While Biggio is a regular fixture at plenty of visiting clubhouses throughout the National League, his presence on the West Coast -- especially in American League ballparks -- is a rarity. As Biggio prepared for Monday's game with the Angels, he held court with a steady stream of reporters who filtered in and out of the Astros' clubhouse for nearly an hour.

The topic? The Hit, of course. Biggio began the day 11 away from 3,000, having knocked nine hits during a five-game hitting streak during the Astros' recent homestand.

Ideally, Biggio would record No. 3,000 at home, and odds are, he will. He's probably not going to play any day games during this nine-game trip, which means he'll have Saturday and Sunday off in Texas and next Wednesday off in Milwaukee.

If Biggio continues the modest pace he's been on for much of the season, it's safe to assume he won't amass 11 hits in six road games. Entering Monday's game, he was hitting .194 away from Minute Maid Park.

"We have a plan," manager Phil Garner said. "It's very similar to what we've been doing. It can vary. It's a loose plan."

Garner probably will use Biggio as the designated hitter at least once this trip. Garner also will work Carlos Lee in as a DH.

Homecoming: Orlando Palmeiro is quite familiar with most areas of Angel Stadium, with the exception of the visitor's clubhouse. On Monday, the backup outfielder admitted returning to this ballpark as a visitor was "pretty weird."

Palmeiro grew up in the Angels system, starting his career as a 33rd-round pick in the 1991 Draft. He played eight years with the Angels and was part of the 2002 world championship club that beat the Giants in seven games.

"This was my first organization," he said. "I worked my way through it, made a lot of friends. We had success here. We had bad times and good times. It's just a lot of history. It's weird being here now."

Winning the World Series was without a doubt a crowning moment in Palmeiro's career, but the actual celebration was short-lived. He had more important things to tend to, like meeting his newborn daughter, who was born Oct. 18, 2002 -- the day before the Series started. The Palmeiros live in Miami, and there was no way for Orlando to fly cross-country until the Series was over.

"As soon as we won, I had two flights set up and I left," he said. "My family celebrated -- took pictures, went through the whole celebration. I didn't."

Modest progress: Brandon Backe will throw off the mound on Wednesday and likely will stay in line with his last session last Thursday, during which he tossed 40 pitches.

"It might be more intense, but probably not much more than 40 pitches," Backe said. "Maybe just a tad bit more. I'll just try to figure out how much I can do. It's been getting better."

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Backe, who hasn't thrown a simulated game in nearly five weeks after he began experiencing elbow soreness, is hoping to make a return to the Astros' rotation sometime this year, perhaps by September.

Cross one more off: Milo Hamilton doesn't travel with the team anymore, but there are a few exceptions that allow for him to hop on the team charter for a road trip.

Hamilton is with the Astros during their three-game series in Anaheim. Consider it a goal for the 79-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster to visit as many ballparks as possible during his career. Angel Stadium is No. 54.

That leaves Comerica Park in Detroit, Rogers Centre in Toronto and Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay as the only current ballparks he has yet to visit.

Hamilton hopes to continue broadcasting games through 2010, so odds are in his favor that he'll make trips to New York and Washington after the Mets, Yankees and Nationals open their new parks.

Hamilton, who turns 80 in September, admitted he was happy to be on the road again, even if it's just for three days.

"One of the things I really cherished about road travel was catching up with old friends from school, my hometown," he said. "And the restaurants that I had over the years."

Odds and ends: Lance Berkman was back in the lineup on Monday after sitting out Sunday's game with flu-like symptoms. Berkman was the DH for the opener with the Angels, but he probably will not DH for the remainder of the road trip. ... Morgan Ensberg hit ninth on Monday, and the third baseman proudly joked that he has now completed his Major League tour through a lineup. Ensberg has hit everywhere, including leadoff earlier this year in St. Louis. "To be honest, it's nice to see a dream fulfilled," he said. "I'd like to think I'm bringing speed and power to the nine-hole." ... Kelsey Scott, daughter of former Houston hurler Mike Scott, sang the Canadian national anthem before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Ottawa Senators.

Coming up: The Astros and Angels will meet on Tuesday for the second game of the three-game Interleague set at Angel Stadium, beginning at 9:05 p.m. CT. Right-hander Jason Jennings (0-1, 3.18 ERA) will face Angels righty Bartolo Colon (6-2, 5.73).