Posts tagged Mitchell Report at FanHouse

It's not a move on the scale of CC Sabathia or even Ray Durham, and who knows if it's going to bear any fruit. But the Brewers obviously think Jay Gibbons can provide a key at-bat or two in September because they've signed the exiled former outfielder away from the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks to a minor league deal.

"He's a little rusty, self-admittedly rusty," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "The idea is to get him some Minor League at-bats and then evaluate as we go along." (...)

"He was very straightforward about his situation off the field," said Ash, who was the Blue Jays' GM when that team drafted Gibbons in the 14th round in 1998. The Orioles snatched him away in the 2000 Rule 5 Draft.

"They sat down and basically interviewed him," Brewers GM Doug Melvin said. "Gord is familiar with him from Toronto, and [Gibbons] wants to get back and playing. I don't know exactly what his [off-the-field] issues were, but they were not enough to not give a guy a second chance. He's always been a good guy with a good work ethic."

Doug obviously never read that pesky Mitchell Report if he didn't know exactly what his off-the-field issues were. I mean, it was all there for you in print. But it's nice to see that Eric Gagne hasn't scared the Brewers away from players from that pesky report. Heck if I was the GM of the Brewers, Gagne might scare me away from signing pitchers altogether, Mitchell Report or no Mitchell Report.

Mike Florio is an attorney who writes for ProFootballTalk.com and Sporting News, mostly on issues of football. Yesterday, he had an interesting legal article about the Roger Clemens self-immolation saga. He puts the blame on Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, for the devolving mess that is now Clemens' reputation. He discusses Clemens legal case in depth here, and in short at PFT saying in conclusion:


Though I have to agree with him that the Clemens case has been a text book for celebrities on how not to preserve your reputation using the legal process, I disagree with my legal colleague on how much responsibility he puts for the Clemens mess on Hardin.

After Bud Selig decreed any player named in the Mitchell Report wasn't going to be sent to the corner for their (alleged) transgressions, it should only follow suit that members of management named in the report weren't going to get a slap on the wrist either.

Our assumptions have been confirmed.

As part of Selig's announcement April 11 that players wouldn't be disciplined, management and the players' association agreed that players will join Major League Baseball in "efforts designed to educate youth and their parents regarding the dangers of performance-enhancing substances." The union also agreed to contribute $200,000 to "an anti-drug, charitable, educational or research organization."

"I don't use the word amnesty. I don't think there is amnesty because I think that whatever they're doing, they're doing something as a result of what they did. And the club officials and the clubs will be treated in exactly the same manner," Selig said. "That would be unfair if they weren't."

Asked as a follow-up whether that meant management officials wouldn't be suspended of fined, Selig responded: "They're going to be treated the same way."

As spring training enters it's final days, teams are busy making the final decisions on which 25 players they plan on taking with them when the break camp, and who they're going to send to the minors. Who's the long man in the bullpen going to be? Who's the fifth outfielder and left-handed bat off the bench going to be? All very important decisions, to be sure.

Well new Royals manager Trey Hillman is going through the process for the very first time in the majors, and MLB is making it a little tough on him. You see, Hillman is trying to decide who is going to be in his outfield, and he wouldn't mind if MLB let him know whether he's going to have Jose Guillen or not.

"One thing I'd like to know is what the situation is with our right fielder," manager Trey Hillman admitted. "I'd like to know the definitive final-final on Jose (Guillen). I don't know anything. That affects things."

Guillen is currently awaiting the outcome of his appeal of a 15-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy. Jose received the suspension after being busted by the San Francisco Chronicle for spending $19,000 on steroids and HGH between 2002 and 2005. He was also one of 86 players mentioned in the Mitchell Report.

Unfortunately for Hillman and the Royals, they're going to have to keep waiting. Guillen's appeal isn't expected to be settled until this weekend at the earliest. If it's not settled by then, Guillen and his agent will seek to delay Jose's suspension until a final verdict is reached.

Andy Pettitte may have been forgiven by his fans and teammates for his involvement in the Senator Mtichell steroids scandal, but unfortunately for him that doesn't mean that he's done with the legal aspect of the hoopla. Thanks to the new investigation into Roger Clemens's possible perjury, Pettitte almost surely will be drawn back into the drama. He has already testified against his longtime BFF (that's "best friend forever" for those of you older than 11), an act that no doubt hurt dear Andy deeply, but with this new investigation he fears he'll have to be subjected to yet another interview, this time by the feds.

If testifying to Congress against Clemens hurt Pettitte -- and I assure you it did -- then having to pound yet another nail into the coffin that is the case against the Rocket has got to tearing the man apart. As he said:

"I don't like any of this. I cannot stand it. I told you how I feel about him. I hate it. It's like a part of my family that's going to have to go through this. It's a bad deal."

It was only a matter of time before something like this popped up -- yes, it was predictable, yet also quite funny. (And seriously, it's long overdue, but congrats to Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the marketing geniuses behind the extremely-viral NBA campaign being spoofed -- you can adapt that for anything and it never gets old.)

While so many other players named in the Mitchell Report are offering only ambiguous apologies for mistakes they'd rather not explain, Andy Pettitte did things the right way on Monday. In his first meeting with the press since arriving to spring training, Pettitte apologized to the Yankees, Astros and his fans for using HGH in 2002 and 2004, and then stayed around for an hour and answered every question lobbed his way:

Pettitte sat alone at a podium, taking dozens of questions. He often paused to collect his thoughts and several times patiently asked reporters "did I answer your question?"

It had been about a month since he had spoken to Clemens, Pettitte said.

"I can't even describe how uncomfortable a situation" this has been.

