Roger Clemens makes his first rehab start tonight in Lexington against the Indians Class A affiliate, the Lake County Captains. The main stream sports media has nary a bad word to say about the Rocket, but the Hornless Rhino does. In this biting piece, the Rhino laces into Clemens ... and wonders aloud why he has not recieved any accusations of using performace enhancing drugs. Visit the Vinny & The Hornless Rhino weblog at
http://www.vinnyandthehornlessrhino.blogspot.com/

Roger Clemens is facing the Tribe's Class A affiliate tonight, and is supposedly "preparing like it's the World Series." Based on his performance last October, that's probably good news for the Lake County Captains. I hope they light him up like a Christmas tree.

In recent years, Roger Clemens has been getting the kind of fawning press coverage that future Hall of Famers tend to get late in their careers. However, I remain firm in my belief that he's one of the biggest jerks in sports. Why? Maybe it's because I remember that he once threw a ball at his pregnant wife during a pick-up game, or because I haven't forgotten his bizarre, obscenity-laced tirade against the umpires that got him ejected from Game 4 of the 1990 ALCS.

Or maybe I don't like Clemens because I'm a little suspicious about exactly how he revived his career during the late 1990s. Don't forget that from 1993 through 1996, Clemens' career appeared to be on a downward path. During those seasons, he posted a mediocre 40-39 record and recorded 200 Ks only once. After he was traded to Toronto, however, Clemens rebounded. He went 21-7 (2.05 ERA) with the Blue Jays in 1997, and raised his strikeout number to 226. He went 20-6 (2.65 ERA) the following season, and then, of course, he signed with the Evil Empire. Over the next several seasons, Clemens earned World Series rings, AL and NL Cy Young awards, and notched his 300th career victory.

In short, the last ten seasons of Clemens' career have been a feel good story about an aging player who suddenly found the fountain of youth. Hmm...where have we seen that before? Anyway, I'm probably way too cynical. I'm sure Clemens' performance is just the result of clean living, proper nutrition and a fanatical work-out schedule.

I mean, what has any aging superstar done recently that would make me think otherwise?