Gulp - Clemens still hurting

[moose]

GULP.

Rocket's hand still hurts; Torre proceeds with caution

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Associated Press


BALTIMORE -- Roger Clemens hopes to make his next scheduled start Sunday but New York Yankees manager Joe Torre won't commit to it until he's sure Clemens' injured right hand is all right.


Clemens


David Segui hit a drive off Clemens' pitching hand in the fourth inning of Monday's opener. The hand swelled but Clemens stayed in the game and, three batters later, Tony Batista hit a go-ahead grand slam that propelled Baltimore to a 10-3 victory.

Clemens gave up eight runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

"The color's going away; I iced it until about midnight last night," Clemens said Tuesday before the Yankees' workout at Camden Yards. "But it's still sore to touch."

X-rays were negative. Clemens intends to pitch Sunday against Tampa Bay but Torre will have Ted Lilly, the Yankees' seventh starter, waiting in reserve. No. 6 starter Sterling Hitchcock went on the disabled list during spring training because of a strained ligament in his lower back.

Torre won't rush Clemens, coming off a 20-3 season that gained him a record sixth Cy Young Award and moved him within 20 wins of 300.

"There's still some puffiness in there," Torre said. "We'll see what happens when he picks up a ball. We'll rely on the doctors."

Clemens, 39, is still recovering from getting hit in the ankle in spring training. He intends to pitch through both injuries.

"The bone (in the hand) might be sore for three weeks, but I don't expect to have the swelling in there to hinder me from throwing," Clemens said. "Those are the things you deal with."

Clemens said reaching for the line drive was a reflex.

"I don't want anything to get past me. I'm in attack mode all the time out there," Clemens said.

David Wells, back with the Yankees after three seasons with Toronto and the White Sox, is to pitch for New York on Wednesday against Jason Johnson in the second game of the three-game series.

[Duque]

For the life of me, I don't understand why he was left in for 110 pitches when he was getting hammered and had lost his control.

Seems to me some pitchers are much more prone to this kind of thing (fielding the ball themselves) - like Kevin Brown. Intensity thing?

[JamesI]

I watched the whole game on YES network and knew it was a problem the moment he reached for that ball off Segui. Of course three batters later came the probable highlight of the season for my Orioles with the Grand Slam by Batista, but he lost his control after getting hit and should have come out of the game earlier.

[gyb13]

Good thing they kept 6 starters around for now...i agree Lilly should've come on much earlier - maybe Roger wanted to suck it up due to past criticism of his leaving important games early? not that this was an important game, but...

[Fritz Buelow]

When he took the shot off the hand, he still had a lead. I wonder if he thought he could nurse it for an inning+ and maybe get a win?