Roger Clemens on 60 Minutes

In the wake of the Mitchell Report lies the reputation of first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher, Roger Clemens. Clemens has been accused of receiving both steroid and HGH injections while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. A personnel assistant/strength trainer alleges that he gave Clemens these injections and the syringes were supplied by Clemens.

I say alleged because what we have here is the word of a strength coach that is facing jail-time and who has cooperated with the federal authorities in this investigation into what has turned into an eyesore for the game of baseball. Cheating at the major league level and by some of the greatest players of this era. An era that has been sullied by these reports and is now loosely termed " The Steroid Era".

Roger Clemens has always been an exceptional pitcher. A pitcher with a reputation of working extremely hard at his craft, a craft he excelled at. But one does have to wonder if Clemens used a little something to help his aging body get closer to 100% to make "his next start". As many so-called experts have mentioned about Barry Bonds getting physically bigger in his late 30s, the same happened with Roger Clemens. Clemens appeared to gain muscle mass and size as he got older. It wasn't as apparent as with Bonds. Bonds is/was an everyday player, while Clemens made his one appearance and then sat for 4 or 5 days before his next start.

But tonight Clemens faced perhaps his toughest opponent. Questions about injections and questions about his honesty. I've always admired Roger Clemens for his work ethic. He is truly a historian of the sport and a perfectionist at his craft. He worked very hard during the off season to remain fit and he was paid handsomely for his efforts. With rumors of hitters taking steroids, it would only make sense that pitchers could benefit from such illegal substances, if only to level the playing field.

I often suspected Roger Clemens could possibly have taken such substances. At his advancing age, the amount of mileage on his right arm and those huge contracts that only the elite teams could wave in his face, it only made sense that Roger could possibly partake of steroids. Just to keep an edge, to play the game the way it was currently being played. I hoped the Mitchell Report was wrong and happy to hear that Clemens adamantly denied the allegations.

Until tonight. I watched Roger's face closely during the interview and the subconscious nods and twitches began to appear as the questioning became tougher. I listened intently as the future Hall of Famer deflected some of the questions by going in a different direction with his replies. I started to become upset as he answered questions about his workout buddy, Andy Pettitte, who was accused of taking HGH to overcome an injury and quickly admitted his mistake. Clemens responded that he knew nothing about Pettitte taking these injections and was shocked to hear that he had. That wasn't what his eyes and facial expressions were saying however. And I began wondering about an incident in the 2000 World Series, the one where Roger takes a piece of a broken bat that came in his general direction and he flings back at Mike Piazza. I wonder if that was 'roid rage.

Last night opened my eyes about Roger Clemens. I always thought of Clemens as a stand-up guy. But after his piece aired my feelings about him changed. In my opinion I watched Clemens lie about his use of illegal drugs during his playing time. I have no doubt he was injected with the vitamin B-12 and painkillers he claims. I don't believe him any longer about his denial of steroid use. I didn't see a man angry at his strength coach for lying about him. Clemens was furious he had been betrayed, outed if you will.

The legacy Clemens wanted to be remembered for, was to be among the best pitchers of his era. He did everything that fellow Texan Nolan Ryan was able to accomplish and more... Clemens wears World Series rings. But unlike Ryan, Clemens leaves the sport he loves so much as a loser. Clemens is furious that the one thing he strives his whole career for, to be remembered as a winner, is gone. In this fan's eyes he's no longer a stand-up guy nor a winner. Roger Clemens leaves the game a loser, a branded LOSER!