Clemens confident he's on schedule
Hurler feels good, looks sharp in Tuesday's bullpen session
By Chris Girandola / Special to MLB.com
http://myurl.com.tw/b2qh (YESNetwork.com)
TAMPA, Fla. — Roger Clemens came away feeling good following his bullpen
session on Tuesday at the Yankees' player development complex in Tampa.
"I think I'm right where I need to be," said Clemens, who threw a total of 71
pitches during the session. "Endurance and conditioning, I think I'm really
close. Everything that I've been trying to do and accomplish is pretty much
on schedule."
Dressed in Yankees pinstripe pants, a navy blue, long-sleeve shirt and a
Yankees hat, Clemens began his 11 a.m. ET practice with some light jogging
and soft long-toss before throwing 10 warmup pitches to Minor League prospect
James LaSala.
Then, with Yankees vice president of player personnel Billy Connors and
pitching prospects Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Joba Chamberlain, Christian
Garcia and Jose Veras looking on, Clemens tossed a simulated session with
Minor Leaguers Hector Gonzalez and Kevin Smith acting as batters in the box.
Clemens first threw 22 pitches against the right-handed-hitting Gonzalez, who
did not swing and served mainly as a prop during the session. Clemens worked
all four of his pitches, including his two-seam and four-seam fastballs and
the splitter and slider.
The Rocket then worked on his array of pitches against Smith, tossing 16
against the left-handed batter before taking a short break to discuss
mechanics and approach with the pitching corps in attendance.
"I enjoy working with them and I enjoy teaching," Clemens said in a press
conference following the hour-long session. "They have very pointed questions
and I'm trying to help them any way I can. I have a routine and have had a
routine since I was 20. There's more to it than just throwing and pitching."
Clemens then demonstrated how to work each pitch in different ways against
Gonzalez and Smith.
After tossing seven more warmup pitches, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner
informed LaSala behind the plate what pitch he would throw each time.
"Fastball away."
"Fastball in."
"Two-seamer in."
"Back-door slider."
With each pitch, the Rocket proved that his velocity and command were as
close to being 100 percent as possible.
"Everything was pretty much nasty," said LaSala, 23, who grew up as a Yankees
fan and called the experience one of the best days of his life. "He had great
command and I didn't have to move my glove at all. It was unbelievable and
amazing. He threw all his pitches and he had great stuff."
Clemens wrapped up his pitching practice with seven pitches against Gonzalez
that included a high, inside fastball. Before the pitch, Clemens warned the
Minor Leaguer to "back up when I let this go."
"I probably was right around 90-91 mph," said Clemens. "With the wind
blowing, it was a great day because I talked about that with the guys. With
the wind across, they can watch how it affects the pitch. Anybody can pitch
when it's calm, 70 degrees and perfect. Anybody should be good on the first
30 pitches, but you should never get tired."
Clemens exhibited that his conditioning and agility were finely in tune when,
after a short break, he practiced infield work that included comeback ground
balls, throwing to each base, covering first, and pickoff throws.
Barring any issues on Wednesday or Thursday, Clemens hopes to throw between
45-60 pitches in his start on Friday for the Class A Tampa Yankees at Legends
Field, followed by more pitches in the bullpen for a total of 90 pitches.
"Another important thing for me tomorrow is more of a muscle-memory sort of
thing," said Clemens, who mentioned that it helped last year having pitched
in the World Baseball Classic. "Let's get one inning under my belt first,
then I'll worry about two, three, four and about the extent of my pitch
count. Once I get in a game on Friday, it'll be a good tell-tale sign on how
I feel Saturday. I'd be real surprised, arm strength-wise, that I'm not
close. But there's some soreness that I need to get in and out of my body
from not pitching in games."
Clemens said it is a possibility that he could make his return to the Major
League club when the Yankees face the Blue Jays in Toronto from May 28-30.
"If I come out of the first two [Minor League starts] decent, they'll pull me
aside and I'm sure they'll talk about that," said Clemens, who made three
Minor League starts last year before his comeback with the Astros. "Nothing's
out of the question."
Following his start in Tampa, Clemens is expected to make his next start with
Double-A affiliate Trenton next Wednesday.
If things go according to plan, Clemens may return to face the first two
teams he played with. Following the Blue Jays series, if Clemens starts
against them, he would then make his next start against the Red Sox in Boston.
"You understand the pace the Red Sox are setting, so they're in good shape
and good pitching shape," said Clemens, who began his career with the Red Sox
23 years ago. "If they're rolling like that, we're gonna have to get things
going as quickly as possible."
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