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.

Gripes: The Mitchell Report

Remember when you were a kid and you dropped a relative's favorite keepsake, shattering its priceless form amidst a quiet family get-together? Your parents stopped, threw you a razor sharp glare and told you in that after-school-special tone, "We're not mad. . . We're just disappointed."

I have similar feelings toward the steroid report.

It's not that I disagree with its allegations, it's just how it was presented.

Yesterday, the steroid tour traveled to Capitol Hill so George Mitchell and assembled United States Congressmen could pat each other on the back - joined by a suddenly exonerated Bud Selig. The group proceeded to spend 4+ hours telling us things we already knew. The only fresh material were the name tags of Senators hoping to have their name ring out thanks to major league baseball's inability to police itself.

My gripes begin with the trivial, though it is a simple matter of "truthfulness." A word Mitchell throws around a lot. When Sen. Mitchell appeared before the circus committee and was asked if the report would have changed had Brian McNamee's "testimony" not been included, the senator fed stock answers everyone in the room secretly laughed at.

Without McNamee, we all know there would not be Roger Clemens. And without Clemens included in the investigation, we all know there would be no Mitchell Report. All Mitchell would admit is that the report would have been "different." This is politician speak at its finest. Phrases like "I do not recall" and "I cannot say for sure" were invented for these very moments and these very men.

C'mon George. This isn't Rocket science [pun intended]. No Roger, no cache. No cache means Mitchell coming to Selig with empty pockets trying peddle Miguel Tejada and Brian Roberts. Save us the bull and just admit the report would have suffered greatly had Rocket's former trainer not implicated previously considered the greatest pitcher of his generation.

Of the report's shortcomings, what bothered me the most was the acceptance of this report in its absolutely incomplete form. We all understand steroids became widespread over the past twenty years, even employed by the game's greatest players.

If Mitchell were only able to nab two trainers in Los Angeles whose biggest clients were Luis Gonzalez and Ryan Klesko along with an army of lesser known replacement-level players, would the same type of dog-and-pony show go on? Would everyone, including the commissioner who turned a blind eye to supposed epidemic levels of PED use, be patting each other on the back?... in the nation's capital?... televised for a national audience? I think not.

One would think Mitchell would realize a report on the use of performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball should not begin and end in one city. The point is not that Mitchell should have spent 25 years compiling every PED user and distributor in baseball. But, if you can only reveal two sources based in one city, a little further research is probably necessary.

It's also not this Yankee blogger's contention that a "proper" report would require the inclusion of a steroids pusher or player based in Boston. But, hey, maybe a flight to LA could have helped develop a report forcing its readers to think of words like comprehensive, leaguewide, or objective. These are all adjectives which I have a hard time using to describe the report.

When a US senator happens to leave off any players from the team he works for in its front office, that's one thing. When the Rangers and Brewers - teams formerly owned by the President of the United States and Commissioner Bud Selig respectively - are not included as well, then it becomes a bit suspicious.

But, hey, they got Clemens and that's all Mitchell, Selig and the grandstanding group of politicians needed for their performance.

2004 World Series BoSox Player Used PEDs?

Everyone's favorite pessimist, Steve from WasWatching.com, came across a nice little nugget. Apparently, at the close of the radio show hosted by Kevin Kennedy and Ron Dibble, Kennedy said he witnessed a member of the 2004 Red Sox championship team inject himself with performance-enhancing-drugs.

On the drive home tonight, from work, I caught the very last minutes of The Show on X-Radio (MLB Home Plate) with Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy.

At that time, Kevin Kennedy was addressing a caller who had some thoughts on the Mitchell Report.

I was pretty surprised at what Kennedy had to say there. In wanting to make a point about the Mitchell Report not being the all-inclusive bible of naming PED users, Kevin Kennedy said that a current colleague of his, who was with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, told him that he (the colleague) witnessed, for a fact, a member of the '04 Red Sox injecting himself in the buttocks with a needle full of PEDs. Kennedy said that the user is no longer a member of the Red Sox - but, he was a player on the team that won the ring in 2004. As per Kennedy, his colleague said that the "user" was giving a demo (to the "colleague") on how to do the injection.

It's pretty interesting that Kennedy would throw this out there, in the last few minutes of a radio broadcast.

Gee, wonder why this player never appeared in the Red Sox Mitchell Report? Someone will look into this further, but Keith Foulke, Kevin Millar, come to mind and Gabe Kapler would be to easy, right?

If a former player can uncover this much, imagine what a senator not employed by the Boston Red Sox might uncover.

Pettitte Undecided If He'll Testify

From the ESPN article:

When Congress convenes hearings next week about the Mitchell report, one current Yankees pitcher still doesn't know if he'll be in attendance.

