BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Geffner: Believing in Roger Clemens

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Monday, January 07, 2008

Geffner: Believing in Roger Clemens

HGH Noon...Roger Clemens finds his Katy Jurado.

I refuse to wipe away 354 major-league victories and seven Cy Youngs simply on the say-so of one guy, especially a guy who could’ve ended up in the pokey for his own transgressions with steroids if he hadn’t cut a deal with federal prosecutors to unzip his lips with the Mitchell investigation.

“The people that know me believe me,” Clemens went on to say to Wallace. “They know what I’m about.”

Call me a bleeding-heart liberal. Call me blindly naïve.

But if I have to be the last man standing who believes strongly in a clean and honorable Roger Clemens, as well as in the wonderful principle of our democracy called the presumption of innocence, then so be it.

I’ll stand out there fighting all alone, just like Clemens.

Repoz Posted: January 07, 2008 at 07:48 AM | 5 comment(s)
Related News: General, NY Yankees, Steroids

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1. Darren

Posted: January 08, 2008 at 09:02 PM (#2664006)

This article, giving Clemens the benefit of the doubt, is the ONLY Clemens/steroids article that has gotten 0 comments. Not surprising but said.

2. robinred

Posted: January 08, 2008 at 09:09 PM (#2664009)

Along somewhat the same lines, I wanted to note that the Shane Monahan thread, the Gary Bennett thread, and the thread on the King Kaufman column linking to BTF and noting the omission of Larry Starr's name/statements from the Mitchell Report all got less than 20 comments apiece.

3. Rich Rifkin I Posted: January 08, 2008 at 09:38 PM (#2664033)

I refuse to wipe away 354 major-league victories and seven Cy Youngs simply on the say-so of one guy, especially a guy who could’ve ended up in the pokey for his own transgressions with steroids if he hadn’t cut a deal with federal prosecutors to unzip his lips with the Mitchell investigation.

While I think Clemens probably used PEDs (and is now lying to restore his reputation), I wholeheartedly agree with the refusal to wipe away Clemens's great accomplishments.

He pitched in the steroid era, against a majority of hitters (I presume) who were using PEDs, and he was easily the greatest pitcher of his era over the long haul. (In a short streak, I'd take Pedro Martinez.) Roger Clemens was not a great pitcher because of steroids. Hundreds of his competitors were likely juiced, too. He was a great pitcher with or without them. He, I presume, lasted much longer because he used those (illegal) drugs. And therefore his counting stats (such as total wins and total strike outs) are higher than they would have been, had he stayed clean.

But I don't compare Clemens's career totals with pitchers from other eras to rate his greatness. I compare how Clemens did in his era with how other great pitchers from other times did in their eras. And in that respect, Roger rates as one of the very best of all time.

4. Srul Itza Posted: January 08, 2008 at 10:11 PM (#2664052)

Call me a bleeding-heart liberal. Call me blindly naïve.

Call me a taxi.

That's his story, and he's sticking to it.

5. 1k5v3L, Useless