Clemens, Astros Agree to Deal

Roger Clemens changed course Monday, ending his much-ballyhooed retirement after only 78 days and agreeing to pitch with close friend Andy Pettitte on their hometown Houston Astros.

At 41, the six-time Cy Young Award winner received a one-year deal for $5 million.

“I took to heart what Wayne Gretzky told me and Michael [Jordan] and Emmitt Smith and even Johnny Bench,” Clemens said. “It’s great to come home.”

Once his wife and four sons approved, Clemens got the one final OK he needed to hear.

“My mother gave it her blessing,” he said.

For more than a year, Clemens insisted 2003 would be his final season. But that changed after the New York Yankees lost the World Series and Pettitte left the club.

Clemens is coming off a season in which he had a 17-9 record with a 3.91 earned-run average. He reached career milestones of 300 victories and 4,000 strikeouts in the same game in June.

“Roger Clemens was a great warrior for the Yankees -- a teacher and a leader,” Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. “He told the world he was retiring, and we had no choice but to believe him.”

Clemens will pitch for much less than last year’s $10.1-million salary. The Astros will defer $3.5 million of Clemens’ pay until 2006.

Clemens can earn an additional $1.4 million based on the Astros’ home attendance: $200,000 for each 100,000 people starting at 2.8 million and running through 3.4 million. The Astros drew about 2.45 million people last year.

In addition, Clemens has a 10-year personal services contract with the Astros, beginning when he finishes playing.

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The Chicago Cubs and most owners of rooftop bleachers that overlook Wrigley Field have reached an agreement that would require the owners to pay the team millions of dollars a year.

Under the 20-year agreement, owners of 11 buildings have to give the Cubs 17% of their gross revenue, Alderman Thomas Tunney told the Chicago Tribune.

With about 1,700 seats on the rooftops, it could cost owners more than $2 million a year.

Owners for two of the 13 buildings did not agree to the deal and plan to take the issue to trial. The Cubs are owned by the Tribune Co., which also owns the Los Angeles Times.

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John Vander Wal agreed to a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Vander Wal, 37, led the majors with three grand slams last season for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds were looking for a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter.

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The Chicago White Sox avoided salary arbitration with left-hander Scott Schoeneweis, who agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,725,000.

Schoeneweis was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 20 games after being traded to Chicago from the Angels on July 29.

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Doug Glanville, the Philadelphia center fielder from 1998 to 2002, agreed to a $550,000, one-year contract with the team as a backup outfielder.... First baseman Tony Clark agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract with the Yankees.... Kenny Rogers agreed to a $6-million, two-year contract with the Texas Rangers, who also bolstered their bullpen by signing setup man Jeff Nelson to a $1.5-million, one-year deal.