Thanks Alex.

Even the media frenzy over the next few weeks is going to be fun. You can't deny that Clemens is a lightning rod for attention, for better or for worse. There's a spark back at Yankee Stadium that has been missing.....

It's a lot of money, but this is a really, really good move, because it's only money. If we can get a 3.5-4.0 ERA and 6+ innings a game out of Roger, I'll take it. With Moose, Pettitte and Wang, and perhaps Hughes again, that's a World Series-winning caliber rotation.

I've always seen this as a transitional year. Adding Roger makes great sense.

2 I'm with you. If Roger gives us a performance anything like the last couple years, it makes the difference in the rotation. He was the one available pitcher out there who we needed to nail down the rotation.

1 That's a great point. To this point, the only "buzz" around the Yankees has been negative. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have been awash in Matsuzaka mania. Had they also signed Clemens, Boston would have effectively become the baseball capital of the country for this season. Now, with the Rocket on board in the Bronx, the Yankees are once again the biggest traveling road show. Sure, such things mean very little in terms of wins and losses, but in the corporate sense, the Clemens signing is big.

On the field and in the clubhouse, I expect Clemens to significantly help the Yankees. The fact that the Red Sox didn't get him only makes the net gain greater. Now, what the Yankees need to do is suck it up for the month of May and then roll-out a rotation of Wang, Mussina, Pettitte, Clemens and hopefully Hughes by mid-June. If that comes to fruition, it could be the best rotation in the game.

As for the Phelps situation, I think he was clearly out of line, but then again, I think all collissions at the plate should be outlawed. I'm sure Phelps fully expected Ichiro's throw to beat him and pretty much made up his mind that a roll block would be necessary. Still, it was an ugly play. For that reason, Phelps seemed prepared for his HBP. The way he walked to 1B seemed to indicate that he was fine with that form of justice being meted out.

As for the Phelps situation, I think he was clearly out of line, but then again, I think all collisions at the plate should be outlawed. I'm sure Phelps fully expected Ichiro's throw to beat him and pretty much made up his mind that a roll block would be necessary. Still, it was an ugly play. For that reason, Phelps seemed prepared for his HBP. The way he walked to 1B seemed to indicate that he was fine with that form of justice being meted out.

Because Phelps was out of line and the HBP was clean (i.e., not in the head), I don't think Proctor HAD to respond. Of course, it is nice to see one Yankee pitcher stick up for their hitters. Maybe the mere presence of the Rocket in the Stadium already had an effect.

Finally, I was very happy to see Proctor throw at Betancourt because it likely means he'll be suspended for three games, which would guarantee the long respite he so desperately needs.

I posted this from yesterday's thread, but the Sox fans are spewing toxins this morning over on Joy of Sox. They're already predicting his demise this year, one even goes so far as to say he hated Clemens just because he rubs the monument of Babe Ruth before games.
I'll say it again - some people swallowed some Vitamin BITTER this morning!

Damned if Clemens do, and damned if he don't...they'll never be happy!

A few notes:

1) Boston offered 18 million prorated. Houston gave 22 miilion last year (a fact Edes leaves out in his Lucchino-penned report). Needless to say, the Sox thought they were set. Schilling concurs with a "we don't need Roger Clemens". That's two days after Bob Ryan said "If Roger Clemens is available, get him."

2) CHB has Rocket riding a horse after a Yankee championship.

A few comments:
1) The only thing missing from the 7th inning was Mean Gene Okerlund. Hilarious.

2) Me, I'm just looking for a .550 to .600 record by the end of the month. Obviously thrilled if they're better than that.

3) It's amazing how much reality changes things. Roger was needed and can't fault that. No-brainer all around.

4) Looking at it now, things couldn't have worked out better with Hughes in spite of the injury. He rests his arm and solidfied his slot with the no-hitter. If all the starters are healthy, he's the magic weapon out of the pen in the post-season. If, not he slides into the rotation. Things are looking good!

5) Now can we get a 1B (or give Phelps regular PT) and some bench help with some of the surplus pitching? Then I'd shut the f up for five months.

7 Can you think of a better reason to be happy about the Yankees getting Clemens :)

9

talk about an inferiority complex ;)

9 Yes - he's a healthy starting pitcher!

I still can't believe it, but there it is. Heard the replay of Waldman on the radio, and I thought Suzyn might fall out of the broadcast booth, she was so worked up!

BTW - what a huge media coup for the front office. Not a single leak at all. I'm sure the old Tampa cronies and the newsies they feed are very unhappy about that.

