Foolish Cat January 7th, 2008

Here’s a rule of thumb for anyone who’s reputation and honesty are in doubt with the general public: If you decide to go on “60 Minutes”, you had better anticipate the questions asked, and you better have answers.

During last night’s airing of Mike Wallace’s interview with Roger Clemens, Clemens failed miserably on the second part of the rule when asked about Brian McNamee’s motivation for lying to federal prosecutors that he, McNamee, injected Clemens on several occasions with steroids and Human Growth Hormones (HGH). What reason did McNamee have to lie? McNamee was a long-time friend and trainer of Clemens, and his claims that Andy Petitte took the juice were verified by Petitte himself. So please Roger, explain this.

First Clemens said, “I don’t know”, and then he sort of implied that prosecutors forced McNamee to give up Clemens to avoid jail. This is it? An “I don’t know” with a half-hearted implication about some far-fetched government conspiracy that isn’t, when you think about it, even rational.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Look, maybe there is some reason why Brian McNamee would obstruct federal agents and ruin the name of, arguably, the greatest pitcher of all time. But unless you know the reason, Roger, you better stay the hell of off “60 Minutes”. Have you ever seen the show? Mike Wallace does not give the benefit of the doubt. This isn’t court, it’s an interview; O.J. got off in court because prosecutors weren’t able to prove, technically, that he did it.

The public doesn’t care. They use their eyes, their ears and their common sense. We already have all the physical evidence we need - Clemens’ size and his “miraculous” achievements since he turned 35 (this sounds familiar) - and now we have someone with nothing apparent to gain by lying, saying that he helped juice Clemens. And all Clemens has to refute it is nothing. No blackmail scheme, no revenge for sleeping with McNamee’s wife, no nothing.

Well Roger, nothing’s not enough. We heard this song from Pete Rose for 15 years. We heard this tough stance from Rafael Palmeiro. And even though you are not these guys, this is the company you keep. You do not get a free pass because you’ve been in the league a long time and you’ve accomplished a lot. On the contrary, this works against you.

Maybe I and the majority of the general public are wrong. I hope so. But, unfortunately, your word is not enough.

Blunder on, Rog.

I wanted to hear

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