BASEBALL Ailing Clemens expected back as starter for Yankees on Friday

THE RECORD (BERGEN COUNTY, N.J.)
CHICAGO -- Roger Clemens' voice still was not well enough to allow him to speak to reporters. But the Yankees think he will be healthy enough to make his next start Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"I'm not talking today, the way my body feels," Clemens said as he walked away from his locker. "I'll pass on it today. We'll do it another time."
The short conversation was the only time the pitcher made an appearance at his locker.
"Right now I think he's going to go on Friday on his regular day," said pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. "I'll try to read him every day. Right now the plans are to be normal."
Stottlemyre said the pitcher is taking medication for his upper-respiratory infection, which contributed to his being removed in the seventh inning Saturday after just 84 pitches against the Cubs. Stottlemyre thought the medication may have been a factor in Clemens' fatigue.
"Sometimes some medication will zap you," said Stottlemyre.
Clemens' voice, in the days before Saturday's start, seemed to come from inside a closet. His throat, dry and scratchy, hardly allowed the words to come out. Some words were barely audible. His thick, Texas drawl sputtered from his mouth. He was clearly not well.
But for six innings Saturday, Clemens seemed past his health problems. He was dominant, at one point retiring 15 consecutive batters.