Jay Reisinger, the lawyer for New York pitcher Andy Pettitte, told 1050 ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand that it is "premature" to say if Pettitte will attend next Wednesday's hearings on Capitol Hill.

Reisinger, who also represented Sammy Sosa at the 2005 steroid hearings before the same congressional committee, said he expects to soon hear what the committee's plans are for Pettitte. When he gets those answers, he will discuss the options available to Pettitte.

For Pettitte, this is like the time your big brother crashed the family car with you in it, and little brother has to either spill the beans or protect big bro under the possibility of collecting full blame.

Maybe Pettitte will do what I did in my early years. That is, plead the fifth and hope mom and pops don't revoke our illegal HBO privileges. Speaking of which, thank the Lord for The Wire's return.

Mitchell, McNamee Hug It Out

Sports Illustrated's best newsbreaker, Jon Heyman, offers the exclusive with Brian McNamee. In it, McNamee speaks of his sorrow for burying his client and idol, Roger Clemens. He also explains Senator Mitchell embraced the troubled trainer after confirming testimony detailing the Rocket's use of performance-enhancing-drugs. Weird.

From SI.com:

McNamee speaks fondly about his successful pairing with Clemens; apparently, he hasn't quite let go. There are signs that he'd like their old relationship back. Clemens revealed on 60 Minutes that McNamee emailed him for fishing tips days before Mitchell's findings were divulged without hinting what was to come, an assertion that McNamee didn't deny.

McNamee explains that he was prohibited from revealing to anyone what he had told Mitchell. "It was killing me," he says. "I got sick. I could not talk about it. It was a federal investigation.'' McNamee also explains that at the time he was still reasonably hopeful that none of the names Mitchell learned from him or anyone else would be made public. "Why would I tell Roger or Andy something they might not even find out about?'' he says.

McNamee received the first call from the feds way back in May. "I was pretty compelled to tell the truth,'' is the way McNamee put it. "It made me sick,'' he says. 'I was hospitalized for the stress.''

Three months later, in August, he was called before Mitchell, and asked to nod to what he told the feds the month before. When he was done nodding, he says Mitchell hugged him. But he claims he took no pride in it.

"Within the culture of what was going on, he was just a small part of it. A lot of guys did it. You can't take away the work Roger did. You can't take away the fact that he worked out as hard as anybody.'' When McNamee, also a former strength and conditioning coach with the Blue Jays from 1998 through 2000, is asked to estimate how many major leaguers were involved with steroids during that period, he answers without hesitation. "More than half,'' he says.

"When Clemens claims to have no knowledge that Andy Pettitte -- Clemens' close friend and training partner, and another former client of McNamee -- had twice taken HGH, thus corroborating McNamee's testimony in the Mitchell Report, the trainer interjects, "I believe that."

As the 60 Minutes interview draws to a close, Clemens, who will repeat his denials in a news conference the next day, discusses the possibility of taking a lie detector test. "I think he's the one guy who could probably beat the test," McNamee opines. "He might actually believe that he's telling the truth."

More than anything else, the distressed, desperate voice used by McNamee on the strange recorded phone call was caused by a sadness in overseeing his friend and hero's fall from grace. This would explain his desire to recover the friendship he had with Clemens. It also accounts for McNamee's refusal to retract his testimony.

Not saying anything is proven, but it is a passable explanation for McNamee's actions. There's no doubting the trainer's shady nature, just as there is no concurring Roger's denials. The trainer shot first and mortally wounded Clemens before he was even able to load up a defense. The rest is history, and a clouded one at that.

The Tape, The Ape and The Trainer

I just heard WFAN's broadcast of the tape recording of a phone conversation which took place on Friday, January 4th.

Pete Abe quickly explains the craziness of the today's Clemens press conference as well as outline one of the strangest phone calls to be released on ESPN, YES, etc:

Clemens just asked McNamee (on the tape) “Why would you say I did steroids?”

McNamee didn’t say, “Well, because you did.” Instead he keeps saying, “What do you want me to do, Roger?”

This is pretty ugly. McNamee doesn’t sound like a well man whatsoever. He’s on the verge of tears. This will play well for Clemens.

UPDATE, 5:37 p.m.: I’m no lawyer but can you tape record a conversation like that? This is wild stuff.

UPDATE, 5:41 p.m.: Hardin says Clemens will go to Congress next week.

UPDATE, 5:42 p.m.: I’ve been around Clemens at various times since 1996 or so. I’ve never seen him this furious.

UPDATE, 5:43 p.m.: Hardin says taping the call was legal. Seems like Clemens set him up. His lawyers were in the room.

UPDATE, 5:45 p.m.: Going on 60 Minutes, doing this press conference and the McNamee tape will gain Roger a lot of support in the public, I suspect. If he does well in Washington, he could swing this thing his way.

