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Sports

Rocket comes back to revitalize Astros

Titan

Mark Suarez 

Astros' fans have grown accustomed to their team's habits in the past few years. They typically begin the year by showing their potential as a playoff contender and then, like an all too predictable Steven Segal movie, proceed to take a nosedive into mediocrity. After that, the team realizes half the season is over and gets its act together just in time to make a mad dash for the playoffs. 

The past two seasons have had more highs and lows than an Enron criminal trial, and as this year's squad approaches the All-Star break with a winning percentage near .500, Astros' fans are hoping Thursday will be the kick start to another pennant run. 

On this day, new life will be injected into the franchise in the form of 44-year-old pitcher Roger Clemens. After signing a deal with the Astros earlier this month, Clemens has pitched well in his three minor league starts for Houston and is now primed for lift-off with the big league club. The Rocket will look to improve on last season's stellar performance with the Astros, a year in which he posted a career best 1.87 ERA on a pitching staff that included 20-game winner Roy Oswalt and left-handed veteran Andy Pettitte. Throw in a healthy Brandon Backe along with a decent fifth starter and you have a pitching staff that has proven it can carry a team to the World Series in spite of a lackluster offense that, statistically, spent the better part of last season in the National League cellar.

The addition of Roger Clemens came at a steep price for the hometown team. The Astros beat out the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers all for the opportunity to shell out $22 million in salary for a year that is all but 40 percent done. The lucrative contract made Clemens the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. 

Roger Clemens may not be the youngest player on the roster when he takes the mound for the Astros this Thursday against the Minnesota Twins, but he will prove without a shadow of a doubt that he is worth every penny of that (gulp) $22 million. (It will be equal to about $12 million after proration.)

Clemens will bring a new attitude and work ethic into a clubhouse in need of a reality check. The Astros are better than their current record would indicate and Roger Clemens may be just the guy to turn things around. He is a 300-career game winner who can give a team seven strong innings on any given night. Odds are he will get about 20 starts this year, and if all goes well he'll probably be good for 12-15 wins. 

For the Astros, the addition of Roger Clemens catapults them from World Series pretender to World Series contender overnight. If the offense can hold up its end of the bargain and score some runs, we just might see our Houston Astros in the World Series again. For this to happen, the bats of Jason Lane and Preston Wilson are going to have to come alive down the stretch. Lance "Big Puma" Berkman needs to stay healthy. And if the pitching staff, including the bullpen, meets expectations all will be good in Astros-land. 

So buckle-up and hold on tight, Astros' fans. The next few months should be an interesting ride.

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