Clemens to miss start
Roger Clemens, home on a personal matter involving a close friend, informed the Sox yesterday that he would be unable to make his start tomorrow night because he ripped off his right middle fingernail while trying to load luggage into his car. It'll take a while for the nail to regrow, and he may have to be fitted with an artificial nail ... Clemens celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday, and outfielder Troy O'Leary turned 27 ... Shortstop John Valentin, who is on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder, will receive a second opinion from Birmingham, Ala., orthopedic surgeon James Andrews in the next few days ... Don't be surprised to see a waiver deal soon involving O'Leary. The Mariners and the Braves are interested in the lefthanded hitter ... The Sox activated Greg Pirkl, a first baseman they claimed recently from Seattle. He is 6 feet 5 inches, 200-something pounds, one of the biggest players the Sox have ever had. Alex Delgado was optioned to Pawtucket.
Tim Wakefield and Mike Maddux consider themselves fortunate to be in one piece after Wakefield's 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe was totaled when a driver ran a red light on the corner of Brookline Avenue and the Riverway yesterday at 10:45 a.m., striking the pitcher's four-wheel-drive vehicle on the passenger side in the rear.
Maddux, who was sitting on the passenger side in the front, was scratched from his scheduled start yesterday. He was suffering from general stiffness, although neither pitcher required medical assistance.
According to Sgt. Larry Gillis of the State Police, the driver of the other vehicle was Mike Neely, 28, of Boston. He was charged with failure to stop at a red light. Neely, who was driving a Honda Civic, was transported to Beth Israel Hospital. He was discharged an hour later.
``It knocked us 50 feet into the southbound lane,'' said Maddux, who said he suffered some trauma to his neck and back from the seat belt that tugged at him during the crash. ``We just went through the green light and the next thing I knew I had a Honda stuck up my [expletive]. There was nothing left of [the Honda]. We were pretty fortunate to be in a larger vehicle. I thank God there's an angel up there watching over us.''
Maddux, who only recently came off the disabled list because of a sore elbow, is scheduled to start tomorrow night's game against Toronto, but manager Kevin Kennedy will wait to see how sore Maddux is.
Wakefield declined comment about the incident. He is scheduled to start tonight against Juan Guzman.
Auto accidents are nothing new to Red Sox pitchers.
In 1975, Bill Lee, Jim Willoughby, Reggie Cleveland, Roger Moret and Rick Wise all were involved in accidents and the Sox went on to win the pennant. That will not be the case this year.
This story ran on page d8 of the Boston Globe on 08/05/96.