12/19/2007

NEW YORK (AP) -Roger Clemens denied allegations by his former trainer that he took performance-enhancing drugs, calling them “a dangerous and destructive shortcut that no athlete should ever take.”

The accusations against the seven-time Cy Young Award winner from former trainer Brian McNamee were the most striking in last week’s Mitchell Report. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell wrote McNamee said he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998 while with the Toronto Blue Jays, and steroids and human growth hormone in 2000 and 2001, while with the New York Yankees.

“I want to state clearly and without qualification: I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life,” Clemens said Tuesday in a statement issued through his agent, Randy Hendricks. “Those substances represent a dangerous and destructive shortcut that no athlete should ever take.

“I am disappointed that my 25 years in public life have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell’s report has raised many serious questions. I plan to publicly answer all of those questions at the appropriate time in the appropriate way. I only ask that in the meantime people not rush to judgment.”
Another former McNamee client, Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, said last weekend that he took HGH twice while rehabbing from an injury in 2002. Mitchell said McNamee told him he injected Pettitte with HGH two to four times that year.

“He stands 100 percent behind the accuracy of the information he provided to Sen. Mitchell,” McNamee’s lawyer, Ed Ward, said in a statement.

Mitchell declined comment.

Baseball players and owners didn’t have an agreement banning steroids until September 2002. They banned HGH in January 2005.

Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, first issued a denial last Thursday, hours after Mitchell’s report was released. Tuesday marked the first public comments by Clemens, an 11-time All-Star who spent 24 years in the major leagues with Boston, Toronto, the Yankees and Houston.

The 45-year-old right-hander was 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA for the Yankees this year and may retire. He said he planned to retire after the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons, only to return each time.

A six-time 20-game winner, Clemens was considered by most to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer before McNamee’s allegations.

The allegations also have the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association reconsidering whether to let Clemens speak at the group’s annual convention next month. The group held an executive meeting Tuesday but postponed making a decision until it could get more information.

Clemens spoke with one of the group’s coaches before the meeting and said he “is ready to come speak,” said Jim Long, president of the association.

“We feel we owe it to our association and Roger himself to give him the benefit of the doubt further,” Long said.

http://www.baseballssteroidera.com/

Merrill

NEW YORK (AP) - Judgment day arrived for baseball’s steroids era, with the Mitchell report set to be released and posted on the Internet for all to see. The first name to emerge Thursday was seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.

ESPN.com reported that Brian McNamee, a former trainer for the Yankees and Clemens, said information he gave Mitchell on supplying the pitcher with steroids is in the report. The Web site, citing an unidentified source close to the trainer, said McNamee told investigators he supplied Clemens with steroids.

Randy Hendricks, Clemens’ agent, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Mitchell’s report exposes a “serious drug culture within baseball, from top to bottom,” fingers MVPs and All-Stars and calls for beefed-up testing by an outside agency to clean up the game, The Associated Press learned.
The report by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will include names of 60 to 80 players linked to performance-enhancing substances and plenty more information that exposes “deep problems” afflicting the sport, one of two sources with knowledge of the findings told the AP. Both sources said the report would not address amphetamines.

The two sources were familiar with discussions that led to the final draft but did not want to be identified because it was confidential until its scheduled release. They said the full report, which they had not read, totaled 304 pages plus exhibits.

One person familiar with the final version would only speak anonymously but described it as “a very thorough treatment of the subject” and said some aspects were surprising. He said the report assigns blame to both the commissioner’s office and the players’ union.

MLB’s “not going to love it, the union’s not going to love it,” he said.
One source said that while the report will cite problems “top to bottom,” it also will expose “deep problems, the number of players, high-level MVPs and All-Stars,” as well as clubhouse personnel who allowed steroids and other banned substances in clubhouses or knew about it and didn’t say anything.

The rest of the report, the sources said, focuses on recommendations that include enhanced year-round testing and hiring a drug-testing company that uses the highest standards of independence and transparency. Baseball’s program currently is overseen by a joint management-union Health Policy Advisory Committee, with an independent administrator approved by both sides.

Mitchell, a Boston Red Sox director, planned to release his report at 2 p.m. Thursday during a news conference in New York City. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was to hold his own news conference a few blocks away 2 1/2 hours later.

The report comes at the end of a year when San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds broke the career home run record, only to be indicted 100 days later on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroid use.

It also was expected to recommend that baseball develop a credible program to handle cases with evidence of athletes receiving or taking drugs but not testing positive for them.

