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May 07, 2007
Clemens & Cooperstown - Now That He's Back In NY
To date, Roger Clemens has pitched in 383 baseball games for the Boston Red Sox. And, he has pitched in 308 games for teams other than the Boston Red Sox.
Figure Clemens to make about 20 starts for the Yankees this year (fingers crossed). This means there will be a difference, at season end, of 55 games for Roger...in terms of games played for Boston and games not played for Boston. Pretty close.
Also, Clemens won 192 games in Boston - and he won 156 games for teams other than the Red Sox. That's a difference of 36. If Clemens can win 10 games for New York in 2007, that difference gets smaller...into the twenties. Pretty close as well.
I can sort of see why Clemens thinks it should not be a slam dunk that he goes into Cooperstown with a Red Sox cap on his plaque.
Of course, Clemens has 431 career RSAA in Boston - and 296 career RSAA (to date) outside of Boston. That's a pretty big difference.
It will be interesting to see how Cooperstown handles this now...with Clemens playing another season outside of Boston.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at May 7, 2007 11:51 AM
Comments
Also three Cy Youngs in Boston and four elsewhere.
Posted by: carla
at May 7, 2007 01:32 PM
Clemens gets what Clemens wants and he's said he wants to go in as a Yankee. I think they'll give it to him -- especially now since it looks like he'll retire as a Yankee (he can't come back at 46, riiiiight?).
I hate to agree with Mike and the Mad Dog, who I don't like much, but they pretty much nailed how this move made the Yankees look -- desperate. As Mad Dog said, Clemens had the Yankees on their knees begging. It made the team look desperate and foolish. All this nonsense about coming home -- meanwhile they're paying him twenty million dollars and they're giving him special privileges that they would never allow normally.
Posted by: baileywalk
at May 7, 2007 01:33 PM
Yep. The Yankees look foolish.
Posted by: Don
at May 7, 2007 01:50 PM
Given the state of the Yankees rotation, I was desparate too.
Posted by: rbj
at May 7, 2007 03:47 PM
Given the state of the Yankees rotation, I was desparate too.
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It's too early to be desperate. You already had 3 starters, plus one on the DL. Rasner has shown himself to be a competent starter, and who knows what DeSalvo will show tonight and in the future. I'd say it's too early to give up on Igawa.
While the Yanks weren't sitting pretty, I don't think they were desperate.
Posted by: Raf
at May 7, 2007 03:57 PM
Does it matter if they look desperate or not? That's a game the media plays that has no bearing on what happens on the field.
Clemens was the best available pitcher. That's the end of the story.
Posted by: DFLNJ
at May 7, 2007 04:21 PM
According to WFAN, Igawa is heading to Tampa and Rasner is staying in the rotation.
So I guess DeSalvo and Rasner will stick around till Clemens and Hughes return.
Once everyone is back, the rotation IS pretty impressive: Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Clemens, Hughes.
Posted by: baileywalk
at May 7, 2007 05:13 PM
Innings, innings, innings. Clemens didn't manage six (6) per start in 2006 so what will he manage in the AL in 2007? What is needed is another Wang, that is a guy who can go seven (7) plus innings fairly often. Other than Wang, who will do that? Probably no one. We will need Igawa out of the bullpen.
Posted by: Don
at May 7, 2007 05:50 PM
This whole "integrity of the team" stuff is a joke. This is entertainment. And yesterday was terrific. These guys are multi-multi-millionaires; the stars are mini-corporations. You really think any of these guys are freaking out about Clemens' special travel situation?
Posted by: Joel
at May 7, 2007 05:54 PM
The Orioles team was wrecked by special treatment for Ripken. Not sure if Clemens deigning to bring his presence to NY for part of the 2007 season will have the same effect. However, rules are rules. Why can't any player on the 25 man roster now demand and expect the same?
Worse, Clemens LIED abot this stuff when he was asked about it Sunday. Nice, really nice. Way to go 'Roger', way to go.
Posted by: Don
at May 7, 2007 06:14 PM
Well, any player can't, because they're not all starting pitchers that throw every 5 days. This subject was broached with team leadership before the season even began; they're on board with it, end of story. It's not the way I would go about things, but what do I care?
So the Orioles failures to be competitive can be boiled down to Ripken's favorable treatment? Gee, I thought it had more to do with an idiot owner that couldn't keep a manager, terrible free agent signings like Albert Belle, and the lack of talent coming up from the minor leagues.
Who cares if they "look" desperate. I don't care how anything looks, I want to win ballgames, within the rules of the game. It "looked" bad to bunt on Schilling in 04, supposedly, and I sure as hell wish they would have. Would it have been desperate if Boston signed him? I guess not since they're pitching has been good.
Posted by: JeremyM
at May 7, 2007 06:37 PM
The Orioles team was wrecked by special treatment for Ripken
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The O's were wrecked by piss-poor management. Ripken's special treatment isn't the reason the team has sucked since 1998.
