When Roger Struck Out

Without the ability to see through to a complete proof of guilt. It is obvious you are not capable of "rightous" judgement. Sad

Even according to halacha, Clemens has a chazaka/given assumption that he lied. The evidence is overwhelming indicating the lie.

Here is the deal. If a person has done something in America it has to be proven in a court of law. Beyond a reasonable doubt. Proven in court, with all the rules that go with it.
In this case there is a possibility that Roger is telling the truth. After all he could have just said he did it and it all would have gone away. Like it did for Petite. He called the hearing himself so he could tell the world his side, that he didn't do it.
Could Petite have made a mistake? Is the guy dealing drugs just looking for a bigger book deal? Can "he" really be trusted? Using a name like Roger Clemens sure would give him more attention. The point is that it doesn't even matter. I am not a fan of any of these people. I really don't have time to watch it. I am however a fan of fair play.
In this situation they have convicted a man without using the proper tools. If he did it, prove it in court and I will be the first to say he's guilty. That hasn't been done. So at this point whether he really did it or not is irrelavent. To be fair he shouldn't be covered with something unless or untill there is proof that he crawled in it.
Let your judgement be with rightous judement.

The truth will win out in the end all the time

Roger Clemency
By Steve Henson, Yahoo! Sports

Roger Clemency. That's the end game here. That's how the greatest pitcher of a generation will be remembered. As leaning on a presidential pardon to avoid jail time.

He already has been stamped a shameless liar. And a habitual drug cheat. And a pig-headed egomaniac who would bring humiliation on his wife, blame everyone around him and expect the public to swallow his ludicrous denials.

Too harsh? John McCain doubts Clemens. So do Yahoo! Sports readers, 81 percent of whom indicated they believed he took performance-enhancing drugs in an online poll the day after the Congressional hearings two weeks ago.

It is obvious Clemens believes himself untouchable. It's the bedrock of his legal strategy. It's why he willingly stepped into a perjury trap thinly disguised as a Congressional truth-seeking exercise two weeks ago.

And it's why he unblinkingly anticipated the development Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney General has been asked by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to launch an investigation. Charges are laid out in an 18-page document that lists "seven sets of assertions made by Mr. Clemens in his testimony that appear to be contradicted by other evidence before the Committee or implausible."

Clemens, remember, didn't just dodge questions and deflect evidence that contradicted his claims. Early in the hearings he made a point of saying, unsolicited, that he "never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone."

Implausible testimony by an untouchable witness. Shades of Scooter Libby.

Clemens appears to be counting on friends in the highest places to grant him clemency should the truth not mesh with his version of events. Richard Emery, an attorney for accuser Brian McNamee, predicted as much after the hearings, saying Clemens could get "a prospective pardon. They are perfectly legal, and it would be typical of the George Bush White House. We'd expect Bush to call Clemens 'a historic figure' who has done so much for this country and then let him off."

No wonder the hearings devolved into a partisan sideshow, with Democrats castigating Clemens and Republicans rebuking McNamee. It was an odd reversal of party stereotypes: Law-and-order Republicans gave Clemens every benefit of the doubt, while bleeding-heart liberals scoffed at his claims of innocence.

Principles, clearly, would not cloud politics. Not after Clemens slyly mentioned his Bush ties early in the proceedings.

Former president George H.W. Bush telephoned the pitcher soon after the release of the Mitchell Report to pledge his support. Bush and his wife, Barbara, sat behind home plate during Clemens' starts for the Houston Astros from 2004-2006, dutifully singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas," during the seventh-inning stretch.

Clemens and George W. Bush are friendly. Bush has the authority to grant pardons for any federal crime and even could grant Clemens a preemptive pardon, shielding him before an indictment is handed down, should the investigation drag on beyond the end of Bush's term in office. The only hiccup could be a Barry Bonds perjury conviction, which would make a Clemens pardon particularly odorous unless Bonds received the same consideration.

Fine. Prisons are crowded enough without clearing cells for Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Same goes for Miguel Tejada and any other athlete whose lies about steroids or HGH plunked them into legal hot water. Free Marion Jones!

I understand that prosecutors and other federal officials, elected or otherwise, can't tolerate folks lying under oath. But steroid users don't endanger society – Arnold Schwarzenegger and his budget woes in California notwithstanding. Back off and find some real criminals to investigate, interrogate and prosecute.

For athletes, the damage is done even before the lies pile up. Their reputations are in shambles, their records forever tainted. Their stain has seeped throughout sport, through more than a decade of dubious achievement. And nobody believes the denials anymore. Prison is overkill.

Yahoo! Sports conducted three polls since the Mitchell Report, each asking the identical Yes or No question: Do you believe Roger Clemens took performance-enhancing drugs?

Poll No. 1: The day after the Mitchell Report was released, 81 percent of the more than 102,000 respondents voted "Yes."

Poll No. 2: The day after Clemens made forceful denials on "60 Minutes," 66 percent of the more than 40,000 respondents voted "Yes."

Poll No. 3: The day after the Congressional hearings, 81 percent of the more than 70,000 respondents voted "Yes."

