Tim McCarver, no longer sucks as a person (still sucks as color guy):

Hi, do you know me? I'm the Red Sox fan that hates Tim McCarver (and, parenthetically, Joe Buck). I hate his voice, I hate his pro-Yankee, anti-Red Sox slant, I hate his anecdotes.

But I just read something at Red Sox Chick that may redeem him:

"[I was] Watching the Yankees/Mariners game on Fox yesterday, Ken Rosenthal came out and said that it was a no-brainer, if Clemens wants to win another World Series, he goes to the Red Sox. Buck came back talking about how it wasn't about money and McCarver responded with "If it isn't about money, let him play for nothing.".

Tim McCarver has the Rocket's number."

Wow. I mean, come on, wow.

We all know Clemens needed to make a statement. The $28 million is the largest contract ever signed, which is exactly why it had to be $28 million - it's not the number "28" it's the adjective phrase "largest in the history of baseball."

Clemens is never going to retire. He won't stop playing until someone (probably in the Yankees organization) arranges for him to be cast in bronze (probably live, in the middle of an outing in front of thousands in the house that Ruth built).

I have no doubt the Yankees will put it back together by July. No doubt that every single one of their injured starters will come back to the regular rotation just in time to make a run for the pennant. They're the Yankees, it's what they pay to do.

But I can't see Clemens factoring in. All the numbers suggest he'll be a pitcher to match up against opposing front-of-the-rotation guys as only a five- to six-inning starter (albeit with a superb ERA), which bodes ill for the Yankees bullpen. I don't see how that's much different than what they were planning on with Igawa every fifth day, minus the shades.

The Red Sox already have a fifth starter averaging five innings at the back of their rotation, and (if I've estimated correctly) he's costing John Henry & Co. forty-five million dollars less than the luxury tax Steinbrenner is paying on the Rocket's contract.

And Tavarez this year is the guy the Red Sox have trotted out to throw against opposing aces Chien-Ming Wang, Johan Santana, and Roy Halladay (twice), and has gone 1-2 against them, not too shabby for a fifth starter.

The Yankees will win games because they've got the most powerful lineup in the bigs, top to bottom.

The Rocket will reclaim fame, notoriety, and infamy, because his ego won't let it be otherwise.

The Red Sox will win the World Series.

-t