Roger that
Clemens is coming back to the Yankees. This is, in my opinion, good news. My opinion of Clemens as a person is not the highest; when he accepted accolades and standing ovations during his “farewell tour” with the Yankees and then turned around and signed with Houston for the following season, it grossed me out. I don’t begrudge him wanting to spend more time with his family, and it’s not that he’s not allowed to change his mind, but he might have acknowledged that that came off as self-aggrandizing, and he’s kind of done exactly that every year since.
But he’s a great pitcher, and we need him. I felt for Darrell Rasner yesterday; he’s tossed out there as cannon fodder, he throws five-plus innings of shut-out ball, and he’s completely overshadowed by beanball scuffles and Matsui’s 2000th hit and the Clemens thing. But after Friday’s ugliness, if 11 runs can’t get a win…I don’t see how Cashman had a choice. If we get four innings and 5-6 runs out of the starter, that’s a gift, these days, and the team is hitting well but it’s not doing any good.
You could make the argument that we got rid of RJ for no reason, then, but it’s my feeling — impressionistic and not based on hard stats — that Clemens is the better pitcher right now. I dialed past a Mets game the other night and saw Johnson on the mound for the D-backs, and he didn’t look good. (Not least because he’s growing his hair out in the back and he shaved his mustache, which…he shouldn’t have. It’s really disconcerting.)
I guess we’ll see. Clemens isn’t taking the mound tonight or anything (more’s the pity, as I’m headed to the Stadium, and wish the guy all the best but I’ve never even heard of Matt DeSilva), so as Jeter said in the postgame interview yesterday, the team still has to hold the line until Clemens is ready. He does have that crazy training regimen.
One other wrinkle: at the baseball conference I attended a month ago, luncheon speaker Denny McLain alleged that Roger Clemens is the next top-line star we’ll find out uses/used steroids. I’ve heard that accusation before but never paid it much mind, and it’s not terribly credible coming from McLain, certainly, for a variety of reasons, starting with the fact that, for a guy who now makes his living doing public appearances, it’s an attention-getting contention that he won’t be asked to back up with proof. It’s not impossible, but the only evidence that might bear it out is Clemens’s longevity, and his physique. The first thing, eh. Nolan Ryan, RJ, the Niekros — okay, Phil Niekro threw a knuckler, which isn’t as hard on the arm, and nobody’s going to confuse either of those brothers with Lefty Grove, but pitchers do keep going into their forties. And Clemens has always had a chunky build. Yeah, he looks thicker now than he did in the ’80s. So do I. Doesn’t mean I rubbed “the clear” on my beer belly. It’s called “not being in your twenties anymore” and it doesn’t really tell us anything.
Maybe Houston fans have a different take on it; I don’t know. I bet Yankee-haters have a lot to say about the spendiness of the deal; I don’t have much to say to that, except the usual, namely that you can’t reasonably expect the team not to use the fiscal resources at their disposal for the purpose of making small-market teams’ fans feel better about things. It does seem like a lot of eggs to put in one basket, but we all know that that doesn’t always work (ask the Orioles).
The man is a pill and an attention whore. Yesterday’s shenanigans are just one more chapter in The Roger Clemens Show, Part XIX: The AARP Years. Clemens has had every accolade, loads of adoration and a hell of a lot of cash poured over him for 20+ years and still feels the need for diva antics. I think that speaks for itself. He will help the Yankees, and I don’t begrudge him his talent or the desire to keep playing. But the Callas stuff earns a giant YeeeUcccch from me. I can’t speak for all Yankee haters but I reached the apex of outrage with the Alex Rodriquez deal and am worn out. I don’t know if it (“it” being baseball’s gross financial inequities) is fixable, I can only enjoy the game as is. I hope Kale and Ketone and Khaki and Kore are OK without their (sob!) dada.
…I think you meant “Kallas.”
I assumed it went without saying that I think the K-naming thing is smurfy in the extreme, and I just do not understand why his wife brooked that shit for even one of them, much less all four. I don’t care how much money the old man brings home, or for what; if I have to carry the baby for nine months, we are just not naming him Klaxon, and that is final.
