HOUSTON — Roger Clemens' comeback might be headed to Houston. Well, Astros owner Jim
Crane isn't ruling it out, at least.
Crane said Monday there's a possibility the 50-year-old right-hander could
pitch this season for the majors' worst team.
"We haven't heard from Roger, so that's still up in the air,"
Crane said.
The last-place Astros begin a weeklong homestand on Monday that includes
three games against the Cubs and four against the Phillies. Their only
remaining home games after this stretch are against the Pirates and the
Cardinals — two teams in postseason contention.
Crane said he would not pitch the seven-time Cy Young Award winner against a
contender, which leaves this week as the only option.
He wouldn't say whether the team will reach out and try to entice Clemens to
return to the majors for the first time since pitching for the Yankees in 2007.
"We're just going to sit tight," Crane said. "We'll wait and
see if he calls us, but we might call him, who knows?"
Clemens pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start for Sugar Land of
the independent Atlantic league, and didn't allow a run in 4 2-3 innings in his
second start Friday.
When asked about pitching for Houston this season, Clemens said Friday he
didn't see it happening because of the time it took him to recover from his
first start.
The Astros sent a scout to watch both of his outings. General manager Jeff
Luhnow said he didn't have any new information on the subject.
"Right now we have a six-man rotation and we've lined up that rotation
for the rest of the year, so I'm not expecting any changes," he said.
"The words that I've heard Roger say suggest that that's not front and
center in his mind. At this point I'm not expecting it."
Clemens earned $160 million and won 354 games in a 24-year career with the
Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Astros. His 4,672 strikeouts are third-most and
he was selected for 11 All-Star games.
Clemens had two great seasons with the Astros after he turned 40, going 18-4
with a 2.98 ERA in 2004 to win his record seventh Cy Young Award. He was 13-8
with a career-low 1.87 ERA in 2005.
The Rocket's fastball was clocked at as high as 88 mph, and he also threw
curves and splitters in his starts for the Skeeters.
But it seems he isn't sure if his stuff is major league ready at this point.
"I don't think I could make an impact," Clemens said last week
when asked about pitching for the Astros. "I think it would be fun for a
lot of people, but it would take a lot of work to do and to perform the way I
would want to perform. My mind says yes. My body says no."
Clemens' re-emergence with the Skeeters is the first time he has been in the
spotlight since he was acquitted of charges he lied to Congress when he denied
using performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens was accused by former personal trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell
Report on drugs in baseball of using steroids and HGH, allegations Clemens
denied before Congress. The Justice Department began an investigation
concerning whether Clemens had lied under oath, and in 2010 a grand jury
indicted him on two counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements
and one count of obstructing Congress.
He was acquitted of all the charges on June 19
after a 10-week trial and had largely stayed out of the public spotlight until
signing with the Skeeters on Aug. 20.