[stevereno159]

I think that this will be Roger's last season, I hope he has a good winning record. It would be cool if the Astros brought up Roger's son for a game or two so they could play together.

Newsday reported Tuesday that righthander Roger Clemens has ended his prolonged absence from baseball and agreed on a one-year deal with the Houston Astros.


A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, the 43-year-old Clemens reportedly will receive $3.5 million per month from the Astros, who battled in negotiations with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the future of Hall of Famer's services.


One of the reasons Clemens likely ended up with the Astros is because he's a Texas native.


Clemens dominated the National League over the past two seasons but announced that he likely would retire at the end of the 2005 campaign. He pitched in the World Baseball Classic in March but still declined to comment on his future.


In December, the Astros declined to offer Clemens arbitration after he went 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA in 32 starts. However, Clemens began to wear down late in the season and lasted just two innings in Houston's Game One loss to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series due to a hamstring injury.


In his two seasons with the Astros, Clemens posted a 31-12 record with a 2.43 ERA.


An 11-time All-Star, Clemens has more wins than any other living pitcher and ranks ninth all-time with 341 victories. In 672 career games, he is 341-172 with a 3.12 ERA and has recorded 4,502 career strikeouts, trailing only Nolan Ryan (5,714) on the all-time list.


The Astros (26-26) could use Clemens' services. They have lost six of their last seven games and are in fourth place in the NL Central Division, 7 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

[stevereno159]

3 innings, 62 pitches, 6 k's, 1 run - a homerun