5 6 "As for the Phelps situation, I think he was clearly out of line, but then again, I think all collisions at the plate should be outlawed."

I agree completely. They are, after all, against the rules - but that rule has never been enforced.

To clarify the CHB note - He thinks it was Roger who previously rode a horse around Yankee Stadium. The hatred is so deep now it distorts memories!

11 Really on the rule? I thought the runner is entitled to the base?

10 Yes...that is something Red Sox fans talk about quite a bit :)

9 Nice to hear RedSox Nation is taking this so well. And 6 is right on about Proctor (though throwing behind Betancourt was lame). I'm still not sold on the Yankees bullpen and worry that only Wang is really capable of pitching more than 6 innings on a regular basis. I hope we don't end up hating the bullpen even more than we do now.

12 Shaun is correct...you are not allowed to barrel into fielders, and fielders are not allowed to block the baseline without the ball. If umpires would enforce these two rules at home plate, you wouldn't have football style collisions.

15 Ok, that explains Phelps (and he did aplogize - didn't he? Plus he's trying to win a full-ytime job against a guy with a 70 OPS+)

But what about when the catcher (or any fielder) receives the throw in the baseline? Isn't that when most collisions occur?

Wouldn't that be a superiority complex? We're better than you, and like to mock your inferiority complex?

7 Articles like that are why, IMO, the nation is slowly starting to hate Sox fans as much as Yankee fans. This article:

http://tinyurl.com/39cnrz

is just hilarious. I'd bet Clemens' weekly paycheck that they'd be singing a pretty different tune had he signed with a different team. Saying

"You're paying 4.5 million A MONTH for a 45 year old man who seriously needs to lay off the cheeseburgers. As a Sox fan, I'm more afraid of Darrell Rasner than I am of Roger. "

is just idiotic. Of all the things to knock Roger on, his work ethic/physical shape is not one of them. And more scared for Dazzle...guess Sox fans are just easily scared.

9 Nope! I sure can't! ;-)

As for the Proctor throw - I agree, it was completely uncalled for, but I have to admit, it was kind of cool to see him get a bit ballsy and get a fire lit under himself and some of the other guys on the team.
The only thing that would've made the afternoon more exciting would've been A-Rod having another 3 home run game HAHA! (say, ain't he 'bout due for another bunch of those????)

17 They're calling CLEMENS a fat egomaniac??? ROFL!!! Egomaniac? Perhaps...but FAT? C'mon now!

Ummm...hmmm...have they LOOKED at Schilling lately? Boy be lookin' a little puffy around the mid-section methinks!!

I love the Clemens/Pettitte, A-Rod/Jeter love connection remarks too. Ah, that's an intelligent comeback! What a bunch of unoriginal douchebags!

19 One would think they are secretly b*tching about 38 pitches.

19 Honestly, I just let them have it now. Clearly they need to mock others' sexuality to feel better about something. Although I will never understand the Jeter thing. He's banged pretty much every celebrity alive.

Deadspin has a bunch of reactions from around the baseball world. This is great.

I didn't get a chance to see the game, so why did Torre pull Rasner after just 5 2/3? Was he in a jam at the time? It couldn't have been too bad, considering they were up and Darrell only let in 3 hits all day. I don't understand why he didn't go longer. And I don't understand why they didn't let Wanger go the full 9 the day before. We were up 8-1, for goodness' sake--let 'em pitch! Lord knows we're probably going to need all hands on deck tonight for the AA rook. Even when we don't have to, we're going to the bullpen.

If you want sane, rational, unbaised analysis of this whole Roger signing, DO NOT follow this link :)
http://tinyurl.com/yw39wf

I think Donovan has finally just given up and outed himself for the crappy reporter he is. Good grief...

23 Rasner seems to be labled as an 80-pitch guy. In his previous Yankee start (against Cleveland), Torre pulled him after his 81st pitch was a one-out double in the 4th, even though the only run he had surrendered was a Hafner homer in the third. In his last start at Scranton, he pitched 5 shutout innings but was then relieved after 82 pitches. In each of his 5 starts this year (4 with the Yanks, 1 with Scranton), Rasner has thrown between 76 and 82 pitches.

25 Good point.
Rasner may well be an 80-pitch guy, but under the circumstances, the evil of allowing him to go to, say 95 pitches, was probably outweighed by the evil of marching the entire bullpen across the diamond in the late innings. Very frustrating.

15 11 Can you guys site the rule banning the runner from barrelling into the catcher on a play at the plate?

