The NY Times recently had a little article about Kirk Radomski’s book.
Yall remember Radomski – the guy who was nabbed for being a big time steroids dealer/distributor who was given NO prison time in exchange for helping George Mitchell get info to send Roger Clemens and (hopefully) Barry Bonds to prison for a long LONG time for USING drugs. And yeh, that IS a new thing – giving big time drug dealers/manufacturers/distributors no prison time in return for getting prison time for USERS.
Well, Mr. Rat Drug Dealer done just wrote himself a new book, he surely did. All about the drug dealin he done and his “experience” with the Mitchell Report people.
Get this (from the Times:)
“In a portion of the book that is likely to attract attention, Radomski states that he was asked by Mitchell about a handful of major leaguers who were not among his dozens of customers and who did not end up being named in the Mitchell report.
Radomski names this group of players in his book — several of them have been previously linked to performance-enhancing drugs in other books — and says that he told Mitchell that he had no firsthand knowledge about their possible use of drugs.
Mitchell, through a spokesman, disputed Radomski’s claim that he was asked about specific players who were not named in the report. “At no time did we raise the names of specific players who had not previously been identified to us by Mr. Radomski,” John Clarke, a spokesman for Mitchell, said in an e-mail message.”
Well, well, well.
Mr. Mitchell done just called his star witness a laaaar. Ain’t that sumpin!!!
Oh
And Radomski accused David Justice yet AGAIN of doing HGH because he heard tell from some former teammate. (How interestin that the media is not all down Justice’s neck DEMANDING that he confess and apologise because IF he been accused, THEN he must be guilty. Like Clemens.)
Here we got a big time drug dealer who is Mitchell’s star witness, who got out of what should have been hellacious prison time for ratting out USERS, who is being called a liar ON THE RECORD by that self same Mr. Mitchell.
(And let me also add that Chad Curtis, grilled by that self same Mr. Mitchell, agrees with Mr. Radomski – click here to check out Ken Davidoff’s article. As Ken puts it,
“So here, essentially, is what Mitchell’s office is saying now: “Please believe Kirk Radomski when he says something that makes us look good. But please don’t believe him when he says something that makes us look bad.”)
And we got us Brian McNamee, unconvicted rapist and big time drug dealer who got his little self out of prison time by ratting out USERS, insisting that for no reason at all, he kept the syringes he used to give the man he admired more than any other, steroid shots 10 years ago. Anyone just think it might could be possible that Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Nowitsky kind of, um, SUGGESTED to McNamee that Clemens just might could have been one of his user clients and cmon, McNamee doesn’t WANNA serve time, now, does he? Because who cares about Andy Pettitte/Chuck Knoblauch?
Yeh, I know we’ve ALL got Roger convicted of using drugs and measured for the federal pen, but personally, I think his lawyers gonna have themselves a good ol time with Radomski, Nowitsky and McNamee.
Sad thing is, even if Hardin goes all Perry Mason on McNamee’s ass and McNamee confesses he made the whole thing up to get in good with the govmint, won’t none of the public believe it anyhow. If Roger had confessed/false confessed and “apologised” for trying to heal his broken down muscle, it would have gone away. It’s STILL about Mr. Mitchell being a politician who has to be “right” in front of the media.
And last, but not least, we should ask ourselves why on earth we are so quick to IMMEDIATELY believe the unsubstantiated reports of a POLITICIAN whose main goal as an OWNER (yes, Mr. Mitchell is part owner of the Red Sox) is to throw bones to the media and protect the owners from any hint of responsibility in La Affair De Steroids. And we should also remember that we should have GOOD evidence before convicting someone, whether in a court of law or a court of public opinion.
