Clemens hits the target again
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 06, 2007 
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We weren’t there when Babe Ruth called his shot. Lou Gehrig’s speech wasn’t televised across the country. But we all saw what happened today live and in living color and it was part of baseball history.
One of the greatest pitchers ever, if not the greatest, stood in front of a huge crowd and made a stunning announcement that he was returning to the game.
Yeah, it’s all about money. But sometimes it’s all about the chill down your spine, too.
Here’s a closer look at a day to remember:
Quote of the day: “This is a huge statement. Don’t count us out.” – Brian Cashman.
Mystery of the day: What did George Steinbrenner tell Clemens on March 7 in Tampa? Whatever it was, it made an impact. “He had some words for me which I’ll keep with me forever. I might share those when this season is all said and done. I’ll keep those close to my heart,” Clemens said. Is Steinbrenner retiring? Selling? Sick?
No coincidence: Guess what $28 million is? That’s $1 million more than the previous high salary in the game. Clemens will end up with roughly $18.5 million but the symbolism is undeniable. Clemens has always picked salary numbers that have some significance. This is a guy, remember, who was paid $22,000,022 last season.
Sidekick again: Does anybody else feel for Andy Pettitte? Every time he signs with a team as the wise, veteran presence on the pitching staff, the big boy barges in a few months later.
He did what? Word is the Red Sox were stunned by this. Randy Hendricks was at Fenway Park on Tuesday and Boston lost Clemens on Sunday. They never saw this coming. “It would have been nice to have him, but we didn’t need him,” 38pitches.com said. “I feel like we were a legitimate World Series contender without him.”
Don’t cross the Godfather: Joe Torre has been an easy target these days. But the list of managers who could handle this situation and get a veteran roster to allow one player to have special perks is short indeed. And other than Derek Jeter, the Yankee who recruited Clemens the hardest was Torre. Toss the manager out at your peril. He may not handle the bullpen like a master, but he’s pretty good at handling a platoon of Hall of Fame players. Which is more important with the Yankees?
Forget the record: Anybody who tells you Clemens was “only” 7-6 last season should know that the Rocket allowed more than two earned runs in only three of 19 starts. Give him Yankees run support instead of Astros run support and he will pile up the W’s.
My guess is that George said something like, “there’s a blank check with your name on it.”
What symbolism? There is no symbolism. This has nothing to do with A-Rod. Nothing.
Based on the statement the Red Sox put out I would say they were a little more than stunned.
So pete, youve been pretty good at calling stuff this year, what do you think clemens numbrs will be this year?
im gonna say 9-4 4.10 era…
the high era b/c hes going from the weakest offensive division in baseball to the strongest, but the run support will help him more than the better offenses will hurt him
Peter,
is that you, in the right hand side of this photo??
http://i9.photobucket.com/albu.....r/pete.jpg
I actually think the quote of the day was “You’ll all hear from me again soon” or whatever the exact wording was. Maybe he was talking about the press conference, but I like to think there was more to it.
Oh by the way any word on whose idea it was to make the announcement the way it was done. Brilliant.
Al: No.
Peter,
Give us a first hand account of what you were doing, what you were doing, where were you, etc., when you found out.
its a REAL “I was there when…” momement.
“No coincidence: Guess what $28 million is? That’s $1 million more than Alex Rodriguez. Clemens will end up with roughly $18.5 million but the symbolism is undeniable.”
For God’s sakes, stop it. This didn’t occur to anyone but you. If the Yankees really wanted to be symbolic, they would have given $27,000,001.
The Yankees have absolutely NO reason or motivation to be “symbolic” by offering a contract one million more than Alex makes. Only nonsensical A-Rod obsessors could even surmise such a ridiculous scenario. What, praytell, would be Cashman’s motivation for being “symbolic” in this contract?
And, as sad as it is, from comments and wording used by men like Torre and Cashman and Clemens, and his lack of physical appearences lately, I think George is in really bad health.
