The Hot Corner

The astros' tailspin has begun to grate on at least one Houston veteran. "With the talent we have, we should never be playing as badly as we're playing," first baseman Jeff Bagwell said after Houston ended an 0-6 road trip last week. "I'm embarrassed to be an Astro."

...Not that he's superstitious or anything, but Texas lefthander Kenny Rogers noticed that the Rangers were 8-14 through Sunday when wearing their new blue jerseys. "If I believed in all that stuff, we'd be in a lot of trouble," says Rogers, who, like the rest of the pitchers in the Rangers' rotation, gets to choose which of its jerseys the team will wear when he pitches, "but just for safety's sake, we'll wear the gray ones the next time I pitch."

...The Devil Rays released righthander Dwight Gooden and shortstop Kevin Stocker last Thursday, and general manager Chuck LaMar indicated that no one else on the team should feel safe. "We have some young players who have taken the major leagues for granted," LaMar says. "We've had some veteran players...who are taking their positions on this team for granted because they are making x amount of dollars, or they look around and say, 'Who are they going to replace me with?' "

... Greg Maddux is closing in on another record: The Braves righthander needs three more putouts to break Jack Morris's major league mark for career putouts by a pitcher (387). Says Maddux, "Nobody cares, except maybe my mom."

...Giants manager Dusty Baker's take on lefthander Shawn Estes's shutout of the Expos on May 24, a game in which Estes also had a grand slam and five RBIs? "That was perhaps the best performance I've seen by a pitcher."

...Padres catcher Carlos Hernandez has found a way to make up for righthander Stan Spencer's glacial move to the plate, against which the Marlins stole 10 bases on May 18. Hernandez told Spencer about a trick he learned while playing winter ball with former major league pitcher Urbano Lugo five years ago: When the catcher sees the runner take off, he jumps from behind the plate as if expecting a pitchout. Whereupon the pitcher throws a fastball, regardless of what was called. The tactic worked in Spencer's next start, against the Mets, when Hernandez gunned down Edgardo Alfonzo in the first inning. Alfonzo was the last Met to try to steal in that game.