Roger Clemens Final Game

[mavsfanforever]

I know that we have a official world series thread but Clemens pitching for the last time is worth another thread.

MIAMI -- One more time. One last time. Roger Clemens will walk to the mound, take a deep breath -- the kind that'll stretch the lining of his lungs -- and put the finishing touch on his three-decade career.

All month, the Yankees have tried to calculate when the Rocket would throw his last pitch in the big leagues. Finally, there's a closing date: It's tonight, Game 4 of the World Series against the Marlins, Clemens' absolute, non-negotiable final appearance in Pinstripes.

Or is it?

Ask Clemens if he's really headed for Plan B in his life, and you'll get that slight roll of the eyes, as if to say -- that question again? But it's not just reporters who lean on Clemens for an answer. Even teammates are having trouble fully accepting that a 17-game winner, still capable of reaching the mid-90s on the radar gun, has lost his appetite for pitching.

Although respectful of Clemens' stated desire to go home to his family, members of the organization have floated several what-if scenarios at the Rocket. None other than general manager Brian Cashman suggested that Clemens could retire for a half-season in 2004, then return after the All-Star break.

Cashman was kidding -- sort of. And, interestingly, Clemens didn't quite dismiss the offer, although he was quick to say, "my family has made a lot of sacrifices for me during my career. It's time to give back to them."

The best going-away gift Clemens could give to himself, of course, is a Series win against Florida, putting the Yankees on the doorstep of another world championship. The Rocket has been seeking redemption ever since Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against the Red Sox, when he allowed four runs in three innings.

What was supposed to be this generation's greatest one-game matchup -- Clemens versus Pedro, power versus power, the Yankee monolith versus Red Sox Nation -- ended badly for the Rocket.

In fact, with the Sox leading 4-1, and with Pedro unhittable in the early innings, it appeared Clemens' career had indeed drawn its last breath. He handed the ball to Joe Torre with runners on first and third and none out and calmly walked back to the dugout. Clemens stared straight down, offering no hint how he felt at what might've been the end.

The sold-out Stadium crowd understood the moment, however, giving Clemens a standing ovation. He declined to tip his cat -- after all, the Yankees were in trouble, and as Clemens later said, "this wasn't about me" -- but ever since then, he's sought one more chance. One last chance.


Roger Clemens was fired up in his last start at Fenway Park. Will tonight be the same?

Now, with the Red Sox having self-destructed and the Marlins vaporizing, too, the Yankees are able to see the humor in Clemens being poised for retirement -- again.

"I'm looking forward to getting his last start out of the way," Derek Jeter said with a smile. "He's in his last year, so everywhere we went, it was his last start here, last start there, 300th win here ... obviously, he's had a tremendous career, and when it's over with, we'll get a chance to reflect on it."

The Yankees wouldn't mind the same set of calisthenics in 2004, if Clemens were to change his mind. Clearly, some teammates wish he would. As Mariano Rivera said: "If it were me, I would keep pitching. But that's just me."

Clemens does leave open the possibility that he'll pitch for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 -- a scenario which would keep his arm strong enough to help the Yankees in the pennant race. No one doubts the Rocket would still have the skill to win at age 42 next year, and if he were to actually save his arm until, say, July or August, Clemens might actually be more overpowering than ever.

The Yankees are sure of this much, too: If the Rocket were to pitch again, there's only one team which could tempt him -- the Bombers themselves.

His build-up to Clemens' first out-of-retirement start in 2004 would be a public relations orgy for the Yankees. Yet, with a Series assignment only 24 hours away, Clemens was unwilling to play along.

" If Roger says he's done, you have to go with that. But I hope he stays. "
-- Jorge Posada

"I'm dead serious on what I'm doing. I'm pretty set on it," he said, referring to retirement.

The right-hander even questioned whether he'll still have the energy to stay in shape, saying: "at the point next summer rolls around, I don't know how my body's going to feel that I'd want to get up off that couch and do the arm exercises, the running, the lifting that I need to do to be a power pitcher."

No one really believes that. Clemens, melted into his couch? Once larger than life, suddenly larger than his clothes? The thought is ludicrous to those who know the pitcher, which is why Jorge Posada said, "If Roger says he's done, you have to go with that. But I hope he stays."


If the situation were reversed -- if Posada was still blasting long home runs at age 40-something -- he promises there'd be no such intrigue. Without no disrespect to Clemens, the catcher said, "they're going to have to tear the uniform off me."


Posada's message needed no translation: retirement isn't for everyone. Tonight, as Clemens insists he's finally ready for retirement's embrace, the Yankees are crossing their fingers, whispering: not yet.

[bogey]

I thought it was pretty classy for the Marlins to stand, tip their hats and clap when he walked off. If I were a Marlins fan, I wouldn't want them to do it, but rather show some killer instinct, but it was certainly classy.