New York, New York!

Yes, Pauli beat me to a Yankees story. But only because I was busy with my day job: researching and writing for the Wall Street Journal. Besides, what is Pauli going to do if I don't write? Fire me? The Journal, on the hand, would do exactly that. It was an easy choice to make.

Obviously I'm glad the Rocket is coming back to NYC. I'm glad he decided not to go to Boston. That would have sucked. He is a huge upgrade for the Yankees, even if he turns out to be only 75 percent as effective as he has been the last two years. Yet I can't help wondering, as great as the Rocket is, and he is probably top five all-time, where is his defining clutch moment?

Schilling has the bloody sock. Pedro has the those six innings in relief (among others). Jack Morris has the greatest World Series game ever pitched (yes, better than Larsen's perfect game). Orel Hershiser put the Dodgers on his back. The Big Unit shut down the Yankees in relief when he was in Seattle, then dominated them again in 2001. Josh Beckett shut out the Yankees to win the World Series.

Clemens gave us the case of the mystery blister in '86.

To be fair to the Rocket, he left Game 7 in 2001 with a 2-1 lead. A lead nobody expected Rivera to cough up. A lead that would have given Clemens a World Series clinching victory in a must win game. I watched that game. I was crushed by the outcome, which, and I think this is telling, I would not have been if Clemens had left trailing 2-1. With Rivera on the mound, I felt the Yankees were invincible. Not once did I feel so with Clemens. I expected him to pitch well (he did). After all he is Roger Clemens. But I found myself willing a dominant performance from him rather than expecting it.

That said, I'm still going to be excited when Clemens makes his season debut. Go Yankees!

Yao and Rockets Out. CY and Rocket to NY.

It's a tough week to be a Houston fan. My boy, Yao Ming, couldn't pull it off and the Rockets fell to the Jazz. Then everyone's boy, Roger Clemens, fell to another land of Jazz, New York. (weird) So the country's 4th largest city took a hit this week. Which is fair to say, since the rocket will be taking his SEVEN Cy Young Awards to the Bronx.

Hang on, did I just beat Tariq to a Yankees story?

That's like beating me to a Scott Rolen hits for the cycle in Ankiel's first win since 2004 story. Feels good.

Anyway, I don't see how this is nearly enough for the Yankees. They'll need way more than one Clemens to do anything this year. They lost a game by 4 runs after they scored 11!

This story's too good to not have Tariq write on it. Even I want to read that. I'll leave the good analysis to him. Here's my prediction. Clemens makes 26 starts; 14-6. He drops a 3.02 ERA on the AL. I think the Yankees will miss the playoffs despite A-God and the Rocket.

Tariq, you're up.

Need an Outfielder?

I know the Cardinals do. Jim Edmonds can't even run as well as he strikes out. Padres, D-Backs, and anybody that thinks they have a shot this year may be looking to get a hitter. What if I had a guy that could play in the OF and hit you 15-20 HR in the second half? He's sort of old, but if you're an AL team you can stick him up your ass for all you care. What if his baseball want ad read,

POY Lfty OF Slgr w/ HOF Nos for hire

A Former Player of the Year with 3,000+ Hits, 569 HR, and one serious steroid scandal listed in his dossier. You may have guessed it, or maybe you just saw the picture below, but I am seriously talking about none other than Rafael Palmeiro.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It takes a year. You get off the roids, and you take a year to figure out how to swing a bat instead of a needle. We know Giambi did it. From my bit on Barry, "In 2003 Giambi announces steroid use during his 41 HR season that year. In 2004 he gets off the juice and hits a dinky 12, sluggin .370. A year later, he's back up to 32 HR, and sluggin .535."

Look at Sammy Sosa for christ's sake. He didn't even play in 2006, because in '05 he managed 14 HR in 102 Games with 84 SO. If you saw it, then you know he sucked. He takes a year off, comes back, and now he's got 7 dingers in 86 AB and 20 RBI in 23 games. If we're talking "on pace," then Slammin' Sammy will finish 2007 with 49 souvenirs and 140 ribs. Not bad for a guy who was run out of the game.

So what is Raffy doing? He's 42, but that hasn''t stopped Barry from jacking one every 7.875 at bats in 2007. If Palmeiro has been taking BP AT ALL during his hiatus you would be a fool not to sign him. If you're the Giants you probably have no hope of winning, but your fans might not hate the All-Roids team in the outfield. You don't even have to play him until his bat speed is back. You can hire professional pitchers on your staff to do nothing but throw him live pitching. Give him a week in AA and two in AAA and he'll be ready for the show. You can pick him up without having to worry about being outbid. Get him a place with some good fans, and pay him what he wants.

Trust me, he'll hit.

More Yankees

Tim Keown of ESPN.com, who I love reading by the way, asks in his latest column "will there ever be a time when even one person in the media suggests that it just might be Joe Torre's fault?

I understand Keown asking the question. I just don't get the timing. Is it Torre's fault Wang, and Mussina were on the DL (Mussina still is)? Is it Torre's fault Carl Pavano is the worst kind of baseball player? Is it Torre's fault Phil Hughes, who was working on a no-hitter through six innings in just his second big league start, felt his leg go pop in the seventh?

Do I need to answer these questions?

No. No. No. And no!

The rest of the column is exemplary as usual, especially his take on Brady Quinn and the NFL draft. You can read it here.