That is also an understatement. During the Yankees' dominating win over the Mariners today, Roger Clemens happened to be sitting in the owner's box. With the Yankees leading 4-0 in the 7th inning, Clemens announced to the crowd by means of microphone that he was persuaded out of Houston and will be "talking to ya'll soon." Also, that he was "privileged to be back." By the bottom of the eighth he was in the YES announcers booth and said he would love to be back on the team by June 1st
Coincidentally, the Yankees will be in Fenway Park on that date, but Clemens said the two were unrelated and he was ready to start anywhere. Apparently Jeter, Posada and others had been "shooting" him e-mails (Jeter about once a week) and Pettitte had been in touch with him the whole time. Everybody from Pettitte, to Jeter, to Guidry did not know what was going to happen today.
According to Clemens, having "the greatest closer" he has ever pitched for, his closest buddies on the team and the "best manager" he has ever played for all in one place, along with the ability to win, was the most important thing for him. He looks forward to helping the "young guys" develop and bringing some experience and stability to the rotation. With Phil Hughes, a pitcher who has been compared to Roger Clemens, acting as a sponge around him for the rest of the season, Hughes may fast track his way towards dominance as well. It would have had the same effect on guys like Josh Beckett or Jon Lester in Boston. That can only spell bad things for every other team.
With that said, the Yankees' rotation took another giant step forward with another solid performance, this time from Darrell Rasner: 5.2IP, 3 H, 0 ER and just 2 BB in a 5-0 Yankees victory. In five games minus Igawa's start, Yankees starters have thrown 32 IP, surrendered just 4 runs and won all five games. They have clinched a split with the Mariners, have won five of six and look to take three of four in this series tomorrow when Matt Desalvo makes his major league debut. There was some drama before the voice from above was heard, and it started on Friday. With Igawa having given up three homeruns he threw very close to Ichiro's head. Yesterday, A-Rod was hit in the elbow by a pitch and today Josh Phelps took out Kenji Johjima for no necessary reason at home plate (Johjima was not blocking it). In retaliation, Phelps was hit his next at bat (after a failed attempt on the first pitch) and then Scott Proctor threw behind Betancourt. Proctor and Torre were ejected after the benches cleared.
The timetable is officially set, the Yankees are 5-1 during a stretch that they need to go 9-5. With a useless Sidney Ponson facing the Red Sox, the Yankees stand to be 5.5 out of first place by the end of today. All of a sudden, the other three teams in the league no longer matter in terms of contention. The Bombers have eight more games against Seattle and Texas and then a three game series with the struggling White Sox. In those 11 games, I expect the Yankees to win at least seven, if not eight of them. After that, it could be the most important pre-Clemens part of the season as New York squares off against the Mets, Red Sox and Angels. When those games are over, it is Toronto and Boston again, and any of those games can include a Rocket landing.
The Yankees can conceivably go 12-8 for the rest of the month and that is being realistic. With a Clemens return and the Red Sox facing Toronto (in Toronto), Detroit, (defending champions) the Yankees (in New York), Texas (in Texas) and Cleveland, there is a chance the standings don't change much from here until June 1st and maybe the lead shrinks to around four games. This is why the season is 162 games, I doubt there will be anybody counting the Yankees out or claiming that their starting staff is "mediocre, even when healthy" when the rotation has five potentially solid starters by mid-June. There could also be three aces in the rotation, though I don't think Hughes is THAT effective this season. The trick is lasting that long and with the schedules aligned the way they are, the starters pitching better, the offense clicking again and the Yankees starting to win more consistantly, I expect they will.
Update: Randy Hendricks, Clemen's agent said the main reason Roger chose New York was actually the urgency that they wanted him. Boston and Houston both requested Roger to come back in late June, early July whereas the Yankees (understandably so) asked for him "whenever he was ready". Clemens felt he was ready to start the process now, so that made the decision much easier.
Here is an old SportsCenter commercial of Roger in a Red Sox uniform. Pretty funny stuff.
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