Extra innings

It's 10 minutes to four in the p.m. and Hendo and I are utterly immersed in a discussion about Roger Clemens and what he would be capable of doing should he pitch in the Manitoba Senior Baseball League.

For those unfamiliar, the MSBL is Manitoba's only senior AAA baseball loop and its six teams are comprised of mostly 9-to-5'ers, college guys who come up to get a summer workout and keep playing ball, and a few Winnipeg Goldeyes castoffs thrown in. The champion of this league competes in the senior AAA national championships the following year.

The MSBL's top pitcher is Matt Mutcheson whose fastball is generally topping out around 88 mph.

So here's the questions posed, and these were with all seriousness:

• If Roger Clemens was pitching in the MSBL, do you think he could go through the entire season (each team plays 20 games) with a 0.00 ERA.
Debate: The key here is earned runs. With Roger regularly throwing in mid- to high-90s, it's conceivable that MSBL hitters wouldn't be able to get much wood on the Rocket's pitches. Add to that the fact he throws an 89-mph splitter, said to be the best in the MLB, and you gotta think that he would be virtually unhittable. The only hope to get runs off Roger would be that he loses his temper and beans a few guys and then someone is able to get a bloop single.
• If Roger Clemens was playing in the MSBL, what would he hit?
Debate:Well, he's a .191 career hitter in 100-plus at-bats and that's given the fact he played practically his entire career in the DH'ing American League. For a pitcher, that's a pretty good average. Top hitters in the MSBL are in the mid-.400 range, and you'd be foolish to think Clemens wouldn't be at least in that echelon.
• If Roger Clemens was pitching in the MSBL, how many no hitters would he toss?
Debate:The no-no never comes easy, no matter who you're dealing with. Still, you'd have to think that Clemens would be at least flirting with one each time out. If he starts, say, 10 games in the regular season, it would be safe to say he could muster at least two.
• If Roger Clemens was playing in the MSBL, would the league's most inept team — the Oak River Dodgers (3-16-1) — be an automatic lock for the championship?
Debate: The Dodgers gave up a league-high 140 runs this season and were routinely blown out, including a 24-2 gem in the final game of the season in which they gave up five jacks in the hitter-friendly AT&T Rogers Wireless Great Canadian Ball Park of Oak River. Still, the MSBL schedule is spaced out enough that a team will have one, two or three days rest between games. A guy like Clemens could pitch off three-days rest and could possibly make upwards of 15 appearances in one regular season, should he and the Dodgers desire. Still, at some point a team has to cash in runs and there would be times that other pitchers would have to throw. With Roger out, the Dodgers lose. With him in, they certainly could get a first-round bye in the playoffs (first or second place) and then just hope they can throw him as much as possible in the best-of-five semifinal and best-of-seven championship. All they need him to do is appear three times and four times in each.

Thank you for joining in on the discussion.