Pettite and Clemens

This ought to provide some grist for a lot of mills.

A lawyer for Andy Pettitte's former personal trainer said Tuesday he believes the pitcher will tell Congress he discussed human growth hormone with Roger Clemens between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

The lawyer, Earl Ward, said Pettitte talked about HGH with trainer Brian McNamee following a conversation with Clemens, who has denied he used HGH or steroids. McNamee worked with both Clemens and Pettitte.

"We're hopeful based on Andy's reputation that he will corroborate Brian's statements with regard to Roger," Ward said in a telephone interview.

Pettitte's meeting with a congressional committee investigating drug use in baseball was postponed until Monday. He originally was slated to appear for a deposition or transcribed interview today, but the date was changed Tuesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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Ward said the discussion he was referring to occurred at Clemens' house.

"Based on what we know, there was a situation where Andy was speaking to Roger in Brian's presence, then Andy came over to Brian and essentially said, 'Why didn't you tell me about this stuff?' He referred to HGH," Ward said. "Brian discouraged him, and then several months later, when he (Pettitte) got injured, he came back and asked Brian about it, and that's when Brian injected him. We believe that based on the fact that Andy came to Brian and asked him about HGH, it was Roger who told Andy about HGH, and that's why he asked Brian about it."

Richard Emery, another lawyer for McNamee, said his client and Pettitte also discussed steroid use by Clemens.

"Pettitte is certainly going to tell the truth, and if he tells the truth, everything will be fine," Emery said.

"There are a number of conversations where Pettitte and Brian talked about Clemens' use. I think there is everything to believe Pettitte is not a liar."

Jay Reisinger, Pettitte's lawyer, would not discuss what Pettitte would say.

"He hasn't testified yet, and I'm not going to comment on what he's going to testify about," Reisinger said.

Lanny Breuer, Clemens' new lawyer, said the seven-time Cy Young Award winner stood by his denials.

"Roger Clemens' remarkable success as a pitcher has everything to do with his extraordinary work ethic and his innate abilities, and nothing to do with HGH or steroids," Breuer said in a statement. "Let me be clear: Roger Clemens never took HGH and he never took steroids."

Andy Pettite's admission that he did take HGH was a huge boost to the Mitchell Report's credibility. Even though discussing HGH with McNamee and Clemens isn't really evidence of anything, testimony from Pettite that such a thing happened will be seen as a blow to Clemens' denials of HGH and steroid use. On the other hand, if Pettite corroborates Clemens in some way - like saying he believes Clemens, for instance - that would be a huge win for the Rocket. Needless to say, I think this is going to be the biggest day-after-the-Super-Bowl story out there.

In related news, you may have heard that Team Clemens has released a report that attempts to debunk claims that his late-career surge is evidence of steroid/HGH use. (*) While statheads are not terribly impressed by this effort, it could certainly fool some of the more gullible members of the sportswriting public. And I think the point that Joe Sheehan made that "Clemens' career path isn't normal, but the career paths of the greatest players ever aren't normal" is one that should carry more weight than it does.

And finally, though it's crappily formatted, Steroids, Other "Drugs", and Baseball is challenging head on the notion that so-called PEDs have had any measurable effect on baseball players' performance and statistics. Be prepared to be frustrated with the layout, but check it out anyway.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 31, 2008 to Baseball