Who's telling the truth?

I'm already on the record - I think Roger Clemens is lying. Why would McNamee (sp?) tell the truth about two other guys, both of whom have corroborated his statements, and lie about Roger? Why would he lie, especially given the fact that perjury will send him to jail? Okay...I know all the Clemens apologists will say that he's got a bone to pick with Roger and he's got a history of not being especially forthcoming, or of downright fabricating stories, in the past. They'll say that he's manufactured evidence and that he's doing everything in his power to bring Clemens down. Why? What purpose does it serve him to ruin Roger Clemens? If he's caught lying this time around, he's going to jail! Why would Clemens good friend, Andy Pettit (sp?) agree with Mcnamee's account and further implicate Clemens unless McNamee is telling the truth? Why, indeed!

Let's ask a few more why's, shall we? Why has Clemens come out of retirement not once, not twice, but three times? Why does he feel the need, having already been recognized as arguably the greatest pitcher of his era, to add to, and perhaps detract from, his stellar legacy? My favorite sports columnist, Jason Whitlock, hit the nail on the head in his latest article on this same topic. Roger's not in it for the money anymore. He's got plenty. He's not in it for that elusive World Series ring; he's got two of 'em. He's not in it for personal records; he's got a one-way ticket to Cooperstown as soon as he's gone for five years straight (well...at least he DID have that!). No, Roger's in it because he loves the attention. He loves to be spoken of in glowing terms by the talking heads on television. He loves to be the center of everyone's attention and the subject of adoration from a doting throng. He can't stand the idea of being yesterday's news; the has-been that still gets mentioned in passing but isn't the hot topic today. Roger's a camera hound; an attention junkie. That's why he needs to keep coming back and doing whatever he can to remain legitimate. NOT being legitimate is tantamount to death for him.

Why do you think he'd get in front of whoever and lie about his use of performance-enhancing drugs? (I love the terminology! Steroids, HGH, amphetamines, Ephedrine, etc., are all now "performance enhancing substances," sort of like nukes, bio-weapons, chemical weapons, etc., are now lumped together as "WMDs;" you know, "weapons of mass destruction." With the accusations of McNamee, there's only two choices for Roger. First, admit that he did it and remind everyone that, at the time, these substances were NOT banned by baseball and he needed them to recover from injury (or whatever other excuse he needs to use to massage the tender sensibilities of his adoring public). By coming clean and expressing deep regret for making an error in judgement, he would have been quickly forgiven and all would be forgotten by and large. His other choice, of course, is the one he chose; deny, deny, DENY!!! I'm afraid he thought that it would all come down to a he-said, she-said situation; he did not foresee the production of biologicals from the McNamee clinic and I really don't think his friends would corroborate the statements of his accuser. Now, he's painted into a corner and risking prosecution for perjury.

Say it ain't so, Roger! Say it ain't so!

I hear Levenworth is nice this time of year! So long, Roger. - Dan