Why Did You Let McNamee Inject You?

After listening to the conference (thanks to Was Watching) and hearing some of the questions asked to Roger Clemens, there were a few things that I noticed. One exchange, in particular, that struck me was the following by an unknown reporter (from what I can tell) and Roger Clemens.

Q: Roger, just getting back to the Lidocaine and the B-12… You, you know you play for teams with doctors and training staffs… Why would you have a personal trainer giving you these injections when he doesn’t have a medical degree?

A: Well, I, I didn’t know that. I was told that he did. He was umm, under contract with one Major League Baseball team once, the Yankees twice, the Blue Jays once.

Q: –inaudible question/response–

A: Well, he was a licensed trainer, again, from what I was told…

You know, this could look like a pretty ignorant statement by Roger Clemens. How could Clemens not know if McNamee had the appropriate medical credentials when he was regularly working out with him and they were spending so much time together. He was Clemens’ trainer for years, after all, and was the man who had created his effective workout routine. This is similar to the Barry Bonds’ situation when he acted as if he didn’t know what he was truly being injected with (come on now). This level of ignorance could be a potentially damaging factor in the court of public opinion.

However (and there’s always a however), Clemens could, in fact, be telling the truth. According to an ESPN report (that I posted recently) which delves into McNamee’s background, McNamee was acting as if he had earned a legitimate medical degree and was attempting to use the title of “Dr” in order to diversify his business options.

While trying to expand beyond his Yankees training duties, McNamee began referring to himself as Dr. McNamee in his side gigs. He was featured in InVite’s promotional magazine as “Dr. Brian McNamee, Ph.D,” used the e-mail address “McNameePHD,” and told people he had earned his doctorate at Columbus University in Louisiana. Columbus now operates out of Mississippi, after the state of Louisiana shut it down in 2001 for being a “diploma mill,” churning out degrees to people who did little or no academic work.

This occurred in 2001, but it’s not far-fetched to assume that McNamee may have done this before and to a variety of people (including Clemens?). He had a degree with no substance to it, or he may not have had a degree at all, but either way, one could see that it is not out of character for him to act as if he had an actual medical degree.

The Clemens-McNamee Phone Call

As reported by Newsday a couple of days ago, McNamee and Clemens spoke “privately” over the phone about the recent allegations issued by the Mitchell Report. Clemens was actually audio-taping the entire thing and just played it during his press conference.

Here’s an MLB news story about it. Apparently, it was pretty ugly. There was nothing that was explicitly said by McNamee which directly supported his claims (however he did not state that his allegations were lies and he did not contradict himself). Instead, he kept saying “What do you want me to do Roger?” over and over again. Here’s a video (with audio) of the conference (including the now infamous phone call) and a transcript of some of the audio (from the call). Crazy stuff.

“All I did was what I thought was right,” said McNamee, adding that he didn’t want to go to jail. “It wasn’t right, but I did what I had to do.”

McNamee also continuously and emotionally asked Clemens, “What do you want me to do?”

Said Clemens: “I just want the truth to come out. I can’t believe what’s being said. I’m getting it from all angles. I just need somebody to tell the truth.”

Clemens is finally starting to win a couple of rounds (in terms of public support).

In light of these highly publicized events, with McNamee, Clemens, team personnel supplying steroids, and the Mitchell Report, the MLB released a statement today saying that the organization is going to greatly increase clubhouse security. This increased security includes background checks for all current employees and newly hired workers. I guess they finally learned their lesson.

Pettitte Hires New Lawyer for Congressional Meeting

Andy Pettitte isn’t taking any chances. Apparently he has retained a new lawyer for his meeting with the Congressional committee. The lawyer is Jay Reisinger and he actually represented Sammy Sosa in the past (when he testified to the same committee).

Is associating yourself with Sammy Sosa’s lawyer a good thing or a bad thing?

iYankees Interior Decorating

Hey guys. I’m changing the blog’s current look (as you can see). Let me know what you guys think about the change. I can always change it back depending on your feedback. Also, the “pages” including “about” and “links” aren’t currently available, but I’ll be working on that today.

**UPDATE — Do to the inability to have other pages that you can see (About, Links), I’ve changed the site back. I don’t think its something that can be altered with this theme, which won’t work for the site. Also, I’ll be adding “categories” from now on, so if you’re ever searching for a specific subject (in the future), they should work nicely for you (of course the search function is always easy and available as well). Thanks to Grant for his comment too.

Projected Lineup… For 2011

Baseball America’s got it, here. They also discuss the top 10 prospects in the Yankees farm system (including Tabata, Joba, Jackson, Kennedy, Horne, and others).

The Legendary Workout Regimen

 

Here’s a great read by Pat Jordan at Baseball Analysts. Its predominantly about Roger Clemens’ workout routine with Brian McNamee, and it questions the physical abilities had by Clemens even into his mid 40’s (he juxtaposes Tom Seaver’s success/abilities with Roger Clemens’ success/abilities).

Whenever people talk about Roger Clemens and his success, even as he got older, they always spoke of his workout regimen (created by McNamee) that began in 1998. These workouts were said to be intense, long hour affairs that lasted late into the day. Clemens would even invite many other pitchers to his house, guys like Andy Pettitte, to work out with him, ultimately turning the workouts into legendary events within baseball’s social circles.

“I got the impression from the workouts that Roger was taking a guy like Andy and getting him ready to do it for another 8 to 10 years,” said C. J. Nitkowski, one of the pitchers who joined in the workouts.

“Roger had done it so well for so long, and he loved the workout and was really good about sharing it. He was sold on Mac. He was a believer, and he encouraged other guys to get on the program.”

