By Craig P. Dixon, southcoast247.com correspondent . Social Commentary 144
January 11th, 2008
I've been a Roger Clemens fan since he was with the Sox. But, it went further than that. I idolized the Rocket. Hell, when I was ten or so, I went to a baseball card show and, for twenty-five of my father's hard-earned dollars, got the man's autograph. I've still got that photo, as well as his rookie card, tucked carefully between plastic sheets.
I thought Clemens got a raw deal from the Sox before he left for Toronto. And I was happy for his successes in New York, although he'd done what no former Boston player should ever do – Suited up with the hated enemy. When he left for Houston and the National League, I cheered him on all the more, because he wouldn't be facing my beloved Sox.
Point is, I've been watching Roger play baseball for the past 23 years. It's a rather sad, undeniable fact that I can chart my emotional, intellectual, and physical growth by the man's career.
If you've been reading my columns, you'll notice a recurring theme is truth learned over time. For example: If you touch a red-hot pan, you'll get burned. If you bite into an olive, there just might be a pit in it. And if your car doesn't start, you may have an issue with the electrical system. Or maybe you're just out of gas.
With age and experience, we're supposed to learn from mistakes. Learn how to correct or avoid them. And as long as those mistakes aren't televised, like the grave error Clemens made by taking his steroid allegation denials to CBS' "60 Minutes", we have that luxury.
With last night's interview came the realization that Roger's career, in my eyes as well as in all likelihood, is over. Oh well. I guess my life will just have to learn to go on without the Rocket's domineering pitching influence playing out alongside it.
The interview was awesome in its turning of tables. Here's Mike Wallace, all ninety or so years of him, questioning Clemens, a man half his age, and giving him the verbal whipping of a lifetime. The Rocket seemed agitated and in a sweaty state of constant denial throughout his interrogation. Repeating the words, "Never happened," like a mantra, and claiming he'd take a lie detector to prove his innocence, though he said that really wouldn't prove anything.
Screw what Roger said about taking (or not taking) a lie detector test. It doesn't take a lie detector to tell me what I already know, which is either: A) Clemens wasn't telling the truth. Or B) Clemens is telling what he desperately wants the public to believe is the truth. The conclusion is simple: Clemens is lying about something.
Look. Regardless of the damning interview, the problem with the Rocket's denial is Andy Pettitte's declaration of guilt. Pettitte's acknowledgement of taking HGH given to him by trainer Brian McNamee (also Clemens former trainer and accuser) gave the charges credence. And when we look at the MLB's past allegations, every goddamned player that came out and denied the charges outright were giving tearful confessions at the end of their investigations.
Furthermore, these Clemens charges were merely hearsay. There's no physical evidence of McNamee injecting Clemens with a damned thing. No videotapes. No paper trail. It's just one rather unknown man's word against that of arguably the greatest pitcher in baseball history. If he'd just kept his big Texas mouth shut….
I'm amazed by the incompetence of Clemens' lawyers. What kind of crackpot attorney would advise his client to make any kind of public denial: Never mind a videotaped one broadcast nationwide on "60 Minutes"? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Right or Wrong, Guilty or Innocent, Clemens fucked up last night. The idol has fallen, leaving us a lesson to be learned. Sometimes silence is the best defense.
