HOUSTON – The Rockets stepped out of their elements on Tuesday afternoon. Way out of their elements. They traded in their tennis shoes for some bats and they took part in a home run derby at Minute Maid Park. The bats apparently had holes in them because the guys didn’t hit one out of the park as slugger Jeff Bagwell looked on. "He was the first person that walked out of the dugout and we were like ‘Oh man, he is going to critique everybody’" said forward Chuck Hayes. "We think that we are pretty good athletes, but then we step in here and we make ourselves look like fools," said forward Chase Budinger. "To see how well these pros do it is pretty amazing." "I don’t have the heart to stand right in front of a ball that is coming at me at shortstop," said guard Aaron Brooks. "That ball was coming pretty fast and he wasn’t even hitting it that hard, but I am sure these guys hit it a little harder and if I was a shortstop there would be a lot of pass balls I will tell you that right now."
