I have never been a Roger Clemens fan. I respected his
ability as a big league pitcher but I just never warmed up to him. Not as a fan
and not as a member of the media. This has nothing to do with the Mitchell
Report. This has nothing to do with whether or not I believe Clemens used
steroids. It doesn’t even have anything to do with Clemens throwing a bat at
Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series. I was just never a fan.
That said, what he’s doing tonight is pretty damn cool.
If you missed it, and frankly, it would have been tough to,
Clemens will pitch competitively for the first time since the 2007 season, when
he was with the New York Yankees. He will be on the mound tonight – at the age
of 50 – for the Sugar Land Skeeters (an independent minor league team) against
the Bridgeport Bluefish.
I live in Houston, and there is more buzz for this particular
game than there is about the Astros and their weekend series with the Mets.
There is more buzz about Clemens tonight and the Texans’ pre-season matchup
with the Saints (and Houston is just crazy about the Texans). Everyone is
interested in seeing whether or not Clemens can pull this off.
ESPN has jumped in as well. The Worldwide Leader will be all
over tonight’s game, whether it’s with live coverage on ESPN Classic or live
look-ins on any of their other networks. If you are looking for it you will not
miss a single pitch of Clemens’ effort tonight.
The question that has been going around ever since Clemens
announced his deal with the Skeeters is whether or not he has a bigger
long-term goal in mind. Does Clemens want to make a return to Major League
Baseball as an active pitcher at the ripe old age of 50?
I had the opportunity to speak with a few guys that might
know. Phil Garner managed Clemens with the Astros and knows a thing or two
about the guy. He still keeps in touch with him. Larry Dierker is a former
Astros manager and broadcaster. If it concerns the Astros, he knows something
about it. Jim Deshaies is a former Astros pitcher who is now a popular
television analyst for the club. None of them would be shocked if Clemens could
pitch in the big leagues, especially Dierker.
Deshaies thinks Clemens has designs on making it all the way
back to the majors
“I don’t think he would be doing it if there wasn’t the idea
in the back of his mind that he would return to the big leagues at some point.
I think it’s a test,” Deshaies explained.
And none of them would be surprised if Clemens was
effective.
“Don’t underestimate him,” Deshaies said. “I think he has
been throwing the ball pretty well. He doesn’t want to go out there and
embarrass himself.”
Who knows why Clemens is doing this. Maybe he’s bored now
that he has finished his fight with the government. Maybe he wants to give
something back to the game after all these years. Maybe he wants to teach
something to the next generation of players. Or maybe he’s just that competitive.
Only Clemens knows.
But I know this. Having watched the Astros this season, a
50-year old Roger Clemens that can still throw the ball at 87 MPH might be
better than any other starter the Astros can put out there.
This ballclub is the worst in baseball. They are 40-86. Outside
of second baseman Jose Altuve there isn’t a lot of reason to watch this team.
They are playing a lot of kids no one has ever heard of. Outside of Altuve and
Jed Lowrie they have traded every household name they had (Carlos Lee, Brett
Myers and Wandy Rodriguez to name a few).
Lucas Harrell is the only starter that has a winning record
(10-9, 4.04 ERA). Other than that there hasn’t been much to look forward to.
Bud Norris, Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel don’t get anyone excited. As a
whole, this team doesn’t get anyone excited.
I’ve lived in Houston for six months. No one talks about
this team. No one. There are more people talking about the local MLS team (the
Dynamo) than there are people talking about the Astros. I have been to about
ten games this year as a fan. I haven’t seen a big crowd yet at Minute Maid
Park (a gorgeous stadium by the way).
It has been a trying season for fans of this team, so if
Clemens shows that there is anything left in the tank, why
not give him a start or two in September? Would it be a cheap stunt to get
fans to watch the club? Yeah, it would. But there is really no other reason to
watch the Astros.
There are some that say Clemens is doing this to re-start
the five-year wait for Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame. That’s very possible,
too. By then there will be a new batch of Hall of Fame voters, a group more
likely to vote him into Cooperstown. But that’s another debate for another day.
Right now it’s about watching to see if this 50-year old has
anything left. He isn’t the only old guy to try and pull this off. But he is
the only former power pitcher trying to pull it off.
As much as I am not a fan of his, I’ll be interested in
seeing if he can pull this off.
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