By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

 

 

I told you so. Close to Opening Day I wrote about the issues coming up during the 2007 season and one of them -- appropriately entitled "Rocketman" -- predicted that Roger Clemens would not be seeing Astros stars, or putting on Red Sox, but donning Yankee pinstripes. Yesterday during the seventh-inning stretch of a 5-0 win over the Mariners, Clemens announced that he had been signed to a Minor League contract to the Yankee farm system in preparation for his return to the big leagues in about three to four weeks.

 

We've heard all about Clemens's planned return (it was the probably the worst kept secret in baseball) and that there would be three teams in contention for his services -- the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees. While there was never really any doubt that he would be back in the Big Apple, how quickly it happened took you by surprise. The end of May was something that was tossed around, but never set in stone. Last year Clemens took the first few weeks of the season to get ready for the Astros, and never joined the team on road trips. It isn't known whether or not the Yankees will afford the Rocket that luxury as well.

The sheer amount of face time Clemens put in with the Yankees and New York should have tipped you off long before this point. Earlier this year, Clemens showed up at an invitation dinner at St. John's University benefitting the college's baseball program and was subsequently mobbed by the media. At the start of Spring Training, second baseman Robinson Cano gave up his No. 22 for 24, "just in case" Clemens came back. In March, the Rocket showed up at Legends Field to watch buddy Andy Pettitte pitch a spring game against the Reds. Clemens also said it was then that he spoke with owner George Steinbrenner. What was that conversation about? Well, it isn't hard to guess. Notice that no trips to Beantown are mentioned?

Kudos has to go to Yankee GM Brian Cashman not just for getting Clemens to return, but how he kept all this quiet, regardless of how much backroom dealing or negotiating he did, is surprising. Maybe Cashman intended for this to happen all along, cutting payroll and giving the seven-time Cy Young award winner a prorated one-year, $28 million deal to return to the Bronx. The chess-like maneuvering has to also extend to the return of Pettitte, a fellow Texan and Clemens's best buddy. The Bombers had been struggling with their rotation as of late, but it's starting to show signs of life as Chien-Ming Wang flirted with a perfect game, Mike Mussina returned to the lineup, and Darrell Rasner pitched 5.2 innings yesterday. Clemens can only add to that. He made 19 starts for the Astros last season and posting a 7-6 record with a 2.30 ERA. He's over 40 years old, but his veteran influence can not only impact the present state of the team, but the future, since he can mentor Phil Hughes -- whom many have dubbed Clemens's successor. Clemens wanted to pitch for a contender; the Yankees needed another proven veteran starter; and New York deserves it. All that's left is for Bernie WIlliams to come back too.

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