I've purposely stayed away from all the Clemens-what's-he-gonna-do hype, because basically, it's pointless to speculate what's going on in that crafty seven-time-Cy brain of his. We'll find out what's going on May first.
Or maybe before.
But I couldn't help but find amusement in the disparity in tilt between two dispatches from the Clemens front that have been posted over the last couple days.
First, the ESPN headline reads Report: Clemens will retire after WBC ... maybe, and he's saying,
Right now, I don't see myself playing. I'm not going to start the season with anyone. I made my mind up. And when I do shut it down, I'll be walking away with a smile on my face. There will be no regrets, because I feel like I've done it the right way.
Then, a day later, he's set to visit the Rangers and says that retirement has
been more difficult than I had expected it to be because I do love to compete.
And, you know, just when you sit down and you have a talk with the different clubs and what they need and their needs that they feel they need, you know, I appreciate that they feel that I can still compete. I wouldn't be, again, here at the [Classic] if I didn't feel like I could compete and compete at a high level.
I can't find fault in anything Clemens does. After all, it was the Astros who declined arbitration. And I still believe that he'll either pitch for the Astros or pitch for no-one. And neither outcome would bother me.
But the game he plays sure looks funny from the outside.
Oswalt starts for Houston this afternoon against the Mets and Aaron Heilman. I just hope that OBP king Preston Wilson (.714) can keep it going. :)