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Williams’ future with
Astros on shaky ground
By Joel Anderson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Carlos Beltran left a team
that was 15 1/2 games out of
first place for one that believed
he was the missing piece for
its last-ditch effort to get to the
World Series.
Turns out, Beltran might be no
closer to the postseason in Hous
ton than he was in Kansas City.
“I can’t believe it,” Beltran
said Monday at an All-Star
game news conference. “It’s
like nothing is going our way.
We need to start moving in the
division because time is running
out. We need to change the way
we play the game.”
Left unsaid was whether those
changes need to start with man
ager Jimy Williams.
Speculation about Williams’
job security intensified Mon
day, a day after the Astros lost
their sixth game in eight days to
finish the first half of the season
in fifth place in the NL Central.
The Astros are 10 1/2 games
behind division leader St. Louis
— the first time they’ve faced a
double-digit deficit in the stand
ings at the break in 11 seasons.
“Maybe what this club needs
is a little break,” said Williams,
who is one of the NL All-Star
team’s coaches. “No, we're not
getting the results that we want.
We know that. We know where
we are and what we have to do.
Maybe we can get this thing
turned around.”
Astros owner Drayton
McLane and general manager
Gerry Hunsicker have pub
licly expressed support for the
embattled manager, but their
patience may be waning as the
Astros chances of catching the
Cardinals slowly slips away.
Williams has guided the As
tros to two second-place finish
es, losing the division race last
season in the final week. Much
more was expected this season
with the free-agent signings
of former New York Yankees
teammates Roger Clemens and
Andy Pettitte.
“It’s been very disappoint
ing,” Astros first baseman Jeff
Bagwell said. “Obviously, we
thought we’d be playing a lot
better at this point than we are
right now.”
The Astros have been surpris
ingly punchless on offense, rank
ing only 19th in the majors in scor
ing. Their highly touted pitching
staff has struggled as both Pettitte
and Wade Miller have spent time
on the disabled list. And Beltran
hasn’t been the quick fix they ex
pected, hitting .263.
Clemens acknowledged that
the Astros’ struggles have put a
damper on his comeback from a
78-day “retirement.”
“That’s kind of your worst
nightmare when you make these
decisions,” Clemens said. "Re
gardless if I’m playing well or
not, I want to see smiles on the
guys next to me.“
Hunsicker has repeatedly
emphasized that the club has
loaded up solely for an autumn
finish — Beltran is a free agent,
Clemens was coaxed out of re
tirement, Jeff Kent and Craig
Biggio are in the final years of
their contracts and Bagwell is
nearing the end of his career.
Lakers, Clippers await
decision from Bryant
by cnns snenaan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kobe Bryant wasn’t tipping
his hand Tuesday night as the
clock ticked down on the final
hours of the NBA’s two-week
moratorium on trades and free
agent signings.
Eager to learn his choice but
uncertain when that decision
might come, the Los Angeles
Lakers and Los Angeles Clip
pers awaited word from Bryant
or one of his agents.
Both clubs made formal
presentations to the free agent
guard on Monday night.
The end of the moratorium
came just two hours after the
league released the new salary
cap of $43.87 million for the
2004-05 season.
Bryant is eligible to receive
a starting salary equal to 105
percent of his 2003-04 salary of
$13.5 million, but the Clippers
have only $ 11.65 million of cap
room — meaning they would
have to trade at least one other
player in the next few days to
get far enough under the cap to
offer Bryant a maximum deal.
Several lesser free agents
also were awaiting salary cap
calculations to determine the
amount of the average salary,
which will be the starting sal
ary in 2004-05 for any of them
who receive the full midlevel
exception from a team already
over the salary cap. It came in
at $4.9 million.
While Bryant made ev
eryone in Los Angeles wait,
the process of trading Sha-
quille O'Neal was being set
in motion.
The Los Angeles Lakers and
Miami Heat were expected to
complete a deal Wednesday
sending O’Neal to the Heat for
Lamar Odom, Caron Butler,
Brian Grant and a first-round
draft pick.
