Baseball

And They're Off

The Rocket Derby is under way (again), and after showing last year, the Yankees are out of the gate with a flourish

THE COMBINATION of Roger Clemens's famed dedication and the Yankees' desperation for pitching will be enough to persuade the New York front office to bend its notoriously strict rules should the Rocket want to return to the Bronx. For those who think that the Yankees will create tension in the clubhouse if they allow Clemens to return home to Houston between starts, heed these words. "He's an exception to the rule," says shortstop and captain Derek Jeter. "It's not like [ Clemens] is going to sit around his pool eating chips."

For now, Clemens—who, according to friends, was in good enough shape to have started on Opening Day—is sticking to his forecast: an 80% chance he won't come out of retirement. No one is believing it, least of all the three teams competing in this year's Rocket Lottery: the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros. (It should also be noted that the last time Clemens made such a pronouncement about his retirement, he was 99% certain that he was hanging it up.)

New York had no choice but to start Carl Pavano—on 643 days' rest, no less—in Monday's opener against the Devil Rays because of a hamstring injury to Chien-Ming Wang. While the 44-year-old Clemens has said that he will not return before June 1 under any circumstances, the Yankees have shown they're willing to do anything short of rolling out a 1,640-mile pinstriped carpet between Houston and the Bronx. Their efforts are not subtle, either, from signaling that they'll pay any price to sending a steady stream of cellphone calls, text messages and other verbal bouquets ("We all love Rocket," DH Jason Giambi says) to letting him know that he will get back his number 22. ("You've got to show respect," says the number's current holder, second baseman Robinson Cano.)

"A month ago I wouldn't have thought the Yankees had a chance," a Clemens friend says. "But they've been in touch a lot."

Clemens will almost surely continue to "fail at retirement," as he put it; return to pitch; and likely receive a prorated salary of about $25 million (up from the prorated $22 million he got from the Astros last year). And while some still believe that the comforts of home will keep him in Houston—"He's clearly seen that we've improved our offense," says Astros G.M. Tim Purpura, "and I think that will help"—never has the race been so wide open. The Yankees are the early favorites, as Clemens could not only reunite with his buddy Pettitte, but he would also be back in the spotlight, something that friends say he has missed. New York G.M. Brian Cashman, though, is cautious about handicapping the Rocket race. "Last year we didn't finish first," he says, "and we didn't finish second."

That is a reference to the Red Sox, to whom Clemens agreed to be traded last July (though the actual talks with Houston didn't get far). Boston would afford the attention (and run support) that New York provides, not to mention the nostalgic rush that comes with finishing a Hall of Fame career where it started. Like their archrival, the Red Sox have said that they will go after Clemens hard, especially now that young star Jonathan Papelbon has moved back to the bullpen. As one member of the Boston organization says, Papelbon's return to closer "might make us more attractive."

SI'S PREDICTION: Clemens goes back to New York to try to recapture the championship glory of 1999 and 2000. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox will go all-out to get him, but New York's rotation needs will prompt the Bombers to push just a little harder.

SCOUT'S TAKE