The Clemens Hearing Thread

[square634]

Wow, I just got home and turned this on. Does anyone else think this Waxman guy looks like a political cartoon or caricature of himself? Anyway, he definitely seems to be on McNamee's side on this.

[blueberryale77]

Sweet! Clemens interrupts Waxman and gets the gavel!

Did you see the look on Roger's face? That was priceless!

LOL at Waxman apologizing for the members of his committee calling MacNamee names.

[blueberryale77]

Summary anyone?

Of the whole thing??? I've only been around for about half an hour. Whole lotta nuthin, basically. Each congressperson gets their 5 minutes and for the most part they all express their outrage and ask the same questions.

[Flip217]

Wow, I just got home and turned this on. Does anyone else think this Waxman guy looks like a political cartoon or caricature of himself? Anyway, he definitely seems to be on McNamee's side on this.

You got that right. He apologized to McNamee in his closing statements for comments other Congressmen said.

Conclusion after 4+ hours: McNamee is a confirmed liar but telling the truth here, Clemens is going down sticking to his story which is obviously baloney, and I think I've had about all I can take for one day!

[GeorgiaBird]

Seems like most all of the congresspeople came down on one of the two positions:

1.) Clemens took PEDs

or

2.) McNamee is a shady dude.

Naive of me to say this, but strange that none seem to even mention the possibility that the truth is somewhere in the middle. McNamee is a shady dude, but that does not mean he is lying in the Mitchell Report.

I don't think anyone sees jail time, but I don't think Clemens did himself any favors in the court of public opinion today.

[BillySmith]

I can't see how Clemens did a single thing for himself today. It's easy to beat up on McNamee on the inconsistences and fact that he provided this stuff. Big deal. This whole thing screwed Clemens big time. How about Roger trying to interrupt Waxman's closing? What an arrogant ahole.

[wickedwitch]

Clemens is in over his head here. He and McNamee totally contradict each other, which means one of them has to be lying. The evidence supports McNamee. What is he thinking? Does he really think he can just bluster and bloviate his way out of this?

I think that's exactly what he's thinking. He's Roger Clemens, a baseball Titan (TM so stupid congressman). How could anyone believe that he did steroids?

[Gurgi]

I think that's exactly what he's thinking. He's Roger Clemens, a baseball Titan (TM so stupid congressman). How could anyone believe that he did steroids?

Exactly. He's trying to bluff his way through. I think he shouldnt of said anything at all. Just have been quiet after the Mitchell Report came out. Really all about arogance.

[Fairfax Bird]

Only the U.S. Congress could turn that hearing into a partisan affair. Basically all the Republicans thanked Clemens for being a titan of the game and accused McNamee of everything short of witchcraft. While their Democratic counterparts asked Clemens the same question over and over again trying to make him either sell out Andy Pettite or admit using steroids.

Waste of time. How can anything come of this?

[Gurgi]

Only the U.S. Congress could turn that hearing into a partisan affair. Basically all the Republicans thanked Clemens for being a titan of the game and accused McNamee of everything short of witchcraft. While their Democratic counterparts asked Clemens the same question over and over again trying to make him either sell out Andy Pettite or admit using steroids.

Waste of time. How can anything come of this?

I am a Republican and I thought the republicans were stupid. I think they were using this to try to make the Democrats look bad.

[Flip217]

The more I think about this, the more I think you just can't trust somebody who willingly goes from playing for the Red Sox to playing for the Yankees.

Keep ypur eye on Johnny Damon...

[theonestevewh]

This whole thing is ridiculous honestly and can be solved in one hour. Strap Roger Clemens to a polygraph and watch him try to beat that. I guarantee with his psychological profile, he'd fail like Mike Tyson at a spelling bee.

[brvn52]

I watch the end of the hearings and basically from everything I've heard, either Clemens or McNamee is lying. I have a feeling, though, that neither will ever be convicted of perjury. In the end, I think Clemens at some point took PEDs and we might know the truth (although it won't be black and white saying he did it), but he will never be convicted of perjury.

It really is a shame too. I couldn't stand Clemens for most of his career, but towards the end, as a fan of the game, I really began to appreciate his and achievements and what he had done for the game. PED or not, he was the best pitcher of his generation. I mean the guy won over 350 games in an era where 200 gets you HOF consideration. He was the last of a dying breed of pitchers - old school pitchers that threw CGs. He was a baseball guy, unbelievable competitor, and great player. MFY, or not, it was a joy to be able to see someone that good pitch that long and that well. But the fact that he has been linked to PEDs (which I truly believe he is guilty of and that's why he's prolonged his career as long as he has) has caused me to lose all respect for him. He went from someone I personally couldn't stand to someone I liked (which is saying something since he was a Red Sox and MFY). I appreciated the kind of player he was. But the last 8 years or so have been because he cheated and decided to play on an unlevel field. The 97 wins he has had since 2000 (I think he's started after the 1999 season where, at age 36, he went 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA - the worst of his career), assuming it is proven that he took PEDs, should be removed from the books and whether he should be a HOFer should be decided on his performance from 1984-1999.

I hope I am wrong on this. It would be a shame for baseball fans and the game of baseball for the best pitcher of a generation to have reached that level my cheating. IMO, this is worse than Barry Bonds taking steroids. Bonds was just about a lock for the Hall without steroids as he was going to most likely hit 500-600 HRs anyway and I don't think, even with steroids that he was the greatest hitter of his generation (Griffey and ARod I both consider to be better than Bonds). Roger Clemens was most likely also going to hall but his 257 wins as of 1999 would not have made him the best pitcher of his generation. They would have made him a top 5 of his generation, but not the number 1 man of his generation (it would have gone to Maddux without a doubt). Unfortunately what's happened has happened. Again, I hope I am wrong, but what I believe Clemens has done is disrespectful to the fans, players, and the actual game of baseball and he should be punished for that.

[Why Not?]

Seems like most all of the congresspeople came down on one of the two positions:

1.) Clemens took PEDs

or

2.) McNamee is a shady dude.

Naive of me to say this, but strange that none seem to even mention the possibility that the truth is somewhere in the middle. McNamee is a shady dude, but that does not mean he is lying in the Mitchell Report.

I don't think anyone sees jail time, but I don't think Clemens did himself any favors in the court of public opinion today.

The thing is ALL of the "somewhere in the middle" means that Clemens is guilty. McNamee's shadiness can be measured on a sliding scale, but Clemens either did it or didn't do it. It is what it is.

[Fairfax Bird]

Rep Issa has the IQ of a turnip.

Representative Issa burned down his own warehouse and committed insurance fraud. His IQ is higher than a turnip.