Notes from the Hearing…

13Feb08

Roger does not look good. He seems nervous, his answers are shaky and unconvincing. He is being grilled and there is something to be said for nerves that are different from anything he has every faced on the mound.

But he is being questioned about Pettite’s  statements and it really seems like it is getting to Roger on a personal level.

It keeps going from bad to worse. Every time Roger claims Andy might have misheard – Rep. Cummings comes up with another instance that Andy insisted on what he head. Now they are talking about Andy telling his wife that Roger was on HGH. Laura Pettite swore that Andy told her about the conversation in which Roger “admitted to using HGH”.

All Roger can say is “I think Andy misheard”. It is getting sad. 

UPDATE: 11:10am – If we are judging by body language – Clemens would be getting crushed. McNamee looks poised, confident and comfortable. Roger looks nervous, fumbling and as if he is searching for answers for every question. Fortunately for Roger – we are not judging by body language.

McNamee is being asked about the Canseco BBQ which Brian says Roger attended but there is mounting evidence that Roger was not there. McNamee says he vividly recalls seeing Roger’s child, his Nanny and Mrs./Mrs. Clemens at the party but it is looking good from what Roger is saying that he has a good alibi for the time of the party.

 UPDATE – John Tierney from Mass. is having his turn. He is bringing up every shady thing from McNamee’s past as his first issue. “Mr. McNamee has admitted to credibility problems in the past and we need to keep this in mind in these proceedings.”

Now Mr. Tierney is addressing possible credibility problems from the Rocket.

  UPDATE: 11:35 – Rep. Dan Burton finally made a breakthrough on McNamee. He just proved McNamee lied during this investigation and got him to admit it. It was a lie regarding whether or not he had physical evidence which at the beginning of all this he claimed he did not. Now that Brian has come through with the gauze/syringes – he admits that he lied when originally questioned. To go back to the score board from before – score a big one for the Rocket.

What I really want to know is – with McNmee essentially admitting to lying to Federal authorities – is something going to happen to him as far as further punishment than the probation he received a few days ago? Burton has rattled off 7-8 under-oath McNamee lies in the last minute.

“Roger Clemens is a baseball titan. If it is proven that he used steroids than he should be held accountable, but so far I have not seen that. So I ask you – how is he to get his reputation back.” – Dan Burton 2/13/2008

That is paraphrasing of what was a very powerful monologue. At this point Burton was essentially yelling at McNamee and chastising him as a liar. Big moment of the day so far – one more point for the Rocket.

UPDATE: 12:20 – with each round of questioning it is looking better and better for Roger. He is looking more like Roger the baseball player now, becoming  more and more confident as the game goes on.

My previous statements about Roger looking bad are being erased the longer this goes on. Only time will tell. I mentioned is a post a while back that the truth would eventually come out as it always does.

It seems like this hearing has been a sample space of the times that will play out. In the beginning, the accuser looked better. Towards the middle there has been doubt on both sides and in the end, it really looks better for Roger. Whether or not that is how things end up remains to be seen, but  to me, this is representative of how things have started to play out since December 2007.

UPDATE: 12:45 – Chairman Waxman might just be biased against Clemens. Honestly, the guy basically came out and accused Clemens of interfering with the questioning of his Nanny this passed Sunday.  As Clemens’ attorneys pointed out, these accusations are nothing but innuendo and  have no legal basis of any kind. Then the guy, after basically attacking Clemens, used his power to essentially stop Clemens’ lawyers from speaking.

Well Mr. Waxman – here is a tip from me. If you are going to throw out legal jargon and accusations at Roger Clemens, you should at least let his legal team speak on his behalf instead of hiding behind the “rules of the process” and saying that their comments are not going to be recognized. 

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