Damon has stolen 36 bases, tops in the AL.

"We've gone 'round and 'round asking ourselves the same thing," says Hunsicker, who for three straight years had the playoff team with the smallest payroll. "It's very hard to see what we do here right now. The equations this team were built on have been out of whack."

Hunsicker and his staff were asked by owner Drayton McLane to accomplish a near-impossible task -- drop $12 million to $15 million in payroll while moving into Enron Field and hope to win. That forced Hunsicker to trade Mike Hampton and Carl Everett for Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel and a shortstop of the future, Adam Everett. He had to let shortstop Ricky Gutierrez walk as well. While players weren't happy about the offseason moves, they never thought they'd be this bad. Oh, they miss Carl Everett, the outfield defense isn't quite as good, and shortstop also has been a problem. Ken Caminiti got hurt as well and some feel that Mitch Meluskey is learning on the job about handling pitchers. A pitching staff that had been raised on The Dome has had to change its game to a home run derby field.

Which brings it all down to the pitching. "We just don't have the wherewithal to afford a lot of high-priced middle relievers and pitching depth," Hunsicker says. "That caught up with us. We were used to our starters getting us deep into games, then our middle relievers having to get two or three outs before getting to a dead certain closer in Billy Wagner. We're not getting the innings from our starters, we lost Wagner and the whole thing is skewed." Last year, Astros starters averaged nearly 6 2/3 innings a start. This year, they're averaging less than six. Jose Lima went from a 20-game winner to Fireworks Inc. And you don't need to hear any more about Wagner's problems and breakdown.

Then came some backbiting in manager Larry Dierker's direction. "I don't worry about that stuff, because I played and I know what happens when you start losing," Dierker says. "I look at this team and think, 'we're not too far from being pretty darned good again.' "

"The biggest questions are whether or not Wagner can get back to normal next season and what Lima's future is," Hunsicker says. "We probably won't know either until next spring." But, for now, they know that Shane Reynolds is as reliable as it gets, and that Scott Elarton is coming fast as is Chris Holt. Dierker also likes rookie right-hander Wade Miller very much. The 'Stros have a lot of arms in their organization, and moving Dotel into the bullpen could develop a closing option.

They also hope McLane will sign Jeff Bagwell to a new contract rather than let him leave him in a walk position after 2001, which might force a watered-down trade this winter since Bagwell soon becomes a 10/5 man. "It's sometime this month," Hunsicker says. "But I don't know exactly when, and don't care. I want him here."

Teams are calling on Alou, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, and if Bagwell stays, with Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman, Cedeno and Daryle Ward, there is a young bat to trade for a young pitcher or two. Adam Everett, the co-leader with Toronto's Felipe Lopez for the shortstop berth on the Olympic Team, may be ready to step in next spring.

"I can't believe what's happened to us," Dierker says. "But I honestly know that we're a lot better than we've played, and can get better in a hurry."

"There aren't many manager-general manager relationships that don't get strained at some point," the Mets' Steve Phillips said this spring. His, of course, is one of the most reported, but whether it's in Cleveland, Oakland, Detroit or Oshkosh, the growing feeling is that the GMs shop for the groceries and the managers do the cooking. "Managers sometimes get too close to a situation," one GM says. "They'll say things like, 'Hey, I've got to play this guy at second because he's good at scooping throws.' Meanwhile, the guy is hitting .200 with no power. There's a line there, and you have to work together."