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CHICAGO - Everybody, it seemed, wanted the Yankees' Roger Clemens to be at Tuesday's All-Star Game. Well, everybody except Roger's son, Cody.
"Dad," Clemens said his youngest son said, "why can't they get Andy Pettitte?"
Seems Cody wanted to go jet-skiing with his dad Tuesday. Instead, Cody will go fishing with him today. First, though, Clemens replaced A's pitcher Barry Zito for the game, which, Clemens repeated, definitely will be his last All-Star appearance.
"It will be my last All-Star Game and this is my last year," Clemens said. "So I'll try to enjoy it as much as I can."
After the A's told Major League Baseball that Zito was unavailable to pitch because he threw 106 pitches Sunday, Clemens was called around 10 a.m. Monday at his property an hour north of Houston. Baseball gave Clemens about 45 minutes to decide whether he wanted to attend.
Clemens talked it over with his family, then rushed back to his home in Houston. He was supposed to fly out of Houston around 9 a.m. Tuesday, but winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Claudette canceled his flight. He then drove to College Station and flew a private jet to Chicago, arriving at 3 p.m.
He arrived at U.S. Cellular Field a little after 4.
"Just to have the opportunity to work, to get a call ... to have the opportunity to help out," Clemens said, "I don't know if I was the first call or what part of the chain I was in, but it was very gratifying."
Clemens came on in the third inning for his eighth All-Star appearance, tying a record for pitchers. The record is shared with Jim Bunning, Juan Marichal, Don Drysdale and Tom Seaver. He pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.
ONCE MORE WITH FEELING: This year's All-Star Game supposedly meant more because homefield advantage for the World Series was resting on the outcome.
But this was hardly the first time teams were trying to win. For years, the leagues took the All-Star Game almost as seriously as the World Series. League presidents used to give pregame pep talks and felt the outcome proved which league was better.
The most famous example of playing to win was when Pete Rose bowled over catcher Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star Game. The collision gave the NL a victory and seriously damaged Fosse's career.
There haven't been examples as extreme as Rose-Fosse since, but teams are playing to win, according to Cards manager and Tampa native Tony La Russa.
He remembers managing the American League in the 1989 All-Star Game and pinch-hitting Ozzie Guillen for Cal Ripken so Guillen could bunt a run over to third. The runner eventually scored and AL went on to a 5-3 victory.
"After the game, I thought about it," La Russa said. "I thought, "Wow, did I really pinch-hit for Cal Ripken?' Even now, I can't believe I did that. But I was thinking about winning the game."
PAINFUL MEMORIES: While in Chicago, the All-Star players were put up in the Westin Hotel in downtown Chicago. All except those representing the Cardinals, that is.
The Westin is where Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile died June 22, 2002.
Since then, whenever the Cardinals have played in Chicago they have stayed at the Four Seasons down the street from the Westin. And that's where Major League Baseball allowed the Cards representatives - Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Edgar Renteria, Woody Williams and La Russa - to stay this week.
"I see that window every time I go down the street," Edmonds said. "I know what floor, what room. I appreciate the way Major League Baseball handled it, putting us in another hotel."
MORE HARDWARE: First Garret Anderson won the Home Run Derby on Monday. Then he went out and won the All-Star MVP.
"Those two things (are different)," Anderson said. "(Tuesday) was a competition as far as playing the game of baseball. (Monday) was more of an exhibition, to put on a show for the fans. They want to see the long ball."
He gave them the long ball Tuesday, hitting a key homer in the AL's come-from-behind victory.