fullcountpitch.com

The Case of The Rocket
By Gary Armida

The most perplexing byproduct of the Mitchell Report has to be the case of Roger Clemens. Clemens, along with Barry Bonds, is by far the biggest name to rise out of the Steroids/HGH era. While Bonds admitted to “unknowingly using steroids”, Clemens has gone the root no player has gone when implicated. Roger Clemens has attacked these allegations the way he has attacked hitters. He’s going high and inside with that trademark glare.

A Brief History

When the Mitchell Report was first released, Clemens was silent, except for a statement released by his lawyer. The statement was the typical denial of the report that baseball fans have been treated to for the past few years. Baseball fans have seen Rafael Palmiero adamantly wag his finger at Congress in denial, only to fail a drug test a few short months later. It looked as if fans were going to get the same thing from Clemens when he failed to speak for a few days. Talk radio, newspapers, Sportcenter, even the local news were all reporting this report as an absolute fact.

Then, things started to look really bleak for the Rocket and his fans. First, Clemens was caught by news cameras outside of his son’s school. When Clemens was approached he gave his typical Clemens grin and stated that he would speak when “it was appropriate”. This caused an uproar as the media and fans were already reading a Barry Bond’s type of response. It seemed the whole world sighed, “Oh, here’s another one”. The damning piece of evidence was the admission of guilt from close friend and teammate, Andy Pettitte. Pettitte, Clemens’ well known workout partner and protégé, admitted to using HGH on two occasions to help heal from an elbow injury. Whether or not people believed Pettitte’s confession in terms of his frequency of use, it did seem to put the proverbial nail in the coffin of Clemens’ guilt. The Mitchell Report was given credibility. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the greatest pitcher of the modern era was a cheat like the greatest hitter of the modern era.

Firing Back

In true Clemens style, an aggressive counterstrike was launched. Clemens first made a statement saying that he never used the performance enhancing drugs and made reference to having never done anything illegal or something that was banned from baseball. Immediately, reporters pounced on the wording, especially the “banned from baseball” part as steroids and HGH were not always banned from the sport. However, Clemens took it a step further. In a video that can be seen around the internet, Clemens categorically denies having ever used any drugs. The Rocket makes it clear that he did not use anything at all. Perhaps the statement made people think of Rafael Palmiero, but it was the first strong denial from a player of Clemens’ stature. Bonds did not react this way; Sheffield did not react this way; McGwire, Sosa, Tejada, and anyone else implicated did not react this way. To further make his case, Clemens’ lawyer recently declared that he is launching his own investigation into the allegations made by the Mitchell report. Clemens will also appear on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace as well as hold a press conference to answer all questions.

What this Means

There has been much talk about why Clemens is not getting the “Barry Bonds” treatment. There are a couple of reasons. One is the fact that Clemens is definitely more well-liked. He seems to be a true historian of the game as well as someone who loves to compete. Bonds, on the other hand, gives the vibe, fairly or unfairly, that he does not respect the game or its fans. The other important fact is that Clemens has given a definitive answer to the allegations. Bonds took the “safe” root by saying he unknowingly took steroids. In the court of public opinion, Clemens wins points for the strong defense.

It is unclear where all of this is leading. Clemens is the one player who has gone on a major offensive in the wake of the Mitchell Report. He seems intent on clearing his name and preserving his legacy. As stated previously on FCP, there were a few players listed in the report even though there was a clear lack of evidence. Players like Brian Roberts and Andy Pettitte were the two along with Clemens who were named without anything other than the word of Brian McNamee or in the case of Roberts, the word of a teammate. The fact that Pettitte and Roberts admitted that they used performance enhancers really seemed to validate the Mitchell Report’s findings. Clemens is alone in fighting for his innocence. Do people believe him? Or, more importantly, do people want to believe him?

There is a large portion of baseball fans who want to believe Clemens. It is hard to fathom that someone would lie about this so strongly if he was indeed guilty. What does Roger Clemens have to gain by not telling the truth at this point? If he is caught in a lie, he will never be able to regain what little stature he currently holds. It will make him look worse; he would never be voted to the Hall of Fame if he is caught. He would still have the chance of the Hall of Fame if he admitted to it and showed deep remorse. Perhaps he is trying to cover it all up because of a lack of physical evidence like the paper trail that existed with Bonds or some of the other players listed in the Report. Perhaps Clemens is innocent, the victim of a man who is bitter about a falling out or some other issue.

Maybe the Rocket is telling the truth. Perhaps he is the one player who Senator Mitchell got wrong. Maybe Jose Canseco, the bastion of truth during this whole saga, was too presumptuous to name Clemens. Maybe there is a great pitcher who did things naturally and had a second wind to a seemingly fading career. It could have happened. It is entirely possible that we are too jaded to think that a baseball player could be telling the truth when we have been lied to so many times by others.

Roger Clemens is one step short from doing what all fans and writers say players should do when they declare innocence. All Clemens has to do is sue someone for slander. It seems as if he is on that path. His lawyer is starting the process by conducting the independent investigation; Clemens is facing the questions head on. He is doing what a presumably innocent man would do. There is a slim glimmer of hope that The Rocket is a natural athlete who achieved his excellence through good ‘ole fashion hard work.

If Clemens can fight this aggressively and not face any evidence to the contrary, he can clear his name. The only thing that could crush him is if some document appears with physical proof of any wrongdoing. Other than that, Clemens is already gaining support. His aggressive response has put that twinge of doubt into the consciousness of baseball fans. Talk radio hosts, especially in New York, are already wavering on their once harsh stances.

Maybe Derek Jeter had it right when he said that we should all wait before we judge Clemens. Although that is not practical for the media, it should be practical for baseball fans. If Clemens did use these drugs, the proof will be there; it always is in some form. If Clemens could somehow prove his innocence, the world will owe him a big apology. For anyone to definitively say that he is guilty is, at this point, grossly irresponsible. For now, there is not proof. For now, we must all wait.  

 Here’s hoping that he receives that apology.