I also think his whole “I want to help younger pitchers” deal is more about listening to his own voice bloviating about doing forty-five billion calf exercises a day. I believe Ted Williams was like that — not so much with the “coach” part of “hitting coach” as the “(let me tell you about MY) hitting.”
I have to think that this is rather diva-ish, also. This is the second (?) season in a row that Clemens has held out until May to see which team is in most need of his services, and to see him return to the Yankees for any reason makes me unhappy.
I’ll second Sars that the Bombers need pitching right now, and after the loss to Seattle (whoo hoo!) last week, well…not enough lipstick for that pig. Maybe he truly wants to mentor, maybe he’s not over his crush on Andy Pettite…whatever. I’d rather he have gone to the Red Sox, or finish out in Houston.
If Clemens wants to help shape the hearts, minds, and sliders of the Next Gen, then he should put in his papers and become a pitching coach. Then we can pick up this argument in 5 years when he divides the nation over which hat he wears to Cooperstown.
As a Red Sox fan, I can’t really blame the Yankees for doing whatever it takes to get Clemens before needing to trot out Steve the Beer Guy to the mound to start. They needed the pitching help, they got it. They hope. For 4.5 Mil a month, they are hoping real hard.
As I am sure will be pointed out alot in the next weeks or days by experts, lineups in the AL are tougher than the NL, and it is my sincere hope that Clemens gets shelled a time or two early to bring him back to earth. He just comes across as a drama queen who thinks that he is bigger than the game. I agree about the “coach” thing, I hope the young guys have the sense to ignore him or call him on his bull.
well, damn, I say. I’m a Houstonian & not so happy. Not surprised, not angry, just kinda sad. Kinda sad about the Rockets, and Rocket, so I should go, I dunno, enjoy the spring weather and the chance to take the kids to the pool this weekend and little league playoffs, and stop caring about major league sports in this town.
Clemens has shown up at some of those little league games – one of the kids was in the same league as one of his, and he’s been gracious and friendly throughout. Enjoy having him back.
As a Sox fan (who doesn’t particularly hate the Yankees), I’m delighted. Because maybe, just maybe, after they’ve spent a week grieving, the local media can shut the hell up with all the “unnamed sources say that Clemens spit seven times to his left and only four to his right over the course of the day, so maybe that’s an omen he’ll come back to us oh please oh please WE’RE NOT WORTHY!!”. Barf.
I love this deal. Like you said, we needed the help and we managed to get a great pitcher [yeah, yeah, he’s coming from the NL Central to the AL East but the dude still had a league-adjusted ERA+ of 197 just last year, which is insane] without giving up prospects and without making a long-term commitment that will haunt us three years from now. There really was no better choice out there – no one is going to be trading a comparable pitcher without asking for every top prospect in our farm. And he’s basically replacing Igawa at this point, thank God.
I do think that the ‘helping younger pitchers’ thing is a huge bonus – that’s what he did with Andy Pettitte the first time the two were together. Phil Hughes’s mechanics are extremely similar to those of Clemens so it thrills me that they’re going to be coming back around the same time.
As for his longevity – he lost a few miles on his fastball, but he’s mastered the splitter, mixes up his pitches more, and has improved on his control. So while he’s not throwing as hard as he used to [still plenty hard though – he averages in the low-90s to mid-90s, although he can get higher], he’s throwing extremely accurately – at least, that’s how he worked in Houston. We kind of saw what happens when a pitcher who throws as hard but doesn’t have as much control – this would be the 2006 version of Randy Johnson.
So, yeah, I’m optimistic about him. I’m not expecting him to put up a sub-3.00 ERA like he did in Houston, but I’m still expecting an above-average pitcher.
DeSalvo has been doing really well in the minors this year – I would put him above Karstens and Rasner but below Clippard [who is still stuck down in AAA] and way, way below Hughes. He tends to issue a lot of walks but the Mariners aren’t exactly a team full of Giambis so hopefully, it won’t be too painful.
I hope you have a great time!
Another Sox fan here. Looking at this objectively, it’s tough to spin the fact that our biggest rival just upgraded itself in its biggest area of weakness. That’s bad.
