MLB: Why is Roger Clemens the Bad Guy?

While a member of the Boston Red Sox, Roger Clemens only had a handful of opportunities to perform in the post-season. In nine starts, he won only two games in the four years that the BoSox showed up in the post-season with Clemens.

As a member of the New York Yankees, he has finally had a chance to shine. In six post-season starts, he has won four games, including two this post-season. Clemens also has a streak of seventeen consecutive scoreless innings, striking out 24 batters and allowing only three hits in that span. The fact that Roger Clemens has pitched so well in the past two games is not the hot topic.

What the buzz has been about is the incident between him and New York Met catcher Mike Piazza. This comes after the bat throwing incident in game two on Sunday night. I'm sure you've all heard it already: 0-2 pitch, Piazza swings, bat shatters, ball goes foul, piece of the bat lands in front of Clemens, Clemens doesn't see Piazza running but throws it anyway, Piazza sees the bat flying and approaches the mound, benches clear, et cetera.

I saw the clip of the incident a couple of times. I don't see Piazza come into Clemens' sight line until AFTER Clemens threw the piece of the bat. But people are quick to assume that Clemens is an evil, maniacal man and he deliberately intended to hit Piazza.

Why are we so quick to assume that he's a bad guy? Because he throws heat inside and it's no longer cool to throw inside anymore in this era of the long ball? Because he's an old school pitcher who plays a psychological game - and is pretty damn good at it? (And even IF he apologizes for his actions, we still jump on down his throat!)

That's why Yankees have a guy like Clemens - and that's why they have a 2-0 lead in the World Series going into Tuesday night's game.

Mike Piazza is the class of the Mets. An example is how kept a cool head and didn't overreact. If only his teammates could follow him: they were ready to throw down and hang him from the cheap seats at Yankee Stadium. It'll be interesting to see what Bobby Valentine does on Tuesday night.

I'm not writing to defend Clemens' actions on Sunday night. I am writing to say let the man do his job, which right now is pitching fabulously for the Yankees.

For now, I'm not going to pay one lick of attention to the tiresome, overhyped Clemens/Piazza rivalry. There are other members of both respective teams besides those two - which is their rivalry alone. I haven't heard word one in the media about how well Edgardo Alfonso has been hitting this post-season.

Its time we focus our attention on the games ahead and leave this over-sensationalized mess behind.