The Clemens Cliche

Roger Clemens went before the country in an interview with Mike Wallace on 60 minutes. The day after, there are a lot of articles about the interview - most of them not particularly supportive of Clemens. Now it's being reported that Clemens has filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee.

There are many reasons to believe that McNamee was most likely telling the truth to the Mitchell investigation. And those reasons are covered in print. I have nothing to add to any of that, at least nothing substantial or worthwhile.

However, I note the following quote from Clemens during the interview:

"And that's our country, isn't it?" Clemens asked Wallace. "Guilty before innocent. That's the way our country works now."

Besides the fact that Roger the Dodger... oops, I mean BlueJayYankeeAstroYankee (I left out the Sox intentionally as his alleged steroid usage ostensibly took place after leaving Boston), misquoted the cliche - guilty until proven innocent - he

1. makes a good point
2. makes a lousy point

Yes, the presumption of guilt from accusation alone is endemic in this country. Look at the Duke lacrosse players. And sometimes, even a trial by peers doesn't get it right (re: Charles Allen Chatman).

But if the steroid use was an isolated incident taking place infrequently and limited to just a few players, I think his woebegone comment would hold more water.

The fact is this... Roger Clemens was a rookie in 1984 (23 years ago). That is a looooonngg time to be a player in the major leagues - especially a starting pitcher. Especially a starting pitcher. After 13 seasons with the Boston Red Sox where he won 3 Cy Young awards and had 169 wins under his belt, GM Dan Duquette said Roger was in the twilight of his career.

For all intents and purposes, his stats reflected that as well. I use the following as evidence:

SEASON   TEAM              W L   ERA 
1984      Boston Red Sox   9   4   4.32
1985      Boston Red Sox   7   5   3.29
1986      Boston Red Sox   24  4   2.48
1987      Boston Red Sox   20  9   2.97
1988      Boston Red Sox   18   12   2.93
1989      Boston Red Sox   17   11   3.13
1990      Boston Red Sox   21   6   1.93
1991      Boston Red Sox   18   10   2.62
1992      Boston Red Sox   18   11   2.41
1993      Boston Red Sox   11   14   4.46
1994      Boston Red Sox   9   7   2.85
1995      Boston Red Sox   10   5   4.18
1996      Boston Red Sox   10   13   3.63
1997      Toronto Blue Jays   21   7   2.05
1998      Toronto Blue Jays   20   6   2.65
1999      New York Yankees   14   10   4.60
2000      New York Yankees   13   8   3.70
2001      New York Yankees   20   3   3.51
2002      New York Yankees   13   6   4.35
2003      New York Yankees   17   9   3.91
2004      Houston Astros   18   4   2.98
2005      Houston Astros   13   8   1.87
2006      Houston Astros   7   6   2.30
2007      New York Yankees   6   6   4.18

From 1993 - 1996, Roger Clemens fell from the stratosphere to become a fairly ordinary pitcher for the Red Sox. The next year, 1997, he shot back up to dominance, going on to win 4 more Cy Young Awards and take his win record to over 350.

Can a change of scenery cause that sort of sea change? It's possible. Steroids certainly can as well.

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence to support McNamee's claims. And given the performance-enhancing drug culture that existed in Major League Baseball, it would not be surprising to find the Rocket's post Sox numbers dripping with juice.

It fills all kind of logical holes that would otherwise be clamoring for satisfactory answers.

So when Roger blames the country for its rush to judgment, he comes across as disingenuous.

And for what it's worth - I think he's guilty.