Clemens will need some relief

It was a lovely evening in Anaheim, except for the home team.

The World Series victory had come and gone. The encore season was a flop, and at the end of July, the Angels fielded a lineup with Adam Kennedy batting third, Jeff DaVanon batting fifth, Alfredo Amezaga batting ninth and David Eckstein at designated hitter.

Against Roger Clemens.

So it wasn’t terribly surprising that Clemens pitched a shutout that night in 2003, for the Yankees.

But, as the Yankees bask in the glory of the second coming of Clemens in pinstripes, the portrayal of Clemens as savior is a bit much.

In his last 200 starts, how many times has Clemens pitched a nine-inning complete game? That night in Anaheim and ... well, that’s it. That’s the one, dating to 2000.

Clemens will help the Yankees, of course. But, when George Steinbrenner issues a statement proclaiming that “the sole mission of this organization is to win a world championship,” he ought to realize that the Yankees’ most valuable acquisition this summer will not be announced from the owner’s box.

He’ll be announced in a news release or conference call, not in a choreographed homecoming. He won’t evoke juvenile shrieks from the homers in the Yankees’ broadcast booth. He won’t have a few weeks to work himself into shape.

He’ll be a relief pitcher, perhaps Brian Fuentes of the Rockies, or Brett Myers of the Phillies, or Akinori Otsuka of the Rangers or Scott Linebrink of the Padres.

He’ll help the Yankees get the game from the starter -- Clemens, or anyone else -- to closer Mariano Rivera. If the Yankees don’t pick up another reliever -- or two -- they could go one round and out in the playoffs, for the third consecutive season.

If they get there, that is. The Red Sox are pretty good this year, and so are the Indians, Tigers and Twins. The American League East is not guaranteed two spots in the playoffs, despite the televised omnipresence of the Yankees and Red Sox.

The Yankees don’t have anyone to match up with Johan Santana, Jeremy Bonderman, C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett or John Lackey. Clemens doesn’t change that, unless the Yankees threw in a time machine with his part-time wages of $18 million.

They need a dominant bullpen to complement their dominant offense, or they could play a lot of four-hour playoff games and lose them at the three-hour mark. At this rate, however, their relievers will be exhausted long before October.

Luis Vizcaino is on pace to pitch in 97 games this season; his career high is 76. Brian Bruney is on pace for 92; his career high is 47. Scott Proctor is on pace for 92 as well; his career high is 83. Sean Henn is on pace for 76, in his first full season as a reliever.

Mike Myers is on pace for 86, two shy of his career high, set in 1997. Kyle Farnsworth is on pace for 76, one shy of his career high.

Rivera, the closer, entered a tie game Monday. He lost, for the third time in his last eight appearances.

The Yankees say, bravely, that Clemens can join Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte in an outstanding starting rotation.

With Clemens hanging out in Texas, Wang and Mussina on the disabled list and Pettitte forced to help in the bullpen between starts, the Yankees’ starters have averaged five innings a start, worst in the majors.

The thing is, the Yankees aren’t going to see their starters in the eighth inning just by evicting fill-ins Chase Wright, Darrell Rasner and Jeff Karstens from the rotation.

Wang might get there. He averaged 6 2/3 innings a start last season, and his sinker doesn’t tax his arm. But Pettitte, in the pitcher-friendly National League, averaged six innings last season. So did Mussina, and he’s 38.

Clemens averaged 5.96, the lowest figure of his career. He’s 44.

It’s too bad Clemens didn’t expand his horizons beyond Houston, New York and Boston. Houston is home, and he’s already a hero in New York and Boston, so we understand.

But he sure would have fit nicely with the Dodgers, reprising the Greg Maddux role of last summer. Clemens could have pitched six, then left the rest in the capable hands of Chin-hui Tsao, Yhency Brazoban, Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito.

He’ll pitch six in New York, and we’ll see, on TV. He’s Clemens, and they’re the Yankees, so we’ll definitely see.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com