Need to Ground the Nation a Little

To listen to many Red Sox fans today, you'd think no one wanted Clemens...Ridiculous.

The next step is that they are giving the ownership credit for not over-bidding. But they weren't given the chance. They might have if Roger's people had gotten back to them.

Once again, the Yankees beat the Sox to the punch...
But how's that really worked out so far?
Pavano?
Contreras?
and the one they didn't win...Daisuke?

So what is the real impact of this?

Clemens won't be pitching until June, and I doubt Torre will let his first outing be in Fenway against the Sox. Yes, a huge boost for the Yankees IF Roger wins, but could be a HUGE failure if Roger loses as he did in his first two outings last year.

He averaged (last year) about 5 and 2/3 an outing.

He beat:
The Chicago Cubs (twice)
The Pittsburgh Pirates (twice)
Milwaukee (once)
Cincinnati (once)
Arizona (once)

He lost to:
Detroit
Minnesota
Cincinnati
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Florida

Now, he'll get a lot of run support in NY. He'll also have a terrible bullpen for, at least, a while. He won't get to the eighth to hand it directly to Rivera. He'll lose the close ones, yet again.

My best guess is that he really does help the Yankees. 9-3 or 9-4 with a 4+ ERA. 9 wins might be high if he doesn't get constant run support, but I'll give the NY lineup the benefit of the doubt. I hope no one really believes that he'll maintain the well sub-3 ERA...

He'll miss the May Sox series, and the early June Sox series (more than likely). That means that 12 of the 18 games will be out of the way. Maybe the Sox see him twice. Probably beat him once. No advantage there.

My guess is that even someone like Igawa (spelling?) in Clemens's spot would get the Yankees 5 wins with their lineup. So, is he that much of a difference maker?

He doesn't rest the pen. In fact, looking at his numbers, one has to think that going into one of his starts that you are looking using 3-4 relievers (even if he gives you 5-6 innings...as he won't have the pitcher hitting for the auto out). The Yankees still have to use their overused pen a lot...this should concern those who route for them.

He wins you a few more games (4? 5?) than someone else in that spot.

And here's the other concern. The Yankees are trying to limit payroll....ok, not really...but...
they spend this huge amount on Clemens. They still have 2 injury prone starters in Mussina and Wang (can Pettitte be put here?), Pavano is gone...Igawa is very weak...Their pen is atrocious. Should they have spread the wealth around a little more instead of just getting a guy who will give them 5-6 innings a start?

5-6 innings for the Sox is a different story. Clemens would have locked the division up for the Sox. The Sox have the pen to get to Papelbon. For the Yankees, however, he may highlight some of their weak spots a little more than he helps...Only time will tell.