May 18, 2007 [LINK / comment]
The illustrious, larger-than-life Roger Clemens is about to make his first pitching start since rejoining the Yankees -- but only in the franchise's minor league team in Tampa Bay. It may be a week or more before we see him play with the Bronx Yankees. Last Sunday's Washington Post compared The Rocket to Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Sandy Koufax, and other all-time greatest pitchers. They used lifetime winning percentage (his is .662), ERA (3.10), strikeouts (4,604), and three special measurements that adjust for contemporary conditions, stadiums, etc. The upshot is that he could indeed be considered the very best pitcher in major league history. Perhaps his "swan song" year (or years!) with the Yankees may provide ammunition for arguing one way or the other. The fact that he wants to stay in the competitive heat long after his Hall of Fame qualifications had been achieved beyond dispute says a lot about him.
From Mike Zurawski: Now that the Minnesota Twins have cleared the last legal hurdle to begin construction of their new stadium, the team announced that the process of demolition and clearing the land will begin on Monday. Formal groundbreaking ceremonies will not take place until August, however. Befitting the politically correct culture of Minnesota, the construction engineers will try to recycle materials as much as possible, using crushed stone and asphalt from the existing site in the concrete forms of the new stadium. See MLB.com.