we don't need him

As all of you no doubt already know, our old friend Roger Clemens has decided to come out of retirement(again) to sign a 1-year, pro-rated $28M deal, with the New York Yankees.

At first glance at that sentence, you all probably think that I was mad, jealous, or at the very least mildly upset upon first hearing this via my brother’s text message on Sunday. But the very first thing I sent back to my brother (who has lived in Boston for years now) was “we don’t need him anyways.” That sentence really surprised me after I sent it to my brother and thought about it. Here was a 7-time Cy Young Award winner, a 345+ game winner, a 2-time 20 K in a game pitcher, and a 2-time world champion. And I didn’t care that he wasn’t coming to the Fens to bring his career full circle?

It’s weird, but yeh, I honestly couldn’t give a crap about it. Our team is SOLID, and we aren’t even near our peak yet. Our top 3 starters are mowing them down left and right(with Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett leading the way), while Wakefield is 2^nd in the AL in ERA. And we all know that Lester is mere weeks away from his first start of the year after recovering from cancer. That was it right there; our rotation was already star-studded and packed from front to back. I really don’t want a 6-inning(at most) pitcher with a history of groin problems screwing that up.

Clemens says he didn’t come back to the Yankees for money or to prove anything. He says he just wants to bring NY another championship. And to that, I call BULLSHIT. Everyone knows that Boston is in the best shape right now to win the World Series. You live and die in October by pitching, and you cannot say we are unequipped in that aspect. Can you imagine a 5-game series in which the opposition could face a barrage of Schilling-Beckett-Matsuzaka-Schilling-Beckett?! Are you seriously kidding me?! The Yankees will be lucky if any of their current starters(and one more that is coming in the next few weeks) will be standing on his own two feet come September. It also doesn’t help Clemens’ argument in that both the Red Sox and Astros wanted Roger to have a longer buildup time before coming back to the majors. They each wanted him to eye for a July return, which would of course mean less money, which was something we know Roger really really didn’t want.

So the countdown has begun until Sox/Yanks series at Fenway begins on June 1st. Clemens is expected to return by then, and one of those days could easily be his first start of the year. Can you imagine what the reception will be in Boston for the Rocket?! My god, he is going to get absolutely reamed by Sox Nation, and I can’t wait to hear it.

And speaking of that game, I think I am with Eric Wilbur on this one. It is entirely plausible that Jon Lester could be making one of his return starts that very same weekend in Boston, meaning he and Clemens could match up. How awesome would it be if the Sox gave Lester the #21 jersey(what Clemens wore with them)? Like Clemens back in the 80s, Lester is the prized, most celebrated young prospect in the organization, so why not give him the number and give Clemens the ultimate slap in the face to say “we don’t care anymore”?

I can honestly say I’m uber-pumped about the return of Lester. We need a lefty in our rotation, and his stuff his FILTHY. He can also dial it up to 96-97mph when needed. He was rolling at 7-2 last year before going out with cancer. He is going to be a staple of our rotation for years to come, and it’s gonna be fun to watch.

Other stuff that has had me talking…

This whole Schilling/Bonds ordeal. I love Schiller to death, and I know he likes to have the spotlight on himself, but man, why did he say that? Even worse, he didn’t even get his facts straight, nevermind that he talked about Bonds’ family and such. It was completely stupid, and I’m glad Curt apologized today on his blog. Maybe we can get this past us.

It all makes me now think of that mid-June series when the Giants visit the Red Sox. What kind of circus is it gonna be if Bonds is at 755 when he steps into Fenway(entirely possible at this point) on a day when Schilling is pitching? To be honest, it kinda scares me. I absolutely do not want one of my boys to go down I history as one that gave up the meatball to-end-all meatballs to Bonds. I just hope he breaks the record way before he gets to Boston or way after.

Currently Drinking: My dad’s own home-grown brew!