BUTLER TWP— His major league achievements rolled easily off Matt Clement's tongue.

"87 wins, 1,200 strikeouts, I've pitched in an All-Star Game, gotten a World Series ring ... I can't complain,"Clement said. "I've surpassed anything I had any right to think I'd accomplish."

Sound like a guy accepting retirement?

Guess again.

"Do I think I'm done?,"Clement pondered. "Not at all. In terms of thinking like that, I'm not even in that area code."

Since being released by the St. Louis Cardinals Aug. 2, Clement has returned home to Butler, is working with his 5-year-old son, Mattix, in coach-pitch baseball, and resting his arm.

But not for long.

Clement plans to resume throwing Oct. 1 — anticipating an off-season tryout with a big league team — and expects to sign with a major league club as a non-roster free agent in time for spring training next year.

"My agent (Barry Axelrod) and myself talked with six or seven teams after I was released,"Clement said. "There was interest, but they all like me as a starter and wanted me to pitch in Triple-A ball starting out.

"I didn't have interest in that because there wouldn't be enough time left in the season to stretch my innings out as a starter again."

After a few rehab starts in the Cardinals farm system, St. Louis moved Clement to the bullpen in an effort to build up his arm strength.

"Being released at this time of year, with the Triple-A season coming to an end ... Matt just wasn't going to be able to help anybody this year,"Axelrod said.

Clement said the Cardinals originally signed him as insurance for a few ailing arms on their major league roster. As the season went on, some younger pitchers developed quickly and helped St. Louis to an above-.500 record thus far in 2008.

"A lot of those injured pitchers got healthy all at once," Axelrod said. "Basically, the Cardinals ran out of room for all those arms and they had to make some tough decisions. They didn't think Matt would be ready in time to help them, so they didn't want to invest any more innings in him.

"Matt wasn't surprised he was released. We had a good ongoing dialogue with (Cardinals general manager)John Mozeliak throughout this process."

Clement turned 34 last week and hasn't pitched in the major leagues since June of 2006.

He insists his arm strength is not the issue. Being major-league ready on a consistent basis is.

"I hit 88 or 89 miles per hour with my fastball, but I couldn't get my mechanics right,"Clement said. "I had some outings when I felt I was major-league ready, but others when I didn't.

"I could throw the ball straight, as hard as I could, for pitch speed and get hit, or I could work on my pitches. I was trying to do both and that wasn't working."

Clement's fastball hit 90 or 91 in 2005 — the year he made the American League all-star roster with Boston.

"In terms of velocity (when released), I wasn't that far away,"he said. "I pitched an inning in relief in July, took one day off, then threw 2Z\c innings the next night.

"I never thought I'd be able to do that. That's how I know my shoulder's healthy. I don't think I could have done that even a few years ago."

Clement has had no medical setbacks since undergoing shoulder surgery in September of 2006.

"That's a big positive, definitely," Axelrod said.

While he never got to pitch for St. Louis, Clement holds no hostility or bitterness toward that organization.

"They gave me a chance to pitch,"he said. "They expected me to be ready by spring training and so did I. It just didn't work out that way.

"Every pitcher I knew who had any type of shoulder operation told me you don't feel right again until two years post-op. That will be October for me."

Axelrod said a variety of factors will be considered when looking for a spring training home for Clement in 2009.

"How good the opportunity is, who the manager and pitching coach are, will the team give him a legitimate shot, we'll look at all of that,"Axelrod said.

As long as Clement believes he is capable of being a starting pitcher in the major leagues, he will pursue his career.

He even believes he may have gotten a break by not pitching in the big leagues this season.

"I know what it takes to pitch at that level,"he said. "It's so stressful. You pitch differently. I may not have been physically ready for that.

"I'll begin next year in Triple-A with somebody if I still believe I'm going to make it back, but my goal is to make a big league roster during camp. My feeling is, by next spring training, my arm will tell me what I need to know.

"If I'm done, it won't be the end of my world. I've been so lucky. I'll just go home and move on ... But I don't think that's going to be the case."