Needing a shot in the arm, Clemens’ credibility took a hit in Congress

Those who wish to brand the scarlet S on Roger Clemens got a significant boost Wednesday.

Going in, they had only Brian McNamee, Clemens’ sketchy former trainer. And he was hammered by certain Clemens partisans on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as a chronic liar they wouldn’t trust as far as Clemens could throw him.

But now they have Andy Pettitte. And the affidavit of Clemens’ friend and confidante regarding Clemens’ steroid use is a lot harder to explain away than the claims of a former cop ridiculed as a drug pusher.

Pettitte has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs at least a time or two. So maybe he’s not the tower of integrity even Clemens agreed he is. But Pettitte ultimately fessed up under oath and will accept whatever spanking he gets.

Clemens did no such thing and, from the way it looks, will do no such thing, even though much that went down Wednesday hurt him and his leaking iconic status.

Clemens couldn’t reconcile timeline inconsistencies the committee mentioned. He rambled and circled back under the pressure of congressional eyes. He repeatedly talked around pointed questions, which raised the panel’s frustration quotient.

And Clemens awkwardly mentioned more than once that Pettitte simply “misremembered” conversations the two allegedly had about steroids. Not that McNamee came off as some clear, confident voice. He didn’t.

But the nagging question that was there before the surreal, four-plus-hour escapade was joined by a more bothersome one later:

Why would McNamee lie just about Clemens when Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch substantiated McNamee’s claims regarding their use of steroids? And why in the world would Pettitte lie about Clemens, his longtime friend and workout partner?

The latter was the note Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland hit hard at the start of the day, as well as toward the end. I want to believe you, Cummings told Clemens. I just can’t.

Everything else pertinent or odd that was kicked around inside the Rayburn Building – the nanny issues, Debbie Clemens’ HGH shot delivered by McNamee, the color of certain injections, Jose Canseco’s party, the lovely abscess on Clemens’ bloodied backside from injections of some sort – was noise.

Obviously, a whole lot of butt-covering took place at that witness table. As Cummings intoned, it’s just flat hard to believe Clemens wasn’t the one covering faster. He’s too far down the road with his practiced defense to turn back , especially with the federal perjury dogs potentially on his trail.

I’d feel less queasy about the day, though, if we’d watched a real trial instead of a hearing that hinted of McCarthy-like zealotry. And if the nagging feeling didn’t persist that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has a lot more pressing things to oversee and fix.

Granted, the committee helped push baseball out of its almighty no-testing arrogance a few years ago by making Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa, among others, squirm.

But its reminders sprinkled throughout that this was all about “the kids” who look up to pro athletes was overdone pandering. This seemed personal.

Clemens and McNamee took plenty of shots. However, the guy invoked as a shining citizen and who got out largely untouched, Pettitte, leveled the biggest blow by supporting McNamee’s claims in absentia.

The ripples were felt quickly in the court of opinion, and could yet resonate before a genuine judge. One whose opinion weighs much more.

Tom Robinson, (757) 446-2518 tom.robinson@pilotonline.com