Rocket Lands Safely After Wild Ride

Neither heavy rain nor high winds could stop Roger Clemens from keeping his record-tying eighth and last appointment in an All-Star game.

Braving the hurricane hitting the gulf coast of Texas, Clemens and his family experienced something of a harrowing itinerary Tuesday after New York Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman called in mid-morning Monday to say the American League needed a replacement for Barry Zito and he had about 45 minutes to decide if he wanted to accept the invitation.

The affirmative decision after a family counsel, conducted at their lake house about an hour north of Houston, left Clemens’ youngest son, 7-year-old Kody, “ragging the most” about the interruption in what was to be a three-day fishing vacation.

Clemens laughed and said, “He kind of sighed and took a deep breath and looked at me and said, ‘Dad, why can’t they get Andy Pettitte?’ ”

The reference, of course, was to Clemens’ Yankee teammate, but it is Kody’s dad who will be retiring at the end of the season and was the obvious (if not sentimental) selection once the Oakland Athletics requested that Zito, who pitched eight innings Sunday, not pitch in the All-Star game.

“When somebody calls and says they need an arm and they ask you to come, it’s hard to say no,” said Clemens. “I think if it was me at my age (41) and I threw eight innings on a Sunday they would still run me out there because I’m an old goat. But in Barry’s situation, I can see why the A’s or whoever is involved in that decision is sensitive because he has a career ahead of him.”

Clemens insisted that it wasn’t the fact he is retiring or that this was a chance for an All-Star farewell that influenced his decision, only that he was needed and would have the opportunity to help the American League go after home-field advantage in the World Series -- which, of course, would benefit his Yankees.

In previous years, home-field advantage rotated between the two leagues on an annual basis, and Clemens said, “I think it’s really the National League’s turn to have the home field, so we can swipe it from under their feet if we have a good game tonight.”

As late as mid-morning Tuesday, however, the Texas weather had left Clemens convinced that the trip was off.

The family had returned to their Houston home to pack, but now, Clemens said, he was in a state of high stress, concerned about flying in the conditions and that he would have to renege on his promise to join the AL team.

Ultimately, the pilots of his Dallas-based private jet told him that there was a narrow window and they could get the plane to College Station, Texas -- about a 90-minute drive by car -- if the man known as Rocket could emulate one and get the family there amid the pelting rain.

How fast did he drive?

“Fast,” Clemens said. “About as fast as I hope to throw tonight.”

He would say this after arriving in Chicago to a waiting limousine at about 3 p.m. and before he would prove once again that he can still throw fast enough.

Working the third inning, he retired Javier Lopez on a ground out before striking out Jose Vidro and Edgar Renteria.

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There was some speculation that Angel reliever Brendan Donnelly might be snubbed by players in the All-Star vote because the right-hander served as a replacement player during the 1994-95 strike, and the players’ union refuses to admit him into its membership or share licensing revenue with him.

But not only did Donnelly, who endured a decade in the minor leagues before finally reaching the big leagues, make the American League team, he received more votes from players, managers and coaches than any other reliever except Minnesota Twin left-hander Eddie Guardado. And to top things off, Donnelly picked up the victory for the American League, pitching the eighth inning.

“Being in this room is an honor in itself, but the way I got here, being voted in by the players, was more important to me because of what happened [during the strike],” said Donnelly, who has a major league-low 0.38 earned-run average in 40 games for the Angels.

“Players stood up and said, ‘We know your story, it’s over.’ That was special to me. It provided some closure.”

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Atlanta Brave closer John Smoltz has been an outspoken critic of baseball’s QuesTec system, which grades umpires based on an electronic strike zone generated by several cameras stationed around various stadiums, and he used the All-Star platform to rail against the system again.

“Maybe we’re not far away from a time where the umps will be wired and they can just buzz them to put their arm up when it’s a strike,” Smoltz said. “I have trouble with anything that is not uniform. The overhead cameras don’t tell the whole story; you get a distorted view.

“The game is not perfect, the umpires are not perfect, the pitchers are not perfect, but to take it to that level is not right. As a guy who has been in the league for 15 years, you always knew where the different umpires’ strike zone was. Now, you have no idea, because they’re getting graded.”

Commissioner Bud Selig said baseball is “not ready to throw [QuesTec] out. I know it’s been under attack, but we’ll continue to evaluate it.”

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Selig, who spent about 45 minutes fielding questions during Tuesday’s Baseball Writers Assn. of America brunch, doesn’t expect baseball to make any dramatic changes to the All-Star voting process next year. “This was more thorough than it’s ever been,” Selig said of a vote that included players, managers and coaches for the first time.

Among the ideas being kicked around by Major League Baseball and the players’ union is a World Cup, a tournament that could feature teams from different nations, or perhaps a series pitting the World Series champion against the Japanese champion. “We’re making progress with the union,” said Selig, who has announced he will step down as commissioner when his term expires after 2006. “I believe we will have a World Cup while I’m still commissioner.”

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Garret Anderson’s homer was the third by an Angel in an All-Star game, with all three coming in Chicago. Leon Wagner homered in 1962 at Wrigley Field and Fred Lynn hit a grand slam in 1983 at old Comiskey Park.... Overall, 52 of the 64 players got into the game. Last year, all 60 players took part.