Well look at it this way... Someone needs to defend David Carr because his o-line doesn't defend him from anyone.
non sequitur. At any rate, let's not let a rain of insults derail this thread. Kudos to Rocket, best to his family, RIP Mrs. Clemens, and Go Astros.
I think with great competitors like Clemens being on the field is there way of dealing with stress. I feel for him though and its really too bad that his mom and stepped dad didn't live long enough to see him make it to the HOF. I wish I could be there at the game to give him a standing O for his loss and to thank him for coming back and playing for the Stros.
Above all else, no matter if he wins or loses the game, my respect for Roger couldn't get any higher. My prayers and condolences are with Roger and his family during their time of loss.
Roger is talking about her on 740 right now. He said that she came to for a little bit and asked hows Andy's elbow is and if they are in the play offs yet. + Edit: I just caught the last minute of it.
Obviously he's seen her condition deteriorate over the weeks and last few days, so this morning didn't surprise him. This allowed Roger to emotionally prepare himself and decrease today's impact of her dying. But even so, him having the mental/physical fortitude to successfully pitch today was incredible. I'm sure he was up all night last night and has gotten very little sleep recently. My mother died very suddenly and unexpectedly in a somewhat famous accident a while back. I was emotionally devasted for quite some time. My father lived to a ripe old age and I was kind of emotionally prepared for his death. It made a big difference. Today reminds me of the day when my pastor found out his wife of 40+ years had terminal cancer. He preached that evening (without mentioning the news during the service). I found out the full story a couple of days later. Some people are just made of different material than the rest of us.
My heart goes out to Roger.......Good standing O tonight and kinda ironic that we finally got him some runs. +
It sounds like she was an amazing woman. She sure raised an amazing son. This is a nice article from the New York Times: Astros 10, Marlins 2 Clemens Takes Mound, Hours After His Mother's Death By LEE JENKINS HOUSTON, Sept. 14 - Roger Clemens always had the game face to go along with the fastball, the high-and-tight persona to match the high-and-tight heater. Clemens is perhaps the most intimidating pitcher of his generation, but as he sat in a back room of Minute Maid Park late Wednesday night, recounting the final hours he spent with his 75-year-old mother, the famous scowl was finally broken. Bess Clemens died at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday of complications from emphysema, but not before she quizzed her son about Andy Pettitte's troublesome elbow. Not before she asked if the Astros would make the playoffs. Not before she told everyone in the family to go to work. As Clemens recalled her last lines, he laughed and then he cried. "She was my strength," Clemens said. "She was my will." She was usually his first phone call after games, so he had no one to dial after a 10-2 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night. That Clemens would choose to pitch on the day his mother died, and that the Houston Astros would let him, illustrated both the family's passion for baseball and the importance of this game to the National League wild-card race. "I planned on pitching the whole time," Clemens said. "No way I was going to run out on the team." When Clemens first got to the mound, he felt lost. When he allowed one run in the first inning, he felt relieved. Working with a sore left hamstring and a self-diagnosed heavy heart, he surrendered one run in six and a third innings. He drew a bases-loaded walk at the plate and turned a line drive into a double play in the field. After the sixth inning, he walked to the dugout with his right fist raised. He left having thrown 83 pitches, an earlier departure than usual, but later than anyone could have reasonably expected. "It's heroic," General Manager Tim Purpura said. "He understands the meaning of duty. His mother taught him about duty." The Astros, who have been shut out seven times this season in games Clemens started, including five 1-0 losses, picked an apt moment to support him. At the end of the game, players from both sides lingered on the field for a sentimental video tribute to Clemens's mother. He watched from a room in the home clubhouse, no sound, just pictures. "I still need to say a few more goodbyes," he said. Much of the baseball public was introduced to Bess Clemens when she followed her son's quest for 300 career victories with the Yankees in 2003. She would sit in the stands, often accompanied by an oxygen tube, inspiring her son with her presence. Clemens has always believed he inherited his mother's sense of determination. She worked three jobs to rear six children after her husband died. She smoked for more than 40 years, yet quit the day she was found to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema. "I wanted to thank her properly at the Hall of Fame," Clemens said. "But I keep playing this silly game." Clemens came out of retirement and joined the Astros in 2004, partly because his mother lived in Georgetown, Tex., about 125 miles from Houston and 25 miles from Austin. She made frequent visits to Minute Maid Park and quickly became a team mom. During the All-Star Game last year, she was a regular at the parties. Over the weekend, she had her son send Pettitte an e-mail message checking on his arm strength before his next start. Clemens spent the past few days flying back and forth between Houston and Austin, staying away from the stadium and cutting off contact with many in the organization. Late Tuesday night, the family huddled around Bess, trying to make her laugh, trying to keep her awake. Clemens asked if she had ever seen the movie, "Field of Dreams." She replied: "Shoeless Joe Jackson." Then Clemens asked if she was in "the field." She responded: "I think I am." As he told the story at a news conference, his family cried softly in the back. He wiped his eyes with a workout towel. The Astros are a half-game out of the wild-card lead, and their ace is only beginning the grieving process. "I've lost a little of my fire," Clemens said. He flew from Austin to Houston on Wednesday in a private plane. He was greeted by a small but warm ovation from the crowd. No one knew quite what to expect, given that he allowed five runs over three innings in his last start. And, yet, everyone knew exactly what to expect, considering it was Clemens. "I think this is the best place for him," Pettitte said. For all the players who skip games to witness the birth of their children, Clemens has joined a long tradition of athletes to compete shortly after a parent has died. Asked whether the game was for his mother, Clemens said, "They're all for her." Despite the Astros' meager offense and recent struggles, they remain the popular choice to capture the wild-card berth, considering their favorable schedule and premier pitching staff. Houston has scripted its rotation through the end of the season so that its best three starters - Clemens, Pettitte and Roy Oswalt - will take the mound on the final weekend. Of course, Bess Clemens probably knew that. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/15/sports/baseball/15clemens.html Rest in peace, Mrs. Clemens.
"It's heroic," General Manager Tim Purpura said. "He understands the meaning of duty. His mother taught him about duty." I never like the term heroic used for going to work the same day your mom dies.. hopefully other players don't think they are any "less heroic" if they decide to take the day off.... I'm sure Roger decided on his own.. I just think it's interesting that in sports the culture is that heroic people play even with deaths... hope the ones who need time take time off because I certainly woulndn't think less of them... and I don't th ink it's their "duty" to play that day ..
That above post wasn't in anyway saying anything bad about Roger... He knows what is right for him... just a general statement with all the stories about people playing the day a parent dies the last few years.. i hope other athletes realize they don't "have" to .. to be "tough"
Wow...you have me very curious. Sorry you had to go through that. Roger's a warrior. Favre's a warrior. However, that doesn't mean if you don't play under these circumstances that you're any less of a person. People deal with grief in their own way.
rocketman95.. exactly, I was just saying play or not play he'd still always be a warrior in my book.. really sad story, I'm glad Roger was able to play the last two seasons in Houston though.. and be a lot closer to her than he would have been if he was still a Yankee..
