Have You Heard About This Clemens Fellow?

Roger Clemens is making his 2007 baseball debut today for the Yankees at the Stadium. He will be paid roughly 1 jillion dollars* per start. (* - Rounding up.)

Clemens will be expected not just to win games that he starts, but to inspire an otherwise underachieving team to bust out of its sub-.500 season (10.5 games behind the Red Sox in the East, but "only" 5.5 games behind the Tigers for the Wild Card lead).

(One can reasonably ask how that might happen if the "Clemens Rules" of his contract means he isn't hanging around with his teammates in the clubhouse on days he isn't pitching. When "isn't hanging around" means "residing in another state.")

Nevertheless, Clemens' debut is the Big Story of the Day in baseball. Feel free to use this post with live-commenting to track the game. If you couldn't care less, I respect that, too. I won't be live-blogging. ( This guy is.)

Alex Belth at Bronx Banter has Clemens going .500 with a sub-4.50 ERA, which would make him the most expensive mediocrity in history. I am no Yankees fan, but I'm much more bullish: 12-plus wins, an ERA that starts with a "2," and an AL Cy Young award. But no playoffs. — D.S.

Clemens Live-Blog [Dave Lozo] Nevermind the Hoopla, Just Win Baby [Bronx Banter] Image tip from TheWeeklyDonut.org