KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Astros, from all indications, have had enough of Roger Clemens being the center of attention at their camp. Even though the Houston icon was scheduled yesterday to spend a third day at minor league camp, Clemens and his jet-black Hummer were nowhere to be found.
The Astros have not talked directly to Clemens about his presence at camp, but it is clear the situation has become difficult for the team because of all the media attention surrounding the seven-time Cy Young winner.
“We’ve got to let the minor leaguers play with each other,” Astros owner Drayton McLane told The Post yesterday, one day after the FBI opened an investigation to see whether Clemens lied to Congress when he said under oath that he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs. “They don’t need a Cy Young Award winner out there with them, not at their level. And it’s too much pressure with all the reporters there.”
Added McLane’s son, Denton, “The players need to focus on their jobs and being players.”
Astros management will meet soon to discuss how to handle the delicate situation. Clemens has a 10-year, $3 million personal services contract with the team that kicks in when he retires. McLane said that deal will be honored, as it stands now.
“We’ve got to wait until he retires,” McLane said. “We have a valid contract that we entered into in 2004, and when he’s ready to retire, we will certainly honor it.”
So this was just a quiet, sunny day of minor leaguers getting their work done.
One of those minor leaguers was catcher Koby Clemens, the Rocket’s 21-year-old son. Koby said his father had to return to Texas to attend Koby’s brother’s baseball tournament. Clemens reportedly called the camp in the morning to say he would not be there.
As for his father’s troubles, Koby said: “Things are going to die down for a while. The stuff [FBI investigation] just comes with the territory.”
Clemens is getting all the negative attention while wearing Astros colors. That is not the kind of coverage McLane wants for his team.
There is no word when Clemens, who said he has never used steroids or human growth hormone, will work with the Houston youngsters again or if he ever will.
“It’s only an asset to have him around,” Koby said of his dad, who pitched more than an hour of batting practice the previous two days. “It’s been a good week, actually, I got some really good work in and Pops got some good work in. It’s nothing but positive.”
Koby said that the extra media attention actually helps the young players.
“It kind of gets you ready for the future,” he said. “All of us don’t even care about the media. We’re out there having a great time.”
