Sparing No Expense

By ROSS NEWHAN

Aug. 12, 2000 12 AM PT

It came as no surprise that the New York Yankees proved again Friday that they will pay any price to maintain a championship-caliber team.

They did it by reaching agreement with 38-year-old Roger Clemens on what was announced as a three-year contract extension but in reality guarantees the five-time Cy Young Award winner the entire $30.9 million even if he doesn’t pitch the third year.

“The chance to finish my career with a great team, shoot for another championship and possibly win my 300th game as a Yankee is truly exciting,” said Clemens, who will seek his sixth consecutive victory when he faces the Angels at Edison Field Sunday.

“I still love to compete and still have the drive, but I never thought I’d have the opportunity to pitch until I was 40. As my mother said to me today, I can’t believe you’re going to play the game you love until you’re 40.”

Clemens, who has 256 wins, may pitch beyond that. Why not? The Yankees will spare no expense in surrounding him with quality players.

Consider only that the revolving door of recent weeks has sent the payroll spiraling to a record $112 million via the arrival of David Justice, Denny Neagle, Dwight Gooden, Glenallen Hill, Jose Vizcaino, Luis Polonia, Luis Sojo and, of course, the unintended acquisition of Jose Canseco.

Manager Joe Torre may have been stunned by the latter development, prompting a Bronx Zoo bit of byplay with owner George Steinbrenner. But Torre was obviously pleased that the Yankees came to Anaheim Friday off a three-game sweep of the Oakland A’s and boasting a 24-13 record since the June 29 arrival of Justice that followed aborted negotiations for Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa.

“This is my fifth year here and I’ve never seen us acquire this many players in so short of time and I’ve never seen a situation where every single one has come in and contributed in a major way,” relief pitcher Jeff Nelson said.

“These guys are all superstars in their own way, but they don’t come with the baggage and attention that Sosa and Gonzalez would have and that definitely helps in a market where there’s enough attention already. In New York, no single day is ever the same, but the new guys have given everyone an extra lift. It’s more exciting than usual coming to the park every day.”

In regard to the sweeping additions, General Manager Brian Cashman said he wasn’t making moves just to make moves.

“Our offense needed strengthening, and the changes have made us better and stronger,” he said. “Since the All-Star break, we’ve scored more runs than any team in baseball.”

Some clubs might not have adjusted to the mid-season addition of eight new players. Some clubs might have even resented it, but Torre reflected and said the Yankees “are pretty used to change. It’s a case of our core people being pretty flexible to new faces. This club is pretty remarkable and unusual in how it extends arms to anyone who puts on the uniform, and that’s important to a new guy who doesn’t feel he has to first prove himself.”

The additions have coincided with the return to health of the Yankee rotation, or as Torre said: “Depth-wise, our rotation is as good as anyone’s. The combination of the two things [the improved rotation and the contributions of several new role players] have made us more complete now. The clubs that used to save their left-handed pitching to use against us have a tougher time doing that now with [right-handed hitters] Canseco and Hill.”

Of course, the problem remains for Torre on how to deploy the comparatively similar Canseco, Hill, Justice (who has nine homers and 29 runs batted in since his arrival) and Polonia, all basically left fielders and designated hitters. That is why Torre expressed surprise over the Canseco acquisition, prompting Steinbrenner to respond that his front-office people may have “got caught up in something they didn’t think about” but that he was supportive of what Cashman did and said, “I’m very surprised by anyone who would be surprised by his aggressiveness.”

This was a gentle shot at Torre, who some in the industry believe may react to the front-office snub in the Canseco case--along with his love of family and his concern with health--by choosing to walk away from the $3 million he is owed in the final year of his contract, particularly if the Yankees capture their third straight World Series and fourth in the last five years.

Toward that end, they may not have needed Canseco, who has 441 home runs, including his first with the Yankees Thursday. Cashman, however, was determined not to let a rival get him, possibly remembering how he was blistered by The Boss when Harold Baines was permitted to go from Baltimore to Cleveland on waivers last year.

Thus, the Yankees put in claims on 48 players last week, primarily to block other teams from acquiring them.

Only Tampa Bay failed to withdraw its waivers on Canseco, sending him to the Yankees.

“I truly dislike the waiver period more than any other time of the year,” Cashman said. “You have to be aggressive to prevent an opponent from getting any better, but you have to be prepared to take the player if his club doesn’t withdraw the waivers.

“In assessing the situation, we were concerned that with [Raul] Mondesi down, Toronto might attempt to trade for Jose if he cleared waivers. We wanted to prevent that from happening.

“I mean, it was an acquisition that wasn’t planned, but it makes us stronger.”

It also will cost the Yankees another $1 million in salary, but who’s counting? After all, with new contracts still to be negotiated with Neagle, Paul O’Neill and Derek Jeter among others, the Yankees now owe Clemens another $30.9 million based on a $5-million signing bonus, salaries of $7.8 million in each of the next two years and a third-year option of $10.3 million that he receives even if he rejects the option.

In other words, it’s basically a two-year guarantee for $30.9 million except that the Yankees didn’t want to call it that because the average annual value would then be $15.45 million, surpassing Kevin Brown’s record of $15 million.

By any accounting, Torre said, “Roger has to be excited to know he’s going to remain part of it here, and I think that’s great. The way he’s pitching now, he looked like Cy Young the other day. Hopefully, he stays healthy. The way he takes care of himself, I don’t think that will be a problem.”

The way the new look Yankees have taken control again in the American League East, that no longer appears to be a problem either.

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THE RICH GET RICHER

Major Additions

Impact of three recent acquisitions is reflected in the Yankees’ record (through Friday):

DAVE JUSTICE (June 29)

Before: 38-35, .521

Since: 24-14, .632

Justice’s numbers with Yankees: .347, 9 HR, 29 RBIs

DENNY NEAGLE (July 12)

Before: 45-38, .542

Since: 17-11, .607