Trade Roger

No, really. I mean it.

Obviously, I have not accepted the Astros' season fates as fully as I had thought, as their snatching defeat from the hands of victory today disgusted me.

An incredible performance by Roger Clemens (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 9 K), in which he lowered his ERA to 2.09, was completely wasted by the combination of Chad Qualls and Brad Lidge. Clemens left after the seventh with a 5-1 lead, but Qualls allowed 4 runs in the eighth to tie the game, and Lidge allowed two more in the ninth to put it away (final score 7-6). Once again, Lidge only needed one more pitch--ONE!--to finish the ninth and send the game to the bottom of the inning tied. Given that Luke Scott and Adam Everett both doubled in the bottom of the ninth for our final run, the outcome could have been far, far different. But that one pitch was hit out by Conor Jackson for the D-Backs' final two runs.

The trade deadline is tomorrow. I sure as hell hope that the Astros don't make any moves, especially not if it means giving away the farm for some rental like Soriano or Tejada. What they should do, though, is send Roger Clemens to a team that has a shot--Yankees, Tigers, or my preference would be the Red Sox. Let him finish his storied career on a winner, so that he can have one last October, one last shot at the Fall Classic.

He deserves better than this.