Astros Owner Blocked Clemens-to-Red Sox Trade
Axtell
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It's apparent the owner of the astros was more committed to not making a 'mistake' than in doing the right thing in trading Clemens to a team that will actually contend this year.
Link
It was a deal that would have wiped all the other deals off the back page, the front page and all the pages in between.
It was a deal that would have changed history -- and pennant races.
It was a deal that didn't happen this weekend, but apparently could have -- and should have.
It was a deal that never was -- a deal involving the only active 343-game winner currently hanging around our planet.
Multiple sources say it was a trade that could have been made, even as late as Monday afternoon. All Astros owner Drayton McLane would have had to do was say: "You know, it's the right thing to do."
But apparently, that isn't what he said. Drayton McLane isn't ready to give up on his season. And he isn't ready to give up Roger Clemens.
The owner easily could have done for Clemens what the Cubs did Monday for Greg Maddux. There are times when certain people deserve to be rescued from their sinking cruise liners. This year, for those two living legends, was one of those times.
The Cubs couldn't be sure if this was Maddux's final season. But if it is, he doesn't deserve to finish it with a team that's trying to hold off the Pirates in the NL Central dungeon.
So on Monday, the Cubs gave Maddux a chance to write a different ending, to his season and his career, by pitching in games worthy of his presence. They didn't have to. But it was the right thing to do.
Accounts vary on exactly how close the Astros might have been to granting Clemens a similar favor. But we have heard too many accounts that suggest those dots could have been connected to ignore them.
The version that people in Houston are telling their friends is that they never actually fielded offers from anybody on Clemens. In this rendition of the story, GM Tim Purpura was sharp enough to see those offers coming. So he "prepared" for calls from the three teams that pursued Clemens as a free agent -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers.
But he never planned to go beyond those preparations unless McLane told him to -- presumably because the season was a lost cause and it was the right thing to do. Except McLane never spoke those words. So teams that called were allegedly told it wasn't the Astros' "present intent" to trade the Rocket. He was out of play.
There is another story going around, however, that presents a different version of this tale. And it's fascinating how many hooked-in people in baseball were hearing it late Monday afternoon.
In this version, the Red Sox weren't told the Astros didn't intend to trade Clemens. Instead, the two sides exchanged ideas, scenarios and even lists of potential players who could have been sent to Houston in exchange for Clemens.
In this version, both sides were aware of how close Clemens came to signing with the Red Sox in May and how much he'd thought about finishing his career where it all began. So the two teams allowed themselves to go further down this road than they normally would have gone -- until the trading deadline was less than two hours away.
There was only one reason they went no further -- because McLane wouldn't let them.
In this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?"
Instead, it must have ended with McLane talking as optimistically as ever about how the Rocket and his friends were going to pull another miracle out of their sweat socks. Instead, the idea of trading Clemens clearly never entered the owner's brain.
Given Clemens' affection for his hometown, his teammates and even his owner, he would never broach that subject himself. He would never ask to bail out. It isn't what he's about.
He's the one who chose to play in Houston instead of for one of those other three teams, of course. He did that even though he knew their postseason prospects always looked brighter than the Astros'.
So you could easily argue he had his chance to play somewhere else, and now he should be obligated to honor his commitment to the team he picked. Go ahead. Argue it. We won't fight you.
But there is also an obligation on the other side, the obligation any team has to a player of Roger Clemens' stature.
Obviously, everybody in Houston has a vision of how the Rocket Man deserves to close out his astonishing career. And obviously, this isn't it.
This Saturday in Arizona, Clemens will take his 2.09 ERA (and misleading 2-4 record) to the mound -- for a team that is currently six games out in the wild-card race, 17 games under .500 since its 19-9 start and the not-so-proud owner of a worse record since May 4 (30-47) than the Royals (31-47).
And any time your team finds itself mixed up in a phrase like "worse record than the Royals," you know you're in trouble. Or you ought to know, anyway.
But the owner of the Astros clearly doesn't know. Doesn't see it. Doesn't want to see it.
So if there was really a deal there to be made with the Red Sox, that deal could have done more than just hand Clemens a better script. From all accounts, it could have helped the Astros, too, by saving them $7 million, and by infusing more real young talent in their system. Two players. Maybe three.
But the owner was terrified he'd be known forever as The Man Who Traded Roger Clemens. And Clemens would never want to be known as The Man Who Abandoned His Own Hometown.
So it would have had to be handled delicately. But it could have been done.
All Clemens had to say was that he wasn't "abandoning" his team. He was committed for life. He'd be gone for two months, and then he'd be back to work for the Astros for as long as they wanted him, doing whatever they needed done.
