"pitchers can be bolder in AL"
"pitchers can be bolder in AL"
Mets get shot with mighty Clemens at the
bat
Thu Jun 13, 4:16 PM ET
By Ken Rosenthal - The Sporting News
NEW YORK -- Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson reacted with amusement to the buzz
surrounding Saturday's episode of "Clemens at the Bat."
"Is it on pay-per-view?" Johnson asked, referring to the Mets-Yankees interleague showdown in which
Yankees right-hander Roger Clemens is scheduled to pitch -- and hit -- against Team Piazza.
Several Mets who asked not to be identified advanced a conspiracy theory to the New York Daily
News, saying that Clemens was bucking for a suspension when he suggested that he intended to hit
Barry Bonds, then made good on his word.
It's doubtful that Clemens is clever enough to concoct such a plot. He's more likely to be fined than
suspended for hitting Bonds, and both the Yankees and Mets could receive warnings Saturday before
the first pitch is even thrown. Pitchers then will be afraid to throw inside, and they'll leave so many
pitches over the plate, the score probably will end up 15-14.
The problem with Major League Baseball's aggressive warning policy is that it restricts players from
policing themselves through retaliation. And, as Giants manager Dusty Baker suggested, the problem
with Clemens is that he never bats in the Designated Haven known as the American League.
Opponents frustrated with Clemens can plunk his Yankee teammates. They can risk injuries and
suspensions by charging the mound. But Johnson, who pitched for the Mariners from 1989 to '98, says
pitchers can indeed be bolder in the AL.
"If you're the pitcher and you're playing in the American League, then you may have a tendency to
throw inside a little bit more knowing when that ninth hole comes up, you won't be hitting," Johnson
says. "You're protected in that regard."
Johnson's teammate, Curt Schilling agrees.
"I believe guys in the American League pitch differently than guys in the National League," Schilling
says. "Are you seriously going throw at somebody when you're facing Randy Johnson?"
Uh, no. But Clemens doesn't have that problem. Only now will the Mets get a chance to retaliate for
his pair of transgressions against Piazza in 2000. Clemens hit Piazza in the head with a fastball during
interleague play, then threw a shard of a broken bat toward him in Game 2 of the World Series. But
Yankees manager Joe Torre rearranged his rotation to keep Clemens from pitching at Shea last
season.
Not this time.
Take it off Fox. Put it on pay-per-view.
"Only in America," Don King would say.
Only under National League rules.
Senior writer Ken Rosenthal covers baseball for The Sporting News. Email him at krosenthal@
sportingnews.com.