Clemens to sign with Houston

**isetcap** · 05-30-06, 04:00 PM

Should push them over 83 wins. Will it be enough for them to make the postseason though?

**bigboydan** · 05-30-06, 04:04 PM

they could sure use him about now too. the astros just have been on a big downward slide for a little while now.

**Mudcat** · 05-30-06, 04:06 PM

I don't understand why nobody offers me 3.5 million dollars per month to play baseball. I'm younger than Clemens.

**tacomax** · 05-30-06, 04:06 PM

They sure as shit need someone to replace Pettitte in the line-up.

**isetcap** · 05-30-06, 04:10 PM

They should trade Petttittttttttte for a minor leaguer and a cooler of gatorade.

**bigboydan** · 05-30-06, 04:15 PM

i just heard a live interview with Morgan Ensberg. when the interviewer asked him about Clemens signing today, he said he hasn't heard anything about it.

**Willie Bee** · 05-30-06, 04:24 PM

Well, this is coming from Newsday in New York, so consider the source.

Also consider that Ensberg often knows nothing about swinging at fat pitches down the middle, so consider his own mind as well

**isetcap** · 05-30-06, 04:26 PM

Yeah, maybe they should throw Morgan in with that Petttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttte deal and ask for orange gatorade instead of green.

**TexAg001** · 05-30-06, 04:43 PM

My team has fallen ao much that they are a +142 agaisnt a guy coming up from triple A with our supposed 2nd rotation guy on the mound. There are a bunch of problems with this team. However, I believe you can start with the production of the corner outfield spots. Willy Taveras is solid offense wise in center but you got a couple of numb nuts on both sides of him. Jason Lane is batting 200 ish with 9 HRs and only 20 RBI. Do you realize how hard it is to have 9 HRs and only 20 RBI? Then you got Preston Wilson aka the human windmill in left. He is only striking out 1 out of every 4 times. Wilson had 5 HRS in April...what the problem with that? Well the dude still has 5 HRs to date. Although Wilson was a center fielder and is highly athletic he appears to be lost on some fly balls. However Wilson looking lost in the outfield cant top how bad Berkman is in the outfiled. And with the offense sucking so bad they have put Berkman out there more and Mike Lamb(who can hit but cant field) at first. Now it seems that Berkmans right knee is so bad that they might do an MRI. He played the first game agasinst the cards but sat out all 3 games in Pitt except for a p hit appearance.

All in all they started off hot but are probaly exactly what they are right now. A team that is at 500 or a little above. They have basicaly 3 rookies in the starting rotation. Although some of those guys have really shown some special things( Buckholtz was close to having 2 CG shutouts) I dont realy feel you can depend on them for the long haul not to blow some games you should win. Oh and Andy Petite this year 5.76 ERA giving up 85 hits in 65 innings...and they havent even been using aluminum bats to get those numbers.

**Willie Bee** · 05-30-06, 05:31 PM

ESPN.com reports that Astros and Clemens' agent deny any deal is in place now...typical Newsday jumping the gun and trying to fill column inches

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2463566

Houston Astros general manager Tim Purpura denied a report on Tuesday that Roger Clemens had picked a team for 2006, saying the situation was "status quo."

Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks, and Astros' owner Drayton McLane also denied the report.

Newsday reported on its Web site that Clemens had decided to re-sign with the Astros and an announcement would be made as soon as today.

Purpura denied the report, telling ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, "It's status quo, except for all the media attention we've had."

"We've had no conduct with Roger's people today," said Purpura, adding that the last time he talked to Hendricks was Sunday.

Purpura said he was told then that "Roger was still in the mode of trying to decide what he wants to do." So essentially, Purpura said, "We're just awaiting his decision."

Hendricks told ESPN.com that he hasn't spoken to the Astros on Tuesday.

"Contrary to Newsday, there is no agreement with the Astros," Hendricks said.

McLane also reiterated that Clemens has not signed with the team.

"We haven't finished the deal yet," McLane told the Houston Chronicle. "We've been standing by. Tim or I have talked to him every two or three days. They haven't given us a decision. They haven't said a word to us about it. That's complete news to me. We haven't finalized the deal yet nor has he told us. Boy that's total news to us."

Still, McLane remains optimistic that a deal will get done soon.

"I've been confident since January," McLane said. "We waited on them and they said they would get back to us. I talked to Tim about an hour and a half ago. We're very very optimtistic, but we knew that we have to wait to hear back from them. That has not happened yet."

Another baseball executive, whose team has been involved in the Clemens discussions, told Stark on Tuesday that he believes Clemens could sign with the Astros in the next 48 hours. Among the reasons: Clemens' son, Koby, is about ready to come off the disabled list in the Astros' minor league system, making it possible that Clemens could pitch to Koby in his tuneup starts, either in extended spring training or for one of the Astros' minor-league clubs.

