Clemens already in a jam before start

Dan Shaughnessy

July 06, 2011|By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist

An artists rendering of Roger Clemens as the ex-pitcher appeared at a pretrial… (Dana Verkouteren/Associated…)

Roger Clemens goes on trial at a federal courthouse in Washington today. He could wind up in prison.

It’s a sad situation for the Rocket. Against the advice of just about everyone, stubborn Clemens insisted on going before Congress (in February 2008) to defend his name after he showed up 82 times in the Mitchell Report, which investigated the use of steroids in baseball.

Clemens’s appearance on Capitol Hill was preposterous. He told one whopper after another. In the face of considerable evidence, he told his delusional version of the truth, and now the feds are hitting him with a bunch of perjury raps.

This didn’t have to happen. No one demanded Clemens take the oath and submit his version of events. This was Roger being Roger. This was the same intransigent Clemens who never could admit a mistake. He never could take the blame. He couldn’t have an off day and tell us that he just didn’t have it. It was always, “I guess I hit his bat,’’ or “My hamstring was a little tight.’’

It’s part of what made him so great. Clemens never could concede that the other guy was better. He never could confront failure. He’d make his own truth. And now this attitude is threatening to put him behind bars.

We can dispute the necessity of this trial. Clemens is not a danger, nor a menace to society, but clearly the feds want to make an example of the once-great pitcher. They want to remind us that it’s not OK to lie under oath. And they want to discourage all athletes from using performance enhancing drugs.

The Rocket has done everything wrong since his name turned up in the Mitchell Report at the end of 2007. Instead of fessing up and saying, “You got me,’’ like Andy Pettitte, he has looked us straight in the eye and told us that two plus two equals five.

This is not as simple as Clemens’s word against the word of nefarious ex-trainer Brian McNamee. Clemens might be able to win that one, even with McNamee’s disgusting old bags of bloody gauze and syringes. Unfortunately for Clemens, he’s also up against the exhaustive research of the Mitchell Report and his own words on “60 Minutes.’’ He’ll be pitted against the credible Pettitte. Why would Pettite, already caught, make up stuff about Clemens? And what about Roger’s confused version about the infamous Jose Canseco party?

The feds didn’t get what they were looking for in the Barry Bonds trial. They have a better chance this time. Bonds said almost nothing. Clemens said a lot. Like E.T. with the Reese’s Pieces, Roger left a trail. He just couldn’t help himself.

With Clemens stepping into the ring of fire in Washington, this seems like a good time to remind Red Sox fans what Clemens was when he pitched here.