Q&A: Roger Clemens

Sporting News, The, March 25, 2005

Roger Clemens, the 2004 National League Cy Young Award winner, is back for his 22nd season, again putting retirement on hold. Clemens discusses his decision to return and more with Insider Ken Rosenthal in an interview that airs Sunday on FOX Sports Net Across America.

TSN: What made you decide to play this season?

CLEMENS: It's a tough question. I don't know what exactly made me decide to play other than what I felt 1 could or couldn't do. You know, when they honored me at a Texans game and you had 55,000 or 60,000 football fans chanting, 'One more year,' it made a big impression on my two older boys, who were with me. Everywhere I go in town, the same thing.

TSN: It's been reported that if the Astros fall out of the race, you might be open to a trade to the Yankees, maybe even Boston. Obviously playing at home enables you to stay closer to your family. Can you envision yourself finishing your career with any other team?

CLEMENS: Yeah, good question. I don't know where these rumors started; it's not in my contract. There are so many factors in that; when somebody poses that question to me, it's almost comical. But it might not be when you get to late July, whenever the trading deadline is. You don't know what direction (the Astros are) going to go in.

TSN: Steroids are a hot topic. They supposedly give players an advantage in their workouts, allowing them to do more, enabling them to recover more quickly. For those reasons, have you ever considered using performance-enhancing drugs?

CLEMENS: Steroids are great because for my mother (Bess, who suffers from emphysema), they are great. They keep her chest cavity strong, and she has to take them. For others, they abuse them, and they're not good for you. I hate the fact that they're just making this such a big topic because one or two guys (have) come out about it. I don't think there's any secret about the guys who were doing it--you can tell. But to each their own.

TSN: Your old Yankees teammates got a kick out of the way you talk. They call it "Roger-speak." I was wondering if you could give us a couple of definitions for some of the words. Bowling ball ...

CLEMENS: That's a heavy ball that I throw sometimes in there.

TSN: Cement mixer ...

CLEMENS: That's my backup slider. Everybody knows that one.

TSN: Throw some shoulders ...

CLEMENS: Yeah, that's the hitters. When you see somebody go deep. Sit and spin, throw some shoulders, all that good stuff.

TSN: And cancel Christmas ...

CLEMENS: Well, cancel Christmas is when we send somebody to their room pretty quick at the batter's box. Put it this way: (Yankees closer Mariano) Rivera and Lids (Astros closer Brad Lidge), they cancel Christmas pretty quick for a lot of guys.