So, who do we believe???

Clemens more nervous than trainer; Facial expressions expert analyzes both witnesses

Roger Clemens' lips were pressed together tight, the corners turned slightly upward, his mouth pulled wide.

"There's only one interpretation," said Dan Hill, an expert in analyzing facial expressions, "and that's fear."

Hill doesn't profess to be able to declare with certainty whether the star pitcher or his former trainer, Brian McNamee, was telling the truth during their testimony before Congress on Wednesday. But after viewing video clips of portions of the hearings, Hill concluded Clemens seemed more nervous than McNamee.

"To be fair, it could be fear of being unfairly stripped of the Hall of Fame," Hill said in a phone interview. "He also could be lying."

Hill is the president of Sensory Logic, a Minnesota-based marketing research company that analyzes consumers' facial expressions. He said Clemens showed signs of anger and disgust, pushing his lower lip and chin upward and pressing his lips together.

"It's the same body language as when he prepares to overwhelm a batter," Hill said. "He's a bulldog trying to will himself through the testimony."

But Clemens also repeatedly licked his lips and looked down.

"That's all signs of avoidance, possibly shame, absolutely nervousness," Hill said.

He thought Clemens seemed particularly anxious, gulping and licking his lips, when questioned about the testimony of former teammate Andy Pettitte's wife. In her affidavit, she said her husband told her about a conversation he had with Clemens in 1999 or 2000 during which the seven-time Cy Young winner admitted using human growth hormone.

McNamee may have looked "beaten down" as he was drilled by members of Congress, Hill said, but he appeared more confident than Clemens.

"He does not look like he's broken or wavering or nervous," Hill said.

List of players, ex-players named in Mitchell report

The following players were connected to steroids, either use or possession, in the report:
Chad Allen,Mike Bell,Gary Bennett,Larry Bigbie,Ricky Bones,Kevin Brown,Ken Caminiti,
Mark Carreon,Jason Christiansen,Howie Clark,Roger Clemens,Paxton Crawford,
Jack Cust,Brendan Donnelly,Chris Donnels,Lenny Dykstra,Matt Franco,Ryan Franklin,
Eric Gagne,Jason Grimsley,Jerry Hairston,Phil Hiatt,Matt Herges,Glenallen Hill
Todd Hundley,Ryan Jorgensen,Wally Joyner,Mike Judd,David Justice,Chuck Knoblauch,
Tim Laker,Mike Lansing,Paul Lo Duca,Exavier “Nook” Logan,Josias Manzanillo,
Cody McKay,Kent Mercker,Bart Miadich,Hal Morris,Daniel Naulty,Denny Neagle,
Rafael Palmeiro,Jim Parque,Luis Perez,Andy Pettitte,Adam Piatt,Todd Pratt,
Stephen Randolph,Adam Riggs,Brian Roberts,F.P. Santangelo,David Segui,Mike Stanton,Ricky Stone,Miguel Tejada,Derrick Turnbow,Mo Vaughn
Ron Villone,Fernando Vina,Rondell White,Jeff Williams,Todd Williams,Kevin Young,
Gregg Zaun

The following players were cited under “Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball” in the report:
Rick Ankiel,David Bell,Paul Byrd,Jose Canseco,Jay Gibbons,Troy Glaus,
Jose Guillen,Darren Holmes,Gary Matthews Jr.,John Rocker,Scott Schoeneweis,
Ismael Valdez,Matt Williams,Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO in the report:
Marvin Benard,Barry Bonds,Bobby Estalella,Jason Giambi,Jeremy Giambi
Benito Santiago,Gary Sheffield,Randy Velarde

The Mitchell Report Gets Better and Better

Pete Rose investigator John Dowd is unimpressed with George Mitchell's refusal to make the documents, notes, and interviews that went into the Mitchell Report public:

"That's ridiculous," chief Rose investigator John Dowd said Thursday. "That surprises me. I'm sorry to hear that."


This, however, seems way worse:


Mitchell, according to lawyers involved in his probe, did not create transcripts of interviews. However, aides took notes.


No transcripts? Great job, George! Now, instead of simply turning over a transcript of McNamee's allegedly defamatory statements to Clemens' lawyers and walking away, you managed to make your aides and yourself witnesses in the lawsuit. I mean, absent a transcript someone has to testify as to what, exactly, McNamee said, and who else would it be? What's more, if your aides' interview notes suck and your testimony comes off sketchy (e.g. it is revealed during a deposition that your investigatory approach was so reckless that it all but ensured that phony information would result) you may make yourself and baseball co-defendants!


