Kuzul

The Steroid Era has officially left its mark in professional sports while tarnishing the reputation of America’s pastime.

With the recent indictment of legendary hurler Roger Clemens, the next generation will be very confused about which players to look up to.

Players like Roger Clemens have forced parents to lie to their Little Leaguers and young baseball stars by telling them their favorite players are stand-up citizens.

Steroids and PEDs (Performance-Enhancing Drugs) leave fans with a bitter taste in their mouths. Are there any true heroes left? What role models will our children have in the realm of professional sports?

Here are 10 of 10 of the saddest stories of the steroid era in professional baseball, and the destructive wake they have left behind. 

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The Steroid Era has been around pretty much since the early nineties, a span of about nearly 20 years. With a grueling 162 game regular season plus postseason play, it adds up to playing nearly 200 baseball games if you want to go ahead and count Spring Training. 

The contract status, fatigue and desire to stay on a big-league roster are all reasons why players, even the best ones, have used performance-enhancing drugs to stay on the field and perform at a high level. It has affected baseball’s “greats” and it certainly has tainted the game of baseball, their game, and their Hall of Fame status in Cooperstown, New York.

The big question is whether any suspected user or player linked to the steroid era will make it into the Hall of Fame. Is it fair to perhaps not vote in a borderline hall of famer like Chipper Jones than an Alex Rodriguez? Chipper Jones will make it because he was clean during a tainted era of baseball and players such as Jim Thome and Frank Thomas get a bonus for not going to the dark side of baseball and staying clean while achieving less than perfect Hall of Fame numbers. 

So what about the players such as Barry Bonds, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and of course Roger Clemens? What are their chances of getting in at all and when will they get in? Find out…

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Most of the media, Major League Baseball, teammates, and most of the public feel that Roger Clemens is guilty of steroid use and therefore guilty of perjury before Congress.

But wait. Reginald J. Brown, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and associate White House general counsel has found a legal argument that he believes could win.

“Congress didn’t do this investigation to determine whether they needed new drug laws,” Brown said. “They didn’t do it to determine whether federal agencies were exercising their proper oversight. They did this to figure out whether Clemens or his trainer were telling the truth, and that is arguably not a legislative function. It’s not Congress’s job to hold perjury trials.” Brown said the argument had been used successfully before to have perjury charges dismissed.

We are not prepared to say Brown is right or wrong. What we are prepared to do is to say Clemens will not be convicted of a thing. And that this trial and any other trial will vindicate him. As long as the facts are largely known and the speculation required for announcing any result in advance remains correct.

The reasons for this belief are both facts and speculation.

First, the facts.

Clemens will have a number of options before trial. Included among those options will be to challenge the indictment on several legal grounds, including the one posed by Brown above. All such challenges will neither vindicate Clemens or make the public believe he was telling the truth. Suffice it to say that if he wants vindication, he will have to have his day in court. Clemens is unlikely to pursue many such challenges, as he clearly wants his day in court.

Second, Clemens’ greatest problem is one of timing. His claim that he was talking with Andy Pettitte about his wife’s use of HGH (human growth hormone) rather than his own use apparently suffers from the fact that his discussion occurred before his wife began her use. This is what is called an admission against interest, and likely admissible at trial. Assuming it is admitted at trial, Clemens and his trial team will have to overcome this issue.

Third, McNamee, the principal antagonist to Clemens, has his own problems.

Roger Clemens’ legal team has given the congressional committee probing Clemens’ alleged steroid used hard evidence that Brian McNamee lied to federal investigators and former Senator George Mitchell at least once, according Clemens’ lawyer. McNamee told probers that, at a party in 1998, Jose Canseco and Clemens had a conversation McNamee believed was about steroids, and that the first time the pitcher asked McNamee about steroids was later in that same trip. Now, Clemens’ legal team has acquired tapes of the June 9 and 10, 1998, games between the Blue Jays and Marlins. According to Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, broadcasters speak about the party hosted by Canseco and the fact Clemens did not attend.

In addition, McNamee was suspended as a NY policeman, and was involved in a police investigation involving the date rape drug. According to the police report, as stated by another website:

According to the police report, a hotel employee saw McNamee apparently having sex with the woman in the shallow end of the pool while the other man stood watching, naked, six feet away. When the three were asked to leave, the employee claimed, McNamee continued having sex, asking, “You mean now?” That was when the employee noticed that the woman was unable to get out of the pool on her own, stand up, or speak coherently, and instructed a co-worker to call the police. A medical report later determined she’d taken a massive dose of GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, a sports drug used for recovery from strenuous workouts, but also known as the “date rape” drug because in larger doses it can incapacitate.

There are other problems that will be attacked, including the very basis for him giving up Clemens-so he could get off federal charges and leniency.

Fifth, celebrities often if not always get away with what many believe are crimes. Witness OJ Simpson and many others. In each instance, with superior lawyers and greater resources, the defense wins.

The speculation is based on several issues of significant note. They are speculative because the world next year, when the trial is likely to take place, could be vastly different from now.

First, and perhaps the most important fact, is that Congress will be the entity against whom Clemens is fighting. The current approval rating for Congress is at 16%, according to Rasmussen, with 56% saying Congress is doing a bad job. This is actually up from a recent 71% “bad job” rating. As Congress is the complaining party here, it should have more difficulty than most in proving its case.

Second, Congress’ poor performance in the public’s view should last until this case will be tried, perhaps well after the 2010 elections. Brown’s argument is one that could be very effective if used at trial. Thus, Clemens will argue that this effort at finding out whether Clemens took steroids should have nothing to do with Congress. And this is likely to be persuasive to many jurors, especially when Congress is so disliked.

Third, the prosecution could have more than we currently know about, and more at the time of trial. We assume that most if not all of what is available is in the public record.

Fourth, many baseball fans want to see this entire steroids controversy go away. And so does MLB. The jury will therefore be more than likely leading in favor of Clemens if they have any sensitivity toward MLB and getting this controversy behind us.

Unless the situation changes in the near-term, Clemens wins. And that is The Real Truth.

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Roger “The Rocket” Clemens captivated baseball fans far and wide when he burst onto the national scene in the early 1980’s as a star collegiate pitcher for the University of Texas, eventually leading the Longhorns to the 1983 College World Series Championship. 

Clemens also possessed Hall of Fame appeal from the first day he stepped onto the mound for the Boston Red Sox as a rookie in 1984, and would have been a Hall of Famer if he had retired at the end of the 1996 season, his thirteenth and last season in Boston. 

“The Rocket” tallied 192 total wins and three Cy Young awards while pitching for Boston, including not one, but two twenty strike out games!  (Interesting sidenote:  The second twenty strikeout game occurred in Clemens’ third to last pitching start for Boston in 1996.)

According to the Boston Red Sox general manager at the time, Dan Duquette, Roger Clemens had entered the “twilight” of an illustrious career at the end of 1996 as Clemens posted more losses (13) thans wins (10) for the second time in a four year period (1993-1996.)

In fact, from 1993 (10 – 13 record)  through 1996 (11-14), 1994 (9-7) and 1995 (10 -5) Clemens looked rather average compared to his previous years and one could reasonably assume that his decline had begun.

Although the Red Sox had hoped to retain Clemens’ services until his retirement, a fresh start seemed inevitable.

Clemens ended up signing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The questions remained, did Clemens have anything left in the tank?  Could he prove the naysayers wrong?

The addition of four Cy Young Awards (two consecutive in Toronto, 1997-1998) and two World Series rings with the Yankees (1999-2000) would seem to end that discussion rather abruptly.

Clemens continued to command respect as he fireballed his way to 354 victories over a twenty-four year career which ended with the Yankees in 2007.   

Like all great competitors, Clemens always looked for the competitive advantage, that edge, the equalizer. 

Regarding performance enhancing drugs, Clemens understood opposing players injected steroids, and as a fierce competitor himself, he probably felt disadvantaged by not taking them as well.

Therefore, if Clemens chose to inject steroids in order to level the playing field, he must have understood the risks of over enhancing his performance, especially in the “twilight” of his career.

Folks would start asking questions, right?

And ask, we did.  

