Can Rocket Launch Yankees?
May 7, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Personalities, Transactions
Really terrible headline, even by my standards. Hey, that’s why I get paid the big bucks.
In case you missed it, the New York Yankees have signed right-hander Roger Clemens to a minor-league deal. The 44-year-old spent part of 2006 with the Houston Astros, going 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA over 19 starts.
The question here isn’t how much Clemens has left in the tank — obviously with numbers like last year’s, he remains a top-shelf pitcher. What we don’t know is whether his contributions will be enough to get the Yankees back on track and into the post-season.
Let’s face it, even with the addition of Clemens for the final four months of the season, the Yankees’ pitching is a mess. That isn’t to say they can’t win, but this is not a dominant team.
Where things potentially get interesting is if the Yankees make it into the playoffs. In a short series, starting pitching rules. If Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte remain healthy, that’s a devastating front three.
There’s a pretty long stretch of highway between here and there, and a lot can go wrong — especially when you’re relying on a bunch of very old pitchers — but the AL East just got a lot more interesting. If you’re MLB, and a good chunk of your money comes from that division, specifically the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, this is a good thing.
Don’t forget Wang come playoff time. He’s the youngest and probably most reliable of the 4. And he can flat out pitch.
Yeah, good point about Wang. I keep expecting his insanely low strikeout rate to catch up with him one of these days, but so far he’s been solid.
I think the Yank problems are overplayed. Any team, no matter how good, would struggle if they lost 3 of their 5 starters to injuries (plus the sixth and seventh starter). But they are largely back from all that already.
I’ll put out a prediction – not strongly, but within the realm of possibility. The Yanks will catch the Sox BEFORE Clemens returns.
The Sox are playing very well, but perhaps a bit over their heads right now. Yanks have their 4 main starters back and healthy, a competition for the fifth spot, with Roger looming. I think they are in much better shape than most people think.
Tano, you may be right. If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that counting out the Yankees almost always is a mistake.