Houston Astros Wiretap

Clemens Files For Free Agency On Final Day

Roger Clemens was among the final seven players to file for free agency Thursday night.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, who has spent the last two seasons with the Houston Astros, hasn't said whether he plans to pitch in 2006.

He went 18-4 for the Astros in 2004, winning his last Cy Young Award, and then became a free agent and re-signed with Houston for $18,000,022 -- the final $22 matching his uniform number. The 43-year-old right-hander was 13-8 with a major league-best 1.87 ERA this season, helping the Astros reach the World Series for the first time.

Also filing on the final day were Boston Red Sox first baseman John Olerud, Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Tim Salmon, Houston pitcher Russ Springer, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Wilson Alvarez and New York Mets pitchers Felix Heredia and Shingo Takatsu.

Via ESPN

Houston Astros

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Carpenter Beats Out Willis And Rocket For Cy Young

Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday, capping a satisfying comeback from shoulder surgery that jeopardized his career only a few years ago.

After going 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA, Carpenter received 19 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He beat out Florida lefty Dontrelle Willis, becoming the first Cardinals pitcher to claim the honor since Bob Gibson in 1970.

Willis, who was 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, was listed first on 11 ballots, second on 18 and third on three for 112 points. Seven-time winner Roger Clemens got the other two first-place votes and came in a distant third at age 43.

The Rocket led the majors with a 1.87 ERA, but a lack of run support from his NL champion Houston Astros limited Clemens to a 13-8 record, which surely cost him votes.

Voting for all BBWAA awards is conducted at the end of the regular season and excludes the playoffs, when Carpenter went 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three starts. But St. Louis was eliminated by the Astros in the NL championship series.

Via AP

Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals

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Five Clubs Shows Interest In Millar

Kevin Millar is expected to have to take a pay cut from his 2005 salary of $3.5 million. Several teams, including the Astros, Orioles, Twins, Dodgers and Angels, are said to have interest. ?I?ll always be thankful for the opportunity to come here,? he said. ?The last couple of weeks of the year were a dogfight for me personally, and it was a dogfight trying to play every day with these computer matchups and all of this baloney ? in my eyes ? but I?m always thankful to Theo (Epstein) and the organization for letting me come here, and I?ll never let it taint the three years I?ve had here. I?d never trade that.? Millar said the perceived turmoil within the organization that resulted from Epstein?s unexpected departure as general manager last week shouldn?t hurt the Sox? efforts to sign free agents. ?No, I think Boston and Sox Nation speaks for itself,? he said. ?Maybe there might be a guy who says, ?What?s going on here?? But I don?t think it?s going to turn many free agents off.?

Via Boston Herald

Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins

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