Houston, we have a problem

Astro fans are not happy campers right now.

The team has started out slow — again. It is limping along at 15-17 in a division where anything above .500 makes you a contender.

This weekend, of course, Astro fans learned that Roger Clemens would not be riding to the rescue this year.

The Rocket signed with the Yankees instead. As a Cardinals fan, I couldn’t care less. In fact, I’m glad Clemens is pitching in a different division in a different league.

What does irritate me, however, are a couple of myths that Roger has been perpetuating, either openly or indirectly:

Myth No. 1: My family is more important than baseball right now.

If that were the case, Clemens would have stayed in Houston, whether he was pitching for the Astros or not. After all, that is — or was — where his family was living.

Myth No. 2: It’s not about the money.

Folks, when a professional athlete says this, it is PRECISELY about the money. Roger is about to don Yankee pinstripes because George Steinbrenner would cough up $28 mil (pro-rated) and no one else would match him.

Roger’s strongest family tie was to Houston. His strongest emotional link was to Boston. Guess where he signed? The place with the strongest financial incentive.

The Astros apparently didn’t even score any points with Roger when they gave his son Koby a $380,000 signing bonus last year.

That’s a lot of money for an eighth-round 18-year-old. If the lad’s name had been Koby Jones, I’m guessing he would have gotten less than half that.

Whatever. All baseball fans who don’t live in Gotham have another reason to root against the Evil Empire. It’s just not fair that The Boss can load up his team with one overpaid superstar after another until he buys another championship.

In that league, you have to root for the Red Sox.

In the National, the Brewers are already being called this year’s Tigers.

We shall see. But if there’s another Subway Series, please wake me when it’s Christmas.