May 7, 2007

Hey Roger, Right Here Buddy!

See Stan (far left) for our response to Roger Clemens signing with the Yankees for a prorated $28 million. If our math is correct, that brings the Yankees payroll this season to around $225 million, give or take a few million dollars. According to our calculations, the Yankees payroll is more than the GDP of the Falkland Islands and the Marshall Islands combined. We may not love Bill Simmons when he's unfairly bashing Rick Barnes, but he's spot on with Clemens when he says:
We're coming closer and closer to my dream of Clemens' Hall of Fame plaque featuring a cap with a dollar sign on it.

3 comments:

JBRATER said...

Maybe we can find some common ground on this one. To the point about race and steroids... Why, might I ask, has Roger Clemens not been the subject of the same level of scrutiny as Bonds?

Abram said...

An interesting question. My answer would be:
1. The sheer AMOUNT of circumstantial evidence about Bonds is so much greater than that for Clemens; i.e., Rocket's head hasn't grown since making the bigs
2. People have been pitching in a dominant manner since the beginning of the game, but Bonds' homerun rate the last few years has been out of the stratosphere of baseball history. The more extreme greatness naturally looks more suspicious.
3. Rocket is not attacking one of sports' most revered records
4. Clemens is seen as a jerk, but not as intense a jerk at Bonds
5. We're all nothing but a bunch of racist rednecks.

JMA said...

The question was raised on Jim Rome is Burning (which I only watched because Jim Rome wasn't hosting), and it is a good one. In addition to Abram's points I would add
6. Roger is a pitcher, hitters have universally received more allegations of steroid use than pitchers. I would suggest that this is at least in part because "chicks dig the long ball." The 3 home run game is much more exciting for fans than the 7 inning, 10 strikeout performance.