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Clemens Returns Again (Split from NYC's Weaker Sisters)

DocTee May 06 2007 03:27 PM

Clemems returns sez ESPN

TheOldMole May 06 2007 03:28 PM

If you didn't hate them enough before...

metirish May 06 2007 03:28 PM

Great,and they get older....at his age what can they really expect from him apart from hype and six innings?

Nymr83 May 06 2007 03:37 PM

i hope his arm breaks

Kid Carsey May 06 2007 03:38 PM

Cool, something else to root against. I wonder how much dough Steinie will throw at this "solution." I had the Braves on but it was the LA guys and they said he made the announcement from Steinie's box? They weren't specific, maybe they were joking and it went over my head. What kind of announcement?

Kid Carsey May 06 2007 03:42 PM

The other funny thing that pops into my mind and then I'll stop: Tommorow's back page: Mets extend road kill rampage on D'backs! Clemens Returns!

metirish May 06 2007 03:48 PM

Kid Carsey wrote: Cool, something else to root against. I wonder how much dough Steinie will throw at this "solution." I had the Braves on but it was the LA guys and they said he made the announcement from Steinie's box? They weren't specific, maybe they were joking and it went over my head. What kind of announcement? I didn't see it but it sounds like it was puke worthy... ] By Jamshid Mousavinezhad and The Associated Press amNY.com Roger Clemens will be rejoining the New York Yankees, the pitcher announced during a game at Yankee Stadium against the Seattle Mariners. At the end of the seventh-inning stretch, Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard told fans to turn their attention to the box, where Clemens was standing with a microphone. As the video scoreboard in right-center televised Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner made the announcement himself. "It's a privilege to be back," he said. The fans erupted with cheers, with many yanking out their cellphones to spread the news. In an interview during the game, Clemens said "everything happened so fast," and that he hopes to make his first start by the end of the month. The Yankees are scheduled to start a series in Boston against the Red Sox on June 1. He credited one factor in his return to the close friendships he maintains with several Yankee players, including Derek Jeter, who he said has been calling him "once a week."

SteveJRogers May 06 2007 03:49 PM

Its now official, Interlocking NY on the Cooperstown plaque, and NO #21 retirement ceromony in Beantown. Hearing and reading fan reaction to Clemens on the radio and internet though has me wondering if he actually will be treated like a "conquering hero" when he pitches again at Yankee Stadium. It seemed to me that the whole "Clemens should be a Yankee again" movement was a media-only movement Also gotta wonder if this was a Boss move or a Cashman move. BTW, Pavano heading for Tommy John surgery, so much for that. ]I had the Braves on but it was the LA guys and they said he made the announcement from Steinie's box? They weren't specific, maybe they were joking and it went over my head. What kind of announcement? They pulled a page out of Big Stein's 1978 playbook. He was snuck into the Stadium, and they announced it to the Stadium crowd during the 7th inning.

Nymr83 May 06 2007 04:22 PM

]Its now official, Interlocking NY on the Cooperstown plaque now that they took that decision out of the player's hands no objective person could put him in as a Yankee...unless he plans on pitching 3 or 4 more years (and they'd beter all be good ones)

SteveJRogers May 06 2007 04:28 PM

Right, forgot about the "Dave Winfield Rule" (yes Boggs was in on it as well, but it was the rumors of something being fishy with Winfeld choosing the Padres for his plaque that took away the players right to choose the cap) BTW, from the sounds of things, looks like its a 20 mil contract with none of the perks the Astros gave him (would be hard to do anyway since he lives in Texas and not New York and all)

Nymr83 May 06 2007 04:30 PM

20 Million to pitch 2/3 of the season? that sounds like enough of a "perk" itself.

MFS62 May 06 2007 04:46 PM

He's harder to get rid of than an old condo in Florida. Later

Edgy DC May 06 2007 04:57 PM

The Hall of Fame says it's always enjoyed the right to choose the insignia on the player's cap. ]In an interview during the game, Clemens said "everything happened so fast," and that he hopes to make his first start by the end of the month. You're signing a contract for a season that's a month old, and "it all happened so fast"?

