Check Ignition and May God’s Love Be With You

Huzzah! Roger Clemens is back – and this time it’s for keeps!

And for all the breathless “will-he-or-won’t-he” blathering the pundits have engaged in since last October, I was amazed that some members of the punditocracy have turned on the Clemens so quickly. Typical of such negative reaction is this from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan:

In five sentences, Roger Clemens went from excited to contemplative to gloomy to contradictory to absurd, and he took what could have been a genuine moment – a father wanting to play with his son, a son dedicating his final season to his late other – and prioritized winning.

Oh, it wasn't as trite as those who claim it wasn't about the money (Clemens is making around $12.6 million, the prorated amount of his one-year, $22 million deal), and it wasn't as cliché as those who insist it was about respect (he's got enough of that), and at least Clemens didn't pull a Mike Hampton and say it was about the schools.

It was, however, either a big, fat lie or a true barometer of Clemens' disconnect.

Zing!

Cracks were also made about Clemens’ going back to the Astros, especially since Conventional Wisdom says that the other three teams on his short list (New York, Boston, Texas) have a better shot at the post season than Houston. But you gotta figure that despite the Astros’ offensive woes, they’ve gotten at least a little better by signing Clemens.

One more thing: the Astros sent this nugget of joy out to their e-mail list yesterday:

Order the Roger Returns package today. The Roger Returns package includes 26-games, postseason options and a gift commemorating his return on June 22. Order now, offer ends Friday!

So, you’re going to celebrate the guy who strung you along since last October? Yay!

Just imagine if Barry Bonds tried to pull something like that…