Charie (and those who will follow):
Just stop being fanboys for a second. This has nothing to do with Alex. This is what professional athletes do with salaries, they one-up each other. Clemens asked fvor $28 million, it wasn’t what the Yankees offered. He was making a point that he is who he is. It’s always symbolism with him, just look at his history.
OK, everybody is happy with Roger´s return. But who is going to pitch after the Rocket´s five innings? Vizcaino and all that &%/%$##$& that Torre has in bullpen? The problem is not an star pitcher more, but the lack of brains demonstrated by Torre, Cashman and those who back them. Torre and Cash are all burnout.
I’m liking your take on this Pete, but I’m honestly having a hard time with some of the other media outlets take on it. I’m not usually one of those individuals who really cares about the spin put on things by the press – I’ve got a mind of my own and I’m fully capable of seeing the forest before the trees – but damn if they’re not trying hard to spin this with a little negative smirk.
Clemens is going to come in and give a lot to this team, in ability, heart, presence, etc…I don’t really care what he’s being paid. I’m a fan, and I’m not signing the checks, I just want to see the team win. I’m almost sensing sour grapes from certain media giants that the Yankees pulled this off. Even if the Yankees do come together and win their 27th, all some people will be able to talk about will be the 28 million.
I also think George must have said something to Roger about his health and wanting to see Roger win one more ring for the Yankees. Perhaps that struck a note with Roger since he wanted his mother to be able to see him go in The Hall and she passed away before that could happen. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Fanboys. Wow. That’s not patronizing. In other news, Phil Hughes injury isn’t as bad as predicted here.
And how do you know that David?
Charlie: $28 million is what Clemens asked for, not what the Yankees offered. They offered $25.5 million.
Wow Peter, would you mind flying out California to take my English final this Saturday? 50% of the exam is looking for symbolism from out text.
That catch of Clemen’s paycheck symbolism seems like something you first look at and think “bull.” Then you think about it, or have it explained to you, and you start agreeing with it.
It might have been just a number put together from air, but then again, Peter you might be right on the dot.
Because Cashman said so yesterday.
“For God’s sakes, stop it. This didn’t occur to anyone but you”
when i read 28 million my first thought was that was 1 million more than arod and that boras was already figuring out another year to threaten to opt out. my second thought was cashman would know that too so there must be no problem. then my third thought was cashman hired marty miller so yeah he could be that…
but today i will give cashman a reprieve. he finally spent bucketloads of money which is what he’s supposed to do.
“OK, everybody is happy with Roger´s return. But who is going to pitch after the Rocket´s five innings? Vizcaino and all that &%/%$##$& that Torre has in bullpen? The problem is not an star pitcher more, but the lack of brains demonstrated by Torre, Cashman and those who back them. Torre and Cash are all burnout.”
Agreed, but I think we’re in the minority (at least until the bullpen blows another game).
By the way, who is going to pitch after the Rocket´s five innings?
Vizcaino and all that &%/%$##$& that Torre has in bullpen?
The problem is not a star pitcher more, but the lack of brains demonstrated by Torre, Cashman and those who back them.
And no back-up catcher? No playtime for Phelps but for an aging, non-hitting 1b? Come on…
Torre and Cash are all burnout.
dumpvizcaino-
with wang , pettitte,and mussina all in the rotation together the bullpen should get a lot better. having to have someone in there in the fifth inning everynight screwed up things all the way back to rivera. once things get settled down the bullpen could actually be a strong point of the team.
Pete,
Something like 15 posts today, thanks for all the news as it was happening. I was busy watching the Rangers falter, to be able to come over to the blog during stoppages and get the latest was really great.
Pete,
This is a great blog with the most up-to-date info, but your defending Torre to this extent is ridiculous. His mismanaging of the bullpen and other in-game managing blunders are likely to cost the team more games (and it’s already cost some) than the signing of Clemens will win them.
I suspect george figured out a way to tie Clemens to the Yankees for all time and YES will benefit. I bet he promised Rog a monument at the new park. It is about Yankee/Steinbrenner legacy, and about winning. I liked how Cashman pointed out RC’s potential influence on the young pitchers and his all around grit.