Without stating the obvious, many of us scratched our heads and shrugged our shoulders.  How could he continue to be so productive so late in his career?  There must have been honest explanations for this continued success.

We compared Clemens workout to Nolan Ryan’s ferocious workout routine.  

That must have been it.

We pointed to his healthy diet, a great trainer, an undying will and desire to consistently perform at the highest levels.

Failure was clearly not an option here, at any cost. 

Ultimately, The Icarus-like failure for Clemens was not that he appeared to have cheated by taking PED’s, as evidence from the Mitchell Report strongly suggested, but that he appeared to have arrogantly lied under oath to the American public about it.  We would still have forgiven him, many of us concluded, if he had just come clean.  

As a result of this digression and potential criminal act, Clemens now faces the prospect of jail time after being indicted and charged with lying under oath in front of a Congressional inquiry.  

At the inquiry, Clemens came off as being jaded, thinking he had become untouchable. After all, Roger held friends in high places, such as the Bush family, who he apparantly assumed, would keep him out of harms way.  (this point may still hold validity)

We mercilessly watched Clemens stammer, struggle, and sulk his way through the Congressional inquiry. Even the haters couldn’t help but to be floored by watching this sports icon blow up his career right in front of our eyes.  Something went wrong here, something didn’t add up.

Even his best friend and teammate, Andy Pettitte, admitted wrongdoing and contradicted Clemens’ claims of innocence.  Surely, Clemens never felt that he would be duped by his best friend. What Clemens did not realize is that not even best friends will lie at Congressional inquiries to cover one’s sins.

The stakes just got too high, the potential punishments too severe.

And what about the fans who believed in him all those years?  The fans who sat out in the cold to cheer him on, who brought their children to watch him, who spent their hard-earned money to support him.  What about them?  

I suppose a few of Roger’s hardcore fans will follow Roger no matter what happens. The cultish types, the ones in denial, the conspiracy theorists.

For the die hard followers, I wish ’em well, because as the saying goes, “you reap what you sow” and “the truth always comes out in the end.”  

The problem remains that many can’t stomach the truth, for the truth can be a bitter pill to swallow. The truth has a way of shattering illusions of grandeur, wrecking false images of honor, and dismantling fake auras of supremacy.

On that note, I hope Roger can find peace within himself and reach out to those he touched in this life, and make it better for them, too.  Then, in some way, he will become a true champion once again, perhaps a champion of the highest order.

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Roger Clemens’ indictment might signal the beginning of the end for the Rocket.

Quite frankly, the only thing most people have to say is, “Why?”

Why couldn’t Clemens just admit he was wrong like Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez? Why couldn’t he just take it like a man and let the truth humble him just a little bit?

Simply put, Clemens couldn’t or wouldn’t because he has a God complex unlike many we have ever seen.

Of course, that complex is also part of what made him so great as a player.

He would get in anyone’s face, challenge anyone, and more often than not, he would come out on top. 

He didn’t give a damn about throwing a bat at Mike Piazza or beaning anyone who stepped up to the plate and looked at him wrong. A lot of people probably hated him for that, but a lot of people feared and respected him and his game because of that intensity.

Not to mention, he managed to sit out half a season and negotiate a contract that did not force him to travel on road trips. So, in many ways, the God complex was fostered by those around him.

In many ways, Clemens was one of the best pitchers we will ever see take the mound. When it came to baseball, you really couldn’t question his God complex. He was simply that good.

Unfortunately, Clemens thought that he was not only bigger than the game of baseball, but also bigger than the justice system, and maybe bigger than life itself. He really might think he is God.

They say that things are bigger in Texas, but this isn’t what they meant, Roger.

That right there is why Clemens is about to burn in sports infamy, and maybe in jail too when it is all said and done.

Clemens is not guilty yet, and all of these are currently allegations, but the evidence continues to be overwhelming. 

The strangest part about it is that Clemens seems to think that he is above all of this; that he can just throw high and inside and it will all go away; that the judge will just shake his head and walk away from the plate, another strikeout victim to God Clemens.

I hate to break it to you, Roger, but this ain’t a game anymore. Your intensity and supreme ego are not going to get you out of this one. They are only going to bury you.