Rockin' Doc May 06 2007 05:02 PM

Edgy - "You're signing a contract for a season that's a month old, and "it all happened so fast"?" Well, we are talking about an individual that has admittedly mistaken the barrel end of a broken bat for the ball.

Yancy Street Gang May 06 2007 05:17 PM

TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS??? Boy, how great would it be if he puts up an ERA over 6?

metirish May 06 2007 05:42 PM

So just guessing here,say he makes his season debut a month from now,how many starts does he make the remainder of the season, 20?.. Cashman should have got a first baseman and bullpen help,course he probably will anyway.

metirish May 06 2007 08:02 PM

When you throw in the luxury tax this will cost them about $26 million ,fucking crazy.

Edgy DC May 06 2007 08:11 PM

Thank you, Carl Pavano.

SteveJRogers May 06 2007 08:27 PM

Edgy DC wrote: The Hall of Fame says it's always enjoyed the right to choose the insignia on the player's cap. Really? Catfish Hunter has no insignia on his plaque, and it was stated that it was his choice so he wouldn't slight either the A's (whom he'd probably would have been choosen as with 10 seasons, 3 rings, 4 20 game seasons and his only CY Young Award) or the Yankees (he was very much a part of the Yankee family the last couple of decades of his life despite only 5 seasons with only two "decent" seasons and one great one).

Frayed Knot May 06 2007 09:21 PM

Yes, the HoF has always had the final say on what the plaque looks like - which means they also have the right to defer to the player's wishes if they feel like it. There is no "Winfield Rule" and nothing changed on account of his induction except for public talk about this (non) issue. No way is Roger ready for the first Subway Series games so we'll have to wait until June to kick his ass.

Edgy DC May 06 2007 09:23 PM

"It was stated..."? None of that suggests that the Hall didn't have final say.

Kid Carsey May 06 2007 10:09 PM

Just heard a cost of twenty-eight, can I get a thirty. This is too good and fun to be true.

Frayed Knot May 06 2007 10:14 PM

I think the deal is for a pro-rated portion of $28.5mil - which turns it into more like $20-even, or, about $4.5/month. He will also get at least some of the "travel considerations" like he had with Houston ... y'know, the ones the Yanx said they'd never agree to.

iramets May 06 2007 10:50 PM

This is great even w/o the risk factor. As I like to observe about elderly pitchers, sometimes the best 41 y o pitcher just can't get anyone out at age 42. Just happens. Happened to Spahn, happened to Carlton, it's happening right now to Randy Johnson. Can't wait for Clemens to suck, and take the Yankees with him.

metsguyinmichigan May 06 2007 10:51 PM

SteveJRogers wrote: Right, forgot about the "Dave Winfield Rule" (yes Boggs was in on it as well, but it was the rumors of something being fishy with Winfeld choosing the Padres for his plaque that took away the players right to choose the cap) BTW, from the sounds of things, looks like its a 20 mil contract with none of the perks the Astros gave him (would be hard to do anyway since he lives in Texas and not New York and all) I think it was actually the notion of players selling their plaque cap rights that got the Hall pissed and started enforcing its rules on the matter. Boggs, if I remember, had a clause in his contract with D-Rays when they signed him that he'd wear that cap on his Hall plaque. The Hall, of course,said "Not so fast." Bat-chucking bastard. The perfect villian in a season of villians. Yes, Barry, I mean you. Hopefully our feel-good team of nice guys will be the ones standing in the end.

metirish May 06 2007 10:58 PM

I can't imagine warm and fuzzy feeling for Clemens if he goes in wearing a Boston cap from the Red Sox faithful,although time heals all,we'll see....

