some abuse from fans this season thanks to the shorter fence in left field at the new open-air Enron Field. "I give up deep fly balls all the time," he says. "Here, they won't be deep fly balls; they'll be home runs. The people in [the clubhouse] will understand what's going on. The people out there won't."...

The Angels' Mo Vaughn, who didn't steal a base in 1998 and '99, swiped two in Anaheim's first four games this year....

Frank Robinson was miffed that the Indians, whom he managed from 1975 to '77, won't observe the 25th anniversary of his debut as baseball's first African-American manager on Cleveland's home opener. "It's not like this is something that came out of the blue," Robinson says. "Why be caught short on the 25th anniversary?"...

Angels closer Troy Percival, who last season had the lowest strikeouts-per-nine-innings mark (9.16) of his five-year career, is trying to regain his form by studying Yankees righthander Roger Clemens. Percival, who had averaged 11.91 strikeouts before last season, wants to mimic the Rocket's open delivery, in which his left leg angles toward first base as he strides. "That's something I got away from last year," says Percival, who scrutinized Clemens during his start in a Yankees victory against Anaheim last week and kept a videotape for future study. "I used the closed position because I was trying to compensate for pain in my shoulder. I want to get back to what I'm most successful with."