Clemens’ biggest strength turned out to be his biggest weakness, and he proved that no one really is bigger than the game—and certainly no one is bigger than the law.

Clemens deserves whatever he gets. He was just too stubborn to swallow the humble pill and admit he was wrong. That is all he had to do.

The craziest thing about it is that Clemens has not only entrenched himself in this uphill battle because of his ego, but his ego is only intensifying the wrath of the justice system. The more this seems to drag on, the more Clemens seems intent on continuing this fight.

ESPN’s Bill Simmons once referred to Clemens as the Antichrist. Many baseball fans probably feel that way as this continues to escalate. The only place on earth where Clemens doesn’t stir up these connotations might be inside his own head.

As Clemens keeps fighting this losing battle, he is proving that contrary to popular belief, he feels the opposite. He still feels like he is God.

That is why Clemens will lose the most important game of his life.

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The great Roman orator and senator Cicero famously noted in 44 BC that those who wish to function in government and watch over the affairs of the public should remember two things.

1) to keep the best interests of the people so clearly in view that, whatever their own interests, those of the people will guide their conduct

2) to care for the well being of the whole body politic, and not that of any one party, especially not one which is prepared to betray the interests of the state for its own gain*

In 2010 the problems facing our government are numerous and grave. There is oil in the Gulf of Mexico and a fledgling economy.

While we have finally concluded a seven-year campaign in Iraq, we are deeply entrenched in an ongoing war to root out terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Our school systems still leave children behind, border states are struggling to figure out how to deal with ever increasing illegal immigrant populations, and of course our “global” is still “warming”.

Yet just yesterday Congress decided that an issue that requires further investigation, resources and taxpayer dollars is the two year case involving possible perjury of a now retired baseball player.

I’m not here to argue or hash out the sordid details surrounding the Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee case. There aren’t too many stones that have gone un-covered involving this case.

Popular opinion is that Clemens did knowingly use HGH and B12 vitamins. Popular opinion is that Clemens is a scoundrel who when confronted on the issue threw his wife under the bus and probably lied to Congress about his use of the drugs. Will it help to prove that he lied?

That really is no longer important. The role of government is to protect and serve its populace’s best interests.

Congressional hearings helped to force change in Major League Baseball’s drug testing policy. It contributed to an ongoing effort to rid the sport of performance enhancing drugs and educate people on the dangers of steroid and human growth hormone abuse.

But will the American public, who is sponsoring this ongoing investigation, see a direct or even indirect benefit to the further prosecution of one man?

Can proving acts of perjury against a man who has suffered the immeasurable indignation and condemnations of being publicly outed as a doper, cheater, and liar show itself valuable to society?

It seems easy to garner the public’s eye by trotting celebrities before congressional subcommittees. Senator Joseph McCarthy certainly reaped the benefit of such charades. For the congressmen and women there is no better way to get their face on camera and before their constituents than by openly indicting the recognizable.

However, when the smoke is cleared and the mirrors removed we will find that we are as a body no better than we were. Thomas Hobbes said, communities submit to rule of government with understanding that it is establishes “safety and public order”.* In the face of all the other turmoil that faces our country and world, I fail to see how further accusation and prosecution of the former Cy Young Winner will provide either.

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What exactly was Roger Clemens thinking when he testified and told a fib to Congress in Capital Hill? As much as we want to believe that the Steroid Era has suddenly vanished, we’ll never forget all his rehearsed and inglorious lies, inexplicably and simply covering the truth and denied confessing of his wrongdoings.

With some serious explaining, now is the time Mr. Clemens may want to consider telling the truth and nothing but the truth, to avoid further dishonesty and public humiliation. Amid the most embarrassing twist, all we want is the truth, but apparently the feds and their grand jury uncovered the specifics. There’s no sympathy for the seven-time Cy Young winner who fabricated his accomplished career and, still to this day, lives a lie ever since juicing his level of performance for an advantage in a competitive sport.