Nymr83 May 07 2007 02:02 AM

$20 million is alot of cash, too much for even the yankees to sit him down if he sucks i'd think... here's hoping they've saddled themselves with a bad pitcher who they can't take out of the rotation.

metirish May 07 2007 09:27 AM

They are so full of shit,Torre especially,so much for St,Joe treating all his players the same.....Clemens can come and go(Cashman's words) as he wishes.... ] "Joe and I talked about it this winter and Joe engaged the leadership among the players," Cashman said. "This is a unique individual. We're going to be happy when he's here every five days." That was Cashman ] "This is something we talked about in spring with the players," Torre added. "Certain teams, maybe things wouldn't work, but I have a sense that the veteran status of this ballclub, we're interested in one thing." Michael Kay told Clemens he got goose bumps watching him address the crowd...... ] "This is Broadway," Kay said. "And the Yankees do things in a dramatic way."

Frayed Knot May 07 2007 09:30 AM

If you think those statements are over the top you need to keep away from hearing Suzyn Waldman's announcement on the radio. Particularly around meal times.

metirish May 07 2007 09:32 AM

I heard she just about wet her nickers in the booth......

Edgy DC May 07 2007 09:34 AM

If Kay can convince Clemens that 161st Street and River Bronx Avenue is Broadway, maybe they're only telling him they're paying him $20 million, and are in fact paying him 20 million lira or something.

soupcan May 07 2007 09:37 AM

iramets wrote: This is great even w/o the risk factor. As I like to observe about elderly pitchers, sometimes the best 41 y o pitcher just can't get anyone out at age 42. Just happens. Happened to Spahn, happened to Carlton, it's happening right now to Randy Johnson. Can't wait for Clemens to suck, and take the Yankees with him. I totally agree. At some point Clemens IS going to start pitching like the mid-40's fat guy that he is. I hope to pieces that that time has come. The stumbling, bumbling, pitching starved Yankees give a a prorated $28 million dollar deal (and don't forget the luxury tax penalty) to a 45 year-old pitcher who then goes out and pitches like he's 45? A Yankee hater couldn't ask for more.

metirish May 07 2007 09:46 AM

MFY @ Boston on June 1st for a three game series....did you hear Clemens talk about the conversation he had with Steinbrenner during spring training,anyway he said it tugged at his heartstrings and that helped get this deal done.

soupcan May 07 2007 09:50 AM

Did he say heartstrings or pursestrings?

Edgy DC May 07 2007 09:50 AM

OK, I'm jumping in with a prediction: 6-9, 4.46.

metirish May 07 2007 09:53 AM

Edgy DC wrote: OK, I'm jumping in with a prediction: 6-9, 4.46. I'll go with a torn hammy and a 1 - 4 record - ERA over 5.. am I being too greedy...... It's worth noting that Clemens averaged less than six innings per start last year for Houston.

Rotblatt May 07 2007 10:19 AM

]OK, I'm jumping in with a prediction: 6-9, 4.46. Sounds plausible. Kind of perfect, in fact, so I might steal it as my own. And here's my prediction for the post season: 0-2, 5.83.

Yancy Street Gang May 07 2007 10:24 AM

The ideal post-season would have Clemens at home in Texas from the very beginning.

Farmer Ted May 07 2007 10:55 AM

My prediction is he tweaks a muscle, spends time on the DL, can't do much more than pitch out the pen, then gets exposed in the Mitchell investigation.

Willets Point May 07 2007 11:42 AM

First Wang's near-perfect game, now this. This is the point that will be looked back as the turnaround. Yankees' fans will rubbing this world series championship in our noses for decades to come.

Edgy DC May 07 2007 11:51 AM

I hope Houston and the Yankees see the awful precedent they've set with allowing star pitchers to stay home if they're not pitching. Twenty years from now, maybe no starters will be showing up on their off days once they've reached free agent eligibility, and we'll be speaking of those that do show up once in between starts for a bullpen session as "old school."

