Yankees News & Notes: Clemens not surprised, Cervelli leading the way, Hal committed to “elite” ballclub

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised with the decision made Wednesday by the BBWAA to shut out anyone from the Hall of Fame. However, if there’s one person in particular who isn’t surprised, it’s Roger Clemens. Moving on from there, the New York Yankees have said that between Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart for the starting catcher job, that Cervelli still leads the “crop of choices”. Lastly, Hal Steinbrenner has said that the club hasn’t strayed from signing players and has hinted that the Yankees will sign someone else, if not multiple players, before the 2013 season begins.

Roger Clemens’ short stint with the Sugar Land Skeeters made for interesting news during the month of August. (Image: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

The Rocket needed 75 percent of the vote to get into the Hall of Fame. Much to his dismay, Clemens only received 37.6 percent of the vote. However, Clemens said himself that he wasn’t “surprised” by the decision. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner alongside being ninth on the list of pitchers with the most wins at 354, had this to say regarding the vote:

"“After what has been written and said over the last few years, I’m not overly surprised.”"

Former teammate Jeff Bagwell defended the Rocket by going on to say that Clemens was “arguably the best pitcher that’s graced this earth.” Regardless on whether or not you feel Roger should or shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame, the decision by the BBWAA to vote nobody into the Hall is tactless. Clemens also issued a statement of thanks via his Twitter account. You can check it out by following this link.

Moving on from Roger, the Yankees’ competition between Cervelli and Stewart is something that will remain a hot topic until April 1st. Cervelli, the fan favorite, had been determined to make the 25-man roster and be the starter, and here’s hoping that he can prove just that. General Manager Brian Cashman chimed in on the situation:

"“He and Stewart are the front-runners for the first and second slots, whoever slots out. It’s just a matter of competition. This is what we have, so we’re going to let the guys fight it out.”"

Now whether this statement means that the Yankees will or will not pursue another catcher, Cashman did not comment on. However, with Austin Romine starting the season in Triple-A, this leads us to believe that the Yankees are quite content with what they have.

Lastly, Hal Steinbrenner still believes that this Yankee team can be elite despite what has transpired in the previous months. Steinbrenner remains mum on the Robinson Cano situation, and if this prolongs anymore, I would have to believe that Cano might be looking somewhere else for 2014. Hopefully, it does not come down to that. Regarding extensions, Steinbrenner said this:

"“I’m not a big believer in extensions. There’s exceptions to every rule, but I’m just not a big believer in extensions.”"

This is a position Steinbrenner has stuck with before and doesn’t look as if he’ll sway from that ideology. That said, his decision to still sign players, possibly back-ups, remains to be a positive notion for 2013. Steinbrenner also noted that the Yankees must be concerned with being “fiscally responsible” when it comes to the future, so if that means goodbye to players like Cano, then this Yankee team is going to be in for a long ride.