Rocket's priorities

by cofan17 on Feb 5, 2007 1:04 PM MST

I konw this is an off-Rockies topic, but I just couldn't resist commenting on this. I saw this post on ESPN today...

Feb 1 - Roger Clemens remains undecided about playing in 2007, but the future Hall of Famer has made it clear that he has no interest in pitching for a team unless it will be heading for the postseason, the New York Daily News reports.

"You put your body through a lot of punishment and then you come up one game short like [Houston] did last year; for me, it was waste of time," Clemens told the newspaper. "If you don't have an opportunity to go to the playoffs and have a chance to win, it's a waste of time for me."

Hey Roger, if you had pitched in some of the games in April or May last year maybe your team would have won some of those games and you wouldn't have missed the playoffs by one game. Either pitch for the entire season to help your team, or just retire. But either way, don't run your mouth about being disappointed by "the team" when you didn't even have the courtesy to get yourself ready to pitch by opening day.

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).

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great point

i hate the fact that clemens is now basically bigger than the game, as in, he can show up whenever he wants to, run his mouth like this if things don't work out, and still get paid market value for a full season. what a dickweed. the real problem is the fact that the astros and yankees will let him get away with it because he's still good and they really need him. now that he's started making this a yearly occurrence, who's to say other aging greats (granted, clemens is one of the best of all time, but there are other guys out there with relatively similar skills who might somehow find the same magic durability potion he has when they reach his age) won't start doing the same thing? what if this became a regular occurrence, with 5-10 players every year making a big media scene out of starting their seasons in june? that would make me sick. i'm usually not much for the traditional "old school, throwback, no one's bigger than the team" mentality because it doesn't translate well to today's sporting world. but this absolutely crosses the line.

Rockies in October.

by LarryB303 on Feb 6, 2007 12:27 PM MST reply actions

why aging greats?

It seems to me that this would be a good strategy for a good player in his prime, just sign for the biggest 1-year contract you can find and then play the market again the next year. Could you imagine the bidding war for one year of Pujols? Of course, the risk is injury, so maybe players in their prime are reluctant to take the risk, but the potential for big money and playing for a pennant is there. Of course, this would absolutely ruin baseball, but these guys would get rich in the process.

by DenverBears on Feb 6, 2007 4:34 PM MST up reply actions

creepy

but what you say is pretty true. obviously, the desire to be set up for as many high-paid years as possible is the only thing stopping the players that know they will preform well year in and year out (as opposed to the adrian beltres of the world) from doing this. well, besides loyalty to your team and desire to stay in any specific city for a long period of time, but really, who cares about those things anymore? nervous laughter

Rockies in October.

by LarryB303 on Feb 7, 2007 8:22 AM MST up reply actions

Clemens and post season

Well, my thoughts on his comment, if he really wants to make the post season or it's a waste of his time, then why didn't he go with the sure thing and go to the Yankees? Yes, I know the Astro's made the World Series in 2005 and the team really didn't change in the offseason so there was potential to go to the playoffs again, the situation is different now. The Astro's didn't make the playoffs last year and the changes they made this offseason actually, in my opinion, made them take a step back. After all, yes they got Jennings, but in doing that, they gave us their #4 and #5 starters so the back of the Astro's rotation is in shambles. They also gave us Taveras who, because of his speed, could have covered for the horrible defense that Lee plays. Instead, the Astro's have the slower Burke (who also doesn't have the arm that Taveras does) trying to cover Lee's defense. If Clemens really wants to go to the playoffs, I think he can pretty much make it a two team race between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Even in the weak NL Central, I don't think the Astros have the pieces to make the playoffs.

by lgh77 on Feb 7, 2007 11:17 AM MST reply actions