U.S. general manager Bob Watson said that he isn't considering 45-year-old right-hander Roger Clemens for his roster for the Beijing Games.
"From my standpoint, we don't need that type of distraction," Watson said.
In addition to his duties as vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball, Watson is general manager of professional baseball operations for USA Baseball and works to select manager Davey Johnson's roster.
A former GM of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, Watson said he didn't anticipate being overruled by higher-ups.
"I have not talked to the commissioner. I have not talked to (MLB chief operating officer) Bob DuPuy, nor have I talked to his agent, but I just think the distraction that he's carrying right now, from my standpoint, we don't need that," Watson said.
Clemens played for the U.S. team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA for the Yankees last season, and the 354-game winner hasn't said whether he wants to play in 2008.
"The other thing, too you've got to remember his last three or four outings, he had to take injections in his elbow. He had to take injections in his groin area. He wasn't the healthiest guy on the team," Watson said. "So there's some young guys who are throwing the ball well, and I think we could put together 12 pitchers, sadly to say, that would be throwing better than he was at the end of the year last year."
Pro baseball: Rodriguez, Posada, Hughes all headed to Tampa
Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Phil Hughes are expected to travel to the New York Yankees' spring-training facility in Florida today to continue rehabbing their injuries.
Rodriguez (strained right quadriceps) ran in the outfield before New York's game against the Cleveland Indians last night. The third baseman also played catch, fielded grounders and took batting practice.
Rodriguez, a three-time AL MVP, is expected to continue with a similar routine over the next few days before possibly playing in extended spring games Monday and Tuesday in Tampa.
The Yankees begin a four-game series at Tampa Bay on Monday and Rodriguez is eligible to come off the DL next Wednesday.
Girardi also said Posada could take batting practice tomorrow. The catcher went on the disabled list April 28 with right rotator cuff tendinitis.
Hughes has a stress fracture in one of his ribs, and the right-hander isn't expected back before July.
AL roundup: Ellis homers in 10th to lift A's
Mark Ellis broke out of his offensive funk in a big way.
Ellis hit his first career game-ending home run with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting the Athletics to a 6-5 victory over the Orioles for a three-game sweep and their fourth straight victory.
NL roundup: Reds hit 4 homers off Lieber, Votto hits 3 in all in 9-0 win
Jon Lieber became only the second pitcher in Cubs history to give up four homers in an inning, and Joey Votto connected three times in all as the Reds powered their way to a 9-0 victory. Votto started a four-homer second inning off Lieber (2-2), who was making his first start of the season. Adam Dunn and Paul Bako also had solo shots, and Jerry Hairston Jr.'s two-run homer completed the history-matching rally. ... John Maine became the first Mets starter this year to reach the eighth inning, taking a shutout into the ninth during a 12-1 rout of the Dodgers.
Pro hockey: Leafs fire head coach Maurice
Paul Maurice has been fired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs after his team failed to make the playoffs during his two seasons.
Maurice has a year left on his contract and was informed of the decision yesterday morning. He told The Canadian Press from his Toronto home that he was aware that his dismissal was a possibility.
The team scheduled an afternoon news conference at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and missed a playoff spot by 11 points.
More pro hockey: Switzerland beats Sweden at hockey worlds
Switzerland held high-scoring Sweden in check for a 4-2 win to stay undefeated and win its group in the preliminary round of the hockey world championship.
Thierry Paterlini, Andreas Ambuhl, Thibault Monnet and Thomas Ziegler scored for the Swiss in the game. Jonas Hiller, playing in place of Ottawa Senators goalie Martin Gerber, stopped 28 shots.
In the other early game, Finland edged Slovakia 3-2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to win Group C and set up a game with the United States on Sunday.
Teemu Selanne scored for Finland, along with Tuomu Ruutu and Niko Kapanen. Robert Petrovicky and Miroslav Kovacik scored for Slovakia.
Olympics: Torch nears Everest summit
The Olympic torch moved to within striking distance of the summit of Mount Everest, with the flame likely to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain in the next several days. A spokesman for the climbing team said a base camp at 25,560 feet had been rebuilt after heavy snowfall last weekend destroyed several base camps and delayed the assault on the 29,035-foot peak. Beijing Olympic organizers are hoping the dramatic image of the torch reaching the highest spot on earth will make up for damaging publicity during protest-ridden stages of international legs of the relay.
Track: World champ Gay, Jamaican Bolt to square off in N.Y.
Usain Bolt's coach says the Jamaican sensation is aiming toward a 100-meter showdown with reigning world champion Tyson Gay at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 31 in New York.
No official announcement had been made, but Bolt's coach Glen Mills said that the Jamaican "is scheduled to race Tyson Gay in New York."
Bolt's schedule will be released today, his agent Ricky Simms said.
Bolt stunned the track world with the second-fastest 100 clocking in history at the Jamaican International Invitational in Kingston on Saturday. His 9.76 was 0.02 seconds off the world record held by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell.
Gay defeated Powell to win the 100 title, then beat Bolt to take the 200 crown at the world championships last year in Osaka, Japan.
