Roger, please come home

So, who wants to hear what I have to say about Clemens coming to play for Boston in 2006?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Well, tough shit! Here I go anyway, and leave the damn room if you don't like it . . .

I've read all the articles about the video tape. I've read a few (Beth, Matt, and Eric) blogs with folks weighing in on the issue. I've come to the following conclusion.

I am willing to lay my heart on the line and get my hopes way up that Roger will come back for another season in Boston in 2006. Please notice that I did not say that he would "play his final season in Boston," because at last count, that would make his fourth (1996, 2003, 2005, 2006) final season. OK, counting 1996 isn't fair to Roger because Duquette was the only one who felt he should retire.

I wonder, however, what the Sox would do to get him back. I've heard the number $15 million batted around. Does that mean that the Sox would feel like they needed to shed that much before signing him? Clemens said in December that he would consider playing for "Houston, Texas, New York and Boston. I love all those places, they have great players that I respect very much." If the Sox can sign him without trading away salary like Clement, I say go for it!

Let me explain why I am willing to risk getting burned on this one, because I see many people "hedging their bets" on the issue, worried that they'll get too excited about it and then have their hopes crushed. I don't have lots of crystal clear memories from my younger years. (I think 36 is old enough to start using that phrase, Bryan Adams must have been using it at 30! "Ohhh, thinkin' about our younger years, there was only you and me, we were young and wild and free") But, one of those memories that sticks with me all these years involves a cold, rainy morning in April way back in 1986. I was a sophomore in high school, waiting at the bus stop at 6:30 AM trying to stay warm.

The Sox had been playing on the West Cost, in Seattle, so I hadn't yet found out the result of the game the night before. Finally, the bus arrived to save us from the shitty weather. As I climbed on board, I heard the bus radio going to commercial from a hint at what was coming up in the news with something about Clemens and the number 20. I found my seat and waited patiently for the commercials to end and get back to the news. That brief, half-missed summary of the news had not prepared me for what I was about to hear, and I nearly went though the roof when I heard that Clemens had struck out 20 batters in Seattle the night before!

OK. Fast-forward about 6 months to October 1986. This is another crystal clear memory for me. Come to think of it, I believe that this proves to be the ONLY time in my life I have ever CRIED while riding a bicycle. Another cold one, but this time dry and around midnight. The Red Sox came within one strike of winning the 1986 World Series that evening, in the sixth game of the Series. Thinking back on it, that was only the SIXTH game, which meant that they had another chance in game seven. Yet, there I was, a 16 year old bawling his eyes out riding around on his bicycle after midnight.

Roger, this is one fan who is not going to worry about getting burnt by dreams forced upon me by the media. I want you to pitch one more season in Boston, no matter the cost, no matter the special considerations.