The Astros traded away closer Brad Lidge to the Phillies, opening their closer spot to probably Chad Qualls. Qualls did very well as a late inning reliever and he will probably continue to be effective. Clemens, who is leaving the Yankees to "retire" and become a consultant for the Astros, could take over the closer spot next season. I know it does not sound likely, but it is possible, and it would make for an interesting situation. Clemens was 6-6 this season with a 4.18 ERA and 68 K in 99 innings of work. I think he could pitch again, and being a closer would take some stress of his arm. Furthermore, he could work with young pitchers and hitters on the team. However, there are two big obstacles holding this scenario back. One, is Clemens willing to close? Probably not, which makes this seem unlikely. Two, how much money would he want for one year? Probably another pro-rated contract for about 20 million dollars. Personally, I think he would be effective, and would love to see him do this, but he is probably finally calling it a career.Let me know, do you think Clemens would be a successful closer?
10 comments:
Chad Qualls is not going to be the closer, Ed Wade has already said that.
The Astros are going after Cordero...Clemens is not going to close.
maybe
idk
I think they will go after a more established closer whether by trade or free agent. Even though closing has less innings it actually puts more stress on the pitcher arm coming out every other day and sometimes on back to back days. Rivera is a prefect example of the extra pressure on an older pitcher
your kidding right?
clemens is a pud and most likely will be on mitchell's report.
This is a complete joke of an idea. If Clemens pitches with the Astro's he will want to travel only when he needs to pitch. Being a closer he would be required to take every road trip, and I know he took most trips with the Yankee's, but he wasn't on every trip still. Plus he is getting old and you can't just assume his failing body can take the abuse of pitching back to back days. Anyone who has read what he does to get ready to pitch for a start would realize that this would be extremely difficult. I know his pitch count would be very limited, but still late 30's to early 40's dominant closers are rare because they don't bounce back as fast after pitching.
Also the two "big" obstacles you listed are pretty lame. I know he still wants a big pay day and obviously it's up to him if he'd want to close, but there are way more important factors than those in his decision to become a closer.
dumb idea as usual
I'll give him 2.3 mill and let him be my setup man. lol.
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