Wasington Post: Roger Clemens Will Return To Houston!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/30/AR2006053001580.html

NL NOTEBOOK

Report: Clemens Will Return to Astros




Wednesday, May 31, 2006; Page E07
Roger Clemens has agreed to terms with the Astros, the team for which he pitched each of the last two seasons, according to Newsday. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, who could be pitching in the majors by the end of June, will earn somewhere between $3.5 million and $4 million per month, netting him roughly $12 million for about a half-season's work.
An announcement likely will come this week.

Astros owner Drayton McLane and GM Tim Purpura denied yesterday that they had come to terms with him, as did Clemens's agent Randy Hendricks , but two people familiar with the situation said that the right-hander had decided to "unretire" for the third time.

Clemens, who will turn 44 in August, retired after the 2003 season, then changed his mind and joined his hometown Astros after former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte left New York to sign with Houston.
Clemens won his seventh Cy Young Award in 2004, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA. He went 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA last year, winning the major league ERA title for the first time since 1990.
Clemens's oldest son, Koby , is an infield prospect in the Astros' farm system, having been drafted last year.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/wires/05/31/2010.ap.bbn.astros.clemens.0434/

NEW YORK (AP) -The Houston Astros called a news conference Wednesday, presumably to announce that Roger Clemens is rejoining the team.
Both the team and Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks, said Tuesday that no agreement had yet been completed, but Hendricks said a decision by Clemens was close.

"Obviously, we're still hopeful. But nothing has been determined,'' Astros general manager Tim Purpura said Tuesday.
The Astros were 27-26 and 6 1/2 games behind the NL Central-leading Cardinals after Tuesday night's 6-3 victory over St. Louis.
Clemens pitched for the Astros last season and helped them reach the World Series for the first time. Houston, the New York Yankees, Boston and Texas all tried to lure Clemens to pitch this season.
Clemens last pitched competitively in the World Baseball Classic, where he beat South Africa for the United States in the first round and lost to Mexico 2-1 in the second on March 16.
In Detroit, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre heard the report Tuesday that Clemens was returning to Houston.
"I'm not at all surprised,'' he said. "I didn't think that him coming back here was ever going to happen. Houston's just such a perfect fit for him - he lives there and Andy's on the team. That's why he came back before, and the circumstances haven't changed.''
Texas owner Tom Hicks was told last week by the Hendricks brothers - Randy and Alan - that the Rangers were out of consideration, GM Jon Daniels said.
"Tom got the call on Friday that we were no longer in the running for his services,'' Daniels said Tuesday. "The way we looked at it was, it would be an honor to be associated with him but we've continued to focus on the 25 guys here. It would have been nice, but we weren't planning on it from the get-go.''
Clemens retired after the 2003 season, then changed his mind and joined his hometown Astros after former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte left New York to sign with Houston.
Clemens won his seventh Cy Young Award in 2004, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA. He went 13-8 with a 1.87 ERA last year, winning the major league ERA title for the first time since 1990.
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Associated Press
Clemens Gets $22M to Return to Astros
By RONALD BLUM , 05.31.2006, 11:47 AM

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Roger Clemens has agreed to a $22 million contract to pitch for the Houston Astros for the rest of 2006.

The Astros called a news conference Wednesday to announce the agreement, a lawyer in baseball familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Astros had not yet announced the deal.

Clemens is agreeing first to a minor league contract that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season, and his first start is likely to be at Lexington, Ky., the Class A team where his oldest son, Koby, plays.

When he is added to the major league roster, he gets a one-year contract worth $22,000,022 - his uniform number is 22. Because he won't be playing the full season, he gets only a prorated percentage of that, which would come to about $12.25 million if he rejoins Houston in late June.


http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/2006/05/31/ap2783840.html

After yesterday's leak, today's impending announcement just doesn't seem that huge anymore. Congrats to the Astros.

very true...did not expect the 22 Mil(prorated)