What is exactly mind-blogging is that an infamous crisis is getting worse, epically for the endless dirtiness it displays, sabotaging the beauty of the game. The despicable crime labels Clemens as a fraud, a lying dumb-ass apathetic by a damaged legacy that smeared his credibility long before honesty surfaced. His steroid scandal, which ruptured the irreparable image of Clemens, who is perceived as a hopeless, unworthy right-hander, poses as a disgrace in a sport deteriorating and falling into oblivion.

It was 2½ years ago when Clemens declined in a congressional hearing as a national audience watched it nationwide on television, that he ever used performance-enhancing drugs. Huh! In the end, you were hoodwinked, cheated and fooled. How does it feel to be lied to? How does it feel to be betrayed? Trust me, I know how it feels.  

And to believe that Clemens never used an unlawful substance, or even advocating it’s acceptable to tatter the integrity of the sport in general is foolishness. It turns out that he’s the equivalent of my ex-girlfriend, a pseudo and betrayer for erroneously committing fraud on a game he truly relished and mastered before revelations manifested clear evidence of drug usage.

At this point, the man formerly known as the Rocket is unsurprisingly the Big Fat Liar, perhaps the biggest liar sports may have ever witnessed in this decade, if ever. If Clemens committed such a sickened crime, instead of being deceptive and secretive, he’d release much tension and guilt by unleashing the truth. That’d seem very rational to avoid further nonsense and clear his name of guilt. But this happens when someone is self-indulgent, arrogant or ignorant, subsequently for getting caught and accused of furtive sins.

Any notion that baseball was tainted years ago, Clemens was considerably one of the best pitchers at the time, of course, taking the mound as a sham and failing to be purist or expose his artistic competitiveness without injecting himself with contaminated juice. I’ve never been so befuddled and disappointed. I’ve never felt so cheated and betrayed in my life, trusting in Clemens for pitching fiercely and performing with diligence in effortless outings.

What? He relied on juice all along. What appeared real was unreal. What seemed legit was dirty. No wonder the ball was usually covered with nasty dirt nearly following every pitch. He tried to hide the truth, a mistaken idea by Clemens, sadly adding horror and anxiety on Thursday indicted on six counts for lying under oath. All he simply had to tell the world is that he was guilty and wrongly opted to be a drug dealer, rather than a spotless pitcher. Now that he’s naïve and still acknowledged he never pumped his body with steroids or HGH, troubles are stemming from allegedly falsifying.

Clemens has taken a rapid fall from grace, and he’s a fallen star quicker than Tiger Woods or LeBron James, losing his claim to all-time greatness among elite pitchers. Didn’t he realize it’s risky and dumb to lie under oath? Didn’t he know that is perjury? Is he really that offended with the accusations and recent charges? Then, state the facts, Roger. No false statements, but the truth. It’s time he finally succumbs to reality, but ever since the Mitchell Report revealed Clemens’ name, he hasn’t spoke in clarity or helped his own cause for spinning the story.

According to the Big Fat Liar, he “Misremembers” ever been injected with the substances. Ummm! If he had sense and pride, Clemens in all likelihood wouldn’t be facing prison time, but at worse, would have only been tainted and portrayed as a fraud. For years, ultimately, we worshipped his longevity, talent and work ethic, blinded by the possibilities of cheating and the likelihood of lying. He was famously the best pitcher admired in a corrupted age of baseball, amid the rejuvenation of the game during the baseball-saving season, the summer of ’98 when the feats and incredible milestones of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were relevant.

For years, sadly, we believed in Clemens until he disappointed us, lied to us and tricked us. And to make matters worst, he never had the courage or audacity to admit to immorality. Let’s face it the performance-enhancing drugs helped him infamously win two World Series championships and 354 games. Common sense tells us that he took advantage of enhancing his game with the exception of drugs, obviously when his numbers suddenly ascended later in his career.

Ever seen a pitcher’s numbers improve late in his career? Not unless it was Clemens. More noticeably, his ERA skyrocketed greatly and he began pitching efficiently, having solid control of his command and velocity. And years later, he tried to prove his innocence and purity, which degenerated when baseball released the Mitchell Report. In the meantime, his legacy is smeared because of ignorance, and even his freedom is endangered because of lying.          

“Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH.”

Not even a fool believes Clemens.

