We are back with Five-Thought Friday:
1. Here is a big problem for Roger Clemens: He is at the point where he is at the mercy of a set-up crew and the Yankee set-up crew is not trustworthy. Even when he pitches well, Clemens is almost always going to need relievers not named Mariano Rivera to help get six or more outs. My suspicion is that, even in the AL, Clemens will be able to bring his aura and reservoir of pitching knowledge to limit damage. So I think his ERA will be reasonable, but limiting damage means pitching around hitters and building up pitch count and needing relief help. So I wonder about the won-lost record with an undependable set-up crew. Thus here is my guess â and that is all it is, a guess â on Clemens: 15 starts (I suspect he will be injured somewhere and lose five starts): 6-4, 4.10 ERA.
2. Omar Minaya has not done much wrong in his time as Met GM, but a three-year contract for Scott Schoeneweis, that was a mistake.
3. The Mets could probably use another veteran outfield bat to augment their roster and provide depth for the brittle Moises Alou and Shawn Green. But in this bad period for outfield health and overall offense, the Mets still have to keep their eye on the prize, which is to see if a top starter such as Dontrelle Willis or Carlos Zambrano becomes available.
4. The loss of Jason Giambi very well may be looked at as a big win in 2007 for the Yankees. Giambiâs inflexibility was keeping the Yankees from doing what is right, which is putting Melky Cabrera in center field full time to improve the defense and get Johnny Damon off the field.
5. Bud Selig has to pretend like he wants Jason Giambi to talk to George Mitchellâs investigation, but does Selig really want full disclosure? Does Selig really want Giambi to name 100 names he is sure have taken steroids and further soil the sportâs image?
