Of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds and Falls From Grace
February 28, 2008
On February 13 Roger Clemens walked out of the Capitol in trouble. In one key moment of that day, he testified that he was never at Jose Canseco’s home on June 9 1998 and even produced a receipt from a public golf course from that date. Clemens’ attendance at this party was an important point of contention between the pitcher and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee. One of Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin, used the golf course receipt to debunk McNamee’s story and attempt to destroy his credibility, a tactic Hardin hoped to hammer home in front of Congress through his famous client.
Twelve days later we now know that a photo of Roger Clemens at Jose’s Canseco’s home is purported to exist. We also know that a former major league baseball player has indicated that Clemens often joked about a conversation from Canseco’s party about breast augmentation between his wife Debbie and Canseco’s former wife Jessica.
Lawyers from California Congressman Henry Waxman’s (D) House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff wrote a draft letter asking the Justice Department to proceed with an investigation into whether or not Roger Clemens was lying to Congress. The committee recommended an investigation of Roger Clemens and the letter was sent today to Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
While many high-profile mainstream lawyers speaking for major sports media outlets have repeatedly stated that they would not prosecute the Clemens case under the present circumstances, other, not so well known lawyers say the government has a good case against the pitcher. Houston lawyer David Berg said of a potential case against Clemens:
This is one of those rare cases where the evidence is presented with a bow around it to the DOJ.
The DOJ would probably convene a grand jury in Washington, D.C., given that is where the testimony took place.
The chances for conviction are generally diminished in perjury cases, which depend on very specific questions, not just the answers, as a precondition to a lawful verdict. However, Waxman indicated there may have been an attempt to improperly influence the testimony/interview of Clemens’ nanny before she met with Congressional investigators. If so, a charge of obstruction of justice could be brought — a far more dangerous charge because it is far easier to prove.
Meantime, news of Barry Bonds and his dealings with federal investigators is nowhere to be found. For the first time in months the news wires are silent about Bonds’ legal difficulties.
Ironically though, it is Clemens who showed up and was welcomed at the Houston Astros spring training facilities. He has been filmed joking with other Astros and pitching batting practice to Astros minor leaguers.
But Bonds is nowhere to be seen at any team’s spring training facilities. And more, only one team has expressed any overt interest in the services of the all-time home run leader.
Last season Roger Clemens finished the season with a mediocre 6-6 record. For the first time since his rookie year he allowed as many hits as he had innings pitched (99 IP, 99 Hits). His walks and hits per innings pitched - WHIP - statistics (1.313) were the fourth-highest of his career. With the specter of being watched closer than ever, if Clemens was using a performance-enhancing drug (PED) it is likely that it will be even more difficult to mask PED use. If he is clean, it is obvious his talents are waning; Clemens appears uninterested in becoming a paint-the-corners control pitcher. And it is safe to say that his performance will continue to wane.
Bonds, on the other hand, played last season on balky knees - “bone on bone,” as he often said. Though he played only 126 games was injured a fair amount last season, and was still walked a league-leading 132 times and batted a respectable .276 while blasting 28 home runs in 34o at-bats (one home run per 12.1 at-bats). Bonds’ on-base percentage was a staggering .480.
Most baseball and national sportswriters aver that Bonds is a disruption to any clubhouse, especially one like that of the Tampa Bay Rays who have expressed a modicum of interest in the slugger:
The Rays seem to think that Bonds might have a positive influence on their young players. How naive. It’s far more likely that Bonds, who probably wouldn’t even take Tampa’s phone calls if he had so much as a sniff from any other team, would drift above the team on his superstar cloud, chasing a few individual milestones, like 3,000 hits and 800 home runs. The humbling experience of finishing up with the anonymous Rays probably wouldn’t make him particularly approachable for his new teammates.