I've said before that I don't think Clemens has a cause of action against Major League Baseball or George Mitchell. I still don't think he does, but the more I hear about Mitchell's methodology, the less convinced I become. Today it's no transcripts. Given Mitchell's reliance on handwritten notes -- and given his seeming refusal to turn over records to the media -- it's not hard to construct a scenario in which a claim of spoliation of evidence comes into play. Is it likely that someone like George Mitchell would be so careless with this kind of stuff so as to make that a real possibility? Nah, but then again I never would have expected him to not transcribe interviews and testimony of drug dealers making claims against star athletes either, so who the hell knows? It's amazing the stuff you can find out over the course of a deposition.

What I do know is that given what appears to be some surprisingly poor procedural steps taken in putting it together, the door may soon open for Clemens -- or others who believe they were falsely named -- to mount a full frontal assault on the Mitchell Report if they have the inclination to do so.


And that, my friends, is not how Bud drew this all up back in 2006.

Trainer's lawyer calls Clemens lawsuit 'shoddy'

NEW YORK - Roger Clemens beat Brian McNamee to court, filing a defamation suit against the former trainer who claimed to have injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens filed the suit Sunday night in Harris County District Court in Texas, listing 15 alleged statements McNamee made to the baseball drug investigator George Mitchell. Clemens claimed the statement were “untrue and defamatory.”

“According to McNamee, he originally made his allegations to federal authorities after being threatened with criminal prosecution if he didn’t implicate Clemens,” according to the 14-page petition.

Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said he would seek to remove the case to U.S. District Court in Houston, then to possibly shift it to federal court in Brooklyn.

“I think it’s dismissible on its face. I think it’s a press release for Clemens and his career,” Emery said. “The case is shoddy at best. The prosecutors acted completely professionally in this case. This is a very odd thing for me to be saying, but it’s the truth. Sometimes you are bound by the truth.”

The suit states that when McNamee told others that when he first was interviewed by federal law enforcement last June, he denied Clemens had used steroids or human growth hormone. The suit quotes McNamee as saying he was pressured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella and IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky — key members of the BALCO prosecution — to implicate Clemens. The suit did not attribute where the quote from McNamee was obtained.

“After this exchange, and for the first time in his life, McNamee stated that he had injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001,” the suit said. “Following his recantation, McNamee has relayed that he magically went from a ’target’ in a federal criminal drug investigation to a mere ’witness,’ so long as he continued to ’toe the line.”’

The suit said that when McNamee initially refused a request from federal authorities that he speak to Mitchell, he was threatened with prosecution. Clemens said McNamee decided only then to cooperate with Mitchell, and the suit said McNamee told other the interview “was conducted like a Cold War-era interrogation in which a federal agent merely read to the Mitchell investigators McNamee’s previously obtained statement and then asked McNamee to confirm what he previously stated.”

Clemens asked that damages be determined by a jury.

“Clemens’ good reputation has been severely injured,” the suit said. “McNamee’s false allegations have also caused Clemens to suffer mental anguish, shame, public humiliation and embarrassment.”

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Emery said McNamee was threatened with prosecution for steroids distribution unless he told the truth. That, according to Emery, was when McNamee implicated Clemens.

Emery also challenged Clemens’ assertion that he didn’t know in advance that he would be named in the Mitchell Report, releasing a pair of what he said were Dec. 11 faxes from Clemens and Andy Pettitte acknowledging a pair of private investigators worked for them.

Clemens could face several legal hurdles if the case went to trial, said Randall Bezanson, a law professor at the University of Iowa who has written extensively on defamation law.

In addition to the public figure argument, McNamee’s lawyers could contend that his statements didn’t qualify as defamation, Bezanson said.

“It could be claimed under common law used in many states that it’s privileged because it’s part of the government record,” he said.

Robert Kheel, a specialist in sports law at the New York firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, speculated Clemens could cite the suit as a reason he cannot answer some questions when he testifies before Congress.

The next step for the case will depend on each side’s strategy, said Kheel, the former lawyer for the National League. McNamee’s lawyers could file a motion to dismiss, which would tie the suit up in legal procedures for months. They also could choose to aggressively move forward in the case. That would mean Clemens would have to provide evidence such as medical records, but it also could force McNamee to reveal potentially damaging information.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner sounded indignant and defiant in a segment of CBS’s “60 Minutes” broadcast Sunday night, his first interview since McNamee accused him. The two are approaching a potential confrontation if they testify under oath at a Jan. 16 hearing on Capitol Hill.

