I think to be fair, it will be good to see him pitch again - even if Clemens is a Yankee [Ed.: pittuie!] - but there are a number of aspects to this move to sign the great elder statesman, an athlete who is...my age.
- 1. He is a Mercenary. Clemens is not a teammate in this situation. Between starts he is not on the bench, he isn't even in New York. The deal is he stays at home in Texas when he feels like it.
- 2. Clemens's return is not the Second Coming. The Yankees are as poor as they have ever been in my recollection. Beyond the injuries, some players just have not panned out as promised and the bullpen is simply weak. Clemens shuttling in every fix or six days will not change that.
- 3. We don't need no Roger Clemens. Even though the Red Sox probably offered him about ten million less, where would Roger fit in? He is not as good now as the Sox #2 pitcher, Beckett who is 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA on May 7th. Realistically, what with the Dice-K deal, Clemens would be a #4. And even if the fifth starter Tavarez (who I have underestimated before) falters, Okajima could be the fifth starter for the Sox by the fall.
- 4. Greater Disruptions may be ahead. Forget last year's soap opera between Jeter and A-Rod. The Yankees are the team of many fragile egos from the interventionist owner to the young pitchers being pushed too early. A number of missteps have placed them in this position. Clemens may serve as a negative, a disruption due to the attention, and soon if the team does not somehow become what it has not been to date so far in 2007.
Comments
Mike C - May 7, 2007 10:59 AM
I bet Clemons is really from Wullerton. Ptuie!
Alan - May 7, 2007 11:04 AM
There's a lot of Shelbyville in them there Yankees.
portland - May 7, 2007 12:35 PM
bring him on. i dont want to beat the yanks by 5. i want to kick thier asses in the eighth inning of a play off game the day after the season ends, big poppy crushing a splitter from roger. that's what red sox fans and idiot football fans who claim to like baseball dont get. in the art of baseball, it's no fun to win; it's only fun to be close and then win, like coming back from 3 games to nothing. give me 1978 again every time over that boring cardinals series. it put me to sleep. yeah i'm happy they won, and that they got it out of thier system, but it was one of the worst series ever. it was like watching frontline. yawn. are we not men? is anybody scared of a guy named roger? not me. bring him on.
and lester is coming al. i know you got this crush on okajima but he's a reliever. and tavares - hey, he's beaten halliday once. you really can't ask for alot more from your fifth. i've made my peace with tavares. he is what he is.
evorgleg - May 7, 2007 12:37 PM
One of the guys over at...<p>[Ed.: <i>Wow. Baseball hate spam.</i>]
portland - May 7, 2007 12:39 PM
and, besides, thier bullpen is probably already shot given the way torre has had to use them this past month. a long season makes for a cumulative game. so i'm not worried.
Alan - May 7, 2007 12:43 PM
I agree. Listening to Yanks' radio is very instructive on these points, quite honest. They have to go out and pick up likely three for the bullpen for the second half. They are also burning out their Triple A as well, bringing them up too early. Plus their bullpen sucked to begin with.