However, I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it seems. Clemens hasn’t made it through either of the past two partial seasons without getting hurt, and I expect that the same will happen this year. He’s also moving from the 2d-weakest hitting division in baseball to the strongest hitting division in baseball (even Tampa can hit the ball).
Mostly, though, I’m thrilled that I can continue to root against Clemens. The guy is the world’s only inverse chameleon–he changes color to stand out in his environment. Heck, his real name is Billy and he’s from Ohio(http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/clemero02.shtml), yet he runs around like he’s Walker, Texas Ranger. He is a fantastic villain, and I look forward to booing him off into genuine retirement.
As a Houstonian and an Astros fan, …you can have him. Seriously. If you know the Astros (and I’m sure you do, being a walking baseball compendium – that’s a compliment!), then you know that they’re far from being a team full of divas. They’re good, down-to-earth guys who play their hearts out, win or lose. And what’s more – for better or worse – they love Houston as much as we do and they know this is their home. We’ve got no need for a diva like Clemens. I think we’re hurt in the same way that NY was when he left the Yankees for the first time – all the parading and strutting around and the feeling that you’ve somehow been played – but we’re better off without him. I just hope that he’s still worth the cash that y’all laid out for him. :)
Love ya, Sars!
As a Houston fan, let me say: whatever. I like Clemens okay, and the man’s a good pitcher. But the prima donna bullshit just gets old after awhile. “I’m playing. Oh wait, no I’m not. Oh wait, yes I am!” I don’t care anymore. If this means I don’t have to listen to him waffle, then I refuse to be upset about it.
And, quite frankly, if my boys don’t get it together it’s going to be a moot point whether he could have helped anyway. *heh*
We need pitching so very, very desperately that if the Devil himself came to pitch for the Yankess I’d be happy to have him. We can harp about what an asshole Roger is once we’re winning. When we’re losing, it’s not fun to talk about baseball at all.
OK. A few things:
• The Yankees are hurting for pitchers. Look, I love when the Sox beat the Yankees… but it’s just not as fun to win when they’re limping along. I don’t miss The Big Unit (whom I refer to as The Big Tool). NYY is looking a bit like ’06 Red Sox and it’s not pretty. Actually, with all the former Sox players now wearing stripes, that’s not surprising. ;)
• I dislike Clemens. It’s not just because I’m a Red Sox fan. I feel like his faux retirement was akin to staging one’s own death to see what would be said by whom at the funeral.
• Steroids? I’ve heard the rumor. I wouldn’t be shocked if he did and wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t. I don’t think longevity is something that would be a marker of steroid use; it breaks down the body too much over time. That doesn’t mean I don’t think he ever used them. The 80s were wild-and-crazy times.
But the whole question of possible steroid use brings up the distasteful Barry Bonds issue. The guy is encroaching on a huge record, and there are a lot of mixed feelings about it. WHY? The guy is a cheat. This is what people fail to realize or discuss about steroid use in pro sports: a player using performance enhancing substances is not just affecting his own numbers; he also has an effect on others’ statistics. Nobody is talking about the padded ERAs of pitchers who suffered extra home runs at his bat. What about the teams who lost games and subsequently had their standings affected? It seems like it could be a small influence by one player, but it’s a ripple effect.
So here’s a true abuse of the game affecting the actual outcome of games, the standings and statistics of other players, possibly their earning potential. Somehow, they’re allowing Barry Bonds to usurp Hank Aaron’s record, yet…
PETE ROSE can’t get into the Hall? Come ON. The guy was a schmuck and bet on baseball. We. Get. It. Nothing he did affected the outcome of games, though. Nothing he did even affected his OWN numbers or performance. How is this fair?
No matter how good the training regimen is, I’m highly skeptical of someone in his early 40s having an 18-4 season (like Clemens did a few years ago). I mean, I remember reading about Nomar’s training regimen years back–sounded like it could make a Marine cry uncle–and it didn’t stop his body from breaking down. Good to see Nomar doing well w/ LA, but he’s not the power hitter he was w/ Boston. Clemens isn’t just middle-aged chunky; the guy looks HUGE compared to how he looked 86-91, for example.