Yancy Street Gang May 07 2007 11:54 AM

That's very possible. I don't think that would apply to ALL free agent pitchers, though. Just the elite ones. If things unfold as you predict, a guy like Barry Zito would get that option from the Giants, but Steve Trachsel wouldn't get that from the Orioles. Trachsel was a beggar, Zito a chooser.

Centerfield May 07 2007 11:55 AM

Rotblatt wrote: ]OK, I'm jumping in with a prediction: 6-9, 4.46. Sounds plausible. Kind of perfect, in fact, so I might steal it as my own. And here's my prediction for the post season: 0-2, 5.83. What post-season?

Edgy DC May 07 2007 12:04 PM

So, pure speculation here, but anybody else see the retiring/unretiring cycle as a convenient way to avoid testing until traces of performance enhancing drugs are out of his system?

Willets Point May 07 2007 12:34 PM

Memories of one of Clemens' previous retirements from the archives ]Centerfield Mar 17 2006 10:33 AM USA LOSES AS JETER FAILS TO DO EVERYTHING IT TAKES TO WIN By Centerfield CPF News ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Roger Clemens was looking for a much better finish to his brilliant career. Instead, the Rocket Man choked yet again in a big spot, taking the loss as Oliver Perez and seven relievers combined to pitch a three-hitter to lead Mexico past the Rocket and Team USA 2-1 on Thursday night, eliminating the Americans from the inaugural World Baseball Classic and putting Japan in the semifinals. Clemens pitched well (for a choker) Thursday night, but the bats couldn’t get the job done for the United States. A lineup loaded with All-Stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. managed just three hits against the gritty Mexican pitchers. Despite the poor offensive showing, the consensus in Anaheim was that this loss rested squarely on the shoulders of Derek Jeter. “Derek usually does everything it takes to win,” Team USA manager Buck Martinez said. “Tonight, he didn’t play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. It’s a shame...you see what can happen.” Despite batting .450 in the World Baseball Classic, Jeter’s TTRM (Things That Really Matter) numbers took a huge nosedive during this tournament. Jeter was 0 for 11 in Little Things that Constitute the Difference Between Winning and Losing, batted .043 in At-Bats that Really Matter and failed to record a single Important Nuance that Doesn’t Show Up in the Box Score. “I knew it was going to be tough,” said Jeter. “The other countries play a high level of baseball and, you know, we have A-Rod.” “With my heart and my determination, I can usually will my team to victory by simply refusing to lose. Tonight, I don’t know, I just didn't feel very adamant.” Jeter added that he wished he could have given Clemens a better finale. “I wish we could have ended his career on a better note. I’ll try to make it up to him next time he retires.” When it was over, Clemens talked about his final outing. "They were tough. And when they started hitting the ball, there were no other objects around the mound for me to hurl at them. I’m not happy we lost, but since we only scored one run and since I wasn’t actually on the mound when the go-ahead run scored, I think people should blame my teammates and not me.” Asked about his retirement, Clemens responded, “For me, right now, it's goodbye." The game was not without controversy. Mexico took a 1-0 lead off Clemens in the third on a leadoff double by Mario Valenzuela and a two-out single by Jorge Cantu. But it wasn't that simple. A television replay showed Valenzuela's fly ball hit the right field foul pole at least 10 feet off the ground and bounced back onto the field. However, first base umpire Bob Davidson didn't see it that way, and Valenzuela wound up at second. It was Davidson, umpiring behind the plate, who ruled that Japan's Tsuyoshi Nishioka left third base early in the eighth inning Sunday to negate a sacrifice fly that would have snapped a 3-3 tie in a game Team USA won. Asked about the call afterwards, an irritated Davidson responded, “Why are you asking me about these calls? Ask Buck...he’s the one who tells me what to say.” With the United States loss, Japan, which has already lost twice to Korea in the Classic, faces its archrival in Saturday's second semifinal game in San Diego, with the Dominican Republic meeting Cuba in the daytime opener. The winners play Monday for the championship.

