On December 11th, now Former Yankees Pitcher Andy Pettitte shocked the baseball community when he held a press conference announcing that he was not re-signing with the Yankees - but instead with the Houston Astros. In a column I wrote about Pettitte's defection, called Out Of Left Field, I said that Pettitte, "handled this very badly" and that he "pulled one of the sneakiest moves in baseball history" when he signed with the Astros.

I now must redact that statement, because the award for the "Sneakiest Move In Baseball History" now goes to another former Yankees Pitcher, Roger Clemens, who did the same thing that his buddy Pettitte did - signed with the Houston Astros. But what makes Clemens' move more sneaky was that while Pettitte said he was still "considering" a deal with the Yankees when he signed with the Astros - Clemens said he was retiring when he left the Yankees at the end of last year's baseball season.

"This is it for me," Clemens said on June 16, 2003. "I want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee." Well, 78 days later, there was Clemens wearing a Houston Astros jersey - pulling the same wool over everyone's eyes - and slapping the same faces of Yankee fans as Pettitte did.

Roger Clemens, during his five years with the Yankees, achieved more career milestones than most players do in ten lifetimes. On May 6, 2000, Clemens beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 to earn his 250th career victory. He threw his 3,509th strikeout on April 2, 2001 to become the American League's all-time leader. On September 19, 2001, Clemens won 20 games in a row for the fifth time, by beating the Chicago White Sox 6-1, becoming the first pitcher to start with a 20 and 1 record. And of course, he was instrumental in bringing the Yankees to the World Series in 1999 and 2000. And now, like Andy Pettitte - he is a Houston Astro.

While I still think that what Clemens did was sneaky, I have to say that the Astros did give him a sweet deal. According to his contract, Clemens will receive $1.5 million this season, and $3.5 million in deferred payments. He will also receive an additional $1.4 million in bonuses based on fan attendance at "Minute Maid Park" - $200,000 for each 100,000 fans that buy tickets - guaranteeing him anywhere from $2.8 million to $3.4 million. The deal also includes provisions to let Clemens miss road trips or portions of trips if he is not scheduled to pitch - and, if that is not enough - Clemens also has a 10-year personal services contract with the Astros, beginning when he finishes playing. So although it is true that Clemens did commit a sneaky deal by signing with the Astros - he certainly got a lucrative one.

So far, the 2004 baseball season has been the most exciting and the most surprising in a long time - and we haven't even played a single game yet. I just hope that the next round of surprises are positive and beneficial to the Yankees - rather than detrimental...and sneaky.