Wall Street Journal: HGH No Rocket Fuel

According to a Wall Street Journal article, scientific evidence goes against the idea that an HGHed up Roger Clemens would result in an increase in fastball velocity, strength and rage associated with its PED cousin, the anabolic steroid. It will, however, let your body recover like a radioactive Peter Petrelli, but it would seem that is not a point of interest.

What if Roger Clemens did take human growth hormone? It’s not clear his fastballs got any hotter because of it — at least not according to the scientific literature.

Stanford medical school researchers, their curiosity piqued by the brouhaha around athletes using HGH, recently tried to determine if the folks alleged to have used HGH were practicing evidence-based medicine. Do the data demonstrate any benefit for athletes? Little, if any, according to the results published in the current issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

The Stanford researchers found 27 past randomized, controlled studies, with a total of 303 participants, that tested the physiological effects of injections of growth hormone compared with a placebo in healthy people. The studies were also double-blinded, meaning the patients and researchers didn’t know whether they got the HGH or not.

Participants in the studies did seem to show an increase in their lean body mass, which is generally associated with more muscle. But in the two studies that looked at muscle strength, HGH users didn’t show an improvement. One possibility is that HGH is causing fluid retention, Hau Liu, the study’s lead author, tells the Health Blog. It’s hard to differentiate between muscle and fluids, he explains.

The Bonds Grand Jury Testimony released.

Extra! Extra! Read all about Barroid. That's 150 pages of novelization.


Meanwhile, Jon Heyman reports Andy Pettitte and the majority of the 89 players named in the Mitchell Report will not be suspended by Major League Baseball.

Pettitte Looks To Move Forward

Today's press conference allowed Andy Pettitte to address his use of HGH on three separate occasions in 2002 and 2004. Pettitte came across honest and genuine. The mistake of using HGH occurred when desired to return from two trips to the disabled list. It is a faux pah which will follow his career now and long after he retires.

Pettitte answered every question - with exception to a couple whose legal ramifications made them off-limits. By and large, Pettitte showed himself to be an honorable, remorseful individual who knows he was "stupid" to implement HGH into his rehabilitation process. A few photos from the day [courtesy of Yahoo!] are included below.

Some will remember Pettitte as a cheater, but Roger Clemens more appropriately fits that label. After all, Pettitte pursued a quick return from the DL to help his team while Clemens apparently pursued a fountain of youth and steroid help. Pettitte looked for an edge in recovery, but he did not abuse drugs, pump himself full of steroids or sell out his wife in the process.

Those Yankee haters baseball fans who allege Pettitte lied and used HGH more than his admitted three days suffer from a clear case of having your cake and eating it too. The 2004 incident was something only he and his father knew about and Pettitte could have chosen never to confess it as no one would have ever been the wiser.

Instead, Pettitte was compelled to tell the whole truth. Using Pettitte's testimony to incriminate Clemens is very rational. But, turning around and questioning Pettitte's deposition regarding his own HGH use reveals a biased observer with an agenda. Either Pettitte lied and Clemens has been wrongly implicated, or he is telling the truth and has only used HGH over a three day period. Can't have it both ways.

Yankee fans will embrace Pettitte when he returns to the Bronx. Whether or not the average baseball fan will be so kind - when recollecting his career - will not be realized until years later. Some athletes can never recover their career from PED use, and should Pettitte have a terrible year in 2008, his detractors will point him as a cheat. A slippery slope has been accumulating in Major League Baseball over the past decade and The Mitchell Report doused it with ice water.

"It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of the truth." - John Locke

1) The new manager, Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman bookend Pettitte:



2) The rest of the "Dynasty Yankees" lend support:



3) Jeter, Posada and Pettitte hug it out:



4) The end result? Humility personified . . .

Pettitte circus press conference to commence at 3:00 p.m. That's right nonsports fans, Andy Pettitte will be on the griddle this afternoon, though it's been reported he wanted to meet with the media on this topic months ago. The big news outlets - ESPN, USA Today, FOX Sports and Yahoo! - are descending on Tampa with pens, cameras and journalistic aspirations, says Pete Abraham. Pettitte's lawyer will be on hand to help him sidestep questions pertaining to Roger Clemens' upcoming defamation lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee. Trapeze teams, fire jugglers and domesticated elephants may or may not appear at the tent to be constructed on Legends Field.

Posada Believes Clemens

The LoHud Blog reports Jorge Posada believes Roger Clemens who recently testified in front of Congress that he was innocent of accusations that he used steroids, HGH or any other performance enhancing drug.

“I’m supportive,” Posasa said. “He says he never took it and I’m behind him 100 percent. Rocket is one of my favorite teammates ever. It doesn’t take anything away from what he did. For me, he’s the best pitcher I ever caught and it doesn’t change that.”

Maybe more importantly, the report mentioned Posada's belief that things will be "a little different" under Joe Girardi's watch as opposed to what went on during Joe Torre's tenure. Posada stated Girardi is "a little more critical" than Torre and will probably "be a little tougher on us." That's the plan.

Posada also told reporters “the Mets were really, really involved” this Winter and that the Yankees career catcher had to seriously mull their offer(s).

Knobby The Dramedy

After skimming through the Chuck Knoblauch deposition, I came across two enlightening passages which you guys might find interesting. The entire transcript is over 50 pages in length and throughout it Knoblauch seems genuine, remorseful and honest.

Interestingly enough, Knoblauch said he decided to use HGH in hopes of solving his infield throwing problems. According to him, the HGH use had nothing to do with getting jacked or hitting homeruns. He hoped to feel better mentally and HGH was described to Knoblauch as a way to stop the aging process and was "not a steroid." He believed it's effects could help him defeat his psychological demons and boost his confidence.

The first excerpt's context references Knoblauch's throwing mental breakdown in which he became incapable of consistently throwing the ball to first base and instead often times launched it into the 10th row of Yankee Stadium:

Q: I'm sorry, I just don't remember when the throwing problem started. I remember, I just can't -- A Well, Yankee fans will say it started when I first got there, but that's not really correct.

Knoblauch, a comedian? Who could have seen that coming - especially in the face of federal investigators. He's probably right though.

Then came the dramatic side. Knoblauch interrupted investigators because he felt compelled to explain why he felt it was important to come forward and offer his knowledge on the PED problem in baseball. Admittedly, I have never been that big of a Knoblauch fan - I loved hated his fake throw in the Metrodome which deked Lonnie Smith - but it's hard not to feel compelled when he talks about his child:

And let me add this, and hopefully you won't get mad at me for adding what I want to add, but it is a little bit more about my story. And I appreciate what you guys are doing. I really do.

You know, my son was here, my son was here today. And I am trying not to get emotional about this, but I mean, I am trying to teach him a lesson that you need to do things in life that you are going to be willing to talk about openly and to tell the truth.

I am here today on my own to cooperate with you guys, to tell the truth; and that is why I brought him. We were on vacation. But that is why I brought my family, to let him know. And he will be able to look back on this and read about this. That is the first thing I want to say.

The second thing, when I played, when I started in '91 -- I am a little emotional about that, I am sorry, I am sorry. My life has obviously changed since I played baseball. I am a father now, so a lot of things mean different things to me now.

Throughout the report, Knoblauch depicted himself as a loner who never heard anything about Roger Clemens or Andy Pettitte using PEDs. Before the 2002 season began, his father died and afterward Knoblauch said he "should have retired" because he basically gave up on baseball. Repeatedly, Knoblauch said the HGH "didn't work" over the course of his usage - less than two seasons all told.