(no subject)

[catslash]

An article from the Houston Chronicle about Boston's interest in Clemens.

My favorite part is how it talks about other teams being stunned that the 'Stros didn't offer Clemens arbitration, like hi, are you not paying attention? We can't afford to sit around with our thumbs up our asses waiting to find out if Mr Maybe I'll Pitch Maybe I Won't is going to suck up a third of our payroll or not. Roger Clemens =/= equal the entire team, and we have things to do, such as get Brad Ausmus to re-sign and bolster up our sad little offense. We wait till freaking February for Roger to make up his mind and not only will there be no moves left to make, but he may decide not to come back and then we've really screwed ourselves.

Please tell me what part of that does not make sense, because I'd really like to know. I think Boston in particular has forgotten that not every team has the second-largest payroll in baseball.

Comments

[workingslacker.livejournal.com]

Not offering arbitration to Roger was one of the smartest things they could have done. There are a couple of things that Boston, and the other teams, need to realize. Roger is in the twilight of his career--this isn't saying that he's losing his game, but it does mean that the choices he makes doesn't affect just him. What drives a 20-something ballplayer isn't the same as what drives a 40-something. He's holding off a decision until early next year for one reason: does he want to retire (for reals this time!), or does he want to play? It's got nothing to do with the size of his paycheck, or what team he plays for.

I really doubt that Roger would ever leave Houston. First, he's got a family to think about. It was one of the reasons he decided to play for the Astros in the first place. Second, he's got a number of local endorsements down here, and I see him taking the Nolan Ryan route--retiring, and living off commercials for the rest of his life. There is a super-grocery store that uses him (and Andy, to be fair), as well as a mega-car dealership. If he moved up north and became a yankee again (in Texas, even the Red Sox are considered yankees ;)), he would never get those back. Third, his son plays for an Astros affiliate, and there's rumors going around that he could be a September call-up. I would bet money that the thought of playing big league ball with his boy has crossed Roger's mind more than once.


Wow, that came out to be a long-winded "I agree" post. :)

[hoedogg.livejournal.com]

It makes perfect sense to me. Also as good as he was last season, I really don't want him back in a Red Sox uniform.