Roger Clemens’ five-game suspension for his retaliatory pitch last week in Toronto sparked two results:
One, Clemens got to spend more quality time with his son, Kobe, in Lexington, Ky., where he’s playing for the Astros Class A club. The Rocket won’t rejoin the Yankees until Thursday.
Two, the Yankees tonight tempt the baseball gods by giving young Jeff Karstens and his 10.13 ERA a one-night stand against the Orioles amidst their wild charge of the Red Sox.
It will mark Karstens’ first start since April 28 against Boston, when a Julio Lugo line drive broke his right leg and put him on the 60-day disabled list.
Tonight could get as ugly as Karstens’ fractured fibula. In two relief appearances since coming off the DL, Karstens has been shaky. In mop-up duty in Toronto during last Wednesday’s rout, Karstens allowed five runs, three hits and three walks in three innings.
“Hopefully starting the game, he can use all his stuff,” Joe Torre said before the Yankees posted a 7-6 victory over the Orioles. “It’s a little different than coming out of the bullpen. He’s got to throw strikes. He needs to use both sides of the plate. He’s not overpowering. He relies on his off-speed stuff, as well as command of his fastball.”
“He hadn’t pitched in a while,” Torre added of Toronto. “Hopefully that was a good prep for him.”
The 24-year-old minor-league star out of Texas Tech actually had a decent outing against Baltimore in September last season, recording a no-decision in a 9-4 loss but giving up just one hit and one run in 5 innings.
Karstens will watch tape from that outing, but he’s also trying to wipe out the trauma of April. His leg feels good. His rhythm does not.
“It’s all mental, keeping me from it,” Karstens said. “Physically, I feel like I’m there. Now it’s a matter of getting back in the groove.”
Karstens already has made adjustments to making sure another line drive doesn’t crack his leg.
“I’m trying to stand in a better defensive position, that’s all I can do,” Karstens said. “I’ll try to be more balanced instead of falling off to the first-base side.”
The question is if Kartsens, flops tonight, whether he’ll fall by the wayside in the Yankee plans this season.
“You always want to show them something,” Karstens said, “to given them the opportunity later in the year, if they need somebody.”