Cardinals' Williams a free agent

Houston pitcher Roger Clemens is leaning toward retirement.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Woody Williams filed for free agency Thursday after the team told his agent it will decline his $8 million option and pay him a $900,000 buyout.
San Francisco left-hander Jason Christiansen and Montreal third baseman Tony Batista also were among the six players who filed, raising the total to 196. Up to 15 additional players are eligible to file by the Nov. 11 deadline.
Williams went 11-8 with a 4.18 ERA, helping St. Louis to the best regular season record in the major leagues and the NL pennant.
The 38-year-old right-hander had the fewest wins of any member of the rotation during the regular season, but he wound up being St. Louis' No. 1 starter in the postseason because of Chris Carpenter's arm injury and Matt Morris' inconsistency.
The Cardinals won 16 of Williams' last 19 regular season starts. He won twice in the playoffs but lost Game 1 of the World Series.
Clemens mulls retirement
TOKYO -- Roger Clemens is still deciding whether to pitch again next season.
"I'm very close to retirement," Clemens said. "Obviously, I haven't made the decision for the upcoming season yet."
Clemens is in Japan for an eight-game tour with other major league stars. He was scheduled to start the opening game at Tokyo Dome today.
Players choice awards
SAN FRANCISCO -- Jason Schmidt figures he probably lost his chance at the NL Cy Young Award when he strained his groin covering first base in August.
But the Giants' ace won another coveted honor Thursday, chosen by his peers as the league's outstanding pitcher as part of baseball's 2004 Players Choice Awards.
"Oh, gosh, I don't know," the humble right-hander said. "I was definitely surprised to win the award. There are guys as deserving or more deserving. When you're selected by your peers, it's one of the greatest honors you can have as a player."
Teammate Barry Bonds was named player of the year in the National League, his record seventh Players Choice Award since their inception in 1992.
In other awards, Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who broke baseball's single-season hits record with 262, was selected as the AL player of the year. Minnesota lefty Johan Santana was the league's outstanding pitcher.
Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby was the top AL rookie, while Jason Bay of the Pittsburgh Pirates took the NL award.
New York Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernandez was the comeback player of the year in the AL, and St. Louis right-hander Chris Carpenter won the NL honor.
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Jim Thome won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award for inspirational performance on the field and in the community.
Pirates schedule
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates open at home for the second straight season by playing the Milwaukee Brewers on April 4, at 1:35 p.m. The Pirates played either late-afternoon or night home openers the last two seasons.
Highlighting the Pirates' 2005 schedule is their first visit to Yankee Stadium since the 1960 World Series to play the Yankees on June 14-16.
The Pirates then make their first trip to Boston to play an AL team since the 1903 World Series when they meet the World series champion Red Sox on June 17-19. The Pirates once were regular visitors to Boston when the Braves played there.
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