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Clemens by any other ballclub

If you're a sports fan i'm sure you've heard of news that soon to be 45 year old Roger Clemens is returning to Baseball... To the NY Yankees to be exact. He was offered contracts from his home team the Astros, his former team the Red Sox, and obviously the Yankees. I'm not sure what the Astros organization offered Roger but evidently the Red Sox organization could only afford a measly 18 mil for one year, a full 10 mil less than the Yankees offer. Kind of a no-brainer i suppose... According to Ken Rosenthal's theory (Senior baseball writer for Fox Sports) Roger's motivation (aside from the obvious reason) for accepting the Yankee offer is to possibly solidify his bid to be inducted in the Hall of Fame as a Yankee instead of a Red Sox. I guess its suppose to be a strategic move; meaning Roger would rejoin the Yankees' below average starting Rotation (at least for now) and somehow magically bring them back to prominence which should garner the squad another World Series bid. At least that's what they expect... Should this ambitious move work, Roger could conceivably have a legitimate argument against the Hall of Fame board to be considered a Yankee in the Hall and at the same time be heralded as a Yankee Savior. A twofer. It's quite a theory but i think ken has a point...

Roger is adamant about wearing a Yankee ball-cap in the Hall (bitter about how the Red Sox treated him obviously) but the fact that he spent his best years in Boston makes him a Red Sox Hall of Fame first bid, no question. Whether the board will consider Roger's argument even if he Wins another title with the Yanks is no guarantee. In my opinion although Roger and Boston's divorce was quite a bitter one he should go in as a Red Sox... You could make the argument that Roger Clemens is an adopted Yankee son but there is no denying that he is a Red Sox by MLB birth rite of sorts... It doesn't matter that he won Championships with the Yanks, it's Boston that made Roger Clemens what he is now... In my eyes and in the eyes of many sports fans Roger Clemens by any other baseball club is a Boston Red Sox...

If Roger performs anywhere near how he did a couple of years ago for the Astros then this may be just what the Doctor ordered for the Yankees. At least guaranteeing several wins... You see while the team is leading the Major Leagues in runs scored per 9 innings they're in last place in their division because of the lack luster starting rotation. The contrast between their offense and pitching right now is really quite remarkable if you compare the two... That said i'm not quite sure Roger (although he has not showed any signs of slowing down) still has the stamina to go out every 5 days and pitch efficiently. Obviously the Yankees think otherwise but i have a feeling he may not live up to the hype this time. I think what the Yankees want and need may be a little too much even for a guy like Roger Clemens (especially at his advanced age). Roger is no doubt a capable pitcher especially at his age but could he really do what Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson couldn't do for the Yankees? Is he that much Better? Their woes in recent years has been the inability to win Big Games and obviously this is what Steinbrenner is trying to rectify with this rather risky and expensive acquisition... What's really amazing though is how the Yanks BIG Bats are quieted at these big games... What gives???

I can already see the media frenzy over this one once the Roger Clemens shit hits the New York Yankee fans. A-Rod as great as he is will probably hit something around the neighborhood of 60 HR's which would almost certainly earn him another MVP while the rest of the team a combined 200+ HR's which should carry the Team to another playoff bid... Roger along with Team Captain Derek Jeter will lead the team to a hard fought 1st round losing effort against a team that has a total salary equivalent to a quarter that of the Yankees and a roster not nearly as talented... Steinbrener will burn Joe Torre at the stake before finally firing him for practically squandering One Billion dollars in Salary over the last few years and probably fire hotshot General Manager Brian Cashman while he's at it for masterminding the absurd Clemens acquisition... And when this travesty unfolds the press will have a field day... For the record I suspect Roger wins around 10 Games win an era probably around 4, if he stays healthy anyway. Whether that is good enough to win remains to be seen...

My theory of the Yankees' woes is all about Alex Rodriguez... I think they should trade him away for 2 or 3 solid starting pitchers (perhaps even 4 or 5 pitching prospects) to have a legitimate chance of winning another Ring. They haven't won another ring since acquiring him by the way (which by design was to help them win another). In theory the Yankees without A-Rod is still a pretty scary offensive lineup. Imagine a Yankee team without A-Rod and perhaps someone like a relatively inexpensive Brandon Inge in his place and with the extra dough they could insert a couple of young and solid pitchers like Jared Weaver and Irvin Santana in the starting Rotation (or equally capable Pitchers). On paper this could be a very efficient baseball team as opposed to a high octane offensive one without the benefit of solid pitching which has proven to be an inefficient formula for New York. But what do i know...

Ultimately i think Mr. Steinbrenner is making a mistake signing Roger Clemens again...

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Monday, May 07, 2007