Maybe this kind of thing would have happened in a Bagwell/Biggio controlled clubhouse ..... but I don't think so. All the players I talked with today say there is not an undercurrent of unhappiness running through the clubhouse. They all say it's an isolated incident. Infielder Mark Loretta says," The key is to not paint the whole organization .. the whole team .. with this incident. Coop has not lost control of the team, Ed Wade certainly hasn't. Shawn Chacon is not a bad guy ... he did a bad thing. It's a close-knit group in here, we're got some veteran guys , some very good young players ..... and we're okay."

Veteran starter Roy Oswalt has chafed at some managerial moves this season ... but he says,"I won't say it's a communication problem but sometimes they see things different than them ...and they see things differnt from us....but you still have to play no matter what." Oswalt says he hopes Chacon gets another chance ....most of the guys in the clubhnouse agree ... that he shouldn't be judged harshly after one incident.

Young outfielder Reggie Abercrombie pulled Chacon off Wade yesterday,"It just happened ....that was it. All I seen was something happening and I just tried to get them outta there. Situations happen and you just gotta move on."

When I asked owner Drayton McLane Jr. if he still backed his manager and general manager after this incident .... he emphatically said,"Yes."

Now ...it'll be interesting to see if this incident helps pull the team together ... and maybe they will play great baseball ..... or will this be the final straw that breaks the back of the struggling franchise. We all will wait and see .... but this cannot be good news for manager Cecil Cooper. Coop is a rookie manager and sometimes he really looks it .... but other times he really seems like a veteran manager with the way he handles different situations. I believe they should let Coop at least complete this season. Right now though .... only winning will help save his job .... and the Astros better start doing so in a hurry ....if they don't want this so be another lost season.