FanHouse Randy Hendricks

The New Years Eve edition of the Dugout could've very easily been Delmon and Dmitri Young choking the hell out of a Baby New Year, but I wanted to see the "Roger Clemens Implicated In The Mitchell Report" graphic one more time before the ball dropped. Hello again, old friend.

For the next rotted rung on the Roger Clemens Ladder to Hell, a Houston area hospital has decided to remove Roger's name from the sports medicine institute he paid for. You couldn't remove Roger's name from that report to the right? You couldn't remove it from Mindy McCready's (assumedly) gigantic 80s looking Zack Morris cell phone?

The last Dugout of the year is after the jump.

Last we heard from our good pal Roger Clemens, he was gingerly leaving the field in Game 3 of the ALDS, nursing yet another one of his playoff injuries. I speculated at the time that his career as a pitcher was probably done, due to a whole host of reasons.

And, It's looking like that's probably the case. Clemens seems to be done as a player, (although, of course, he is leaving the door open just a crack) but his career in baseball is certainly not.

In a sign that Clemens' pitching career could be over, his agent told the Astros on Wednesday that the seven-time Cy Young winner is set to start his personal-services contract with the team.

"He's moving toward retirement and leaving open the possibility of playing," agent Randy Hendricks said. "As Roger has stated several times, he's failed at retirement repeatedly."

Hendricks sent Astros owner Drayton McLane an e-mail informing him of the decision. This was the first time Hendricks formally told Houston that Clemens was ready to work off the field.

It was not clear how Clemens would respond if the Yankees or Astros asked him to pitch next year.

There's quite a lot of wiggle room within that blockquote. But really, unlike the last few years, I just don't see Clemens on the pitching mound next year. At least I think. Well, OK, maybe he will. Probably he will? Argh, let's just let this one play out. How you make us wonder, Roger Clemens.

Previously on FanHouse:
Roger Clemens' Wife Wants Him to Retire
Roger Clemens Hurt, Leaves Early; Is This the End of the Line?

From the "we already knew this but for some reason it's circulating around the Web today " file, comes word that Roger Clemens....still has not decided what he's going to do. Shocking, I know.

Anyways, it is May. And, after all, this is the month we are supposed to know who will come out as the winner of the Clemens sweepstakes. But, let's not forget, it's only the first day of May. Geez, we can't expect him to know now.

Randy Hendricks, the agent for free agent pitcher Roger Clemens, reiterated Monday the seven-time Cy Young Award winner plans to decide what he's going to do this year sometime in May.

But Hendricks said don't expect a decision Tuesday.

"That's for sure," he said.

Clemens will pitch for either the Astros, New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox in 2007 or retire, though it's unlikely he will hang it up.

At this point, with their floundering pitching staff, I'd expect the Yankees to make a huge play for the burly, old pitcher. But doesn't he want to go to a contender? If that's the case, the Red Sox would be his best bet at the moment.

Ah, how the plot thickens. Can we get this thing over already, please?

Previously At FanHouse:
Jason Giambi Has Been Texting Roger Clemens Like Crazy
Clemens: No Decision Until May
Roger Clemens Continues to Not Make Decisions