In 23 major-league seasons, he was deemed as arguably the greatest power pitcher the game has ever seen, but in recent years has plunged and he likely faces 15 to 21 months in prison. This is no surprise, after all, we are living in the Steroid Era, a time when the horrid crisis is badly ruining and bruising the game, such as Barry Bonds, the arrogant slugger who ostensibly lied under oath as well. If there’s one player loathed more in this country for wrongly surpassing Hank Aaron’s home run record on a night he captured the tainted milestone, it’s a moody and overbearing Bonds.

As for Clemens, the grand jury is claiming that he lied 15 times under oath. If so, then he may jeopardize his lifestyle and may have to serve harsh time, based on the power of law enforcers. Sure, he has every right to claim his innocence, but the evidence revealed the explanation of a dubious situation.

In the aftermath of the release of the Mitchell Report, he’s still not confessing or apologizing for deceiving, not only the game, but congressional investigators and Congress. All along, I believed his former training Brain McNamee, who stated in the report that he injected Clemens on a cycle period with steroids and HGH between 1998 and 2001. Nevertheless, on Twitter, he’s refusing to unleash what really transpired in that time span. So apparently, he hasn’t learned or simply doesn’t care.

“I never took HGH or Steroids. And I did not lie to Congress,” Clemens wrote. “I look forward to challenging the Governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trail. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.”

Why, so he can lie repeatedly? What support is he getting? Who is endorsing the Big Fat Liar? Oh, his attorney Rusty Harden.

“The problem is nobody ever talks about what he should have done if he didn’t do it,” Harden said. “And he didn’t do it and he’s adamant about that and always has been. Today is just another continuing part of that saga…Roger is looking forward to his day in court. He is happy this has finally happened. We have known for some time this was going to happen. We’ll let everything get taken care of in court.”

Between the PEDs headlines and extramarital affairs, including an alleged affair with country signer Mindy McCready, his clean image is pathetically damaged and his credibility is lost. As of recently, he’s delusional and continues to deny all reports or any negative news that unveils. If his name was mentioned 82 times in the Mitchell Report, what makes us think he’s not guilty, what makes us think he never endangered his image or chances of being enshrined into the Hall of Fame for falsification and lagging on issuing a statement when the accusations were publicized?

If he tried to publicly spin the story and former friend Andy Pettitte’s testimony, what makes us think he’s telling the truth? Come on, use common sense. In front of your eyes, he tricked the game of baseball and all populace, after vowing to be a power pitcher legitimately. When he appears in court, Clemens may wear his immaculate face again and try persuading the court system that he’s not guilty.

“The indictment of Roger Clemens comes as no surprise to me,” said Victor Conte, founder of BALCO. “In my opinion, the case against Clemens is far stronger than the case against Barry Bonds. Brain McNamee is an eyewitness who will testify against Clemens and there appears to be strong physical evidence against him as well. I believe Roger Clemens is in a lot of trouble.”

Yes, he is in much trouble.

He’s looking at prison time. I guess that means NO Cooperstown.

The Rocket has exploded, eternally.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Geraldo Rivera appeared on the O’Reilly Show yesterday comparing Roger Clemens attorney with the attorney for Mark McGwire. Geraldo’s position was that Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ attorney, should be disbarred for allowing his client to testify. He said that Hardin is responsible for Clemens’ federal indictment yesterday for allegedly lying to Congress.

Geraldo’s position, like so many others including that of Major League Baseball, is that Clemens lied because he used steroids while winning some or all of his record-breaking seven Cy Young Awards as one of baseball’s two best pitchers.

The period in question was when his trainer Brian McNamee alleged he was injecting Clemens with steroids between 1998 and 2001, when Clemens won two of his seven Cy Young Awards.

Clemens was “convicted” on steroid charges by George Mitchell, former Senate Majority Leader, who was hired by Major League Baseball to do a report on steroid use in baseball. 

Clemens was singled out by name 82 times in the 409-page report, compiled by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. Much of the information on Clemens came from his former trainer, Brian McNamee, once the Yankees’ strength and conditioning coach.

