Post by John on Jun 21, 2006 10:15:07 GMT -4
Don't call it a comeback -- Clemens' time is here
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens is back, and there are questions galore.
Such as, how many strikeouts before all the Houston fans get free windshield washer fluid on Thursday night?
Clemens grinned.
"You have to ask Drayton and them," said the Rocket Man, who is on deck to make his 2006 debut against the Minnesota Twins, of Astros owner Drayton McLane and staff. "I don't know what they have in mind. They have something going all the time, they tell me."
Has it really been only eight months since Clemens last pitched in a Houston uniform, in the 2005 World Series?
And only three months since he pitched for the United States in the World Baseball Classic?
And only several hours since the last of his three minor league tune-ups?
Why, what with all of these Clemens Comebacks, the seasons become more muddled than the Rocky movie catalog.
Anyway, in a transition not dissimilar to that of moving from spring training to the regular season, Clemens now moves from the Cute to the Serious. He'll swap minor league parks for three-decked stadiums, naive kids just out on their own for seasoned veterans and postgame bags of burgers for Ruth Chris.
Now -- again -- he'll play for keeps.
"Talking to Phil today, I expect to be in a few jams Thursday and hopefully work my way through it," Clemens said of a conversation with Astros manager Phil Garner. "I think Phil and Jim (Hickey, pitching coach) will be looking at my pitch count extremely hard, and I'm going to be as honest as I can with them."
The best guess, said Clemens, is that his personal odometer will land somewhere between 100 and 110 pitches right out of the gate.
"And hopefully, that's over a number of innings," he said, drawing a laugh.
Said Hickey: "I'll be surprised if he doesn't throw 105 pitches."
The three minor league appearances were fun -- particularly the Take-Me-Back stop at Class A Lexington, where 9,000-some fans won free windshield washer fluid in a promotion tied to Clemens' strikeouts -- and where the Legends themselves were the beneficiaries of Clemens' generosity.
Before leaving Lexington, Clemens outfitted the low-level Class A team's clubhouse with new leather sofas, a flat-screen television and a microwave oven. He also hired a cleaning crew to sweep through the clubhouse while the team was on the road.
Around Minute Maid Field this week, though, most of the attention has been on Clemens' Monday bullpen session and Tuesday follow-up work. Who needs electronics and dusting at this level?
"We just got a flat-screen TV," Astros catcher Brad Ausmus quipped. "And we have a microwave."
Said second baseman Craig Biggio: "We're OK. We have a brand new stadium here and we're doing all right."
What the Astros need far more than a fancy plasma television or leather La-Z-Boy is a starting pitcher who walks, talks and pitches like ... the greatest right-hander of our generation.
So here Clemens is, ready to take the ball for another new beginning, just one win away from tying Tim Keefe for eighth place on baseball's all-time victories list at 342.
But he also starts the season at 43 and after a long layoff. There are two schools of thought here.
The first is that the layoff will do him good. Gassed last October and dragging a bad hamstring, Clemens wasn't much help in October. By sitting out April and May, Clemens, who still went 13-8 with an incredible 1.87 ERA in 2005, may have some bullets through the September stretch run and, possibly, the playoffs, that he might not have otherwise had.
Or, the layoff could exacerbate the sunset. This game is difficult enough to play at the level to which Clemens is accustomed. For a walking exhibit of this, look no further than Barry Bonds, who has looked like a broken-down slugger more often than not this season after missing almost all of '05.
"I've done the work to prepare myself," Clemens said. "I've been as honest as I can. My arm is where I want it to be. My legs, I think I can still get more endurance and stamina. That comes from start to start."
The Astros will allow plenty of room for Clemens to work his legs into shape. Their staff ranks 12th in the NL with a 4.59 ERA, and their rotation also ranks 12th in the NL at 4.63. If the season's first two months have proven anything, it's that the Astros cannot defend their NL title with Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte alone.
"Starting pitching wins championships," Ausmus said. "It's well-documented. We made it to the World Series because of our starting pitching. Now we have the same three back.
"We're going from being thin in our starting pitching with three young starters to being thick in our starting pitching with the return of Rocket. You ask any GM in the majors what position he'd most like to be deep at, and it would be starting pitching."
That's the biggest boost the Rocket will provide for the Astros. Forget all of the extra-curricular, pom-pom stuff. Is there more energy in the clubhouse this week now that there's a "Clemens" nameplate over one of the lockers?
No, Hickey said.
But if Clemens begins pitching anywhere close to the way he had it going a year ago, now that will amplify the clubhouse chatter. At 36-35 following Tuesday night's 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the Twins, the Astros remained third in the NL Central, seven games behind St. Louis.
