Emotion set Clemens in motion By Peter Gammons, 01/05/97 It is a new year and the team Tony Sardisco first captained is in its glory, so it's finally time to look at the departure of Roger Clemens, without tears. It is time to separate what Clemens said from what he did, which is what counts. The man tried; one time he pulled a groin muscle and wasn't allowed to run so he walked up and down hills in Framingham from midnight to 2 a.m. to ensure that he could make his next start. Yes, he changed his mind, just as Bill Parcells, Teddy Roosevelt and Elizabeth Taylor did. But while some would have gone for the highest price - namely, $35 million for four years from Cleveland - there aren't many who, after giving what they perceived as their heart to the Red Sox, wouldn't have reacted with similar passion. Did Clemens go overboard at his press conference? Yes. He thought he was going to a Toronto tea party but found the media waiting for him and overreacted. As is often the case, Roger weaved back and forth across the median strip; but then, he got $8 million-plus to pitch, not run against George W. Bush. The reality of what happened was summed up by Randy Hendricks: ``Roger lost confidence in the Red Sox, and they lost confidence in him.'' Understand, the 1995 fine thing did rile Clemens, and if you know him, you know that he doesn't easily forget. His side of the story is that he was supposed to make his (strike-delayed) debut in a regular game, but late in the previous afternoon, he got a call from Kevin Kennedy saying that they wanted him to pitch in an early-morning simulated game. That meant arriving at 6 a.m. - not part of Clemens' revered regime - and he overthrew and strained his shoulder. He thus started the season on rehab. Then, on a Sunday morning when he told the trainers he would be in late because of his program, he wasn't there when Duquette called; Duquette not only fined him, but did it via paper, and faxed it to the Players Association. ``Roger felt embarrassed,'' says Hendricks. Anyone who really knows Roger knows what that meant. Clemens was disgusted by the physical condition of certain teammates last season, but he would have come back to Boston. Clear this up: He has a lot of friends here, he likes the real fans, he appreciates the way many felt about him. But this is a man who has always placed mind above matter and hence believes he can pitch until he is 45. The crucial contract element was time - four years - not money, and in September, $20 million for four years would have gotten it done. But when the Red Sox made their initial offer of $10 million for four years, it was a clear sign that instead of a Special Value Player like a Cal Ripken, they considered him a Suspect Player. The actual deal was $20 million for four years, but with only $10 million guaranteed - $4 million, $3 million, $2 million, $1 million. Try to put yourself in Clemens' shoes. You would have been ticked. Then when John Harrington didn't show for a meeting in Atlanta during the World Series and Clemens was allowed to hit the free agent market ... ``Once you're on the market,'' says R. Hendricks, ``all loyalties are off.'' ``Then Roger began to look at a lot of factors. It is obvious the team lost confidence in his ability to win, which is fine. It is their prerogative, and they may be right. But Roger also had lost confidence in their ability to win, and once he got out on the market, all the factors that enter into anyone's life choices entered in.'' If Harrington, for whom Clemens has great respect, had gone to Houston in October, things might have been different. But by the time the Red Sox wanted to go, Paul Beeston, Pat Gillick, John Hart and George Steinbrenner had already visited. It was too late. The Hendrickses insisted that Harrington and Duquette be allowed a final push, but Boston's $22 million for four years (plus $350,000 a year for 20 years working for the club) was too late, not to mention too little. Clemens, as a fan, watched this same scenario unfold with his idol, Nolan Ryan. Boston? He never understood why fans boo their own players - but not the opposition - as much as they do. He was never at ease with the increasingly mean-spirited nature of the Boston media. Facilities? Ha. Do you ever hear players say they want to play for the Red Sox? He never said he was Winston Churchill, and when he raised issues that he thought might make conditions more attractive to players, he was ridiculed. He came very close to signing with Baltimore. He left the $35 million from the Indians on the table and could have gotten more from the Yankees. He liked Beeston, he liked the Toronto situation, his agents read the Wall Street Journal and are aware of the