I want Roger Clemens. I said it. Clemens immediately will bring the buzz back to the pinstripes and away from their cross-town rivals, the Mets. Nothing irks George more than to have the Shea stadium crowd take the headlines away from him. Roger will dominate talk radio, ESPN and all the newspapers. He'll pitch to sold out crowd's wherever he goes and I think he'll inject a little more "Moxxie" into their veins.
The winter meetings are a place where the Yanks have made headlines year after year-yet somehow were replaced by the, it's hard to say...the Toronto Blue Jays. The team from Canada made a nice upgrade with their spending for B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, (what's up with the initials?) but also quietly acquired Lyle Overbay, a very talented player. They will be last years Orioles, but my guess is that they won't fold quite so hard.
The Rocket brings meanness to the Yanks that is only rivaled by Randy Johnson. (Questions about Randy will be taken up at a later time.) Why bring another old pitcher back, you say? He can still pitch. He hurled 211 innings last year with a 1.85 era, while still striking out 185. He doesn't need to throw 95 mph any more to get the job done. Sure the NL is a softer league and he benefited greatly from being there, but Roger loves to win and wants another shot at a championship.
There's the fact that Clemens can pitch in New York and that is key for any player coming to the Bronx. We all know what Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano looked like last year. Clemens is a no-lose proposition. I don't care about all the money the Yanks supposedly lost last year. If he wants in, Cashman will bring him back. Roger is also a nice back up to the rotation after their injury plagued season. He'd probably only pitch one more year anyway so there wouldn't be a long time investment either. I know he rubs some people the wrong way, but I say we should welcome him back with open arms.
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