Edgy DC May 07 2007 12:37 PM

I'm splitting.

metirish May 07 2007 12:44 PM

] Jeter added that he wished he could have given Clemens a better finale. “I wish we could have ended his career on a better note. I’ll try to make it up to him next time he retires.” When it was over, Clemens talked about his final outing. "They were tough. And when they started hitting the ball, there were no other objects around the mound for me to hurl at them. I’m not happy we lost, but since we only scored one run and since I wasn’t actually on the mound when the go-ahead run scored, I think people should blame my teammates and not me.” Asked about his retirement, Clemens responded, “For me, right now, it's goodbye." So great that we have archives...to me that's even funnier today than back then.

Willets Point May 07 2007 12:46 PM

Edgy DC wrote: I'm splitting. I first thought you were splitting with laughter. Good idea though, I was considering the same thing.

iramets May 07 2007 12:51 PM

Willets Point wrote: ="Edgy DC"]I'm splitting. I first thought you were splitting with laughter. Good idea though, I was considering the same thing. Admin humor.

Nymr83 May 07 2007 02:32 PM

Clemens prediction: 20 starts, 8-6, 3.90, 123 IP, 105 K

silverdsl May 07 2007 05:50 PM

Edgy DC wrote: So, pure speculation here, but anybody else see the retiring/unretiring cycle as a convenient way to avoid testing until traces of performance enhancing drugs are out of his system? I've wondered about the same myself. I don't like Clemens. I don't like the Yankees throwing $28 million at a pitcher of his age no matter how great he's been and how desperate their pitching woes are. I don't like the special treatment Clemens is going to get with the skipping road trips if he's so inclined. I don't like the way fans are thinking he's going to save the season before he's even pitched a game because I think it could lead to expectations that Clemens won't be able to live up to now that he's back in the AL. In spite of how much I dislike Clemens, I'll cheer for him just as much as any other player if he helps the Yankees win.

metirish May 08 2007 09:27 AM

Fair play to Tim McCarver,and Michael Kay should really grow up...... ] Clemens' story has hollow ring 28 million reasons not to believe him By BOB RAISSMAN DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST It was the sound bite, the Roger Clemens quote designed to explain why he so graciously accepted all that loot - the prorated salary of $28 million - from George Steinbrenner. "I've come back to do what they only know how to do here with the Yankees," Clemens said Sunday shortly after his Bronx coronation. "And that's win a championship." These words inspire some Yankees fans, and other assorted Clemens groupies such as Ma and Pa Pinstripe, aka Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling, but they ring hollow to others who refer to The Rocket as The Phony. That's basically the characterization Fox's Tim McCarver presented Saturday, the day before Clemens stepped out on The Boss' balcony and announced his decision to embrace the title of America's Highest Paid Part-time Worker. In the bottom of the fourth (Mariners-Yankees), McCarver said winning a title was not Clemens' primary motivation for returning. "I have been skeptical when Roger Clemens says he wants another World Series ring," McCarver told play-by-play man Joe Buck. "If he really wanted a World Series ring he would've chosen the best club, before spring training started, and been with that club at the beginning of the season so he could do something about it." McCarver continued, saying Clemens' line about wanting another title made absolutely no sense. "I mean what a gig, to show up in early June and, in Houston's case over the last few years for the most part, pitch in only home games where he could drive to work and not go on the road," McCarver said. "I mean I understand what his agents are saying. They're saying that money is no matter. Well, if that's the case, sign for nothing." There is reason for skepticism. Not only of Clemens' motives, but the lengths the Yankees have gone to sign him and spin the move. Considering T-Mac's take on Clemens, it's safe to say that unlike Michael Kay, the voice of Al Yankzeera, McCarver did not get "goose bumps" when Clemens made his Sunday stadium appearance. Yesterday, Kay, on his ESPN-1050 show, was extremely agitated over those criticizing him for waving pom-poms and saying the sight of Clemens in the Stadium gave him "goose bumps." Kay was also beside himself over anyone daring to think Clemens' Stadium coronation was both cheesy and ostentatious. "I did have goose bumps," Kay whined. "He (Clemens) is a decent dude. He treats me with respect." Clemens should. Kay has a well-documented history - only matched by Ma and Pa Pinstripe - of kissing Clemens' posterior on a regular basis. Nonetheless, even a Clemens bobo like Kay, who also is a paid employee of the Yankees, had serious issues with his buddy being able to come and go as he pleases, which GM Brian Cashman calls "The Family Plan." "Couldn't the Yankees have said, 'Roger, we're paying you 28 million dollars, can you please show up every day?'" Kay said. Stephen A. Smith, Kay's ESPN-1050 colleague, said Yankees brass "bent over" for Clemens by creating a separate set of rules. "It," Smith said, "is disgusting." On WFAN, Mike Francesa torched the Yankees for caving in to Clemens and reversing a team policy Joe Torre said would never change under his watch. "The Yankees sold their souls here. They said they would never do this," Francesa said. "You either have a team or you don't. The guy (Clemens) is bigger than the team now." The eventual outcome of this saga will be based on Clemens' pitching performance. Still, when a variety of mouths, who usually can't agree on anything, holds hands on one issue, it leaves the door open for anyone else questioning Yankee management's credibility. With FranDog yesterday, Cashman tried selling the notion that discussions about creating separate rules for Clemens commenced in December 2006. This is hard to believe. If the Yankees were in first place, does anyone in their right mind think Cashman, Torre & Co. would have given Clemens carte blanche? Also, the way Cashman kept telling FranDog to "ask Joe" how the players reacted when the manager asked them about letting Clemens come and go as he pleases, suggests this is all a highly orchestrated game of tush-covering. No one likes looking desperate. Now Cashman, Torre & Co. do. They all better hope McCarver is wrong. They better hope their 44-year-old pitching mercenary came to the Bronx to win a title. Not to pocket millions. And spend weekends with the family. John Harper spinning things for the yankees... http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/harper/index.html