Interestingly, the vast majority of young players say that, when the media is not seeking to peck Bonds’ eyes out a la “Birds,” Bonds is free with his advice and will, out of the blue, make suggestions and give them glimpses of his knowledge gained over a lifetime in the game of baseball.
The media crushed the San Francisco Giants with their presence last season. And then the media castigated Bonds for making it difficult for his teammates to have a moment to themselves because members of the press incessantly asked them questions about Bonds.
However, most of the crush was due to Bonds’ chase of Henry Aaron’s home run record. And even that abated once the record was achieved. It stands to follow that, at first the media would make its presence known - and ESPN might even resurrect Pedro Gomez from his shadowy vampire’s coffin and have him act as a human vulture perched atop the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse. And of course the Worldwide Leader would periodically send its glut of baseball writers out to follow Bonds and mostly needlessly harass the young Rays.
Sadly, ESPN’s “game of shadowing” Barry Bonds results from a wholly unreasonable fear of competition that does not exist; dollars lost to no one. They create the box in which they use to jump in and peer out at the sports world. Rather than create new methods for viewers and readers to perceive athletes like Barry Bonds and LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning - such as god forbid, seeking to humanize them - they rely on their list of superstar athletes and an overly-simplistic set of methods to keep those athletes on “perma-bump” status. Rather than become creative “game-makers” they appear only seek to maintain the status quo - only the window-dressing changes.
Should Bonds make it to a team like Tampa Bay, ESPN would lead the crush on the Rays’ clubhouse, and then complain to a trusting public that it is Bonds’ mere presence that creates the media circus. And when Bonds and his teammates tire of reporters with their predictable set of questions and statements acting as questions - “So Barry, you took five minutes extra batting practice today….” - and Bonds is supposed to reply as if queried - it is the players who are depicted as surly and ungrateful for the “privilege” they have to make millions of dollars playing a kid’s game. And that lie, too, is packaged and sold as truth to the public. If Bonds takes a day off during the spring it is a sign of his self-centeredness. If he does take those few extra minutes of BP it is a sign of his self-centeredness; stealing valuable time from a developing player. And because there are no images of the man to stream out to the public the day he takes off, the WWL would craft another of its inane polls to keep his name in the “news:”
‘The poll of the day question is this - Should Barry Bonds be allowed to take a day off during spring training? Just answer “yes” or “no.” We’ll have the results of that ESPN Nation poll for you later in the show.’
Fortunately, no sports media outlet can match the resources of ESPN, so the number of press people would lessen quickly after the novelty of Bonds’ reporting for spring training subsides. Sure, there would be a few extra reporters following the team, but not so many that they would alter the manner in which Tampa Bay conducts its daily business. As Bonds approaches 3,000 hits, more would understandably wander through wherever the team plays. But that is to be expected.
For a team like Tampa Bay that, with a healthy Scott Kazmir, can win 80 to 85 games this season, the addition of Barry Bond as a designated hitter could catapult the Rays to the brink of the playoffs. If Bonds should he stay in relatively good health, he is good for 40 home runs, over 100 RBI and over 100 runs, and close to 200 walks. If the team collectively learns enough from the earlier 140 or so games, they could put together a stretch ruin that ends in postseason play. And as we have seen recently, once you’re playing in October anything can happen. That is the true worth of Barry Bonds for a young team like that of Tampa Bay.
All the talk is just that - talk. Just because Bonds has little respect for nine out of 10 reporters he faces does not mean he has no respect for the game he dominates.
What most of the press forgets is this: like the proverbial child raised by wolves, Barry Bonds was raised by baseball. Now, as a greybeard, he speaks the language of the game more proficiently than anyone still playing and perhaps better than those players retired and still living.
He knows how the game howls at the full moon and can turn the hottest hitter into a flailing, insecure, humbled little boy. He can watch a teammates’ swing for one at-bat and help get the teammate straight. He knows the secret incantations to repeat to concoct winning ways just like he knows the words and acts used as tools by 22 teams every year as excuses to lose.
