Andy Pettitte, who threw three innings Wednesday, said he thought Roger Clemens would pitch this season.
Tyler Kepner
March 8, 2007
The New York Times
TAMPA, Fla., March 7 — The elevator carrying Roger Clemens stopped on the third floor at Legends Field on Wednesday night. People were waiting for him in the YES broadcast booth. But instead of turning right and heading there, Clemens veered left. There was someone he wanted to see: the Yankees’ principal owner, George Steinbrenner.
No pitcher alive has as many victories as Clemens, who has 348 and just might pitch again this season. Clemens remains undecided about his future, and he was visiting a man who could pay him millions to return. The meeting lasted only a few minutes, and Clemens did not say what Steinbrenner told him.
“I’ll pass on that one,” said Clemens, who was with his son Koby. “It was just good to see him — great to see him. I’m glad he got to see my son a few years later. But, definitely, I’m here and I wanted to make sure I got a chance to say hello to him.”
For the first three and a half innings of the Yankees’ 1-1 tie with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, Clemens watched from the front row of a corner box beside the Yankees’ dugout, with Koby to his left. Joe Torre and the Yankees’ coaches sat on folding chairs on the field, right in front of him.
“I’m a fan and a friend tonight,” Clemens said, before he settled in to watch the left-hander Andy Pettitte work three innings and closer Mariano Rivera work one.
“I’m going to watch the big left-hander throw. It was pretty cool, coming down here. Koby was just in the back seat reminiscing about how cool it was to come through here. He’s got great memories here.”
So does Clemens, who joined the Yankees in a trade from Toronto in 1999 and pitched in four World Series in five seasons. He joined Pettitte with Houston in 2004, helped lead the Astros to the 2005 World Series, and came out of retirement to make 19 starts for the Astros last year.
Clemens, who turns 45 in August, reiterated that he would not decide on his future before May. Lately, he has been throwing to minor leaguers at the Astros’ training camp in Kissimmee. Koby Clemens, 20, is a third baseman in the Astros’ system.
“I feel good, but I’m not to the point where I need to be to be competitive and get the job done, as far as I’m concerned,” Clemens said.
“I can only tell you the encouraging words I get from teammates and different guys I’ve had dinners with and stuff since I’ve been down here are great, and it sounds appealing, and then three days later I’ll be at home by myself and I’ll say there’s no way I can get myself going and doing this again.”
Roger Clemens, right, got a hug from Joe Torre and had a chat with George Steinbrenner Wednesday night when he stopped by Legends Field to watch a game.
Clemens has said that if he continues to pitch, he would do so with the Astros, the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, his team from 1984 through 1996. The Yankees would gladly welcome him back, and would be determined not to let another team outbid them.
Clemens would have divided loyalties. His memories of the Red Sox seem to grow fonder with time, and he is tied with Cy Young for the franchise record in victories and shutouts. He has obvious ties to his hometown Astros and has mentored Roy Oswalt in the same way he mentored Pettitte as a Yankee.
Before attending the Yankees’ game at night, Clemens watched Oswalt pitch in the afternoon. At Legends, he sat in the seat closest to the dugout and leaned in between innings to chat with the Yankees Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson.
Pettitte, who has golfed with Clemens this spring, said he still believed Clemens would come out of retirement and pitch somewhere this season.
“When it comes down to it, that’s my guess,” Pettitte said. “Because I know he’s still working, he’s keeping himself in good shape. I think when it comes time, he’ll probably get the itch if he feels he can.”
Clemens said he was in better shape at this point last season, because he was preparing for the World Baseball Classic. He felt strong, he said, but it was all relative for now.
“The arm feels good, the body feels good,” Clemens said. “I haven’t had to walk off the mound yet, thank God, throwing to the minor leaguers.”
Clemens said he thought Pettitte “looked great,” and he was glad Pettitte avoided injury when a broken bat clipped his left ring finger in the first inning. Pettitte, who worked three shutout innings, said the finger bled a little and felt numb.
“I knew eventually it would stop throbbing if I stayed out there,” he said. “I didn’t want to come out after five or six pitches. I just kept telling them I was good. But I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
INSIDE PITCH
Right fielder Bobby Abreu, who has been idle almost two weeks with a strained oblique muscle, will begin taking swings this weekend. “I don’t feel any pain right now,” said Abreu, adding that he expected to be ready for opening day. ... Manager Joe Torre said Jason Giambi would play first base Thursday against the Atlanta Braves. Giambi will play mostly designated hitter this season, but Torre said he wanted to keep his options open. “It’ll be fun to get out there and let the Big G loose,” Giambi said.
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