MLB will examine Clemens' plunking

Roger Clemens' inside fastball that plunked Barry Bonds might cost the New York Yankees ace more than a little respect.

Baseball is now looking into whether Clemens should be disciplined for hitting the San Francisco slugger -- as he hinted he might do.

"It's under investigation," a spokesman in major league disciplinarian Bob Watson's office said Monday. "We're going to take a look at the tapes and the umpire's report to evaluate the situation."

In 2000, Clemens was fined $50,000 by Watson's predecessor, Frank Robinson. That penalty was imposed after Clemens threw not a ball, but the jagged barrel of Mike Piazza's broken bat toward the Mets star during the World Series.

The Bonds-Clemens buildup began last winter when the Giants star, looking forward to an interleague series at Yankee Stadium, said he wanted to face the Rocket.

Asked last week about pitching to the San Francisco slugger, Clemens mentioned the protective piece Bonds wears on his right arm.

"I will introduce myself pretty quick," Clemens said, to "that big old piece of plastic he has on his elbow."

-- AP