He knows which atmosphere he will live in for the next six months before the first regular season pitch - that, if thrown by the opposing hurler, begins a sequence of pitches that he can predict with unerring accuracy- is thrown.
If Bonds is on a team’s roster, by the time that first pitch is thrown we will know if the press and Bonds will play the same old game of verbal pepper. And by the first round of column articles and commentaries we will know if someone will watch and listen closely enough to decipher his some of his secrets and translate the words, spoken and unspoken, to help those of us who wander through the chapel doors to attend the hallowed game of baseball - understand.
But still, there is Roger Clemens. Wednesday we saw what can be expected if Clemens plays for a team - say, the Houston Astros. While it was a spring training practice for the team, Clemens pitched 45 minutes of batting practice to minor league players. Those young men who are not a part of a major league roster were privy to a hounding of a player not seen since —— Barry Bonds.
Bonds is said to be a major distraction for any team. And by comparison the presence of Clemens is akin to a halcyon breeze?
No.
The swirl surrounding the man known as arguably the greatest right-handed pitcher of all time will be just as harsh as it ever has or will be with his home run hitting counterpart. It’s just that no one will speak truth to reality. So far, every pundit feels Clemens should, if he proves sturdy enough, pitch for the Astros. Not a soul has intimated that the fact of Clemens in a clubhouse will act as a distraction to Houston. No one has worried that, as the season wears on, the questions about Clemens will wear on his teammates; that they will come to resent him; that he will be perceived as self-centered for playing a season with so many off-the-field problems hanging over his head; that will have a draining effect on the team; that Houston might not survive until August; that for them the Dog Days will begin in April.
Where is the hue and cry from the agenda-setters at ESPN, from the national columnists, and the baseball-writing elite about Clemens being in a clubhouse?
Instead, there seems this collective breath of relief that Roger Clemens has gone that extra mile a white athlete of his stature must traverse to earn abject scorn from the press. And because it is Roger Clemens, they think the sour words he has received so far and the words he will receive as his case moves forward will be enough to assuage their personal guilt and calm minorities who would question their motives. They still are willing to rake Bonds through the mud of the guilty based on circumstantial evidence, while asking for more evidence in the case of Clemens.
But had Clemens gone the Andy Pettitte route, the press would be focused on the travails and the alleged lies of Miguel Tejada. Clemens, like his workout friend and teammate in two big league cities would be hailed together as forgiven heroes. Pettitte with his soft-shoe, ‘ain’t I jus’ a humble guy from Looo-siana’ technique and Clemens with his bulldog ways. You can almost hear Roger’s apology:
“I’ve given my life to this game of baseball; give it everything from every fiber of my body. And when I found that I might not be able to give the game more, I had Mac inject me those drugs so I could give some more. Ya see, in Texas, there’s no such thang as quit; no such thang as givin’ up. I’m not going to apologize to the fans cause I’ve given all of me to you and I hope I made you proud when I took the mound with my hamstring hangin’ by a muscle or two. And I’m not sorry to my teammates; I’d just as soon die for you if that’s what it takes to win a ring. I apologize to the kids. The lesson to learn from me is, you wanna give it your all, but ya cain’t do it dirty and have it hangin’ over your head like me an’ Andy did - jus’ never misremember that.”
While the vast majority of the press would be on the verge of tears, there would be a few media people thinking, ‘What the hell did I just hear?’
But no. Roger Clemens is full of enough hubris to truly believe that, despite is lies, he has earned the benefit of the doubt through his performances over the past two decades. He fails to realize that the rest of us are desensitized enough to hold only one belief: the belief that no one is to be believed.
Roger Clemens is borne of the grimy, graft-ridden, nouveau-riche, portion of Texans. His shining examples of “the way thangs outta be” are the big oilmen in Houston, the televangelist-inspired influence-peddlers in Dallas, and the slimy, graft-ridden behind oaken doors dealers in the capital building in Austin; they only smile nicely when their henchmen behind you have a gun to your head while you’re holding the pen signing the contract crafted to their liking that says they’re raping you for everything you have and everything you’ll have in the future.