The use of largely one witness against Clemens to name him so many times in a report could leave the impression that Clemens is banking on proving McNamee is lying. And the “conviction” was done with little or no defense other than Clemens’ adamant denials of the charges of his alleged steroid use.

Are Geraldo, Mitchell, and MLB right even regarding Clemens’ steriod use? Is Geraldo right regarding the disbarring of Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin?

The first is yet to be decided. Famous people are often proved right in jury trials. Some say that they have the advantage because of their fame. The best example of this preference could be OJ Simpson. Yet, even in OJ’s case, the glove incident was tantamount to the win by the defense team he hired.

If this proves to end up being Clemens against McNamee, the defense could hold more of the cards than we know. Only a trial seems inevitable here. Not the outcome. The outcomes of jury trials are often a toss-up depending on what the two sides, the prosecution and defense, are able to get before the jury and the jury’s impression of the witnesses.

As far as the claim that Rusty Hardin should be disbarred, Geraldo is completely wrong.

His claim was that Clemens should have been handled in the same way as Mark McGuire. This means that he has both convicted Clemens before trial, wants the public to believe that attorneys have control of clients, and claims that the failure of Hardin to get his client to act in a certain way is a basis for disbarment. As an attorney himself, he knows full well that this is far from the truth.

Clemens is yet to be convicted. For this alone, despite the evidence largely from McNamee whose testimony is likely impeachable (that is can be attacked as wrong) in various ways, Geraldo is subject to some form of opprobrium because he knows full well that a trial can result in Clemens’ vindication.

But there are two more, far more grievous aspects of Geraldo’s statements.

The claim that Hardin should be able to control his client is complete nonsense. Clemens dictates the grounds of his defense and what he does. As the client, he has largely control over what is done. And he has complete control over what he chooses to do. Thus, despite legal advice one way or the other, Clemens controlled whether he appeared before Congress to testify. Geraldo’s claim that he did not is completely wrong.

Worse still is the claim of the need to disbar an attorney. As with any other attorney, Geraldo is obligated to ensure that he does not mislead the public. Especially, making claims like this against another attorney. There is absolutely no factual basis for his contention that disbarrment is appropriate.

Geraldo Rivera remains a member of the New York Bar. Thus, he could be disciplined if he broke any of the rules of that Bar when he made his intemperate statements. And one of the cardinal requirements is being accurate and truthful. It appears his remarks, as I remember them, missed that mark by a very long shot.

In the end, Clemens has the right as does anyone in the United States to vindicate his name in court. We should be far less ready to judge him than Geraldo Rivera. And if he clears his name, many will need to apologize to him.

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Roger Clemens is going have to work out of this jam all by himself.

He can’t be pulled for a reliever. And he can’t just rear back and let loose with a 95 mile-per-hour fastball and try to blow the Feds away.

It’s going to take some finesse and nibbling around the corners. He needs to induce a harmless ground ball, that his lawyers can turn into an inning-ending double play.

Clemens is under Federal indictment. It’s the one thing you don’t want to be under, other than Refrigerator Perry.

The Feds say Clemens lied with his pants on fire back in 2008 when he testified before Congress, saying that he no way, no how, took performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) as a big league pitcher.

The feds have six counts against Clemens. They say that Clemens, no less than 15 times, made knowingly false statements while under oath on Capitol Hill.

A Federal indictment ought to make the one under indictment soil his or her briefs. It’s a big deal, because lengthy prison time could be in the offing. And indictments aren’t brought lightly; usually the Feds feel they have a pretty good case.

It’s one thing to have a feeling that someone is lying to Congress. It’s quite another for that feeling to become an actual indictment. The Federal government usually only indicts when it thinks it can win, and win convincingly.

Clemens is still sticking to his story. He maintains that it’s not he who is lying, but rather his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who told Congress at the same time that Clemens was testifying that McNamee injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) between 1998 and 2001.

McNamee supposedly has syringes, vials, and other physical evidence—including even some of Clemens’s DNA—to support his claims.

Clemens and McNamee have since sued each other for defamation, with Clemens’s claims being essentially dismissed by federal courts. McNamee has a suit pending in federal court in New York.

