Notes: Rocket cleared for relaunch

Notes: Rocket cleared for relaunch
Pettitte feels good after bullpen session
By Jon Greenberg / Special to MLB.com

CHICAGO -- It's official: Roger Clemens is ready to return. Again.

Four days after Clemens pulled out of his scheduled season debut with the Yankees, he has been cleared to start Saturday's game at Yankee Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mark it down, circle it, whatever. The Rocket is back.

"It's a huge boost for us," Johnny Damon said, no pun intended.

Clemens threw 54 pitches in a live batting practice session at the Yankees' Minor League complex in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday. He worked out of the stretch and faced both left- and right-handed hitters in what manager Joe Torre described as a simulated game designed to test the restraints of Clemens' fatigued groin.

"Everything today went well," Clemens said in a statement released by the Yankees. "I have a short downhill training session [Thursday] and then I should be locked in and ready to go. The weakness that came from the scar tissue has so far dispersed. Today's bullpen session was a little more intense than a regular side session. Normally, I would throw about 60 percent, but today I threw closer to 80 percent."

Torre hadn't spoken to Clemens but said he got good reports on his performance.

With the Yankees off to a dismal start -- 11 1/2 games back of first place in the AL East going into Wednesday's game against the White Sox -- the expectations for Clemens are magnified. For some, he won't just be pitching against the Pirates; he'll be trying to strike out the first two months of the season.

"I don't think we can concern ourselves with [expectations], because they're going to be what they are, because of his status and where he's going when he does decide to pack it in," Torre said. "There are going to be high expectations, but that's followed him no matter where he's gone. We know basically what we need from him and hopefully, it doesn't get too out of whack."

While some players have tried to distance themselves from the notion of Clemens acting as a Texas-sized salve for the Yankees' ailments, everyone is still pretty excited about filling the open rotation spot with a future Hall of Famer, to go along with Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang and rookie Tyler Clippard.

"I'm sure we'll be a better team, just with the fact that we have him," Damon said. "Just the presence of Roger Clemens on the mound can get people out."

Torre is preaching patience to Clemens, giving him an easy out if he feels any pain Thursday in his workout.

"I basically told him, if you feel anything, if something isn't right, don't hesitate to tell us," Torre said.

Pettitte ready to go: Pettitte judged himself ready to start Friday's series opener against the Pirates after throwing a bullpen session before Wednesday's game. He suffered back spasms in his last start Sunday in Boston, and pushed back his bullpen a day.

"I threw, I felt good. I felt real good actually," he said. "I'm going to pitch Friday. I heated up and threw a good 'pen today."

Pettitte (3-4, 2.96) said his back hadn't been bothering him recently and that he didn't anticipate any more problems before his session Wednesday.

"I don't want it to act up again, that's where I'm at," he said. "If there's any concern, that's where it is."

Young and restless: Clippard, the Yankees' baby-faced starter, took a break from chuckling at reruns of "The Office" on his iPod on Wednesday to talk about his excitement on pitching in the same rotation as Clemens.

"It's awesome, man," the 22-year-old right-hander said. "I never in a million years could've predicted that. I'm just excited to meet him and talk to him about some things and see what he has to say. It's going to be fun.

"Anything he has to say, I'm definitely going to be all ears about. Whether it's what he does in-between starts -- he's stayed healthy a long time now, which is a big deal for a lot of people -- or any stuff like that. Anything is going to be helpful."

With his lanky frame and arms-akimbo delivery, Clippard is hardly intimidating on the mound, but he's getting the job done. He pitched five solid innings in the Yankees' 7-3 win Tuesday, giving up one run to push his record to 3-1 and lower his ERA to 3.60. What did he learn from his second straight win?

"Every outing, you try and learn new things, but basically just to continue to go after guys and get ahead, because that's a big deal, especially at this level," he said.

News and notes: Miguel Cairo got his second straight start at first on Wednesday, after starting two double plays, picking up two singles and driving in a run on Tuesday. "He's an infielder and we have a ground-ball pitcher going," Torre said of Chien-Ming Wang. "Hopefully he's a ground-ball guy today." ... Clippard's outing marked the 26th time a rookie has started a game for the Yankees this season. According to the team, the last time that happened was in 2001 when rookies started 36 times, including 21 for Ted Lilly. ... Torre said he expects to give Derek Jeter a day off Thursday as the Yankees finish the four-game series with the White Sox with a 7:11 CT game. "I think [he will be] off, with the flight and everything tomorrow," Torre said. After Tuesday's game Torre joked he might have to "chloroform" Jeter to get him a day off. He has played in 56 of the team's 57 games. ... The White Sox declared Wednesday "Cicada Night," and the festivities included someone dressed up as a giant Cicada-like insect and danced around foul territory before the game. The promotion caused Torre to chuckle and recount an old cicada story from "1996 or 97" involving his family. ... The Yankees are honoring a 12-year-old Bronx boy who helped police foil a robbery in his apartment last week by inviting him to the team's game against the Pirates on Friday. Edwin Alamo and his family will get to tour the stadium and have access to batting practice as a well as "great seats" to the game, according to a team release.

