Shoot 'Em up Rocket Man

Which is bigger news? Is the Mitchell Report naming Hall of Famer(?) Roger Clemens amongst many others as those who bought and presumably used steroids. Or, is it that the Red Sox had announced that the club will not tender a 2008 contract to right-hander Brendan Donnelly. Oh, just kidding you bastard. We all know it's the much anticipated Mitchell Report. I think the only names that would have been a bigger story than Clemens rhyme with Mujols, Keeter, and J-Rod.

Over the last 8-9 years, the Clemens camp has been doing an unbelievable job positioning him as something he is not, a savior. (Before my Roger-bashing begins, for the record, I believe that in spite of the steroid allegations Roger Clemens is one of the best REGULAR season pitchers of all-time. In the post-season, outside of the 1 hit gem he threw in the 2000 ALCS against the Mariners, he was an above average pitcher (13-8 3.75 ERA in the post-season), and not the one you sign to $26 million for one season).

When Roger signed with the Yankees in 1999, they were coming off a 114 win, World Series season. They had scrappy, gritty players (Jeter, Brosius) clutch hitters (Bernie, O'Neill), a rotation of above average starters (Cone, Pettitte, El Duque), and a sick pen (Mo, Nelson, Staton). They did not need Clemens, he needed them. Roger went on to go 14-10 with an ERA above 4 in 1999, along with a 2-1 post-season recorded that included a 2 inning, 5 Run shellacking at the hands of the Red Sox. In 2000, he was more of an asset, but this all-time great was by far the 2nd or 3rd best pitcher in the rotation at best, and fifth or sixth best on the staff as a whole. But this was a team that scored 800+ runs and had David Justice coming off the bench with 20 HR and 60 RBI. Again, Roger was not the focal point of this teams success with a 13-8 record.

My point? The guy is a phony, always has been and now it's just proven further. According to the Mitchell Report, he was juicing when he was racking up the Cy Young's in Toronto. Then he was average in his first few Yankee seasons. Could this be without the steroids? Then became this machine over the next 6 seasons with the Yankees and the Astro's winning 88 games and two more Cy Young awards, all within the age range of 38-44.

The affect of steroids on pitchers hasn't really come into full focus yet. Does it add a few mph to the fastball? How many innings per start did the juice add, with the sped up recovery time? None the less, the legacy of Roger Clemens is tainted. Especially when you put him along the side the names aren't mentioned in that report, (i.e., Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, etc.), all of whom had to, or tried to, reinvent themselves as their careers moved on.

Of course Roger denied it, why wouldn't he, he's been lying for 15 years.

You can see the full list here, and the report here.