Houston Astros @ MindSay

Koby Clemens will be playing with his famous father on Tuesday night. But he won't be behind the plate.

Contrary to earlier published reports, Koby Clemens said, he'll be playing third when his dad, Roger Clemens, takes the mound for the Class A Lexington Legends, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Roger Clemens' start on Tuesday is his first rehab assignment to prepare him for a return to the Houston Astros later this month. Clemens signed a one-year, $22 million contract with the Astros on June 1.

"To get everybody right, I'm not catching him," the younger Clemens, who was drafted by the Astros last year, told the Chronicle. "I'll be playing third base. Everybody's been calling my phone saying 'You're catching now?' I say 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'"

The confusion may have started when the younger Clemens caught his father's bullpen session on Thursday, which he has done before.

"He only does that because I asked him to get back there [Thursday], and he did a few times at home to get me loose," Roger Clemens said. "He likes third base and he likes hitting. I think he likes the outfield, too, but that remains to be seen."

Jeff Bagwell announced Saturday that he's going on the disabled list and will have surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder as "a last resort" to see if he can play again, his agent, Barry Axelrod, told ESPN.com Saturday morning.

Bagwell won't use the word, "retire," at his press conference Saturday afternoon. But if it turns out he can't play anymore, he"s "OK with that," Axelrod said.

"Jeff has gotten to a point mentally where he's been through a lot of pain over the last four years," Axelrod said. "He's been through a lot of struggles with not being able to play up to the standards he set for himself and, recently, some criticism about how he was a shell of his self. All that was painful. So he's gotten to the point where if he can't play, he's OK with it right now. He's not happy with it. But he's OK with it."

Bagwell was told by his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, that he has numerous degenerative bone spurs in his shoulder that need to be removed, Axelrod said. But doctors were concerned that removing them during his previous shoulder surgery could cause problems that would slow or prevent his recovery.

Now, however, Bagwell has nothing to lose. So "the next alternative, and the last resort, is to take the bone spurs out and see if it relieves the pain," Axelrod said.

Bagwell had said he wanted to play every day for the next week to see how he feels. But after removing himself from the last two games in which he played first base, he finally came to the conclusion that he couldn't play "right now," Axelrod said.

"We talked two or three days ago, and he talked about how he was letting people down," Axelrod said. "I said, 'Who do you think you're letting down? Your wife? Your kids? Me? Your teammates?' I said, 'No one has tried harder to do what you can do under difficult circumstances. So no one is going to feel you've let them down.'

"But Jeff talked about how the other infielders, when they were warming up before innings, had all moved to the inside of the grass so he wouldn't have to throw the ball so far across the infield. And he said, 'That's not what I want.' We've said all along that all Jeff wanted was a chance to show what he could or couldn't do -- on the field. He didn't want doctors or insurance companies to say that. He wanted that chance. And at least the Astros gave him that chance."

Over the last couple of years, as Bagwell's shoulder problems have worsened, the Astros have talked about the possibility of bringing him into the organization in a non-playing capacity. Axelrod said Bagwell is open to that if it turns out he can't play anymore.

"Needless to say, there haven't been discussions of that in detail," Axelrod said, "because our position has always been that Jeff was trying to be a player. But it has been discussed in the past, even as far back as [four years ago] when we were doing the contract -- that they want him to be involved for his lifetime as an Astro, much like Nolan Ryan is involved.

"Right now, we're just waiting for the air to clear a little bit. But Jeff has been an Astros for his whole life. He's a quality baseball guy. But more than that, he's a quality guy. So I think he'd be an asset to the organization, certainly. And he's 38 years old. He's not going to want to sit on his behind and play golf every day. I think he'll want to be involved somehow."

--Jayson Stark

Jeff Bagwell intends to play for the Astros this season, but the team isn't sure that's the best financial decision.

The first baseman has played his entire career in Houston and leads the franchise in home runs (449) and RBI (1,529), but missed much of last season after shoulder surgery.

"Nothing is going to keep me from attempting to play baseball next season," Bagwell told the Houston Chronicle.

The team, however, wants him to announce he can't play anymore, he and agent Barry Axelrod told the paper. Then the Astros would be able make an insurance claim for $15.6 million of the approximately $17 million he is owed in 2006.

"We're trying to get some objective information," Astros general manager Tim Purpura told the paper. "A healthy Jeff Bagwell is what we want. If he can't be a full-time player, we have to figure out if we can collect on the insurance or not."

To that end, the team has asked Bagwell to visit orthopedist Dr. James Andrews' office on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., the Chronicle reported. The deadline for the insurance claim is Jan. 31.

Bagwell isn't excited about the trip, and he's not ready to quit playing.

"There's no question in my mind I can hit," he told the paper. "It's whether or not I can throw for a full season. Everything has gone exactly the way I thought it should. I'm getting stronger. Am I able to throw 120 feet? No. Am I making progress? Very much so.

"I'm going to try and play baseball at spring training. There's no getting around that. Unless something major happens, I'll be there."

thanks guys, in 44 years we havent made it this far and i think we did a damn good job ! ...

i've waited my whole life for this and im so glad that i was able to be a part of the HOUSTON ASTROS first trip to the world series ...and hey we have a pennant!!!!

anyway...it was a good fight ...and congrats to the sox fans...

but look out the astros will be back for the World Series 2006 baby. xoxo