Specter of Clemens Haunts Contenders for AL East Crown

Forget about those ghosts, ghouls and goblins that haunted the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the past. This October, they’re both afraid of only one thing: Roger Clemens.

Without its ace, Boston has blown a 6 1/2-game lead in two weeks. The Red Sox are scared--as they should be--that they will never catch Toronto without him.

With Clemens gone, Toronto has played its best ball of the season and moved one game ahead of the Red Sox into first place in the American League East. The Blue Jays are worried--rightly so--about what Clemens’ return will do for the Red Sox.

“There’s no doubt they were hurt by the loss of Clemens. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence that we started to play well around the same time,” Blue Jays relief ace Tom Henke said.

“This team never really lost faith. We knew we hadn’t played consistent baseball all season, and if we did, we’d have a chance,” he said. “But nobody thought we’d make up this much ground this quickly.”

The Red Sox fell out of first place for the first time since July 30 on Wednesday night when they lost in Baltimore, 8-4, their 11th loss in 16 games since Clemens hurt his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Toronto beat New York, 7-6, at home. The Blue Jays have won six in a row, matching their longest streak of the season, and 12 of 14 overall.

Without Clemens, Toronto’s Kelly Gruber said, the Red Sox are basically “fighting with one arm tied behind their backs.”

But the Red Sox will be getting that arm back. Clemens today was given clearance to return to action after being examined by Dr. Arthur Pappas.

Clemens is scheduled to return to the rotation on Sunday. He has not pitched since Sept. 4.

“It will be more than a psychological lift, I hope,” Red Sox Manager Joe Morgan said.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner was having another super season when he was injured. He was 20-6 with 204 strikeouts and a 1.98 earned-run average, best in the majors.

Relievers Joe Hesketh and Dennis Lamp have tried to take Clemens’ place, but neither has won the three starts he has missed. Meanwhile, Greg Harris is 1-3 with a 7.86 ERA and Dana Kiecker is 0-3 with an ERA of more than 8.00.

If Clemens stays healthy, he would pitch the opener of the Toronto series Sept. 28 and could start Boston’s final regular season game on Oct. 3 against Chicago at Fenway Park. After this weekend, the Red Sox play eight of their last nine at home.

Each contender is idle today. On Friday, Boston begins a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Toronto starts a set against Cleveland at the SkyDome--the Blue Jays’ last three home games of the season.

Toronto will finish the year with trips to Boston, Milwaukee and Baltimore. That’s OK for the Blue Jays--despite setting attendance records at home, they have played better on the road. Toronto is 42-35 at the SkyDome, 40-33 elsewhere.