HANGING AT THE TROP – Roger Clemens will be there in October.
When the Yankees need him in the first round of the playoffs, Clemens, who is dealing with a strained left hamstring, will take the mound.
You can be sure of that.
“There’s no way he is going to miss that start,’’ one Yankee official told me tonight before the Yankees wrapped up the wild card against the Devil Rays. “No way.’’
This is why Clemens came back and this is an opportunity he will not miss. Clemens and the Yankees made the right call, scratching him from last night’s start against the Rays and shutting him down for the regular season. The Yankees don’t need Clemens now; they need him for the Real Season.
Only if Clemens has a setback will he miss that playoff start.
The 6-6 record and 4.18 ERA don’t show the real impact Clemens has dad on the Yankees. Once he came back to town, the starting pitching came around.
Clemens made his first start on June 9, beating Pittsburgh. That was the Yankees fifth straight win, the middle of a nine-game winning streak. The Yankees are 61-35 since Clemens joined the team.
When Clemens was working out in Tampa in May in preparation for his latest comeback, he told me his eyes were on only one thing – getting to October again in Pinstripes.
I asked him about that again last night as he stood in front of the Yankees clubhouse, giving an impromptu press conference.
“I fully expect to be out there,’’ Clemens said. “From where this team started and where we are now, it’s really incredible and this is another reason why I’m happy for a lot of these guys. A lot of these guys should be proud of themselves here.’’
The Yankees need Clemens in so many ways. Yes Clemens has a way of riding in on the white horse, but when you are 45 pitching against players half your age, things break down. The mental toughness, though, is there every day and that is where Clemens will be needed in the post-season against the Indians or Angels. That is where his true worth will be shown.
Joe Torre has been in this position many times – Waiting on Roger – but that’s exactly the point. The reason Torre is waiting on the Rocket is because he is the Rocket. That’s the way this game is played and that upsets some people because Clemens always seems to be getting special treatment.
When you own 354 major league victories you get special treatment.
“It’s sort of easier waiting on Roger because of how long he has done this,’’ Torre explained. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re not waiting on him to make this decision because of who he is, we are waiting on him because of (ITAL) who he is and what he is.(end ital).
“It’s not that he needs to pitch because he is Roger Clemens, it’s just that we want him to pitch because he is Roger Clemens and he could do things that other people can’t do because he knows his body so well,’’ Torre added. “We trust him in that. That’s the best way to describe it. Other pitchers who you didn’t know as well obviously you couldn’t have the trust that you have in Roger, especially understanding what he needs to be.
“It’s feeling better but I think the frustration comes from the fact that it’s not feeling as good as he needs it to feel right now.’’
It will feel better once the Division Series comes around. Clemens did not come all the way back to New York to be sidelined by this type of injury. He may go out and blow the hamstring out in the Division Series, but he will go out there.
It’s no different than Derek Jeter playing through his aching knee. All you had to do was look around the visiting clubhouse to understand what Roger Clemens means to the Yankees. Every player had a nameplate above his locker.
There was Jeter, Rodriguez, Posada, Rivera.
Above Clemens locker it read: “Rocket.’’
Blastoff is delayed again, but it will come in October.
-30-