More Clemens

It turns out that it was about money. Surprised? You shouldn't be. I was yesterday -- that emotional rant sounded ridiculous when I read it over this morning -- but when push comes to shove, money is what Roger Clemens is all about. When he was leaving the Sox after 1996 he said he wanted to go close to his home in Texas. Was he looking at the map upside down when he went to Toronto? No, he was looking for large stacks of green. Did he mind going to the Yankees before the 1999 season? I mean, all those years in Boston had to mean something, right? Turns out they didn't, Roger pushed for the trade to New York and a new fat contract extension. After retiring following the 2003 World Series, did he really retire? No way. He pitched in Houston, right near home, for a sweetheart deal that paid him tons of dough and in return he only had to be in uniform on the day that he was scheduled to pitch. So, now that it turns out that Clemens took the pro-rated $28 million from the Yankees instead of the pro-rated $22 million from the Astros or pro-rated $18 million from the Red Sox, I am in full acceptance that Clemens is nothing more than a mercenary desperate for headlines. Doesn't make him a bad guy. All it makes him is an enemy of the Sox -- something this bored fan base is in serious need of -- a greedy bastard and a more faded memory of my childhood. The late great Will McDonough said it best... Roger really is a Texas Con Man. And if that doesn't do it for you, Curt Schilling's comments put it in great perspective from a Red Sox point of view ... I would have loved to have him [Clemens], I said so, but the second he chose the Yankees it became a non-factor. This game is hard enough worrying about the things you can control much less the things you can’t. We have a very very good team. I think we have the best staff in the game right now. Can that change? Sure it can but no one here can tell us how when and why it will change. Maybe it won’t. Bottom line is if you are in our clubhouse wishing we had Clemens you are basically telling a teammate you suit up with every day that we’re better off without you. I’ve made that mistake in the past and refused to do it again. CHB can sob all he wants, Rocket coming here gave him something legitimate to actually write about for the next 4 months. Now he can stick to the bitter style he’s perfected and talk about how bad we suck because we failed to get Rocket." -- 5.7.07, Curt Schilling, 38Pitches.com