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Zen653 · 11-30-2006, 11:12 AM

I would be brimming with joy if we somehow signed Clemens. I never stopped liking him. He remains one of my all-time favorites. I just love his bulldog mentality on the mound. I love that devastating fastball that still flummoxes opposing hitters as though it were 1984.

The Rocket's just an incredible player. It would be a dream come true to watch him finish his career in a Red Sox uniform. Championship aside, nothing could please me more than to watch #21 trot back out onto the Fenway mound. I get goosebumps just thinking about the response he'd receive on Opening Day, and every time he toes the rubber. I wouldn't even care if he struggled. I just want to see him back here. I want to see him finish in the city he never should have left.

Sentimental reasons aside, I think a Clemens acquisition would be an outstanding baseball move. We'd only need to sign him for one year and the front office favors short-term contracts. He'd be a good tutor for Jon Papelbon, Josh Beckett and other young pitchers on the team. (Schilling credits Clemens with turning his career around.) And most importantly of all, Clemens would potentially give us 5 aces in our starting rotation.

How many teams can boast a rotation of 5 No. 1 starters? Or a combination of 5 No. 1 and 2's? We'd win 100 games. Wakefield could move to the bullpen where he's probably more useful anyway (because of the change in speed in facing fastballs for 6 innings, then a knuckleball for 1-2 innings, followed by more fastballs in the 9th) and come playoff time, we could move one of our five starters into the bullpen (maybe Papelbon reprises the closer's role in October and Jon Lester becomes our lefthanded setup-man.) The pitching depth would be outstanding, and as we all know, pitching wins championships.

Best of all, this really isn't a pipedream. We know from reports last year that Clemens decided between the Red Sox and Astros. He gave coming here some serious thought. If he sees that we have a great starting rotation here, if he sees that we have a fearsome 3-4-5 of Ortiz-Ramirez-Drew, I think we'd win out this time. We could still let him go home inbetween starts. While I normally don't support that kind of preferential treatment, I think Clemens has earned that privilege and probably would not abuse of it. I've never heard anyone criticize him as a bad teammate.

While a Clemens signing would probably cost around $21 million for 1 year (that's what the Red Sox offered him last season), and while this would likely put the Red Sox over the luxury tax threshold, I still think they should do it. A bunch of players come off the books next year, so the Red Sox could field a $150 million payroll this year and then go down to around $110-$120 million next year. One year at $150 million plus one year at $110 million averages out the same as two years at $130 million.

11-30-2006, 11:12 AM	#1 (permalink)
Zen653 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 6,902	Roger Clemens I would be brimming with joy if we somehow signed Clemens. I never stopped liking him. He remains one of my all-time favorites. I just love his bulldog mentality on the mound. I love that devastating fastball that still flummoxes opposing hitters as though it were 1984. The Rocket's just an incredible player. It would be a dream come true to watch him finish his career in a Red Sox uniform. Championship aside, nothing could please me more than to watch #21 trot back out onto the Fenway mound. I get goosebumps just thinking about the response he'd receive on Opening Day, and every time he toes the rubber. I wouldn't even care if he struggled. I just want to see him back here. I want to see him finish in the city he never should have left. Sentimental reasons aside, I think a Clemens acquisition would be an outstanding baseball move. We'd only need to sign him for one year and the front office favors short-term contracts. He'd be a good tutor for Jon Papelbon, Josh Beckett and other young pitchers on the team. (Schilling credits Clemens with turning his career around.) And most importantly of all, Clemens would potentially give us 5 aces in our starting rotation. How many teams can boast a rotation of 5 No. 1 starters? Or a combination of 5 No. 1 and 2's? We'd win 100 games. Wakefield could move to the bullpen where he's probably more useful anyway (because of the change in speed in facing fastballs for 6 innings, then a knuckleball for 1-2 innings, followed by more fastballs in the 9th) and come playoff time, we could move one of our five starters into the bullpen (maybe Papelbon reprises the closer's role in October and Jon Lester becomes our lefthanded setup-man.) The pitching depth would be outstanding, and as we all know, pitching wins championships. Best of all, this really isn't a pipedream. We know from reports last year that Clemens decided between the Red Sox and Astros. He gave coming here some serious thought. If he sees that we have a great starting rotation here, if he sees that we have a fearsome 3-4-5 of Ortiz-Ramirez-Drew, I think we'd win out this time. We could still let him go home inbetween starts. While I normally don't support that kind of preferential treatment, I think Clemens has earned that privilege and probably would not abuse of it. I've never heard anyone criticize him as a bad teammate. While a Clemens signing would probably cost around $21 million for 1 year (that's what the Red Sox offered him last season), and while this would likely put the Red Sox over the luxury tax threshold, I still think they should do it. A bunch of players come off the books next year, so the Red Sox could field a $150 million payroll this year and then go down to around $110-$120 million next year. One year at $150 million plus one year at $110 million averages out the same as two years at $130 million.