One month and three days after he stood in George Steinbrenner’s Stadium luxury box and announced that he would ride back into the Bronx for a second tour in pinstripes, Roger Clemens finally was slated to step onto the Yankee Stadium mound on Saturday afternoon for the first time since the epic Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox.
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The stakes weren’t nearly as high as they were when it was the Rocket versus Pedro Martinez for a ticket to the World Series, but try telling anyone who bleeds pinstripes that this was just another interleague game Saturday against the Pirates.
“He’s going to be over the top. That’s what he’s all about,” Joe Torre said Friday night of his newest ace. “He’s going to be sky high. But he’s used to the attention. He’s used to knowing how to channel his emotion.”
With the Yankees seemingly hitting their stride with consecutive series wins over Boston and the White Sox, the Rocket may give them the boost they need to get back into the AL East race.
As Derek Jeter reminded Friday night before the Yankees won the series opener with the Pirates 5-4, Clemens is only available every fifth day.
“It’s not like he comes here and all of the sudden plays every day. He gives you a chance to win when he starts,” Jeter said. “We’ve got to play. I don’t care if you bring in Babe Ruth, we have to go out and play. You can’t sit around and expect magic.”
There was already one minor hiccup in the Rocket’s road back to the Bronx, when he was scratched from Monday’s series opener in Chicago because of what he described as a “fatigued groin,” following three minor-league tuneups for Class A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Clemens spent most of the week at the Yanks’ minor-league complex in Tampa working out after an MRI on Monday revealed nothing more than disrupted scar tissue in his groin from an old injury. Torre said that he did not think Clemens’ injury would be an issue on Saturday. “If he gets a little fatigued, he’ll let us know about it,” Torre said.
Torre said he had no specific pitch limit or number of innings planned for the 44-year-old future Hall of Famer, who was to oppose Pittsburgh southpaw Paul Maholm.
“He’s thrown over 100 pitches before,” Torre said. “He could be out of gas after 80. My anticipation is five, six innings. Whenever he gets tired. He’s going to be honest with you.”
Although Clemens was in New York on Friday night, he was not at the stadium. He was to be activated to the roster Saturday and start earning his one-year, $28 million prorated contract when he took his 348 career wins to the mound.
“He’s in his office out there [on the mound]. And he’s locked in,” Torre said. “I think the fact that he is who he is certainly helps the personality of this ballclub. Roger’s presence commands a lot of attention and respect. And I think he feeds off the emotions of his teammates.”
Having spent the last three seasons in the NL Central with the Astros, Clemens is plenty familiar with the Pirates. He’s 5-1 in eight career starts against Pittsburgh with a 2.92 ERA.