Cue up Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Def Leppard's "Rocket" because the Rocket is returning to the Bronx.

Roger Clemens has signed back with the New York Yankees today. The Clemens lottery is over and the Yankees have hit the Powerball, but does The Rocket have any more power left in his fastball? As my old Magic 8-Ball used to say, "all signs point to yes". He was only 7-6 last year with the Astros, but still had a 2.30 ERA. He threw 113 innings and still was able to strike out 102 batters.

I am not a Clemens fan, never have been. I was one of the people that was upset when the Yankees traded David Wells for Clemens in the 1998 off-season. He spent 5 seasons with the Yanks and won two World Series titles with them (1999 & 2000), but I never thought he was the reason they won those years. My main reason for not liking him stems from when he was with Boston and Toronto and always was throwing at guys like Derek Jeter. I really disliked him too after he went through all this hoopla in 2003 for his "retirement" and then has played the last 3 years with Houston. I was actually hoping this year he would sign with Boston, because I thought it would have been great drama to play him in a Boston uniform again. I dreamed of Jeter taking him deep to win a game.

But that is not happening, and for the Yankees' sake, that is a good thing. Now I have to root for this guy again, and you know what, he is probably going to be real good despite being 44 years old. He will give the team a shot in the arm, and this team does need some stability on the pitching staff.

The best sign today was when Clemens made the dramatic announcement in the 7th inning at Yankee Stadium today, his new teammates all were smiling and looked genuinely excited that The Rocket was going to be joining them. Even grumpy old Mike Mussina showed some emotion today. If Clemens is going to inspire this team to go on a long winning streak, then I guess I am all for it.

Speaking of the announcement today, leave it to the Yankees to make it a spectacle. I can't wait to hear all the Red Sox fans whine about it and say they didn't want or need him (Curt Schilling has already said this). The Yanks return to Fenway park on Friday June 1st for a three-game series. You can bet Clemens already has that series circled on his calender...or at least his personal assistant does; he can sure afford one with the $4.5 million dollars he is going to be making per month in New York.