Notes: Rocket's final Classic tuneup
03/02/2006
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- In one final tuneup before heading to Arizona, Roger Clemens threw three innings to Houston Astros Minor League mini-campers during an intrasquad game on the backfields of Osceola County Stadium on Thursday.
Wearing a red Team USA cap and a plain black shirt, Clemens, this time playing on the same team with his son, Koby, threw 38 pitches -- 24 for strikes.
This was his second appearance in Kissimmee. Rocket also threw 84 pitches Monday in a simulated game, and added 28 onto that total during a session of batting practice.
On Thursday, Clemens, who faced top pitching prospect Troy Patton in this game, said he recovered nicely from Monday's outing.
"For me, right now, the 30-hour mark is when the soreness sets in," he said. "I was able to work a lot of that out and come back today, and the ball was coming out of my hand nice. It was a little bit more of a game situation, so that was nice."
Clemens, along with Brad Lidge and Dan Wheeler, is scheduled to fly to Phoenix on Thursday to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. He'll face South Africa on March 10 in Game 3.
"I've taken the day they told me [I'm starting] and worked back," he said. "That's how I ended up here. They told me to be ready for anything. They've given me the dates when I should be ready to throw.
"I realize I can maybe catch an inning between starts if someone's not feeling right. I think they can be a little more liberal with me than they can with the other guys just for obvious reasons."
Clemens, currently an unsigned player, has yet to decide if he wants to pitch beyond the World Baseball Classic. The Astros cannot sign him until May 1, but several other teams -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers -- have made their pitches to Rocket. He reiterated on Thursday that he's not thinking about anything past the Classic.
Having battled back and hamstring problems in the past, Clemens seemed to have no issues during either of his two sessions in Kissimmee.
"The ball was coming out of my hand nice," he said. "The location was a lot better than I expected, and the breaking ball's ahead of schedule."
Minor procedure: Andy Pettitte returned to Houston on Wednesday to have outpatient surgery to remove a growth on his forehead. The growth had developed into a staph infection, which necessitated the procedure.
Pettitte noticed the bump while on a Christmas vacation in Maui, and doctors speculated the growth may have stemmed from an insect bite.
"We thought it was gone, but I got down here [to Kissimmee] and I started wearing my hat, and it started getting a little bit bigger," Pettitte said. "They said yesterday they found something, they have no idea what it was. It was keeping it kind of irritated and infected."
The procedure took approximately 45 minutes and Pettitte was back at the airport soon after to return to Florida. Groggy and somewhat disoriented, Pettitte shared a terminal with two groups of travelers who recognized him immediately -- native New Yorkers (and most likely, Yankees fans) and about 80 high school kids from Pettitte's hometown of Deer Park, also traveling to New York.
"I had a massive headache," he said with a laugh. "Everybody was coming up to me. I kind of had my nose buried in a magazine, trying to get a nap."
Ring-a-ding-ding: There was a certain giddiness among players and coaches as they stood in line in the lunchroom of the home clubhouse and waited to be sized for their National League championship rings.
The rings will be handed out during a pregame ceremony prior to the second game of the regular season on April 4. Players receive the rings for no charge and are permitted to order additional ones for a fee.
"We're going to order another ring, put 'Clemens' on the side of it, then sell it on eBay as Clemens' World Series ring," Lidge joked. "How much cake is that going to bring?"
Lidge, Wheeler start: Wheeler threw six pitches in his one-inning outing of the Astros' Grapefruit League opener against the Indians on Thursday, followed by Lidge, who threw 16 pitches. Each pitched one inning before leaving for Arizona.
Wheeler pitched to three batters, inducing two fly balls and a groundout. Lidge allowed two hits and struck out one.
"Overall, I actually felt pretty solid on my fastball/slider combination," Lidge said. "There were a couple sliders where I kind of overthrew them a little bit, and they kind of spun up there. I had a couple good sharp ones down. Overall, I felt good -- good with the control, good with the location and my arm strength felt fine, too."
Klassen out of WBC: Non-roster invite Danny Klassen will not participate for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic after suffering a bone bruise and sprained ACL in his right knee. Klassen suffered the injury during Monday's workout and is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 14 days.
Odds and ends: Jeff Bagwell will play Friday and Saturday, both days serving as the designated hitter. ... Preston Wilson's first spring game will be Saturday, against the Braves. ... Lidge, Wheeler, Carlos Hernandez and Mike Gallo will join their respective teams for the Classic, beginning Friday. Willy Taveras will remain in Kissimmee, as the Dominican club will train at the Astros' facility. ... The Astros signed three players to one-year contracts: Jason Lane ($450,000), Chris Burke ($362,500) and Willy Taveras ($400,000).
