Good riddance Matt Clement...

Did anyone see the reports that Matt Clement has been hired as the boys’ varsity coach at Butler High School in Pittsburgh? My thoughts about his career change are the following:

Too bad for me that Matt didn’t choose coaching boys basketball before 1998 when I picked him up as a prospect! This guy was touted by the scouts as a CAN’T MISS prospect. Like Oliver Perez, the San Diego Padres thought that they had hit the jackpot (at least Ollie put together one stellar year for Pittsburgh in 2004 with a 2.99 ERA, 239K’s and a WHIP of 1.15 before he became a basket case.)

Clement ended his career with an unfulfilling 87-86 record, a 4.47 ERA and a WHIP of 1.4. He did in fact have electric stuff, and his ball moved quite a bit (he averaged 8.6 strikeouts per 9 innings.) But his WHIP is what constantly killed my chances of winning a title (or even finishing above last place for that matter.)

I’m always mesmerized by these guys that have electric stuff and I HAVE TO HAVE THEM. But I can tell you that having guys that strike out 12 one game and pitching a 7 inning shutout followed by walking 5 guys and getting pulled in the 4th inning of your next start is no way to succeed in Fantasy Baseball.

I’ve learned quite a bit from getting my ass kicked over the years. I can tell you this. If you have a rookie pitcher that you like who has talent and is very successful one outing and walks the ballpark and gets shelled the next, that is expected from a rookie and you can justify sticking with him to see if he pans out.

However, if you have a veteran pitcher that exhibits those traits and has not figured out how to keep his team in the game when he doesn’t have his best stuff, no matter how good his stuff his cut him because he will screw you in the end.

Good riddance Matt Clement. I sincerely hope that you stay in your new profession and not attempt a lame comeback. I hope you coach a really talented kid who puts up 40 points for you one night, having you design a specific play for him that you pull out at crunch time only to have the kid throw up an air-ball in the big spot. I want you to feel the pain of counting on a player to live up to his potential and having that dependency cause you many sleepless nights.

Also, I hope you are not mad at me for cheering in July of 2005 when you were struck by that line drive. It was a heat of the moment thing and I was upset with you after years of depending on you and you almost never coming through.

If I had it to do over I certainly would not have wished that you got hit in the head with the ball. That’s just plain mean and I’m not like that. I WOULD HAVE WISHED THAT YOU HAD TAKEN ONE ON THE KNEE CAP!

Oh Matt, I almost forgot - I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor…………….. – Peter Costa

Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.