CHICAGO -- Cy Old shoved aside Cy Young.

	Zito

	Clemens

Roger Clemens replaced Barry Zito on the American League All-Star roster Monday in a messy muddle that left the Oakland pitcher wondering why he was bumped off the team.

Zito said he found out about the switch while sitting with his All-Star teammates in a hotel ballroom, giving interviews. The commissioner's office said the decision was made by the Athletics, who said they told the left-hander on Sunday.

"If I had some black-and-white explanation, it would make more sense,'' he said.

Clemens, who had returned to Houston on Sunday night from the New York Yankees' series in Toronto, was told of his ninth All-Star selection on Monday morning. The only six-time Cy Young Award winner then made plans to jet to Chicago on Tuesday in time for the game.

Clemens intends to retire after this season, his 20th in the major leagues, and got his 300th win and 4,000th strikeout against St. Louis on June 13. Many of his New York Yankees' teammates were mystified when he originally was bypassed last week.

Clemens ties for the seventh-most All-Star selections among pitchers, trailing Warren Spahn (17), Tom Seaver (12) and Steve Carlton, Don Drysdale, Whitey Ford, Juan Marichal (10 each).

Zito, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, threw 106 pitches during Oakland's 1-0 win at Baltimore on Sunday, allowing four hits in eight innings and getting a no-decision.

Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office, said Oakland manager Ken Macha and pitching coach Rick Peterson made the decision that Zito shouldn't pitch Tuesday, and that A's general manager Billy Beane also was involved.

"Barry was informed of that opinion, and acquiesced,'' Alderson said. "That was information relayed to us, and we acted on that information.''

Zito had been in an AL meeting before Monday's session with reporters and said nothing was mentioned to him.

"It has nothing to do with me or my physical situation,'' he said. "I don't know if they didn't feel comfortable with me pitching on one day's rest.''

Zito thought he could have pitched an inning against the NL. In last year's All-Star Game, Zito replaced Mark Buehrle at the start of the sixth, retired Shawn Green on a groundout, then was replaced by Eddie Guardado.

"I could have given them more than the one batter I had last year,'' Zito said.

Zito will be introduced at Tuesday night's game, according to Alderson, but will be ineligible to play.

Beane, reached at his home in California, said Zito was told Sunday by Macha.

"The best interests of Barry's health and the Oakland A's going forward were better served by having Barry not throw in the game after his performance yesterday,'' Beane said Monday.

Macha, reached by phone Monday, said he and Peterson spoke with Zito after Sunday's game. The presence of A's teammates Mark Mulder and Keith Foulke on the AL roster factored into the equation.

"We told him that it was prudent he didn't pitch,'' Macha said, "and that the A's were going to have Mulder available for two innings and Foulke available for one. That was three innings from our pitching staff, and that was sufficient.''

Alderson said that because last year's All-Star Game ended in a 7-7, 11-inning tie when the teams ran out of pitchers, the commissioner's office wanted all 12 pitchers on each staff to be available.

AL manager Mike Scioscia and Alderson said Clemens was picked both for his season -- 8-6 with a 3.68 ERA and 128 strikeouts -- and his career contributions. Alderson said Fox Sports, which complained when Clemens was initially bypassed -- didn't play a role into the selection.

Commissioner Bud Selig was pleased Clemens was added.

"I'm sorry we had to take these little twists and turns,'' he said.

Clemens, winner of the 1986 All-Star Game after retiring all nine batters he faced at Houston's Astrodome, has faced Zito twice this season, losing 2-0 on May 4 at Yankee Stadium and winning 5-2 six days later at Oakland.

A day before the first matchup, Oakland's Scott Hatteberg playfully referred to it as "Cy Young vs. Cy Old.'' Zito, standing across the clubhouse a few minutes later, wanted to make sure Clemens didn't misinterpret anything.

"I wouldn't say 'Cy Old' because I won't want to show any disrespect to Roger,'' Zito said.

Scioscia said he learned when he got to Chicago on Sunday night that Zito was unavailable.

"I don't know where the communication process broke down,'' he said.