McLane Does the Right Thing

Roger Clemens, who is only eight starts into his 2006 season, is sinking with Houston’s already sunken ship.

Lucky for him, Jayson Stark tried throwing him a life preserver today.
In his article, Stark blamed Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane for blocking any possible trades involving Roger Clemens. He says, "It was a deal that didn’t happen this weekend, but apparently could have – and should have... All Astros owner Drayton McLane would have had to do was say: ‘You know, it’s the right thing to do.’"

I wonder: Does Roger Clemens really deserve to get saved? He knew the situation he was getting in to. Hell, he had two months to watch the Astros play before he made his decision. It’s not like he signed his contract several years ago when the team was five outs away from the World Series only to have the team slowly fall apart over the next several years, like, oh, say Greg Maddux for example.

Yet you (Jayson Stark) say: "The owner could have easily done for Clemens what the Cubs did Monday for Greg Maddux. There are times when certain people deserve to be rescued from their sinking cruise liners."

Please, don’t even compare Greg Maddux’s situation with the Cubs with that of Roger Clemens. Greg Maddux didn’t ditch his team for two months while fielding lucrative offers from other teams. Maybe the Houston "cruise liner" wouldn’t be sinking if Roger was there at the beginning of the season.

Now, Mr. Stark, what do you mean by "Given Clemens’ affection for his hometown, his teammates and even his owner, he would never broach that subject (finishing his career with another team) himself. He would never ask to bail out. It isn’t what he is about?"

I’m sorry, I was under the impression that he was close to signing with the Red Sox in the first place, you know, entertaining "that subject." As for bailing out, where was he the first two months of the season?

Really, I have almost zero respect for Roger Clemens. I don’t care if the big media wants me to think he is a strong valued guy. Forget the image Roger wants us to believe, and judge him by his actions.

Please, don’t even compare him to Greg Maddux. Greg acted like the perfect professional; even though the team sucked, he didn’t bash his teammates, he didn’t openly run around with other teams, he didn’t sit out a portion of the season mulling over his future. He played out his contract despite his diminished abilities. He deserved to be given a chance to end on top, to finally win a World Series.

To close, I wonder question two things. How many times does Roger Clemens deserve to end his career with a winning team? I remember when he first joined the Yankees, the talk was that he wanted to end his career there with a championship. Now it has turned into an environment that a team is supposed to bow down to the Rocket since "it might be his last year, and he should end in the playoffs." That is a bunch of crap.

And finally, Mr. Jayson Stark, I question this quote: "All Clemens had to say was that he wasn’t ‘abandoning’ his team. He was committed for life. He’d be gone for two months, and then he’d be back to work for the Astros for as long as they wanted him, doing whatever they needed done."

Doesn’t that sound familiar...

Like it has happened before?