Roger Clemens: Astros Would Be Insane to Give Rocket a Rotation Spot in 2012

Roger Clemens loves the spotlight too much. That's why, even at 50 years old, he is pitching for the Sugar Land Skeeters. There is a lot of speculation about his ultimate end game, though if the Houston Astros have any sense, they won't get sucked into the madness. 

Sadly, that doesn't appear to be the case. 

According to a report from Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston, Astros owner Jim Crane would not dismiss the idea of Clemens pitching for the team again. 

"

"If it goes all right and he comes to us, we'll talk to baseball about it at length," Crane said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.

"The only thing we don't want to do is make it a publicity stunt. If we did it, I want to try and take it and turn it into a positive, which would be Roger's doing it for the good of baseball. The extra proceeds on the game might go to the (Astros') community charity deal to build (baseball) fields, do something positive out of it."

"

Crane would have to know that the only reason to sign Clemens to pitch for the team this season is publicity. 

It's no secret the Astros are terrible right now. Their 38-86 record is nine games behind the second-worst team in baseball. But that is all by design, because first-year general manager Jeff Luhnow knew they had to get rid of every aging, expensive asset on the big league roster to acquire pieces for their system who can help their future. 

Clemens would distract this franchise from everything it has been trying to build since Luhnow took over.

I know they might be looking for something that can sell tickets, but a temporary boost in attendance, if Clemens would even provide that given his age and perceived use of performance-enhancing drugs, is nothing more than a cheap distraction used to feed the ego of a pitcher who needs all the attention he can get. 

The Astros might be painful to watch right now, but they are at least going about things the right way. A lot of teams would try to convince their fans their immediate future is still bright by keeping old, relatively well-known players to keep people somewhat interested. 

This franchise did not go that direction. They tore the entire foundation down and are rebuilding everything. 

Clemens does nothing to help them right now, because they aren't going anywhere and he is still 50 years old. The Astros don't need the media headache of Clemens in that locker room. 

Signing him would be going against everything that Luhnow and his staff have tried to build this season, even if the product on the Major League level is historically bad. 

Follow @adamwells1985