Friday, December 14, 2007

Roger Clemens got off easy

Even as a life-long San Francisco Giants fan, it certainly seemed to me that one of the best arguments out there that Bonds had definitely used steroids was that he was actually more productive in his late 30s and early 40s than he had been in his mid-20s. Naturally, when the BALCO case exploded, this clinched it for most of the public. Bonds had used steroids, period.

As a result, the cacophony of boos, chants, taunts, signs, etc., etc., that Bonds faced during every road game as he chased Aaron's record was almost unreal. I'm still impressed that he managed to break the record under such difficult circumstances.

But what always bothered me during Bonds' home run chase was how hard people went after him, especially when he had never tested positive for steroids and wasn't yet on his way to a federal perjury trial. He was killed in the court of public opinion before technically being guilty, just like McGwire and Sosa. Meanwhile, Clemens, who also fit the steroids M.O. to a T, basically got off scot-free.

Of course, people will say the rage directed at Bonds was primarily due to the fact that he was connected to BALCO, while Clemens was not. There's certainly some truth to that. It also helped that Bonds was chasing baseball's defining record, while Clemens was not.

But for Clemens, the same signs were there for the court of public opinion to judge. It wasn't quite at the BALCO level, but it sure was close.

Clemens was incredibly productive late in his career. He beefed up substantially after Dan Duquette said Clemens was "past his prime." He went nuts and threw a bat at Mike Piazza. Baseball writers openly speculated if Clemens had used steroids. And perhaps most damning of all, former pitcher Jason Grimsley in late 2006 named Clemens as a player who used performance enhancing drugs.

When you line up both Bonds and Clemens, according to the strict letter of the law, neither had ever tested positive for anything at the time these separate instances broke - BALCO and Grimsley's admission.

Yet everyone began bashing Bonds incessantly after BALCO, while no one really jumped on Clemens after multiple signs that he too was a user.

The reasons why Bonds got the raw end of the deal are of course limitless. It has to do with the home run record, it has to do with race, it has to do with the mistaken belief that steroids wouldn't really be beneficial for picthers to use, it has to do with the media, it has to do with the fact that Bonds is a bigger jerk than Clemens (barely), etc.

Now, the public has essentially the same proof on Clemens that they used to bash Bonds with. Again, for neither man is there proof of a positive test, but documents that say Clemens got steroid shots in the butt should be viewed on the same level as BALCO.

But for Clemens, he isn't going to have to deal with people coming after him, because he's probably never going to play again.

He should have gotten killed in the court of public opinion just as hard as Bonds did. But for whatever reasons, he didn't.

He got off easy.

-WCK

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always had a few theories about why it's always said that people hate Bonds far more than Clemens.

First, the fact that Clemens wasn't bashed more comes down to the media and not the people. Almost every non-Yankees fan I know who follows baseball hates Clemens as much as Bonds. The difference between the two is just that the media openly attacked Bonds on the issue of his steroids usage. So when the media questions why more people taunt Bonds than Clemens, (to me) it comes across as a hypocritical/ridiculous question. The media painted the image of people hating Bonds more, and then ask the public why it is so.

Second, Clemens played for the New York Yankees for the majority of his steroid using career. As one of the more profitable teams, the Yankees have a strong and relatively intense fanbase that would not have enjoyed hearing about how the legendary pitcher who brought Waldman to tears was nothing but dust and bones held together by whatever Andy Pettite was injecting into his butt.

Third, Barry Bonds had more tangible reasons to be covered by the media. He was brought up in the context of tax evasion, BALCO, beating his mistress, and breaking what are probably the two most "sacred" baseball records there are (single season and career HR records). These were rallying points for the media and the people who read about the situations. Had Clemens done more than throw a bat at Mike Piazza and broken a few less powerful numbers (300 wins, which is still quite an accomplishment), then he might have faced more resistance from the people.

Anyone can argue that Bonds had people following him on the road, antagonizing him with signs and fake needles. They can claim that this is a result of Bonds being a total dick, or because Bonds is black and Clemens is white, or any number of excuses that condemn the American public. But the simple fact is that this is probably a result of all of the factors previously stated, rather than the fact that people hate one more than the other.

World of Isaac said...

good post WCK

Jack Gonzo, MD said...

To add to what jw said, there is also the case that Clemens was much more personable then Barry Bonds ever was. All we saw from Bonds was him being a prima dona and a general asshat, where we saw Clemens being approachable.

I do think that Clemens will now get the same treatment regarding the hall of fame that Big Mac and Bonds will get, which we will find out how that is going to work out this year with Big Mac.