The most prominent player implicated in last month’s Mitchell Report, Clemens steadfastly maintained his innocence and called McNamee’s allegations “totally false.”

“If he’s doing that to me, I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead. I should be pulling tractors with my teeth,” said Clemens, who wore a lavender button-down shirt during the interview, taped Dec. 28 at his home in Katy, Texas.

On Friday, when the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform invited Clemens and McNamee to testify, the pair spoke by telephone, an individual close to the situation said, speaking on condition of anonymity because public comments weren’t authorized. The conversation first was reported Sunday by Newsday.The individual would not say what was discussed.

Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, told the Houston Chronicle that it was McNamee who arranged to talk to Clemens on Friday but instead of getting back to Clemens the conversation was leaked “with spin” to Newsday.

During the “60 Minutes” segment, Clemens said he might be willing to take a lie-detector test and was “shocked” Pettitte used HGH. He said — again — that he probably will retire.

A fiery look in his eyes and stubble on his face, Clemens told CBS’s Mike Wallace that he would have spoken with Mitchell had he been aware of McNamee’s accusations.

“I thought it was an impassioned, disingenuous and desperate plea,” said Earl Ward, McNamee’s primary lawyer.

One of the few revelations in the much-hyped interview came when Clemens was asked whether he conceivably would take a lie detector test.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I don’t know if they’re good or bad.”

A congressional hearing will be next week. Pettitte, former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who allegedly supplied McNamee with performance-enhancing drugs, also were asked to appear before the committee.

Lawyers for Clemens and McNamee have said their clients are willing to testify but Hardin wouldn’t commit to the date.

Emery said he wanted to hear testimony from Clemens.

“If Congress calls him, he pretty much has to take the Fifth, and if he takes the Fifth, nobody will ever believe him again and all this effort has gone down the drain,” Emery said. “And if he doesn’t take the Fifth, it’s very hard to imagine that a prosecutor isn’t going to pursue this. So I think he’s put himself in a terrible corner.”

Clemens said his lawyer advised him not to speak with Mitchell, who spent 20 months on his investigation.

“If I would’ve known what this man, what Brian McNamee (had) said in this report, I would have been down there in a heartbeat to take care of it,” Clemens said.

Only two active players, Jason Giambi and Frank Thomas, spoke with Mitchell, a Boston Red Sox director and a former Senate majority leader.

In excerpts of the CBS interview that were released Thursday, Clemens said McNamee injected him with vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine. In the full 14-minute broadcast, Clemens also said he was given an injection of toradol under the supervision of the New York Yankees.


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McNamee told Mitchell he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH about 16 to 21 times during 1998, 2000 and 2001 — before baseball players and owners agreed to ban performance-enhancing substances.

Eighth on the career list with 354 wins, the 45-year-old Clemens said he was angered McNamee’s accusations have been accepted as truth by some.

“It’s hogwash for people to even assume this,” Clemens said. “Twenty-four, 25 years, Mike. You’d think I’d get an inch of respect. An inch.”

Clemens said the descriptions McNamee gave Mitchell of injections “never happened.”

“If I have these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, where did I get ’em?” he said. “Where is the person out there (who) gave ’em to me? Please, please come forward.”

Transcript of the Clemens phone call

I hope you find this to be as interesting as I did. I can't wait to see how this plays out in the next few months.

Excepts from a recording of last Friday's 17-minute taped telephone call between Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens' former trainer, and the seven-time Cy Young Award winner:

Clemens: I got your e-mail about Brian. (McNamee's son)

McNamee: He's not doing good.

Clemens: I don't like hearing that.

McNamee: No, it's real, man. This is real. Everything else is a joke.

———

McNamee: It is what it is, and it's not good. And I want it to go away. And I'm with you. I'm in your corner. I don't want this to happen. But I'd also like not to go to jail, too. But it has nothing to do with you. But I would like to sit down with you in person and talk with you.

Clemens: I get home from vacation here and I found out now - I'm just hearing a ton of other things. Just the stuff that I'm reading or hearing. So much of it is untrue that it's just tearing everybody apart.

———

McNamee: I reached out to you because - I mean, I tried to help as much as I could, as late as I could. And it was too late, I guess, to help. But what it comes down to is the way it affects our kids. They got nothing to do with this. They've got nothing to do with any of this.

