Clemens cannot do it by himself

The Yankees made quite a splash on Sunday with the announcement of the signing of Roger Clemens to the 52,533 desperate fans at Yankee Stadium. Trailing the Red Sox by 5-1/2 games in the beginning of May is a slow drip torture for Yankee fans, so the grand spectacle must have been like the clouds parted in the sky and the light from God himself shined down upon them.

Or something like that.

Whatever the case, the Yankees received much needed help. However, I am not convinced that the Clemens signing alone will do enough for the Yankees to get them past the Red Sox. First is Clemens' age. He turns 45 this August, and does not have the ability to get deep into games. He will give the Yankees 5 innings, and maybe 6 tops. They will be good innings, but will only cover a little over half a game. Yankees manager Joe Torre will still need to get deep into his bullpen on the nights that Roger pitches. Second, the Yankees have an absolutely depleted pitching staff. Carl Pavano? Gone. Phillip Hughes? Out four to six weeks. Mike Mussina? On the disabled list also. Chien-Ming Wang was just activated from the disabled list. The addition of Roger Clemens is like plugging a leaky dam with a thumb, albeit a very big thumb. He can stop the leaking, but unless the rest of the pitching staff can get healthy and recapture their stuff, he will have a very difficult time saving them by himself.

But all this does not mean the move was bad. The Yankees can afford him -- one of the few -- and they needed the help. They would have had to go out and get a pitcher anyway. More importantly, however, the move keeps Clemens out of Boston. Buster Olney's article on ESPN.com confirms the Red Sox had engaged Clemens' agent in preliminary talks. If Clemens had actually signed with the Red Sox, it may have very well been the end of Brian Cashman's career with the Yankees. Now Cashman has bought himself some time, perhaps to the end of the year, so his hopes will undoubtedly be high that Clemens does indeed plug the hole until the rest of the Yankees pitching staff returns.

And really, Cashman's job should still be in jeopardy. He's put an All-Star offense on the field, but has neglected the most important position on the field -- pitching. The troubles the Yankees have had with their staff shows they were not thinking as proactively about it as they should, and now they are exposed. Big time.

Good luck, Roger. The weight of New York is on your shoulders.