Yankees fans have been looking forward to Roger Clemens return to the mound since the 7th inning stretch two weeks ago when he announced that he would once again don the pinstripes. However, according to the New York Daily News, it looks like they’ll have to wait just a bit longer.

"A source with knowledge of the Yankees’ plans said Clemens would probably make his third and final start on Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton against Toledo instead of making his big-league season debut in Toronto against the Blue Jays."

That would likely mean Clemens’ return to a big league mound would happen on June 4th agains the White Sox rather than the series before that, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. While it might not be the storybook version people in New York and the media hoped to see, I’m willing to bet Yankees fans would rather see the 44 year old (explain to me again why people don’t think he’s done steriods?) not get shelled in his first game back, especially if it were in Fenway. And, with the way the Bombers have been playing lately, there is less sense of desperation, and more hope that Clemens will be helping them beat the Sox in October, not just early June.

Just when it looks like a bit of the fervor over steroids in baseball dies down a bit, something else happens to stir it back up. Last Friday Jason Giambi was quoted as saying that he "was wrong for doing that stuff [steroids] What we should have done a long time ago was stand up – players, owners, everybody – and said: ‘We made a mistake.’ We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. … Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it."

While it’s refreshing to finally hear a player involved in this whole mess stand up and take responsibility for his actions, Giambi’s admission might have landed him back in hot water. The New York Daily News reports that "The Yankees may be looking into voiding Jason Giambi’s contract." The commissioner’s office is also reportedly looking into the issue but it’s unknown what if any recourse league officials would have.

To me, this entire episode illustrates just how wrong MLB has handled the issue of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. You have a player stand up and accept responsibility for his actions. He admits he did it, and he admits it was wrong. On the other hand, you’ve now got a team looking to void their contract with that player mostly because they gave him a contract with obscene amounts of money over a stupid number of years. So why not try and pawn it off as an issue of steroids rather than trying to weasel their way out of one of the many overpriced contracts they signed players to in hopes of purchasing another championship?

Then you’ve got Major League Baseball looking into suspending this player for admitting to participating in baseball’s biggest problem since Pete Rose’s gambling scandal. Why? Because he actually used steroids? I don’t think so. If they really cared about that, they’d give the Mitchel investigation some teeth rather than making it the farce it is now. No, MLB wants to make an example out of Mr. Giambi. By fingering "players, owners, everybody" Giambi laid blame exactly where it belongs, but no where near where the commissioner’s office wants it. Selig wants to sit back and act like he didn’t have a clue as to what was going on in locker rooms around the league and is just as shocked and saddened as everyone else. So, rather than applauding the only active player to man up for what he did, MLB and his team are looking to punish him. Meanwhile, one of baseball’s most sacred records is about to fall to a man who said he never "knowingly" used steroids, and apparently thinks flack seed oil is the fountain of life with a dash of instant muscle added in.

Behold, the national pastime in all it’s glory.

Yankee left handed reliever, Ron Villone is reportedly considering opting out of his contract. According to the New York Post, "With two lefties – Sean Henn and Mike Myers, who is pitching betterlately – it’s not likely the Yankees have room for Villone in their
bullpen." Combine that with the fact that they lefty is represented by Scott Boras and that pretty much seals the deal. Boras has never met an opt out clause he didn’t like. Villone compiled a 5.04 ERA over 80+ innings last year but I have no doubt several clubs would be interested in the southpaw. If I were Villone, I’d look first to the NL to boost my stats a bit before heading into free agency again.

Great, now I’m going to have to send Brian Cashman and the Yankees a thank you note for the yule log they’ve just tossed into the Hot Stove. Reports are once again swirling that Yankee starter, Randy Johnson will soon be traded. The list of suitors is as long as Johnson is tall, and reportedly includes the Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks, both LA teams, and the Seattle Mariners. Johnson lives in Arizona and spent several years with the Diamondbacks before becoming a Yankee, however Arizona’s East Valley Tribune stated that "The D-Backs’ offer, believed to include a package of young pitchers, is “significantly behind” an offer from San Diego. However, the Big Unit does possess a full no-trade clause so any potential deal, no matter how lucrative it would be for the Yankees, must first receive Johnson’s approval.

If the Yankees do succeed in dealing away the future hall-of-famer, the repercussions will be sweeping in scope. Barry Zito’s agent, Scott Boras, will immediately begin to play the two free spending New York teams against each other for his client’s services. The Texas Rangers have told Boras that they’d like an answer on their offer to Zito by this weekend but with the deep pockets of the Yankees overshadowing the entire process, that seems unlikely at best. Boras might be despised by many GM’s, but he’s no idiot. The fact that the Yankees entering the picture would increase his client’s value by millions is not likely to go unnoticed by the game’s top agent.