Jeff

Bagwell

On May 16, Bagwell was hitting .305 with six home runs and 25 RBI. In the month since then, he has a .203 average with three homers and 10 RBI. In June, he’s hitting just .186. ''I mean, you look at my years, I’ve always gone though a six-week period where I struggle,’' Bagwell said. Give him the benefit of the doubt one more time and enjoy the rebound when it comes.

It’s probably overdue. From where we sit, the Astros’ issues aren’t with personnel or uncontrollable circumstances or even trades that have yet to work out in their favor, but more from Williams’ archaic ways. Potential replacements include Double-A Round Rock manager Jackie Moore, third base coach Gene Lamont, and Mets hitting coach Don Baylor.

Bagwell has been suffering from shoulder pain, but isn’t expected to miss more time.

Bagwell had a double that missed being a homer by inches and walked in the contest.

The drought of 121 at-bats is the longest homerless drought of Bagwell’s career. After hitting a career-high 10 homers in April, he has just one long ball since. Not really surprising that Bagwell was quoted as saying home runs are ''overrated’’ yesterday, citing run production as more important. Problem is, he’s not doing that either. His shoulder could be giving him problems.

''When you haven’t swung the bat as long as I have, it’s impossible to keep your hands tough,’' Bagwell said. His return this season is questionable.

Bagwell, who took batting practice from the coaches for the first time Friday, had three at-bats against Brandon Backe and saw 13 pitches. He swung only once (a miss) and was in the box when Backe had to leave the mound with an injury of his own. Bagwell later took some batting practice from batting coach Gary Gaetti. ''I’m just trying to get used to hitting again,’' he said. ''I have my shoulder to deal with and the whole problem of actually hitting, and those problems don’t go away with surgery.’' He’ll continue to take BP in hopes of returning for the Astros’ stretch run, but don’t count on that happening.

The fact that they have a two-game lead in the wild card race is motivating him and he thinks he could provide a psychological and physical lift to his teammates if he can get back on the field. It’s probably a long shot, but he’s going to try.

On the other hand, hitting coach Gary Gaetti said Bagwell ''was hitting line drives to right and driving the ball that way a little bit.’'

The 60-day mark is already here, so Bagwell is eligible to return now. However, it remains unclear whether he’ll spend any time on the active roster this season.