15 I don't think you can ban all home-plate collisions. My understanding of the rules is that the catcher is allowed to block the plate if he has the ball; and that the runner has the right to try to plow through a fielder who's directly in his way.

Blocking the plate is against the rules if the catcher doesn't have the ball (or isn't in the act of catching it), but it's rarely enforced. It should be.

The runner can't interfere with a fielder trying to make a play, and since Johjima wasn't blocking the plate, Phelps had no business knocking him down.

The Hal McRae rule has always been interpreted to favor the runner - if he touches the bag along the way, anything the runner does to break up the double play is considered fair game. They should probably tighten that up a bit.

Alex, I must disagree with your characterization of Phelps's slide as needlessly aggressive.

Phelps is as fast as molasses in February, and he's trying to score from second. He knows that Ichiro's gun is behind him. Given these factors, I saw no problem with him taking out Johjima. Phelps said he wanted to eliminate the opportunity for the quick sweep tag, which again was a danger given Ichiro's arm.

I also have no problem with Washburn's retaliation. Phelps acted like a professional after being hit. Take no quarter, give no quarter.

I'd like to see him unload on Varitek like that.

Sane "financial" analysis:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/18524038

Let me get this straight: The Yanks didn't do it for the money? No surprise there. I hope nothing changes with the sons - sometimes spending just makes sense.

25 By Torre only. He had blister problems earlier in the season, but Torre has since wanted to try to win his starts with the bullpen. Seems pretty silly given the state of the bullpen. Sure, Rasner was in trouble, but nothing he couldn't have worked out of. It was an early hook.

Any word yet on who gets sent down?

28 I don't want to sound angry or condescending, but did you watch the play? Johjima wasn't even in the batter's boxes. He was so far off the plate that Phelps had to back up to tag it. Plus, he should have seen that Johjima wasn't looking at him, but rather waiting for the throw.

I'm kinda burned about Proctor's throw behind Yuni. What's the deal with that? Was it just a pitch that got away from him?

9 William, I can provide you with six words that will keep you chipper despite your best efforts for the rest of your life:
"No Need For Pavano Ever Again"

(That goes for you too, Jim >;)

In my humble opinion, if Clemens doesn't tear him a new one by glancing at him (or did Carl beat the plane he missed back?), he could probably teach him a thing or to about proper conditioning, et al, unless it's all due to an undiscovered congenital condition and in that case it's personal and I won't go there.

Although it may be moot with Tommy John surgery and his contract likely expiring before he ever makes it back here, I could imagine Pavano picking it up like Andy did; does that make me crazy?

I don't know who was watching the game and who wasn't, but Rasner went from lucky pitches to bad control in the 6th. He's not the type of guy you want around when he can't control the ball, and momentum for a team is HUGE. The score was close then and had it been tied or the lead lost, the Mariners might have won. Torre is a bullpen moron sometimes, but I don't fault him here.

As for Wanger getting a CG, he was losing his own control in the 8th and leaving pitches up. Bruney was very well rested and looked great when he came out to pitch. It's not worth hurting Wang for 1 inning of work. He's had a history of arm and shoulder problems, and each pitch with a perfect game is stressful, whether or not he knew he had it going. So, again, Torre was right, I feel.

Why he brought in Bruney in the 9th for yesterday's game, though, is a bit confusing. It did look like Bruney asked into the game, however.

30 Proctor's pitch was obviously intentional. He's got great control and went after Betancourt. That said, I think Phelps meant no disrespect and just flubbed the play.

30

can you guys find any video of the play?

34 I'm not sure about video, but a good still of the hit is here: http://tinyurl.com/yrtfpr

33 I don't think he meant any harm, either, but I don't think the takeout was at all warranted by the situation. Proctor, though, should know better.

27 16 The only thing the rules are explicit on is that fielders can't block the base path without the ball. In other words, a catcher standing in front of home without the ball SHOULD be called for obstruction. In addition, precedent at every other spot on the field suggests runners can't use force to dislodge the ball from a fielder awaiting with a tag (see Arod versus Arroyo). For some reason, tradition has granted an exemption for home plate. I really wish baseball would clarify the rules on this and outlaw acts such as roll blocks and shoulder first tackles. It's one thing to slide hard into a base and another to propel your body into a fielder.

