John Clay’s Sidelines

Leftovers from "Roger Clemens Night" at Applebee’s Park:

• The announced crowd of 9,222? The 9,000 part, ok. But 222? On a night when No. 22 was pitching. Of course.

• Then again, the Astros have set Clemens’ first outing for the parent club is June 22. Coincidence? We think not.

• Clemens’ two youngest  children served as batboys. Kacy is 11. Kody is 10. Kory Clemens, 18, sat in a suite with mother, Debbie.

• Two of Clemens’ sisters, Brenda Pavlovich and Janet Johnson, were also on hand.

• The Houston Chronicle reported that Roy Lee, Clemens’ uncle, and the brother of his deceased mother Bess, drove in from Carlisle, Ohio for the game.

• One of the night’s neatest moments came when fans applauded Lake County’s Johnny Drennen after the first-year player homered off Clemens in the first inning.

• So how did Clemens’ look from a pitching standpoint? Pretty sharp for someone who had not faced a batter since the U.S. was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic on March 17.
• He threw 4 1/3 innings that night, allowing six hits and two runs. He threw 73 pitches.At Applebee’s on Tuesday, Clemens threw 62 pitches. He faced 13 batters in three innings. He threw eight first-pitch strikes. He had seven swinging strikes.
• He reached a full count just once, then prompted the Lake County batter to fly out to the warning track in center.
• He did throw 40 strikes, not 41. Hitting Lake County’s Marshall Szabo counts as a ball, of course.
• Lake County fouled off 13 pitches, including the foul tip by Fornasiere that was caught by catcher Jeff Mackor for the final out in the third.

• Clemens will throw on the side Thursday. He is scheduled to pitch for Corpus Christi, Houston’s AA affiliate, on Sunday.

• Knocking elbows in the confined main press box at Applebee’s were representatives of the Houston Chronicle, New York Times, New York Post, Boston Globe, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Post, ESPN.com. And oh yes, a couple from the Herald-Leader. Most everyone else was located in the press tent down the right-field line.

• Clemens told the Boston Globe last night that his final two choices were the Astros and Red Sox.

• As a pre-game gift, Astros senior vice president Jay Lucas sent Clemens a DVD copy of “Major League: Back to the Minors.”

• The Clemens return could effect the Major League team up I-75. The same night Roger got it rocking again, the Reds pulled within a game of the first-place Cardinals. Plus, Houston just put star pitcher Roy Oswalt on the disabled list. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could help,” said Clemens.

• Roger wore a Texas Longhorns cap and an orange shirt to the post-game press conference. The shirt was a lighter shade, more akin to Tennessee orange.
• "Chris Burke would be happy,” said Clemens of the Astros’ outfielder, a Louisville native who played his college ball at Tennessee.

• The promotion that prompted son Koby to inform his famous father that a strike out in the top of the third “gets everyone in the stadium free washer fluid,” was sponsored by Advanced Auto Parts.

• Son Koby did work out with his father, but skipped the grueling abdominal work his father utilizes. “He’s the abs power freak,” said the son.

• Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. and Sr. are the only father-son combinations to play in a major league game.

• -Koby Clemens was on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” radio show this morning.

• Roger: “I want to thank the organization for somewhat of a circus atmosphere.”

• Clemens was asked what advice he would give to parents with children in youth sports.
• "Sit back and enjoy it," said Clemens. "Don’t forget how hard the game is. It’s a hard game for us much less a 10-year-old or a 12-year-old. . . . On the ride home, turn off the radio, and talk to him about his at-bats and the plays in the field. Use that 15 minutes on the drive home to talk about the game."
• One more piece of advice from Clemens: "It doesn’t take talent to hustle."