With Roger Clemens now estranged from Andy Pettitte, and the entire league wary of signing big name players tainted by the Mitchell Report, should the Red Sox reach out to Clemens on a contract for 2008? Such a move would certainly be against the modus operandi of the PR-conscious front office, but after the initial shock wore off, I think Clemens would be willing to sacrifice significant dollars for an opportunity to rehabilitate his image in Boston. The Yankees definitely won't compete him for his services this year and the Astros are not a playoff-caliber club. With Schilling possibly out for the entire season, and the Red Sox looking at the likes of Odalis 6+ ERA Perez, the Red Sox could do a lot worse than Roger Clemens. If he were willing to sign for $2.1 million (he likes his salary to match his uniform number), would you take him?
I probably would sign him because I want the Red Sox to have the best chance to win. I also think at least some people in the Red Sox front office would do it because there are still those in the organization angling to retire his number (as evinced by the unwillingness to give it out to anyone since 1996.) Most recently, Sean Casey wanted #21 and the team instead issued him #22. If Clemens is one day going to end up with his number on the rightfield wall, the team might as well take him back, help salvage his reputation, and let him get that perfect ending we've been talking about for the last few years.
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