Texas tussle: Lackey vs. Clemens

The eyes of Texas may not be on the Yankee Stadium mound today, but the arms of Texas will be, as two of the state’s finest pitching products, a pair of right-handers separated by a generation, square off.

It will be Roger Clemens of the Yankees vs. John Lackey of the Angels, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner vs. a potential Cy Young Award winner, a 13-time All-Star vs. a first-time All-Star, a 350-game winner vs. a 71-game winner.

“It’s going to be a fun challenge, definitely something I’ll remember,” Lackey said. “But I’m not going to go out there and be scared or nothing.”

He could be in awe. Lackey is 28, with five years in the big leagues; Clemens turns 45 on Aug. 4 and is in his 23rd major league season, pitching at an age and at a level that Lackey finds difficult to fathom.

“It takes a lot of work to go out there every fifth day,” Lackey said, “and to do it so well for so long is pretty amazing.”

Does Lackey envision himself pitching at age 45?

“I doubt it,” he said. “I’ll probably be at the house by then, hopefully on a ranch somewhere in Texas where I’ll never be heard from again.”

Lackey didn’t idolize Clemens as a kid. He grew up in Abilene, which is near Arlington, which is where Nolan Ryan worked from 1989 to ‘92, Lackey’s formative years.

“I was more of a Nolan Ryan guy,” Lackey said. “My dad took me to see him three or four times growing up.”

But like most young pitchers in Texas, Lackey loved watching Clemens, especially the two times he struck out 20 batters in a game.

“That 20-strikeout game with Boston, he was filthy,” Lackey said. “Then he tacked on a couple of Cy Young Awards in Toronto ... he didn’t stop.”

Lackey couldn’t recall starting a game opposite Clemens, which is understandable. His one start against him was forgettable -- Clemens threw a complete-game five-hitter in the Yankees’ 8-0 win in Anaheim on July 30, 2003, a day Lackey gave up seven runs in 6 2/3 innings.

“Against a team like this, you’ve got to focus on the lineup, you can’t worry about what he’s doing,” Lackey said. “If you worry about anything besides the guy in the box, you get into trouble pretty quick.”

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Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who has turned down numerous home run derby invitations, decided Friday to participate in Monday’s All-Star game Home Run Derby in San Francisco. It will mark Guerrero’s first Home Run Derby since 2000, when he hit only two homers and was eliminated in the first round in Atlanta.

Guerrero, who has 14 home runs and 75 runs batted in this season, will join Detroit’s Magglio Ordonez, Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder and Florida’s Miguel Cabrera in the derby. Both the National League and American League will each name one more participant.

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In an effort to stem the Angels’ running game, Yankees Manager Joe Torre moved weak-armed center fielder Johnny Damon to left field Friday, the first time Damon has played left since June 2001. Melky Cabrera started in center.

“Though left field is bigger, I think the arm is the most important thing for keeping a club like this or Minnesota from going from first to third,” Torre said. “Johnny has never been blessed with a strong throwing arm, and Melky can throw great in that regard. I think he keeps an aggressive club from being overly aggressive.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com