HOUSTON -- During the home broadcasts, whoever is working a series with Milo Hamilton will announce alone the fourth and seventh innings.

The Rockies series was Brett Dolan's, and the day before that series began, Dolan called Hamilton to discuss Craig Biggio's pending 3,000th hit.

"I said, 'If he gets to 2,999 in my innings, I want you to take over,'" Dolan said. "I knew it was on his mind. He was touched by it."

Hamilton has been with the Astros since 1985 and has watched every game Biggio has played. He did not mention the desire to call Biggio's 3,000th hit, but Dolan knew it was a no-brainer that Hamilton, who has been broadcasting Major League games since 1953, would want to be behind the mic for this one.

"I would be lying if I said I wouldn't want to do it," Dolan said. "Anybody would want to be there. But he deserved to be there much more than me. I thought it was his opportunity, his time. It was the right thing to do."

Once Orlando Palmeiro grounded out, bringing Biggio to the plate, Dolan threw it to his broadcast partner.

"I got rather emotional about it at the end of the game," Hamilton said. "I thought it was very nice."

Dave Raymond, who conducted the postgame interview with Biggio following his 3,000th hit, commended Dolan for stepping aside for Biggio's hit.

"From my point of view, it took an enormous amount of class and respect from Brett to give that up," Raymond said. "As a broadcaster, although the moment's really the athlete's and the team's, in a way, we all live vicariously through that and by association, it's a thrill for us. And those moments simply don't come around that often."

That same night, in the TV booth, Bill Brown's voice was getting quite a workout. He elevated his voice for quite a few moments that night -- each of Biggio's five hits, plus Carlos Lee's game-ending grand slam.

"I'm going to be speaking in low tones for a while," Brown joked.

Brown and Jim Deshaies both admitted they were caught up in the emotion of Biggio's 3,000th hit, but from Deshaies' view, their job, as television broadcasters, was easy.

"The game takes on a life of its own," Deshaies said. "The pictures -- they had a shot of Patty [Biggio's wife] at home plate, they had a shot of Bidge crying. All you have to do is look at that. It emphasizes what's going on."

Deshaies commended his broadcast partner for his classy and poignant words just after the big moment arrived.

"Twenty years ago, he came from Smithtown, N.Y., with Texas-sized dreams," Brown said. "And now they've turned into reality. He'll return to another small town in New York some day -- Cooperstown."

Brown admitted he jotted down a few notes the night before, just in case.

"I wrote a couple lines that I wanted to use because I knew I'd blow it," he said. "I would have choked on it."

Curb the boredom: Adam Everett, simply put, is bored out of his mind.

He's hobbling around on crutches, unable to do much of anything as he waits somewhat impatiently for his broken leg to heal. He's a good month away from being able to even think about testing that leg in earnest, so for now, he's resigned to sitting on the sidelines as he watches his teammates play.

But early Sunday morning, Everett was in high spirits, having just taken a round of grounders at his shortstop position -- from his knees. He wore an ear-to-ear grin as third-base coach Doug Mansolino hit fungos from the home plate area.

"His hands are as good as they've always been," Mansolino said. "This was a mental workout moreso than physical."

At this point, Everett will take any baseball-related activities he can get his hands on.

"It's nice to get on the field," he said. "It gets your hands moving because obviously, you can't move your feet. It just gets your hands going."

Minor League assignment? Brad Lidge could be ready to come off the disabled list as early as Wednesday, but the club hasn't ruled out sending the closer on a Minor League rehab assignment first.

Lidge will throw to hitters in a simulated session on Monday, and if that goes well, he may be asked to pitch an inning in the Minors. Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Corpus Christi are playing on the road until July 4, and assuming the Astros wouldn't want to send Lidge to Nashville or Tulsa, the earliest he could begin a rehab assignment would be Wednesday.

"We'll evaluate that," manager Phil Garner said. "There's always merit in guys going on a rehab assignment. In some cases it might not be necessary."

When Lidge does return to the team, he won't be thrown back into the closer's role right away. Garner prefers to ease him into the ninth inning, opting instead to insert him into a less pressure-packed situation.

"We'll give him a couple outings," Garner said. "Let him build his way up. He'll be amped up [for the]first couple pitches, first two pitches. We'll see how he feels."

Mark your calendar: The Astros will recognize two Astros icons during pregame ceremonies in August. First up is Biggio, who will be honored on Sunday, Aug. 12, prior to the Astros' game with the Brewers. On Aug. 26, Jeff Bagwell's uniform No. 5 will be retired prior to the Astros-Pirates game.

Coming up: The Astros will continue their 11-game homestand with a three-game set with the Phillies, beginning Monday. Right-hander Woody Williams (3-10, 5.58 ERA) will face left-hander Jamie Moyer (7-5, 4.15 ERA).