When Money Talks, Clemens Says Goodbye to the Red Sox

After 2,776 innings, three Cy Young awards, one most-valuable-player award and 13 seasons in Boston, Roger Clemens is a Red Sox pitcher no more.

Clemens, who has been almost as much a part of Boston as the tea party, signed a three-year, $24.75-million free-agent contract--highest ever for a pitcher--with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, ending an era with the Red Sox and fueling an ongoing controversy between the team and its management.

There is an option for a fourth season.

Clemens was 10-13 with a 3.63 earned-run average and a league-leading 257 strikeouts last season. He is 192-111 with a 3.06 ERA in his career.

His agent said the Blue Jays guaranteed Clemens, 34, more money for three years than Boston did for four, a claim the Red Sox disputed.

“In talking to some of my closer [Boston] teammates, they’re pretty distraught about the situation there,” Clemens said. “They’re on their way out the door, and they don’t want to be a part of that.”

Red Sox owner John Harrington stood up for Dan Duquette, his general manager, calling Clemens’ remark unfair.

Clemens hinted at his disaffection with the team in the final week of last season, and longtime teammate Mike Greenwell won’t be back either.

The day after the season, Manager Kevin Kennedy was fired and designated hitter Jose Canseco asked to be traded. John Valentin, one of the team’s top hitters, wants to be traded rather than move from shortstop to third base to make room for youngster Nomar Garciaparra.

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The Kansas City Royals got power-hitting third baseman Jeff King and Gold Glove-winning shortstop Jay Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates for third baseman Joe Randa, plus pitching prospects Jeff Granger, Jeff Martin and Jeff Wallace.

The Pirates have traded away 17 players, five of them everyday performers, since August, and have reduced their payroll to $10 million.

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Pitcher Kevin Tapani, 32, became the fourth free agent to join the Chicago Cubs this month, reaching agreement on a three-year contract for an undisclosed sum.

The Cubs signed shortstop Shawon Dunston last week and agreed to terms this week with left-handed pitcher Terry Mulholland and reliever Mel Rojas.

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The Cleveland Indians signed former Seattle reliever Mike Jackson to a two-year, $4.2-million contract, and catcher Pat Borders and outfielder Kevin Mitchell to a minor league contracts. . . . The San Francisco Giants disputed the Cincinnati Reds’ complaint to the National League that the Giants had failed to acknowledge that pitcher Tim Scott was injured when they put him on waivers. . . . The Atlanta Braves acquired left-handed pitcher Yorkis Perez from the Florida Marlins for minor league right-hander Martin Sanchez. . . . The Texas Rangers agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent pitcher Xavier Hernandez, who spent last season with Houston and Cincinnati.

Jurisprudence

Denny McLain, baseball’s last 30-game winner, was convicted in Detroit of looting $3 million from his meatpacking company’s pension fund.

His partner, Roger Smigiel, also was convicted of money laundering, conspiracy, theft and mail fraud. They were accused of using the money to pay company debts and make personal investments.

McLain, 52, and Smigiel, 45, face up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on the money laundering charge alone. The other charges carry up to five years in prison each.

McLain’s sentence could be increased because of a prior conviction on drug and racketeering charges in Florida.

In 1985, he was found guilty of racketeering, drug-dealing and extortion. McLain served 29 months of a 23-year sentence before an appeals court overturned the conviction because of errors by the judge and prosecution.

In 1988, McLain pleaded guilty to federal racketeering and drug charges in a plea agreement that avoided a retrial.

Defensive lineman Joseph Brown and defensive back Garrett Shea, both freshmen with the Ohio State football team, were charged with assaulting another student last month.

Brown, 19, of Tucson, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct, and Shea, 19, of San Jose, was charged with assault, according to Wanda Hall, assistant evening supervisor at the Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk of Courts office.

The assault charge accuses the pair of hitting Eric Leeder, 20, of Fairfax, Va., in the face and body on Nov. 24.

Soccer

Jesse Van Saun scored his 15th goal of the season in the 64th minute to give St. John’s a 2-1 victory over Creighton in the semifinals of the NCAA men’s soccer championship in Richmond, Va.

In Sunday’s finals, St. John’s (21-2-2) will play Florida International, a 4-0 winner over North Carolina Charlotte in the most lopsided Final Four match since Columbia beat Connecticut, 4-0, in the 1983 finals.

Florida International (17-4-2) was held scoreless until the 41st minute, when Alen Kozic scored from 12 yards out. Tyrone Marshall’s bicycle kick made it 2-0 and goals by Ignace Moleka and Jorge del Corral made it a blowout and boosted Florida International’s advantage to 13-0 in four NCAA tournament games.

Boxing

Andrew Golota, no stranger to dirty fighting, predicted his rematch in Atlantic City, N.J., tonight against Riddick Bowe will be a clean bout.

Golota was dominating Bowe on July 11 in New York, but he also was hitting Bowe low and was disqualified in the seventh round.

Golota (28-1) bit Samson Pouha, whom he stopped in five rounds in 1995; and butted Danell Nicholson, whom he stopped in the eighth round on March 15.

Bowe (39-1) has also had his problems with clean fisticuffs. He often has held opponents behind the head, a tactic he was warned about, but not penalized for in the July 11 fight. And he hit Buster Mathis Jr. while Mathis was on his knees in the fourth round of their fight last year. The referee ruled the punch was deliberate, but the New Jersey commission called the fight a no-contest rather than disqualify Bowe.

Winter Sports

Tatjana Mittermayer of Germany edged five-time World Cup champion Donna Weinbrecht of the United States, 24.26-23.95, to win her second consecutive moguls competition in the World Cup of freestyle skiing in La Plagne, France. Johnny Moseley, of Tiburon, Calif., scored 25.56 points to win the men’s event over Sweden’s Jesper Ronnback.

Heavy snow wiped out the women’s giant slalom for the World Cup ski competition in Val d’Isere, France.

Names in the News

Martina Navratilova will be the captain of the U.S. Fed Cup tennis squad in 1997.