With Yankees teammates Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in attendance, along with two of his lawyers, Pettitte acknowledged he had considered not playing because of the ongoing situation.

"That wouldn't be the thing to do as a man. I felt like I needed to come out and face you guys and whatever circumstances that come I'll take it, I'll take it like a man and I'll try to do my job," he said.

Pettitte hasn't been entirely honest throughout this whole process, but even when he's admitted to lying (he originally omitted the fact that he used HGH in 2004 because he didn't want to drag his father into the spotlight), his rationale made me sympathetic for his position. While most players accused of using HGH or steroids come across as greedy or unethical, Pettitte's frank admissions and explanations has actually made him more likable, at least from where I sit.

When word came out that Andy Pettitte would skip Wednesday's hearing in front of Congress, we speculated that the reason was that Pettitte didn't want to contradict his buddy Clemens in public. But if you read the transcript of Pettitte's deposition (PDF) to Congressional investigators last week, his reasons were actually to protect the privacy of his father.

To recap: Pettitte used HGH for one day in 2004 out of desperation after learning that his flexor tendon was torn and he'd need surgery. Unlike in 2002 when Brian McNamee supplied and injected the HGH, Pettitte injected himself after receiving it from his dad. His father didn't have a prescription for it, but had bought for his own use from some guy at the local gym. The reason his father wanted it was because he has a long history of debilitating medical problems and hoped it'd help him rehabilitate from a shoulder surgery.

At the end of his deposition, when Pettitte still thought he'd have to appear in front of Congress, he explained how he wasn't looking forward to the hearing since he knew he'd have to explain how he tried HGH again in 2004 and where he got it from. And as Pettitte's attorney explained, discussing all of his father's problems would be emotional for him. From page 101

Mr. Farrell. There was one thing Andy omitted about his dad besides all his physical problems or -- as you can expect, these physical problems caused him to be unable, to work to support his family, really pitched him into a deep depression; and he was suicidal for a while. And that was part of the reason he turned to using HGH. So it's on both the physical, emotional, psychological level a very sensitive subject for the family.

If you read his entire deposition, you'll see he has no problem contradicting Clemens story and clearly believes and trusts everything that McNamee has ever told him. He just didn't want to air his family's problems on national TV, which I think many of us can relate with.

Andy Pettitte was hailed by pretty much everybody as a bastion of truth and honesty during yesterday's Congressional hearings, but it seems even he's guilty of fudging the facts. After the Mitchell Report came out, Pettitte claimed that the extent of his HGH use was a mere two days in 2002 before his conscience got the better of him:

"This is it -- two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list," he said.

He sounded sincere, and for the most part we all believed him. Silly us. When he was put under oath in a closed meeting with Congress last week, Pettitte's story suddenly changed. From a statement released by his attorney just before yesterday's hearings began:

"In that affidavit, Andy informed the committee that in addition to the two shots a day of HGH he took for two days in 2002, he also took HGH for a one-day period in 2004, shortly preceding season-ending elbow surgery," it said.

"Andy had not previously mentioned this usage because he acquired the substance from his father, who had obtained it without Andy's knowledge in an effort to overcome his very serious health problems, which have included serious cardiac conditions. Andy did not want his father, whom he deeply respects and loves, to be brought into this matter and sought to shield him from publicity. In both cases, Andy used HGH in a misguided effort to recover from injury."

Better late than never, I guess. Maybe his reasons for lying before were somewhat noble, but he was still lying and didn't fess up until facing the threat of perjury. (It's also disingenuous to say he took HGH for a one-day period -- he used it like anyone uses it; it's not like you're supposed to inject yourself every day.) Suddenly it's a little more clear why he wiggled out of appearing yesterday: not only did he avoid being forced to contradict Roger Clemens, he also dodged any criticism for purposefully misleading the public with his original half-apology. And yet he still managed to come out of this with his reputation intact -- if not shinier than before -- even though he's as guilty of hiding the truth until his back is against the wall as anyone else.

Are you like me? Do you wonder how in God's name we came this far on whether Roger Clemens did or did not get his ample behind pricked with needles over the course of what may or may not have been several career-defining years? Now the government is involved, which doesn't seem to be doing much good, except for giving us something to talk about between sleep apnea and Euro-mullets.

If you were under the impression that most of this is a ruse, that people in the government don't actually care what Roger Clemens did, that maybe they just want to bogart some precious free camera time, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland's admission to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution won't do much to dissuade you. Because Congressmen, well, they ask for autographs like everyone else:

Q: There are reports that Clemens signed autographs and posed for pictures with some congressmen and staff members. Do you believe that's appropriate?

A: "I'm not going to tell other members of the House how to run their offices. He's obviously a huge star. But I was meeting with him as a member of Congress who sits on a committee that can have a significant impact on this man's life. This wasn't Fantasy Baseball Camp. For me personally, I didn't think it was appropriate to ask for a picture or an autograph. Besides, I'm a Braves fan."

Q: So you weren't among those who received a picture or an autograph?

A: "No."

I'm wondering if Brian McNamee received the same treatment. Bud Selig? Don Fehr? Surely their autographs have to be worth something. Or maybe everyone involved here realizes just what tomorrow is -- a sham no more valid than a Harlem Globetrotters game, or a professional wrestling match. Both sides know the score.

What's sad is that I don't even believe that. I think tomorrow is, if not important, at least a precautionary device used to warn leagues about what happens when things go off the rails. The warning: Encourage 'roiding, and we'll bury your stars. But when the public keeps buying tickets, and congressmen are asking the accused for autographs, it's not hard not to get really cynical really fast.