Former Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the top Republican on the House panel at the time of Clemens’ testimony, called it “a self-inflicted wound.”

“Clemens was not under subpoena. He came voluntarily,” Davis said. “And I sat there in the office with [committee chairman] Henry Waxman and said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t lie.’ ”

Apparently, Clemens didn’t take that advice to heart. Now he has the bases juiced (so to speak) and no one warming up in the bullpen.

I believe that Clemens lied. The indictment speaks volumes, and why would McNamee lie, knowing the repercussions if he was proven to be making up tall tales?

All that, plus the physical evidence that McNamee says he has—which he kept for some 10 years, for just such an occasion as this one.

For what it’s worth, Clemens’s old teammates are standing by him, including Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and steroid user extraordinaire Jose Canseco.

Current Yankee Lance Berkman, a teammates of Clemens’s in Houston, said, “Whatever you want to say about the guy, he belongs in the Hall of Fame. In my opinion, legacy-wise, I guess that’s up to—I mean, 200 years from now, who cares?

“But in the short term, I guess, he may have some things to address,” Berkman conceded.

That’s one of the biggest understatements of the year.

Clemens is back on the mound, staring in at a federal indictment that stands menacingly at the plate. And the Feds don’t strike out that much when it comes to this kind of thing.

I have a feeling that Clemens is going to be taken deep.

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Roger Clemens is on the hot seat, again.

The former Yankee was indicted Thursday on perjury charges for allegedly lying to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs.

Steroids and baseball were a match made in heaven, until science and drug testing got the better of them. Now PEDs are the bane of baseball’s existence, challenging the integrity of the sport for at least the last decade and a half.

This mess of a situation, that is, the allegation that Clemens used steroids during his lengthy career, arose again this week after what seemed like years of dormancy.

Major League Baseball has come down relatively hard on players caught using PEDs, administering a plethora of suspensions to major and minor leaguers. The Rocket should be given no latitude on the matter.

Steroids are steroids. If it is perjury, it is perjury.

There has been little rebuttal on the punishments dished out by the MLB, and it seems some fans and players are almost beginning to appreciate the “cleansing” that the sport is going through.

It is not about statistics or the World Series. It is setting the league straight after who knows how many years, or decades, of usage clouding the honor of baseball. It is making the right example for the young players of the future and playing the right way with respect to the game and all of its elements.

Many want it to go away, but this is the road that must be taken.

There can be no red carpet treatment for the superstars of the sport, and the 2007 Mitchell Report confirmed that. With that document close to three years removed from publication, the mark left on baseball from the Steroid Era is starting to wash away, though some smudges remain.

But Clemens’ still unsolved case, along with Barry Bonds’, are what many consider to be the remaining blemishes on a stained period of time in baseball.

To think that the Rocket’s treatment on this matter is persecution is to ignore the growth of one of the greatest games the world has come to play.

Forget the vanity of one man’s contribution to the game and consider the benefaction of a positive generation’s worth of players to baseball.

Countless former and current players have gone down the slippery and wretched slope that is coming clean to the fans, baseball, and its players, although not many of them are pitchers.

Most pitchers convey a distinct and resilient persona when on the mound, one of almost arrogance and tenacity, akin to what Clemens’ is portraying and has been expressing during the span of his entire investigation.

It is not unlike him to waver, but his steadfastness will keep the pressure on very tightly as well as continue to build some people’s rationalization for persecution.

Baseball moved on from the years of PEDs, and budding stars like Buster Posey, Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg are the new age. They have demonstrated dominance and an incredible amount of talent for their youth, and the bad blood of steroid usage seems to have vanished from the minds of the players of the future.

The pieces appear to be stacked against Clemens. Though thousands of fans would love for his name to be rinsed clean of these allegations, the Rocket could fall very hard and very fast.

In fact, his seemingly never-ending case will only stack higher the longer it persists. Baseball moved forward from names like Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi and Clemens’ teammate and good friend Andy Pettitte.

Would it be too much to expect the public to do the same with Clemens?

For the love of baseball, for the sake of moving forward to drool at the superstar talent in the coming years, to put the fans at ease to enjoy the game, judge, bang your gavel.

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