Also, Jetes, as RC called him, seems to have been pretty busy emailing and text messaging RC.
Also, every time rc mentioned the current Yank greats he left out Posada.
The announcement was totally exciting, right after Shepard’s 7th inning stretch.
The second retirement tour will be milked by yes, too. Todays game became an instant classic.
k
I agree with Pete on this. Roger knows exactly what he’s doing, and always has.
Is Roger going to solve all the bullpen problems? Great!
Peter,
You continue to amaze with all the updates. We don’t say it enough but this blog is a gift and I know we all treasure the time and energy you put into it.
As for the bullpen, Clemens may only be a 5-6 inning pitcher but he’ll give quality outtings and won’t have the clunkers that Wright, Igawa et al have.
My plan would be to try and get on average 7 innings from Wang and Pettitte, 6 from Mussina and Clemens and 5-6 from Hughes. That should keep the bullpen from getting too killed.
now that houston has lost out on clemens, their season is looking bleak. any chance of sending them some young players and picking up ausmus to back up posada?
“once things get settled down the bullpen could actually be a strong point of the team.”
Randy,
I might agree with you, but only if Bruney and Henn are the main 7th and 8th inning guys. However, we all know that Clueless Joe will make sure that Proctor and the dreaded Vizcaino will all see the big spots.
Gammon’s Take
* Sawks offered $18 million. But he wasn’t clear if that was a gross or net (effective pro rated amount).
* Hughes looks like a young Clemons, cira 1986.
* Pavano blew out his rotary cuff, shaving this morning.
o.k. I made up the last one.
“I also think George must have said something to Roger about his health and wanting to see Roger win one more ring for the Yankees. Perhaps that struck a note with Roger since he wanted his mother to be able to see him go in The Hall and she passed away before that could happen. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Spot on, CG. I was thinking right along those lines myself.
dumpvizcaino-
did you notice after proctor took care of business that the yankee relief pitchers were in single digits for each inning. maybe attacking the strike zone is simply an attitude. the total pitches for the game was 108-109 pitches something like that. a bullpen is a finicky thing. tonight may have been a turning point.
I think some of you are missing the point here by focusing so much on Peter’s thoughts on the symbolism of the 28 million contract.
The bottom line is that the Yankees have Roger Clemens, and this is the best news the Yankees have had in a while. And to those that see him as nothing more than a 5 or 6 inning pitcher, it’s still better than the number of innings we’re getting from our current rotation that averages less than 5 innings per start. And the quality of Clemens’ innings will be immensely better than Igawa and the other the inneffective starters. Money concerns aside, there is no downside to this at all for the Yankees. How else would you fix this beaten and battered rotation? There is no sure-fire answer other than Clemens. Sure he’s not likely to post sub 3.00 ERA’s in the AL, but he is still one of the best starting pitchers in MLB regardless of whatever league you put him in.
There’s no way you can argue that the Yankees are worse off with Clemens in the rotation. And what a morale boost this is to the Yankee players and Yankee fans in the next month while we await his return. And when Hughes gets back around July, the rotation will match up favorably with any other in baseball.
What the heck: “And when Hughes gets back around July, the rotation will match up favorably with any other in baseball.”
Yes, but the season will be a total loss if the team doesn´t dump its voodoo evil Vizcaino right NOW!.
Clemens makes this announcement, turns baseball on its ear, and instantly affects the MLB power rankings – and some of you jokers are still finding as many ways as you possibly can to be negative. Amazing.
So there are some of you that already *know* that Clemens is only going to pitch 5 innings? Wow – please tell me what my tax returns are going to be next year so I can plan around them now. You’re still bitching about Torre and demeaning those that are supportive of him. Somebody totally took Pete’s comment about the salary out of context and claimed it was a dig at ARod. You guys just look for crap to gripe about until your eyes bleed.
Go ahead and give me that shallow crap about free speech and “rights” – I could care less. The fact of the matter is that in exercising said rights, you make reading and posting on this blog a fairly miserable experience for the rest of us. Surely there is another blog where your smartass “realistic” views and penchant for drama mining is more welcome, no?
