Sun Rises and Sets on Clemens

Gary DiSarcina, who grew up in the Boston suburb of Billerica, remembers being so in awe of former Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk that when he was at bat against Fisk’s White Sox in 1992, DiSarcina’s rookie year, the Angel shortstop was afraid to glance behind the plate.

Eight years later, established as a veteran big leaguer, DiSarcina still can’t muster the nerve to say hello to Roger Clemens, the former Red Sox ace who pitches for the Yankees.

“I’m scared to talk to him--he’s Roger Clemens, he’s a legend,” said DiSarcina, who played at the University of Massachusetts from 1986-88, a period in which Clemens went 62-25 for Boston.

“When you’re in the box against him, you don’t want to look him in the eye. You’re in shock because you grew up cheering for the guy.”

Well, not always . . .

“One time in college, I was drunk in the Fenway Park bleachers, screaming and yelling at him when he was warming up,” DiSarcina said. “I think he held out or something and the fans were mad at him. He went out and threw a one-hitter against the Blue Jays.”

How big of a Red Sox fan was DiSarcina? When Boston played the Mets in the 1986 World Series, DiSarcina waged a bet with his college roommate, who was from New York.

“I had to shave my head when Boston lost,” said DiSarcina, who hit a game-tying, two-run single in the sixth inning against Clemens Tuesday night. “Once a Sox fan, always a Sox fan.”

Clemens, 37, didn’t find it odd that a 32-year-old who has played against him for years would virtually cower in his presence.

“I’m not good at exchanging pleasantries, even with a guy like [former Red Sox teammate] Mo Vaughn,” Clemens said. “It’s like Ted Williams. He was never very good at talking to pitchers too.”

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The remarkable thing about Kent Bottenfield’s Angel debut Tuesday night was that of his 110 pitches in a 5 2/3-inning, two-run, five-hit performance against the Yankees, perhaps four or five crossed the middle of the plate.

“That’s his M.O., working both sides of the plate,” Angel pitching coach Bud Black said. “He’s a pitcher’s pitcher. I think other pitchers who look at him appreciate the way he pitches.”

That’s a nice way of saying that Bottenfield, acquired with second baseman Adam Kennedy from St. Louis for Jim Edmonds, will not overwhelm batters with any one pitch but knows how to make the most of his repertoire.

Bottenfield called himself “a Greg Maddux-type pitcher,” and he showed why Tuesday, changing speeds and hitting spots so effectively that only four balls were hit hard against him. Bottenfield walked four but struck out five.

“I don’t worry about walks, because I’m confident I can get guys to swing at pitches off the plate,” Bottenfield said. “And sometimes I don’t mind walking guys, because I may have a better understanding of the hitter behind him. I’m not going to give in, even on a 3-0 count. I’m not going to intentionally throw the ball over the middle.”