Next Step For Yanks: Sign Clemens
The papers are abuzz this morning with all sorts of Roger Clemens speculation.
The New York Times says the Yankees are "determined not to be outbid." All the papers believe the Pettitte signing makes New York the favorite. Tyler Kepner speculates that Roger is tired of weak run support in Houston and probably wouldn’t take less money to pitch in Boston. As you know, Clemens’s agent has advised him to do another midsummer return instead of a full season.
John P. Lopez of the Houston Chronicle believes the Astros are out of it, making it a two-team race.
The New York Post has a statement directly from Randy Hendricks, the agent:
"Nothing has changed on Roger. First, he has to decide whether he will play. If he decides to play, then he will have to decide upon the team, which would be either New York, Boston or Houston. If he does play, it will likely be for a shortened season. I do not expect anything to happen on this matter any time soon."
Will Yanks Turn Attention To Clemens?
As a Randy Johnson trade appears inevitable, talk is starting up again that the Yankees are actually trying to get older. They’d like to replace Johnson with a full season of Roger Clemens, according to Jon Heyman.
Heyman even mentions that Clemens’s dislike of Johnson may have prevented him from signing with the Yankees and could be a factor in the trade.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe agrees that the Yankees are trading Johnson with the Rocket in mind. Ah, the drama never ends.
Clemens Moving On From Astros?
John P. Lopez of the Houston Chronicle says of the Astros:
"The organization, like you and me, would be surprised if Clemens wears Astros pinstripes again."
I hadn’t realized that Clemens’s departure was considered probable. Right now it appears that the Astros are going with Oswalt, Jennings, Williams, and two question marks. The front two starters can rack up some innings, but Williams could easily go 100 innings and leave the team with half of a rotation. Given the money already spent, I think the Astros should go all out and secure one more starter.
If Houston really has little chance for Clemens, Boston and Texas become the frontrunners.
Matsuzaka Talks Breaking Down
The outlook is not so good for the Red Sox to sign Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that talks are "breaking down." Silverman’s source places to blame on agent Scott Boras, who apparently doesn’t feel like making a deal. As Buster Olney notes, that certainly sounds like it originates from the Red Sox.
Olney also notes that the Sox will probably provide what amounts to a blank check to Roger Clemens should they fail to sign Matsuzaka. While there has been some talk of Clemens pitching for all of 2007, his agent is pushing for another shortened season.
To me that makes the Yanks more likely to be players, as by June one of Wang, Johnson, Mussina, Pettitte, or Igawa could certainly be injured. If someone had to be bumped to accomodate Clemens for one year, who would it be?
Grimsley Names Revealed
Remember all that Jason Grimsley stuff from way back in June? L.A. Times reporters Lance Pugmire and Tim Brown got a glance at an unredacted version of Grimsley’s affidavit, and all the names within were made public in this article.
Here are the infamous six:
Andy Pettitte
Miguel Tejada
Brian Roberts
Jay Gibbons
David Segui
Roger Clemens
In addition, Albert Pujols‘s trainer, Chris Mihlfeld, has apparently been cleared. The trainer in question turned out to be former Yankees and Blue Jays strength coach Dr. Brian McNamee. According to the article, McNamee works with Clemens and Pettitte. It had previously been reported on Deadspin (at about an 80% confidence level) that Mihlfeld was the trainer named in the affidavit.
It appears that McNamee once wrote a response column in the New York Times sometime in 2002 to refute Steve Kettman’s allegation of widespread steroid use in baseball. I’ll try to find that one, but in the meantime you can read this. McNamee was named on page 14 of Grimsley’s affidavit as a person who once referred Grimsley to an amphetamine source. Kettman is an author and former sportswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle and was the ghostwriter of Jose Canseco’s Juiced.
You can read a little bit about Brian McNamee’s "Navy SEAL workouts" here and here. Aside from Clemens and Pettitte, Ted Lilly and some other pitchers from the 2001 Yankees participated in McNamee’s rigorous workouts. At this link, McNamee is interviewed and repeatedly hawks a multi-vitamin called InVite. Finally, the New York Daily News adds to the info about McNamee, mentioning that he was questioned in connection with a possible sexual assault in 2001.
Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun already have reactions from Tejada and Gibbons in the Sunday edition of the Baltimore Sun.
Gibbons, back when Alex Sanchez became the first steroid bust back in April of 2005:
"We’re not messing around now. Just the public perception that every time he goes to the plate, people will say he’s a cheater. You knew it was going to happen, you knew they would catch somebody."
Will Roger Clemens Pitch In 2007?
Deja vu all over again: it looks like we’re in for another winter of Roger Clemens rumors. With a 2.50 ERA in 80 innings, his delayed debut has been a smashing success. The only problem is that the Astros have a nearly unsurmountable deficit in the playoff standings.
As Buster Olney speculates in his blog today, the Red Sox will probably be willing to pay the Rocket $4MM a month to get them to the World Series in 2007. Olney figures the chances of this happening are better than 50%. Would the Yankees counter with $5MM a month and a game-used Luis Sojo baseball bat? Perhaps.
Red Sox Trade Rumors
It’s tough to get anything out of Boston these days; Theo Epstein has plugged all of his leaks. Let’s see what we can piece together though.
According to Sean McAdams of The Providence Journal:
"Friends of the Rocket insist he’s sorry that he chose the Astros over the Red Sox." McAdams mentions that Clemens would love a trade to Boston if it could be done without infuriating the Houston fanbase. Also, a source of mine tells me that the Mets have inquired about Clemens.
Then there’s the possible three-way trade with the Rockies and Padres. The Padres would get Mike Lowell, the Red Sox would get Ryan Shealy and a starter, and who knows what the Rockies would get.
Don’t get that rumor confused with the other three-team scenario from Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe. In that case, the Red Sox get Julio Lugo and Scott Linebrink, the Padres get Mike Lowell, and the D-Rays get prospects.
Plus, Jayson Stark mentioned last night that the Red Sox are "making a late run at Alfonso Soriano." He doesn’t have much more than that, but it can’t be dismissed. Stark has also connected Boston to Jason Schmidt and Brad Lidge.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 4 Days Left
What’s cooking this morning in the world of MLB trade rumors?
Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey spoke to all sorts of baseball sources; here’s his latest Rumor Mill. New developments: the Mets could pursue various Rockie pitchers, and the Yanks crave John Smoltz.
My Mets guy indicates that the Wilson Betemit for Scott Linebrink deal that’s been bandied about could go down at the last minute. What? He hears things outside of the Mets.
SportsBlah sorts through the Alfonso Soriano rumors.
Jimmy Gobble was scratched from his start last night. Let the rampant rumormongering begin. Actually, KC just switched him with Runelvys Hernandez to break up the southpaws in the rotation.
As the days go by, Doug Melvin sounds more and more like he’ll trade Carlos Lee.
RotoAuthority gives the fantasy take on Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Broussard, Scott Kazmir, and many more recent developments.
All the newspapers are reporting that the Yankees have deemed Scott Proctor "untouchable." I know good relief help is hard to find, but should a 29 year-old middling reliever at the peak of his value really be deemed untouchable? Especially the way Joe Torre is abusing him.
Hadn’t heard of the Mets’ interest in Juan Cruz and Jose Valverde until Dan Graziano mentioned it this morning. Could be a great buy low situation for a real live arm in Valverde. Cruz I think could be tough to pry away.
There was just no reason to try to start Roger Clemens trade speculation. The Astros, five games back in the wildcard, have invested way too much to suddenly wave the white flag.
Bidding war for…Cory Lidle? Looks like Toronto has the lead so far; Lidle starts tonight.
Buster Olney mentioned today in his blog that the White Sox are willing to discuss trades for Freddy Garcia. He also indicates that the Red Sox are working on a large, creative deal with more than two teams.
Add the Mariners and Cardinals to the Yankees for Shawn Green’s interested parties. He can veto a deal to any of these three teams and is happy in Arizona.
Clemens Signs, Nevin to Cubs
The long expected Roger Clemens signing with Houston has finally been made official. One less distraction; the sideshow is finally over. Until Clemens decides there’s a slight chance he pitches in 2007. The Astros are 6.5 games back and Clemens should provide a several-win boost over the likes of Fernando Nieve.
The Cubs are 11 games under .500, 12.5 out of first, but they’re not giving up. Jim Hendry just swapped Jerry Hairston for Phil Nevin, a clear win now type move for a team with little chance of winning now. Cubs fans shouldn’t mind the deal, given that the Rangers should take on most of Nevin’s salary. Would’ve been nice if Hendry could’ve pulled this off a month ago though.
Finally, Pat Burrell was curiously absent from the Philadelphia lineup given all the trade rumors swirling about. Burrell makes plenty of sense for the Yanks if they can get him, but they can’t afford to give up any decent starting pitching.
Latest On Clemens
Back on February 15th, I posted about a source out of Houston close to former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker. That same source has another update on Roger Clemens for us this morning.
Apparently, Hunsicker still feels that Clemens will sign with Houston on or shortly after May 1st. The Yankees and Red Sox were never seriously in the running for Roger, and Texas was a long shot at best. Clemens’s approach to his return was designed to guarantee him the most money possible.
On the off chance that Clemens retires, the Astros are expected to trade for a starting pitcher.