Just last week, Kansas City’s Jose Guillen and Baltimore’s Jay Gibbons were suspended for the first 15 days of next season, and media reports said they had obtained human growth hormone in 2005, after baseball banned it.

Much of the first part of the report will be based on evidence obtained from former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, and from information gleaned from the Albany district attorney’s investigation into illegal drug distribution that focused on Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla., the sources said.

Radomski was required to cooperate with the investigation as a condition of his federal plea agreement last April. Radomski pleaded guilty to illegally distributing steroids, HGH, amphetamines and other drugs to players and is awaiting sentencing. Some professional athletes have been linked to the Signature probe, though none have been charged.
Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president of labor relations, reviewed at least part of the report this week to ensure no confidential information from the drug-testing program was disclosed, a person with knowledge of the union’s discussion with Mitchell said, also on condition of anonymity.

Despite repeated requests by the players’ association to Mitchell’s law firm, the union had not been allowed to review the report, that person said.
“I certainly hope after 21 months and getting zip by way of cooperation from the players’ association that they’ll come up with some recommendations for improvement,” said World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound. “If not, it’s a complete waste of time.”
But he said he’s not sure baseball would follow any recommendations.
“My guess is that the management side probably would, but the players’ association will dig in and continue its steel-town union approach to life,” he said.

Agents have said they expect the report to be highly critical of players and the union for largely refusing to cooperate with Mitchell.
Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, sent an e-mail to owners and team presidents in advance of the report with instructions how to respond to media inquiries.

“We look forward to carefully reading the results of Sen. Mitchell’s investigation,” the recommended response said. “Protecting the integrity of our game is vital, and we intend to study his findings and recommendations, and will not comment until we have done so.”
Baseball did not have an agreement to ban steroids until September 2002, did not have testing with penalties until 2004 and did not ban HGH until 2005, when it also instituted a suspension for a first positive test.
Mitchell was hired by Selig in March 2006 after the publication of “Game of Shadows,” a book by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters about Bonds’ alleged steroid use. The rise in power in the 1990s, which drew national attention when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris’ single-season record in the Great Home Run Race of 1998, was accompanied by a rise in suspicion.

Maris’ record of 61 homers had stood since 1961, but McGwire hit 70 that year and Sosa had 66. During the chase, the AP reported McGwire had used androstenedione, a supplement then available over the counter that produced testosterone.

A bulked-up Bonds then shattered McGwire’s record by hitting 73 homers in 2001.

Very interesting comments. I hope you are wrong about Roger - maybe i am turning the other way because I really don’t want to believe it.

I was having sort of the same debate the other day with a friend and to me it is amazing that Nefii Perez is still one of the more high profile major league players this year that was caught cheating.

Maybe the real answer is everyone is doing it but has so much money that they can hide it and beat any testing. when i say everyone I am thinking about 60-70% of the players.

Merrill

I never had the PLEASURE of watching Ted, Mickey or Joe D play. It is actually one of the things I would love to do if I ever could go back in time. All of them were great but different for sure - clearly Ted would have hit over 700 home runs had he not serve his country. Mickey was an unbelievable fielder and left it all on the field. I wish he had taken better care of his body - As I recall didn’t he first hurt his knee tripping over a sprinkler head in the outfield?

I hope you are wrong about AROD and Pujols - frankly I am getting tired of all of the talk. Would rather concentrate on watching great baseball.

No we don’t need anymore Lyle Alzados or anymore fatalities in the World Wrestling Association.

Merrill

Of course I’m a Willie fan and it’s hard for me to say this but for the limited time Joe D played he was the consummate player. Hit 361 HR’s in 13 seasons and struck out about 310 times. An effortless fielder.

Now onto steroids. Ok no proof but how does one explain the changes in Barry’s body ? I also suspect that Pujols is or was on some form of steroid. I don’t have a before picture like those we have of Bonds, but I’m sure if you can resurrect one there would be a major difference.I also suspect A-Rod. He is very big compared to when he first came up. Ivan also looks like he is suffering from withdrawal. I never suspected Nomar and I still don;t know. Clemens I think , like Ryan is a freak of nature. Nolan was a workout freak and I think that is what Roger is.

I think we have to be concerned about steroid usa among todays athletes because it has a effect on todays youth athletes who do everything to emulate big leaguers.

Do we need any more Lyle Alzados ?

Joe

Good comments - I never knew about the foul pole and I totally forgot about Brady Anderson - out of nowhere hits 50 homers in 1996. Twice as many as he ever did before. Gonzalez does have a nice swing but 57 home runs does seem like he may have had some help.

Adam - great link!

Merrill