{"id":2957,"date":"2010-03-08T05:00:23","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=2957"},"modified":"2010-03-08T22:22:03","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T22:22:03","slug":"roger-clemens-unplugged-the-rocket-breaks-his-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/08\/roger-clemens-unplugged-the-rocket-breaks-his-silence\/","title":{"rendered":"Roger Clemens Unplugged: The Rocket Breaks His Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jon, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Roger Clemens. Did I get you at a bad time?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a phone call I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been expecting for a couple of days\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand a conversation I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been trying to have for about a year\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut yes, it was a bad time. Clemens had reached me as I was returning home on the Long Island Railroad. Tough to talk sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with rush hour commuters.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Actually, it is a bad time, Roger,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Can you call me back in a few hours, say 9 p.m. my time?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Clemens said sure, and I was soon spending time reviewing my notes. He was calling to discuss his appearance at a charity event in Trenton the last day in February. The charity organization is Allies, Inc.<\/a>, which finds job, housing, and provides other services for people starting at age 14 with disabilities like cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and MS. The event organizer, a 46-year-old avowed Yankees fan named Mike Cestero, had called me a while back, telling me that Clemens was headlining his gig and hoping I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be interested in writing a story.<\/p>\n

Cestero told me Clemens would spend two hours taking pictures at his event and donating four autographed jerseys\u00e2\u20ac\u201done for each team he played on\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfor a silent auction. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also auctioning off a round of golf with Roger in Orlando and tickets to an Astros spring training game,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cestero said. I was intrigued. I knew Clemens did a lot of charity work, but Trenton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long way from Houston. And while Allies is a worthy charity, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hardly a household name. This was Allies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 third fundraiser; the two previous headliners were mixed martial arts stars.<\/p>\n

Why Clemens? And how did Cestero make it happen?<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I felt Roger had been treated unfairly, and thought this would be an opportunity to get his good name out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Cestero, who got a call from Roger in August saying he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d do the event. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought he felt a connection to the materials I sent him. And I thought he saw someone who needed his help.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153So Roger is coming to help Allies. And hopefully Allies is going to help Roger.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

My cell phone rang again at 9:05. It was Clemens. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d just finished throwing BP to his son Koby and a bunch of college players in his back yard batting cage, and was ready to talk. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been 10 months since Roger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spoke to the media, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d agreed in advance to talk about Cestero\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charity event and see where the conversation went. So we talked about Allies, about his charity work for his foundation, about being Mr. Mom to his four sons and getting ready to send Koby back to spring training with the Astros. I was told Roger might be a bit reluctant to open up, but once I answered the phone Clemens starting talking and rarely stopped.<\/p>\n

I asked if he was retired, he quickly said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No comment,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d then laughed. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People keep asking me that and all I can say is that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve retired three times, why would I have to say it again?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The answer does matter, at least when it comes to the Astros, who signed him to a 10-year personal service contract back in 2004 which kicks in upon retirement. It hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. A year ago, Astros owner Drayton McLane denied the team wanted to void the deal, but would not rule out the option. He spoke about the importance of letting Clemen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legal issues play out. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would not say I am working with the Astros, no,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Clemens said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very informal right now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

We talked about his Twitter account\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I need to tweet more often.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhat he misses about not playing\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The competition. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss my body aching or the icing after games.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand the reaction he gets when he shows up to his younger sons\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 games\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not the Rocket, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m Captain Video. I take the pictures, bring the band aids, wipe the tears and give the occasional pep talk.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The conversation was easy and relaxed. He talked about how much he likes Mike Cestero and the good work Allies does, and how he hoped the weather didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interfere with his travel. (It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.) I told him Cestero thought he hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been treated fairly, and wondered how he felt about living in legal limbo\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe Justice Department\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s investigation into possible perjury charges from his Congressional testimony started two years ago March.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been in limbo,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said quickly. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We went and did the best we could, and whether it satisfied some people or didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all you can do. You can get down about it, you can let people who want to come after you for different reasons break your spirit, but I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let that happen. The good outweighs the bad.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Our talk was running close to an hour when I brought up Tiger Woods. The world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most famous golfer had done his public penance on national television earlier that day, almost two years to the day that baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most famous righthander had refused to apologize before Congress. I asked if he had watched Tiger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apology.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I saw little bits and pieces while working and throwing at the gym,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Roger said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Like I said from the git go, to me Tiger Woods\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 personal life is none of my business. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m rooting for him to do what he has to do and get back on the golf course and entertain all of us. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tiger Woods. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a golfer. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been fortunate enough to play golf with him, play with his father. I want to see Tiger back on the golf course doing special things.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

