I've been away for a few days.  Anything new with the Yankees?

The answer, of course, is unequivocally yes.  

I was away for a wedding this weekend (beautiful day Bert and Chrissy), but I was able to see the replay of the Yankee game on Friday night/Saturday morning in my hotel room.  Remember that game? Igawa was terrible, it took the Yanks about an hour to record an out in the fifth and the team went on to lose a game in which they scored 11 runs?  Yep, you remember.

Anyway, the wedding was on Saturday so I was only able to catch the tail end of that contest. Wang was almost perfect, but I didn't know it until well after the fact.

Then Sunday arrived.  After breakfast with the new bride and groom (and friends and family) and after dropping off some tuxedos, I came home and started watching the game in the fifth. I saw the Yanks take a 2-0 lead and then passed out.  I thought I was dreaming when I awoke and saw Roger Clemens, wearing a blue suit and Yankee hat, speaking and waving to the fans.  I also heard him talking to Michael Kay in the broadcast booth about his return to the Bronx.

How sad, I thought.  Now, I'm dreaming about the Yankee pitching woes.  I rolled over on my sofa.

Well, a few hours later I realized it was no dream. Clemens is back  and the Yanks didn't just break the piggy bank to land him, they destroyed it with about 10,000 pounds of TNT (Clemens will earn $28 million this season).  But, I don't care.  I'm not springing for it and the Yanks really, really need him. 

However, I do have some reservations.  How long can Clemens (who turns 45 in August) continue to pitch?  There will come a point when he goes out there and just can't perform to the level that he (and everyone else) is used to seeing.  Will this be the year?

Also, Clemens will be pitching in the American League again.  There are a bunch of potent lineups in the AL and he will no longer have the luxury of facing the pitcher in the number 9 hole anymore.  

And then there's probably the biggest concern -- how many innings will Clemens give the Yanks?  Will Clemens be able to pitch deep into ballgames?  True, he has pitched over 200 innings in his last three full seasons, but I can't see Clemens delivering more than six innings consistently with the Yanks.  Actually, if he can deliver six innings a start, he'd be the most consistent Yankee starter this year.

So, this is a deal the Yankees had to make.  Their starting pitching has been weak and fragile.  After Clemens gets into baseball shape (I'm sure he's in shape even though he looks like the fattest in shape guy I've ever seen) he will instantly solidify the rotation.  I'll take my chances with Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Clemens and Igawa (or anyone else in the number five spot).

It also injects some optimism into what has been a frustrating Yankee season so far. 

I guess hope really is a waking dream.