FanHouse BrianMcnamee

Back in 2003, Major League Baseball performed rounds of sample drug testing. If there was more than a certain percentage of positive tests, the league would move forward with mandatory testing. As we all know now, 104 players tested positive and the league implemented a program which suspends players for positive tests. Thanks to some leaks -- on records which were supposed to be confidential -- we know Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa were on that list. Now, if we were to speculate on the rest, it's pretty obvious most people would believe Roger Clemens was on it as well.

But, according to his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, the Rocket tested negative.

Roger Clemens goes to great lengths when trying to clear his own name. He'll ruin friendships, sell out family members or allegedly lie under oath. The only thing that seemingly matters to him is that his major league career remains untarnished -- which, honestly, isn't even possible anymore -- regardless of the consequences.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Rocket is thinking about writing a book. The book would simply be his side of the story regarding the entire back-and-forth spat between him and his former trainer, Brian McNamee.

In the book, American Icon, Roger Clemens is portrayed as a fallen idol whose obsessive drive to be the best pitcher in baseball led him to rely on steroids and human growth hormone, choices that entangled him in a web of lies and eventually exposed him as a narcissistic cheat and, possibly, a criminal. It is a fascinating, exhaustively researched exposé of baseball's corrosive drug culture and the damage it did to Clemens, the people around him and, especially, to the game.

In the book, A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez is portrayed as a flawed superstar whose relentless drive to be the best player in baseball led him to experiment with steroids from an early age, a decision that would highlight both his vanity and insecurities. It is a revealing, salacious peek inside the bizarre, flimsy bubble in which Rodriguez lives.

When a Web site that touted its "Checkers With Models" feature upon its debut claims an exclusive, I wonder.

Sportsimproper.com has an exclusive interview with Brian McNamee, in which McNamee alleges that Roger Clemens had him inject him with steroids in a hot tub at Yankee Stadium. Now if I had that juicy detail, I wouldn't bury it 14 paragraphs down.

But that's not the point. The point is, the incident is believable.

Apparently, storing all those gauze pads and syringes in his basement like some nut job is going to pay off for Brian McNamee. Reports are surfacing that the evidence provided from the former trainer of Roger Clemens provides a DNA match to the once-mighty pitcher.

Next up, the scientists on the case are trying to determine if there are traces of steroids or HGH in the syringes.

Left on Base is MLB FanHouse's link dump.

You wanna see a future Hall of Famer at the age of 15? He could start in the bigs right now! I kid. Hyperbole aside, though, this 15 year-old player named Bryce Harper is already being touted as the first overall draft pick in 2011. He's a catcher who can run, bats left-handed, and already hits with major league power. Here's a highlight film of this young George Herman Ruth reincarnation.

It looks like Barry Bonds has more than just a failed urine test to worry about when his perjury trial gets underway on March 2nd. According to ESPN, Bobby Estalella, a former Giant who admitted using steroids provided by Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson, is prepared to provide "significant testimony" to back up the government's claim that Bonds knowingly took steroids.

Estalella admitted using the same substances, as well as human growth hormone, during the same BALCO investigation that led to the Bonds statements being questioned by federal prosecutors. He's reportedly able to provide first-hand knowledge of Bonds' steroid use, something that would be quite damning to Bonds' case.

Back when Roger Clemens was stuck defending his honor from besieged trainer Brian McNamee in front of the House Oversight Committee (months later, the whole thing seems so surreal it's like it never happened), there was brief talk that Clemens might receive a pardon from President George W. Bush, whom Clemens considered a friend. The issue was raised by McNamee's lawyer, who was worried a pardon would ruin the whole thing.

Alas, as of yesterday, President Bush is now Former President Bush. And with him goes Clemens' chance of a presidential pardon:

Roger Clemens has -- much like Mark McGwire -- kind of dissipated into the ether that is the world of sports.

But on the day that McGwire fell further behind in the chase for Cooperstown immortality, a grand jury convened to discuss a potential indictment of Clemens for lying under oath in front of Congress.

Ah, irony. You're my only friend.

Witnesses have been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury as early as this week. The jurors are expected to review evidence presented by assistant U.S. attorney Daniel P. Butler and determine whether there is probable cause to return an indictment for perjury.

Well it's about time.

In a case where it seems as though Roger Clemens has done everything humanly possible to make Brian McNamee out to be Satan reincarnate, McNamee has filed a defamation lawsuit against the former hoarder of Cy Young awards. McNamee claims -- and you can hardly blame him -- that Clemens "libeled and slandered him" in the wake of the Mitchell Report. He is seeking upwards of $10 million in damages.

To sum everything up, McNamee was forced by federal employees to tell the truth about Roger Clemens and his steroidal practices while a major league baseball player. In the aftermath, Roger Clemens has publicly called him names, tried to catch him saying something incriminating on audiotape during a phone call, and has generally just dragged McNamee through the mud -- all in a desperate attempt to maintain his reputation as one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.

It should be noted that McNamee, from everything we've seen and heard during 2008, is no saint.

It should also be noted that Clemens has done a ton more harm than good to himself, his family, and poor Mindy McCready -- who recently attempted suicide. I doubt Rocket cares, just as long as we still think he's a great pitcher.