prognosis for the Canadian economy. Three years, four years? It is as good a four-year guarantee as you can get. Did the Red Sox pay Clemens well? Yes, and maybe, as many have suggested, he got spoiled. He got a major league spring training invitation and a record $3,000 a month after two months in the minors. His $1.65 million in 1987 was a service-time record. His $7.7 million for three years in '88 was a record. His $21.7 million for four years in '91 was another record. Now he has the pitchers' record. This is business. Agents complain that Duquette treats free agent negotiations like arbitration cases, but he and Harrington obviously felt that the 40-39 numbers were too important to invest in Clemens as a franchise player. Roger sensed that the Red Sox had lost confidence in him, and, in turn, he feels they cannot win in the near future. We'll see who's right. What matters is that several other teams felt Clemens was worth what the Red Sox felt he was not, and he, being human, reacted. What made Clemens one of the greatest pitchers in Boston history drove him to the road, and that competitiveness is what we all admired. Damn, he tried, and he certainly gave every Red Sox fan hours and hours of historic entertainment. You didn't pay $23 a ticket to hear him talk, and the times when he didn't fulfill that $23 obligation were few, if ever, and the next time he takes the mound in Fenway Park, he deserves a prolonged, emotional standing ovation for all he gave. David Brinkley and David Letterman left NBC, and Roger Clemens left the Red Sox. Honestly, now, if you were Brinkley, Letterman or Clemens ... Red Sox are fiddling with Avery The Red Sox keep gambling that Steve Avery does not have the market Scott Boras says he does and that they can get him for closer to their $4.3 million price than the $5 million-plus he's seeking. Boras is no longer asking for a three-year deal with an escape after one, and there is a deal to be made. The Sox are taking a huge risk by not getting him wrapped up and instead allowing clubs like the White Sox and Indians time to realize what they do and do not have. Avery has indicated to Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan that he wants to make a few mechanical changes and at 26 would be the only pitcher on the Boston roster capable of being a front-of-the-rotation starter, something they must have to even hope to compete for a postseason spot. What's shocking is the cavalier attitude of the Red Sox. Avery is not aware of the 600 Club Effect, which makes Fenway a great place for a lefthander with a superb changeup who gets hitters out away. Plus, after all the medical problems Avery and his wife have gone through with their 2-year-old son, the club hasn't tried to sell the proximity to what are perhaps the finest medical facilities in the country ... Toronto would like to talk to the Padres about Greg Vaughn after he gets his $6 million in arbitration, if the Padres can't unload Rickey Henderson's $2 million contract. For all the improvements the Jays have made, much depends on how Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado step up, as the Green-Otis Nixon-Orlando Merced outfield combined for 23 homers last season ... Tuesday will mark the six-week anniversary of the labor agreement, and still no search committee has been formed to find a commissioner. While there is growing suspicion that many owners would like to keep the status quo and Bud Selig (the joke goes that one owner will propose Jerry Jones, the next Rich Kotite and another Newt Gingrich, so Bud will be retained by acclamation), the majority of National League owners want to move on, and they will likely have their voices, led by Peter O'Malley, heard next week at the owners' meeting. ``There really have been no names that have come to the forefront,'' says an NL owner, ``although there are a lot of us who still have great respect in Paul Kirk. Most of us took a deep breath after the deal and are ready to get started when we get to Scottsdale.'' A pair of pressing matters Meanwhile, Selig must immediately address two serious issues. First, he has to rewrite the labor agreement so that teams cannot - as they are currently allowed to do - pay another team to take a player so their technical salary level drops (which is what the Jays did by paying $5 million of John Olerud's contract, and what the Yankees are trying to do with Cecil Fielder or Paul O'Neill). ``It is an embarrassment, and it's going to result in high-priced veteran players being dumped onto bad teams,'' says a GM. Second, Selig has got to forget this ``league matter'' baloney - baseball was done terrible damage by the American League office - and get Roberto Alomar and John