Make-up Game

Hey folks, sorry for the delay, but this weekend was rained out thanks to the arrival of my first nephew. Too make-up for it I've got two for ya.

The Rocket Lands on His Ego Pad

It seems like it was only yesterday when Yankee Stadium went crazy at the announcement that Roger Clemens had signed with the team. The Rocket was there in person to address the crowd and the fawning of TV and radio play-by-play teams began immediately. Everyone was ecstatic, Roger had come back to the pin-strippers to get them back to the World Series.

Yeah, right.

Truth is Clemens coming back won't help the Yankees. They're more then 10 games back, have no offense, an arsonist squad in the bullpen and nothing resembling a steady pitching rotation. The Red Sox have three studs on the mound, terrific bats and a bully that ranks amongst the top in the AL. Hell, the Jays and the Orioles are in much better shape with half the pay-roll of the Yanks. Clemens will be lucky to make 18 starts this season and even if he wins them all, that won't get the Yankees into the playoffs.

Just look at when the Yankees have to over-come. Their bats are silent, Jorge Posada is their best hitter, Giambi is on the DL for who knows how long, A-Rod has been garbage all month, Jeter can't carry the offense, Matsui and Abreu have done nothing. The bull-pen is a joke, easily the worst in the AL East and amongst the worst in the AL altogether. Unless Clemens can pitch 8 innings a night and give the ball directly to Mariano Rivera the Bronx Bums are in trouble.

Even then, Clemens numbers are nothing to write home about. Despite his dominance in the NL over the last two season, let's get real. His ERA in the AL had been going up steadily prior to his leaving and in the NL he was facing batters who had never seen his pitches before, no DH to face and teams that played small-ball and relied less on power hitting. In the AL East alone he matches up against the Ortiz/Ramirez/Drew trio in Boston, not to mention Toronto's formidable Rios/Wells/Glaus/Thomas line-up. Fact is the Rockets numbers are going to be inflated, and he knows it better then most.

So why come back at all? Clemens himself ranted at a press conference earlier this week that he was "a positive person" and that he "surrounds himself with positive people" and "avoids negativity". Could've picked a better place to go then Roger. New York is a mess, you know it, I know, the Yankees know it. Clemens came back for his ego, nothing more.

It was his ego that lead him to retire then say if the phone rang in May he would answer it(a thinly veiled open letter to the Yankees and Red Sox). It was his ego that made him sign a massive 20 million dollar contract, prorated though it may be. It was that ego that had him stand in George Steinbrenners personal luxury box at Yankee Stadium and make the announcement during the 7th inning stretch. That same ego that had him pull the exact same stunt last year that left the Houston Astros in a lurch and had them begging him to come back.

Clemens return will do little to help the Yankees, it may only help them claw their way to third, or possible a distant second. But Roger is in the spotlight again, and ultimately that all he cares about.


What's in the Intent?


Saturday night Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger threw an elbow to the head of Ottawa forward Dean MacAmmond, knocking him out cold and giving him a concussion. It was not malicious or deliberate, Pronger threw a hit to try and take MacAmmond out of a play and hit his head. But it was a head shot, and so the former Norris and Hart Trophy winner was suspended Sunday for one game. ducks GM Brian Burke had no problem with the suspension, but he did have a problem with a hit thrown earlier that game by Ottawa tough guy Chris Neil, and so do I.

Earlier in the game Chris Neil skated in to the offensive zone, took six strides, left his feet slightly and threw his left elbow at the head of Ducks forward Andy MacDonald. MacDonald avoided the hit, but the intent was clear. Neil was trying to take MacDonalds head off, Pronger was just finishing his check. Yes Pronger should have been suspended, but Neils was the more flagrant offense, and the more dangerous.

What really pissed me off however was the response to Brian Burks charge against Neil by Sportsnets Nik Kypreos. Apperantly good ol' Kipper has a problem with suspensions based on intent rather then result. Once again I try to remind myself of Kypreos' numerous concussions suffered as a result of his glass jaw, but I just can't let this go. Also I think I woke my neighbours up screaming at my television after hearing Niks take on the issue on the late night replay of Connected.

Why do you think there is such a crime as attempted murder? Because the person was trying to kill another. Major League Baseball has and continues to eject and even suspend players for headhunting even if they miss a batter. Yet the NHL continues to wait until they see a medical report before they make up their minds. They did not suspend Neil because MacDonald wasn't hurt, hell Neil was complaining about Prongers hit being dirty after the game completely ignoring his own decapitation attempt just a few minutes earlier. And why? Because he knows the NHL doesn't suspend on intent, but it needs to. He even went barking at Scott Neidermeyer on the following face-off, acting like he had done nothing wrong with his attempted hit on MacDonald.

So long as players can throw hits like Neils and not injure a player severely they know suspensions aren't coming down, and that is a very real danger. The NHL has been trying to crack down on head shots or the last two years and by ignoring this incident they are setting themselves up for a major backlash. Much like MLBs ignoring of steroids, by allowing hits like Neils to go unpunished they are telling players as long as an opponent isn't taken off on a stretcher anything goes on the ice.

If Colin Campbell and Gary Bettmen would grow some balls(and by extension get some testosterone into their bodies) and start sending players to the press box based on the intent of their actions rather then the results you would see a substantial, not small, but substantial drop in the number of head shots and concussions in the League almost right away. Players would be safer and the goon element Bettman has sought to eliminate would be further marginalized, if not taken out altogether.