While the biggest news of this interleague week was the turnover in managers, there was some good news, especially for the Cubs who contribute a duo of dazzling digits to this week's edition.
Brian McNamee's lawyers told a federal judge on Wednesday that Roger Clemens' lead lawyer should be removed from the case because he might be forced to attack the credibility of Andy Pettitte, a former client of the same attorney.
Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and the vast majority of the 89 players mentioned in the Mitchell Report will not be suspended by Major League Baseball for their alleged steroid and HGH transgressions, and it remains possible that none of the 89 players will be banned, SI.com has learned.
The secret to a perfect apology, according to perfectapology.com, is "asking to be forgiven in the right way and at the right time." Those simple and true words lead me to two cast-iron conclusions:
TAMPA, Fla. -- I keep hearing this idea from fans about how Andy Pettitte wronged Roger Clemens by telling the truth to Congress about their now infamous HGH conversation of 1999. They think Pettitte should have conveniently "forgotten'' that conversation, as if lying under oath is the right route.
Andy Pettitte deserves credit and the respect to leave alone, for now, his involvement with human growth hormone. His admission, apology, and answers to questions were detailed and apparently sincere, which cannot be said of feeble responses from the likes of Eric Gagne, Paul Lo Duca, Mike Stanton, David Justice, Fernando Vina, Lenny Dykstra, etc.
One afternoon in April 2003 a group of advertising executives gathered for a luncheon at the 21 Club in New York City to hear Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens speak. There was slight alarm that Clemens might not attend because, it turned out, he was scheduled to pitch that night against the Seattle Mariners, and on the days they take the mound, starters are known to be as edgy and unsociable as thoroughbreds on race day.
The most important man that we heard from Wednesday on Capitol Hill, amid all the bluster, the embarrassing fawning over Roger Clemens and the multitude of mind-squishingly moronic questions, happened to be nowhere near Capitol Hill. Yet Andy Pettitte's presence at baseball's latest hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was unmistakable, his words unshakeable.
Though stumbling on a couple of questions and leaving several others unanswered, Roger Clemens nonetheless emerged favorably from Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Keep in mind, Clemens' primary goal was not to preserve or rehabilitate his baseball reputation or even to convince the legions of fans who disbelieve him -- as others have written, he may have failed miserably on those ends -- but rather to avoid perjury charges. Unless verifiable physical evidences emerges to the contrary, it seems unlikely the available evidence would lead to a conclusive finding that he committed perjury. Here's why, along with other observations:
Roger Clemens said Wednesday he received only vitamin shots from Brian McNamee, but the ex-trainer insisted before a House panel that every injection contained steroids or other performance enhancers.
While the biggest news of this interleague week was the turnover in managers, there was some good news, especially for the Cubs who contribute a duo of dazzling digits to this week's edition.
Brian McNamee's lawyers told a federal judge on Wednesday that Roger Clemens' lead lawyer should be removed from the case because he might be forced to attack the credibility of Andy Pettitte, a former client of the same attorney.
Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and the vast majority of the 89 players mentioned in the Mitchell Report will not be suspended by Major League Baseball for their alleged steroid and HGH transgressions, and it remains possible that none of the 89 players will be banned, SI.com has learned.
The secret to a perfect apology, according to perfectapology.com, is "asking to be forgiven in the right way and at the right time." Those simple and true words lead me to two cast-iron conclusions:
TAMPA, Fla. -- I keep hearing this idea from fans about how Andy Pettitte wronged Roger Clemens by telling the truth to Congress about their now infamous HGH conversation of 1999. They think Pettitte should have conveniently "forgotten'' that conversation, as if lying under oath is the right route.
Andy Pettitte deserves credit and the respect to leave alone, for now, his involvement with human growth hormone. His admission, apology, and answers to questions were detailed and apparently sincere, which cannot be said of feeble responses from the likes of Eric Gagne, Paul Lo Duca, Mike Stanton, David Justice, Fernando Vina, Lenny Dykstra, etc.
One afternoon in April 2003 a group of advertising executives gathered for a luncheon at the 21 Club in New York City to hear Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens speak. There was slight alarm that Clemens might not attend because, it turned out, he was scheduled to pitch that night against the Seattle Mariners, and on the days they take the mound, starters are known to be as edgy and unsociable as thoroughbreds on race day.
The most important man that we heard from Wednesday on Capitol Hill, amid all the bluster, the embarrassing fawning over Roger Clemens and the multitude of mind-squishingly moronic questions, happened to be nowhere near Capitol Hill. Yet Andy Pettitte's presence at baseball's latest hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was unmistakable, his words unshakeable.