———

McNamee: I'm on a cell phone. And I understand that I don't expect - I can't open up to you the way I want to, and I know you can't. And you know how I feel about you.

Clemens: I don't know who's on our lines or whatever.

McNamee: I got nobody on my line. I don't know.

Clemens: I just want the truth out there, and if I got to go - whatever I'm doing - I just want the truth out there. And like I said, I just can't believe what's being said. We're getting it from all angles. And, you know, I haven't talked to anybody other than my representatives - and Randy (Hendricks). Everybody is just - everybody is just so upset.

———

McNamee: The pain this is causing you and me and everybody is nonsense. You know, Brian, your kids, my kids, they have nothing to do with this. The truth is the truth. It is what it is.

Clemens: That's why I answered your e-mail when I heard - again, like I said, I just don't know why - I just don't know why you did it? I mean, I just can't - like I said, you know, everybody asks me about you and I tell them I treat you like I treat anybody else in the world. I think you know that. I treated you just like anybody else.

McNamee: No, you treated me better. You treated me like family. From day one I was family to you, and you treated me like that. You know, I'm glad to hear your voice. I just - you know, I don't believe that, you know, it is, whatever. I just - the bottom line is I'm glad to hear your voice. I'm sorry that your family is going through this. And I'll do whatever I can do to help.

Clemens: You just need to come out and tell the truth.

McNamee: I don't have any money. I have nothing. I'm not doing a book deal. I got offered seven figures to go on TV. I didn't do it. I didn't take it. I didn't do anything. All I did was what I thought was right - and I never thought it was right, but I thought that I had no other choice, put it that way. And I think when I spoke with your guys, that I laid it out there. And I was sick. I was in the hospital.

———

Clemens: I'm just, like I said, I'm numb, my family is numb.

McNamee: I know that. I know that.

Clemens: I mean all the calls we get from the people that we worked with. They're just going crazy. So. They just can't believe what's being said.

McNamee: Like I said, I'll fly out tomorrow to talk to you face to face, whatever you want me to do. What do you want me to do? Tell me what you want me to do.

Clemens: I don't know. I'm just saying —

McNamee: (unintelligible). You treated me better than anybody. You treated me - I learned from you how to raise my kids. I learned from you how to raise my kids.

———

Clemens: I didn't do it, this, you know, all this stuff. And I just, like I said, I'm numb to everything. And we get, you know, Deb is, you know, she's a mess. And I mean, like you said, when it affects Brian, you know, I got Koby in the game, and he's getting, he's getting crushed.

———

McNamee: Roger, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?

Clemens: Mac, I'm doing a press conference and - on Monday and —

McNamee: You want me to go? You want me to show up?

Clemens: I'm going to just tell the truth, flat out tell the truth. But it never seems to get behind me. I mean, I had to deal with the (expletive deleted) from the LA Times and alls I got was an apology when they found out that wasn't true. I had to deal with that. And, like I said, I asked you about —

McNamee: That was the greatest thing in the world.

Clemens: The other thing is, I don't know how many months ago it was, I asked you, you know, I didn't know who this cat was in the New York Mets - this guy.

McNamee: I told your guys, man. I told (Jim) Murray, I told him his name. I told Murray.

Clemens: I asked you point blank, I said, do you know who this cat is when we were working. I said there's some rumblings about some guys with the Mets. Do you know who this guy is? You told me no.

McNamee: You know what, I would have told you yes. If you told me, if I remember that, if you told me that, I would have told you yes.

Clemens: I asked you point blank. Randy and them all called me to ask. Said who —

McNamee: I told Jim Murray, I told Jim Murray. I told him. I told him. I sat down with him in Starbucks on the corner where you used to live and I told him the guy's name. And I told him please don't tell Roger yet, but to be careful, but no. If you had asked me, I would have told you that. If you remember, if you remember, I was trying to get with you to talk with you. I was reaching out to you.

Clemens: Brother —

McNamee: I didn't want Kenny around —

Clemens: You were a foot in front of me doing ab work.

McNamee: All right, then, you know what, then I messed up. I should have done. But you know what, if I had remembered that, then I would have told you. I would have told. Like I told - I told Jim Murray his name. I told him to be careful.

Clemens: Again, Jimmy has never told me.

McNamee: He sat down writing on the stupid yellow pad. He took notes. And he said he spoke to Randy. And he said he's covered. And I said, all right, well, don't tell Roger because I don't want to mess up —

Clemens: Nobody said a word to me, just like everything else.