And they're not going to catch up solely with their bats -- the Astros rank 14th in the NL in slugging percentage (.409) and 11th in runs scored (325).
What Clemens represents probably is Houston's last, best chance to keep the echoes from last October alive.
The trick will be living up to expectations -- his own, those of his teammates and, especially, those of the fans. Because the fans only see Clemens at the top of his game, they will expect greatness.
"They should," Clemens said. "I expect to do well."
"I'm going to have some bumps in the road. But I wouldn't have started throwing a long time ago if I didn't think that I could do this and do it well."
Few around here seem to have any doubt that he will.
"He is a machine," Ausmus said.
"He's just a horse," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's a big, strong horse."
As both a coach (1991-2001) and manager (2002-2006) in Minnesota, Gardenhire has plenty of first-hand knowledge. Lifetime, Clemens is 23-12 with a 3.01 ERA against the Twins.
They're so familiar and comfortable to him that it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Clemens took the mound in his bathrobe and slippers.
"It will be a lot of fun facing Roger," Gardenhire said. "We've faced him a lot in the past, but we have different hitters now.
"Who knows -- Torii (Hunter) might get a hit. He just might."
Ah, yes. Perhaps the best barometer of whether the Clemens of '06 is up to the standard of past peak vintages will come when Twins center fielder Hunter settles into the batter's box to face him.
Lifetime against Clemens, Hunter is 0-for-20 ... with 12 strikeouts.
"It don't matter," Hunter protested, chuckling. "I was young. When I got older, I had better at-bats.
"You see Roger Clemens when you're 21, 22 years old and you're like, 'Damn, I got no chance.'"
Alas, whether Clemens fans two, 12 or 22 Twins on Thursday night, those in attendance will not be receiving free windshield wiper fluid. Koby, he's not in Lexington -- or Double-A Corpus Christi or Triple-A Round Rock -- anymore.
Instead, what the first 30,000 passing through the turnstiles here will receive is a commemorative poster -- "Return of the Rocket" -- and another glimpse at another comeback by a man who one day will have all of this listed on a plaque in Cooperstown.
What happens after that, well, that's where the intrigue begins again.
The only thing we can be reasonably certain of is that there won't be too many other occasions in the future to watch a guy keep reaching for greatness at 43.
"I think I'll be at home," Hunter, 30, said. "At home in a lawn chair. Or cutting the grass with a beer."
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens is back, and there are questions galore.
Such as, how many strikeouts before all the Houston fans get free windshield washer fluid on Thursday night?
Clemens grinned.
"You have to ask Drayton and them," said the Rocket Man, who is on deck to make his 2006 debut against the Minnesota Twins, of Astros owner Drayton McLane and staff. "I don't know what they have in mind. They have something going all the time, they tell me."
Has it really been only eight months since Clemens last pitched in a Houston uniform, in the 2005 World Series?
And only three months since he pitched for the United States in the World Baseball Classic?
And only several hours since the last of his three minor league tune-ups?
Why, what with all of these Clemens Comebacks, the seasons become more muddled than the Rocky movie catalog.
Anyway, in a transition not dissimilar to that of moving from spring training to the regular season, Clemens now moves from the Cute to the Serious. He'll swap minor league parks for three-decked stadiums, naive kids just out on their own for seasoned veterans and postgame bags of burgers for Ruth Chris.
Now -- again -- he'll play for keeps.
"Talking to Phil today, I expect to be in a few jams Thursday and hopefully work my way through it," Clemens said of a conversation with Astros manager Phil Garner. "I think Phil and Jim (Hickey, pitching coach) will be looking at my pitch count extremely hard, and I'm going to be as honest as I can with them."
The best guess, said Clemens, is that his personal odometer will land somewhere between 100 and 110 pitches right out of the gate.
"And hopefully, that's over a number of innings," he said, drawing a laugh.
Said Hickey: "I'll be surprised if he doesn't throw 105 pitches."
The three minor league appearances were fun -- particularly the Take-Me-Back stop at Class A Lexington, where 9,000-some fans won free windshield washer fluid in a promotion tied to Clemens' strikeouts -- and where the Legends themselves were the beneficiaries of Clemens' generosity.
Before leaving Lexington, Clemens outfitted the low-level Class A team's clubhouse with new leather sofas, a flat-screen television and a microwave oven. He also hired a cleaning crew to sweep through the clubhouse while the team was on the road.
Around Minute Maid Field this week, though, most of the attention has been on Clemens' Monday bullpen session and Tuesday follow-up work. Who needs electronics and dusting at this level?
"We just got a flat-screen TV," Astros catcher Brad Ausmus quipped. "And we have a microwave."