There was time for one more. What did he think about Mark McGwire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apology tour? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a friend and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sweetheart of a man,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Clemens said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00c2\u00a0see any of his stuff. I know the soft side behind him. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone up against him quite a bit. I want him to have peace. If Tony (LaRussa) asked him to come back to work, I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty cool. I hope Mark doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t coach those guys too good because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in our division and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m an Astros season ticket holder.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

I thanked Clemens for his time and we said our good byes. As I began to frame this story, I sent out a bunch of emails, looking to find consensus on Clemens and his place in history. What came back surprised me. I never thought Clemens was beloved, but the vitriol that colored most of the replies was unexpected.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was the biggest Roger Clemens fan alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wrote Seamheads.com<\/a> founder Mike Lynch in an email that was typical of the few dozen I received.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then he left the Sox and I was bitter, mostly at Dan Duquette for forcing him out the door.\u00c2\u00a0When Clemens trashed the organization on his way out of town, he pissed me off.\u00c2\u00a0Then he talked about how wonderful Toronto was, only to spurn the Blue Jays a few years later for the Yankees. I realized then that he was a liar, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not surprised that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s denied using PEDs.\u00c2\u00a0 Frankly, I hope he gets nailed to the wall.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think a confession is going to help him.\u00c2\u00a0 As far as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too late.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

(See Victor Conte, law professor Mike McCann and others discuss Clemens here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Is it too late for Clemens to change his legacy? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly an uphill battle, especially with his legal issues still unresolved. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two schools of thought on the perjury investigation. One side still thinks Clemens will be indicted. The other thinks the last thing the Obama Administration wants is another steroids-in-baseball media circus and is looking for an exit strategy. The facts to date: there has been no news in two years.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also clear that baseball has turned it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back on Clemens\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect Bud Selig to give Roger the same hug he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s giving McGwire, no matter how the perjury investigation goes. After all, Clemens was the star of the Mitchell Report<\/a>; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard for Bud to walk that one back. The Yankees scrubbed him from their memory in a hurry, and the Astros would rather he stay away from their spring training camp, even as Koby tries to work his way up through their system.<\/p>\n

Has Clemens been treated unfairly as Cestero thinks? I have no idea what Clemens took or didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take. I have my suspicions, just as I have about many players who have not been put under the microscope. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe to say that the use of performance enhancing drugs was widespread and well known both in and outside the game. We all turned a blind eye to what was going on, mainly because we were all having too much fun.<\/p>\n

If I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned about how the steroid era played out \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and I am \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m far more concerned with those in charge who threw Barry Bonds, Clemens and a handful of others under the bus to save themselves. No one has profited more from steroids in baseball than Selig, who sold his team for a fortune just before the steroid bubble burst and rode the popularity of a game built on PEDs to an $18 million yearly salary. Then he gave George Mitchell $20 million to pin the blamefor steroids on an angry black man and an arrogant white Texan. Anyone who believes Selig\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spiel that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cleaned up baseball is both naive and foolish. As Victor Conte continually tells me, drug tests are little more than IQ tests\u00e2\u20ac\u201dyou really have to be dumb to flunk one. And there is still no proven test for HgH.<\/p>\n

Of even greater concern is the abuse of power by the Bush Justice Department, which bent and broke the law for personal and professional gain. And the host of Congressional committees looking to score political points while bankers took the country over the economic cliff. Just a few of the other issues the Oversight Committee chose to ignore while chasing after baseball players: Abu Ghraid, Jack Abramoff, the Valerie Plame leak, the Downey Street memo, and the Katrina response.<\/p>\n

And the next time a Congressman points a finger at a baseball player for leading kids to steroids, ask about the DSHEA act of 1994<\/a>. This nifty little bill took the label off supplements, which now go to market without FDA approval. The result: a slew of pills stuffed with steroids, amphetamines, illicit street drugs and drugs that would otherwise require a prescription. It took the government six years to take Andro off the market after the McGwire flap. It is now classified as an anabolic steroid. The DSHEA bill passed the Senate 100-0. The majority leader? George Mitchell.<\/p>\n