31 What are you talking about? Have you somehow missed that I am ecstatic about the Yankees signing Clemens?

31 Pavano was on the bench when Clemens made his speech.

6 Maybe that was Proctor's intent, to get suspended so he can rest? :) Still don't know why he aimed for Betencourt.

As for the Phelps slide, it seemed that everyone thought that he was going to get nailed his next time up. Whether he was aware of the location of the ball or not, fact was Phelps went out of his way to nail Johjima, who was up in front of the plate. Having said that, I don't think Phelps had bad intentions behind the slide.

35 I don't know if he should "know better." Throwing at people and protecting teammates has long been part of the game, and has recently been lost compared to days bygone. I thought it was cool of Proctor, especially throwing behind him instead of at him, and waiting until a situation where it didn't hurt the team (he finished the 6th first). Conversely, Washburn hit Phelps with a man on already, and it eventually led to a run.

34 It's on the MLB site; check out the game highlights.

37 "7 Can you think of a better reason to be happy about the Yankees getting Clemens :) "

I thought you were saying that in reference to RSN thunderstorm of bitterness...

Funny thing is, in all this Clemens stuff, it seems the only reason he didn't sign with the Yanks last year was because they didn't want to give him his special road games needs. And they didnt want to give them because Randy Johnson would have wanted them, too. So Randy not only hurt the team with his pitching, but prevented the team from getting Roger! :-P

35 39 Also, keep in mind that Proctor was in the bullpen at the time and may not have gotten a clear look at the play. For all he knew, Phelps was hit for a clean collision at the plate.

I don't think there is a villain here. Phelps was wrong, but I don't think there was maliciousness behind it. Also, Proctor was just protecting a teammate. Even if he had known Phelps was a bit out of line, that doesn't mean the clear beanball to Phelps should be ingored. Again, MLB could make situations like this moot if they'd just clarify/enforce the rules.

41 I was simply teasing RSN by suggesting that their bitterness only makes signing Clemens sweeter.

39 If that's the case, then why start something new? The "score" was "evened" when Washburn hit Phelps.

38 Then he's okay, then. Who was saying that Clemens really can't stand him when he was speaking on E@$%?

Funny, Saturday I was watching an episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hired a slew of MLB All-Stars as ringers for his company softball team; Burns hires a hypnotist for Clemens who turns him into a chicken (and Mattingly was kicked off the team for trying to shave sideburns he didn't have and instead shaved himself a busted mohawk ("Still better than playing for Steinbrenner...") just watching as Clemens strutted around going "bawk-bawk-BAWK!" is still gold, regardless.

Umm, does this mean Adam Sandler's gonna make another movie at Yankee Stadium?

36 The rules are also explicit about interference by the runner.

"(a) Offensive interference is an act by the team at bat which interferes with, obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play."

As I said, that's generally not called as long as the runner is going for the bag at the same time that he's taking outthe fielder. I think they should be a bit more stringent. To me, a play like Phelps's should be called interference, but it never is.

36 I know the catcher can't block the plate without the ball. So now I'm wondering what the rule is on collisions.

The A-Rod play is very different. He intentionally dislodged the ball from Arroyo's glove by swatting at it -- Arroyo obviously wasn't blocking the bag. When a fielder blocks you from the base, you have to try to get to the base. You can try sliding around, but are you allowed to barrel through? I just can't tell the answer from my reading of the rules. And we know that in practice no runner is ever called out for plowing into a catcher. So, in what sense is it not allowed?

39 I think Proctor was completely wrong. His teammates didn't need retaliation, they needed innings. Instead he got ejected, his manager got ejected, and the bullpen had to burn another pitcher (who didn't get to warm up first). Personally, I think the bullpen needed "protection" a lot more than the hitters did.

And how is it especially cool to throw behind the batter? I thought that was oneof the worst things about it.

48 Part of what Reggie Jackson said when he referred to Arod as "too nice" was that he should have run Arroyo's arm over instead of just slapping it. It would have been bush league in most people's eyes, but if the rules "allow" it...

Anyway, it's A-Rod's fault.

44 Okay, I knew that. I'm just teasing you a little. If you don't mind me saying, that line's like suggesting they should pour a five-pound bag of Equal in their morning coffee >;)

49 Because Proctor was ejected Henn got all the warmups he needed, a la injuries.

48 YEESH! I still cringe when I think of that A-Rod/Arroyo play.
:::::shudder:::::

47 That's not really explicit to me because it doesn't answer whether trying to dislodge a ball from a catcher qualifies as an "impediment to making a play".

48 Was the A-rod play that different? Arroyo was in the baseline (which does block entry to the bag) trying to make a tag, and Arod used physical contact to dislodge the ball. The same thing is happening on a play at the plate.

