Must we? Before we get into Clemens, a reader sent us a primer on Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts. Ready? Day after The List was revealed, Rick Maese (who’s usually good) penned this awful column about how Brian Roberts was wrongly named due to scant evidence. You see, the media loves Roberts, an undersized “heart” guy who willed his way into the bigs, he’s the son of a coach, blah, blah. He’s Eckstein with biceps. Even admitted cheater David Segui came out and defended Roberts! The Orioles went further – they took shots at the Michell Report after 19 O’s were named, and really were upset with Roberts being “lumped in” to a group of cheaters. Well, as we all know, Roberts came out Tuesday and admitted he used steroids.

This is why we don’t care for the statement Rogers Clemens made Tuesday. If Roberts was the only guy defended after The List was made public, and then he admitted to using, then it’s safe to assume everyone listed is guilty. NOBODY has raced to Rocket’s defense. No former teammates in Toronto, New York or Boston, and no front office types, either. Dan Wetzel drilled ESPN for its handling of Clemens (especially the name-calling of the trainer who fingered Rocket) and Sally Jenkins at the Washington Post made a good point here: So can we expect a subpoena for Roger Clemens? (Answer: Maybe!) We’d love to hear Bud or George Mitchell respond to it. But we won’t. In summation: F Clemens, he’s a cheater and shouldn’t be a first ballot HOFer (ditto for McGwire and Bonds), and let’s move on to the next topic. Some solid Mitchell-related reads below, including this line: “Every number in every box score is tainted — if we tried to adjust or nullify certain statistics, Bill James would end up in a rubber suit reading cereal box tops near a Wichita bus depot.”

It’s Time to Turn the Page on Report(Washington Post)
Nitkowski – tempted but clean – deserves your respect (CBS Sports)
ESPN Columnist lacks perspective (Naughty American)

Photo: Andy Altenburger/Icon SMI