Astros cut ties with Clemens

"We've had two great years, and they were special years," general manager Tim Purpura said. "The fact of the matter is Roger's 43 years old. ... We're not talking about somebody in the middle of a great career. We're talking about somebody who's at the end of a great career."

Still, Purpura calls it "one of the more gut-wrenching, difficult decisions" the Astros have had to make.

"We expected this because we talked a great deal about this," said Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks. "It's no surprise."

The Astros didn't want to risk going to salary arbitration while they awaited the Rocket's decision. Clemens still intends to pitch for the United States in March during the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Clemens made $18 million this season when he led the major leagues with a career-best 1.87 ERA and went 13-8. He finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting behind 20-game winners Chris Carpenter and Dontrelle Willis.

Clemens had an injured leg and back late in the season and was forced out of his start in Game 1 of the World Series against the Chicago White Sox after only two innings.

"The health is not an issue. It's the willingness of Roger to play, and we just don't know that," Purpura said. "To tie up resources for that long of a period of time would really hurt our ability to move forward."

Houston's decision could lead to other teams trying to lure Clemens, such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, two of his former clubs.

"If anybody calls, we'll listen," Hendricks said.

"I'm sure there's a lot of teams that would like to have Roger pitching for them next year," said Craig Shipley, a Red Sox special assistant.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said late Wednesday night that he wouldn't rule anything out, but wasn't ready to discuss Clemens' availability.

"We all know who Roger Clemens is, and how special a player he is. I guess all that's for another time," Cashman said. "I will be engaging all players in the free agent market."

Hendricks doesn't expect Clemens to make his call for at least a month.

"Nothing has changed about his plan to decide in late January, early February," Hendricks said, adding that Clemens' performance in the WBC could play a part in the decision. "I expect that will be a form of a litmus test to see how feels about playing mentally and physically."

While the Astros won't rule out the possibility of Clemens pitching for them from May 1 on, Purpura said "nobody should pin their hopes" on that happening. Purpura said that issue hasn't been discussed with the Rocket.

"Until he gets to the point that he decides he wants to play, I don't think anybody can guess when or if he would come back," Purpura said. "There's no deal that that will happen, no preconceived approach to that issue."

Even without Clemens, the Astros have an escalating payroll. But they also still have a starting rotation that includes Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt.

Pettitte, Oswalt, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman are scheduled to make about $65 million in 2006, up from about $45 million last year. Purpura said another $10 million to $15 million will go to players eligible for salary arbitration, including closer Brad Lidge and cleanup hitter Morgan Ensberg.

Clemens planned to retire after the 2003 season, and it seemed certain that his start for the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series would be his last. But his buddy Pettitte then went to their hometown Astros, and Clemens followed him and won another Cy Young in 2004, when Houston won a playoff series for the first time.

With 341 victories, Clemens is ninth on the career list with the most wins among living pitchers. His 4,502 strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan's 5,714.

"I'd love to have an answer today that he would come back," manager Phil Garner said. "In the event that that's not going to happen, this is the best possible scenario, to move forward."

Purpura said there were no hard feelings or animosity between the Astros and Clemens, who has a 10-year personal services agreement with the team after he retires as a player -- even if he pitches for another team. That is similar to a deal Ryan has with the Astros.

"I think there's a full understanding of why we have to make our decision at this point," Purpura said. "He's going to be with us in some form or another. ... We certainly have cherished our time with him."

Clemens' oldest son, Koby, signed with the Astros in July. The 19-year-old third baseman hit .297 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 33 games for the Rookie League Greeneville Astros and .281 with six RBIs in nine games with the Class-A Tri-City Valley Cats.

The Astros offered arbitration to free-agent catcher Brad Ausmus and outfielder Orlando Palmeiro, but not to infielder Jose Vizcaino. Ausmus and Palmeiro have until Dec. 19 to accept and can re-sign through Jan. 8.