The simple solution would be to enforce obstruction on the catcher everytime he stands in front of home without the ball. Similarly, umpires should have at their discretion the ability to rule on whether contact is excessive. While hard slides into a bag are fine, shoulder blocks should be illegal. I realize this would represent a culture shock in the game, but I think it would be a worthwhile change.

50 That would have been a sight to behold. Whatever A-Rod was making that year, he could afford to make a bionic leap onto Arroyo's arm. Sound-effects and all. What, $6 million? Bench...

Very few things have hurt me more than having to pick up Brandon Arroyo for my fantasy team.

36 48 50

Exactly. Everyone seemd to say after the Arod play that he should have just run through the tag.

I took that to mean that if the fielder is in the basepath with the ball, the runner still has the right to the base. In that case, "getting to the base" could be many things.

Wasn't there a play like this between 1st and 2nd once, where the 2B fielded the ball and the runner at 1st ran him over?

52 The rules are ambiguous, providing for extra warmups, at the discretion of the crew chief, in case of a "sudden emergency." I guess they interpret that liberally; I don't think they should. If a pitcher gets ejected after both teams have been warned, the new pitcher shouldn't get extra warmup pitches.

58 The point is that he DID get extra, and expected to because it has become the norm.

57 I thought the biggest problem with Alex's play wasn't the contact, it was that he looked like a complete wuss. He wasn't criticized so much as ridiculed.

Rather than getting to reaffirm their hate, it would've been kinda fun to see RSN have to deal with Clemens's return--Simmons would've had to write a new column, rather than roll out a "classic" from 2001....the signing's a win for us in the constant ESPN-hyped "Yanks vs Sox" duel, so it's as if I'm obliged to feel delighted by it --and that's what I'm resenting right now. I can't even begin to care about the guy. And he's not likely to be dominating enough at this stage to enjoy watching on a purely aesthetic basis. I'd rather he were in the NL, or retired, rather than sucking up all the media oxygen. I'd rather watch young developing talent. Get off the stage, dude, and take Kody, Kory, Kornholio and the rest with you...

I recognize the minority status of my position, and am not gonna bother defending it....as long as this doesn't lead to our trading DeSalvo, Clippard and Rasner for some overrated veteran 1st baseman, I'll deal; if it leads to Pavano's unconditional release by week's end I'll be delighted...

RAB's take is a must-read.

59 Understood. That should be changed.

And it doesn't change the fact that Proctor burned another pitcher. As I said, they needed innings from him, not protection. He hurt the team while doing exactly nothing to help it.

Who gets taken off the 40 man for Rocket? I'm guessing Bean.

Some charming info on Pavano, from Will Carrol over at BP:

Here's the long and short on Carl Pavano--even before he had an MRI or saw a specialist, he'd made the decision to have Tommy John surgery. Even after seeing specialists and finding that while his UCL was torn, it was not torn so significantly that doctors recommended the surgery. Much like Octavio Dotel a few years ago, though, Pavano is simply not willing to pitch through the soreness. There's probably a high number of pitchers in the game today (far too high a number, actually) that have similar, perhaps worse damage and get out there. I'm not advocating that anyone pitch with pain, but when the possibility exists that someone can come back without surgery, I think they owe it to the team paying the bills to do it. Pavano's not willing to, perhaps closing a chapter that the Yankees would rather not have had written. Call him "American Idle" or the "Rajah of Rehab" if you want. In my opinion, he's gone beyond that, and is simply stealing money.

63 The ENTIRE TEAM threw 109 pitches yesterday, including Rasner's 80. Incredible. I think no reliever had more than 10. I know warming up all it's own is a workout, too, but nobody says anything about guys getting "just" warmed up. They only count the innings.

It's kinda like how those fluffy intentional BB pitches are counted on the pitch count, but the hard pick off pitches aren't. Another discussion entirely, but still worth noting.

65 "Call him "American Idle" or the "Rajah of Rehab" if you want."

Been there, done that; but ouch. Point taken and if true, I wholeheartedly agree. People I know try to avoid surgery at any cost. He's the opposite, and with his luck THAT would likely backfire as well. "..."

My problem with the Clemens signing (as with the Hughes call-up) is that it does not solve the #1 problem, lack of innings by the starting pitchers. Rasner (for whatever reason) is an 80-pitch guy. Igawa can go for 110 pitches, but he'll throw 20-25 an inning. Expect to see the same from DeSalvo. But Hughes, due to his tender age, shouldn't be throwing more than 90 pitches. And Rocket has rarely thrown more than 6 innings in the last few years. So bullpen burnout will continue.

