There's nothing new to report.
That's the latest word out of the Roger Clemens camp, even with what looks like a perfect opening in the Boston Red Sox starting rotation. Jonathan Papelbon offered his duties to return to the bullpen and reacquire his role as the closer over the weekend, making room for a fifth starter in Boston.
Julian Tavarez was immediately named Papelbon's replacement to start the season, but there's no guarantee it's going to stay that way.
Prior to Papelbon's move, there seemed to be no room for another starting pitcher in the Red Sox rotation. Not even for Clemens.
The most recent opening has to put Boston back in the hunt for the Rocket, but his agent, Randy Hendricks, insists nothing has changed.
"Roger won't decide until May," Hendricks said in an email over the weekend. "At that point, he will decide if he thinks he can play physically and whether he wants to play mentally. If he passes both of those tests, I expect him to decide on the team by the end of May."
Sound familiar?
He's playing the waiting game once again. In the exact same manner as last year, Clemens will sit back and watch how the season unfolds for the three teams he will take into consideration.
It's no secret that the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the only teams he would consider playing for if he decides to return to baseball.
In February, it looked as though the odds of retirement were in his favor. Clemens told a Houston television station last month that there was an 80 percent chance he would retire.
His agent believes his chances of playing are a little bit better than that.
"I have always said it was 50-50," Hendricks said. "Roger said one day, some time ago, that it was 80-20 against [returning] on that day, meaning that was how he felt that day."
Other than that 30 percent differential from last month, nothing has changed. The same three teams are his only preference, and there won't be a decision made anytime soon.
Clemens signed a one-year, $22 million deal with Houston last June after months of speculation. He finished the season with a 7-6 record and a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts, but once again, his offense failed to hold up its end of the bargain.
The Astros had the worst team batting average in the league (.255) and were ranked 25th (out of 30) in total runs scored (735). Meanwhile, Houston had the fifth-best team ERA in the majors at 4.08.
Once again, the easiest move for Clemens would be to stay in Houston for another season. His son, Koby, remains in the organization, and his 10-year personal services contract with the Astros that kicks in when he retires doesn't make leaving home for one of his former teams any easier.
The Red Sox aren't in dire need of his services, but with Papelbon recommitting himself as the team's closer, you can be sure Theo Epstein would rather have Clemens on the mound every fifth day than Tavarez.
Then there are the Yankees. With Chien-Ming Wang starting the 2007 season on the DL with a hamstring pull, there's plenty of room on board for the Rocket, especially with the recent departure of Randy Johnson.
Speaking of the Yankees, remember how I said nothing has changed? I take that back.
That change is Andy Pettitte. The same Andy Pettitte that influenced Clemens to leave New York for Houston after the 2003 season. Even he decided to return to the Bronx for one more championship run, and don't be surprised to see him follow in his good friend's footsteps once again.
Clemens has openly stated that he would have never left New York for Houston had Pettitte not made the move.
And what's stopping him from doing it again?
Sure, Houston has bolstered its offense by signing Carlos Lee to a $100 million deal. But if Pettitte is as influential now as he was three and a half years ago, then Robinson Cano better get used to wearing No. 24 - he's offered to give up No. 22 if Clemens signs with the Yankees.
Whatever the outcome of this year's Roger Clemens sweepstakes, the waiting game is getting old. Nobody knows what Clemens is going to do at this point.
It could come down to family. It could come down to money. But in the end, the Yankees are hoping that it will come down to someone they already have: Andy Pettitte.
Danny Picard is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at dpicard@student.umass.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!