On Baseball | Seeking a contender, Rocket got Yanks

It was four weeks ago today that Roger Clemens picked up the microphone at Yankee Stadium and grandly announced he would pitch for the Yankees this season.

Wonder how he feels about his decision now?

Before deciding to come back, Clemens made it clear that he would only do so with a team that had a chance to win, a contender.

On the day he announced his intention, the Yankees shut out the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, to run their record to 14-15 and stay 51/2 games behind the American League East-leading Red Sox.

Over the next 22 games, however, the Yankees lost 14 times and turned into a mess on an off the field.

Entering their latest showdown with Boston on Friday, the Yanks were 131/2 games out of first, and their 22-29 record was the same as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Yankees' payroll is $190 million - and will rise by $18 million when Clemens is activated in the coming weeks.

The Devil Rays' payroll is $24 million.

Back in the day, owner George Steinbrenner would have gone ballistic by now and lopped off a head or two. But other than to say that general manager Brian Cashman, who gained more control two years ago, is on a "big hook," Steinbrenner has remained out of sight. That's probably by design. He's 76 years old and reportedly not in the best of health.

Still, no team spends money like Steinbrenner's Yankees. No team has recently blown it like them, either.

From 2004 to 2006, they spent about $586 million in payroll. The 2004 team suffered a historic collapse in losing the AL Championship Series to Boston. The 2005 and 2006 teams didn't make it past the first round of the playoffs.

Now, the team's 12-year run of making the postseason could be in serious jeopardy. If the Yanks don't make the playoffs, the $18 million they are paying Clemens will be a big waste.

Clemens, 44, was to make his season debut tomorrow night, but he's been pushed back because of tightness in his right groin. When Clemens is ready, he should help a Yankees pitching staff that has already used 11 starters and entered Friday ranked 10th in the AL with an ERA of 4.62. But there's a difference between helping a good team and saving a bad one. Even Yankees manager Joe Torre has acknowledged that.

"It's got to be a lift for people," he told reporters. "But the reality is that Roger can only pitch once every fifth or sixth day. He's going to help us, but he's not going to carry us."

The Yankees problems after two months are significant.

Their starting rotation was hit hard by injury early in the season. They brought up minor league phenom Phil Hughes, and he blew out a hamstring in his first start. Japanese lefty Kei Igawa, the Yanks' $46 million answer to Boston landing Daisuke Matsuzaka, struggled and was sent to the minors. He'll get another shot in place of Clemens tomorrow night.

The Yanks were hoping Carl Pavano would finally be ready to contribute in the third year of a four-year deal, but he's headed for elbow reconstruction surgery, and that will cost him the rest of this year and probably next. Pavano cost the Yanks $39.95 million. For that, they got 19 starts, 1111/3 innings and five wins.

When the Yankees won World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, they did so, most of all, with pitching. Now, even their bullpen is a crapshoot in front of closer Mariano Rivera, who has shown signs of wearing down.

Offensively, the Yanks have also had problems. Sure, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have been themselves, but Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui have struggled. Jason Giambi's season is in jeopardy as he tends to a foot injury. The most disappointing Yankees hitter has been Bobby Abreu, who had just eight extra-base hits, a .228 batting average and a .313 on-base percentage in his first 51 games. That's right, Abreu had just eight extra-base hits in his first 197 at-bats. Phillies utility man Greg Dobbs had 12 in his first 91.

Off the field, the Yankees have been equally sloppy. Giambi got his tongue caught in the flypaper when he picked at the scabs of baseball's steroid era and said that he was "wrong for doing that stuff." He could still face sanctions from Major League Baseball.

The latest off-field distraction was delivered by the image-conscious Rodriguez. The New York tabloids last week had a field day with pictures of him enjoying a night out on the town, then returning to the team hotel, with a "mystery blonde" who was not his wife.

After the assault on his private life, it would not be surprising to see Rodriguez opt to play in a more sane environment (like Anaheim) next season.

But for now, he's a Yankee. And so is Roger Clemens.

Wonder how feels about that decision now?

He wanted to go to a contender. But the Yankees certainly don't look like one.