Team USA Won’t Consider Clemens

Don’t look for Roger Clemens on the US Olympic baseball team this summer. Team USA GM, Bob Watson said today that he won’t consider the 45-year-old former Yankee pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner. Said Watson to the Associated Press, “”From my standpoint, we don’t need that type of distraction.”

One of Watson’s duties as GM is to help select the 24-man team with manager, Davey Johnson. Any player not on a MLB 25-man roster is eligible for the Olympic team. The final Olympic roster is expected to be finalized by mid-July.

Clemens, who last played for the Yankees in 2007, has been plagued with bad press during the last year. He was named in the steroid drug scandal, a charge Clemens denies. The married pitcher has also been linked romantically to a number of women, allegedly including country singer, Mindy McCready and Paulette Daly, the ex-wife of golfer, John Daly.

Why Watson felt he had to make a statement about Clemens puzzles me. Just pick your best team and concentrate on winning the Olympics.

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