Hard to believe it was less than a year ago when the Mitchell Report came out and turned, at least in some respect, the baseball world on its fat steroidy head.
And its been an even shorter time than that since Clemens began his descent from his pedestal as America's Cy Young to someone even Barry Bonds points out and says, "that dude has issues."
That journey will continue Monday as lawyers for the respective losers will meet in a Houston courtroom to hear arguments on the attempted dismissal of Clemens defamation suit.
That lawsuit was filed the same day as Roger’s 60 Minutes interview with his buddy Mike Wallace, a time when baseball, steroids, and Clemens seemed a whole lot more relevant.
The interview itself went along the lines of Couric-Palin with regard to its intended purpose of fortifying the subject's reputation with the public.
In hindsight, much like McCain and Palin, Clemens went to a desperate Hail Mary approach in attempts to win over the America; both underestimated the withering media oppression and scrutiny in watching their plans spiral out of control. As Palin transformed from political ingénue to incomprehensible dullard, so too did Clemens watch accusations escalate from steroid use to adultery and statutory rape. Surely what neither had in mind when they started.
If Clemens was a less prideful man he might be standing here with at least a shred of his reputation still intact. Clemens, after all, wasn't the only player named in the Mitchell Report, and by and large most involved with the scandal have suffered little blowback because it turns out people aren't as morally invested in a clean baseball league as baseball itself.
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Now amidst an historical political election and devastating financial crisis it’d be hard to find someone who cares enough to even consider going as a pre-HGH Roger Clemens for Halloween.
But in the fashion of classic Greek tragedy, Oedipus Clemens prompted his own demise by allowing pride to to prevail over rationality. His unnecessary lawsuit filed to prove his innocence ultimately created a situation where what the courts say would have little effect to his irreparably damaged reputation.
Roger, technically, is still innocent; but alas the court of public opinion he once hoped to sway served their guilty verdict a long time ago, and now no longer cares.
