BOSTON -- A day after it became public knowledge that the Red Sox had made overtures to the agents of Roger Clemens on the topic of bringing the Rocket back to Boston, club president/CEO Larry Lucchino was asked what the team's level of interest is in the future Hall of Famer.

"It's high, from our point of view," said Lucchino. "But all we've done is planted a seed. We don't know much about what he's thinking and he's certainly going to take time."

Lucchino couldn't help but note what a great script it would be for the ageless Clemens to return to the spot where he first emerged into a superstar. Could there be any more fitting way for Clemens, who turns 44 in August, to end a legendary career?

"From our point of view, we just wanted to plant a seed and tell him that it would be almost a storybook way to end his career, but it's completely up to him obviously to make the decisions he wants to make when he wants to make them," said Lucchino.

The past couple of seasons, Clemens has taken his time before deciding whether to come back in pitch.

In both cases, he did so for his hometown Houston Astros.

But the Astros did not offer Clemens arbitration last week, meaning that the earliest he could re-join the 2005 National League champions would be May 1.

The Red Sox, along with the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, have the opportunity to secure his services before that time.