By BRIAN COSTELLO
May 8, 2008
Don't expect to see Roger Clemens in Beijing at this summer's Olympics.
U.S. Olympic baseball general manager Bob Watson told the Associated Press yesterday that he does not want Clemens on the team.
"From my standpoint, we don't need that type of distraction," Watson said.
The 45-year-old Clemens pitched for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He has been in a firestorm of controversy since being named in the Mitchell Report in December.
Watson, MLB's vice president of on-field operations, is in charge of selecting the roster.
Watson said this decision is his, and has not come from any of his bosses.
"I have not talked to the commissioner," Watson said. "I have not talked to (MLB COO) 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."