But this is not Texas and there’s more at stake than just a local land grab of government-subsidy housing property of the poor.
This is the original national past time of America that’s being messed with. And as Roger Clemens is finding out the hard way, not even an icon like him can stand in the way of the image and the ideal of a game that represents the pastoral beauty of the good ol’ U.S. of A.
See, Clemens’ real problem is, if he keeps acting like a fool, in the end he’ll be more reviled than Barry Bonds. And his fall will be the longest plummet from grace in the history of sports.
What a way to go. What a way to go.
Comments
20 Responses to “Of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds and Falls From Grace”
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Pettite is as much from Louisiana as Clemens is from his birthplace, Dayton Ohio. They both moved to Texas early in their formative years and both claim it as their home state.
I was under the impression Clemens was at spring training as some sort of “special advisor”, he’s not there to make the team. He’s on his “personal services” contract and is supposed to be helping the minor leaguers.
I’ve been in Texas for goingon Four years now and I love it. It is by far the most livable place I have been in thus far and I have been a few places.
That said, there is a strain of White Privilege down here that is just mind boggling.
White folk whine down here about the slightest thing.
JB-
Pettitte still identifies with Louisiana, despite having lived in Texas for some time as most of his relatives are there….
And Clemens situation, as I wrote it, is this: if he joins a team, it will be Houston.
Now, with the situation he’s in legally, should he even be working as a special adviser to anyone in the Astros organization - especially minor leaguers?
Dwil-
Great point about should he be working w/ minor leaguers, I personally think he should not. I was just commenting on the juxtaposition w/ Bonds. Clemens is ostensibly “retired” and is being paid by Drayton McLane for his knowledge and to make appearances. Bonds is not retired and therefore any team that brings him to camp would first have to sign him to a contract. That’s why I thought the comparison was off. If you say, why is Roger allowed in camp while Barry is not, the answer is that Roger is “retired” and not actively trying to make the Houston Astros.
I can’t blame anyone for not signing Bonds. The media crush would just be too much, especially if the guy has a great season or gets anywhere near 800 home runs. Don’t forget all his legal troubles. I mean, one of his teammates could throw a no-hitter and hit 5 home runs and make a quadruple play and the reporters would be like “So what do you think of Barry’s upcoming trial? His chase to break more records?” Factor that in with the PR fallout with the fans, and you can see why owners aren’t going for it.
But, I also can only imagine if Bonds were signed by the Tigers. Facing, in some order, Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Bonds, and Guillen? AL pitchers’ heads would explode…..
That’s right. Baseball teams hate media attention and homeruns.
Back in the 80’s I remember Sam wyche kicking up a fuss about female reporters in the Bengals change room. His thing was that he is willing to give ALL reporters access in a designated area so the spector of gender discrimination doesn’t rise, but he woiuldn’t want a female in the change room with naked men, because most of the guys wouldn’t like it. Of course the no fun league finded his rable rousing ass.
I’ve always wondered why teams don’t control the access of reporters to club houses and change rooms, but realize that owners willingly grab their ankles for the media money, or at least force the players to grab their ankles so the owners can reap the media rewards.
Motown… money talks more than anything, and in America Inc. more recognition means more money. If anybody doesn’t want to sign Bonds, it has nothing to do with fan discontent, but their own anti-Barry, anti-African uppity knee-grow feelings.
At the end of the day White Supremacy is still the color of the day or night, resplendent with a burning cross and a noose.
Indeed brotha sankofa. And I remember what Sam Wyche said and I agreed.
Looks like McLane is rethinking that having Roger in camp thing….