Willets Point May 08 2007 10:48 AM

Wow, for once I agree with McCarver. This term needs to enter the permanent lexicon when refering to Clemens: America's Highest Paid Part-time Worker.

Frayed Knot May 08 2007 12:24 PM

The sad part in all this is Clemens trying to hide the part about allowing him to come and go as he pleases even though both Cashman and the agents openly admit that the lack of such a clause was absolutely a deal-breaker. Both sides have said publically that the Yanx refusal to grant him one last year was a big reason he spent last season in Houston and that the Yanx reversed their previously held policy on this months before the season started. Then, during the various chats he had in the NYY booths following his 7th inning stretch-of-the-truth announcement, not one of the supposed media pros (Kay, Sterling, Waldman) even thought to ask him about that clause, instead leaving it up to that veteren of years of hard-bitten jounalism; Al Leiter. Roger side-stepped Leiter's question and then later at the post-game press conference insisted that he DIDN'T KNOW whether he had the ability to travel whenever he wanted, adding that; "I haven't read the contract"

iramets May 08 2007 12:29 PM

So he's a fucking liar, right?

Centerfield May 08 2007 12:40 PM

I heard that he didn't read the contract because he crumpled it up and threw it at his agent thinking it was the ball.

metirish May 08 2007 12:41 PM

iramets wrote: So he's a fucking liar, right? That and a total wanker, wouldn't it be just great if by the time he's ready to pitch the yankees are nine or ten games out.

Iubitul May 08 2007 02:11 PM

Centerfield wrote: I heard that he didn't read the contract because he crumpled it up and threw it at his agent thinking it was the ball. This one just bounced off the scoreboard in right-center....

metirish May 08 2007 03:45 PM

A view from Britain,the fan comments are interesting. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/05/08/injuryplagued_yankees_add_a_28.html

metsmarathon May 08 2007 04:06 PM

alex rodriguez wrote: so, about that tent...