NEW YORK -- Andy Pettitte's sense is that Roger Clemens will decide to pitch in 2007. If it happens, Pettitte wants it to be as a Yankee. "Would that be great," Pettitte said. "Does he know that I would love that? Of course."
Since Pettitte signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Yankees on Dec. 21, speculation has been that the 44-year-old Clemens will eventually follow his good friend and workout companion back to the Bronx.
Pettitte -- who was reintroduced at a Yankee Stadium press conference on Thursday -- said he played golf with Clemens recently. He believes the Rocket is planning on at least one more liftoff.
"After speaking with him, it sounds like he's probably going to want to pitch," Pettitte said. "It's amazing to me that he still wants to pitch, but he does. It's like he's 20. He's just got an unbelievable amount of energy."
Clemens has not officially decided upon his plans for 2007, but agent Randy Hendricks told the Houston Chronicle this week that there is a "more than 50-50" chance that the seven-time Cy Young Award winner will pitch.
If he does so, it will be for one of three clubs -- the Red Sox, the Yankees or the Astros. Pettitte noted that all three clubs have compelling points of interest for Clemens.
"Boston is where it all started for him, [in] New York we won the championships, and [Houston] is home," Pettitte said. "He's there on the schedule he's able to have with his family situation and he's got a son [Koby, a third baseman in low Class A ball] in the organization.
"Right off, those are the things that obviously have to be going through his mind. It'll be an extremely tough decision."
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that he has spoken with Hendricks over the winter to relay the team's interest, but not to Clemens directly.
"If Roger's interested in coming to New York, then I'd love to talk to him," Cashman said.
Clemens was 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts for the Astros in 2006, joining the club in late June.
As a Yankee from 1999-2003, Clemens went 77-36 -- including his 300th career victory in 2003 -- while helping the club to the 1999 and 2000 World Series titles.
Cashman pulled the trigger on the original trade in which the Yankees acquired Clemens from the Blue Jays before the 1999 season. He called Clemens a "perfect employee."
"He came in here and delivered not only a huge performance on the field, but had a major impact in the clubhouse," Cashman said. "He cared a great deal, not just about the young guys on the come, but he cared about his teammates [and] he cared about the people within his working environment."
If Clemens does pitch in 2007, he would likely request a special schedule like the one the Astros allowed. The team permitted Clemens to pitch partial seasons and skip certain road trips in order to remain at home in Houston with his family.
Cashman declined to speculate if he would allow a Yankees player to enjoy such allowances. Pettitte said he didn't expect Clemens to pop up at Legends Field in Tampa when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 13.
"I think Spring Training would probably be out," Pettitte said with a laugh. "You don't ever know what Roger's really going to do. He'll talk and say stuff, but ... I don't think he's thinking he'll be heading to camp anywhere in the next three weeks."
