KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Roger Clemens hadn't heard about the Cardinals' interest in him as he prepared to throw batting practice to Astros Minor Leaguers on Wednesday. However, his agents read about the latest hubhub surrounding their prized client and were quick to shoot it down.

"Let me repeat," Randy Hendricks said. "Houston, Boston, New York. Only three teams will be picked from if he plays. And he hasn't decided."

Hendricks' comments were in response to a St. Louis Post Dispatch report that revealed Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty expressed interest in the Rocket, should he considering signing with a team other than the Astros, Red Sox or Yankees.

"I guess you would always have interest in a guy like that," Jocketty told the Post Dispatch. "He's someone we've expressed interest in before. I'm not sure it would be mutual, though. There are so many factors involved, it would be pretty tough to do any deal with them. You never know."

Hendricks, however, does know. And while he heaped praise upon the Cardinals organization, he said emphatically that "if [Clemens] plays this year and he plays in the National League, it'll be for the Houston Astros."

Clemens was more vague with his response, having not heard the reports out of St. Louis until approached by reporters at the Astros' camp on Wednesday.

"I'm not any further along deciding, as far as playing at this point," Clemens said. "Everything I said the other day still holds true. I don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, let alone next week. I'll wait and see how I feel.

"I'm moving around doing this stuff [helping at the Minor League mini-camp], and I feel fine. I hadn't heard the reports. I'll track them down and find them. It's nice.

"I understand everyone's postion. I'll have to see what's going on with my body and see if I even have the mindset to [pitch in 2007]."

That Clemens is drawing interest from other clubs isn't surprising, considering his track record. But Hendricks has no intention of leading on the 27 other clubs that do not have a chance to sign the 44-year-old Clemens.

"There wouldn't be a team that wouldn't be [interested]," Hendricks said. "When we say three teams, we're really trying to head off stories that really wouldn't make sense. It's not meant to draw attention. It's just to say if he plays, it'll be for one of these three teams which he has historical ties to. So 27 other teams don't think there's a story, a chance. No more, no less."

Catching quandry: With Hector Gimenez likely out for the year and Brad Ausmus battling a sore right shoulder, the Astros are in danger of starting the season with very little depth in the catching department.

Ausmus probably won't play in a lot of Spring Training games in the next week or 10 days, but manager Phil Garner insisted he'd keep his veteran catcher on that schedule even if he had started the exhibition season feeling 100 percent.

"If Brad can't start playing by March 15, then I'll get worried," Garner said. "He'll be fine."

Still, a great deal of the backup burden has fallen on Humberto Quintero, who is the favorite to win the job over Eric Munson coming out of Spring Training. If Ausmus' injury lingers, Garner is prepared to turn the reins over to Quintero.

"It would open a door for 'Q,'" Garner said. "This guy keeps doing some things. We love the way he catches and throws. You ask him to do something, he does it. He works. He's very aggreable, very coachable."

Champions: The annual Spring Training bunting championship came to a close on Wednesday as commissioner Doug Mansolino oversaw the final round of this hotly-contested competition among the club's pitchers.

The finals drew quite a crowd. Half of the team's position players gathered around the cage to see who would become the 2007 champ. Woody Williams' group, the leader of the pack throughout the two-week competition, won the whole thing, but not without a push from Brad Lidge's group, which overcame an enormous early deficit to end respectably.

The tournament brought out the competitive side of those in uniform, as evidenced by one underhanded trick attempted in the final minutes of competition.

Desperate to make a late-game surge, Brandon Backe and Brian Moehler snuck behind the cage to trade jerseys.

Backe, a former position player, pushed his helmet down as far as it would go, hoping to disguise himself as Moehler, who had his share of bunting struggles.

It didn't work. Rick White outed Backe as soon as he stepped into the box.

"There's no denying I was probably the better bunter in the group, although Brian finished strong in the competition," Backe said. "He started out pretty bad. We thought we'd go ahead and try to cheat. If you're not cheating, you're not trying."

Overhearing Backe's comments, Lidge interjected: "That's a good lesson to teach kids."

More signings: Four additional players have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with the corresponding Major League values: C Gimenez, $380,000; C Quintero, $385,000; LHP Wandy Rodriguez, $406,000; and RHP Chris Sampson, $380,000. On Tuesday, the following players agreed to terms on one-year contracts with a Major League value of $380,000: RHP Matt Albers, OF Josh Anderson, RHP Jimmy Barthmaier, IF Brooks Conrad, RHP Paul Estrada, RHP Lincoln Holdzkom, and LHP Mark McLemore.