Tags: Houston Astros
I’m not defending Clemens one bit, because I think he’s lied to combat McNamee’s lies. But I couldn’t care less what a drug dealer who hasn’t done anything constructive for the Mitchell investigation at all has to say, ESPECIALLY in defense of his personal friend. ESPN actually ran a story saying he believed his friend, McNamee, over Clemens. Well, DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHH. The only way something like that is news (and I STILL probably wouldn’t care what the dirtbag has to say as he schills for his book) is if he says he DOESN’T believe his friend. Geez, what passes for news these days astounds me.
I guess in Houston there are a few die hards who still support Clemens. The rest of the world looks upon him as a stinking liar, cheater and a “family guy” who took advantage of a mentally ill 15 year old.
I just liked watching the best players in the game play. So I like watching Barry. And Rogah. And Lance and Albert, too. Don’t really care if they are lying, selfish SOBs — I just want to see awesome baseball.
ralph,
i can’t speak for anyone else, but i wouldn’t say that i “support” clemens, as you claim.
i am objecting to, as you put it, the rest of the world looking on him as a stinking liar, cheater and rapist. because the evidence on which to base that, frankly, isn’t good. you have ALREADY condemned the guy.
as for me, i want better evidence than the word of 2 guys like mcnamee and radomski.
why you and “the rest of the world” don’t think you should consider the source, i do NOT get.
as for the rape charge (and yeah, it IS a rape charge) even the supposed victim says that clemens didn’t commit adultery with her until several years later
i personally think that committing adultery is far FAR worse than taking drugs, but i seem to be in the very small minority of that opinion, as most people think that rich (married) men have a right – even a DUTY – to fornicate as much as possible. so they can have their fantasies about either being him or doing him
Hey, I’m with you. I think committing adultery is worse than doing drugs, especially one like steroids that has so little effect on others (not like it’s crack or heroine). When people take drugs, they tend to only hurt themselves. When people commit adultery, they break the most sacred bond and promise that two people can have. Yes, adultery is far worse than drugs.
You’re flailing away in futility. For one thing McNamee is very believable. There are only a handful of people who are desperately trying to use his “bad character” as a decoy. Why are they doing this? – I have no idea but it’s not working. I’m afraid the Justice system does not fool around with perjury and he put himself entirely in the position he is in, so much so that he doesn’t even have any public support. Public opinion is very forgiving but it’s obvious that Roger stretched it past the breaking point.
why do you think that this big time drug dealer and rapist is so believeable? his character is a LOT worse than bad
because he names 2 clients he actually HAD? you don’t think it is possible he was coerced into a false confession? do you realize how common those are, PARTICULARLY when his freedom is riding on his agreeing to say what someone in power wants to hear?
you too have ALREADY decided that roger is guilty of committing multiple felonies PLUS perjury and simply won’t agree to ask yourself – where is the evidence?
let me ask you this – let’s suppose the penalty for committing the 10 felonies that clemens is accused of committing (those are just the ones i can count and i’m not no lawyer) is the dealth penalty without appeal. would you THEN want some actual EVIDENCE besides mcnamee? because there sure as hell isn’t any.
the reason i am, as you say, flailing away in futility, is because unlike you, i actually believe in something called evidence. and my idea of evidence is not the testimony of some piece of crap criminal who is being squeezed by the feds to say what they want to hear. you should try reading the paper sometime – check and see how many guys sat inside for YEARS because of false testimony, almost always by some piece of shtt like mcnamee, before being exonerated by DNA. check and see how many guys got sent inside because the DA’s office withheld info that contradicted the testimony of those aforementioned pieces of shtt criminals.
roger made a really REALLY stupid decision in trying to buck a politician because those scumballs all stick together. he should have confessed/false confessed (whichever is actually true) and shed some of them fake alligator tears like all the other caught guys.
but roger isn’t especially strong in the brains department. but his lawyer SHOULD have absolutely refused to go along with roger protesting innocence. rusty hardin SHOULD have told his client – you can NOT win this one. you ain’t fighting mcnamee, you fighting george mitchell and that is like a 100 lb crippled blind little old lady trying to box the heavyweight champ
like i’ve said over and over again, just about EVERY SINGLE PERSON decided roger was guilty the SECOND the mitchell report was published. based on absolutely NO evidence. NONE except the say so of a criminal
but yet decided david justice was innocent based on the exact same say so
there’s something more.
people actually WANT roger to be guilty of those felonies and to confess to them and pretend to be sorry. they WANTED that. so as they could feel all smug and superior. i KNEW he couldn’t be that good.
