• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Roger Clemens (Official Thread)

Dispatch

5/2/06

Astros interested in Clemens



The Houston Astros have asked Roger Clemens’ agent to meet this week and discuss a new contract that would bring the seven-time Cy Young winner back for a third season with the club.
The Astros did not offer Clemens salary arbitration in December, leaving the 43-year-old free agent open to talk with other teams.
 
Upvote 0
espn.com

5/10/06

Clemens says he's not itching to return to baseball


HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens says he's not getting the itch to play baseball yet, but he says he thinks his family is warming up to the idea.

The Houston Astros asked earlier this month to talk to the agent for the seven-time Cy Young winner to discuss a new contract that could bring him back for a third season. Other teams also have expressed interest in the 43-year-old free agent. Clemens is considering retirement.

"I'm listening to what the [agents Alan and Randy] Hendricks have to say," Clemens told Houston television station KRIV on Tuesday. He said the agents meet with him about once a week to give him updates. "I am going to have to make a decision if I want to play this year fairly soon."

Clemens said, "I can tell you the latest is probably the family is warming up to it again. Even my two little ones, who did not want Dad to go out there, are talking about it again, which I knew that would happen once they were seeing all my friends out there playing with Houston."

Clemens said that while he might not be "too far away" physically to playing again "mentally I'm nowhere close."

He said the Astros have given two target dates in June that they would like if he chooses to return. He said he didn't know the specific dates.

The pitcher, wearing an Astros jersey, spoke to students at an annual musical scores outreach program in The Woodlands. He told the middle school students that he still goes to class to learn about opposing teams.
 
Upvote 0
Report: Clemens to sign with Astros
Posted: Tuesday May 30, 2006 5:22PM; Updated: Tuesday May 30, 2006 5:37PM


t1_clemens.jpg

Roger Clemens led the major leagues with a 1.87 ERA last season.

NEW YORK (SI.com) -- Roger Clemens is coming back for a 23rd season, and he's doing it with his hometown team, the Astros, Newsday reported on Tuesday afternoon.
According to the newspaper, the 43-year-old Clemens will be paid about $3.5 million per month, with the exact return date still unknown. An official announcement may come as soon as today.
Clemens pitched in the World Baseball Classic this spring for the U.S. and left the door open for another season, with four teams in consideration for his services -- Astros, Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers. The Rocket has won a record seven Cy Young awards and led the Astros to their first National League championship last season.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/05/30/report.clemens/index.html
 
Upvote 0
yawn. It's amazing how through oversaturation from ESPN and the two players' own posturing, people can come to care so little about Bonds' passing Babe Ruth and the "un-retirement" of one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.
 
Upvote 0
Completely agree. I don't think there was ever a doubt with Clemens: He was going to be an Astro. I'm not sure if all the BS was for contract negotiations or drama. It's been agonizing listening to this tired old saga unfold over the last several months. Between the posturing of Clemens and the public war over Bagwell's shoulder, I have not been able to motivate myself to watch a single Astros game this year.
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

5/31/06

Astros remain hopeful of signing Clemens

RONALD BLUM

Associated Press

<!-- begin body-content -->NEW YORK - The Houston Astros still want to re-sign Roger Clemens, though his agent and the team said Tuesday that there is no deal.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner plans on deciding soon whether to pitch this season or retire for good.
"Obviously, we're still hopeful. But nothing has been determined," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "We'd love to get a phone call that Roger is going to pitch for us. They know what our interest is, what our parameters are.
"We'd like to make a deal. But Roger still has decide want he wants to do and make his choice," he said.
Agent Randy Hendricks said the 43-year-old Clemens is "very close with a final decision." One Web site reported that Clemens had signed with Houston.
"He has not signed any agreement with the Houston Astros. That is incorrect," Hendricks said. "I have not spoken with the Houston Astros today. I think I would know when a deal was done."
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.
Pitcher Andy Pettitte said after the game that he knows what's going on "but it's not my place to say anything about that, really."
"I've been talking to Roger and I'll leave it up to him to let him share whatever he's going to share, whenever it's time to share it," Pettitte said.
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 have all tried to lure Clemens to pitch this season.
In the Houston clubhouse at Busch Stadium, Clemens was a big topic of discussion.
"False alarm," manager Phil Garner said. "I didn't see it, but one of the players came in and told me that it was on TV that we had signed him."
"I just talked to our GM when we heard that it was on TV and he has no news of it and he would be the guy that would know," he said. "We've said all along that we'd love for him to sign here. We think this is the right spot for him and we think it's a good home."
Craig Biggio would love to have Clemens back on the team, but said he'd prefer to wait for an official word.
"I talked to somebody today and talked about a supposed teammate that was not a teammate, so let's just see whatever happens," Biggio said. "Wait till it's done and go from there."
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 heard the report 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 - Randy and Alan, who represent Clemens - 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.
 
