June 22, 2006

The Rocket is back : Roger Clemens will face the Twins in his quest for another Cy Young award

read story | posted by ptluigi to Baseball at 7:31 AM CDT (27 comments total)

Hopefully, for the sake of my fantasy team, his return will pay dividends and not end up being a big letdown. Whether you like the guy or not, Clemens is a legend in the history of the game, and you like to watch guys like that for as long as you can. Obviously, the constant retirements/retirement talk (ala Brett Favre) is getting a bit old, but it's baseball. I'll hold onto the truly great ones for as long as possible.

posted by dyams at 7:45 AM CDT on June 22

I love all those guys. One just hates to see the implosion that holding on too long usually brings about for the sake of another ring.

posted by GoBirds at 7:49 AM CDT on June 22

I have a difficult time envisioning a Cy Young being awarded for half a season's worth of work.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 9:09 AM CDT on June 22

i never envisioned bud selig keeping his job but he has

posted by ptluigi at 9:19 AM CDT on June 22

I don't think he's in the running for the Cy. However, I think right now, the front-runners in the AL might be Jose Contreras and Jonathon Papelbon. So if he was in the AL he might be able to jump into that race.

In the NL, There are a few more contenders.

And the half-season thing grum said.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 9:24 AM CDT on June 22

Forget the Rocket. Tonight's game will be great to watch because of the young guy starting for the Twins - Francisco Liriano. He's 6-1, 2.16 ERA, and 67 strikeouts in only 58.1 IP. Many opposing batters have called him straight nasty, usually while they are walking back to the dugout hanging their heads.

How did the Twins get another pitcher like Johan Santana. Oh yeah, we traded A.J. Pierzynski to the SF Giants for Liriano, All Star closer Joe Nathan, and another pitcher Boof Bonser.

posted by emoeby at 9:35 AM CDT on June 22

Yeah, I'm as interested in seeing Liriano as much as the Rocket...that kid can pitch...

But this thread is about Clemens...and I think that his return to this Houston team could go a long way to seeing whether or not the Astros are contenders again. St. Louis is weaker than they've normally been over the past couple of seasons...and I highly doubt the Reds will keep this pace going for the entire year. The Mets are for real and I think all the West clubs will fall back some as the season progresses.

A good start by Clemens could be what propels Houston on another magical run to the World Series.

posted by chemwizBsquared at 10:20 AM CDT on June 22

Ummmm...we are talking about Roger Clemens right? Is Francisco Liriano a future Hall of Famer? I mean, we have seen Clemens' entire career so far and the guy is an absolute beast on the mound. It's not fair to compare guys to players that have already shown greatness by winning Cy Youngs and/or won the World Series. The Rocket deserves more credit than to be pushed aside for some fly by night pitcher that hasn't won the big one as of yet. Give the kid some time and he might prove me wrong but until that happens, Clemens deserves all the credit in the world for coming back to the game that made him a household name, like it or not.

posted by BornIcon at 10:21 AM CDT on June 22

You're right, let's ignore exciting new players in favor of an aging glory hog who can't be bothered to travel with the team or even sign on until the money's right and he's assured of getting some wins.

posted by yerfatma at 10:38 AM CDT on June 22

I don't think it's all that fair to call him a glory hound. If he needed a glory fix, he could have gotten it from any number of teams. The fact that he was sitting at home tells me that he was ready to hang up the spikes because the game didn't mean that much to him anymore. They just wanted him badly enough to give him a deal he couldn't pass up. If they hadn't, he still be sittng around enjoying the time off.

posted by ctal1999 at 11:17 AM CDT on June 22

emoeby's right, tonights game will be great to watch. Not only due to the fact that the rocket is coming back, but Liriano is lighting it up so far this season. While I don't agree with the wording Forget the Rocket he's done way too much for that. You also have to give some credit when new stand out talent comes along. Especially when they are going up against one another. Finally something good comes from interleague play.

posted by jojomfd1 at 12:09 PM CDT on June 22

Yep, "forget the rocket" wasn't what I really meant. Roger Clemens definitely deserves the attention for his comeback tonight. I just wanted to remind people that tonight's game isn't all about Roger. The guy on the other team might be worth watching.

That said, Liriano will probably have a horrible outing tonight, while the Rocket throws a no-hitter!

posted by emoeby at 12:21 PM CDT on June 22

Clemens deserves all the credit in the world for coming back to the game that made him a household name

That doesn't even make sense. He gets credit for coming back to play a game for millions? Credit for what? Showing up?

I don't think it's all that fair to call him a glory hound.

Sure it is. He's a great, great pitcher who is a huge, huge glory hound.

