I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Roger Clemens last night. I couldn't help but think that he just might be telling the truth. He did seem a bit shaky. He looked like a man who'd not had enough sleep as of late. Otherwise, he seemed to say the right things. He talked about Lidocaine and B-12. He asked why, if the 'roids worked so well, would ha have only done them in the sporadic time frames that his accuser spoke of? He asked why, if he supposedly provided the juice and the needles, was there no one willing to say they supplied them to him, or that he'd purchased them, or any proof such purchases? All excellent points.

So, just as I'm about cross over and begin feeling sorry for him, something crossed my mind. That something was the 2000 Worlds Series. You all should remember that one, if for no other reason because that was the series where, in the first inning of game 2, Clemens picked up the large, pointed barrel of Mike Piazza's broken bat and threw it at the Mets' slugger as e jogged toward first. The ball had gone fowl, which had caused Piazza to slow up and avoid actually getting hit with the projectile.

All of this is old news, and given the animosity between Piazza and Clemens that year (Clemens had tried to turn Piazza into Rain Man in June with a fast ball to the skull) the idea of Clemens over reacting was not too surprising. What was a surprize, and what I'm thinking of today, was Clemens reaction when Piazza headed toward him after the bat throw. First, I think Piazza would have kicked Clemens ass. They are of comparable size, but Roger seemed a but puss-i-fied in that moment, actively dodging behind the home plate ump who came to head off Piazza. Either way, in replays (that you can only find on MLB.com, you can clearly see Roger mouth the words "I thought it was the ball" to Piazza.

Pardon me while I laugh uncontrollably. That part always gets me.

So, what we are to take from this then is that due to a reflex born of decades on the mound, Clemens pick up the two-foot, jagged section of lumber and thought he had the baseball.

Right. Sure.

Even if we suspend disbelief (And what a suspension that load of BS requires!) we are then supposed to think that he would, if he had the ball, throw it not to the first baseman for the out, but side-arm it at the runner as he went up the line?

So, what does all this mean to the current bit of Clemens news? Well, let's sum it all up:

Roger Clemens hates Mike Piazza (not really relevant)
Roger Clemens may have serious eyesight issues (bat looked like ball)
Roger Clemens can lie, but only when given time to think of something not moronic (very relevant)
Roger Clemens is a goof (pretty relevant)

Seriously, although he did not go through a comic book type transformation the way "heroes" like Bonds and McGuire did, Clemens did grow a bit after his career was about a third over (circa Blue Jays). Now, he says, as recently as last night's interview, that he has always had the same, hardcore workout regimen, so that can't be it, right?

Wht then? The B-12, of course!

Labels: baseball, Clemens, steroids

This entry was posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 at 1/07/2008 04:11:00 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.