So whats your reason today. I put down " rectal bronchitis" at school. They bought it. LOVING IT. Is Roger going to pitch just at home, or is it going to be an every 5 day normal pitcher. Otherwise it would be wise to keep Robertson and Redding with us, so that if he is pitching only at home, we could keep the rotation smooth for the other 4 pitchers.
Houstons sports franchises are now officially named Houston Texans Houston Knicks Houston Yankees YAAAY
He'll be pitching everywhere... especially if this team is planning on being a champion as he just said they are. I'd understand if the team was not in a position to contend, and this was just an offical "farewell tour.", but this team is going for it all next year... he's GOTTA pitch on the road. Plus, his first comment at the press conference was a snide reference to the Crawford Boxes ("you better get your season tix now, because there are gonna be less seats after we take out those ones in LF").
huh, I didn't know that Nolan was working for the Stros. I wonder if that was part of the decision as well. Nolan and Clemens side by side.
If anyone cares, I met Roger Clemens at the Tampa airport several years ago and he was a super nice fellow. I'm happy for the Astros and their fans.
Jan. 12, 2004, 2:37PM It's a done deal: Clemens is an Astro By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES ROGER CLEMENS Agrees to 1-year deal with Astros -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBCAST Press conference -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUDIO Richard Justice: Clemens huge addition to Astros Requires the free RealPlayer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLEMENS STATS Pitcher Age: 41 Date of birth: August 4, 1962 Place of Birth: Dayton, OH Hometown: Houston HT: 6-4 WT: 235 Bats/Throws: R/R Salary in '03: $7,061,181 MLB Seasons: 20 Drafted by Boston in 1983 (1st round). CAREER STATS • Clemens' numbers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAREER IN PHOTOS • Clemens over the years -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • SOUNDING BOARD: Fans' opinions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPORTS POLL What will Roger Clemens deal mean for the Astros? He'll make them a World Series contender It's too early to tell Astros owner Drayton McLane has done it again, persuading future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens to put off retirement for a year. The deal was announced at a press conference on the field today. "The Rocket is on the pad," Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. " ... so 2004, here we come." After weeks of increasing speculation about the status of what was a short-lived retirement, Clemens said he was excited to put on an Astros' uniform. "It's great to come home," Clemens said today. ".. this decision was made possible by my family." A return to the baseball field will also mean a resumption of Clemens' renowned training regimen. "If I wasn't a power pitcher, I don't think I'd have to put in as much time. But, to be me, I'm going to have to do that again and I look foward to it," Clemens said. Earlier today, McLane acknowledged the deal, but he preferred to withhold further comment. Asked if he was excited, McLane chuckled and decided to withhold comment until the official announcement. A month and a day after McLane signed Clemens' former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte, the Astro further fortified their starting rotation. McLane gave the hard-throwing righthander the parameters of a one-year contract offer on Dec. 23, and he worked out the rest of details on the deal with agents Randy and Alan Hendricks. After that, Clemens gave his decision to the Hendricks, who hammered out the deal. "He told me he had decided to play and to get a deal done, so we did on Sunday," Randy Hendricks said. "I think a big factor was the outpouring of affection from the Astros fans all over Texas. His family is supportive and the Astros have been terrific throughout the process. Ultimately, the desire to help the hometown team was what made the decision (and Andy being here was extremely important as well)." Clemens, 41, will now try to add to his 310 career victories. He will join Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller to throw at the National League Central champion Chicago Cubs' talented rotation of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano. Clemens will also be a major box office hit, which is why McLane doesn't mind raising the payroll despite losing $15 million last year. The Astros received a major boost in ticket sales after signing Pettitte away from the Yankees last Dec. 11, prompting vice president of ticket sales John Sorrentino to hire two more employees to cope with the demand. As one president of a National League club predicted at the winter meetings last month, the Astros can expect mostly sellouts if Clemens joins the franchise. Clemens was 17-9 with a 3.91 ERA while throwing 211 2/3 innings last season, which he had said would be his last in the majors. Pettitte's signing with the Astros helped change Clemens' mind.
Ahhh, time to check so season tickets prices Our rotation is GREAT. I bet Billy Wagner is pissed off.
Shane Reynolds??? LOL! Tim Redding is # 5 barring a trade... Posted this in the Roger Clemens Thread >> The 5th starter is almost a lock for Tim Redding. Tim Redding was one of our best pitchers last year. His win/loss total was messed up by some of the worst run-support in the league. I find it hilarious when people think Jeriome Robertson is a better pitcher. He had INSANE run support. Check the 2003 stats > Tim Redding (10 - 14 ) - 176.0 innings pitched - 3.68 era - 120 era+ Wade Miller (14 - 13 ) - 187.3 innings pitched - 4.13 era - 107 era+ Jeriome Robertson (15 - 9) - 160.7 innings pitched - 5.10 era !! - 87 era+ !! Carlos Hernendez has pitched about 130 innings since the begining of 2001. He has been hurt for a couple years. If he doesn't start off at Triple A then he will probably get long relief duty in the Astros pen
CNNSI is reporting that Clemens has a $1.4 million incentive clause in his contract that is based entirely on Astros home attendance. That is pretty smart by McLane to do that, but I wonder what the attendance level is that would trigger the clause. Could it be 3 million for the year?
Woo hoo! This is the most excited I been since the Rockets picked up Scottie Pippen, and Les promised us "many championships!"
Drayton is playing this town like a piano. I'm not as against this move as the the Pettitte deal, but come on guys, its one freaking year. Calm down, nice for publicity, nice for Houston fans, but it doesn't make any major changes to this team's future outlook.
yeah,..i know...and the pettite signing didn't mean anything either. right...we know...we know. no reason to get excited at all. i mean...4 legit starters in your rotation on a team that finished 1 game back of winning the division last year. we should all be glum.
So what if its one freaking year. The Astros now have a team capable of winning the World Series, in this past postseason failures sans 98, I couldn't say that was the case. I'd say it does wonders for next year and after that the team adjusts accordingly. This is not a young team, its a veteran group. Teams that are gunning for titles do things like this. I don't know what you have against these moves because they are moves made with the goal of winning it all in mind. Obviously, the fact they are Houstonians was a big factor, but you can't fault McLane here. Finally the Astros have a complete team, and they are going to give the NL fits this year. In one offseason the Astros turned a weakness from last year(starting pitching) into a strength, while not drastically sacrificing other areas of the ball club. The astros had horrible luck last year, as their run differential equated to 90 plus wins rather than 87. I already showed how productive their offense and pitching was last year, and at the very least the pitching has improved significantly. I'd say Houston fans have every reason to be this excited. They for once are a team to beat in the NL and MLB, not just the division.