The only solution to the bullpen burnout problem remains health and consistency from Wang, Pettitte and Moose. There is no Plan B.

We can always hope that Pavano has unsuccessful elbow surgery with complications.............. Is that too harsh?

68 What does everyone think of using 2 starters in one day? That is, every time DeSalvo starts, or something, use Rasner for 3 or 4 innings as well. Kind of like a long man, but when winning, too. Torre would never do it when winning, but just having a long man might help with a "Plan B."

68 Our problem is that we haven't even been getting 5 innings. So, 6 innings per start would be a huge improvement. Is it enough? Realistically, so long as we AVERAGE over 6 innings per starter, we are probably ok.

68 Shoot, Hughes got through 6.3 IP with only 84 pitches vs. Texas. I'll bet he gets some 7 inning starts in, even with a 90 pitches/game count. Ditto Clemens. He might last "only" 6 innings versus, say, Cleveland, but I'll bet he could go 7+ against, say, the Royals or the Ms.

I'm not sure how the Yanks could do this, but I'd love to see the Yanks try to maximize Clemens by using him against the dregs of the AL as much as possible. Ditto Hughes, when he returns. Of course they should face the good teams too, but a little juggling couldn't hurt.

I'm also thrilled that Clemens will return just in time for interleague play, seeing as how he owned the NL and all.

As for Rasner, the guy had no long starts in spring training, IIRC, and so far, he's thrown 82 pitches at most in the 5 starts he has made (majors and minors) (thanks, Pete Abraham!). Bet it ramps up now.

71 Yea, that's what the Met's tend to do, or did last year.

I know it's probably been talked about to death, but I was out of town for a bit. How annoying is ESPN with regards to the Yankees. I love how everyone is writing them off, saying they won't make the playoffs. Peter Gammons, though well respected, just cannot report anything without his Boston bias. How many seasons in a row has Boston had an early 1st place lead in the season, only to have the Yankees ultimately win the division? It's just so outrageous how much bad press this team gets. Didn't they start a few years back at 11-19, and then won the division? I just can't take it. I just had to vent.

65 - how is that information? Seems like mindreading (he had already decided) and contradiction (you shouldn't play with pain) and guesswork ("probably" a lot of guys pitch with similar damage).

I never liked Clemens when he pitched against us, and that didn't change when he pitched for us or unretired. Maybe it makes us 14 runs better over four months, worth a game and a half - dunno if that's worth $20 million plus tax, or the best way to spend it. Regardless I would have preferred to see us win with the team we had.

75 You also have to look at the total swing, reasonably assuming that if Clemens didn't go to NY, he'd have ended up in Boston, effectively doubling his net impact, similar to upgrading from Bernie to Damon last year, while simultaneously forcing Boston to downgrade from Damon to Coco.

72 Unless Clemens and Hughes were your two worst pitchers, I don't see why you'd try and line them up against the worse teams. The amount of shuffling it'd take would be a wash vs. the number of pitches/innings they'd end up throwing against a KC rather than a Cleveland.

When Hughes comes back, he won't have an inning limit. He'll actually be on pace to be under his ideal innings, so I doubt they restrict him..

57 Did Vina have the ball when Belle ran him over?

65 Problem is (was?) Pavano has had elbow issues througout his career. I can see why he would want to get cut and get it over with. He isn't the first pitcher who didn't want to pitch through pain, nor will he be the last.

You don't get as far as Pavano has without some willingness or desire to take the ball.

68 I'm not too worried abot the bullpen. That's where the first two trades of the off-season helped.

Between Beam, Bean, Britton, and Whelan, they have internal help if need be. The only worry is if they continue to rely on on folks long past their due date (e.g, Vizcaino)

72 They said yesterday they would map out his starts soon enough. I expect though the priority will be to minimize travel and maximize starts at home - latter to help recoup the most cash from the "investment".

78 Yes, that's it! But Belle got suspended. Did he also get ejected?

From the Boston Globe message boards:

"For the 1st time since becoming a Red Sox fan.... I DO NOT want Roger Clemens going into the Hall of Fame wearing a Red Sox hat. He showed today that he is no longer part of Sox Nation... and frankly, he can burn in hell like the rest of the Yankees." -- Message board user soxcrazy2005 "

OK - hate him all you want, but "burn in hell like the rest of the Yankees"?????? Hatred & contempt like I've never seen!

