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Without Pettitte, hearings proved nothing

Shaun Powell

11:02 PM EST, February 13, 2008

In a place polluted with agenda-driven politicians, spin-doctor lawyers, one admitted liar and one strongly suspected liar, the most credible person in the room wasn't even there.

He was hard to miss, though, because his ghostly presence and relayed testimony was the biggest part of an otherwise wasted afternoon on Capitol Hill. Whether or not he "mis-heard" a critical conversation on drugs, in the opinion of oratory genius Roger Clemens, he was definitely missed, period.

And so, in the search for the truth about Clemens and steroids and did he or didn't he, the real search instead should've been for his pal and former teammate and training buddy, who knew the answer to that.

But where was Andy Pettitte Wednesday and why did the congressional committee give him an intentional walk?

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Sorry, but without Pettitte, the much-balleyhooed showdown between Clemens and Brian McNamee, who contends he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH, lost a lot of, well, juice. We needed Pettitte sitting next to Clemens, if only to see who'd squirm more. We needed Pettitte to amplify and clarify his claims, given privately under oath days ago, that he and Clemens discussed performance-enhancing drugs. We needed one great friend to look the other great friend in the face and see which pitcher's eye batted the hardest.

We needed that, but the committee whiffed badly.

Evidently, the committee struck a deal with Pettitte: Give us the goods on Clemens and we won't ask you to confront him point-blank. Pettitte, sensitive and with a heavy conscience, didn't want that footage on YouTube for future generations of Pettittes to see. Former Yankee Chuck Knob.lauch, who like Pettitte fessed up about taking HGH, was excused, too, but Knoblauch didn't have anything on Clemens, so no big deal.

Pettitte's absence was a big deal because neither Clemens nor McNamee was believable. Clemens came off as a Texas tough guy who gave glaring inconsistencies in previous statements and a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to some rather pointed questions. McNamee had a bad recollection regarding the number of times he injected Clemens and was shown up by Jose Canseco, of all people, when McNamee placed Clemens at a party that Clemens likely didn't attend.

At least we had Pettitte, or thought we did, anyhow. In sworn testimony read to Clemens by the committee, Pettitte said he and Clemens discussed HGH twice, conversations supported by Pettitte's wife. That's when Clemens used his "misheard" defense, basically suggesting Pettitte must've had pine tar in his ears.

Really, now: If they really wanted a show and a showdown, why didn't the committee subpoena Pettitte so we could get a handle on the truth?

Pettitte is no saint in this sad episode, despite all that stuff about answering to his God, which is why he came clean. In truth, he lied. In his initial response to the Mitchell Report, Pettitte said he used HGH once. Then he told the committee he used it twice. What's he gonna tell his God on Judgment Day, that it was three times?

But compared to McNamee and Clemens, Pettitte looks like Mother Teresa. That's why Congress needed him to add authenticity to the hearings. Without Pettitte, the afternoon was much ado about nothing. Really, did you learn anything? Did it change your opinion? McNamee stuck to his story, Clemens to his. Both stories were running in opposite directions, like Hillary and Obama. The hearings lacked someone to trust and believe. Instead, the hearings had Washington-style justice, with Republican questioners lining up behind Bush backer Clemens and the Dems throwing up the dukes for McNamee.

"I don't know where this hearing is going," said Diane Watson (D-Calif.), with exasperation, and my answer was: Not to the next phase. Without evidence or a witness, the Justice Department won't waste taxpayer money trying to convict Clemens on perjury, and even if the feds tried, that's years away.

Speaking of evidence, the needle turned over by McNamee wouldn't stand up in court because it would be attacked as tainted. To answer an awkward question posed by a committee member, the uniform Clemens will wear to the Hall of Fame probably won't be an orange jumpsuit.

Therefore, the mystery regarding Clemens and the truth will be settled by you, the public jury. Too bad it wasn't settled by Pettitte.