I am SO glad Clemens did not come to Boston. I don’t care how many games he wins. He’s just intolerable in his diva-ness and self-absorption. Say what you will about Schill, but at least he’s a team player and he gives back to the community like no one’s business.
After last night, maybe they ought to consider making Clemens the closer when he does join the team…
I love what my “son” had to say over at ESPN’s Page 2:
“In fact, here are 10 reasons I’m happy the Rocket signed with the Yankees.
1. There’s finally a villain on the 2007 Yankees. Just like the good old days. I was tired of talking myself into despising A-Rod and Posada.
2. Since he didn’t sign with Boston, I wasn’t put in the position of (A) having to boycott his starts and (B) feeling constantly sick because so many Red Sox fans would have been perfectly willing to forgive him if he came back. This would have been awful. I would not have handled it well. Now I get to look forward to the possibility of Clemens pitching in Fenway in three weeks while the entire crowd chants, “H-G-H! H-G-H! H-G-H! H-G-H!” Much better.
3. He burned his bridges with yet another city (Houston). Love when that happens.
4. Watching the inevitable “Brokeback Mountain” parody trailer on YouTube with Clemens and Andy Pettitte. It hasn’t happened yet, but you know it’s coming.
5. If he’d signed with Boston, between Dice-K Mania, Beckett’s quest for 30 wins and the return of the greatest Red Sox pitcher ever, Curt Schilling might have snapped from a lack of attention — we could have seen him break a baseball bat over a Japanese photographer’s head just to grab the spotlight again. Glad we avoided this.
6. Honestly? I don’t think Clemens will be that good for the Yanks. He turns 45 in August and has been pitching in an inferior hitting league for the past few years. Physically, it just doesn’t add up. He’s defying the career paths of every other pitcher in the the history of baseball … I mean, even a freak of nature like Nolan Ryan started to break down in his mid-40s. How is Clemens still chugging along? How? I just feel as though the odds of Clemens either breaking down or becoming involved in a massive scandal seem to be much greater than the odds of him continuing to be an elite pitcher. And if he stinks … it’s going to be glorious. Just glorious.
7. The Yankees’ clubhouse is already fragile enough … now they’re adding a guy who abides by his own sets of rules, flies back home after every start, drags his kids around with him like Michael Jackson, and comes and goes when he pleases? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? If he struggles out of the gate, the Yankees’ fans will turn on him faster than the WWE fans turning on John Cena during a pay-per-view.
8. We’re coming closer and closer to my dream of Clemens’ Hall of Fame plaque featuring a cap with a dollar sign on it. I feel as if that’s a genuine possibility at this point.
9. The Red Sox spitefully giving No. 21 to someone else this season, preferably the worst pitcher on the team. In fact, I vote that they bring Rich Garces back, feed him burritos until he passes the 400-pound mark, then squash him into a No. 21 jersey and hire him as the bullpen coach.
10. Looking forward to an entire season of e-mails like these …
RC in Guatemala City: “So let me get this straight … we’re supposed to be scared of the Yankees hiring a 45-year-old fat dude with groin problems? Really?”
Jason T. in Maine: “I’m happy Roger is going to the Yankees. Trying to bring him back to Boston made me feel like Forrest Gump at the end of the movie. You know, when Jenny, the used-up coke fiend, came back to Forrest to die of AIDS after screwing half the continent. After the last two series, the amount of hate for the Yankees, at least in my heart, was in serious decline. Now I feel reinvigorated, full of hate for all things pinstriped.”
Gary in Somerville, Mass.: “I thought you were nuts last year when you were openly hoping that Roger didn’t come back to Boston. But after he dangled himself in front of the Yanks, Sox and Astros AGAIN this year I snapped out of it and realized that some things just aren’t worth another championship. That grotesque display today IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME told me I made the right choice. Am I the only one that finds this Clemens/Pettitte thing more than a little odd? I can imagine that when Roger told his wife that he was going back to the Yankees she had the same look on her face that Michelle Williams did when Heath Ledger told her he was going ‘fishing’ with Jake Gyllenhaal.”