...and one more, just because - bitter, bitter, and more bitter.

*Chad Finn's Touching All the Bases blog provided the most scathing commentary of the bunch in a post appropriately titled "Yanking the chain": *

"Contrary to what he or his agents might say when trying to pit one team against the other in negotiations, we now know with 100 percent certainty that he has absolutely no sentiment for his days for the Red Sox. None. The premise that he might return to pitch for Boston out of some melancholy desire to mend those Green Monster-sized fences and win back the approval of the fans who cheered his first big-league victories has long been based in fantasy.
Today, that fantasy was punctured by a reality that we should have grasped long ago. Clemens's allegiance has never tilted toward a particular city or fan base, be it Boston, New York, Houston or Albuquerque. The Rocket's is not about a team, but to a person: himself. He's a Yankee - again - because New York, it all of its DeSalvo/Pavano/Igawa-fueled desperation, gave him roughly $18 million bucks and the cushy come-and-go-as-you-wish-your-highness schedule for four months of work. Had the Red Sox offered him, say, $33 million, the use of John Henry's jet, and all the free ballpark wieners the "K' kids can eat, let's just say there's a pretty good chance he'd have shown up at Fenway this week to patronize us with some non-sequitur-loaded speech about how it's good to be home in Boston again, duh-huh."

Oh yeah...and this one (sorry! can't resist!)
"Boston Dirt Dogs put it most succinctly in a post titled, "Rogerk"."

81 Except the Sox didn't even make it a close decision. They low-balled him relative to his salary with Houston!

Of course the majority of SF's respond as they did with:

Damon
Pedro
Lowe

Blame the player! Booooo!

56 Bronson Arroyo, seriously? Assuming 5 ML-worthy starting pitchers for 30 teams gives you 150 choices. How many people are in you league?

76 - good point that the RS might have gotten Clemens - but I'm not sure he would improve their rotation (as) much, and again, they would have had $20 million less to play with if need be.

I love the way RSN makes it sound like Clemens turned his back on them. Of course, he left because the Red Sox didn't want to resign him - twilight of his career and all.

So why should he have to "mend fences" and "win back fans?"

80 Game logs (8/31/96) show that he wasn't ejected

39 43 My point is just that the ledger was square at that time. Phelps took out Johjima and Washburn hit Phelps (kindly, I might add, throwing at his bicep rather than his head). Proctor didn't need to get anyone's back at all.

69 I don't think so, no.

74 He's not as bad as the rest of the bunch over there. The problem, IMO, isn't so much Gammons' personal bias, though of course he has one, but an institutional love of the Sox. Even on SportsCenter, they're screaming:

"The return of the Rocket! Why Clemens won't help New York!"

holy soxfan bash fest, batman!

86 Excellent! So the umps didn't have a problem with it, but the commish did. I wonder how much it being Belle biased things.

So if Arod had run over Brandon, then the umps wouldn't have done anything, and the commish obviously doesn't suspend Arod.

Meanwhile, anyone notice that Arroyo is actually having a better year than he did last year?

88 the truth hurts.

I don't think the Phelps collision was necessary (since Johjima was not blocking the plate), but at least it didn't seem to be a "dirty" play. It just looked like he had his mind made up that he was going to have to knock the ball out of the catcher's hand and that's what he tried to do. I don't guess I would have argued too much if the ump had called him out since Johjima was not in the basepath.

As for collisions at the plate, it seems to me that if the catcher wants to block the plate (with the ball) then the runner should be able to get to the plate by using force if necessary. Look at it this way, should the runner just slide into the catcher's shinguard and risk injury? Catchers seem to know the risk involved in blocking the plate and understand the consequences (as evidenced by the following quote from Mike Lieberthal):

"I think it's part of the game. Anytime anyone wants to take out the catcher, it's fine as long as it's not a cheap shot to the face with a forearm."

If a catcher wants to avoid a collision then they should not block the plate just use the swipe tag (similar to what Johjima was trying to do and why Phelps was in the wrong). IIRC, Carlton Fisk went from blocking the plate to using the swipe tag after being injured in a collision at the plate.

87 I agree with you Orly (I love the fact that I know what your name means now), it did seem like the ledger was square (although maybe Proctor didn't realize that the Phelps collision was unnecessary and thought that payback was needed). The only good things for me about the Proctor incident were the fact one of our pitcher finally took up for one of our batters and that he actually didn't even hit Betancourt (more of a "shot across the bow" or in this case a "shot behind the shoulder blades").