A source who has talked to Clemens this month says Clemens spoke about that possibility and seemed intrigued by it. Father and son have been working out together recently, as they both geared up for a return, the source told Stark.

Meanwhile, two baseball men who have been in contact with Clemens told Stark the only other team Clemens is seriously considering is the Red Sox, because they are more willing than the Yankees to give Clemens the kind of schedule and travel concessions the Astros offered him over the last two years. Nevertheless, Houston is still viewed as the favorite. Texas has also been considered a possibility.

In December, the Astros declined to offer Clemens arbitration after he went 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA in 32 starts. However, Clemens began to wear down late in the season and lasted just two innings in Houston's Game One loss to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series due to a hamstring injury.

In his two seasons with the Astros, Clemens posted a 31-12 record with a 2.43 ERA.

An 11-time All-Star, Clemens has more wins than any other living pitcher and ranks ninth all-time with 341 victories. In 672 career games, he is 341-172 with a 3.12 ERA and has recorded 4,502 career strikeouts, trailing only Nolan Ryan (5,714) on the all-time list

**Illusion** · 05-31-06, 02:01 PM

The deal is done. Clemens resigned with Houston today.

**Illusion** · 05-31-06, 02:04 PM

Rocket relaunch: Clemens rejoins Astros

Here's the story:

HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement for the third time, agreeing to a contract to pitch for the Houston Astros for the rest of 2006.

The 43-year-old Clemens, who will be entering his 23rd major league season, is agreeing first to a minor league contract that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season, and his first start is likely to be June 6 at Lexington, Ky., the Class A team where his oldest son, Koby, plays.

If all goes well, his second minor league start would be June 11 at Double-A Corpus Christi, Texas, followed by a start June 16 at Triple-A Round Rock, Texas.

Clemens announced his return Wednesday at a news conference.

"The ball's in my court now," he said. "This was a difficult decision on my part in a number of situations. I have to now take the next step and get my body ready to come back, get effective, win games."

When he is added to the major league roster, he'll get a one-year, $22 million contract -- actually, the contract would be worth $22,000,022 (Clemens' uniform number is 22). But because he won't be playing the full season, he'll receive a prorated percentage of that, which would come to about $12.25 million if he rejoins Houston in late June. The tentative goal is to have him start against the Minnesota Twins on June 22; if he's put on the big league roster that day, he would earn $12,632,307.

Randy Hendricks, Clemens' agent, reiterated Wednesday that earlier reports of a deal were premature. Hendricks told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Astros GM Tim Purpura went to Hendricks' house Tuesday night and met with Hendricks and his brother, Alan. Owner Drayton McLane also took part in the talks by phone, Hendricks said, and they worked out the terms "after midnight."

The Astros were 27-26 and 6½ games behind the NL Central-leading Cardinals after Tuesday night's 6-3 victory over St. Louis.

Clemens pitched for the Astros last season and helped them reach the World Series for the first time. Houston, the New York Yankees, Boston and Texas all tried to lure Clemens to pitch this season.

"Although we are disappointed that Roger Clemens will not be joining the Red Sox, we are glad that we went through the process and reconnected as an organization with Roger," the Red Sox said in a statement. "We wish him the best of luck with Houston and in the National League. When Roger's career does come to an end, we will welcome him to Fenway Park and will forever consider him to be a legendary and beloved member of the Boston Red Sox."

Clemens last pitched competitively in the World Baseball Classic, where he beat South Africa for the United States in the first round and lost to Mexico 2-1 in the second on March 16.

Clemens retired after the 2003 season, then changed his mind and joined his hometown Astros after former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte left New York to sign with Houston.

In Detroit, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre heard the report Tuesday that Clemens was returning to Houston.

"I'm not at all surprised," he said. "I didn't think that him coming back here was ever going to happen. Houston's just such a perfect fit for him -- he lives there and Andy's on the team. That's why he came back before, and the circumstances haven't changed."

Texas owner Tom Hicks was told last week by the Hendricks brothers that the Rangers were out of consideration, Texas GM Jon Daniels said.

"Tom got the call on Friday that we were no longer in the running for his services," Daniels said Tuesday. "The way we looked at it was, it would be an honor to be associated with him, but we've continued to focus on the 25 guys here. It would have been nice, but we weren't planning on it from the get-go."

Clemens won his seventh Cy Young Award in 2004, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA. He went 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA last year, winning the major league ERA title for the first time since 1990.

**bigboydan** · 05-31-06, 02:45 PM

i think we all seen this one comming though.

it's no suprise at all to see him come out yet agian of his so called retirement. he acted the whole offseason that he would probly come back for another year, after losing the world series.

**isetcap** · 05-31-06, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by Willie Bee

ESPN.com reports that Astros and Clemens' agent deny any deal is in place now...typical Newsday jumping the gun and trying to fill column inches

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2463566

Those damn liars at Newsday. Agents and organizations never lie!