In the Yankee universe, where nothing is left to chance and guess work
is the equivalent of professional suicide, there was no need to translate
Joe Torre's decision to start Roger Clemens in Friday's exhibition game
against the Blue Jays.
It was simple math, really -- counting the days until Opening Day and
matching them to the number of starts Clemens will make in spring training.
The choreography was neat, perfect.
|  | | Clemens was pumped when he pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts in the playoffs against Seattle. |
Not only would Clemens have the honor of pitching to the first home crowd
at Legends Field, but he would also be the Opening Day starter on April 2
against the Royals, when the Yankees begin defense of their World Series
championship.
Thus, without having to actually say so, Torre proclaimed Clemens as the
rotation's rock -- the foundation, the ace, the centerpiece of what's considered the American League's deepest rotation.
This is no small endorsement from the Yankees, considering Clemens is 38,
and is surrounded by three pitchers -- Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Orlando
Hernandez -- who have their own impressive resumes.
But as general manager Brian Cashman put it, "There's still something
special about Roger Clemens on the mound. Watching him pitch, you realize
he's one of those guys who has that magic."
The Yankee executive was right: at an age when most power pitchers have,
by necessity, traded in their fastballs for two-seamers -- or just
retired -- Clemens is still throwing in the mid-90s, sometimes as hard as
98 mph.
The Rocket admits, "I've been very fortunate to still be able to throw
like this at my age, but the way I train has a lot to do with it, too. This
is the result of a lot of hard work."
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Throwing heat at 38
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Here is what baseball's legendary fastball pitchers did at age 38 (along with Clemens' stats last season at age 37): |
|
Pitcher
|
W-L
|
ERA
|
IP
|
SO
|
|
W. Johnson
|
15-16
|
3.63
|
260
|
125
|
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Lefty Grove
|
14-4
|
3.08
|
163
|
99
|
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Bob Feller -- retired |
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Bob Gibson
|
11-13
|
3.83
|
240
|
120
|
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Tom Seaver
|
9-14
|
3.55
|
231
|
135
|
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Nolan Ryan
|
10-12
|
3.80
|
232
|
209
|
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Clemens (37)
|
13-8
|
3.70
|
204
|
188
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Clemens runs and lifts weights, producing a frame that, pound-for-pound,
is among the strongest and most durable in the Yankee clubhouse. Despite his
6-3, 220-pound exterior, Clemens can run three miles in 22 minutes, extraordinary stamina by any baseball standard.
The Rocket's commitment to fitness may explain why he pitched so
brilliantly in the second half of the 2000 season: after recovering from a
strained groin muscle on July 2, the right-hander went 9-2 with a 3.00 ERA in
18 starts, throwing harder and with more confidence than he had in two years.
Clemens is, without question, the face the Yankees want to show the rest
of the American League -- the biggest, baddest, most intimidating presence in
pinstripes. Mussina might possess a funkier out-pitch, the knuckle-curve, and
Pettitte might eat up right-handed hitters with that cut-fastball, and El
Duque might have the gift of multiple arm-angles, but no one puts more fear
in American League hitters than Clemens.
Yet, Clemens' favorite weapon -- the up-and-in fastball -- could be
threatened in 2001, thanks to commissioner Bud Selig's edict that umpires
more aggressively police head-hunting. Although such authority has always
been theirs, umps are now being encouraged to eject any pitcher they even
suspect of throwing at a batter's head -- without warning, without even a
conversation.
Naturally, the Yankees are irritated at the ruling, believing Selig and
his lieutenant Sandy Alderson have targeted Clemens. Even though the Rocket
insists he's not worried about the umpires' increased vigilance, Torre
certainly is.
"I think our stance has to be that you just can't take pitching in off
the plate away from the pitcher," Torre said. "You always say (to
pitchers), 'If you're going to make a mistake, you make it off the plate. If
you hit him, you hit him.' "
Of course, Clemens placed himself in the middle of controversy last
summer, first by hitting Mike Piazza in the head with a 98-mph fastball on
July 8 at Yankee Stadium. Then, in Game 2 of the World Series, after breaking
Piazza's bat with another laser-like heater, Clemens threw the splintered
bat barrel at the stunned catcher as he ran towards first base.
Those two events, Torre claims, combined to turn major-league officials
against the Rocket.
"I think because it was the World Series and because Roger had hit (Piazza) in the head, he's made an example of," Torre said. "I don't think there's any question about it."
Could Clemens become tentative about pitching inside? If so,
he'll lose a crucial antidote to today's bigger, stronger hitters, all of
whom generate power by extending their arms.
Without being able to jam them inside, Clemens could be vulnerable -- despite his velocity. If you accept the notion that hitting is about timing and comfort, even a 98-fastball can be crushed if it's
thrown over the middle of the plate.
That's why the Yankees are hopeful that Clemens has forgotten last
summer's civil war with Piazza and is ready to move forward as their ace,
defying the laws of aging with every fastball that leaves his hand.
"I think Roger is going to end up being like (Nolan) Ryan, throwing hard
into his 40s," said Cashman. "And Roger is also going to push our other
pitchers, too. Hopefully, they'll feed off him, and create a sort of
competition within themselves. That's what we're hoping for. That's what
Roger is capable of."
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com.
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