Good point about Vizcaino. I think the Yankees need to use Bruney and Proctor in the more important game situations and save Vizcaino for mop-up duty until he shows improvement, because it is obvious that the guy isn’t helping the team at this point.
look, any way you cut it, clemens is light years better than whomever he’ll be replacing in the yankees rotation. period. sure, he’ll be 45 in august and probably won’t post the same numbers in the AL east. guess what? that’s still better than igawa, rasner, or whoever else they run out there.
that said…
“this is a huge statement. don’t count us out.” ooookay, brian. let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. maybe wait until the team is 4-5 games above .500 before you start spouting off, okay? it’s a huge statement, alright, and the statement is this: “HELP ME!!!” cashman’s plan to get younger, stockpile young pitching and count on pavano and igawa blew up in his face IN A MATTER OF WEEKS and he had to up the clemens ante in order to cover his own hide. sure, they wanted clemens all along, but as soon as hughes went down, they NEEDED clemens, and they needed him because cashman elected to put his eggs in the pavano/igawa basket.
this gives the yankees a better shot at catching the red sox. it does not, by any means, make them the favorite. as long as boston is healthy, pitching well, winning games, and leading the division, they’re the favorite. it’s that simple.
Hehe. Just been reading Jason Stark’s column from the 3rd which included the line
‘Memo to Yankees fans: There’s no decent pitching help available.’
Are ya sure about that one Jason?
Hey thanks Wolf, glad to know someone’s there with me.
Incidently, since the Yankees are the Evil Empire, wouldn’t it only be fitting to dub Mr. Clemens…*Darth Clemens*.
I’m not trying to come up with nicknames… I’m just a nerd…so be it.
YAY. Clemens is back!
i’ve got to agree with wolf, though. this contract argument is just plain stupid.
I think the Clemens signing is huge. He made it clear he would sign for the chance of another World Series ring. That he saw the Yankees had a shot of this with his addition must also be a morale booster for the players.
Also, Al, I laughed a bunch when I read your Pavano shaving comment. Good job.
Spare me all the foolishness about Don Joe Torre bringing back the Rocket (or Pettitte, or Jeter, or Giambi, or Steinbrenner, or Pinstripes,or any of that other claptrap.)
As I said he would do from the beginning, he went with the team that offered him the most cash. Period. Next to Schilling, the guy’s the biggest phony in the sport. Still, considering our options I’m glad he’s back.
Be careful about assuming too much from him though. Don’t forget, he left here three and a half years ago because Cash and just about everyone else felt he was done and not worth the bump he would’ve gotten in arbitration. (The three second retirement was ego-cover.) I know he’s been dominant ever since, and I’ll sure as sh*t take him over Igawa, but his hamstrings haven’t gotten any younger.
Hi all, I was away in Cub territory for the weekend and couldn’t comment on here until now, but what a difference a week makes. Between 6 wins in 8 games and the return of the Rocket, it could not feel better to be a Yankee fan right now.
By the way, for $28M anyway Clemens can take over Marty Miller’s job as well
Lastly, it is time to cut Pavano, he should not be entitled to the best seat in the house for a hopefully historic season. Go Yankees!
Can’t wait to see him make popi and manny eat dirt.
The worst part of being a Yankee fan these days is everything they do is negative with media. This is a great day for the Yankees and their chances and all their doing is running the team down, the bullpen down and of course Rocket. It used to be when your team did something good, something positive you could turn to listen to the radio, watch tv and enjoy it. Not anymore. They cover this team like its football where every loss is magnified ten fold. However, every win is quickly dismissed with a callouses wave an impudent “means nothing its not October” admitaly the owner says this too but he owns team not me I’ll enjoy what i want to. Its funny to me the media has become Steinbrenner when i grew up all i heard and read about was what a terrible person he was to be involved with sports now they have less patience than he does. when he doesn’t fire the manger 3 weeks into an injury plagued season they say surely this now proves Steinbrenner now sits around all day drooling on himself. Not you Pete your one of the good ones
i havent seen this discussed today at all but the MRI showed hughes had less than a grade 2 tear in his hammy.. the 4-6 week time table is now possibly a streth, although i think theyll keep him out 4 weeks anyway.
he played catch today
Doesn’t A-RODS Contract say that the Yankees can stop him from opting out by increasing his salary 1 million more than the highest paid player in baseball. isn’t Clemens now the highest paid player in baseball?? wouldn’t that mean that the yanks just have to increase A-rods contract by $1 mill, and he cant option out?.