Though stumbling on a couple of questions and leaving several others unanswered, Roger Clemens nonetheless emerged favorably from Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Keep in mind, Clemens' primary goal was not to preserve or rehabilitate his baseball reputation or even to convince the legions of fans who disbelieve him -- as others have written, he may have failed miserably on those ends -- but rather to avoid perjury charges. Unless verifiable physical evidences emerges to the contrary, it seems unlikely the available evidence would lead to a conclusive finding that he committed perjury. Here's why, along with other observations:
Roger Clemens said Wednesday he received only vitamin shots from Brian McNamee, but the ex-trainer insisted before a House panel that every injection contained steroids or other performance enhancers.
By the end of an often absurd hearing, the only thing clear was that either the pitcher or his steroids accuser was lying
It was a day of misremembering, misunderstanding, and mystifying inconsistencies, and, in the end, committee members' conclusions about whether or not Roger Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone seemed to hang on how credible Andy Pettitte is, or how credible Brian McNamee isn't.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci joined in SI.com's live blog of Wednesday's Congressional hearings featuring Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee. Below are excerpts from Verducci's commentary as the hearings unfolded.
Editor's Note: Richard Deitsch is blogging live during today's congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., which includes testimony from Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee and Charles Scheeler, a partner with George Mitchell's law firm, DLA Piper. SI's David Epstein is at the hearing and will offer periodic first-hand accounts. Senior writers Tom Verducci and Jon Heyman will also weigh in. And you should feel free to add your observations.
For those expecting another predictable round of wild accusations between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee during Wednesday's hearing on Capitol Hill, with no clear-cut resolution as to who is telling the truth and who isn't, take note: At least one member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said he already has a pretty good idea of who's lying.
1) Why would Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Kirk Radomski ask out of the hearing?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Roger Clemens and his accuser, Brian McNamee, will be the main witnesses at a House hearing on the Mitchell Report after New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte and two others were dropped Monday night.
Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were asked Friday to testify before a congressional committee on Jan. 16, along with their former trainer, Brian McNamee
This is great news, really. It turns out baseball doesn't really have a steroid problem at all. Never did.
Roger Clemens' denials are getting louder and somehow less convincing as he attempts to extricate himself from the steroid allegations made against him in the bombshell, worth-every-penny Mitchell Report that contains 8 1/2 pages of compelling, detailed evidence against the would-be Hall of Famer.
Releasing a report that links some of baseball's best to the use of performance-enhancing substances, former Sen. George Mitchell said Thursday it is critical that Major League Baseball restore the integrity of the game.
Andy Pettitte has told the Yankees he will return to pitch in 2008, SI.com has confirmed.
Nobody wants to go down 0-2 in a best-of-five series. Nobody wants to be in the situation the Cubs and Phillies find themselves in today.
All night long, he had remained as granite-faced as his famously stoic Yankees counterpart, as cool as the breeze blowing in from Lake Erie. But when the big man bounced off the mound after escaping, Copperfield-like, a bases-loaded quandary in the fifth inning of Game 1 of the Division Series, he did so with an emphatic fist pump and a yell to the heavens.
Chien-Ming Wang or Andy Pettitte will start the New York Yankees playoff opener next week.
Roger Clemens is being given an extra day to rest his left hamstring and was pushed back until Tuesday night in the New York Yankees' rotation.
Andy Pettitte got a milestone ball from Mariano Rivera and the lineup card from manager Joe Torre.
Alex Rodriguez believes his third 50-homer season is a lot more meaningful than the first two. This time around, he's playing for a team in a pennant race.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Pettitte proved reliable again for the New York Yankees, right after they lost faith in Mike Mussina.
For years now, the Astros have been one loose, back-slapping, come-in-and-take-a-seat bunch of guys. From owner Drayton McLane -- a man who spends a few innings at every home game wandering around Minute Maid Park talking with fans -- right down the front-office line and all the way into the clubhouse, the Astros are a genuinely fun group. Nice guys. Easy going. Friendly.
I. The NL ROY runner-up to-be: At this point, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has pretty much locked up National League Rookie of the Year. Through his first 79 games, "The Hebrew Hammer" has compiled impressive stats: .332 batting average, 24 homers, 17 doubles, 62 RBIs, 59 runs and 10 steals. But enough about Braun.
The Yankees' YES Network rejiggered its broadcast lineup to exclude Joe Girardi from Baltimore this week. But if they're trying to keep Girardi from changing his mind and taking the Orioles managing job, that probably isn't necessary.
(Stats through Tuesday)
Well, it's early May, and we've already had our first casualty. No surprise, it's a Yankee. No surprise again, it's the strength and conditioning man who has overseen a disastrous run of injuries to front-line Yankees pitcher, many of those injuries involving the hamstring.
The Astros need to trade struggling, just-demoted Brad Lidge while he still has value. And apparently, he still does. Three executives contacted Tuesday said they'd gladly take Lidge off the Astros' hands -- at the right price, of course.
Also in this column: • Lukewarm trade market • Griffey's move to right • More news and notes
This year's Major League Baseball All-Star game is being played in Houston on July 13, and the hometown Astros have been garnering all sorts of attention--even though they're nine games out of firs...
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