a700hitter

If Clemens has nothing to hide, they should make the tape public.

I disagree. I think Clemens shot himself in the foot by playing the surreptitiously taped conversation. One thing that tape does for certain. It disarms Clemen's counsel of the defense that McNamee had an axe to grind with Clemens or that he did it out of malice. McNamee was clearly and genuinely upset that he gave up his friend Roger, but in the end he was not willing to go to jail, so he told the truth. Clemens did it without any doubt. Are we to believe that he had no idea what his good buddy Andy was doing? The three of them were tight friends. Clemens introduced McNamee to Andy. Are we to believe that Roger is so naive about steroids that he thinks steroids can grow a third ear or make you be able to pull a tractor with your teeth? What was that all about? Does he think everyone is stupid? Also, he admits taking painkillers and viox like skittles. No one in there right mind would think that doesn't have some sort of negative effect on your body. Athletes do it, because they need it to compete even though the negative effects of long term use of large doses of anti-inflammatories. Clemens said he would never do anything to hurt his body, but he admits to "eating" lots of medications. Does anyone else see the contradiction? That is the way Clemens is. He makes it up as he goes along, regardless of how stupid it makes him look. I am glad he doesn't give a rat's ass about the HOF, because he will not get there in 5 years or possibly ever. At least he will not have to battle over the cap on his plaque.

I heard on CBS Radio before 60 minutes aired that Clemens and McNamee have had a phone conversation. There is no news regarding the content of the discussion, but it happened between the filming and airing of the 60 Minutes segment. This is very interesting. I wouldn't put anything past Clemens. Maybe he'll attempt to buy off McNamee for a statement that he could have been mistaken.

Matt Clement signs with the Cardinals. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

A reunion of the 1996 Champs would have to include a number of Parole Officers.

Did he completely tear the hamstrings? I've heard that a torn hamstring is very difficult from which to recover. Joe Namath always says that his worst injury wasn't his knees problems, but rather a torn hamstring. If Rocco has just been pulling the muscle (as opposed to rupturing it) and he has no other structural issues, he probably would be worth the investment. He has a canon for an arm.

Except that Pavano was a much riskier propostion. He had had only one good year, and he'd had a history of arm ailments. BTW: Where do you think Pavano lands this year?

Isn't $10 million a little pricey for a physical and mental reclamation case?

I wouldn't hold my breath on this.

What you say is true, but why should we look to apply a system of equity to a bunch of juicers. You can never positively identify all the users. Does that mean that no one should get punished? Punish those who got caught. That's all that can be done. That should be a deterrent to those who didn't get caught and those who might think about using PEDs in the future. Pete Rose is probably not the only guy to bet on baseball while playing it, but his ass was banned for life, and he is a stark example of what happens when you get caught. The guys who got caught should get shunned. They took the risk got caught and are paying the price. The others who did not get caught are presumed innocent. Blame the Union that protected the players. If it had not been for their irrational stance on protecting users, more users would have been exposed and justice would be meted out to more than just a select group. Tough s*** for Clemens and the rest that got caught. I laugh that his attorneys are doing an investigation of others who might have testified before the Mitchell Committee as a way to impeach MCNamee's testimony. IIf you want to clear your client's name bring a defamation suit or STFU and go away. In the end, this charade will hurt Clemens more than if he were to come clean, because like Rose he will add the stigma of liar to his already tainted resume. Roger, you are in a hole. Stop digging.

I have heard the argument from Buster Olney, that since PED useage was so widespread it would be unfair to keep out those who were named but to vote for those who might have been using but were never named or caught in a drug test. It's a persuasive argument, but just like the law which is often selectively applied for a deterrent effect, I think the named players and those who failed tests should be excluded from consideration from the Hall. Is it selective justice? Yes, but as cheaters they are not deserving of fairness. They risked their careers by messing with the stuff and they lost their good names. They got caught, so they don't belong. Others got away with cheating, but hopefully future players will see what happened to Clemens, MGwire, and Bonds and will not use the protection of the Union to cheat.

I can remember Yaz being booed by the fans. Yes, Yaz, the one man wrecking crew of the Impossible Dream team and the last Triple Crown winner. There have been none in 40 years since. Never mind '67, Yaz was the one key player that helped transform the Red Six to perennial contenders from a second division team. RSN pays him homage today, but back then he got more negative press than Manny.

I think that it is very hard to quantify the value of having two tremendous stud hitters like Manny and Ortiz in the middle of a lineup. You may be able to find stats that show Manny's effect on Ortiz, based on when Manny is in or out of the lineup. However, I really believe that having a LHH and RHH like Ortiz and Manny creates a dynamic effect on the rest of the lineup that is very hard to quantify. Pitchers focus on those guys not hurting them. They often pitch around them and when they are not pitching around them they have to work extremely hard to get them out. This results in the rest of the lineup seeing more hittable strikes because they are putting the big boys on 1st or 1st and 2nd. It also results in less quality stuff to the remaining hitters, because a pitcher can't hump it up there every pitch. If they do, they can't go as many innings. That is another effect of Manny and Ortiz being in the middle of the lineup. Pitchers have to work so hard that they are done by the 5th inning. I realize that the supporting cast has something to do with this, and I believe that the FO has done a good job of tailoring a patient supporting cast to enhance the Manny-Ortiz effect. Is Manny declining? Maybe so, but even in decline he strikes fear in the hearts of pitchers and his combined effect with Ortiz makes the offense go. When this tandem breaks up, they'll need two solid hitters to replace what Manny brings this lineup. His equals--Pujols and Miggy Cabrera are locked up by other teams.

Although I would never compare Mantle to Dunn, Dunn does hit the ball as hard as anyone that I have ever seen. Also, I am not sure about the park advantage. The right field porch in Yankee Stadium was ridiculously short.

If you consider repeated denials interesting. Like Warner Wolfe said in response to Clemens' lawyers threat that to sue anyone that accuses Clemens of having used steroids. Either sue or shut up. If Roger is serious about clearing his name, let him testify before Congress or sue MLB and MCnamee. Otherwise, it is just propagandist blather. Baseless impassioned denials and personal attacks on McNamee mean nothing.

If you could hit with a glove, Darren Lewis would have been a Hall of Famer.