Rey-
yes, yes, that was funny.
CGramazio-
Darth Clemens? Evil Empire? >maybe you should look at this pictorial
http://s9.photobucket.com/albu.....511446.pbw
the way clemens came out and shocked the fans by announcing his return to new york reminded me of something stone cold steve austin would have done in the late 90′s when WWF was the coolest thing on the planet, “oh my god its stone cold !” “i’mmmmmm back !” the crowd just ate it up. genius to whoevers idea that was. …
Chelo:
ARod contract says highest paid ‘position’ player
I think the idea for 28 mill comes from the 27th ring
Ah…I see Al, but I think I was more impressed by Mrs. Rocket.
As Chachi might say…wah-wah-wah.
How obnoxious would it be if we win the series and have to make a ring for Pavano?
CGramazio-
yes, she’s responsible for alot of “rockets” if ya know what I mean…
Redsox will be in fourth place. Dice-K will suffered some kind of elbow ligament Injury. By the way, What ever happen to Matt Clement? Another Pavano’s clone. I heard He become pornstar somewhere in Nevada.
Pete, I have to disagree with your giving Torre so much credit on this. And I’m not a Torre hater, I’m fine whether he stays or goes, but he just is not a great game manager. And as far as him being the only one to get a veteran clubhouse to accept this move and the Clemens’ privileges packages that goes along with it, I’m not buying it. Legendary managers such as Jimy Williams and Phil Garner seemed to manage just fine when Rocket went to Houston, and they had plenty of veteran guys such as Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent, Roy Oswalt, not to mention Andy Pettitte, on the roster at that time. The bottom line is, all these guys want to win. This move means that the Yankees can replace Kei Igawa with Roger Clemens. I don’t think that Clemens is going to have quite the impact that many think he will, but there is no doubt that such a tradeoff increases the Yankees chances of winning dramatically. I’m guessing that was plenty to sell the team on this move, particularly after watching the starting pitcher fail to get through the 5th inning about half the time in April.
For the people complaining about the contract, listen again to Cashman’s statements at today’s press conference.
Clemens brings whatever he has left to give on the mound – maybe that’s 12 wins and a 4 ERA…
The big things:
He provides a bridge for those young arms that aren’t quite ready
He is also a great mentor for young pitchers out there – especially for Phillip Hughes. In fact, Cashman specifically talked about this role for Clemens – mentioning Hughes and Ohlendorf, then added Clippard and DeSalvo. Clemens is going to be spending 3-4 weeks prepping and doing rehab starts in Tampa, Trenton, and Scranton. You can bet he’s going to do some talking and advising, and some lucky pitchers will do some listening.
(Maybe he can advise the new strength and conditioning coach, too)
He is the best available pitcher out there, and he doesn’t cost prospects, just Mr Steinbrenner’s $$$
You can bet he’ll be giving a little revenue bump as well – even greater ticket sales, merchandising, etc.
It’s a no brainer for the brain, and a great day for the heart of every Yankee fan… let’s just enjoy the afterglow a little….
i’m betting steinbrenner said something to clem-dog about being a true yankee.
george: ok, rog, we offer 25 mill. next year is yours too if you want. so on and so on. maybe when you get to feeling your age, we can give you a shot relieving, maybe closing even. then rog, there is the monument thing, we can arrange that too. if and when you do really retire, we can make that to be retireing as a yankee. sure rog, do our damnedest to get you in the hall as a yankee. by the time you retire, mean really retire, gator might be our bench coach, ever thought about maybe coaching or one day managing? well rog, all i can say is one never knows what could happen in yankee land now do they. pardon me rog, you want 28? gotta say your tough. heres the check rog. see you in a month give or take.
Pete, I think you are right about Torre’s presence being a factor in Clemens signing. Yes, money was a big factor. But find me the owner, manager/coach or player in sport who is not governed by money. They are as rare as honest lawyers. Plus there are a number of players over the years who always speak highly of Steinbrenner. Ed Whitson, the Carl Pavano of the 1980s, never knocked George. Paul O’Neill’s book is practically a love letter to Steinbrenner.
I don’t know if this is an exact parallel but Manchester United in the English Premiere League (soccer) clinched a championship yesterday. Their first in three years after several years of speculation the 65 year old coach Sir Alex Ferguson, the coach for 20 years, was too old and times had passed him by. No one is saying that now. Now if Torre would only throw a ball at Pavano like SAF did to David Beckham….
“Doesn’t A-RODS Contract say that the Yankees can stop him from opting out by increasing his salary 1 million more than the highest paid player in baseball. isn’t Clemens now the highest paid player in baseball??”
it says highest paid POSITION player.
i am perfectly willing to give Torre credit for getting both Pettitte and Clemens back to the Yankees.
there is no doubt that players like playing for Torre.
that is Torre’s strength. always has been.
his weakness is in-game strategy and bullpen management, which in 2007 has become almost a parody of itself.
there is nothing inconsistent about recognizing his strengths in one area and his glaring, almost comical, weaknesses in another area.
I read that Clemens averaged just under 6 innings per outing last year.
Given the lack of run support and the fact that he had such a low ERA…how much do you think his only going 6 innings per game had to do with him coming out because of being pinch hit for in the 7th?
- KMT
“Given the lack of run support and the fact that he had such a low ERA…how much do you think his only going 6 innings per game had to do with him coming out because of being pinch hit for in the 7th?”
someone looked at this, but i can’t find it.
he went 6 IP or more in 13 of 19 starts.
in the other 6 starts, when he came out of the game after 5 IP, the Astros were:
down 2
tied
down 2
down 1
down 1
ahead 1
it’s possible that pinch hitting was a factor in some of these games.
I woke up this morning and am still giddy about this news. To all the nay-sayers: Can’t we have a couple of days to just soak in this wonderful news.
- The team is 5-1 over the past 6 game
- We’ve climbed out of the basement and are now in 2nd place
- Abreu went 2-for-5 yesterday
- Matsui has his 2000th hit
- AND WE HAVE CLEMENS back in pinstripes.
SMILE!!!!
“He may not handle the bullpen like a master, but he’s pretty good at handling a platoon of Hall of Fame players. Which is more important with the Yankees?”
Both are very important. The problem with Torre is the presumption inherent in this question: that he can’t improve on his weaknesses. If a highly-paid professional does one type of job very well and another very badly, it is reasonable to expect that he concentrate on fixing his shortcomings.
The bottom line is that Torre lacks flexibility in his approach to managing games. That criticism is independent from his approach to managing players, for which he often deserves praise.
“He had some words for me which I’ll keep with me forever. I might share those when this season is all said and done. I’ll keep those close to my heart.”
Roger, I have definitive evidence of your steroid use. Report to work immediately.
I think it’s hard to criticize Torre’s bullpen management too much when the starters are averaging less than 5 innings. That will make any manager look awful.
Btw, if anyone is interested, I have some video on my blog of the announcement, as well as reactions from Yankees and Red Sox fans.
http://scatteredbroadcast.blog.....turns.html
You can actually grab the stuff and embed it on your own site by clicking the “mash” button and getting the code.
James, your line was priceless, ie “The media is the new Steinbrenner.” I posted it on my blog–giving you credit of course.
“He may not handle the bullpen like a master, but he’s pretty good at handling a platoon of Hall of Fame players. Which is more important with the Yankees?”
Simple answer: Billy Martin.
He did not give a hoot about egos.
Imagine what he would have done with the talent Yankees had since 2001!
Cool…
Nice…
Cool.
Cool.
Cool…