Roger Clemens Kept Us in the Game
It Wasn't His Fault We Lost -- Or Was It?
Pitchers with 5.84 ERAs give their team very little chance of winning anything. The Yankees lost because Roger Clemens pitched a lousy game.
What a joke, only it's not funny. "He kept us in the game. He gave us a chance to win. It wasn't his fault we lost." On Saturday night, Roger Clemens pitched 6 1/3 innings in Baltimore and yielded 4 earned runs, which is a 5.84 ERA -- not good. Anyone who concludes that such performances give a team a chance to win is leaving out the part that says, "Once in while, when you score a lot of runs." Pitchers with 5.84 ERAs give their team very little chance of winning anything. The Yankees lost because Roger Clemens pitched a lousy game.
Roger Clemens Has Pitched Better Than His 3-5 Record
Roger Clemens has pitched better than his 3-5 record indicates, and no, making such a statement is not similar to claiming that "he gave us a chance to win," because statistics support the fact that Roger Clemens has pitched respectably since he decided to start HIS season. The problem has been that Clemens no longer dominates and cannot win games with little run support, as he used to in the past.
The Roger Clemens The Yankees Needed Was Not Present
In his first start on June 9 , Roger beat the Pirates, 9-3, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings, which is a "quality start," but which also is a 4.50 ERA. Since the Yankees scored 9 runs, it usually doesn't require a Roger Clemens type pitcher to win. In Roger's next start, the opposite occurred. Against New York's other team on June 15, Clemens pitched a strong game, allowing only 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings, but the Yankees were shut out. Since the Yankees didn't score, regardless of who pitched for the Yankees, they were not going to win. Roger's first road game was against the Rockies in Denver on June 21 in which he allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Yankees lost, 4-3. The Roger Clemens the Yankees needed was not present.
Two Good Starts
Clemens finally faced an American League team on June 27 at Baltimore, going 6 innings and giving up 4 runs, as Eric Bedard, Jamie Walker, and Chad Bradford shut out the Yankees. Another game no Yankees' pitcher could have won since they didn't score. On July 2, Clemens pitched his first masterful game, hurling eight innings in beating the Twins, 5-1. In his next start, he held the Angels to one run over eight innings, but the Angels held the Yankees to a single run and won, 2-1 in thirteen innings.
Four Should Be Enough
After the All-Star break, Clemens faced Tampa Bay and lost, 6-4, pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up 5 runs. Four runs should be enough for Roger Clemens to win. A team that scores four runs gives its starting pitcher a chance to win, but not this time. Roger then had two good consecutive starts, beating Toronto, 6-1 and Kansas City, 9-2, until the Saturday, July 28 loss to Baltimore.
The Return Has Not Been Good
The Yankees are paying Roger Clemens a huge amount of money. There are still two months left to the season and the Yankees DO have a decent chance of making the playoffs, especially when one considers the quality of the competition, but at this point, the return on their investment in Clemens has not been good. From a Yankees' perspective, one can only hope that in his remaining starts, he "gives us a chance to win."
Reference:
Roger Clemens in 2007