Coming up: RHP Mike Mussina (2-3, 6.25) faces off against former Yankee Jose Contreras (4-5, 4.29) in the series finale at U.S. Cellular Field. Mussina is 0-2 in his last four starts and hasn't won since May 9.

Wang goes the distance for win
Four-run third eases right-hander's complete-game effort
By Jon Greenberg / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Chien-Ming Wang's best game of the season was probably last month in Seattle, when he lost a perfect game in the eighth after retiring the first 22 hitters.

"That game was pretty good," Yankees manager Joe Torre said, shaking his head. "Why do you have to remind me about those things?"

Maybe Wang's stuff was a touch off his Seattle best on Wednesday in Chicago, but his performance was more meaningful and just as dominating. Wang threw the Yankees' first complete-game victory since, well, his last one on July 28, 2006, against Tampa Bay (a 6-0 win), as the Yankees backed him up with a four-run third inning en route to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox for their second straight win.

The 27-year-old Wang notched his third complete game, using all of his pitches -- slider, curveball and sinker especially -- to shut down an occasionally potent White Sox lineup. Wang, who won for the fourth time in five starts to improve to 5-4, gave up five hits and one walk, while striking out four. He needed only 104 pitches. To put that number in perspective, he threw 112 pitches in 5 2/3 innings in his last start.

"He's very business-like about what he does and he's pretty good at it," Torre said.

"He threw the ball incredible today," said Alex Rodriguez, whose two-run single with the bases loaded highlighted the third, the club's second four-run frame in as many days. "That was probably as good a game as he's thrown with the Yankees, as far as I can remember."

Wang's performance gave the bullpen a much-needed rest. Mike Mussina worked five innings Saturday, Andy Pettitte left in the fifth Sunday, Matt DeSalvo couldn't make it out of the second on Monday and Tyler Clippard went just five Tuesday. With Mussina going Thursday, Pettitte Friday and Roger Clemens making his season debut Saturday, the bullpen may be called again pretty soon to do some heavy lifting.

"It's very important," Torre said of Wang's outing. "Especially because we went through some people in the bullpen [Tuesday] night and we had a long weekend. That was a big lift."

Torre praised Wang for using his slider and curveball to set up his heavy sinker, inducing 14 groundouts. The White Sox only run came on a Juan Uribe groundout in the third.

"Some days his sinker is better than other days," Torre said. "Today, it was pretty good, it was exploding. But he threw some real good sliders today. He struck out Uribe on a slider [in the sixth]. He was throwing some good pitches."

Wang said he felt in control of all of his pitches and slowed his pace accordingly. No one approached him to see if he wanted out before the ninth, and he thought nothing of the complete game.

"The team win is most important," he said.

The Yankees surely appreciate that thought. They have a chance to win the four-game series Thursday night and claim back-to-back series for the first time this season. Another win would also give them a three-game winning streak for just the third time this season. They've yet to win four straight.

"[Wednesday] we can do something we haven't done in a while, win three in a row," Torre said.

The Yankees gave Wang all the runs he needed in the third. No. 9 hitter Miguel Cairo, who started at first base for the second straight game, led off the inning with a single, stole second, and scored on Johnny Damon's double. Derek Jeter singled, Bobby Abreu walked and Rodriguez scored two with a hit to center. After a slow start out of the box, he was called out sliding into second, though replays showed he may have been safe. A-Rod argued with second-base umpire Gary Darling, and Torre came out to argue as well. Sox starter Javier Vazquez then walked Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui's sac fly scored Abreu. The sacrifice turned into a double play as Posada was tagged out going to second to end the inning.

"That was a good inning for us," Rodriguez said. "For all of our pitchers, we like to score runs early and often to get them some confidence."

Damon, looking invigorated in his role as the designated hitter, had two doubles, and Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera and Cairo each had two hits. Posada added his 21st double of the season, just six shy of his total last year, and Abreu added his third homer in the eighth.

Cabrera had a highlight throw in center in the sixth, gunning down speedy Jerry Owens at the plate on a Tadahito Iguchi single.

"Amazing," said Damon, the erstwhile center fielder. "I'm not sure anybody has a better arm in the game. There are not too many center fielders who can stop a running game. He's been incredible."

Vazquez (3-4) gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out seven. Damon doubled to lead off the game, but Vazquez struck out the next three batters.