Clemens’ workout routine reminds me of another famous training regimen that is often talked about, except in another “sports” realm. I’m talking about professional wrestling and the Hart (as in Brett “The Hitman” Hart) Family Dungeon, where a variety of famous wrestlers (past and present) participated in tremendous physical workouts that were absolutely mythic in the professional wrestling world. Ironically, a lot of these wrestlers (including Bret Hart, the ringleader of the workouts) were entrenched in PED use (particularly steroids) and many have since passed away. Their subsequent deaths are thought to be brought on, in part, by their prolonged substance abuse issues (e.g. Chris Benoit, The British Bulldog, Brian Pillman).

I bring this up because the extreme measures taken by Roger Clemens in order to stay fit and in shape with Brian McNamee are highly interesting. One wonders as to why he would jump into such a different and demanding workout plan so late into his baseball career. Of course, he does know that he’s not getting any younger so age definitely plays a big part in his choice to engage in such a physically demanding regiment. However, there could be other issues at work as well.

Here’s a bit of text from Jordan’s post:

During the dinner at the steakhouse Mr. Clemens asked Mr. McNamee for his permission to have a steak (McNamee nodded) and a baked potato (McNamee nodded again, but added a caveat, “Only dry.”). The same scenario played itself out at the Mexican Restaurant. Clemens pointed to an item on the menu and Mr. McNamee either nodded, or shook his head, no.

During the three days I followed Mr. Clemens around Houston, he seemed like a child beholden to the whims of the sour, suspicious, and taciturn McNamee. It seemed as if Mr. Clemens would not do anything to his body, or ingest anything into it that Mr. McNamee hadn’t approved. I found it strange that, at 38, Mr. Clemens still had to have someone dictate his diet and workout regimen down to the minutest detail at this late stage of his illustrious career. In fact, Mr. Clemens’ devotion to Mr. McNamee’s diet and workout routine seemed almost like a spiritual quest that must not be impeded.

This abnormal reliance on McNamee’s workout plan can be explained by Clemens’ desire for normalcy in baseball. If Roger Clemens was actually taking steroids during those years, an important part of maintaining one’s body while using steroids is training hard in order to “cut” or reduce excess weight (explains his strict diet), allowing for steroid growth to seem like a natural evolution of one’s body (brought on solely by working hard) instead of a blatant steroid induced progression. Water weight and even body fat is often gained when on steroids, so reducing preexisting body fat in order to hamper the look of added bulk (muscular and even fat) is essential when you’re publicly seen, everyday, in the baseball world. 

Obviously, you’re going to work out harder when on steroids in order to produce maximum gains. That’s essentially how your routine pays off, in the physical gains you ultimately achieve. However, the added element of “looking normal” is also in play when you are a nationally recognized athlete. So, working out extremely hard, not only to increase strength but to reduce bulk for appearance purposes, is very important.

Clemens needs to understand this connection between the suddenly extreme workouts and steroid use. He must understand why people may seamlessly lump the two together. He can’t simply say “I worked hard,” and that he’d have a “third ear growing out of my forehead” if he used steroids (come on, a third ear? More like another Cy-Young). Hell, he’s publicized his workouts so much, you have to wonder, maybe he was preparing for this one day. Maybe, he thought, if I just work out so hard and talk about it a lot, making my workouts well-known, maybe I won’t be mixed into the steroid era (and he predominantly wasn’t, for a very long time). That’s why these are shallow arguments for Clemens’ case and, if you think about it, his demanding regiment and steroid use seem to fit well together. Therefore, more is needed than some hyperbole and generic “I work hard” statements.

Similar to those who trained endlessly in the Hart Family Dungeon, I wouldn’t be surprised if both Pettitte and Clemens were taking steroids regularly and working out, all the time. Maybe he’s the Bret Hart of the group, leading them into their steroid laden workout routines, and motivating all of those participating. Again, I know Pettitte has admitted to using HGH briefly, but, you can never really know nowadays.

Finally, I’m not attempting to crucify Clemens or Pettitte. As you can see, I’m just stating that working hard (and this sudden, obsessive reliance on McNamee’s program) and steroid use are not necessarily two separate things in today’s modern sports’ world, as they both fit fairly well together for an athlete looking to become physically greater (while retaining a “normal” appearance).

This is also an attempt to demonstrate that Clemens did not really offer any conclusive, substantial evidence or legitimate reasons as to why we should believe him in his 60 Minutes segment. If he had done so, I would not be writing this now. Sorry, but more is needed.

Clemens Sues McNamee for Defamation

Looks like Clemens beat out McNamee.

NEW YORK – Roger Clemens beat Brian McNamee to court, filing a defamation suit against the former trainer who claimed to have injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens is taking all the necessary steps to clear his name. Next, he’ll also testify in front of the Congressional committee and go from there.

C.C. Sabathia Update

The reigning Cy-Young winner, CC Sabathia, is free-agent bound come 2009. I for one think that the Yankees will definitely make a play for his services if he hits the open market.

Now, according to Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, the Tribe’s GM, Mark Shapiro, has offered Sabathia a contract to keep him playing at the Jake. However, the deal may fall apart if the length of the contract isn’t right, as Sabathia’s people believe that he is worth a 5-7 year deal. Of course, money is also involved here (more years=more money) and if the Tribe fails to lock him up, you can bet that the Yankees will eventually give him the money and the years that he is currently asking for.

Again, this is all speculative. But, it seems to make sense with the Yankees clearing payroll after the upcoming season (a lot of this is contingent upon what happens to Johan Santana as well).