What annoys me about all this Clemens coverage is that the media is just aching for him to go to a big-market team... like his great performances in Houston were "wasted" because they were done in a smaller media market (aka, not Boston or NY). I GUARANTEE you that Clemens doesn't come close to putting up the ERA he did over the last two years if he has to pitch in the AL. Also, Phillips wasn't expecting Clemens to do much for the Astros before 2004, and then again in 2005... how many times is he going to be wrong regarding Clemens?
I don't really consider it as "breaking news" (in the dramatic/unexpected sense), when the first quote from his agent is "We expected this." This honestly seems like more of a formality at this point... if Clemens and his agents weren't interested in trying to get a deal done before this deadline, there was no way either side should have been expected to go thru the arbitration process, thereby guaranteeing Clemens at least $15.4 million if he simply made the slightest bit of effort to pitch. I know Roger could be a stand-up guy, but even the most down-to-earth of people probably couldn't resist the opportunity to get 15 million guaranteed.... and it probably would have biased his decision making. This way, he can really see if he wants to come back... if he's ready to put his body thru the daily grind once more.... and if he is, we'll be waiting on May 1st. Oh yea... no other team is going to pony up more than $15 million for one year, AND guarantee Rocket all the flexibility/days off/lack of travel with the team that he's gotten the last two years here.
and even if they did, the flexibility won't mean the same thing...because it won't be a situation where 81 games are at home...just down the street from his house. it's a completely different dynamic for him in another city.
I still say he'll take a month off then ride into town on a white horse on May 1st. No problems here.
Well, to his credit, he had been doing it for 18+ years before 2003. I actually could see the Rangers being fiscally irresponsible enough to offer some ungodly $20 million for one year contract... but Roger would really have to be about the stats and $$$ to want to pitch there, cause they aint gonna be contenders any time soon.
Also, he'll be playing for the USA team, so he'll already be in game-shape, come this spring. A good question is: 15 Mil for Clemens or Willis? I'd take either.
Good for the Stros. They can't wait for the Rocket to decide if he is going to play or not. I think they learned their lesson with C. Beltran on the waiting game.
regardless of whether he ever pitches for houston again, i'm glad we made a damn decision and aren't going to let one player regarldess of who he is, hold our entire off-season hostage AGAIN. good job stros to not have this happen twice. i hope roger comes back to houston, i think with another power bat and him back in that ridiculous starting staff we would have a great shot at a WS title. but at least we didn't let one player run our entire offseason and then get nothing in the end.
I could see him playing for the Rangers, honestly. They need pitching, have hitting (so he could get his wins), and he could get mostly the same deal he has here, at least in not having to attend road games if he's not pitching.
Yes... but his value as a top-flight pitcher has to be decreased in going to the hitter-paradise American League. I guess he'll be better than what they have now, but Roger isn't as valuable to the Rangers as he is to us simply because of the change of league. And, that's without even looking at the state of the Rangers team. Do they have enough, with him, to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Athletics, Anaheim? Is his primary goal to just accumulate more wins, or simply win more championships? Is money the factor? I dunno... but I would guess that Roger would either sign here on May 1st, or retire, before pitching in the AL again.
I don't know the answer to that. But this past year, I don't think he came back to win a championship. At the beginning of this year, we didn't look like a WS-type team, and he asked for $18MM, so to me, he's willing to pitch for the right price. And the Rangers have money (plus Tom Hicks is a big UT alum and I'm sure they know each other). I wouldn't mind if he went there and sucked it up against some of those AL lineups.
I don't get it? Why not just a)offer him salary arbitration; b) plan the offseason like he won't come back; c)just wait until feb or march or whenever to negiogate with him about coming back. What's the worst that could happen? he accepts arbitration and comes back for 20 mill? wouldn't that be a good thing? with his performance on the field and the money he brings the team, if there is any player in baseball that pays for himself it's clemens in houston. I'd be willing to bet that mcclain had made more money of clemens these last two year than the other way around. Why wasn't this a big deal last offseason as well? Clemens was unsure about returning last offseason and it didn't stop the astros from offering arbitration and signing him the following calender year. It certainly wasn't a reason (or at least a main reason) given for the team's lack of offseason a year ago.
Well, you can also flip the coin and say... why would Clemens force this team to sign him to a $20 million dollar deal, at this stage in his career, when the team needs to fill a ton more needs. Doesn't he want the same goal... to try to bring a World Championship to Houston? Wouldn't he try to maximize that opportunity by allowing the team to sign him to a cheaper deal and then go out there and spend some of that cash on a lineup that could at least be respectable? And if in the end, his decision was to ultimately retire... we could then use some of the money that we wouldn't have to pay him in 2006 and either pick up a bat at the trade deadline, or in the next off-season. But, I don't blame Clemens at all for what ultimately happened. First of all, I genuinely believe that he has no clue whether or not he wants to pitch next season. I can see him commiting to the WBC because he already knows that its a minimal time commitment, and he can definitely get his body in shape for those few games... but he probably has some doubts whether or not he can withstand another long season, plus possibly a post-season. Secondly, with the way the system works (arbitration), you can't fault him for not giving in and simply signing the good-faith cheaper deal. He knows that would basically be equivalent to throwing 5-10 million dollars out the window... and I don't care how good of a guy you are, you're not going to pass up that much extra money. So, we are where we are... an impass. Its easy for you to say "go ahead and pay him... and go out there and sign everybody else too", but unfortunately there's really only one team in MLB that can survive when they operate that way... and they were just reported to lose $85 million last year, thus probably changing the way they do business in the future. Frankly, I find this situation much less harrowing than what the Red Sox had to endure when they let a pretty decent Pedro Martinez go to the Mets for nothing... and they're supposedly a big budget team.
Yea that will really tick me off as well. If he does join a team I just hope he picks an American League team so we don't have to see him again.
I agree, too bad the Rangers are in the National League just like the astros. But yea i get your point, the rangers and astros play in the useless interleague matchups everyyear. As the famous scripture says: "Interleague is pointless" - John 3:16 Harry Potter
We likely just lost our best starting pitcher, and you guys are happy? This is the worst alternative in terms of managing the off season. We sat around and missed out on the good players (Konerko, Delgado, Marlins players, etc) because we were waiting on Clemens. Then we don't offer arbitration b/c we don't want to be held hostage like last season with Beltran. Now what do we do? Many of you are making assumptions that we will use the $18mm that is freed up to go acquire hitting -- what in the Astros history have they done that indicates that this will occur? Nothing. Especially with Purpura at the helm, who had a horrible offseason last year, losing Kent and Beltran, and then not adding a desperately needed bat at the trading deadline (or before). Yeah, we made it to the World Series, but we've still won as many WS games as the West University T-ball team. Looks like we're just finding a new way to botch the offseason, just like last offseason. Missing out on the 1st wave of free agent signings, then losing the top pitcher in MLB over the past two seasons isn't a good start. At all.
