We can see his true motivation is the cash money. If he was really motivated by another ring, why wouldn't he join a team in the best position to win? The Sox wanted him to start in late June / early July to be fresh for Sept & a playoff run. But they offered $10M less than the Yanks at a prorated $18M. Now he's rushing to the lineup because they need him now. That could have devasting effects on him pitching late in the season.As good as Clemens numbers have been in the NL, he fights a tougher battle against the more potent AL lineups. The other big factor is that he didn't even average 6 innings per start last season. That number is not going to get better in the AL on a soon to be 45 year old frame. So, the Yanks bullpen issues don't improve much having to carry 3+ innings in each start. They're already overworked.
He's going to win his fair share of games - even the Big Unit managed 17 wins with an Era over 5 last season - somehow. He provides a stabilizing force in the rotation, and makes them a better team starting in June. But the Yanks still need to tread water until then and stay healthy once he's hit his stride. Easier said than done.
While the addition of the Boston Traitor doesn't put the Yanks over the top, it certainly heats up the rivalry - not to mention any start Clemens has at Fenway. It's going to be very ugly. He could have had a story book ending to his career here in Boston, but he's now just another NY hired gun taking the money and running. It's too bad because the city would have embraced him as their own once again and all would have been forgiven. As hated and dispicable as Barry Bonds is, Clemens will probably get bigger boos at Fenway this year. Don't bring your kids to those games folks. Yikes...
He does add more theatre to a season where the Yanks looked to be fading away. Now that electric atmosphere returns. Let's hope it dicatates into a Sox-Yanks Sept battle for the playoffs. It's just not the same otherwise...
4 comments:
I love it, man...
I was waiting for the Rocket post and there it came.
Rocket choosing Yankees over Sox is just another proof that nobody wants to play for you. I don't care if it was because of money, and I don't care if he is 45 (btw, Schilling and Wakefield are both 41, not that far off), he will bring integrity, club house leadership and most importantly, he isn't afraid to go inside on Ortiz and Ramirez. Mussina, Wang, Rocket, Pettitte and Igawa - I'll take that.
Oh, and another little nugget - how much did you spend on Matsuzaka - what is his ERA again -5.45?
Right, like Julio Lugo and JD Drew didn't want to play here. That's just this offseason.
It's all about the money for Clemens. Puhleeease... Yankee fans have never cared about the money because it's always been your competitive advantage. How far into $200M are they now?
And 41 to 45 is not far off? Try again. Maybe 31 to 35 is plausible, but you're smoking somethin brotha...
Wang & Mussina need to stay healthy all year for you to have a chance. Wang's been on the DL every year and Mussina is 38 with injury history. You'll take Igawa? How's that 7+ era working out?
Dice-K will be a good pitcher, and possibly great. He's averaging over 6 innings per start and is in the AL's top 3 or 4 in strikeouts per start. He's also 2-0 vs the Yanks isn't he?
His salary? Only $6.3M per season. They'll get some revenue back from the posting fee they paid. Clemens? $18M... Glad you're not writing the salary tax check?
Julio Lugo and JD Drew - who???????????
I am talking about top notch players in the league.
41 for Schilling and Wakefield is the same as 45 for Clemens - he goes through extreme workout program to keep himself in shape and he only pitches for half a year.
K-Dice is a gamble and you know it. So far got hit around pretty hard, especially by AL East (most importantly the Yankees, gave up 6 and 5 runs against them in 2 starts, the reason the Yankees lost is not because of him but because of shaky bullpen).
No matter how you spin it(and you must being the Yankee hater) it was a great move for the Yankees and I am glad they overpaid to get him.
41 does not equal 45, especially when 45 can only go 3 months before breaking down. Besides, knuckleballer is a different animal.
Yanks made a great move - no argument there. It also makes the rivalry more intense & watchable...
Dice-K has showed enough already that he'll be good. It won't take him a full year - like Beckett - to make his adjustments. How's his performance stack up against Mussina this year?
Also - nice to see your guy Igawa get demoted to SINGLE A. And the Yanks spent more than half of what the Sox paid for Dice-K. And he's a fragile little lamb that needs SINGLE A to build confidence.
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