Congress, Clemens, and Baseball

So, was yesterday good for you? Did you get all the answers you wanted to hear from Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee? If you did, you weren't paying attention.

There were no answers. There was no truth.

There were only allegations and accusations.

Evidence, such as it was, was thin and circumstantial. Some of it was salacious and the Members certainly got their face time.

This is what Congress decided was so important that they had to devote time and energy on? If they were going to hold hearings on this, at least they could get real information and strip away the allegations to get at facts.

I consider this to be the minority report on yesterday. Michael McCann is a law professor and specializes in sports law. He thinks that Clemens did what he had to do yesterday, which isn't so much clear his name as to eliminate the possibility of being hit with perjury or obstruction charges.

On the other hand, you've got Mike Lupica, who is a sportswriter and has followed the Yankees for years. He rightfully notes that there are serious inconsistencies in Clemens statements and those made by Clemens teammate and best friend Andy Pettitte, which could lead to charges being brought since if Pettitte's version of events is true, it would mean that Clemens couldn't be telling the truth.

Clemens says that Pettitte is misremembering events.

That's two people who Clemens is saying is misremembering events: Pettitte and McNamee. The weight of evidence seems to be pushing against Clemens.

If Congress was so intent upon trying to get kids to no longer take steroids or hgh or other performance enhancing drugs, their best witness would have been Pettitte or Chuck Knoblauch, not Clemens or McNamee.

Both Pettitte and Knoblauch admit to taking performance enhancing drugs, and both are extremely recalcitrant and apologetic for their usage. Indeed, Pettitte acknowledged to using hgh in more instances than McNamee alleged, but came forward claiming that he had to do the right thing for him, his family and between him and God.

And what was it about the Members splitting into pro- or anti-Clemens based on party affiliation (and not without members on both sides of the aisle showing that this hearing was not about facts, truth, or evidence gathering, but their own face time in front of the cameras).

I can understand Rep. Issa's (R-CA) position that he opposed the hearings on grounds that Congress has more important business to attend to than holding hearings on a purely private business matter (which baseball's internal affairs and conduct is).

There are good reasons to question McNamee's integrity, and it shouldn't be limited to GOP or Democrat on the panel to ask those questions - if they were indeed intent on asking the questions. With Democrat Henry Waxman leading the charge - and going after Clemens, he took a softer approach with McNamee, which predicated others on the panel to ask McNamee tough questions.

All in all, what a waste.

UPDATE:
The stupidity never ends. This guy thinks that President Bush will issue Clemens a pardon. How many pardons has the President issued in his entire term in office? Off the top of my head, I can think of only one - Scooter Libby. He's been downright miserly with this power of the office of the President and I don't expect that to change for someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime.