Roger Clemens: A Yankee Bust?
Forty-five year old fossil Roger Clemens was forced to leave Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners after only 4 innings due to elbow tightness. The Yankees dropped a key game at home to Seattle by the score of 7-1 as the Rocket allowed 5 runs and 8 hits before hitting the showers. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday. This was a must-win game for the Yankees and the Rocket fizzled in a big spot. Entering play, the Yankees commanded a two game lead over Seattle for the wildcard spot. The Yankees had the chance to step on the necks of a reeling Mariners squad, but came up way short. At this point, it is reasonable to ask whether Clemens’ most recent tenure with the Yankees has been a bust.
Consider that the Rocket’s salary this year is a whopping $28 million - his cut, on a pro-rated basis, is $18.7 million. He has started 16 games thus far and sports a 6-6 record with a 4.45 ERA. The Yankees have won 7 of his 16 starts (44%). Let’s do some math. To date, Clemens’ price tag has been $1.17 million/start and $2.67 million/win. No wonder ticket prices are through the roof! Upon further scrutiny, one notices that in three of Clemens’ wins, the Yankees hammered out 9 runs per game. In effect, the Yankees, with their potent offense, were “destined” to win these games, regardless of who pitched. So basically, whoever would have pitched in place of Clemens for 16 starts, would have been spotted 3 victories. This mystery pitcher would then have to go 4-9 in the remaining starts to match Clemens’ output. Obviously Roger Clemens is headed to the Hall of Fame and is probably one of the top 5 pitchers of all time. But let’s be honest, Clemens has not added much to the win total of the New York Yankees in 2007. It is probably too early to tell whether Clemens has been a total bust. That will largely depend on his playoff performance if the Yankees make the playoffs and if he pitches in it. In the meantime, I’ll just label him as a very expensive antique.
Written by Jon on September 3rd, 2007 with
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