There is no question Clemens' right hamstring is hurting, after he strained it during his abbreviated outing against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night under the lights of Osceola County Stadium.

But the Rocket was clear this is not an official injury, in which case he would be labeled as "hurt." He acknowledged he felt some tightness in the hamstring in the days leading up to his start Friday, but he views his early exit as a precautionary measure.

"I don't believe it's hurt," Clemens said. "If it continues to be a problem, I'm sure we'll evaluate it more. I'm not too concerned about it. It was a little tight before the game. But I've got plenty of time, so I'm not going to force it right now."

Clemens was very un-Rocket like during his time on the mound, struggling through 1 1/3 innings. He yielded seven runs, six of which came in the second inning.

Just after he allowed a base hit to Carlos Guillen, Clemens' seventh batter that frame, the Rocket motioned toward head athletic trainer Dave Labossiere, who escorted Clemens to the clubhouse after a brief mound meeting with Garner.

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"I couldn't take a chance," Clemens said. "Once I backed down on it, it really grabbed me. Phil said, 'No way are you going to chance it.'"

Said Garner: "He tweaked it a little bit, but I'm hopeful that when the weather warms up [Saturday] to at least 60, he'll feel a little better. He didn't seem to think it was bad." Clemens hesitated to link his injury to his shaky outing.

"Most of the balls hit were changeups and we're working real hard at that," he said. "My main thing is to work with [catcher] Brad [Ausmus] and my main concern is my breaking balls down here. We're trying to make some good pitches breaking ball-wise."

Clemens, who is slated to start the third game of the regular season on April 8 vs. the Reds, will continue treatments and will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. He is scheduled to make his next spring start Wednesday against the Phillies at home.