Any gains in the court of public opinion gained by appearing on "60 Minutes" were washed away by his unconvincing testimony before Congress. Clemens never will gain back his credibility, barring a complete McNamee retraction.

The powers that be are as unconvinced of Clemens' claims as our readers, leading to the request for a perjury investigation.

So let it begin. Let it grind through painstaking evidence-gathering and interviews. The conclusions may or may not result in charges. It's a tough case to prove, given the evidence in the public record.

Clemens knows that, too. If the Attorney General's office declines to pursue the case, or if an investigation ends without an indictment, there is no doubt he will pronounce victory. He's not one for nuance. Or shame. He will attempt to twist any conclusion other than an indictment into vindication.

And should an indictment come down, followed by a trial and a guilty verdict, Clemens apparently believes his bases are covered. If he just continues to be a bulldog, fire enough fastballs and stay the course, the outcome will be favorable to him.

You could almost hear his voice through his son Koby, a Houston Astros minor leaguer, who said a couple of days ago, "It's going to be a long process, but once we get through it, all will be back in order."

The words had the same ring as Clemens' explanation why he hadn't spoken to the Mitchell Commission before the report came out. Had he known what was in the report, he'd have "been down there in a heartbeat to take care of it." (Never mind that he actually did know what was in the report.)

Show up. Take care of it. Restore order. And if directness fails to deliver, the fallback plan is clear: Roger Clemens will become Roger Clemency.

Steve Henson is the MLB editor for Yahoo! Sports.

For any honest observer, Clemens lied under oath. A person is given the benefit of the doubt but only until it is clear that he no longer deserves it. Clemens has never been able to answer why McNamee, a friend of his until a few months ago, would lie, esp. since if he did lie, he would def. go to jail. He told the truth about Pettite and Knoughblach, why would he lie, with such tremendous detail, about Clemens? Think about it, McNamee emailed Clemens shortly after the Mitchell Report came out, asking him to call his sick son to cheer him up. Nobody in the world, who just told a major lie about someone that would ruin his life, would have the chutzpah to contact the one he lied about and ask him a favor, esp. right after the lie. McNammee had to be telling the truth.
Pettite confirmed that Clemens told him this.

And now Congress has told the Justice Dept. to investigate Clemens' perjury. They think Clemens lied.

The Baseball Hall of Fame does not exactly include exemplars of moral conduct and personal accountability among its members. Babe Ruth was a glutton. Ty Cobb was a racist. But at the end of the day, the denial and cover-up in the Clemens case serves as a very relevant example that the rest of us, who don't have the means to hide behind a cadre of lawyers, should take seriously to heart.

This sorry incident creates more questions than answers. How did an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing substances in baseball turn into a Congressional kangaroo court for Roger Clemens? Why was this investigation led by a director of one of baseball's teams instead of an impartial observer?

I am shocked that the author has concluded Clemen's guilt when this has not been established by a court of law. I consider this Lashon Hara. Why has AISH published this?

Just to set the record straight, Clemens never pitched a no-hitter...

The Hebew letters for Sheker are "Shin, Kuf, Raish"

Lying can be endless. Cheating makes things more complicated than they really are. Isn't it simple enough to work honestly to earn what you deserve? The more truthfulness, the higher the self-esteem; the more dishonesty, the sooner or later it would come back to haunt the one perpetuating the cheating and lying. What goes around, comes around; and for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, consequences to each action are inevitable. If only more people did more hard, honest work, the less complex things would be.

To Anonymous:

Someone else may have answered your question, but the Hebrew letters for "sheker" (falsehood) are shin, koph, resh--which are consecutive letters in the alphabet.

One Petite does not claim first hand knowledge seeing Clemens take.

Even if he claimed he did no second witness of same event.

Even if were two testimony from gambler not credible, how much more so admited drug user.

Petite has interest in believing Clemens and other top pitchers used drugs like Petite to make Petite not stand out as great pitcher that used drugs.

Trainer was pathological liar who was trying to blackmail Clemens, then save self, and get publicity by allegations.

In this case unless Clemens admits otherwise give him benefit of doubt,
if he is G-d fearing and guilty he can admit or be ashamed in afterlife.

you gave the hebrew letters for truth, aleph mem, taf. what are the hebrew letters for falsehood/sheker?

The Jewish way is to think the best of a person unless he is PROVED guilty. Statements by less than reputable people are not evidence of guilt (especially one who claims he saved his syringes for many years as proof). Our sanctimonious congress people are the guilty ones, wasting our money and their time with unimportant drivel when they should be attending to important business that faces our country.

It strikes me that the transliteration of "Rocket" (resh--kuph--tet) also has each letter standing on one leg. The alternate transliteration (resh--kuph--toph) is a close grouping of letters which "surround" shin (which stands for sheker)

I watched the congressional proceedings too. I came away with the same conclusions as you. Thank you for an excellently written article which tells the truth. As a Chrisitan Bible teacher I also appreciated the commentary of the words Truth and Falsehood in the Talmud. Sincerely, Bobby Deason