Shortly before A.J. Burnett's drawn-out departure from the Toronto Blue Jays finally became set in stone, Matt Clement spoke about his determination to pitch behind ace Roy Halladay in 2009.
The contrast between the New York Yankees breaking the bank to lure an electric starter in the prime of his career and the Blue Jays scraping some pennies together to bring in a former all-star trying to rebuild his career, exposed just how much wider the gap in the American League East became Friday. So the Blue Jays will now try to slay the AL East beasts with a plastic knife, hoping their kids progress quickly, several players overachieve and they hit on some inexpensive, roll-of-the-dice signings. Clement falls into the latter category, although the former all-star fully expects to make a contribution and is certain he'll again become the pitcher he used to be.
''I wouldn't be signing a contract with someone if I didn't think I could,'' Clement said on a conference call after his minor-league contract with the team was finalized.
''I have three sons and a wife, I'm not going to chase the dream just because I was there before. I wouldn't have even talked to another team if I didn't think I could get back to the major leagues. And I have a desire to prove that I can beat the surgery I've had.''
Clement will try to help shore up a starting rotation that was already drastically diluted by injuries to Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan.
Having not thrown a pitch in the majors since 2006 because of shoulder issues that began sometime in 2004, he dropped into the Blue Jays' price range as a reclamation project.
''I think it's optimistic at his end, but that's good, that's what we want,'' Ricciardi said of Clement's hopes of opening the season in the Toronto rotation. ''He's going to get that opportunity.''