(interesting that people haven’t made the same sort of witchhunt against greg maddux or randy johnson, who were just as good.)
like barry lamar bonds, it’s the excellence AND the personality.
but as for me, i don’t like stereotypes and i don’t like absence of application of equal rights and justice for all
interesting
This kind of talk reminds me of the O.J.Simpson trial. Once O.J.’s lawyers got to hand pick the jury from an area of LA that was sympathetic to O.J., the trial was OVER.
Well, Roger’s perjury trial will not take place in Houston, so you guys won’t be able to let him get away with his crimes.
However, Clemen’s defamation suit is supposed take place in Houston. You predjudiced people will no doubt award him damages. Is it any wonder Roger’s lawyer fought bitterly to keep that trial in Houston.
Comparing a defamation suit that hasn’t even had the jury selected for it to a murder trial where the defendant got off despite mounds of forensic evidence against him is just dumb.
ralph,
a FEDERAL trial is different.
yall keep missing my point. which is that you have ALREADY declared clemens guilty of 10 felony counts PLUS perjury and he hasn’t even HAD a trial.
do you think people are not entitled to a trial? just execution based on rumors? you don’t think that ANY accused deserves his/her day in court?
i guess not
you best pray that if you are ever accused of something that you will have the opportunity to defend yourself. something you don’t believe other accused people are entitled to.
as for the OJ trial,
the prosecution effed that up BIG time. and police didn’t follow proper procedure, no question. oj got lucky because he had the money to hire good lawyers. who made good from prosecution mistakes. the prosecution had to agree to the jury too, you know
Lisa, there are tons of evidence. For example, HGH was delivered to Roger’s home, and he allowed McNamee to go into the bedroom with his wife. She presented her buttocks to McNamee (with Rogers’ knowledge and consent). You believe Roger when he said he didn’t know it was illegal. Would you allow strangers (who are not qualified medical personnel) to inject stuff into you?
Come on now. If Roger told you that “the sky is purple AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT OR ELSE!” Would you believe him? That’s what you are asking me (and the rest of the world to believe). Do we resent it? You bet. If this guy had fessed up and not tried to make fools of everyone, he wouldn’t be going to jail. As it is, he deserves to be in jail— for being such as asshole if for nothing else.
Ralph, coming from a person who DOES believe Clemens did steroids, you are presenting pretty weak arguments. Clemens knowing his wife was doing steroids is NO evidence that he did. That’s like saying Stevie Ray Vaughan probably never got cleaned up because his wife continued to do coke. There is other evidence to use against Clemens. Your arguments are pretty weak. Despite my belief, I side with Lisa in believing innocence until proven guilty. I want to hear all the evidence. To this point, we’ve only heard bits and pieces. My belief that he did steroids is strictly gut feeling. I won’t pretend it’s anything more.
ralph,
so HGH was delivered to Roger’s home. suppose this is true. so what?
you have ANY idea how many people who have money use HGH as “anti-aging” – heck there’s an anti aging clinic right in houston. i would be surprised if all roger’s friends trophy wives DIDN’T use the stuff and quite honestly, i don’t understand all the hysteria about middle aged and old people using that to try to stay young looking.
big freaking deal
HGH is NOT a steroid, and it is not an androgenic drug, nor a precursor. there is ZERO evidence it does anything whatsoever in the way of performance enhancement.
debbie clemens has not, to my knowledghe, either been accused of or confessed to shooting up with anabolic steroids.