All (Astros owner Drayton) McLane had to say was that he did this because he loves Roger Clemens, and he cares about him, and he wants his career to end the way it deserves to end -- with another trip, or three, to the mound in baseball's grand Octoberfest. Then they'd all get back to the job of working together to make the Astros a better franchise. Could have been handled that way easily. But none of that ever played on the LCD screen inside the owner's head.
Could have been handled that way easily. But none of that ever played on the LCD screen inside the owner's head.
So now Clemens and his Astros teammates will have to figure out a very different script than the one they've been living through these last six weeks. But is that even possible?
You have to admire the furious effort Purpura gave over the last several days, trying to add the likes of Miguel Tejada and Alfonso Soriano to a club that needs a serious jolt to save its season.
But the honest truth is, this Astros' season might not be save-able.
Yeah, things may have looked bad two years ago (when they were four games under .500 in August), and the Astros somehow recovered and made it to Game 7 of the NLCS). Yeah, it sure looked dire last year, too (when they were 16-31 in May), and they still survived to play in their first World Series. But not this bad.
At least those teams had a certain vibe to them that this team doesn't. At least those teams could hand a lead to their bullpen and be reasonably sure they'd get to shake hands shortly thereafter. At least those teams weren't next-to-last in the league in runs scored and dead last in slugging.
This team, though, is a different story. This team has scored zero runs while Clemens was in the game in four of his eight starts -- and blown saves for him in two others. It is so obvious this team is missing something huge and vital that it advertised its flaws to the world this weekend -- by chasing names as powerful as Tejada and Soriano, by dangling players as high-profile as Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge.
Yet the owner maintains his boundless optimism. He sees what he wants to see. He believes what he wants to believe. And he believes, mostly, that as long as he has Roger Clemens in his clubhouse, they will never run out of miracles.
Optimism is a beautiful quality in this life. So you hope Drayton McLane's optimism is rewarded -- because if it isn't rewarded this time, the only 343-game winner of the division-play era might well finish his career in a half-empty ballpark in Pittsburgh in the last week of September, for a team with no more to play for than the home team.
That scene just won't feel right then. And the vision of it doesn't feel right now. But as it approaches, how will we forget that it didn't have to be that way?
All Drayton McLane had to do to change it was simply feel the urge to do the right thing -- for a pitcher who has always done the right thing for him.
Link
It was a deal that would have wiped all the other deals off the back page, the front page and all the pages in between.
It was a deal that would have changed history -- and pennant races.
It was a deal that didn't happen this weekend, but apparently could have -- and should have.
It was a deal that never was -- a deal involving the only active 343-game winner currently hanging around our planet.
Multiple sources say it was a trade that could have been made, even as late as Monday afternoon. All Astros owner Drayton McLane would have had to do was say: "You know, it's the right thing to do."
But apparently, that isn't what he said. Drayton McLane isn't ready to give up on his season. And he isn't ready to give up Roger Clemens.
The owner easily could have done for Clemens what the Cubs did Monday for Greg Maddux. There are times when certain people deserve to be rescued from their sinking cruise liners. This year, for those two living legends, was one of those times.
The Cubs couldn't be sure if this was Maddux's final season. But if it is, he doesn't deserve to finish it with a team that's trying to hold off the Pirates in the NL Central dungeon.
So on Monday, the Cubs gave Maddux a chance to write a different ending, to his season and his career, by pitching in games worthy of his presence. They didn't have to. But it was the right thing to do.
Accounts vary on exactly how close the Astros might have been to granting Clemens a similar favor. But we have heard too many accounts that suggest those dots could have been connected to ignore them.
The version that people in Houston are telling their friends is that they never actually fielded offers from anybody on Clemens. In this rendition of the story, GM Tim Purpura was sharp enough to see those offers coming. So he "prepared" for calls from the three teams that pursued Clemens as a free agent -- the Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers.
But he never planned to go beyond those preparations unless McLane told him to -- presumably because the season was a lost cause and it was the right thing to do. Except McLane never spoke those words. So teams that called were allegedly told it wasn't the Astros' "present intent" to trade the Rocket. He was out of play.
There is another story going around, however, that presents a different version of this tale. And it's fascinating how many hooked-in people in baseball were hearing it late Monday afternoon.
In this version, the Red Sox weren't told the Astros didn't intend to trade Clemens. Instead, the two sides exchanged ideas, scenarios and even lists of potential players who could have been sent to Houston in exchange for Clemens.
