Thursday, May 17, 2007

Clemens is a disgrace


With all the media clamoring about what a savior Roger Clemens is going to be for the Yankees, I think they are all missing out of the fact that he is disgracing the game of baseball. For all of my gripes with baseball, one thing that I have always loved is the team concept. No one player able to carry a team to a championship, and it is shown every year. Barry Bonds is undoubtedly the best batter of his generation, but he has never won a ring because he teams were never good enough. However, for all those Bonds bashers out there, I do applaud him for never giving up on his team. He has never demanded a trade or jumped from team to team searching for a one year paycheck. Bonds has committed to his team and that should be commended.

Clemens is the lowest of the baseball lows at this point. He is nothing more than a hired gun, who holds teams in need of a top line pitcher hostage until they give into his demands. This is devaluing the belief in teamwork, and consequently putting himself above the game. Clemens will not have to travel with the team on days he is not pitching, nor did he have to go through spring training with the guys; these are the times that the World Series are won! Games are won here and there, but championships are won by coming together as a team from day 1. Clemens does not seem to get that, nor do the teams in trouble, but can you blame the team.

A team like the Yankees needed a quick fix to jump back into the playoff race, and there is no guy better out there than Clemens, but that does not make it right. Clemens is setting up a bad standard for the future of baseball in this world of free agency. There will no doubt be ring chasers signing on for one last shot at glory late into the season, and you can thank/blame Roger Clemens for this.

Scoop Jackson has a great article on this on ESPN.Com today
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/070516&sportCat=mlb&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I disagree with your comments about clemens. have you read anythign about how he is helping out and teaching these minor league players? He is a great guy who is used to life a certain way.. why can't he have his cake and eat it too. Go yanks!