I guess I am just glad to see a little more fire out of our team. The Phelps play, the Proctor near miss, the Cashman pursuit of Clemens, the fast-finger texting by Jeter, the Clemens "make no mistake, I'm here to win a Championship" comments and heck, even Sterling and Waldman had a heated argument (according to someone in yesterday's game thread). All this with the Rocket just wearing a suit and showing up a the Stadium, what's gonna happen when he puts on the pinstripes and starts flinging broken bats at people? ;-)

So, probably Cliff will put something up for today's game, but I'll start now:
Let's be sure to light up Miguel Batista like he got lit up by his division rivals (smacked around by Oakland on 4/4 and LAA on 4/20) and give DeSalvo some breathing room. Since yesterday we saw the worst possible Yankee line-up, I'm assuming Cairo and Nieves sit this one out.
We're all smacking our lips in anticipation of June, but we do have to win games in May, too, or it's gonna be too deep a hole...

Wow! There are some angry and bitter people in the sports' media today. Dan Patrick and Peter Gammons to name a couple.

The Yankees' chances to make the playoffs have improved with Clemens pitching. Welcome back, Roger.

92 Throwing behind a batter isn't at all like a warning shot - it's considered much worse than throwing directly at someone. When a batter sees a pitch coming way inside, he's going to move back - right into the pitch, if it's behind him.

I wish someone would pull a Marichal or a Campaneris or even an Alacantra so we can put an end to this macho throwing at batters nonsense.

92 I think actually throwing at someone's head is considered to be a warning shot, while you throw behind them if you really want to hurt them. Natural instinct is to duck backwards, right into the path of the ball.

97 95 Annnnnd you just said that. Oops.

hi all. according to pete abe, quest has just been optioned to scranton AAA. razzle dazzle is staying in the rotation. let's see how desalvo does tonite.

here's hoping i come home late nite from work to a .500 ballclub!

First pitch I ever saw in LL, kid drilled me in the arm. I remember thinking, "Why 'da hell did he do that?" I'm thinking Betancourt had a similar take on Proctor's pitch, except that on considering this was not LL, he had plenty of follow-up thoughts that were justified.

99 Oh, nice!
So now the question is: if DeSalvo gets rocked, what happens next? Send him back down and try someone else? Who?

99 Wow. We've all turned into Cubs fans >;)

Lucky for me there's that "Comments 101-150" barrier or I'd be surrounded by Chyll Will. (And I'd probly bean you myself, Chyll, for that Cubs comment.)

101 i dunno, the yankee clippard?!

i think igawa will take a month or so to get better acclimated with everything - american culture, pitching on 5 days rest, hitters, scouting, coaching, mechanics, mental approach, etc. hopefully he'll be okay and can come back maybe as a swingman - spot starter, long relief, loogy...

101 Probably not this DeSalvo...
http://tinyurl.com/36pbon

(Bama, you'll likely appreciate the random characters generated for this link and it's association with what it links to, too weird!)

103 Whaat?? I wasn't the one saying "Here's to a .500 ballclub!" Man, try to put a little perspective back into things and people wanna hit you with flying objects, ferchrissake >;)

Besides, being surrounded by Chyll is not such a bad thing, if you consider the fact I have similar effects on other people's comments as an organic York Peppermint Patty. Also, I make you all seem more lucid and educated! Hooray psychosomatic banter (with no artificial ingredients)!

105 Those are not random characters, my friend. The "pbon" stands for a certain Sharpie Sox closer (see Smear, Pap) and the 36 stands for... well, I'm not sure exactly what the 36 stands for, but I'm sure that it has got to be something bad.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because Igawa has a major league contract, he has to agree to be sent down, right? I'm impressed that he decided to go that route, and I hope he comes back better than ever.

It also seems that DeSalvo is getting two chances - Igawa can't come back for 10 days, unless there's another injury. So, though Igawa could come back, or someone else get called up, DeSalvo will pitch the 18th vs the Mets and the 23rd vs the Sox.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because Igawa has a major league contract, he has to agree to be sent down, right? I'm impressed that he decided to go that route, and I hope he comes back better than ever.

It also seems that DeSalvo is getting two chances - Igawa can't come back for 10 days, unless there's another injury. So, though Igawa could come back, or someone else get called up, DeSalvo may pitch the 18th vs the Mets and the 23rd vs the Sox.

107 They say they never really caught the guy, yunnow. Do you suppose... the 36... stands for... nah... could it...?