He Said, He Said

I’m going to break tradition on Valentine’s Day…a day in which I usually go on this tirade about how it’s a manufactured holiday forced on us which often results in less romance than ever before if you forget the day or give a gift that appears cheap. My change of heart is due to the fact we actually need all the love we can get because times are tough and second I’m chomping at the bit to comment on Wednesday’s Clemens/McNamee showdown in Washington.

That’s where a congressional hearing was held in which for nearly five hours the pitching great and his former personal trainer told very different stories on whether or not Clemens ever took steroids or human growth hormone. I will leave it up to others as to who we should believe although frankly it’s pretty clear both have lied to some extent. Unless Clemens pulls a rabbit out of his hat his reputation and legacy are tarnished forever and some will remember him not for his 7 Cy Young Awards but rather for being a player who cheated to some extent well into a Hall of Fame career. McNamee will just be a tragic figure who neither deserves pity nor praise.

However as I listened to and watched the hearing it was not the main characters who made the greatest impression….or should I say lack of impression. The members of congress who participated were in some cases a complete embarrassment and somehow this issue became one in which your political party determined whose side you were on. From what I observed the Republicans were clearly in the Clemens corner while the Democrats were more likely to think McNamee was telling more of the truth. For the life of me I could not figure out how politics could play into this but sure enough it did and it was obvious from the outset.

I listened to some of these congressional blowhards who obviously welcomed the chance to be in the national spotlight and appear on ESPN instead of CSPAN. Instead of conducting a hearing and asking questions they used their allotted time to perform and show their constituents what great orators they are. One said at some point that he was disgusted by the whole affair and I agreed except my disgust was not directed at Clemens or McNamee but rather at the elected officials who struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.