YANKEE NOTES
Roger Clemens holds no grudges against the Red Sox. But when it comes to going into the Hall of Fame, baseball’s 21st pitcher to reach 300 wins made it very clear what cap will be on his head.
“I played 20 years and worked my tail off, they aren’t going to tell me what hat I am wearing, I can promise you that,” Clemens said yesterday, less than 24 hours after he notched career win No. 300 with a 5-2 victory over the Cardinals at Yankee Stadium. “There might be a vacant seat there. I will take my mother to Palm Springs, invite you all and have our own ceremony.”
When told it sounded like the Yankee hat in his locker was the one he was wearing in Cooperstown five years from now, Clemens said, “Yeah.
“It’s not a knock against any of the people [at the Hall of Fame] and somebody told me there are some people who don’t have a hat on, but that would be disrespectful to Mr. Steinbrenner, who gave me the opportunity to continue my career, to achieve these goals and become a true Hall of Famer.”
Clemens, who is tied for the Red Sox career victory lead with Cy Young at 192, has carved out quite a niche in Yankee lore. In Pinstripes, he has two World Series rings and a Cy Young Award and Friday night notched his 300th victory and 4,000th strikeout.
“I think he is every bit as much a Yankee as he is a Red Sox,” Joe Torre said of Clemens, who improved to 7-4 this season with the milestone win Friday night.
“I loved Boston and had a great two years in Toronto but I became a Hall of Famer [as a Yankee],” Clemens said. “If I had listened to people [in Boston] I would have been done. It was one guy [Dan Duquette] who didn’t get to know me. I don’t care how long I was [in Boston]. The same goes with Reggie [Jackson] who was here for five years and Nolan [Ryan] was in Texas for five years. The bottom line is I have two rings from here and that’s why I play.”
Clemens cleared his Manhattan apartment of friends and family at about 3:30 Saturday morning. Less than seven hours later, Clemens was out on a conditioning run with personal trainer Brian McNamee, a former St. John’s catcher whom Clemens credits for his ability to remain a power pitcher at 40.
“Mel [Stottlemyre] reminded me in the outfield today that I was going Wednesday and he said, ‘Get ready.’ There is still work to be done,” Clemens said.
The Rangers are dreaming if they believe Ugueth Urbina is worth what they are asking the Yankees for in trade discussions for the right-handed reliever.
According to an industry source with close ties to the suddenly cash-starved Rangers, GM John Hart has told the Yankees they can have Urbina only if they agree to take struggling right-hander Chan Ho Park, who has three years and $42 million left on a contract. The Rangers have also asked about injured first baseman Nick Johnson.
All for a pitcher the Yankees dealt two minor leaguers – D’Angelo Jimenez and Brandon Knight – to Montreal two years ago only to see the deal fall apart for medical reasons.
The Yankees would like to upgrade their setup relief and use the effective Antonio Osuna earlier than the seventh and eighth innings. And Urbina, who has 18 saves, would fit the bill. However, at those prices, the Yankees will look elsewhere.
The Giants, Mariners, Cardinals and Red Sox have expressed interest in Urbina, who has a one-year deal worth $4.5 million with $500,000 in easily attainable incentive clauses.
There may come a day when Torre can’t avoid elevating Hideki Matsui’s smoking bat back to the middle or top of the order. However, for now, Torre is leaving Matsui in the sixth or seventh spot.
“I don’t know, we will see,” Torre said when asked if Matsui stayed hot would he move him up in the order.
ROCKET’S 4 LARGE: Here’s an extreme closeup on Roger Clemens, baseball’s newest 4000K member and his career in Ks.
The Rocket’s Ks by venue:
Fenway Park 1412
Yankee Stadium 617
Skydome 406
Anaheim Stadium/Edison Field 145
Tiger Stadium 136
Network Associates Coliseum 132
Arlington Stadium 116
Metrodome 115
County Stadium 107
Municipal Stadium 98
Camden Yards 98
Royals/Kauffman Stadium 97
Kingdome 96
Jacobs Field 60
Memorial Stadium 54
Comiskey Park 50
U.S. Cellular Field 47
Tropicana Field 46
Safeco Field 36
Ballpark at Arlington 33
Exhibition Stadium 30
Comerica Park 23
Pro Player Stadium 19
Shea Stadium 15
Turner Field 7
Wrigley Field 5
Olympic Stadium 4
Coors Field 2
Active MLB players with 10 or more Ks vs. The Rocket
Greg Vaughn, Col 25
Mark Mclemore, Sea 24
Omar Vizquel, Cle 21
Ben Grieve, TB 18
Rafael Palmeiro, Tex 18
Mike Bordick, Tor 18
Tim Salmon, Ana 17
Dean Palmer, Det 17
Manny Ramirez, Bos 16
John Olerud, Sea 16
J.T. Snow, SF 16
Fred McGriff, LA 16
Tino Martinez, St. L. 15
Ruben Sierra, Yankees 15
Roberto Alomar, Mets 15
Ray Durham, SF 15
Juan Gonzalez, Tex 15
Jim Edmonds, St.L. 14
Bernie Williams, Yanks 14
Jason Giambi, Yanks 14
Bobby Higginson, Det 14
Jim Thome, Phi 14
Garrett Anderson, Ana 13
B.J. Surhoff, Bal 13
Nomar Garciaparra, Bos 12
Torii Hunter, Min 12
Jose Cruz, Jr., SF 12
Mike Cameron, Sea 12
Frank Catalanotto, Tor 12
Frank Thomas, ChW 11
Jose Valentin, ChW 11
Ken Griffey, Jr., Cin 11
Marty Cordova, Bal 11
Mo Vaughn, Mets 11
Randy Winn, Sea 11
Alex Rodriguez, Tex 11
Derek Jeter, Yanks 10