Least I wasn't the only person who thought Duquette was vindicated with his opinions after yesterday.

Luke said...

Certainly, Bonds being a jerk is a major factor in the public backlash and court-of-public-opinion conviction he's gotten. But comparing the cases of Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire, the biggest factors are these:

- Sosa and McGwire came first as obvious steroid users. They were the begging of an epidemic, not smaller parts of a now-clear landscape of abuse that we now see. The nail in each of their coffins was the appearance in front of congress, when they were held in front of the world to say whatever they wanted, and said nothing, clearly because they didn't want to lie, but the truth was too damning.

- With Bonds, several factors have made it obvious. First, McGwire and Sosa sort of laid the groundwork for more open public speculation about steroids in baseball, and Bonds came when the skids were more greased; second, his physical transformation was absolutely remarkable, stunning to anyone who paid even moderate attention to his career; third, his involvement in Balco was so detailed and doggedly pursued by the Feds that it created a paper trail that left little room for plausible denial in the eyes of the public.

- With Clemens, the visual physical transformation has not been nearly as stark; there has been no paper trail or involvement in larger scandal, and the differece between his pre- and post-steroid era performances is not as stark as some of the others (although to the trained baseball eye, it is just as obvious, but the general public is not a trained baseball eye, on the whole).

Now that he's tied to this report in good detail, I believe you'll see him nailed to the wall in the same general ballpark as the others. The only way he can avoid it is if he stays personally out in front, pursues a dogged lawsuit against the accusers and wins, and maybe comes back and pitches another year and does well. He will do none of the above though, because he is guilty as a fucking dime-store thief in Topeka. (I have no idea what that means, but he's every bit as fucking guilty as the others and none of them should sniff the hall of fame)

Luke said...

Clarifications:

- Sosa and Mcgwire were the BEGINNING of an epidemic, not the "begging of an epidemic", as I so illiterately stated in my post.

- Also, to Shane Rollins' comment about the vindication of Duquette for letting Mo Vaughn go...didn't that vindication happen in like 2001? Did we really need this report to prove that Mo wasn't worthy of the contract he was looking for in 1988? I think his post-Sox career pretty much told that story.

Anonymous said...

ts amazing the excuses the fans and media will make to defend "white hero" Roger Clemens. The analyst and media scapegoat is to immediately attack the credibility of the personal trainer, the league and the Mitchell report. Nobody was held at gunpoint and forced to take these drugs. These statements were made to federal investigators and I am not sure how much more evidence you would need. The trainer worked with Roger for about 10 years and Rogers performance only improved with age, just admit it people don't want the black guy to break the Bambino's records, but when it comes to Roger they just say he was a victim of the Era, hypocrites! Its all about race, lets admit it, roger is a prick too.

Jack Gonzo, MD said...

Luke, I was talking about Roger Clemens not Mo Vaughn. No idea where you got Mo Vaughn from since both myself and 100IR both were discussing Duquette's opinion that Clemens best years had passed.

Luke said...

Right...sorry about that Shane. I assumed Mo because he was also in the report, but your right, that was out of the blue.

I always thought Clemens had gotten pretty lazy his last couple of years in Boston and that it took Duquette's "slight" to motivate him back to top condition and performance. I never really suspected steroids with him until the Houston years, really, but it's not hard to believe now.

What I really wonder is, had Duquette signed him, would he have ever found steroids, or would he have continued down the road to breakdown that he kind of seemed to be on (although the 20K performance in September '96 indicated he started to rededicate before the Duquette slight).

Either way, I think Duquette could only go on what he knew at the time, and it was hard to argue he guessed wrong; In my mind he closed the door on the whole thing by grabbing Pedro after the '97 season and locking him up with money that the Yawkey Foundation probably wouldn't have made available had he signed Clemens after '96. Clearly Pedro was the better option of the two.

Anonymous said...

The 3 baseball players I hate most in order are, Clemens, Bonds, and McGwire. I think the media didn't kill Clemens but certainly me and a lot of my buddies absolutely despise the guy.

Anonymous said...

Good post. No question he got off easy. Bonds has been a bigger a$$ and deserved some grief, but there were as many (or more) pitchers on it as batters. The state of roid rumors for baseball is about as legitimate as the fantasy football players on roids post at nicelittlesundays.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Having met both Clemens and Bonds, I can tell you that Bonds is much more likeable than Clemens, who is flamming asshole.

Anonymous said...

If Clemens were going after some sort of record next year, he would get bashed. If Clemens is getting off easy, it's because he won't be playing anymore.

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