End is imminent for Clemens
03/04/2006
PHOENIX -- The days of his active baseball career are dwindling to a precious few and Roger Clemens is well aware of it. Whether its this year or next year -- and he still hasn't made that determination -- Clemens will hang them up.
"Like I've said, I know that it's time to retire when the chants go from 'Roger (stinks)' to 'dad (stinks),'" Clemens said on Saturday.
Or when one of his sons hits a homer off him, which occurred during batting practice this week at Astros Minor League camp in Kissimmee, Fla. When that happens, Clemens knows he's moving from over the hill to over the mountain.
But that time isn't quite here yet, even though the short-cropped goatee he's sporting is speckled with a little bit of gray. Clemens will be 44-years-old on Aug. 4, but on Sunday he'll haul those old bones back on the mound in competition once again as Team USA plays its tune-up game for the World Baseball Classic against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The U.S. opens tournament play on Tuesday against Mexico at Phoenix's Chase Field, and Clemens will pitch for real with a start in Game 3 against South Africa on Friday in Scottsdale.
When last he pitched, Clemens was tossing for the Houston Astros against the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the World Series. He came out after an inning when he tore a hamstring. In the conference call announcing his participation in the Classic on Jan. 17, Clemens said his arm was still way ahead of his legs.
But he was encouraged with his last batting practice outing and is slated to toss the first two innings on Sunday, whether Barry Bonds is in the lineup for the Giants or not. Bonds, recovering from three surgeries last year on his right knee, has yet to make an appearance for the Giants this spring.
"I think I'm fine," Clemens said. "I just know [pitching coach Marcel] Lachemann came to me and backtracked from the game I'm supposed to work in and wondered if I could throw. I told them I'd do whatever they want. I'm supposed to start [on Sunday] and throw a couple of innings from what I understand. I'll probably throw a little more than I normally would have in the bullpen. And I'll probably throw a little more after I come out of the game to simulate three or four innings."
The idea is to have Clemens hitting on all cylinders for a possible tournament-clinching start in the finals on March 20 at San Diego's PETCO Park, if Team USA gets that far. Clemens could also start Game 3 of the second round in Anaheim on March 16 if the U.S. needs a win to clinch a berth in the semifinals.
It's all up to his health at this point. Clemens has the will, as his 341 wins and 4,502 strikeouts attest. But on some days he might now have the way to go about it.
"It takes me longer to recover now after I pitch," said Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner whose 1.87 ERA last season led all of Major League Baseball. "I ice and after about the 30-hour mark I ice again a little bit to reduce the swelling. It's the normal swelling, I consider that."
Asked if the swelling was restricted to his arm, Clemens said: "No, everywhere. Surely you've felt that yourself at some point."
Clemens, who's a free agent, said he still has interest from four teams about playing his 23rd season -- the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Astros. Under terms of the Basic Agreement, he can't sign and play with the Astros until May 1.
The Yankees and Red Sox, of course, are old friends. And Clemens is back together on this team with Derek Jeter. The pair played on Yankees' World Series winners in 1999 and 2000. Al Leiter was a pitcher on the Mets squad that lost to the Yankees in 2000, the last time they won the World Series.
Whether Clemens picks it back up after the Classic is still very much to be determined, although he's pitched what many thought was his last game three times already: in the 2003 World Series for the Yankees; in Japan in 2004 for MLB All-Star team that toured that country; and last October in Game 1 of the World Series.
On Thursday night, Clemens hosted a dinner for some of his new teammates where they talked about life, baseball and this shared World Baseball Classic experience. Clemens said he wore one of his World Series rings.
"It was the 2000 ring," he said. "It's nice to have a choice."
In rings and retirement, both.
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
PHOENIX -- The days of his active baseball career are dwindling to a precious few and Roger Clemens is well aware of it. Whether its this year or next year -- and he still hasn't made that determination -- Clemens will hang them up.
"Like I've said, I know that it's time to retire when the chants go from 'Roger (stinks)' to 'dad (stinks),'" Clemens said on Saturday.
Or when one of his sons hits a homer off him, which occurred during batting practice this week at Astros Minor League camp in Kissimmee, Fla. When that happens, Clemens knows he's moving from over the hill to over the mountain.
But that time isn't quite here yet, even though the short-cropped goatee he's sporting is speckled with a little bit of gray. Clemens will be 44-years-old on Aug. 4, but on Sunday he'll haul those old bones back on the mound in competition once again as Team USA plays its tune-up game for the World Baseball Classic against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The U.S. opens tournament play on Tuesday against Mexico at Phoenix's Chase Field, and Clemens will pitch for real with a start in Game 3 against South Africa on Friday in Scottsdale.
When last he pitched, Clemens was tossing for the Houston Astros against the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the World Series. He came out after an inning when he tore a hamstring. In the conference call announcing his participation in the Classic on Jan. 17, Clemens said his arm was still way ahead of his legs.
But he was encouraged with his last batting practice outing and is slated to toss the first two innings on Sunday, whether Barry Bonds is in the lineup for the Giants or not. Bonds, recovering from three surgeries last year on his right knee, has yet to make an appearance for the Giants this spring.
"I think I'm fine," Clemens said. "I just know [pitching coach Marcel] Lachemann came to me and backtracked from the game I'm supposed to work in and wondered if I could throw. I told them I'd do whatever they want. I'm supposed to start [on Sunday] and throw a couple of innings from what I understand. I'll probably throw a little more than I normally would have in the bullpen. And I'll probably throw a little more after I come out of the game to simulate three or four innings."
The idea is to have Clemens hitting on all cylinders for a possible tournament-clinching start in the finals on March 20 at San Diego's PETCO Park, if Team USA gets that far. Clemens could also start Game 3 of the second round in Anaheim on March 16 if the U.S. needs a win to clinch a berth in the semifinals.
It's all up to his health at this point. Clemens has the will, as his 341 wins and 4,502 strikeouts attest. But on some days he might now have the way to go about it.
"It takes me longer to recover now after I pitch," said Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner whose 1.87 ERA last season led all of Major League Baseball. "I ice and after about the 30-hour mark I ice again a little bit to reduce the swelling. It's the normal swelling, I consider that."
Asked if the swelling was restricted to his arm, Clemens said: "No, everywhere. Surely you've felt that yourself at some point."
Clemens, who's a free agent, said he still has interest from four teams about playing his 23rd season -- the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Astros. Under terms of the Basic Agreement, he can't sign and play with the Astros until May 1.
The Yankees and Red Sox, of course, are old friends. And Clemens is back together on this team with Derek Jeter. The pair played on Yankees' World Series winners in 1999 and 2000. Al Leiter was a pitcher on the Mets squad that lost to the Yankees in 2000, the last time they won the World Series.
Whether Clemens picks it back up after the Classic is still very much to be determined, although he's pitched what many thought was his last game three times already: in the 2003 World Series for the Yankees; in Japan in 2004 for MLB All-Star team that toured that country; and last October in Game 1 of the World Series.
On Thursday night, Clemens hosted a dinner for some of his new teammates where they talked about life, baseball and this shared World Baseball Classic experience. Clemens said he wore one of his World Series rings.
"It was the 2000 ring," he said. "It's nice to have a choice."
In rings and retirement, both.
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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