That said, he'll do fine in the national league. Bronson Arroyo is dominating the league. If Clemens does have problems, he can say he tried, while if he had gone to the yankees or red sox with all this hype and failed he would have been booed off the mound.

posted by justgary at 1:01 PM CDT on June 22

Clemens is just another one hanging on for big bucks and glory. Like many of them he's probably just can't face living in the real world without someone answering his every whim and having yes people around him all the time. But whose the real loser? Watch all the people putting down their hard earned money to see someone whose hanging around for millions more.

posted by joromu at 1:09 PM CDT on June 22

He's a great, great pitcher who is a huge, huge glory hound.

A lot of the great pitchers are, though.

posted by jerseygirl at 1:13 PM CDT on June 22

Watch all the people putting down their hard earned money to see someone whose hanging around for millions more.

The same could have been said last year. Except that Clemens proved that he wasn't just hanging around, with better run support he would have been a lock for the CY Young. While money is a factor in his coming back, he isn't just hanging around. I may be wrong but I think Clemens will still be a beast on the mound and earn most of his money.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 1:41 PM CDT on June 22

A lot of the great pitchers are, though.

Oh, I agree. Schilling, pedro, all glory hounds. But clemens is just the best, cemented by the past year.

Will he? Won't he? When imho he knew it was the astros all along. I don't think he wanted any part of the A.L. He wasn't a 'beast' the last time he pitched in the junior league.

posted by justgary at 1:48 PM CDT on June 22

Yeah, joromu, ol' Roger is just hanging on for bucks and glory, he obviously can't throw it past a bunch of minor leaguers and his 185 K's in 211 IP, and 1.87ERA were just flukes, as was the 0.99 ERA he had in his 11 starts that were no decisions and the 27 inning scoreless streak in August. Hell, he probably had folks wavin' at third strikes just as a farewell tribute. He's history, he should just hang 'em up! And those MILLIONS!!! He sure isn't worth any more than any of your run of the mill 11 game winners, and he sure doesn't increase gate receipts or raise television ratings, no sir, not that old washed up geezer.
What a travesty! Surely, no way he will contribute as much as Joe Namath did as a LA Ram, or John Unitas as a San Diego Charger, or Mark Messier as whatever the hell he last was, Sheesh, what the hell is he thinking?

posted by mjkredliner at 1:51 PM CDT on June 22

Houston seems to be in better position to make a serious run than last year. The Braves might not make the playoffs this year (I won't count those zombies out unless they're officially eliminated); the Reds are over-achieving; and the NL West teams will likely spend this summer beating up on each other. That leaves the Cardinals and the Mets--and St. Louis DOES appear vulnerable (especially with Pujols injured and Mulder struggling.) I don't foresee the 'Stros beating the Mets..but Oswalt would likely be matched up with Pedro (leaving Clemens to face Orlando Hernandez perhaps) so Houston could pull an upset. Will Lidge be the weak link though? *envisions Lidge serving up a game-winning homer to Beltran* Clemens should not even be considered to win the Cy unless he has a (half) season akin to Greg Maddux's in '95. Even if Houston and Clemens return to the WS I still can't see them beating Boston, New York, or the Chisox. (I don't consider Detroit, Toronto, or Oakland--and certainly not Texas--serious contenders.)

posted by curtangle at 1:55 PM CDT on June 22

A lot of the great pitchers are, though.

Sure. It may even be what makes them great. My only objection was to the suggestion we needed to put all young stars to one side when The Texas Con Man rolls through.

posted by yerfatma at 2:00 PM CDT on June 22

Yeah, maybe 22 years and 4500 strikeouts from now, Francisco Liriano will make us forget all about Roger.

posted by mjkredliner at 2:17 PM CDT on June 22

I'm leaning towards.... No.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 2:52 PM CDT on June 22

Yeah, maybe 22 years and 4500 strikeouts from now, Francisco Liriano will make us forget all about Roger.

Only if he achieves it all while maintaining his child-bearing hips.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 3:12 PM CDT on June 22

I'm with Weedy on this one...he has a better chance of making us forget about the Rocket.

posted by chemwizBsquared at 3:28 PM CDT on June 22

Givin' Roger the ol' reach around, I see.

posted by igottheblues at 4:21 PM CDT on June 22

Liriano-he is my boy. I hope the rest of the country realizes that this kid is the real deal! It was nice to see the Rocket back last night. However, the story of the evening wasnt the Rocket it was Francisco!

posted by daddisamm at 6:44 AM CDT on June 23

Liriano threw a great game, no question. Clemens, though, looked pretty good for his first major league outing of the year. Houston's offense was shut completely down, though.

posted by dyams at 7:52 AM CDT on June 23

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