Looks like it's down to two teams for Roger Clemens

[Lefty]

Steve Phillips is reporting that it looks like it will be between Boston and New York for Roger's services.

 

[devilfan02]

Steve Phillips is reporting that it looks like it will be between Boston and New York for Roger's services.

ESPN.com Rumor Mill
To play or not to play?
May 26 - The Rangers, Astros, Yankees, and Red Sox are intensifying their pursuit of Roger Clemens, the Boston Globe reports. According to a source close to the situation, the decision will be between Boston and Houston, with the Astros holding a slight advantage.
Clemens is supposed to decide the first week of June after completing a three-week at-home training regimen to determine how close he is to returning to game action. When told someone close to the talks is saying it's between Boston and Houston, agent Randy Hendricks replied, "I think someone is guessing. We have not told anyone that they are out. I do think he is leaning towards playing if he makes it through all of his workouts."



My bet- He'll be an Astro in less than 2 weeks

 

[FinleyLover]

I personally don't understand what all the fuss is about. These teams are willing to pay him a full years salary for, basically for a couple of months, hoping he will help get them into the playoffs. His record of late in playoff situations isn't very impressive either. IMO, a lot of money for a big risk.

 

[devilfan02]

I personally don't understand what all the fuss is about. These teams are willing to pay him a full years salary for, basically for a couple of months, hoping he will help get them into the playoffs. His record of late in playoff situations isn't very impressive either. IMO, a lot of money for a big risk.

The teams trying to get Clemens- Bos, NYY, and Houston will most likely all make the playoffs. They are getting him to win a world series, not make a playoff push... I would want him pitching for my team whether it's a week from now or in September.

 

[poptart]

The teams trying to get Clemens- Bos, NYY, and Houston will most likely all make the playoffs. They are getting him to win a world series, not make a playoff push... I would want him pitching for my team whether it's a week from now or in September.

Astros aint even gonna get close to the playoffs.

The Cards are gonna win the division easily. And it's looking like the Reds are gonna get second place in the division... and even if the 'stros get up into second they'd still have to compete with whoever else is competing for the Wild Card.

He's going to Boston

 

[Ruff N Tuff]

wow.. imagine a rotation of Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, and Roger Clemens

 

[devilfan02]

Astros aint even gonna get close to the playoffs.

The Cards are gonna win the division easily. And it's looking like the Reds are gonna get second place in the division... and even if the 'stros get up into second they'd still have to compete with whoever else is competing for the Wild Card.

He's going to Boston

You prob said the same thing about the Astros last year....

 

[poptart]

You prob said the same thing about the Astros last year....

well he's deciding this week, and if he wants a contender, he's probably not gonna pick someone thats 3rd place in their division right now.

 

[devilfan02]

well he's deciding this week, and if he wants a contender, he's probably not gonna pick someone thats 3rd place in their division right now.

Yeah well the Astros were in last at this time last year and came on strong. If Petitte regains his usual form and you add Clemens they will definitely make the playoffs. Plus, do you really think the Reds are gonna keep this pace up???? I don't understand how you can say they would not be contenders

 

[Ruff N Tuff]

ESPNNEWS just reported Clemens will sign a 1 year deal with Houston.

 

[devilfan02]

ESPNNEWS just reported Clemens will sign a 1 year deal with Houston.

Not sure why that is a surprise to anyone

 

[abomb]

ESPNNEWS just reported Clemens will sign a 1 year deal with Houston.

From espn.com.

Astros GM says Clemens situation is 'status quo

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 told MLB.com. "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.

Information from The Associated Press and SportsTicker was used in this report.

 

[Dback Jon]

Clemens OKs $22M deal to return to Astros

HOUSTON - Roger Clemens has agreed to a $22 million 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 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 gets a one-year contract worth $22,000,022 — his uniform number is 22. Because he won't be playing the full season, he gets only 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 on that day, he would earn $12,632,307.

The Astros were 27-26 and 6 1/2 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.

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.

In Detroit, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said Tuesday that it made sense for Clemens to return 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, 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 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.

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.

Clemens has a career record of 341-172 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,502 strikeouts, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros. An 11-time All-Star and winner of the 1986 AL MVP Award, he is tied for eighth on the career wins list and is second in strikeouts behind Nolan Ryan (5,714).

 

[Stallion]

I'm not surprised Clemens "came back" but I am surprised it's with Houston. They might only be the 4th best team in their own division.

But I guess $22 mil and the chance to stay home isn't a bad consolation even if they don't make the playoffs.