http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5158056

Red Sox reportedly contact Clemens' agents

FOXSports.com
Posted: 3 hours ago



Convinced he was on the downside of his career, the Red Sox let Roger Clemens leave town as a free agent after the 1996 season.

Nine years, three teams and four Cy Young awards later, they're reportedly interested in bringing him back.
According to a report in the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have spoken with Clemens' agents, the Hendricks brothers, to communicate their interest in signing the future Hall of Famer should he decide to play in 2006.

''We had an internal discussion," Red Sox CEO and president Larry Lucchino told the Globe, ''and concluded we should make an initial call to let the Hendricks brothers know we were open to discuss Roger's return if he should have interest in the Red Sox in 2006.

''Nothing further."

According to sources close to Clemens, the pitcher reacted positively to the possibility of a return to Boston.

Clemens' return to the Astros became less likely last week when the team declined to offer him arbitration, meaning the earliest Houston could re-sign the 43-year-old would be May 1.

Since leaving the Red Sox, Clemens has gone 149-61 and has won at least one Cy Young award with each of his three employers — the Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros. He very well could have added an unprecedented eighth award last season had he only received a little run support; Clemens posted a career-best 1.87 ERA, but only went 13-8.

I, for one, would love to see him go back home and end his career with the Sox.

The sox don't know when to stop. First they offer Manny for Tejada, now try to get Clemens. Not to mention they screwed Epstein over. I for one don't think either way because it doesn't help, and probobly won't hurt my yankees.

Yanks have contacted him too (first I believe). Steinbrenner would throw a lot of money at him plus the "limited appareances" that houston let him get along with. Image Clemens, Johnson, Moose, Chacon, Pavano, Wang, Small, etc

Targeting Rocket

DALLAS - The shortest measure of time in this hurry-up world has been the millisecond between a light turning green and the guy behind you leaning on the horn. That's how long it took for George Steinbrenner to devise a battle plan to pry Roger Clemens away from Houston's baseball community and set up one of the greater comebacks in modern Yankee history.

The engines are already humming. One Yankee official says, "It's only a matter of time" before the first phone call is made to Clemens' camp.

The Boss can - and will - court The Rocket with money (anything you want, Rocket), by playing on his vanity (we've never really replaced you, Rocket), and his legacy (can the Astros really take you back to the World Series?). All this unfolded Wednesday night, when Houston owner Drayton McLane severed his ties with Clemens. By not offering the right-hander arbitration, the Astros are now back burnered until May 1, and while a majority of baseball insiders think Clemens will still end up in Houston, the four-month-plus window gives Steinbrenner a chance to fill three needs at once.

First, Clemens would give the Yankees' rotation an immediate upgrade and allow them to send Carl Pavano packing. Despite general manager Brian Cashman's insistence that Pavano is an integral part of the Bombers' machinery in 2006, the unhappy pitcher's attitude continues to be a problem.


A.J. Burnett said this week that Pavano is "miserable" pitching in New York, and has told a number of friends - including Burnett, his former teammate in Florida - he wants to be traded. Clemens' presence would make Pavano expendable, assuming someone would actually pay $10 million for an injured sinkerballer with diminished velocity.

If Cashman can pull off a deal for Pavano, he deserves early consideration for Executive of the Year. But the Yankees clearly need a pitching response to the Red Sox and Blue Jays, both of whom are now stronger at the front of the rotation.

Clemens and Randy Johnson are obviously fragile fortysomethings, but The Rocket was arguably the National League's best pitcher in 2005. If healthy, he would create a match for Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett, as well as Roy Halladay and Burnett.

Finally, Clemens would give the Yankees a boost in the clubhouse, where he's still popular two years since his departure. The Rocket stays in touch with Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, who e-mailed him advice about pitching to the White Sox during the World Series.

In his very first day back in pinstripes, Clemens would replace Johnson as the Yankees' ace and eclipse Johnson's angry, dark aura. The Unit is a loner at his locker and appears just as isolated when he's on the mound, even during his best games. The Rocket has an other-world quirkiness about him, but the Yankees universally considered him a great teammate. Not one has ever said that about Johnson.

Perhaps there's one other factor Steinbrenner should consider, too. The Yankees need to appear active this winter, if only because the Mets have stolen New York's attention. Actually, it's not a stretch to say the Mets now have a clearer path to the playoffs than the Bombers, which in itself is a sign of the apocalypse.

True, the Yankees deserve credit for waiting out Johnny Damon, and they're wisely resisting the temptation to trade for the talented but troubled Milton Bradley. But the Bombers have otherwise allowed themselves to appear inert - while raising their top tickets prices to $100.

For all the reasons Clemens makes sense, the question, of course, is whether his return to New York can actually happen. The Yankees will start probing the matter with Clemens' agents, which means finding out how much it will cost (at least $15 million, even for a May 1 start) and what concessions Clemens will be asking for.

So far, no one has the answer, maybe not even Clemens himself. The Astros couldn't afford to wait any longer while The Rocket wrestled with career, family and health issues.

Obviously, he's tired, still beat up from the '05 season, which ended with a disastrous appearance in Game 1 of the World Series. It's hard to believe Clemens has made peace with the image he projected walking off the mound - limping with a strained hamstring, unable to get past the second inning.

Clemens, who intends to pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March, might retire if he's still sore after the international tournament. Or he might need an extra two months to recover. If so, it's possible Clemens will return to the Astros on May 1 as if nothing had changed. But no one in Clemens' camp could give McLane a definitive answer. Agent Randy Hendricks told ESPN.com, "I'm not sure what the future holds, but Roger has his own decision, and he'll make it - in late January or early February."

Unlike the Yankees, the Astros don't have $15 million to $20 million to hold in reserve while Clemens weighs his option. That money has to be budgeted and spent in the next two months. Conversely, the Bombers are flush with cash, always their most potent weapon.

In this case, money is no object, considering the Yankees are projecting a 2006 budget that's at least $20 million lighter than in '05 (assuming they don't sign Damon). Writing a last-minute check won't cause Steinbrenner any financial pain.

It might even be the smartest cash withdrawal he's ever made.

You know, Clemens back with the Red Sox would be a great little story itself, where he comes back after being booed and traded away back in the 90s.

The problem with the legend is that....I tell ya, it hurt watching him in the 1st game of the World Series. I mean, I can't be the only one that was sorta bothered with that game, of which made me wonder if Clemens now is truely done.

I'm imagining their combined age of 123 years old and imagining them all falling apart at the same time.

The Yanks need to get younger, not older.

add to that Small and Wang, what do you have:

a 123+ year old rotation with a small wang, I don't think you'd find that too pleasing :rolleyes:

I'm imagining their combined age of 123 years old and imagining them all falling apart at the same time.

The Yanks need to get younger, not older. [/b][/quote]Yeah but I'd jump at the chance to add Clemens for a title year