※ 引述《buehrle ( )》之銘言： : 請問哪裡找得到季前 Clemens 考慮是否退休的外電? : 因為我的作業需要相關的英文文章 : 請各位大大支援 : 明天我下午以後會自行刪除本文 : thank you very much~ : p.s請回到我個人信箱 : 樣比較不會佔版面 : 謝謝~ 11/10/2004 8:07 AM ET Rocket ends amazing day on mound By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com OSAKA, Japan -- Roger Clemens had little sleep in the hours before he pitched what very well could be his last game in a Major League uniform on Wednesday night. But he said he was running on adrenaline after receiving the good news he had won his seventh Cy Young Award and first in the National League. Clemens began it all with a media conference call, attended the opening of a footwear and apparel store, and went from press conference to press conference as the day unfolded. To top it off, he started for the Major League Baseball All-Stars against their Japanese counterparts in the powder blue Osaka Dome. If this is it for the 42-year-old Houston Astros right-hander the fans here call "Rocket-san," instead of his trademark "Rocket Man," he couldn't have asked for a better exit. "It was a great season," said Clemens, who left to an ovation with two outs and two runners on in the sixth inning, MLB trailing, 3-0. MLB went onto lose, 3-1 -- its first loss of the All-Star Series 2004. "If I made more than a handful of people in Houston happy by coming out of my short retirement to play, it was worth it. This is crazy. I never expected this to happen. I was more than comfortable with my decision to shut it down." Clemens left Fukuoka after Tuesday night's 7-2 MLB victory and took the Bullet Train to Osaka. He said he had settled in for about an hours' worth of sleep before the 1 a.m. Japan Time call informing him that he had won the award, meaning he has captured it at least once for every one of his four MLB teams -- Boston, Toronto, the Yankees and Astros. What followed was hours of telephone calls that included acknowledgements to several of his Astros teammates, including catcher Brad Ausmus. "I called Ausmus first because he was a big part of why I shined this year," Clemens said. Clemens came out of retirement last offseason after his buddy and former Yankee teammate, Andy Pettitte, signed with the Astros. Pettitte wound up missing most of the season because of surgery on his left elbow. Traveling only for the road games he started, Clemens won his first nine decisions and finished 18-4 with a 2.92 ERA. Opposing hitters batted.217 against him. Clemens started the All-Star Game in Minute Maid Park and his Astros made a spirited second-half comeback to win the NL Wild Card berth on the last day of the regular season. Houston defeated the Braves in the NL Division Series for its first playoff round victory in team history. Then the Astros went to the seventh game of the NL Championship Series against the Cardinals, and with Clemens on the mound, lost a shot at their first trip to the World Series. "We came up a little short of winning this season and that was a little tough," said Clemens, who won the 1999 and 2000 World Series with the Yankees. "I've had a taste of winning at this level and it sure is a lot of fun." His career stats stand at 328 wins and 4,317 strikeouts, the latter figure good enough for second on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan's 5,714. Still, Clemens wouldn't tip his hand about the future. He said he intended to return to Houston on Thursday and chat with his wife, kids, extended family and high-ranking members of the Astros' organization about whether this is the right time to hang 'em up. He has no timetable right now for coming to that decision. "I'm an old horse, but I'm not ready to close the barn door yet, buddy," Clemens said. "I don't like to use the word, quitting. I don't like quitting and I don't like retirement, either. I'm just going to step away and let somebody else take the baton now, if that's the decision I make. "I know what my family thinks. I know what they'd say publicly, but privately they know how I feel. The way my contract was structured I got to spend a little more time with my (four) boys, but I still missed a lot of stuff. And then I didn't want to shortchange my teammates, either. It was my biggest balancing act ever." In any event, the outing in Osaka certainly closed the Japanese tour portion of Clemens' 21-year career. He was on the roster twice, this season and 1992. On Wednesday night, he pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs -- all during the second inning -- and eight hits. He walked one and struck out five. After he walked Shigenobu Shima, manager Bruce Bochy came out to get him and Clemens doffed his cap to the crowd of 46,000 as he strode to the MLB dugout on the first-base side of the artificial turf field. He threw 97 pitches. In MLB's 7-2, Game 1 victory, Clemens pitched 4 2/3 innings and threw 81 pitches, walking five, striking out four and allowing two runs run on four hits. He didn't earn the decision. Twelve years ago, Clemens made two starts for MLB. The then Boston Red Sox star gave up no runs on four hits while whiffing 15 Japanese All-Stars. He was 30 years old at the time and he recalled hanging back at the hotel for most of the trip afraid of eating the wrong thing or winding up in the wrong neighborhood. This year he had no such problems. "Rocket-san" visited the U.S. Embassy, a local Tokyo school, met with potential sponsors and generally toured the country. It has been a whirlwind, particularly the last 24 hours, perhaps his last as an active player. "I don't know what could change during the next few weeks," Clemens said. "The Astros could put together a team you wouldn't believe and that still might not change my decision. Even Pettitte coming back next season might not make a difference. "It was painful for him this season and painful for me watching him pitch with pain. He was apologetic to me and I told him there was no need to apologize. We needed every one of his six victories this season to win by the hair on the back of our necks." http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20041110&content_ id=912290&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.166.130.244