In this version, both sides were aware of how close Clemens came to signing with the Red Sox in May and how much he'd thought about finishing his career where it all began. So the two teams allowed themselves to go further down this road than they normally would have gone -- until the trading deadline was less than two hours away.
There was only one reason they went no further -- because McLane wouldn't let them.
In this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?"
Instead, it must have ended with McLane talking as optimistically as ever about how the Rocket and his friends were going to pull another miracle out of their sweat socks. Instead, the idea of trading Clemens clearly never entered the owner's brain.
Given Clemens' affection for his hometown, his teammates and even his owner, he would never broach that subject himself. He would never ask to bail out. It isn't what he's about.
He's the one who chose to play in Houston instead of for one of those other three teams, of course. He did that even though he knew their postseason prospects always looked brighter than the Astros'.
So you could easily argue he had his chance to play somewhere else, and now he should be obligated to honor his commitment to the team he picked. Go ahead. Argue it. We won't fight you.
But there is also an obligation on the other side, the obligation any team has to a player of Roger Clemens' stature.
Obviously, everybody in Houston has a vision of how the Rocket Man deserves to close out his astonishing career. And obviously, this isn't it.
This Saturday in Arizona, Clemens will take his 2.09 ERA (and misleading 2-4 record) to the mound -- for a team that is currently six games out in the wild-card race, 17 games under .500 since its 19-9 start and the not-so-proud owner of a worse record since May 4 (30-47) than the Royals (31-47).
And any time your team finds itself mixed up in a phrase like "worse record than the Royals," you know you're in trouble. Or you ought to know, anyway.
But the owner of the Astros clearly doesn't know. Doesn't see it. Doesn't want to see it.
So if there was really a deal there to be made with the Red Sox, that deal could have done more than just hand Clemens a better script. From all accounts, it could have helped the Astros, too, by saving them $7 million, and by infusing more real young talent in their system. Two players. Maybe three.
But the owner was terrified he'd be known forever as The Man Who Traded Roger Clemens. And Clemens would never want to be known as The Man Who Abandoned His Own Hometown.
So it would have had to be handled delicately. But it could have been done.
All Clemens had to say was that he wasn't "abandoning" his team. He was committed for life. He'd be gone for two months, and then he'd be back to work for the Astros for as long as they wanted him, doing whatever they needed done.
All (Astros owner Drayton) McLane had to say was that he did this because he loves Roger Clemens, and he cares about him, and he wants his career to end the way it deserves to end -- with another trip, or three, to the mound in baseball's grand Octoberfest. Then they'd all get back to the job of working together to make the Astros a better franchise. Could have been handled that way easily. But none of that ever played on the LCD screen inside the owner's head.
Could have been handled that way easily. But none of that ever played on the LCD screen inside the owner's head.
So now Clemens and his Astros teammates will have to figure out a very different script than the one they've been living through these last six weeks. But is that even possible?
You have to admire the furious effort Purpura gave over the last several days, trying to add the likes of Miguel Tejada and Alfonso Soriano to a club that needs a serious jolt to save its season.
But the honest truth is, this Astros' season might not be save-able.
Yeah, things may have looked bad two years ago (when they were four games under .500 in August), and the Astros somehow recovered and made it to Game 7 of the NLCS). Yeah, it sure looked dire last year, too (when they were 16-31 in May), and they still survived to play in their first World Series. But not this bad.
At least those teams had a certain vibe to them that this team doesn't. At least those teams could hand a lead to their bullpen and be reasonably sure they'd get to shake hands shortly thereafter. At least those teams weren't next-to-last in the league in runs scored and dead last in slugging.
This team, though, is a different story. This team has scored zero runs while Clemens was in the game in four of his eight starts -- and blown saves for him in two others. It is so obvious this team is missing something huge and vital that it advertised its flaws to the world this weekend -- by chasing names as powerful as Tejada and Soriano, by dangling players as high-profile as Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge.
Yet the owner maintains his boundless optimism. He sees what he wants to see. He believes what he wants to believe. And he believes, mostly, that as long as he has Roger Clemens in his clubhouse, they will never run out of miracles.
Optimism is a beautiful quality in this life. So you hope Drayton McLane's optimism is rewarded -- because if it isn't rewarded this time, the only 343-game winner of the division-play era might well finish his career in a half-empty ballpark in Pittsburgh in the last week of September, for a team with no more to play for than the home team.
That scene just won't feel right then. And the vision of it doesn't feel right now. But as it approaches, how will we forget that it didn't have to be that way?
All Drayton McLane had to do to change it was simply feel the urge to do the right thing -- for a pitcher who has always done the right thing for him.