Clemens continuously asks McNamee why he said Clemens did steroids and the trainer repeatedly replies with "what do you want me to do?" Obviously, McNamee is feeling remorse for his actions.

Whether this regret spurs from lying or telling the truth remains to be seen. Whatever the case, McNamee's shown himself to be a truly disturbed individual at the time of the recorded phone call.

As the syringe turns, so do the days of our lives. This did not change my mind at all, you?

Clemens and McNamee Have Odd Phone Conversation

This is a bizarre turn of events.

According to Newsday, Roger Clemens and his former trainee turned stoolpigeon, Brian McNamee spoke via telephone on Friday evening.

From Newsday:

In a surprising twist to their public war of words, Roger Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, spoke by telephone Friday night, Newsday has learned. It was their first contact since the Mitchell Report was released Dec. 13, and a person close to the situation described the hourlong conversation between the longtime friends as "emotional."

It is unclear whether Clemens or McNamee initiated the call, and attempts to reach representatives for both of them Saturday night were unsuccessful. Clemens and McNamee have been friends since 1998, when the two were together on the Blue Jays, and it was Clemens who got McNamee hired by the Yankees after he was obtained from Toronto at the start of the 1999 season.

But in the wake of the Mitchell Report and McNamee's damaging testimony, those years together ultimately may tear down Clemens and his Hall of Fame resume. Clemens has vehemently denied McNamee's allegations that the trainer injected him with steroids -- he'll do so again tonight on "60 Minutes" -- and the two sides threatened to sue each other last week in what is likely to be an ongoing legal battle.

Despite Friday's "invitation" to appear in front of the House Committe on Oversight and Government Reform on Jan. 16, there's no guarantee Clemens will make that date. Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, indicated Friday that Clemens has to check his schedule. One person familiar with the legal implications suggested yesterday that Clemens might file a lawsuit against McNamee before then, with the hope it would excuse him from the hearings.

Wonder what they talked about . . . I believe the conversation could have gone something like this:

Rocket: I'll give you $18 million if you retract your testimony.

McNamee: Do I get the "family first" clause included in my contract?

Rocket: Sure, but don't rub it in on the rest of your [legal] team. And of course the money is pro-rated per appearance.

McNamee: Deal.

Click!

Breaking: Torre Ain't Sayin' Nuttin

Today, reporters tried to coax former Yankees manager Joe Torre into discussing the recent Mitchell Report and two of its main attractions, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. But, Torre ain't no stinking rat.

From ESPN.com:

Joe Torre won't pick sides between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, the former New York Yankees strength coach who accused the Rocket of using performance-enhancing drugs.

"You're not going to get me in that jackpot," the former Yankees manager said Wednesday. "I'd rather just stay away from making any in-depth comment about the whole steroid-HGH thing."

Torre, who managed Clemens for six seasons, spoke during a Golf Channel conference call ahead of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii, where he will be honorary starter.

"I'm very close to Roger. When I say close to him, he was a great competitor for me. Andy the same way. And I certainly know they're two proud individuals that only like to do the right thing," Torre said. "I'd just like to leave it at that."

"It made it look like a lopsided report," Torre said. "Plus, don't forget, the Yankees have so many people coming through there on a year-to-year basis. We changed over quite often, whether it would be a player for the month of May, a player for the month of September. But I think the big part of it was the access, where these two people were both based in New York.

Torre suspects use may have been more widespread.

"When you're talking about 80 players that supposedly were using one thing or another, to me it may be an incomplete report," he said. "The only thing I do know is that the most important thing for us in baseball is to make sure that when we take the field, that the fans trust us. So whatever we have to do to make that happen, I think that's important."

There you have it. Torre won't turn states evidence, though he did take a nice shot at the Red Sox steroid report. Somewhere Clemens is planning his next move, no doubt under the guidance of Jake Gittes and Philip Marlowe.

This is the most entertaining circus since the Ringling Bros met Barnum and Bailey.

Never Do Nothing Wrong, But I'm Always Gettin' Blamed

Hot off the Detroit News presses. Roger Clemens may have been framed, or so says Jerry Green.

My rooted image of Roger Clemens was that he was a self-serving blowhard with a preening gait and a frightening fastball who never minded sticking the ball into some batter's ribs. He pitched with excellence, and he knew it.

That notion has not changed.

But America's perception of Clemens, the most successful pitcher of the past quarter-century, has changed from the excellent to the terrible.

He has become the poster person of Major League Baseball's accusatory Mitchell Report. The fingering of Clemens as a user of steroids and human growth hormones was the most shocking revelation of the condemning document.

What bothers me is Roger might have been framed!

We truly don’t know.

George Mitchell, the former senator from Maine, has attested he conducted a thorough investigation before writing the 409-page report. He has said the testimony of his witnesses was truthful and believable.

