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They had a shot.
For a brief period of time, the possibility of Roger Clemens returning to Boston and finishing his career where it started seemed ever so realistic. And now we know: the Red Sox were in it until the very end.
"If it were a horse race, Boston was beaten by a nose in a five horse field [that included retirement]," Randy Hendricks said this past weekend via e-mail. "Boston did make an offer consistent with Roger's number, just like Houston did. If Roger had decided on Boston, which he considered to the last day, we would have accepted their offer."
Instead, the Houston Astros won the Roger Clemens Sweepstakes, and the Rocket agreed to a $22 million contract for the remainder of the 2006 season.
For the past two months, Clemens contemplated the options of retirement, testing the free-agent market or re-signing with the Houston Astros. And while he may have chosen to stay at home, Red Sox fans should be happy to know that the Rocket's interest in returning to Boston was anything but dishonest.
"There was nothing insincere about our interest in Boston," Hendricks said. "Remember, after the Astros failed to offer salary arbitration, Roger was out of commission for them until after May 1. Also, their failure to offer salary arbitration meant that they did not want to pay fair market value. So if Roger did want to play, I needed to develop alternatives. Boston was one of those, and the owners and front office did a magnificent job."
So what happened?
The Red Sox brass certainly made a big push to sign Clemens. They even tried to appeal to his sentimental side by offering a one-year deal worth $21,000,021. But before Clemens made his decision nearly one week ago, many believed that the seven-time Cy Young Award winner would eventually return to Houston. As it turned out, those people were correct. However, Clemens' agent was never convinced that it was a sure thing.
"I did not think Houston would have been the choice a month ago," Hendricks said. "A month ago, I didn't think Houston would offer a competitive salary, nor did I think they would be the best choice as a team, from a strictly clinical point of view."
While the Rocket may have been "warming up" to the thought of donning No. 21 again, he chose the more convenient option of staying in Houston with his family. And it wasn't just convenience that kept him in the Lone Star State. He also got some convincing from a few old pals.
"I think the home town factor, the fact that he and [his son] Koby had been working out daily for a month, the way the Astros have treated him over the past two years and the fact that a number of his friends on the Astros were asking him, almost daily, to come back and help them, turned the tide," Hendricks said.
Clemens will get a chance to play with his son tonight when he launches his comeback tour with the Class A Lexington Legends. He is then expected to make two more minor-league starts before making his 2006 debut with the Astros on June 22. And the Rocket could not have returned at a better time.
The Astros are currently 8.5 games out of first place in the N.L. Central, and while it's too early to count them out, one has to wonder: what if?
What if Houston finds itself out of contention for a playoff spot? What if, come July 31, the Astros are on the outside, looking in at the 2006 post-season? Do Clemens and Hendricks have to do this all over again?
Only time will tell. But at the age of 43, and with enough money to feed a small country, Clemens did not return to baseball in order to collect another paycheck. He wants another ring, and in a few months from now, if that goal seems unreachable, one has to wonder whether Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman will come calling once again. After all, stranger things have happened.
"I don't rule out anything for this year," Hendricks said on the possibility of Clemens being dealt at the deadline. "But I believe it is highly unlikely he would play anywhere but Houston."
So now we know: they had a shot. And if the Astros continue to fall into the basement of the N.L. Central, the Roger Clemens Sweepstakes may very well be alive once again.
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