Congressman Elijah Cummings Crushed Roger Clemens, Made Sense

Out of the four hours and around forty minutes of testimony heard Wednesday morning in Congress by Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, all but one minute is superfluous. The exchange between Congressman Elijah Cummings and Roger Clemens was the paramount moment of the hearing and the apotheosis of cutting out b.s. and getting to the bottom line. The comments were noted by Jayson Stark in his blog:

“If I walked in here,” Cummings told Clemens, “and it was even Steven, you and Mr. McNamee, I must admit that the person I believe most & is Mr. Pettitte. When Mr. McNamee gave histestimony about Knoblauch and Pettitte, those allegations turned out to be true,” Cummings went on. “But for some reason, … when it comes to you, it’s a whole ‘nother thing. … How do you explain this?”

Clemens then insisted one more time that Pettitte had “misheard” him. Cummings wasn’t buying it.

“I’ve listened to you very carefully,” Cummings said. “And I take you at your word. And you’re telling me that Andy Pettitte is an honest man, and his credibility is pretty much impeccable. … You said you were misunderstood. But all I’m saying is, it’s hard to believe. It’s hard to believe your story.

“I hate to say that. You’re one of my heroes. But it’s hard to believe you.”

EXACTLY. How is it possible that McNamee was right about Knoblauch’s, Pettitte’s, and even Debbie’s HGH use, but not Roger’s? And if Pettitte’s word is the one to believe, then doesn’t that implicate Roger? Sure as heck does in my opinion. As forceful as Clemens is, and as persuasive as he legal team is, I still can’t get around that McNamee was right about everyone else (for as many inconsistencies as he’s had). While McNamee’s words aren’t 100% accurate, I think he’s telling the truth about the most important item — that Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs. Bottom line. And why were four hours of bullcrap needed when it took Cummings only one minute to lay out what really mattered?

By the way, I have another really trippy Roger Clemens story that places this whole ordeal in good context if you continue reading.

I was watching the movie Little Big League last night since it was on TV. In the movie, the grandfather asks the protagonist’s mother if he can take his grandson to a ballgame on a school night. Here’s how the grandfather pleaded his case to the mother:

I wanted to ask you if it was OK for Billy to go to the game on Tuesday. It’s Boston, Roger Clemens is pitching — the greatest strikeout pitcher in the game today and Billy’s never seen him live.

Wow. Just compare that line from a movie made in 1994 to what we’re dealing with now. 14 years ago, Roger Clemens was the guy you wanted to take your grandson to watch in-person since he was one of the all-time greats. Now, he looks like nothing but a lying steroid cheat. Sad, sad story.