Divorcing Memories of the Rocketman

Remember when Boston Red Sox G.M. Dan Duquette claimed that Roger Clemens was in the "twilight of his career?"

Bill Lumberg, the eccentric boss from Office Space said it best - "Um.yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree."

Two Cy Young Awards later, a few all-star appearances, and even a world championship ring or two and Clemens has further solidified his first-ballot Hall-of-Fame career.

Dan, it must have been some other Clemens character you were referring to. Maybe Duquette said Roger Lemons and no one heard him correctly.

At 37 years old, Clemens is 14-1 and is the runaway candidate for his 6th Cy Young Award. He is the surefire ace for a chippy New York Yankees staff and is bolstering his position on the top echelon with the all-time best pitchers. In 1999, Roger was named to the All-Century team, and he is slowly edging closer and closer towards 300 career victories, having notched his 274th the other evening. On the same night he earned his 274th career victory, Clemens surpassed Tom Seaver for 4th place on the all-time strike out list with 3,643 career K's.

I think I just heard a few flasks pop open in Boston.

Don't get me wrong. The Red Sox have Pedro Martinez, arguably the top pitcher in the game. However, health problems are swirling around him like bees on a honeycomb and when the words "rotator cuff" are mentioned, people dive under the blankets and cower in fear.

Meanwhile, the 38-year old Clemens is dropping batters like bowling pins and dominating at a ferocious pace. With Clemens this hot, sure seems like he can lead the Yankees past anyone in a short post-season series.

Dan, what exactly did Clemens have to say about accomplishing such a historic feat at the House that Ruth Built?

"I was taken aback. It's pretty special to do it here, in this uniform," Clemens said. "You enjoy it more. I looked into the dugout while the fans were cheering, and the guys tipped their hats to me."

D'oh.

Talk about salt in the wounds.

Believe it or not, some people think that the Sox could have had Clemens and Pedro on the same team. All it took to get Pedro was some stiff prospects, ala a trade/robbery of epic proportions and some estimated that all it would have taken to sign Clemens was an estimated $30-50 million beans. Potentially, they could have been teammates for a little while anyway. But the Sox weren't interested in Roger's antics or his services.

Clemens wasn't pitching great his last few years in Boston and some were thinking he was all washed up. Some questioned his heart and desire but there is no question Clemens is a workout warrior, one of the hardest working baseball players in the game. That's why he's been able to shake off the cobwebs and avoid the injuries and ailments that plague so many of the other pitchers when they inch towards their 40's.

Forget tossing crates of tea overboard in Boston. Fans should be tossing crates of Alka-Seltzer in the Boston Harbor.

He's one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game and fans in Boston were frustrated with his mediocre performances his last few years in Boston. When Boston wouldn't pay him a fair market salary for his services, he left town and went north of the border. Fueled with anger towards the Sox organization for implying he was fat, out-of-shape, and all done, Roger used his aggression to help himself attain a 21-7 record with the Blue Jays while posting a bare-boned 2.07 ERA.

His last few seasons in Boston, Clemens averaged close to 10 wins a season.

When the media pressed the Sox organization on what their feelings were towards letting the Cy Young winner go, they opted to go fish.

So while the Sox fans were watching their former ace pace the Jays, they were searching for another starter. Eventually, they won Pedro Martinez in a deal and the fans in Boston couldn't be happier. Pedro went on to prove himself as, arguably, the top pitcher in the game and fans in Beantown were patting themselves on the back, comfortable in their selection with Pedro.

Then the 2001 season rolled around.

Clemens is 14-1 while Pedro is sitting on the bench, nursing an aggravated rotator cuff. Fans in Boston have no choice but to sit back and watch Clemens rip through opposing lineups while they struggle to remain close to the Bronx Bombers with Nomar, Pedro, Carl Everett, and Jason Varitek on the D.L.

Dan, with a patchwork rotation, think Roger would still look good in the Boston gray and red?

"No comment," Dan Duquette would reply in his typical CIA manner.

Yeah, that's what I thought.