NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens walked slowly off the mound with his head hanging, snagged again by a balky hamstring in what could have been his last major league appearance.
After yet another October injury, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history might finally be finished.
Bothered by an ailing leg, Clemens left his Game 3 start Sunday night against Cleveland in the third inning with the Yankees trailing and on the brink of playoff elimination.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner got a pat on the chest from Alex Rodriguez before trudging toward the dugout. New York rallied to beat the Indians 8-4, but Clemens' status for the rest of the postseason -- and his career, for that matter -- is in doubt.
"I don't want to say it's heartbreaking because he wouldn't want me to say that. But the way he goes out there, he was very unhappy when we took him out," manager Joe Torre said. "Not the fact that, you know, he felt he could pitch more, it was just the fact that he was there to do a job and he was really upset that he had to leave."
Once in the dugout, the 45-year-old right-hander disappeared up the runway toward the clubhouse.
Clemens insisted he couldn't even think about whether it was the end of his career.
"I don't know," was about all he would say on the matter before limping slightly as he walked out of the clubhouse with his sons.
After the game, Torre said the Yankees are considering whether to replace Clemens on the first-round roster. They can do that under a new rule this year, but he wouldn't be eligible to pitch again until the World Series.
Who knows if he'd even be healthy by then?
"That's being talked about now," Torre said. "I guess we have to ask permission and stuff."
The hamstring started bothering Clemens when he broke for Kenny Lofton's bunt attempt.
"It activated in the second inning," he said. "Your concentration has to move to another level when you have a problem."
