Clemens plans 'a good laugh' if needed about Piazza's book

Even with Roger Clemens saying Tuesday he plans to write a book of his own in the near future, he still has no intention of picking up any pointers from Mike Piazza’s recent autobiography, “Long Shot,” despite his prominent role as a villainous Yankee.

“No, I don’t need to read it,” Clemens said. “If it’s too out of bounds, somebody will text me and we’ll have a good laugh over it.”

The part about Piazza wanting to take karate lessons to fight Clemens – after the Subway Series beaning incident – was funny. To this day, Clemens insists he didn’t drill Piazza in the helmet on purpose, but that remains a dubious claim.

“In 24 years, I think I missed above somebody’s shoulder about three times,” Clemens said. “So I think that’s pretty good.”

Clemens is in the Astros’ camp as a special instructor, and he also plans to help out in a scouting capacity, which Houston could use in the midst of its major rebuilding efforts.

“We’re picking first in the draft and there’s a couple of pitchers in consideration,” second-year GM Jeff Luhnow said, “Who better to help you evaluate pitching than Roger Clemens?”