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<< <i>It's apparent the owner of the astros was more committed to not making a 'mistake' than in doing the right thing in trading Clemens to a team that will actually contend this year. >>
Drayton said on the radio that there was a big deal with an East coast team but THEY backed out at the last minute.
All last year people were saying that Clemens would be traded to a contender because there was no way we would make the playoffs. We not only made the playoffs but also the World Series
<< <i>Optimism is a beautiful quality in this life. So you hope Drayton McLane's optimism is rewarded -- because if it isn't rewarded this time, the only 343-game winner of the division-play era might well finish his career in a half-empty ballpark in Pittsburgh in the last week of September, for a team with no more to play for than the home team. >>
That's funny. This weekend, even though we have been written off as playoff contenders for most of the season, we had over 40+k in attendance against ARZ. Perhaps Jayson, along with other bandwagoners that I won't mention, don't support their team when the going gets tough
Saturday - 43386
Sunday - 41867
At least Greg Maddux now has a shot at post-season.
And the owner is too selfish to trade him away to a team that has a legit shot at the postseason (Boston)?
Ridiculous.
It has nothing at all to do with a selfish owner. Selfish would be trading a guy who had months to figure out where he wanted to be, who made his decision, wanted to be near his family, and chose to be an Astro.
-- Yogi Berra
Doesn't the organization owe it to a guy, who's likely in his final year, who took the team to it's first world series, to send him to a team with a legit postseason chance?
The Cubs did it with Maddux - why didn't the stros pay the same favor to Clemens?
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<< <i>I heard a stat that says in the last 2 years, the Astros have been shutout 17 times when Clemens has pitched. SEVENTEEN!
And the owner is too selfish to trade him away to a team that has a legit shot at the postseason (Boston)?
Ridiculous. >>
He should be passing Warren Spahn in wins this year if the damn 'Stros could score runs for him.
<< <i>bri-
Doesn't the organization owe it to a guy, who's likely in his final year, who took the team to it's first world series, to send him to a team with a legit postseason chance?
The Cubs did it with Maddux - why didn't the stros pay the same favor to Clemens? >>
When you're paying a guy 12 million dollars a year you don't owe him anything-- except for the money.
-- Yogi Berra
<< <i>What a way to finish his career. A 2.10 ERA and a 5-11 record on a team with a losing record. How may times have the Rastros scored zero runs for him? 4 or 5?
At least Greg Maddux now has a shot at post-season. >>
about half as many times the ole red sox got shut out or Jeff readon came in to blow a save. I honestly think he should be at 500 wins!
I call BS "report" because it's nothing more than a rumor
The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' The owner should have done the right thing, and let clemens go out on a contender. Now, he's stuck on a team that is going nowhere fast, and refuses to score runs for him.
<< <i>Clemens didn't ask to be traded - he's far too classy for that.
The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' The owner should have done the right thing, and let clemens go out on a contender. Now, he's stuck on a team that is going nowhere fast, and refuses to score runs for him. >>
Got a link not from the National Enquirer?
"n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?"
Instead, it must have ended with McLane talking as optimistically as ever about how the Rocket and his friends were going to pull another miracle out of their sweat socks. Instead, the idea of trading Clemens clearly never entered the owner's brain."
McLane's obviously a selfish fool...but Clemens is far too much of a gamer to ever complain.
-- Yogi Berra
You went from:
<< <i>The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' >>
To taking something COMPLETELY out of context on an assumption of some writer:
<< <i>"n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?" >>
Nice spin attempt and better luck next time
<< <i>Clemens didn't ask to be traded - he's far too classy for that.
The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' The owner should have done the right thing, and let clemens go out on a contender. Now, he's stuck on a team that is going nowhere fast, and refuses to score runs for him. >>
""n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?""
Those are 2 totally different statements. It was reported in the Boston Globe that when Boston made a call to Houston for originally Oswalt, they then asked about Clemens and were told "He's off-limits".
The owner owes nothing to Clemens, he had more than his fair share of offers from contenders. He chose to stay where his job is cushy(no road trips, etc. etc.) and the fact that his son is in the Stros system. Was it ever any doubt he would be traded? No. He was practicing with the organization before signing after the WBC. That's where he wants to be, and quite frankly I don't believe he'd ever have gone back to Boston. Remember, according to the team he was finished....Now of course that was before a handful more of Cy Youngs and a WS ring or two.
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<< <i>Ax, what in gods name makes you think Clemens wanted to be traded ? >>
Please tell me where I said Clemens *wanted* to be traded...I never made any such claim. I simply said the astros are going nowhere and they should have given clemens (one of the top 5 all time pitchers) the right to enjoy the postseason, that's all.