The Balco investigators gave two men caught dealing drugs a free pass so they could take down Clemens on evidence they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use in a court of law. Congress wasted taxpayer money to ask Clemens the same questions Mike Wallace asked him on 60 Minutes<\/em>, then wasted plenty more running around Houston looking for evidence that Clemens lied when he said Andy Pettitte misremembered.<\/p>\n

Given all this, I have a lot of trouble getting worked up over what Roger Clemens may or may not have used to play baseball. At least Roger Clemens entertained us. The rest of these guys scare me. And whatever you think Clemens did or did not do, he has paid a hefty price.<\/p>\n

So where does this leave Roger? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be back in the news when the government finally decides his fate. And in three years Clemens will be part of a big morality play when he, Bonds and Sosa become eligible for Hall of Fame voting. Until then he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably fly under the radar, working out with his kids, looking for business opportunities, attending charity events. Two nights ago he spent a few hours with several hundred people at a nightclub in Trenton, taking pictures, shaking hands and raising thousands of dollars for a good cause. Across the street from the nightclub is the stadium of the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees AA team Clemens pitched for on his way back to New York in the spring of 2007.<\/p>\n

It may be the closest Roger gets to his past glory for quite a while.<\/p>\n

Outtakes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been 10 months since Roger Clemens spoke to the media. He broke his silence in an interview with me the last week of February. Find the story here<\/a>. For out takes of our conversation, read on:\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On retirement:<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was so happy when I started my last game in 2003, so content with everything\u00e2\u20ac\u201dother than not going out with a World Series victory. Then people called, saying we need you in the clubhouse as much as we need you on the field. But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t miss my body aching, or the icing. I miss the competition, though. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I like golf so much.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

On Tweeting:<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I need to do more of it. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m learning how to do it. I used to say where I was going and people would show up; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m learning not to do that. I enjoy trying to interact with the fans. I had several celebrity friends \u00e2\u20ac\u201c actors, good friends\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcyou need to start doing it, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of fun, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll tweet back.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do more of it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

On leaving the public eye:<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ever out of the public spotlight. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the cities I played or here at home. As far performing yes, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just as busy as ever.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

On how he left the game:<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You have to live and enjoy life. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a person who is going to be upset about things that you cannot control. I think I said this way back when, how do you prove a negative? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to be a dead horse. I think you can say it over and over and over again, but I think people are tired of hearing about it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

On his legal problems<\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to try to analyze it too much. I get surprised when people try to break you down as a person, even for your mannerism<\/em>s. I did a three-mile run the morning I went to Congress. My face was chapped, my lips were chapped. We go over to Congress later that morning and next thing I know people get on me for licking my lips and drinking water. I mean, good Lord. Next time\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhopefully there won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a next time\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut if there is maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just stare and not move anything but my lips.<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the business of trying to please people, and you want to do good as an entertainer\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we really are, entertainers. All I ever wanted to do is go out there and perform at a high level. I was fortunate to do that over 24 years. You take criticism, you use it constructively, and you continue on. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been that way, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I will ever change.<\/p>\n

All you can do is be yourself, and hopefully people will respect that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jon, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Roger Clemens. Did I get you at a bad time?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a phone call I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been expecting for a couple of days\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand a conversation I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been trying to have for about a year\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut yes, it was a bad time. Clemens had reached me as I was returning home on the Long Island Railroad. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":715,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4235],"tags":[3983,3989,3978,3975,3977,3988,3985,3981,3984,3979,3973,3987,2103,3982,3986,3980,85,2421,3974,3976],"class_list":["post-2957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-bad-time","tag-cerebral-palsy","tag-charity-event","tag-charity-organization","tag-charity-work","tag-commuters","tag-down-syndrome","tag-event-organizer","tag-headliners","tag-household-name","tag-long-island-railroad","tag-returning-home","tag-roger-clemens","tag-rush-hour","tag-shoulder-to-shoulder","tag-silent-auction","tag-spring-training","tag-training-game","tag-worthy-charity","tag-yankees-fan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t