While Clement's first-half numbers were competitive with any of the top righthanders in baseball, his performances after the All-Star break beg the question of whether he'll continue to be that pitcher.
Clement got the win yesterday, improving to 11-3, a record certainly indicative of an ace, but his ERA climbed to 4.67, as he allowed six runs on five hits and four walks in five innings, with five strikeouts.
There was a line drive in the fifth inning that was in Clement's direction, but it never got too close to him.
''This is the first time I thought about it," Clement said. ''Maybe naturally I flinched, but maybe I would have flinched before this happened. I was just trying to get through the fifth inning at that point. Maybe that was a good thing that it didn't even register in my brain. Honestly, I haven't been worried about it."
Clement's post-All-Star break ERA with the Cubs last season was 5.09. His post-All-Star break ERA this season, in four starts, is 10.69. Going back six starts, Clement is 2-2 with a 9.20 ERA.
With Curt Schilling, who earned his eighth save yesterday, still pitching at the back of the bullpen, the Sox, who won the World Series last year in large part because they had two aces (Schilling and Pedro Martinez) and a dominating closer (Keith Foulke), might still be void of an ace.
Unless Clement can rediscover his first-half effectiveness.
''I put that burden on myself regardless of where I am as a number," Clement said. ''I think the starting rotation has been pretty cool about the whole thing. ''Every time one of us is down, there's three or four of us pounding away and getting wins. Boomer [David Wells] has pitched so well since he's come off the DL dating way back to when he hurt his foot. Bronson [Arroyo] and Wake [Tim Wakefield] and Wade [Miller], we've all been able to keep this thing together. I don't think that any of us think of ourselves as a No. 1 or a No. 5."
Clement hopes his struggles are behind him.