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3268809
[…] Clemens’ Fall From Grace: D-Wil takes his usual insightful look at the parallels currently forming between the Rocket and Barry Bonds. [Sports on My Mind] […]
Do you all really believe that if Bonds were to sign with the Rays or any other team, that the media wouldn’t swarm the team and bombard the players, managers, and executives 24/7 with questions about Bonds and everything about Bonds? That these irrelevant and unimportant questions at all times might not affect the players eventually, in a sport like baseball where performance relies so much on clear thinking and focus?
It doesn’t matter whose fault it is that the signing of Bonds would have this effect on a team. Blame it on Bonds, ESPN, white people, the Illuminati, whoever you like. The fact is that it would happen, and there’s the very real chance that it would have a detrimental effect on the team. I never said “I wouldn’t sign Bonds if I was a GM” or “I wouldn’t consider giving Bonds a look if I had a team.” Like dwil pointed out, Bonds had good numbers last season, and if you watch baseball you know the man is still a force. I read an article on ESPN or SI’s website yesterday that said many GMs wanted to give Bonds a look but their owners vetoed it. I did, however, point out that there are a few mitigating factors to consider, and that I could understand why an owner might want Bonds around.
And sankofa, “more recognition means more money” only if its positive recognition. If its the type of recognition that say, causes local and national endorsements to dry up, or causes fans to not buy Bonds jerseys, or causes radio and TV stations to trash Bonds and your team, then it doesn’t get you money.
er, why an owner might not want Bonds around, I meant
I like how you threw in the illuminati.
Makes it seem like it’s silly to focus on who is at fault, and like it’s more important to discuss the realities of what will happen.
Only, the the main point of DWil’s article is that we should focus on who caused this whole mess because those same people haven’t spoken up to say that the Clemens hoopla will be bad for the team.
That they can be complicit in the creation of a problem, and then selectively act disturbed about existence of that same problem just doesn’t make sense. Particularly since they have never pointed a finger of blame at themselves!
Yes Big Man you are right, it is a travesty that the media does this. However, the only point I have ever argued here is that I can understand why owners are not showing interest in Bonds, because they are the people with money to lose and they would almost certainly lose some. That’s it.
err, has anyone stopped to think that noone talking about the attention Clemens would bring to a club is because he’s ummm, retired? Barry Bonds and his agent are actively pursuing a big league contract this season whereas Clemens is keeping everyone in the lurch again, like last season, and everyone is safely assuming he’s done after last year’s mediocre performance.
Bonds… 40 homers and 100 rbi, on those knees? Not going to happen, now if we could turn back the clock to 2001-2006 Dwil, he’d do it. Not at his age, and not with how brittle his joints have become. He might walk 200 times, but that would be because he has no protection in that lineup, just like in San Francisco. Carlos Pena is his protection??? as a Detroit Tigers’ fan, I find that humorous.
motown, as much as I’m sure Leyland wouldn’t mind Bonds in Detroit, the fact that both he and Sheffield are in the twilight of their careers would make it hard for them to both be able to play on a consistent basis. Neither can play the outfield anymore… Tampa can have Bonds, and I’ll have my popcorn ready for when he comes to Comerica.
motown,
The days of signing guys just to sign them in Tampa is over. For years Tampa went out of their way to acquire names to fill seats in that matchbox arena… I mean “stadium” they play in. Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco just to name a few… Lou Pinella was manager… Now that Tampa has a stable of homegrown talent ready to bust through the doors at the Trop, I doubt (and if I was the GM I wouldn’t) they want to sign Bonds or any other name simply for the sake of drawing attention. Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and David Price are all legit studs and if they see this Tampa team sign guys like Bonds or Fred McGriff/Jose Canseco/Wade Boggs/etc, simply to fill seats then they’re going to peace out when it’s time.
If Tampa fans don’t realize the talent they have on the team because they don’t recognize the names on the back of the jerseys, then maybe they need to spend more time watching the hockey or football team struggle.
