Over the weekend, there was a charity auction for the Connecticut Sports Foundation at Mohegan Sun involving former Mets and Yankees, many of them alumni of the 2000 teams. This potentially enjoyable event was soured by the presence of Roger Clemens.
The Rocket has mostly kept a low profile since thoroughly embarrassing himself in front of Congress (at a hearing he himself demanded). One would also think that someone about to face perjury charges would be a tad more guarded about what he says in public. But then again, this is Roger Clemens we're talking about.
When asked about the infamous bat throwing incident during the 2000 World Series, Clemens had this pithy line prepared:
I just remember my form being really good when I threw the bat. My form was impeccable. I fielded it perfectly. My arm angle when I whistled it on-deck was a little low.
And if you timed the throw just right, you might have severed one of Piazza's major arteries with a razor sharp bat. Hysterical!
This reminded me that Clemens has alternated whining and joking about this insane incident ever since it happened. On the off day after game two, Clemens showed up at a Monday night event at the Meadowlands and shared a few yucks about it with Dennis Miller. The only regret he's ever expressed over it is that the bat-chucking episode overshadowed his eight innings of shutout ball. Not that he did something irresponsible and potentially dangerous, but that he was denied his rightful place in the spotlight.
Just a reminder that not enough bad things can happen to this man to suit my lust for schadenfreude. I don't know if him doing hard jail time would help at all, but it would be nice to find out.