The testimony is likely going to prevent Clemens from going to the Baseball Hall of Fame and send him instead into baseball’s purgatory.

What bothers me is Mitchell might have been dreadfully gullible.

He based his condemnation of Clemens on evidence supplied by one stool pigeon who himself was faced with a jail term. So the voice sang essentially to save his butt.

What bothers me also is Roger Clemens, if ultimately exonerated, would never get the smear off of him.

And what bothers me most of all is I believe Roger Clemens and his pleas of innocence -- and I wind up more gullible than George Mitchell.

Great, great stuff. According to Mr. Green, this may become the day the music died.

The Red Sox Mitchell Report

Daily News scribe Bill Madden noticed that the "groundbreaking" steroid report may have a few large omissions. The commissioner, president and George Mitchell's status as a paid employee of the Boston Red Sox just might have influenced his revelatory report.

"That, despite his protestations to the contrary, Mitchell was compromised by his ties with the Red Sox and to Selig. How else do you explain that not one prominent recent Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewer or Texas Ranger wound up in that report?" the official asked.

"I just think it's more than curious none of them were even mentioned when you take into account they played on Mitchell's team, the commissioner's team or the president's (George Bush) team."

Naw.. no conflicts of interest here.. just straight, tough legislative will.

* * * *

Clemens "Angry" About Accusations

Meanwhile, Roger Clemens says he is "numb" to all the recent steroid allegations and will appear on 60 Minutes to clear his name.

"Over the last 15 days, it's been extremely difficult, for my family, my children, my extended family," Clemens said. "I'm holding up better than they are. I'm almost numb to some of these suggestions that I used steroids. It's amazing to me that I'm going to lengths that I'm going to have to defend myself.

"I faced this last year when the LA Times reported that I used steroids. I said it was not true then. Now, the whole world knows it's not true now that that's come out.

"I'm angry about it," Clemens said, referring to the Mitchell report. "It's hurtful to me and my family. But we are coming upon Christmas now and I have been blessed in my life. I've been blessed in my career and I'm very thankful for those blessings."

The report came from a video posted on the Rocket's website.

The Report Is In

You can check out the Mitchell report here.

Yankees players current and former include Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Mike Stanton, Ron Villone, Chuck Knoblauch, Dave Justice and Rondell White.

Though Pettitte is alleged to have asked about HGH in attempt to return from arm injury, Clemens (if this Radomski is to be believed) is an absolute walking pharmacy, just like Bonds. The bulk of this use came with the Blue Jays, Radomski said.

At first-glance of the report - which is hundreds of pages long - there really is not much bite to it. The entire report against Pettitte and several others involves no proof. While Lo Duca and Gagne have checks made out to Radomski, accusations made against Pettitte are just that.... accusations without any proof behind it.

Fans will believe what they want, but as Pete Abe notes "[Radomski] is a former clubbie who now runs a car wash and was testifying to get a lesser prison sentence."

Remember, the two major sources for the report are New York clubhouse officials. Names like Pudge and Bret Boone, absolute PED users are not on this list, meaning if the center of the investigation were Texas, Detroit, Seattle or dare I say Beantown, a whole different group of players would probably be implicated.

Mitchell's employment with the Sawx a conflict of interest? Nawww.

UPDATE 2:19 PM:

Other notable players on the list include Kevin Brown while on the Dodgers. Brown was referred by Paul Lo Duca who is also on the list. Though he stunk for Boston last year, Eric Gagne appears on the list as well. Miguel Tejada is listed as a direct HGH recipient, making his recent trade a little more justifiable.

Brian Roberts and Jack Cust appear too. In between angioplasties, Mo Vaughn took PEDs.

Blasts from the past Hal Morris and Randy Velarde and Todd Hundley (who allegedly hooked up Lo Duca) also appear.

Comic relief: Howie Clark, who most fans remember as the Toronto Blue Jays third baseman who dropped the infield fly after A-Rod yelled "Ha!" also appears on the list.

Mitchell Report @ 2 p.m. Sharp

As everyone knows, the revered Mitchell Report will be released this afternoon with MLB Commish Bud Selig to speak on the matter around 4:30, following the initial press conference.

From all I'm hearing, the Yankees are in for a long day. Don't expect to hear Derek Jeter and Mickey Mantle were juicers, but some feathers are sure to be ruffled. Surprisingly, the Mets do not seem to have as substantial a stake in today's proceedings.

On the whole, this will be good for baseball. I am curious to see how it all plays out, but I am simultaneously skeptical about what evidence Mr. Mitchell has to support his claims.

Because, if the sole informant and source for evidence is a former bat-boy and clubhouse attendant for the Amazin's, then players, teams and fans will be quick to disregard the whole shindig.