Rocket Man

So what do we make of Mike Wallace's interview of Roger Clemens?

Not much I think.

First, I do not trust anything I see on 60 Minutes. The interviews are edited. It seems to me that the story lines are always one-sided. It is not journalism, it is a TV entertainment show.

Putting that aside, at least Clemens directly and vehemently denied the allegations. So it really comes down to who is lying? Brian McNamee or Roger Clemens? I don't think we will ever a final answer to this unless one of these two change their stories, or this is a third party with corroborating evidence - one way or another.

NcNamee's claim is bolstered by the Mitchell report which states that McNamee made the following deal with that prosecutors.

"No truthful statements can be used against McNamee in any federal
prosecution by that Office; if, however, he should be untruthful in any statements made pursuant to that agreement, he may be charged with criminal violations, including making false statements, which is a felony."

This suggests, and apparently Mitchell believed this, that McNamee had no reason to lie and a very good reason to tell the truth. Additionally McNamee's story about Andy Pettitte was confirmed by Pettitte.

On the other hand, McNamee claimed he started giving Clemens steroids during the summer of 1998 and Clemens showed immediate improvement. My understanding is that steroids does not work this way. It only works over time.

Clemen's version is bolstered by (a) his agreement to testify before Congress, (b) his slander suit, and (c) most importantly, his performance and his body.

Unlike Bonds, Clemens did not get better after 1998. True, his performance at that stage of his career was historic. He won two Cy Young Awards after 1998 but neither year matched his early years with the Red Sox. He stopped pitching complete games after 1998. His last good year was 2005 at age 43. His ability to sustain his performance is similar to Nolan Ryan who also pitched effectively into his mid-40's.

So bottom line, Clemens is innocent till proven guilty. Assuming that his performance was not improved by PED, then you have to say that he is easily the greatest pitcher since WWII. Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove and Clemens are the three best pitchers in history.