Knock me over with a duck fart, Roger Clemens will pitch for the Houston Astros. He says it's about winning, so naturally he chooses the sixth worse team in the NL. There was so much talk about him pitching for the Sox or The Evil Empire, primarily by people who have no clue. When dealing with Roger Clemens there are no surprises, he will do what's best for him - can't fault him for that. If he could just learn to shut up.
Pitching under the microscope in zoos like Fenway or Yankee Stadium against guys like Ortiz, Sheffield, Glaus, Ramirez or Wells is not a task any one desires unless he has something to prove. I guess at this point in his career The Rocket feels like he's nothing to prove. He is a Hall of Fame sure thing and one of the greatest pitcher of his generation. But.... he's never been the "go to guy" who will win the big one for you. He has two rings from NY but look how he performed in those post seasons. If he had gone back to the AL, with the designated hitter, for Boston or New York and carried either team through to a World Series championship he would have forever erased the only question mark against him. But in all fairness, that's too much to ask from a mere mortal.
2 comments:
Actually, most of his WS stats with the Yankees are pretty good - a LOT better than his '86 WS stats with the Sox.
ERA IP
1986 vs NYM 3.18 11.3
1999 vs ATL 1.17 7.7
2000 vs NYM 0.00 8.0
2001 vs ARI 1.35 13.3
2003 vs FLA 3.86 7.0
BTW, that, of course, is just another reason for me to hate him. Someone asked me a few weeks ago if I'd like to see him come back to the Sox. I said that if he could help us win another WS, sure I would. But my dream scenario would have been for him to return to the Yankees and for us to rock him in the playoffs (like we did in '99) en route to another WS championship.
Tell me THAT wouldn't have been sweet!
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