A few free agents were ex
pected to sign offer sheets af
ter the moratorium expired at
12:01 a.m. Wednesday, while
others — most notably Steve
Nash going from Dallas to
Phoenix — would finally be
allowed to sign the deals they
agreed to during the first two
weeks of this month.
Among the top free agents
whose plans were not yet known
were Rasheed Wallace of the
NBA champion Detroit Pistons,
Erick Dampier of the Golden
State Warriors, Karl Malone of
the Los Angeles Lakers, Vlade
Divac of Sacramento, Derek
Fisher of the Lakers, Darius
Miles of Portland and Kenyon
Martin of New Jersey.
Malone, puzzled by the
breakup of the Lakers, was be
ing courted by the Spurs.
“Without a doubt I’m se
rious (about the Spurs),”
Malone said. “I’ve had seri
ous dialogue with them, and
more than once. I’ve talked to
Coach (Gregg) Popovich two
or three times and (general
manager) R.C. (Buford) one
or two times. They call about
every other day. I’ve had great
dialogue with them.”
Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriono hits a three-run I
the top of the first inning of the 2004 MLB All-Star game in Houstail
Armstrong set for toils
Tour de France stages
By John Leicester
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Move over sprinters, time for climbers to shine.
The charge for the Tour de France title intensifies
with the first mountain stage — a chance for five-time cha
Lance Armstrong and other contenders to test their legs
mightier battles in the Pyrenees and Alps,
“It will he hard, especially if the race starts a
did today,” Armstrong said after Tuesday’s ninth stage. "AiL
people will be going home if it starts like that.”
Armstrong remained in sixth place overall, finishing44tlil|
day behind stage winner Robbie McEwen of Australia. Tli;J
year-old Texan is 9 minutes, 35 seconds behind leader Ik!
Voeckler of France.
Wednesday’s 147-mile trek through the Massif Central of:«!
France is the longest of this Tour and has nine climbs, inclufai
most difficult so far — 3 1/2-mile ascent to 5,243 feet, 'jfts|
steeper as it goes up.
“It’s going to be tough ... up and
down all day,” Armstrong said.
“Unfortunately, it’s a stage we
haven’t seen. It’s a hard day ahead.”
He acknowledged that his team
mates are “a little anxious” hut
insisted “they will be ready.”
' The team is great and healthy,”
he added. “Everyone’s recovered
from their small crashes.”
Sprinters who have dominated
the mostly flat early stages will
struggle. Such speedsters in
clude McEwen. Climbers and
all-arounders like Armstrong will
move to the fore — possibly offering an early look at howst|
the main contenders are.
“The Tour starts now,” American Tyler Hamilton, al
teammate and rival of Armstrong’s, on Monday’s rest day. |
upcoming stages will really show who is here to win.”
Even with one bad leg, McEwen was still the quickest riderol|
first half of the three-week Tour.
Head down, the Australian put on a burst of speed to winlj
day’s ninth stage, racing along the barriers and pushing his»l
over the line just ahead of Norwegian champion Thor Husli
Armstrong, who has been saving his strength for the to
likely decisive last week, finished comfortably in the mainpacl|
Ullrich, his main rival, was 25th. Both finished in the samel
McEwen's 3 hours, 32 minutes, 55 seconds.
The hilly 99 1/2-mile stage, the shortest this year except foil
trial courses, started in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat in central Fnj
the hometown of retired Tour great Raymond Poulidor. He isle
by fans even though he never won the showcase race — 1
either second or third a record eight times between 1962 and 1|
McEwen became the first rider to win two stages at this Touij
when he set out Tuesday, he wasn’t even sure he’d make it to
ish. Banged up in a mass crash on Friday, he rode with a sore!
knee and said he started the day thinking, “I just hope I survive,j
“It’s a beautiful victory,” the 32-year-old McEwen said,
all of my energy to that sprint.”
Spain’s Inigo Landaluze and Italian rider Filippo Simeonilrf|
win snatched away. They pedaled way out in front of the i
for much of the race, but were gradually reeled in and overtaM
McEwen, Hushovd and other sprinters in the mass dash to the
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