Upvote 0
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2464315

He's officially back now

HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement for the third time, agreeing 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 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 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.
<!-- non ap graf --> Randy Hendricks, Clemens' agent, reiterated Wednesday that earlier reports of a deal were premature. Hendricks told Stark that Astros GM Tim Purpura went to Hendricks' house last 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.
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, 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.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

6/2/06

Clemens shows son 'the heater' in workout

JEFFREY McMURRAY

Associated Press

<!-- begin body-content -->LEXINGTON, Ky. - Roger Clemens stood on the mound in a nearly empty minor league stadium Thursday night and warned to his son in the batting cage, "time for the heater - fastballs."
On the first workout fastball, Koby Clemens - third baseman for the Houston Astros' Class A Lexington Legends - grounded weakly to second. Three heaters later, he launched the ball off a scoreboard on the left-field wall.
Dad didn't even look back.
The future Hall of Famer said his workout went "like clockwork," although he insisted that wasn't his prime objective.
"Even with everything going on in my life right now, my job is to turn him loose with his ballclub and his manager, ready to play," Clemens said after a workout that approached two hours.
Next Tuesday, Clemens will make his first step in a much-anticipated return to the Astros when he starts for the Legends. Koby, who has missed the last several weeks with a broken finger, will return to the minor league lineup.
Taking batting practice with a 341-game winner isn't bad rehab, he said.
"It's almost like a pitching machine when he gets out there," the younger Clemens said. "It's going to be right there."
Clemens, wearing an Astros workout jersey and a Legends cap, says he'll keep himself to a strict 60-pitch count Tuesday night and won't be surprised if youngsters with ambitions similar to his son's end up tearing him apart. He says it'll be a good time to work on his changeup, which he seldom throws.
Barring any setbacks, his Lexington appearance will be followed by one June 11 at Double-A Corpus Christi and another June 16 at Triple-A Round Rock.
Although Clemens says his son's recovery from injury provided a major nudge for his own return, he didn't get much pressure from him on choosing the Astros over other suitors, such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers.
"He's old enough and mature enough to know I was beating myself up about it, so he didn't need to add to it," Clemens said.
As for the Legends, the Clemens appearance has created quite a buzz in Lexington, which is known as a basketball town. When news of Clemens' start broke Thursday, ticket buyers jammed the purchasing system for all three Astros' minor league teams.
The nearly 9,000 seats were sold out, many of them in the first half-hour.
Alan Stein, president and CEO of the Legends, said he ordered a Legends' jersey with Clemens' size and his No. 22 on the off chance he wound up rehabbing in Lexington.
"This may be the mother of all rehabs," Stein said. "It's pretty dadgum exciting."
<!-- end body-content -->
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

6/7/06

Notebook

Clemens makes rehab start

From Beacon Journal wire services

<!-- begin body-content -->Roger Clemens showed pinpoint control and a sharp fastball during his tuneup for the Houston Astros' Class-A Lexington Legends. Playing alongside his son, Koby, he gave up a long home run but otherwise looked like his old self in three innings of work against the Lake County Captains, an affiliate of the Indians.

Captains center fielder Johnny Drennen, the third hitter Clemens faced, drove a fastball off the party deck beyond the right-field wall for a solo homer.

Otherwise, Clemens was hardly touched. He threw 62 pitches, allowed no walks and only the one run while striking out six -- two in each inning.
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top