<< <i>
You are confusing what YOU think with what Clemens actually wanted. He had months to decide where to go and his decision was to be with Houston and his family. Why is it so difficult for you to get over yourself and realize this ? >>
Again, what are you talking about? I never said, nor assumed, Clemens wanted anything. Why are you pulling this out of your ass?
You went from:
<< <i>The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' >>
To taking something COMPLETELY out of context on an assumption of some writer:
<< <i>"n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?" >>
Nice spin attempt and better luck next time
All we hear from you is how they should have given him the chance, blah, blah, blah. MAYBE HE DIDNT WANT A CHANCE. Did that occur to you ? Did it occur to you that Clemens wanted to stay there and NOT leave ? Until you provide ONE SHRED of proof that Clemens wanted anything but to remain an Astro your rant is completely unmeritted.
-- Yogi Berra
<< <i>Ax, you are barking on and on and on about how the Astros should have done this, and should have done that for Clemens......my point is this....HOW DO YOU know what Clemens wanted ? You cant say the Astros did anything wrong unless you know for a FACT that Roger wanted to leave and have a chance at a world series. IF you DO NOT know this for a fact then EVERY word you are spewing is just garbage. The Astros did absolutely nothing wrong.
All we hear from you is how they should have given him the chance, blah, blah, blah. MAYBE HE DIDNT WANT A CHANCE. Did that occur to you ? Did it occur to you that Clemens wanted to stay there and NOT leave ? Until you provide ONE SHRED of proof that Clemens wanted anything but to remain an Astro your rant is completely unmeritted. >>
It's not a rant, I am not even the original author (I provided a link).
I am simply saying that Clemens deserves better, better than the run support he's gotten in the last two years from the Astros (which has been pathetic), he should have at least been given a chance to go pitch elsewhere. It's apparent he would have been open to the idea, and it's apparent that the owner was the one who blocked it.
The stros were a good story last year - left for dead, Clemens helps them to a world series appearance. Go stros. This year, its obvious they aren't going anywhere, there are too many teams ahead of them, and even in a watered down pathetic NL, they aren't going to the postseason.
Maybe YOU think he deserves better. What you think he deserves and what he wanted are not one and the same.
-- Yogi Berra
<< <i>Where is it apparent that Clemens would have been open to the idea ? >>
Clemens is such a warrior who always wants to compete and win - why would he want to stick around on a team that isn't going anywhere? There's nothing in his makeup or past performances that says he's just in it for the money, and he's never been one to ever publicly complain about a situation.
<< <i>Maybe YOU think he deserves better. What you think he deserves and what he wanted are not one and the same. >>
I never once claimed to have insight into his psyche and I never once claimed mind reading ability - but from what I've seen of him, he wants the postseason, he wants world series wins (hell, at least a shot at the postseason).
<< <i>
<< <i>Clemens didn't ask to be traded - he's far too classy for that.
The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' The owner should have done the right thing, and let clemens go out on a contender. Now, he's stuck on a team that is going nowhere fast, and refuses to score runs for him. >>
""n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?""
Those are 2 totally different statements. It was reported in the Boston Globe that when Boston made a call to Houston for originally Oswalt, they then asked about Clemens and were told "He's off-limits". >>
Oh....So you didn't provide 2 totally different statements and try to pass them off as one in the same? hahahahaha...Clemens wants to be in Houston. That's why he signed there. Just b/c you were praying for him to end up in Boston to make a push for the playoffs(to eliminate the "hated" Yankees), it didn't happen.
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I'm done here. Goodnight fellas!
-- Yogi Berra
"You went from:
<< The owner reportedly asked clemens 'should I trade you?' >>
To taking something COMPLETELY out of context on an assumption of some writer:
<< "n this version, Clemens even found himself in a conversation with McLane this weekend about their team's struggles. It was a conversation that easily could have ended with McLane asking him: "Do you think I should trade you?" >>"
You know....in case you forgot about it. lol
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I wonder who this describes?
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<< <i>Criminy forget it...I post an article and ask for discussion...and yet here come the axtell haters in force.
I'm done here. Goodnight fellas! >>
You are not asking for a discussion when you spew hatred such as "greedy little turd", spin commentary as facts, and looking for arguments just to argue.
Thank you in advance for not posting here again
It was to hype up a failed proposed trade that never existed, smear a great owner, attempt to generate quotes from a hypothetical commentary, and take attention away from "his" bandwagon team that hasn't done jack in its entire existance.