Hirschbeck together, clear the air and determine whether Hirschbeck can umpire Baltimore games next season ... Boras is orchestrating a bidding war for 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Juan Bernhardt, the namesake nephew of the former big leaguer who happens to be the Dominican scout for the White Sox (who also employ the kid's father, Jose). It seems Bernhardt was signed last summer by Tampa Bay and played in the instructional league, but the Commissioner's Office has deemed it an illegal signing and made him a free agent ... This international signing business is getting to be a war. The Red Sox thought they had a deal with Hiroshima for young, hard-throwing Jose De La Cruz, until the Yankees stepped in and gave him more money, ignoring the rules of the Japanese League. It's now all open to some form of arbitration ... Shietoshi Hasegawa has clearance from the Japanese League to negotiate with the Angels and A's, but the pursuit of star pitcher could be ugly. While agent Don Nomura is trying to sell Irabu to the Yankees or Mets, there are serious questions as to whether (1) the Japanese League will let him go and (2) the Padres' working agreement with the Chiba club takes precedence. ``We're operating under a 1967 agreement with Japan that needs updating,'' says one owner. Never underestimate the work of Boston's Ray Poitevant ... The Reds think there's a chance that Deion Sanders will play baseball next season. ``I love what he brings to the clubhouse, the team intensity and character,'' says Reds GM Jim Bowden. ``Players like him and respect him, and he pushes everyone around him.'' ... Good news in Cincinnati: They'll have new artificial turf, clubhouses and workout facilities by Opening Day, for their final three years before they go into their new ballpark. ``It's crazy to have a $5 million shortstop and not protect the investment,'' says Bowden ... If you watched the bowl games, you saw how badly baseball is losing the great athletes to football. Stanford quarterback Chad Hutchinson, who turned down seven figures from the Braves as their No. 1 pick out of high school, has all but decided to give up college baseball. Florida State quarterback Thad Busby turned down seven figures out of high school from Toronto, Florida fullback Pooh Bear Williams was a Frank Thomas-type power prospect, and while Texas running back Ricky Williams (Phillies) and 1997 Florida quarterback Doug Johnson (Devil Rays) play pro baseball in the summer, each is expected to be NFL-bound. This June, two of the top prospects in the draft will provide showdowns with college football - Colorado HS superman RB Darnell McDonald could be the No. 1 pick if he'll sign, and North Carolina HS DB Tyrrell Godwin is the fastest player in the draft but has already signed to play football at the University of North Carolina. ``What baseball needs to do,'' says Toronto scouting director Tim Wilken, ``is do promos using great two-sport athletes like Thomas [who would have been a top-five pick as a tight end], Kenny Lofton and Tom Glavine, encouraging that youngsters play all sports and halt the pressure football and basketball [and hockey] coaches put on kids to start specializing at the age of 14.'' Another shutout in Cooperstown? The Hall of Fame balloting will be announced tomorrow, and unless there is a rush for Phil Niekro and/or Don Sutton, there may be no one voted in for the second straight year. This is getting to be more of a reflection on the voting procedure and those who vote than the talent. Bill James is right - Ron Santo and Luis Tiant not only belong in, but are the two best players not in. Tony Perez belongs, many believe Jim Rice and Bruce Sutter do as well, and the Dwight Evans decision was agonizing. How can Sutton not make it? He won 100 games more than Catfish Hunter, and until the end of his career, he had missed only four starts in 20 years - and don't ever underestimate the importance of reliability to a team. Niekro belongs as well, but it is his relationship with the New York media that gives him the best shot. Of the 201 players, managers and officials in the Hall, 54 are officially listed for New York teams, and another dozen (e.g. Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Sandy Koufax, Walt Alston, Johnny Mize, Ralph Kiner) had strong New York ties ... The Orioles are still looking for a starting pitcher and are debating on whether to deal Armando Benitez. While Benitez has closer stuff and makeup, there is concern about his elbow ... Baltimore was one of several teams that called the Phillies on Curt Schilling and were told he isn't available - yet. If the Yankees would include Ruben Rivera or Ricky , they might get him, but Steinbrenner has been unwilling to move Rivera ... The Phillies and several other clubs have been told they can have O'Neill or Fielder, at little cost ... The Cubs have expressed interest in Wade Boggs and Charlie Hayes. They were going to go with rookie Kevin Orie but are getting cold feet and have been talking to free agents Terry Pendleton and Chris Sabo as well ... The most impressive young player in Puerto Rico has been Seattle's Jose Cruz Jr., although Lou Piniella may want him to take a couple of months in the minors to hone his base-running and defensive skills ... One of the game's most reliable scouts, on watching Wil Cordero play second base in Puerto Rico: ``He makes tough double plays when he doesn't have time to think and relies on his instinct. His agility and footwork are surprisingly agile. But when he has time to think, problems arise.'' A lot of folks who coached Cordero in Montreal have heard all that before ... The White Sox are going to re-sign Harold Baines, so they may get the A's to take Tony Phillips. The A's now believe they cannot get Jose Canseco, so they have turned to Phillips ... J.R. Phillips struck out 51 times in 116 plate appearances last season. That's 44 percent of the time, the second-worst mark ever, topped only by Dave Duncan (50 K's, 106 PA, 47 percent) of the '67 A's ... Don Baylor is going to make each Rockies player run a seven-minute mile at the beginning of spring training ... Congratulations to Dodger pitching coach Dave Wallace - one of the best and brightest - who was married yesterday to Joyce Shellman in Rehoboth ... Get-well wishes to two great baseball friends - Louie Bresciani and Fred Abbe ... Toronto Star columnist Dave Perkins' New Year's prediction: ``Jimy Williams will lead the Red Sox to Boston's first World Series [win] since 1918. Take it to the bank.'' SIDEBAR AND ANOTHER THING ... Fortune teller Based on a poll of coaches, scouts, writers, two managers and two general managers, these are the New Year Top 10: AMERICAN LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE 1. Chicago 1. Atlanta 2. Cleveland 2. St. Louis 3. Seattle 3. Florida 4. Toronto 4. Los Angeles 5. Baltimore 5. Colorado 6. New York 6. Cincinnati 7. Texas 7. San Diego 8. Minnesota 8. Houston 9. Milwaukee 9. Chicago 10. Kansas City 10. Montreal When the bullet hits the bone The five biggest 1. Albert Belle, White Sox. 2. Roger Clemens, Blue Jays. 3. Alex Fernandez, Marlins. 4. John Wetteland, Rangers. 5. Terry Steinbach, Twins. The five most significant trades: 1. Seattle acquiring Jeff Fassero and Alex Pacheco from Montreal for Matt Wagner, Trey Moore and Chris Widger. 2. Cleveland acquiring Matt Williams and Trinidad Hub bard from San Francisco for Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Ju lian Tavarez and Joe Roa. 3. Kansas City acquiring Jay Bell and Jeff Kent from Pittsburgh for Jeff Granger, Joe Randa, Jeff Martin and Jeff Wallace. 4. Toronto acquiring Carlos Garcia, Orlando Merced and Dan Plesac from Pittsburgh for Jose Silva, Jose Pett, Mike Halperin, Brandon Cromer, Craig Wilson and Abraham Nunez. 5. Detroit acquiring Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller, Todd Jones, Doug Brocail and a player to be named later from Houston for Brad Ausmus, C.J. Nitkowski, Jose Lima, Tre vor Miller and Darryl Ward. Ten pitchers who will be free agents next fall: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Mike Mus sina, Andy Benes, Wilson Alvarez, Curt Schilling, Ben Mc Donald, Steve Avery, Pete Schourek. It's been a long time coming, but a change has gotta come Teams that have gone the longest without winning 90games: 1. Seattle, 30 years. 2. Baltimore, 13 years. 3. (tie) Boston, Houston, 10 years. Whisper a prayer to the moon The highest batting average against any pitcher whoqualified for the ERA title (162 IP) was .303, against Aaron Sele. For pitchers with a minimum of 75 IP, the highest batting average against was .315, against Chris Hammond. But remember, it was a lot easier pitching in the NL: The overall starters' ERA in the NL was 4.30, in the AL it was 5.17. One headlight How bad was the pitching in 1996? There were 21 pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title who had ERAs over 5.00. In the 1960s and 1970s combined, the number of ERA qualifiers who topped the 5.00 mark was - yes - 21. Doctor, doctor give me the news ... If you're worried about the medical history of the present Red Sox roster, yes, Jose Canseco and Reggie Jefferson do have more days on the disabled list than RBIs over the last five years. The five-year totals: DL days games RBIs Jose Canseco 392 492 386 Tim Naehring 177 433 195 Reggie Jefferson 187 368 172 This story ran on page e7 of the Boston Globe on 01/05/97.