Astros keep Clemens door open... By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle [size=1.5]Although Astros owner Drayton McLane tends to believe hard-throwing righthander Roger Clemens is committed to retirement, he vows to check if the future Hall of Famer wants to extend his career and finish it with the hometown Astros. Randy and Alan Hendricks represent Clemens, as well as free-agent lefthander Andy Pettitte. Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker has said he will call the Hendricks brothers about Pettitte, another Yankees star from Houston. "We're going to look at anything that can make us better," McLane said from his offices in Temple. "We're certainly going to look at Pettitte very carefully. We're certainly going to look at Roger very carefully." Hunsicker, who Tuesday re-signed righthanded reliever Dan Miceli to a one-year, $600,000 contract, says he will not comment further on any of the free agents he will contact. Clemens, 41, has been adamant that the 2003 season was his last. He reiterated that stance last week at Pettitte's golf tournament to benefit San Jacinto College. Randy Hendricks also said he believed Clemens would stay retired, but Clemens filed for free agency last week to leave his options open. "Roger considers himself retired," Hendricks said in an e-mail reply. Despite his stance, Clemens pitched like a man with plenty left in his right arm. The 310-game winner finished the 2003 season with a 17-9 record and 3.91 ERA. "Gerry and Tim (Purpura, the assistant GM) are in Arizona at the general managers' meetings," McLane said. "I know (Hunsicker) was going to be in communication with (the Hendrickses about Pettitte). And I told them I would meet with them down the road. "Roger has said publicly he was done. And I only think he said he wanted to pitch in the Olympics, but that's not possible anymore (since the United States failed to qualify). I would think he's going to (retire). But if he's not, we'll look into it." Pettitte and Clemens might be long shots, but Miceli is set to return in 2004 to help bolster the bullpen. "He brings a veteran presence in a bullpen right now that's very inexperienced," Hunsicker said of Miceli. "He did a solid job last year and showed his versatility in pitching equally well against lefthanded hitters as he did against righthanders. His versatility allows him to pitch anywhere in the ballgame, even including closing games out when necessary."[/size]
If we are going to get some money, why don't we get some speed and a couple of hard throwing young pitchers. Why get someone who may not have his heart in it and is going to cost a lot more than he's worth? We need to follow the Marlins strategy (to a point).
i feel a drabek and swindell curse coming if we shell out a lot on these two. Weren't those guys (drabek and swindell) some of the better pitchers if not the best in their respective teams before they got signed by the Astros decades ago?. I have no doubt in my mind they're great pitchers but clemens is certainly on the decline of his hall of fame career. As for pettite, he's 35. I think it would be great though because they're both hometown guys and it would put more money in Moneybags Mclane's pocket but i I agree more that we should get some young arms this off season instead. Besides all this, didn't Hunsicker and the Hendricks get into it like little girls a few years ago when Clemens was last a free agent?
Pettite and Clemens would make us the favorites to win it all next year. Make it happen. (but dont tell RM95)
To have both Pettite and Clemens would be awesome, but the Stros' won't go on a spending spree...That'll never happen...I'll be surprised if we get one of them, let alone both...To do that, Kent and Dalgy would have to go, but we would still need a CF...
That would make a damn good rotation with Oswalt, Miller, and Redding. Doesn't matter though. With runners on base one of the following will still happen: 1. Bagwell will hit a towering pop foul along the 1st base sideline. 2. Biggio will swing and miss badly and the low and outside slider in the dirt. 3. Hidalgo/Berkman grounds into a inning ending DP.
I don't know about Clemens. You never know when the guy's going to want to restructure his contract...
In the post season, our problem has never been our pitching. It's always been our hitting. I get so sick & tired of Bagwell trying to pull an outside pitch for a home run with runners in scoring position & less than 2 outs. He knows how, but refuses to do it in the clutch. For this reason, I really hope we keep Jeff Kent!
Pettitte is an overrated pitcher with a 4+ ERA in more of a pitcher's park than MMP. Clemens is done, unless he goes back and plays 1-2 more seasons with the Yankees.
