Hank Steinbrenner’s a busy man. Earlier we reported on his flip-flopping on the Johan Santana sweepstakes (he’s in flip mode). Now, he’s going out there and saying he won’t resign Roger Clemens after an offseason that’s seen the beleaguered big leaguer be accused of steroid use and multiple lawsuits come down on him. Way to go out on a limb, there, Chief.

“I’m not signing Clemens,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ senior vice president, said in a telephone interview yesterday. He said the Yanks are not looking for rotation stopgaps - like they were last season - because they are so enamored of their young starting pitchers. And Steinbrenner feels the Yanks already have a strong mentor to the young arms in Andy Pettitte, whom Steinbrenner praised for his “veteran leadership.

“Andy is (signed) for one year and he’s only 35 and he knows how to pitch in the big games,” Steinbrenner said. “Roger does, too, but let’s face it, he’s going to be 46 (in August).

This from the same team who thought putting Clemens on a microphone to announce his return at Yankee Stadium would rally the team… last year. Wait, what is that we hear? Oh, it’s Red Sox fans laughing.

Roger Clemens won’t be Yankee in 2008 [NY Daily News]
Image [NY Daily News]