Clemens Shaky In
Trenton Tune-up
by Mike Ashmore
A record crowd packed Waterfront Park to watch "The
Rocket" take off, but he didn't get too far off the launching
pad.
9,134 fans saw 44-year-old
future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens throw 102 pitches over five and
a third innings last Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits.
Clemens had difficulty
locating his pitches throughout the game, but especially struggled
in the first inning, with three of his four walks coming in the
opening frame.
However, despite a less than
impressive line, the seven-time Cy Young winner felt good about
his second minor league outing of the season.
"I did everything I wanted to do with the baseball, pretty
much," Clemens said. "I threw all my pitches. It was no
different than what my expectations were last year. I've already
been through it once, so I knew what to expect."
He left in the sixth inning
to a standing ovation. Most fans -- some of whom paid as much as
$200 for a ticket on various websites -- didn't sit down again
until they got in their cars, as the stands emptied following
Clemens departure.
Initially expected to announce his decision after the game,
Clemens was non-committal about where his next start would be.
"It was one step in the right direction for a little bit
further down the road," he said, announcing several days
later that he'd be making a final minor league start in Triple-A
Scranton on Monday.
This was his second "tune-up" start since announcing his
return at Yankee Stadium on May 6th. His first came in Tampa, and
Clemens said he felt closer to being ready for a Major League
return after this game than he did after the previous start.
Clemens showed up in Trenton nearly seven hours before game time,
arriving in John Madden's custom-built bus.
After getting in some early work, he spent time with the Thunder's
pitching staff, telling reporters after the game that he enjoyed
doing that more than he did actually pitching in the game.
"He talked to us about being excited to be on the mound and
giving it everything you've got," said Thunder reliever Kevin
Whelan.
"We talked about pitching a little bit, but it was mainly
about working hard and stuff like that. He's one of the best
pitchers ever, so it was a great experience."
Even the position players walked away from the game with a
positive experience.
"We've been doing this so long, that we really don't
recognize who's in the stands anymore," said infielder Gabe
Lopez about the record turnout.
"But obviously, you know who's on the mound. And you can't
shake that."
The Rocket was opposed by Portland's Clay Buchholz, who hadn't
even been born when Clemens made his Major League debut on May 15,
1984.
Buchholz may have been the real story in the pitching matchup of
Boston past versus Boston future, striking out eight Thunder
batters in six innings of work.
But with all the attention on the opposing starter, perhaps only
Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein was the only one in
attendance who noticed.
"I didn't even really notice either," Buchholz said with
a laugh.
"Overall, I felt pretty good out there, but I felt a little
out of whack early."
That may have had something to do with Clemens, who Buchholz
admitted to watching during the first few innings before
eventually focusing on the task at hand.
The 22-year-old, who grew up around 100 miles away from Clemens'
native Houston, used to go to Astros games just to see his idol
pitch, but getting to face him on the mound was completely
different.
"Clemens and Nolan Ryan were the two guys I looked up to
throughout my childhood years. To be able to go toe-to-toe with
him is pretty cool," he said.
While the results of the game were relatively meaningless in the
grand scheme of things, Clemens was on the hook for the loss until
Noah Hall hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie
the game at three.
A line drive single by Jamal Strong gave Trenton a 4-3 win in ten
innings, capping one of the biggest nights in the history of the
Thunder franchise.
Contact Mike: mashmore@patriotsbaseball.com