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- In one final tuneup before heading to Arizona, Roger Clemens threw three innings to Houston Astros Minor League mini-campers during an intrasquad game on the backfields of Osceola County Stadium on Thursday.
Wearing a red Team USA cap and a plain black shirt, Clemens, this time playing on the same team with his son, Koby, threw 38 pitches -- 24 for strikes.
This was his second appearance in Kissimmee. Rocket also threw 84 pitches Monday in a simulated game, and added 28 onto that total during a session of batting practice.
On Thursday, Clemens, who faced top pitching prospect Troy Patton in this game, said he recovered nicely from Monday's outing.
"For me, right now, the 30-hour mark is when the soreness sets in," he said. "I was able to work a lot of that out and come back today, and the ball was coming out of my hand nice. It was a little bit more of a game situation, so that was nice."
Clemens, along with Brad Lidge and Dan Wheeler, is scheduled to fly to Phoenix on Thursday to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. He'll face South Africa on March 10 in Game 3.
"I've taken the day they told me [I'm starting] and worked back," he said. "That's how I ended up here. They told me to be ready for anything. They've given me the dates when I should be ready to throw.
"I realize I can maybe catch an inning between starts if someone's not feeling right. I think they can be a little more liberal with me than they can with the other guys just for obvious reasons."
Clemens, currently an unsigned player, has yet to decide if he wants to pitch beyond the World Baseball Classic. The Astros cannot sign him until May 1, but several other teams -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers -- have made their pitches to Rocket. He reiterated on Thursday that he's not thinking about anything past the Classic.
Having battled back and hamstring problems in the past, Clemens seemed to have no issues during either of his two sessions in Kissimmee.
"The ball was coming out of my hand nice," he said. "The location was a lot better than I expected, and the breaking ball's ahead of schedule."
Minor procedure: Andy Pettitte returned to Houston on Wednesday to have outpatient surgery to remove a growth on his forehead. The growth had developed into a staph infection, which necessitated the procedure.
Pettitte noticed the bump while on a Christmas vacation in Maui, and doctors speculated the growth may have stemmed from an insect bite.
"We thought it was gone, but I got down here [to Kissimmee] and I started wearing my hat, and it started getting a little bit bigger," Pettitte said. "They said yesterday they found something, they have no idea what it was. It was keeping it kind of irritated and infected."
The procedure took approximately 45 minutes and Pettitte was back at the airport soon after to return to Florida. Groggy and somewhat disoriented, Pettitte shared a terminal with two groups of travelers who recognized him immediately -- native New Yorkers (and most likely, Yankees fans) and about 80 high school kids from Pettitte's hometown of Deer Park, also traveling to New York.
"I had a massive headache," he said with a laugh. "Everybody was coming up to me. I kind of had my nose buried in a magazine, trying to get a nap."
Ring-a-ding-ding: There was a certain giddiness among players and coaches as they stood in line in the lunchroom of the home clubhouse and waited to be sized for their National League championship rings.
The rings will be handed out during a pregame ceremony prior to the second game of the regular season on April 4. Players receive the rings for no charge and are permitted to order additional ones for a fee.
"We're going to order another ring, put 'Clemens' on the side of it, then sell it on eBay as Clemens' World Series ring," Lidge joked. "How much cake is that going to bring?"
Lidge, Wheeler start: Wheeler threw six pitches in his one-inning outing of the Astros' Grapefruit League opener against the Indians on Thursday, followed by Lidge, who threw 16 pitches. Each pitched one inning before leaving for Arizona.
Wheeler pitched to three batters, inducing two fly balls and a groundout. Lidge allowed two hits and struck out one.
"Overall, I actually felt pretty solid on my fastball/slider combination," Lidge said. "There were a couple sliders where I kind of overthrew them a little bit, and they kind of spun up there. I had a couple good sharp ones down. Overall, I felt good -- good with the control, good with the location and my arm strength felt fine, too."
Klassen out of WBC: Non-roster invite Danny Klassen will not participate for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic after suffering a bone bruise and sprained ACL in his right knee. Klassen suffered the injury during Monday's workout and is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 14 days.
Odds and ends: Jeff Bagwell will play Friday and Saturday, both days serving as the designated hitter. ... Preston Wilson's first spring game will be Saturday, against the Braves. ... Lidge, Wheeler, Carlos Hernandez and Mike Gallo will join their respective teams for the Classic, beginning Friday. Willy Taveras will remain in Kissimmee, as the Dominican club will train at the Astros' facility. ... The Astros signed three players to one-year contracts: Jason Lane ($450,000), Chris Burke ($362,500) and Willy Taveras ($400,000).
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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