Nov
08
This Rocket’s at the end of this ride
ByThe non-A-Rod news comes to us from the other overpaid former Yankee. Roger Clemens announced his intentions to begin his personal services contract with the Astros. Clemens and his hometown team have a ten-year deal in place, and while Roger could return to the mound as a player in 2008, his body seems to be telling him it is time to retire.
I go back and forth on Clemens’ 2007 season. On the one hand, at $1.11 million per start, he was way overpaid and didn’t really deliver. On the other hand, the other pitchers the Yanks kept trotting out there were just terrible. No matter; Clemens hardly ended his Hall of Fame career on a high note.
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He was not great but he did come in and stabilized the rotation. Yanks do not make the playoffs without him…
Has the annual winter ESPN blather about “will he or won’t he retire” finally run its course yet?
Clemens came in and did a decent job, got his cash, and now can go back to Texas and retire, or buzz his kid with fastballs high and inside, or whatever he does there. Hell, I’d rather see him in pinstripes next year than Mike Mussina, but not for the kind of money he’ll want.
Now, as long as he doesn’t pull Andy Pettitte with him onto the retirement trail, that’s fine with me.
I guess Im too optimistic or just blinded, but Im a strong believer in what Mike Mussina went through in those 3 games were just a hiccup, not at all the start of something. I said it before, 11 of the 12 starts before that he allowed 3 ER or less and 4 of the starts after he allowed 3 ER or less including 2 scoreless starts.
As to Clemens, he wasnt terrible with 6 wins and a 4.18 ERA and those two starts vs. the Twins and Halos where he allowed 1 ER or less into the 8th. Not to mention the two starts he had vs. the Red Sox were damn good also but it is time for him to hang it up.
Say what you want about Clemens: at least he provided Susyn Waldman with the most dramatic thing she’s ever seen.
That isn’t saying much. I think she probably got hysterical a couple of years ago when Mariano Rivera hurt himself bending over to tie his cleat. They probably had to call the EMT’s…
I think his greatest value to the Yankees in 2007 was being a mentor to Joba.
i have absolutely no problem with the clemens deal. it was a gamble that cost only money, no draft picks, no talent. it had limited downside and huge upside.
it didn’t work out perfectly, but at that point in the season, that money wasn’t going to be spent on anything else.
what do i care if he was a little overpaid? it was a one and done deal.
it was a perfect example of how the yankees should use their financial might to make marginal improvements to their team.
He won both games he pitched against the Red Sox (ok, he didn’t win the second one, but he should have), what more can you ask for?
He supposedly helped the young pitchers teaching them a little bit. Or so I heard. And if thats the case it’s invaluable.
I was in Trenton before his AA start…..We got there early because a friend works near the stadium so we meet at the stadium. We walked around and looked into the stadium and you could see Clemens on the mound talking to 6-7 pitchers.
Clemens cost the Yankees money…..no picks, no player….just cash. He was the best available option at the time.