as for the whole “non-medical personnel” injecting – give me a break PLEASE. you got any idea how many small children have insulin injected by parents or other caregivers who are not “medical personnel”
- in fact, women who take fertility drugs have to get injections every day and it is not exactly “medical personnel” who inject them
also, i don’t understand the obsession with the buttocks injecting business because HGH is injected with an insulin syringe and is supposed to be injected into the skin of the stomach or the skin at the back of the arm
as for believing whatever roger tells me
dude, please
i don’t actually have complete stories of all witnesses against roger, i haven’t seen mcnamee examined under oath, haven’t seen the results of the needles and bloody gauze that are supposed to be roger’s from 10 (or whatever) years ago
AND
in the end, i have to consider the source (mcnamee is a piece of shtt) and the circumstances he was facing a HUGE sentence in the federal pen and somehow, in exchange for putting the fingie on roger, he didn’t even get probation.
you don’t think that is a little, um, odd?
oh yeah. and he was “questioned” privately by nowitsky who has a habit of not recording/taping interviews and submitting “notes” which are unverified later. not proper police procedure by any stretch of the imagination.
so as for me, i want to wait until the man has a trial before i decide he has committed 10 felonies PLUS perjury
you don’t think he deserves a trial and you just want him imprisoned.
and you are in the vast majority.
once more i ask you,
would YOU agree to forfeit any trial if you were accused of major crimes (sorry, but roger is accused of 10 serious felonies, a little something you seem to overlook) and just go to prison on the word of a drug dealer and rapist like mcnamee?
i don’t THINK so
so the question i keep asking is – WHY do you not think that clemens is not entitled to any sort of trial?
You still need more proof. How about this: Do you remember “MISREMEMBER”. This made up word was Celmens response to Andy Petitte’s testimony where he stated that Petitte and Clemens discussed the use of Human Growth Hormons together. Clemens stated that this conversation did not happen and that Petitte “misremembered” it.
This proves that Roger Clemens is both guilty and an idiot. Petitte has no reason to lie. Roger has every reason. By lying he can be your hero. Never mind that Roger is secretly laughing at how stupid you are.
I’m no longer engaging in a debate with someone who clearly has their mind made up and resorts to name calling when Lisa has declared neither Clemens’s guilt nor innocence.
ralph,
you seem to forget that andy pettitte “misremembered” more than a few things. for example, that he used HGH in the first place. that he used it more than once. that he had his FATHER get his prescription. all in all, pettitte “misremembered about 4 different, uh, things
and i guarantee you that if you were called on to accurately remember conversations that occurred last YEAR, let alone 5-10 years ago, you just might could misremember who you were talking to
clemens is HARDLY my “hero”
i am grateful that he was on the team for 3 years, as it gave the astros the kind of cachet and excitement they had never had before and i doubt will ever have again.
as i have said many times over the past 5 1/2 years i been writing this blog, heroism does NOT consist of throwing balls, hitting balls or catching balls. i have never understood why on earth people think athletic feats of strength of skill represent “heroism” to so many people.
now, if it is true that roger clemens is actually telling the truth and he chose to fight a losing battle and risk a term in federal pen instead of choosing the easy/obvious way out by lying and pretending he used drugs and is soooooooo sorry, well then, that is indeed my idea of heroism
BUT
i want more evidence before i make up my mind.
EVIDENCE
if i was on a jury, i would NEVER convict anyone of a crime based ONLY on the testimony of 1 drug dealer/rapist who was leaned on by the feds and got out of a LONG prison sentence because of his testimony and the testimony of another drug user who was caught in 4 lies already
obviously, you would
and you best pray that you are never yourself on trial for anything if this is the attitude you think should be taken toward anyone who standes accused of anything
Lisa,
On a future thread, would you please comment on one of Richard Justice’s recent comments:
“In the end, the success of this season probably will depend on some of those kids from the minor league system–Norris, Paulino, Estrada, etc.–contributing at the major league level.”
I think I know your opinions on some, but would like to hear them on these guys and any other pitching prospects.
Thanks.
OK