Clemens lacks much thunder

TRENTON, N.J. -- It was a fitting backdrop.

With Theo Epstein among the 9,134 fans crammed into a park that once housed Boston minor leaguers, the legend of Red Sox past took on the promise of the future.

Roger Clemens continued his tuneup tour before joining the Yankees as he made his second minor league start last night. The 44-year-old righthander threw for the Double A Trenton Thunder, which was a Red Sox affiliate for eight years before the Yankees took over in 2003.

His opponents were the Portland Sea Dogs, who countered with one of the Sox' top pitching prospects, Clay Buchholz. The 22-year-old righthander, who, like Clemens, hails from Texas, carried a 1-1 record and 1.80 ERA into the game.

But a Thunder record crowd, mostly all Yankees fans, came for one thing -- to watch the Rocket launch. Whether fans at Fenway get the same chance next weekend remains to be seen.

When asked if he needs one more start before joining the Yankees, Clemens said, "I think that will be something that the watchful eyes that were here will help decide. All I can do is tell them how I felt; I'll tell them how I feel tomorrow."

As for whether he's ready to join New York's rotation, Clemens hedged.

"I'll keep that in-house," he said. "I think I'm a lot closer."

He was far from spectacular, allowing three earned runs, six hits (four for extra bases), and four walks with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He also hit a batter and left trailing, 3-2, but did not figure in the decision as Trenton won, 4-3, in 10 innings.

It was reported by Thunder officials that Clemens was slated to throw 70-80 pitches. He had thrown 85 through five, but came out for the sixth and finished with 102 pitches (64 strikes).

Although Clemens looked uneven at best, he was happy with his effort.

"It was one step, in the right direction, a little bit further down the road," said Clemens, who wore a University of Texas baseball cap and cowboy boots after the game. "I'm glad to get one more done.

"Everything was positive. My health, my strength. Everything was better. I did everything I wanted to do with the baseball, threw all my pitches."

Clemens surprised most observers when he came out to pitch the sixth.

"I think they had a set pitch count," Clemens said. "I think they wanted to shut me down after five, but I felt fine. I wanted to continue. I need to get reps, a lot of them. I've said all along, I felt my arm would be in a state where I could handle the stress. My legs are what I was worried about, and they came along fine tonight for the most part."

Clemens burned nearly half his predetermined pitch count in the first inning, when he threw 16 balls and 14 strikes. He loaded the bases on walks but got a fly ball to end it.

His control got sharper over the next four innings as he threw just 16 balls and 39 strikes, walked none, and struck out five. He gave up some hard hits, however, as the Sea Dogs got a triple from Iggy Suarez in the second and doubles by Jed Lowrie, Scott Youngbauer, and Lowrie in the third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Lowrie scored on a grounder after his first double.

The sixth inning was anything but solid as Clemens allowed two singles, hit a batter, and walked Suarez to force in a run. He left to his second standing ovation but said later he wanted the chance to work out of the jam.

Epstein watched it all from five rows behind home plate, but was not interested in discussing the man the Red Sox attempted to sign.

"I'm just here to watch our team," Epstein said.

He could not have liked what he saw in the first as Buchholz allowed four hits and two runs to the first four batters. But the youngster settled down, allowing three hits and no runs over the next five innings. He finished with eight strikeouts and no walks.