Boney-
Off base…. If you don’t understand what I wrote, get a clue.There is no press crush around Bonds now is there? But let him join a team. What does “retired” have to do him being on the field during spring training? What does that have to do with him being able to influence minor league baseball players and walk around the Astros facilities like a beloved king?
Let’s not mess with Roger because he’s retired?
Whatever.
And - I used TB, just like I used Houston as an example of what would happen to Bonds. Since TB is the only team showing any real interest at all in Bonds - oops I wrote that in my article - I use them as the example. Since Houston is the only team Clemens can play for today - oops I made that clear, too - I used them as the example for him….
Now, as far as Bond’s production is concerned, as re you prepared to say that based on last season’s stats that Bonds cannot be expected to be a 40 HR, 100 RBI player with a plus.450 OB% and an OPS aroiund 1.000? Are you serious?! Take last season’s number and do the math.
If TB was the team to sign Bonds, they can expect those numbers from him as a DH who doesn’t have to hurt his knees playing in the field. And Bonds is always great for the players hitting directly around him, just look at their stats.
So, again, if the Rays had Bonds and are an 80-85-win team, with Bonds they become a 90-95-win team with him…. period.
It has nothing at all with filling seats - I didn’t say it did, and you won’t see me going there…..
“And sankofa, “more recognition means more money” only if its positive recognition. If its the type of recognition that say, causes local and national endorsements to dry up, or causes fans to not buy Bonds jerseys, or causes radio and TV stations to trash Bonds and your team, then it doesn’t get you money.”
Dude, no endorsement will dry up without some complicity from the owners. These cats are billionaires. They maybe fucked up sociopathic individuals, but they know how to make money. AND they can have an influence on the media…don’t ever believe that ain’t so.
Media circus? shoot! They enable this shit. Every wonder why you don’t see too many owners in baseball pitching their opinions? Is it out of fear for their bottom line or some form of manipulation?
Dwil, believe me, I understand what you’re saying. Tampa Bay has a history, albeit a very short one, of signing “names” to play in their lineups since Day 1. what I was saying to motown was simply that, nothing more.
See, to me, Bonds at this point in his career is simply nothing more than a name on the back of a jersey. He wasn’t doing anything in San Francisco last year to make that team better. It’s not a knock on him, I think he’s top 5 all time, all around baseball player. Barry Bonds at this point is Nolan Ryan to me. Sure, Nolan could throw it 98 miles an hour as a 46 year old man, but the sideshow that followed him was larger than the fanbase than the Rangers had at that time.
There is no reason for Bonds to continue playing, especially to play for a team like Tampa that is at least 2 seasons from competing in the league. Perhaps he can pull a “Clemens” and announce a comeback in May, but Bonds isn’t that kind of guy.
Bonds won’t hit 40 bombs this year as a DH in the American League. He’ll have an OBP near .450 and if he plays you can expect an OPS upwards of .950. He’s not going to hit 40 bombs, and he’s definitely not going to drive in 100. You’re right, Bonds offers protection to the other hitters, but there is noone to protect him from an intentional walk 3 out of 4 trips to the plate in Tampa.
dwil, to address your “press crush” comment. There is no crush for Bonds, because he’s not on a team. He is no longer relevant in discussions that involve the 2008 baseball season, until he’s on a 40 man roster and in someone’s camp.
Clemens has the press crush because he has a 10 year services contract with the Astros, and his perjury case is blood in the water for the press. Why should the owner of the Astros “fire” Clemens if he is not yet found guilty? Bonds doesn’t get the same treatment from San Francisco because his contract ran out, and the organization moved on. They don’t owe him anything except a pat on the ass and a handshake for years of good service, and 1 World Series appearance.
But thanks for telling me to get a clue, even though it’s very obvious why Clemens is doing what he’s doing and why Bonds’ name isn’t in the spotlight. Pedro Gomez should buy a condo in Tampa, that’s where it looks like Bonds is going if he’s playing this season.