Astros owner: Houston would consider signing Roger Clemens

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane said the franchise would consider signing Roger Clemens if he pitches well for the Sugar Land Skeeters, reports FOX 26 in Houston.

The 50-year-old Clemens will pitch Saturday for the Skeeters, an independent team based in Texas. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner's agent said they were unsure whether it would be a one-time start, or if Clemens would keep pitching after the start.

The Astros' amateur scouting director watched Clemens work out. Since Clemens reportedly hit the high 80s with his fastball, some have speculated that Houston could bring Clemens in for September to try to boost attendance.

"If it goes alright and he comes to us, we'll talk to baseball about it at length," Crane told FOX 26. "The only thing we don't want to do is make it a publicity stunt. "I think the fans might like it. It might be fun and certainly get a few people in the ballpark. I don't see anything negative about that, but the Astros wouldn't want to do it for the money, the extra gate or anything like that."

"If we did it, I want to try and take it and turn it into a positive, which would be Roger's doing it for the good of baseball. The extra proceeds on the game might go to the (Astros') community charity deal to build (baseball) fields, do something positive out of it.