John F. in Kansas: “This is historic … who ever heard of a rat jumping ON a sinking ship?””
Oh my Lord, word to #4. “Brokeback Bullpen” is going to RULE.
Sars,
Pretty sad when the best thing going for the SpankMe’s is that they can sign a 45 y/o multiple retiree. When is the Tiffany crew going to realize that you can’t buy love?
Carl Pavano anyone?
Just more proof that baseball needs revenue sharing with some teeth. It’s pathetic that Satanbrenner can just keep cashing the checks that New Yorkers for some reason are willing to pay for the YES! network and keep the $50 million disabled list afloat.
The best thing going for the Yanks is actually their offense, and the fact that the Bombers, Tampa, and Balto will all probably track back to their means fairly soon. You can’t buy love; you can, however, buy bats.
I would co-sign a revenue-sharing plan based on local media income per series (Bill James suggested this and I think it makes sense). It’s not going to make certain front offices any smarter (…Texas) but you’ll probably see a little less of the top-line talent leaving, say, Seattle because the Ms can’t afford to pay one A-Rod with the money that could buy them five position players and two middle-innings guys.
But I gotta tell ya, with the “SpankMe’s” and the “Satanbrenner” and whatnot — I’m not that dicksmacky guy with the “Got Rings” t-shirt on who’s calling guys in Mets hats “fags,” so dude, maybe give me a break? I’m not a pinko and I don’t think the Yankees or their fans should have to apologize for spending the money they get from being a big-market, rich team — but I think revenue-sharing is a *great* idea. I think it would make the disparities between teams much more “real” and less about a class system, and we wouldn’t have to wait so long for random farm-system flukes and market corrections to drag a once-proud franchise like the Royals out of the shitter. And I think this because I’m a fan *of the game*, and fans *of the game* do not consider kicking the Devil Rays around the yard a good use of our entertainment time, you know what I’m saying?
Here’s what I’m saying: don’t lump me in with all the fuckwads who buy into the Yankee-mystique stuff and think rooting for the team makes them better than other people. You can hate on the team all you want and you’d BETTER keep hating on Carl Pavano because: well, fuck off, Carl Pavano. But I’m not the enemy here so ease up.
Greatest comment about Clemens……and I only wished I had thought of it.
“A historic event. First time a rat ever jumped ON a sinking ship.”
I don’t understand why the Yankees are being called “a sinking ship” – the team is 6 games back on May 10th. Folks are acting like it’s the middle of September and the Yanks are 2 games from being completely eliminated. Our starting rotation is finally coming together, which could only help the bullpen [well, that is if Joe Torre could get freakin’ taped up and chained during the last few innings because MY GOD, MAN, FIVE relievers for NINE OUTS?! SIT. DOWN.]. And, yeah, Clemens is an improvement because he’s replacing Kei Igawa – Clemens could practically pitch batting practice out there and still turn out better than Igawa.
Yeah, he is coming from the NL Central – however, his ERA+ [which factors in both the ballpark and the league he played in] during the Houston years were 145, 221, and 197. The man’s numbers are obviously not going to be as good in the AL East, but he’s not going to be Jeff Weaver either. With our offense, he doesn’t have to be as good as he was in Houston – he’s going to give us enough for a few extra wins and, in a tight race, that’s basically what matters the most.
And we’re willing to pay for YES [and SNY] because we, you know, want to watch baseball games. Well, that and the chance of watching Mike Mussina finally snap and go on a verbal rampage after Kim Jones asks him if a win is good for the team.
As a Red Sox fan, let me be the first to say it: You never, EVER count out the Yankees. If you don’t think this course is going to be righted, then you’re only fooling yourself.
BTW, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, when did John Sterling become more tolerable than Michael Kay? And Suzyn Waldman? And speaking of Suzyn, saying “Welcome Home” to Roger? Which home is that exactly? The apartment he’ll be staying in one day out of six in NYC? Or the one in Texas that he’ll be flying to after each start that he makes? Because I’d really like to know which home he’s being welcomed to.
Well, it’s not Brokeback Bullpen, but there is a Sox equivalent already out there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9mX6zcd94