Roger Clemens is going to be part of Mariano Rivera’s farewell in Houston

The Yankees finish in Houston. And, as has happened in every other city Mariano Rivera has bid farewell, he will get a sendoff there too. And an old friend will be part of that:

Rivera’s final goodbye ceremony will come in Houston, where the Yankees will play their last game of the regular season against the Astros. And that’s where things probably get a little awkward, at least for some people. For scheduled to take part in the pregame ceremony is none other than Roger Clemens, now a special front-office assistant for the Astros who was a teammate of Rivera’s in New York for five-plus seasons.

Not sure why that’s awkward given that Alex Rodriguez has been playing third base to Rivera’s right for several years and given that Andy Pettitte had his own Yankee Stadium farewell in front of Rivera just last weekend.

But as we have learned over the past few years, not all PED users are the created equally.

The New York Yankees have activated Giancarlo Stanton. He’ll be in the lineup in tonight’s game against the Rays.

Stanton has been on the injured list since April 1 due to a left biceps strain and a left shoulder strain sustained in what Aaron Boone called a “funky swing” at the time. He began a rehab assignment in late May, had it halted due to injury, and resumed it recently. He’s been swinging the bat well during his most recent stint, socking four homers in ten games.

That pop will be welcome. The Yankees have weathered Stanton’s injury — and injuries to Aaron Judge and scads of other players — but a team can’t defy gravity forever. At some point you need your established threats back. With Stanton coming back tonight, Judge coming back later this week and with the addition of Edwin Encarnación in that trade with Seattle, the Bombers should continue to hit bombs throughout the summer.

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