Posted on 01/13/2004 11:41:52 PM PST by Burkeman1
Roger Clemens ended last season as a living legend in New York. On Tuesday, he became a rat.
And a turncoat.
And a traitor.
He did not simply become a former Yankee by signing to play for his hometown Astros.
He became an enemy of the state.
He became the Long Island Lolita, Leona Helmsley, Martha Stewart and Kathie Lee Gifford rolled into one.
He became the stalled subway car that makes New Yorkers late, the crosstown traffic that makes them fussy. He became a stupid tourist, too, all in one day, all by changing his mind about retiring and deciding not to return to the Yankees.
While talk-show hosts picked him apart a pinstripe at a time, nasty headlines filled newsstands from SoHo to Central Park:
Texas two-face.
Another liar.
Should have known better than to trust this rat.
His Yankee pinstripes no thicker than Minute Maid.
Yank fans blast Rocket's re-entry.
For his part, Clemens stayed above the fray. He said the criticism disappointed him, but he reminded anyone who asked that he had done his best during five seasons with the Yankees.
"My situation was unique," he said. "I was in a shutdown mode until Andy (Pettitte) signed with the Astros. That's when things changed."
He helped the Bronx Bombers win five division championships, four American League pennants and two World Series titles. He won 77 games and an unprecedented sixth Cy Young Award.
When reporters asked about the Hall of Fame, he emphasized he would like to enter as a Yankee, and even when the club played hardball in contract negotiations last winter, he never wavered from wanting to retire as a Yankee.
Then when Pettitte left the Yankees last month to play for the Astros, Clemens decided to return for a 21st season -- with the Astros.
So hang him.
That's exactly what they might be planning when the Astros make their only appearance next season in the Big Apple to play a three-game series against the Mets in August.
It's unclear why so many people were so angry.
His teammates gave him a Hummer as a going-away gift. His manager, Joe Torre, allowed him to manage the final game of the regular season. He got standing ovations in what were thought to be his final appearances in a variety of ballparks -- including Fenway Park in Boston, where he is also considered a traitor.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Kinda rare for Red Sox and Yankee fans to agree on something but this classless clown takes the cake. When he left Boston to go to Toronto this mental giant said he wanted to be "Closer to home"!
But can he hit, he has been in the Land of DH for so long, bet he forgot how to use a bat.
That much being said, however: I have to 'fess I don't quite see what it is that Clemens has done that's so blamed awful here, myself. Having rightfully earned the ability to seek employment wherever he likes, at whatever price he feels most comfortable with: he went out and did just that.
What... are we conservatives supposed to be against the free market now, or something? [::scratches head, confused::]
Heh. The Giants are in desperate need of pitching and have an open bank book. That would be a good match if they haven't solved their pitching problems by then. The good news is that the Central League doesn't have the DH so Clemens would have to go to bat.
Lots of the big pitchers can hit. Kerry Wood got a home run during the playoffs if I recall correctly. Ferguson Jenkins and Bob Gibson used to occasionally connect also...
But please, how can New Yorkers claim Clemmons as their own? He did work there for a few years, but that doesn't make him anybody's property.
If true, it sounds to me like he had a dammed good reason to come out of retirement
Who gives a sh!t what a Yankee fan thinks anyway?
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