"Roger Clemens was bad in the postseason for the Yankees; they never should have gotten him."
I don't even like Clemens, but postseason career with the Yankees (1999-2003, I'm not counting 2007 because that's what happens when you rely on a like 89-year old to pitch):
3.24 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 98 K in 100 innings, 2.88 K/BB ratio
BA/OBP/SLG/OPS against: .217/.287/.324/.611 (wow, that's pretty awesome)
Yeah, these starts are in there:
1999 ALCS Game 3 vs. BOS: 2 IP, 5 ER
2000 ALDS Game 1 vs. OAK: 6 IP, 4 ER
2000 ALDS Game 4 vs. OAK: 5 IP, 6 ER
2001 ALDS Game 5 vs. OAK: 4.1 IP, 3 ER
2002 ALDS Game 1 vs. ANA: 5.2 IP, 4 ER
2003 ALCS Game 7 vs. BOS: 4 IP, 3 ER (4 R)
(Maybe he just sucks against Oakland??)
But so are these:
1999 ALDS Game 3 vs. TEX: 7 IP, 0 ER
1999 World Series Game 4 vs. ATL: 7.2 IP, 1 ER
2000 ALCS Game 4 vs. SEA: 9 IP, 0 ER, 15 K (2 BB)
2000 World Series Game 2 vs. NYM: 8 IP, 0 ER, 9 K (0 BB)
2001 World Series Game 3 vs. ARI: 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K (3 BB)
2001 World Series Game 7 vs. ARI: 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 10 K (1 BB)
2003 ALDS Game 3 vs. MIN: 7 IP, 1 ER
2003 ALCS Game 3 vs. BOS: 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 K (1 BB)
I love Andy Pettitte and I would not bet against him in a big spot. But I've heard Yankee fans - most of whom are the ones I'd guess are smearing Clemens - call him the best postseason pitcher the Yankees ever had and, well, that's just not true. Here are his playoff numbers with the Yankees, 1995-2003:
4.05 ERA, .278/.325/.421/.747, 1.36 WHIP, 118 K in 186.2 IP, 2.27 K/BB ratio.
And here are some starts.
1996 ALDS Game 2 vs. TEX: 6.1 IP, 4 ER, 2 HR
1996 ALCS Game 1 vs. BAL: 7 IP, 4 ER, 2 HR
1996 World Series Game 1 vs. ATL: 2.1 IP, 7 ER
1997 ALDS Game 2 vs. CLE: 5 IP, 7 ER
1998 ALCS Game 3 vs. CLE: 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 4 HR, 3 BB/1 K (poor baby Andy)
1999 World Series Game 3 vs. ATL: 3.2 IP, 5 ER
2000 ALDS Game 5 vs. OAK: 3.2 IP, 5 ER
2001 World Series Game 6 vs. ARI: 2 IP, 6 ER (this one just makes me sad)
2002 ALDS Game 2 vs. ANA: 3 IP, 4 ER
2003 ALCS Game 6 vs. BOS: 5 IP, 4 ER
(He, too, has some genius performances in his long postseason career. But I'm making a point.)
Gah, the morons just made me praise Clemens and smear Andy. That hurt, a lot.
