Clement added to All-Star roster
Red Sox ace takes place of injured Halladay
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
BALTIMORE -- Just six days ago, Red Sox manager Terry Francona was "crushed" and Boston right-hander Matt Clement was "disappointed" because the latter fell short in his bid to make his first All-Star team. As it turns out, the story has a happy ending.
Clement will indeed join American League All-Star manager Francona, and teammates Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek, for the All-Star festivities in Detroit.
While nobody on the Red Sox wished an injury on Roy Halladay, the Toronto ace's left leg contusion (suffered Friday night) led to his All-Star spot being vacated. Because Clement had the most votes on the Players Ballot of any pitcher not selected, he was the first choice to fill Halladay's spot.
With ace Curt Schilling out of the mix for almost the entire first half, Clement has stepped up to be the No. 1 starter the Sox needed. He is 10-2 with a 3.85 ERA.
Clement last pitched on Wednesday, giving him more than enough rest to be able to go an inning or two at the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Detroit.
Francona wanted Clement to be on the squad in the first place, but the matter was almost entirely out of his hands. As the manager, Francona, with input from Major League Baseball, had a say in five roster spots, four of which belonged to pitchers.
However, because four teams were unrepresented by the time Francona got to make his selections, there was just one at-large pitcher bid left, and it went to Bartolo Colon, who has anchored the Anaheim pitching staff this season.
"It's disappointing," Clement said Sunday. "You think you work hard enough to deserve to be there and you're not."
But now he is, which will bring a big smile to Francona's face.
When Francona addressed the media following Sunday's All-Star announcements, he was visibly upset. Setup man Mike Timlin was also on the bubble, but didn't make the cut. "It crushed me," Francona said Sunday. "I'm not very happy about it. I don't expect you to understand everything. I spent so much time on this. The system is what it is, so you make your decisions according to that, but you're seeing a lot of good players that aren't going. And again, out of respect to everybody, I care. But out of respect to our guys, I probably care more."
