Most of you heard Al Leiter's bottom line comments on YES during RJ's last start, (I'm paraphrasing) that he can be an effective, but not dominating, pitcher until he wins 300 and hangs up the cleats.

When RJ has been on this year (i.e., last start v. Baltimore) he reminds me of Andy Pettite circa 2000: Murderous on LHB and effective vs. RHB. Ca$hmoney would no doubt gladly accept RJ to settle down and pitch like this from now through October.

And yet: We all recall that start in Fenway late last season, when he did dominate. Remember that he threw a perfect game less than 2 years ago. Did he lose the ability to dominate that quickly, or has time forced him to pick his spots?

I can't escape the feeling that tonight's game will tell us if Clemens is a "nice to have and let's prevent BOS from getting him," or an "absolute must-have."