Astros: Clemens welcome in camp -- as a fan

About this time last year, Roger Clemens was on Capitol Hill fending off the testimony of his former personal trainer, who said he injected the pitcher with steroids and human growth hormone.

One year later, Clemens remains in the news -- a federal grand jury has convened in Washington to determine whether to indict him for lying under oath to Congress when he denied taking performance-enhancing drugs, ESPN.com's Mike Fish is reporting.“

We have no plan for Roger Clemens. He kind of came on his own last year and I thought that presented too much confusion, with all the media around these 19- to 25-year-olds.

”-- Astros owner Drayton McLane

The events have led Astros owner Drayton McLane to say that Clemens will not attend spring training next month in Kissimmee, Fla., to work out with and instruct Houston's minor league players.

"We have no plan for Roger Clemens," McLane told the Houston Chronicle for Thursday's editions. "His [oldest] son, Koby, is in our minor league system and is making progress, and if [Roger] wants to come and be a fan, absolutely."

The 46-year-old Clemens last pitched in the majors as a New York Yankee in 2007 after having spent the 2004-06 seasons with the Astros. Last February, he threw batting practice to Astros minor leaguers at spring training on a voluntary basis. He has a 10-year personal services contract with the club that will not kick in until he officially retires.

"He kind of came on his own last year and I thought that presented too much confusion, with all the media around these 19- to 25-year-olds," McLane told the New York Daily News on Tuesday. "That's putting a lot of pressure on these young men."

Clemens has yet to indicate when he would retire officially.

"[The clause in his personal services contract] would not go into effect until he's ready," McLane told the Daily News. "And then I'd talk with him and Alan and Randy Hendricks [the pitcher's agents]. Neither Alan or Randy has contacted me in the last two years.

"We'll let the case develop, but I haven't yet pursued that avenue [of voiding the personal services clause]."

The Astros aren't alone in distancing themselves from Clemens. In November, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner was asked to end his involvement with a charity golf tournament he had hosted for four years because of the fallout from the Mitchell report.

In December, it was announced that the year-old Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine would no longer carry his name.


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