Said second baseman Craig Biggio: "We're OK. We have a brand new stadium here and we're doing all right."
What the Astros need far more than a fancy plasma television or leather La-Z-Boy is a starting pitcher who walks, talks and pitches like ... the greatest right-hander of our generation.
So here Clemens is, ready to take the ball for another new beginning, just one win away from tying Tim Keefe for eighth place on baseball's all-time victories list at 342.
But he also starts the season at 43 and after a long layoff. There are two schools of thought here.
The first is that the layoff will do him good. Gassed last October and dragging a bad hamstring, Clemens wasn't much help in October. By sitting out April and May, Clemens, who still went 13-8 with an incredible 1.87 ERA in 2005, may have some bullets through the September stretch run and, possibly, the playoffs, that he might not have otherwise had.
Or, the layoff could exacerbate the sunset. This game is difficult enough to play at the level to which Clemens is accustomed. For a walking exhibit of this, look no further than Barry Bonds, who has looked like a broken-down slugger more often than not this season after missing almost all of '05.
"I've done the work to prepare myself," Clemens said. "I've been as honest as I can. My arm is where I want it to be. My legs, I think I can still get more endurance and stamina. That comes from start to start."
The Astros will allow plenty of room for Clemens to work his legs into shape. Their staff ranks 12th in the NL with a 4.59 ERA, and their rotation also ranks 12th in the NL at 4.63. If the season's first two months have proven anything, it's that the Astros cannot defend their NL title with Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte alone.
"Starting pitching wins championships," Ausmus said. "It's well-documented. We made it to the World Series because of our starting pitching. Now we have the same three back.
"We're going from being thin in our starting pitching with three young starters to being thick in our starting pitching with the return of Rocket. You ask any GM in the majors what position he'd most like to be deep at, and it would be starting pitching."
That's the biggest boost the Rocket will provide for the Astros. Forget all of the extra-curricular, pom-pom stuff. Is there more energy in the clubhouse this week now that there's a "Clemens" nameplate over one of the lockers?
No, Hickey said.
But if Clemens begins pitching anywhere close to the way he had it going a year ago, now that will amplify the clubhouse chatter. At 36-35 following Tuesday night's 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the Twins, the Astros remained third in the NL Central, seven games behind St. Louis.
And they're not going to catch up solely with their bats -- the Astros rank 14th in the NL in slugging percentage (.409) and 11th in runs scored (325).
What Clemens represents probably is Houston's last, best chance to keep the echoes from last October alive.
The trick will be living up to expectations -- his own, those of his teammates and, especially, those of the fans. Because the fans only see Clemens at the top of his game, they will expect greatness.
"They should," Clemens said. "I expect to do well."
"I'm going to have some bumps in the road. But I wouldn't have started throwing a long time ago if I didn't think that I could do this and do it well."
Few around here seem to have any doubt that he will.
"He is a machine," Ausmus said.
"He's just a horse," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's a big, strong horse."
As both a coach (1991-2001) and manager (2002-2006) in Minnesota, Gardenhire has plenty of first-hand knowledge. Lifetime, Clemens is 23-12 with a 3.01 ERA against the Twins.
They're so familiar and comfortable to him that it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Clemens took the mound in his bathrobe and slippers.
"It will be a lot of fun facing Roger," Gardenhire said. "We've faced him a lot in the past, but we have different hitters now.
"Who knows -- Torii (Hunter) might get a hit. He just might."
Ah, yes. Perhaps the best barometer of whether the Clemens of '06 is up to the standard of past peak vintages will come when Twins center fielder Hunter settles into the batter's box to face him.
Lifetime against Clemens, Hunter is 0-for-20 ... with 12 strikeouts.
"It don't matter," Hunter protested, chuckling. "I was young. When I got older, I had better at-bats.
"You see Roger Clemens when you're 21, 22 years old and you're like, 'Damn, I got no chance.'"
Alas, whether Clemens fans two, 12 or 22 Twins on Thursday night, those in attendance will not be receiving free windshield wiper fluid. Koby, he's not in Lexington -- or Double-A Corpus Christi or Triple-A Round Rock -- anymore.
Instead, what the first 30,000 passing through the turnstiles here will receive is a commemorative poster -- "Return of the Rocket" -- and another glimpse at another comeback by a man who one day will have all of this listed on a plaque in Cooperstown.
What happens after that, well, that's where the intrigue begins again.
The only thing we can be reasonably certain of is that there won't be too many other occasions in the future to watch a guy keep reaching for greatness at 43.
"I think I'll be at home," Hunter, 30, said. "At home in a lawn chair. Or cutting the grass with a beer."