McNamee: Well, I'm telling you the truth. I met with Jimmy in '04, and I told him. I said Jimmy, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up because you better have some information. I'd rather you be prepared than unprepared. And he took all these notes and (unintelligible) —

Clemens: I need somebody to come tell the truth. And I got this press conference on Monday that I've got to deal with next. And, like I said, everybody's got ulcers here, and it's, it's a, it's a, it's, it's, it's ridiculous. So, and I like I tell everybody, when I trained - I enjoyed training with you and I treat you like - I treat you like you were - like I would treat anybody else.

McNamee: I can't say it over and over again. You treated me better than everybody else and I couldn't have - like I said, you treated me like family. You brought me into your house. I ate with your family. I helped you with school projects. I can't deny that. And I've used how you were as a dad to your kids, I tried to be like you. I told people that. You know, that's one thing, this is another.

———

McNamee: I've got a car that doesn't work. I got (expletive deleted) attorneys saying (expletive deleted) they shouldn't be saying and trying to make a name from themselves where I lose control.

———

McNamee: Everything I have to this day I have because of you.

Clemens: I'm just, like I said, Mac, I'm just - I can't, you know, for the life of me, I'm trying to find out why you would tell guys that I used steroids from —

McNamee: I understand that. I understand that. And like I told the guys that tape-recorded me —

Clemens: Who's the guys that tape-recorded you?

McNamee: (unintelligible)

Clemens: You're talking about the two investigators that came down and talked to you.

McNamee: Right. If I was lawyered up. If I had any idea what the (expletive deleted) was going on, why would I do that?

Clemens: I just don't know why, and I like I said, I got the press conference Monday and I need to, you know, somebody's got to come tell the truth.

McNamee: Roger, Roger, tell me what the (expletive deleted) you want me to do. What do you want me to do. My son is dying. He's 10.

Clemens: I understand that. And Mac, listen to me, that's why I answered your e-mail immediately. For me, there's more important things to me, and those things are important to me. I just had my college coach's son pass away. I got to go to his funeral. It's on Monday, the same time I'm supposed to have this press conference. And, so, I just need - Like I said, I'm telling the truth and I want it out there and —

McNamee: Tell me what you want me to do. I told you in the (unintelligible). What do you want me to do? I'll go to jail, I'll do whatever you want.

Clemens: I need somebody to tell the truth, Mac.

McNamee: What do you want me to do right now?

Clemens: It's ridiculous.

McNamee: What do you want me to do right now, Roger?

Clemens: It's just being ridiculous.

McNamee: Who? Me?

Clemens: No, I said everything.

McNamee: Right.

———

McNamee: Tell me what you want me to do. I'm firing my lawyers. I'm getting rid of everybody. I have nothing. What do you want me to do? My wife is gone. My kids are gone. What do you want me to do?

Clemens: I didn't do this Mac. Let me, let me just - I didn't do it and, and, and just, just - I need, I need some - you know, like I said, I'm trying to get a direction and, and, and trying to comfort everybody and like I said, you know, you know what I think about your wife and your boys. You know that. I don't think I've left that uncovered one bit. Like I said, I do anything for them. And, and that's just, that's what's just, just eating at my gut in this whole thing. And, so, I mean, let me, just give me a little time here tonight and, just give me a little time. I'm glad at least you told me that. And, you know, about your boys, because, I don't want - they can't - I know over the years the up and downs that the little man's had. And all of our boys. And it's killing them. Right now, Kacy's just like, they're all, they're all in just a state, and it's, it's just, it's, it's, you know, like I said. They're coming. I mean, it's, it's unbelievable so - I just need somebody to tell the truth. And, and let me, let me just - I got to visit with some people and - because, you know, like I said, I'm just, I'm just devastated by this. And, and, I mean that's just where I'm at it. I'm just, I'm just so, I mean, I'm hurt, I'm upset, I'm shocked by some of the other, the other things that have been said. And I just know that I didn't do it and we need to, you know, move on from there.

McNamee: Just tell me what you want me to do. Just tell me what you want to me do.

Clemens: Let me just get back with you bro. I just can't - I mean, I'm, I'm about ready - like I said, I'm - you know, I just wanted - again, I need to - you know, like I said, I'm with you on - with your boy and everything that's being said there and I hear you. That's why I got back with you so quick, because that, that bothers me. And so. Let me just —

McNamee: I knew you would.

Clemens: Let me just visit with some people, and, and, and, and, and we'll go from there.

McNamee: All right.

Clemens: All right.