Is Roger Telling the Truth?

To believe or not to believe in Roger…that is the question?

Or, better yet, do you care anymore about steroids in baseball?

With American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime hitting book shelves this week, Clemens is back in the news, refuting the book yesterday on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show.

For me, I care. I also happen to be a big Roger Clemens fan. Let reporters tell you that they don’t play favorites, but in reality, we all have guys we root for. Guys we like, because they gave us the time of day, or come up with good quotes.

Roger Clemens is a likeable baseball personality and arguably the best pitcher of this generation. There have been guys better in given years, but his resume, from top to bottom, is unmatched. Seven Cy Young awards can attest to that.

But we had to know something was up.

Right?

To be in your forties, throwing ninety plus. That was an impressive feat in and of itself.

Prior to my reporting days, I never cared much for Clemens as a Yankee fan; he was always the enemy, but when he put on the pinstripes, there was no one I wanted more on the mound than him, especially after he settled in after his first year in New York.

Clemens could match any ace. He was intimidating and gave fans a sense of confidence just with his sheer presence alone.

But there’s a lot of potential evidence pointing to his drug use, which to me, begs more questions, like when did he start?

How long did he use?

Is he a Hall of Famer?

Would he have been a HOF before he started using, if he did indeed use steroids later in his career?

Do I believe Roger? Yes and no.

I want to believe him.

But I have a hard time dismissing the 2000 Subway Series bat tossing incident with Mike Piazza as anything less than ’roid rage. (Note, I didn't care very much at the time so long as the Yankees won another World Series.)

More importantly, I want to believe Roger. I want to believe in his greatness.

I almost feel he’s lying to himself and that he’s so convinced that he’s living a lie. He sounds believable, because he believes it.

Which is why I believe we’ve reached a point I’ve been sharing for years now. The game is loaded with steroids, creating a level playing field of sorts – in a bad way, of course – but still a level playing field.

If the stars are doing it and the scrubs are doing it, there’s a very good chance the guys in between are too. It's rampant and likely still going on. Masking agents make that possible.

Did you ever think that owners and baseball organizations might welcome it. They don't have to deal with the side effects. They won't have to worry years from now if their kidneys shut down. All they care about is winning. All they care about is making money.

Nearly everyone using it doesn’t make it right, but that seems to be the reality.

The reason why I care is two fold. Kids shouldn’t grow up believing steroids make a major leaguer. If anything, the recent admissions and cases like A-Rod, Manny and Roger prove that steroids – even allegations – ruin careers.

Plus, the record book has always been the most respected part of the game. Baseball has always been about numbers. The 56-game hitting streak. 61 Homers. Hank Aaron’s 755.

All of that is tarnished now.

And because of it, it’s hard to believe anyone these days.