Roger Clemens hadn’t had a shorter non-injury outing in more than a year. He hadn’t thrown so few pitches in almost three years.
It’s been a milestone season for the Rocket, but those are two landmarks that won’t be leading off his 2003 highlight video.
Clemens suffered one of his worst starts of the season in yesterday’s 5-3 loss to Baltimore at Yankee Stadium, going four innings, lasting 68 pitches and allowing nine hits, five runs and two homers.
“My arm just felt heavy,” he said. “Everything was up and flat.”
Not since May 24, 2002 against Boston had Clemens hit the showers so early (that day he lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs). Not since Sept. 28, 2000 had Clemens thrown fewer pitches (that day he threw 67). Yesterday was only slightly better on both counts.
Because of Tuesday’s rainout, Clemens was pitching on an extra day’s rest, something Joe Torre suggested might have been a factor. But Clemens said he didn’t feel “too strong” and insisted that he felt fine warming up in the bullpen.
When the game started, though, the problem was simple: location, location, location.
“My location was awful, pretty much,” Clemens said. “There were times I was trying to hit the outside corner and I missed up and in.”
Torre said, “He was trying to become a down pitcher but he isn’t a down pitcher. He is an overpowering pitcher. He wore himself out trying to make the adjustments. He didn’t have good stuff. You are either over a certain zone or under a certain zone, and he got in the middle of the zone.”
Clemens ran into trouble three batters into the game. With two outs in the first inning, he hit Melvin Mora. The next batter, Jeff Conine, was hitting .179 (5-for-28) off Clemens lifetime. But when Clemens’ first-pitch slider stayed up, Conine blasted it to left for a two-run homer.
In the second inning, Clemens’ location again betrayed him. Facing B.J. Surhoff, Clemens’ splitter didn’t dive, it instead hung up in the zone. Surhoff clobbered it for a solo shot to right.
“When you make bad pitches, these guys made me pay for it today,” Clemens said. “It’s not like it’s never happened to me before. It was like my stuff I had in Cleveland [when he gave up two runs in seven innings]. I got away with some stuff in Cleveland. But not today.”
