Wednesday, October 27, 1999
Clemens has 1 more shot at redemption
BY TIM SULLIVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW YORK — Roger Clemens has been reprieved. He has been embarrassed, only to rate an encore. He has been knocked out, only to climb off the canvas. He has been afforded the rare opportunity of a redefining moment.
The New York Yankees' All-Century right-hander was all-censured after his last start. Baseball's only five-time Cy Young Award winner left Fenway Park after the third game of the American League Championship Series as a postseason punchline — his reputation in tatters, his character in question.
He had returned to the scene of his greatest triumphs and become the pitching victim of a Boston tee party, hooted toward the showers in the third inning of the Red Sox' 13-1 stampede.
Tonight, he has a chance to change his image, a chance to pitch his team toward a title, a chance to be remembered as a champion, a chance to laugh last.
Too much to handle
“I think Roger's stage in Fenway against Pedro (Martinez) was probably more than you could handle,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said Tuesday. “I mean more than Roger could handle, more than I could handle. ... I think tomorrow will be a special day for Roger. Coming to Yankee Stadium, in that Yankees uniform, there will be a lot of emotion, but there won't be a lot of baggage.”
Clemens has pitched twice in the postseason for New York, both times in hostile territory. He threw seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers in the Yankees' division series sweep before being bombed in Boston.
This time, though, he will be among friends. He will be pitching in pinstripes instead of road gray, trying to nail down a title thought to be virtually preordained when the Yankees acquired him from Toronto this spring.
If he comes through, his failure at Fenway will fade from memory. If he should stumble, though, Clemens will continue to be thought of as a dominant pitcher whose fragile psyche can't cope with October tension. He has won 247 regular-season games in his major-league career but only twice in 11 postseason starts.
“My emotions don't change when I take the mound just because of a certain game,” Clemens said. “The intensity's always there, and the effort's always there. Whether the outcome is poor or not is a different story.”
A new era for Clemens
Not so long ago, Clemens was such an overpowering pitcher that his mindset in a particular start was almost immaterial. Twice, he struck out 20 hitters in a single start. He has led the American League in earned-run average six times.
Clemens joined the Yankees this spring in search of the validation of ultimate victory. He had come close to a championship with Boston in 1986 but left the sixth game of the World Series with a lead his bullpen and Bill Buckner couldn't protect.
In light of Clemens' glittering credentials, and the Yankees' stunning 1998 season, it seemed a marriage of monotony — baseball's best team adding one of the game's best pitchers. But instead of leading the Yankees to new heights, Clemens has been a drag on the dynasty. He was 14-10 during the regular season, 6-7 after the All-Star break. At 37, his fastball was still lively, but his location was less predictable.
“I just think Roger put a lot of pressure on himself,” Torre said. “(But) he went out there with good stuff for the most part. We didn't score a lot of runs for him early on, and he tried to be too perfect, tried to keep the opposition from doing anything and got himself in a hole.
“Toward the end of the season, I think he started relaxing. He realized that we traded for Roger Clemens, (that) we didn't expect that he was going to win the Cy Young Award. It would have been great if he had that type of year. But we felt he was a good fit for our ballclub.”
Clemens won't come close to a Cy Young Award this season. His name probably won't show up on a single ballot. But he has been there and done that more often than any other man in history.
A World Series title would be a new sensation. It would give Clemens a whole new look.
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