Disclaimer: What you are about to read comes from the mind of a true Yankee fan.

This Roger Clemens thing sucks. A lot. From the over-the-top contract to the over-the-top theatrics of the announcement, this whole situation smells rotten.

The Yankees are making this out to be a homecoming for one of their all-time greats. Did I miss something? He’s been pitching for almost 25 years, and only four have been with the Yankees. And he basically rode the coattails of one of the great teams ever to the first of two championships. His ERA was never below 3.50 as a Yankee. He almost blew Game 7 against Boston in ’03. He is far from being a Yankee legend. This, among other reasons, makes me very leery of the signing. Here are some others:

The Contract

We all know the Yanks can afford to throw around money like this. But $18 million for five months? Let’s say he makes every scheduled start for the rest of the season (very doubtful). That would most likely be around 22 starts. That’s almost $1 million per start. Now let’s say he averages six innings per start (even more doubtful). That’s 132 innings. He would be getting roughly $136,000 an inning! Per appearance, he’ll be making way more money than A-Rod. His contract is worth more than the entire Florida Marlins payroll. You get the idea.

His Age

This all sounds familiar. An aging, legendary pitcher, coming off a phenomenal performance in the previous season in the National League, being acquired by the Yankees. Remind you of anyone?  Do the words “Big” and “Unit” ring a bell? Randy Johnson was penciled in for 20 wins the moment he came aboard in 2005. How did that work out? People get old and start losing their stuff. That’s life. Who’s to say that the same won’t happen to Clemens?

The Yankees Bullpen

If starting the season blowing out the arms of Luis Vizcaino and Scott Proctor in the first month wasn’t enough, Joe Torre will have to dip into the bullpen in the sixth inning of pretty much every Clemens start. He averaged less than six innings per start in Houston against inferior lineups. If the Yanks ‘pen wasn’t already on a record pace for innings, this might help. And more of Kyle Farnsworth is never a good thing.

Kei Igawa

What this move does is basically render Igawa useless. Not that I had much faith in him to begin with, but by doing this they are pretty much admitting they threw away $46 million for Igawa’s rights/contract.

Fuel for Yankee Haters

Just what all Yankee fans need, another reason for everyone else to hate us. I am really becoming tired of having to defend my team. The grandiosity of the announcement is also something that my anti-Yankee friends will no doubt have a field day with. All that was missing was a helicopter lowering him to the mound before his first start a la Steve Nebraska in "The Scout."

Change in Philosophy

It seemed like Yankee management had decided to go in a different direction this offseason by trading away older, expensive players for young pitching. They traded Johnson and Gary Sheffield for minor league pitching prospects. But then they signed Andy Pettitte; however, one signing of an old “true” Yankee isn’t as much of a crime as most signings. And now they completely threw their plans for developing young pitching out the window in a classic “panic button” move that has always infuriated the baseball world. Phil Hughes, who looked fantastic, will be back, and Darrel Rasner hasn’t been too bad. With prospect Matt DeSalvo also in the mix, I was getting excited to see what the farm system has to offer. What’s wrong with having a young fifth starter? Most other teams have one. Clemens coming in means these guys won’t get a chance this season.

Clemens is a Liar

Every time Clemens says one of his canned clichés it makes me laugh. He says he signed with the team he felt had the best chance of winning. Umm, I have a question. If he wasn’t going to retire after 2003, WHY DID HE LEAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?! It has nothing to do with winning, family, or retiring a Yankee, all of which have been cited as reasons. Don’t kid yourself. Clemens is a mercenary, no ifs, ands, or buts.

It’s Bad for Baseball and Baseball Fans

I don’t fault the Yankees for their payroll; they have every right to spend as much as they like. Major League Baseball has a flawed system which allows the rich to always get richer. I don’t want to hear from Mets or Red Sox fans about this move. That being said, this move reminds me of stacking a team on a video game by making unfair trades and hording all the best players. “Wow! A-Rod and Pujols have a combined 450 RBI!”

Winning this way cheapens any title the Yankees might win.

It also is completely unfair to fans of small-market teams. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be a fan of a team that knows it has little-to-no shot. I don’t feel bad for the teams themselves; they’re the ones not spending money. But fans continually get abused by bad ownership, and seeing the hated Yankees continually adding the best players must be infuriating.

This might be a knee-jerk reaction, but usually your first instinct is the right one. To all Yankee fans who may think I’m an idiot, take a look at MLB payrolls, add $18 million, and ask yourselves, “Is winning a World Series more important than the overall health of baseball?”

I know that I will continue to root for the Yankees, and if Clemens is pitching in the postseason, I will no doubt be pulling for him to pitch a gem.

But the more I watch this team, the more difficult it becomes to root for them.