Plane arrives. Wheelbarrows full of cash are piled into Boras’ trunk. Mass General docs stand at the ready to administer critical blood analysis and that arm-bendee test. And we sit back and realize it’s done. We’ve got our $52 million, unproven-in-the-MLB star pitcher. So the 2007 starting rotation looks staggeringly like this:
Schilling
Matsuzaka
Beckett
Wakefield
Tavarez
Tavarez? I’d have to assume. I know they’ve got the Papel-Bot slated for a starter’s role, but if they don’t have a closer, who gets the call? Unless this bizarre Chan Ho Park-as-closer thing pans out, I’d suspect the Bot will close, and Lester will be in the pen as he slowly regains his strength and form. So Tavarez gets plugged into the five hole, at least until Clemens shows up on August 1. Then we’ve got this action:
Clemens
Schilling
Matsuzaka
Beckett
Wakefield
But we might not even have to wait that long, according to John Lopez of the Houston Chronicle:
One of my best baseball sources says the Red Sox have made the most impressive pitch to Clemens, offering him the opportunity to have a contract much like the one the Astros gave him. He’ll be able to pitch, work out on his own, attend family functions and arrive late to the roster. One difference: Rather than a half-season, Roger will pitch for slightly more — close to two-thirds of the season.
Aw, hell, I know it’s all just speculation. That no one really knows what’s going on in Roger’s mind — probably not even Roger himself. But I dare to dream, people. I dare to dream.
