Andy Pettitte Saga

I just want to start out by saying that Andy Pettitte has been my favorite baseball player ever since 1996 and it was very disappointing to me that he was named in the Mitchell report. While I don't condone the use of HGH or other performance enhancing drugs at all, I am willing to give Pettitte somewhat of a pass on this. The report stated that he used HGH 'two to four times' as he was recovering from an elbow injury. Yes, that was wrong, but his intentions were good. He was trying to recover from an injury. That's what he admitted and what the Mitchell Report pretty much said. While the purpose of the Mitchell Report was to state on the role of performance enhancing drugs in baseball and what to do to fix it, I thought that when we named the names, we were trying to expose the people that took the drugs to really amp up their performance. Barry Bonds took the stuff to build himself up like crazy and so he could crush baseballs out of the ballpark. Again, I am not condoning what Pettitte did, but at least the alleged circumstances were not that bad and he owned up to it. Apparently all that is not good enough for some. Renegade/Idiotic national columnist Mike Freeman for cbs.sportsline.com felt the need to rip into Pettitte and basically call him a huge liar. I honestly think I lost brain cells reading it...here it is (in bold)

If you believe Andy Pettitte, then you also believe a big, fat man wearing a red suit will slide down your chimney in a few days.

You also believe the excuses given by those perverts on the Chris Hansen Dateline shows.

Or those Internet ads promising increased length ... of your hair follicles.

Well, looks like I actually do believe in Santa, along with a lot of other people who didn't think they did. Apparently I believe that some overweight, unemployed 52-year old men just want to be friends with 13-year old girls too.

Increasingly, George "Superbad" Mitchell is looking more and more like a genius and Barry Bonds more and more like he had plenty of company.

He wrote down what a trainer told him (at least in this instance). Real tough stuff. And holy cow! Barry Bonds had plenty of company!!?? I never knew!!

Here is what the latest news from the Mitchell investigation -- Pettitte admitting he used HGH -- really means:

It means at least some of the championships earned during the recent New York Yankees dynasty are seriously tainted.

There is no other conclusion. None. Not one.

Hmm...let us see. Some of the championships tainted? Well, Pettitte admitted taking HGH during the 2002 season. That's what the Mitchell Report said too. There is no other evidence whatsoever that he took it during any other time. The Yankee's last title? 2000. To say "at least some" of the championships are "serious tainted" is a completely outrageous statement. If he were to say that other former Yankees on that list taking performance enhancing drugs could have tainted the titles, he might have somewhat of an argument, but he didn't. He said that Pettitte admitting he used HGH (and only that) means that the titles were tainted. And that there's no other conclusion. Wow. I'll offer another one. His admission didn't taint s***. Plus by saying this, Freeman shows how close-minded of a person he really is. Last I checked, George W. Bush was the decider (sorry, had to do it).

Both Pettitte and Roger Clemens were key mentions in the Mitchell report and Pettitte helped the Yankees win four World Series championships. Clemens was, of course, key as well.

Wait...you just said that Pettitte's statement that he used HGH tainted the title. Don't bring Clemens into this. Because Pettitte and Clemens are such good friends, people tie them together and assume that means Clemens had to have done it too. You can't do that. While I do admit, Clemens' situation is very hairy, just because one story was proven right doesn't mean they all are. Besides, Clemens came to the Yankees in 1999 so at least he would have only helped for 2 of the 4 titles if the allegations against him prove true.

If Yankees fans have written me and said Bonds' records are tainted, it is only fair to suggest that what the Yankees did with Pettitte is now tainted.

If New York sports fans have stated the New England Patriots are cheaters and said their Super Bowls are tainted, then how is what the Yankees did not tainted?

It strains credibility, no matter what Pettitte's apologists will say, that he limited his use of HGH.

Pettitte claimed he used HGH on only two occasions.

Ooookkaayyyy ...

And I only just had two beers.

Bonds probably did steroids 23940723498 times. Pettitte? Two to four...crappy comparison. Especially since Bonds did it out of greed, self image, and for personal gain. And again, the Mitchell Report stated he took it only in 2002, and only because he was nursing a bum elbow. Knowing how evil and sinister Belichick is, who knows how long the Pats filmed signals. Another very loose comparison. To slam Pettitte for claiming to only use HGH twice is just stupid. That's what the Mitchell Report said too. How can you be so adamant that he is lying? I just don't get it. While Pettitte did have pretty decent stats in 2002, they weren't jaw dropping by any stretch. Either way, he has put up similar stats since baseball started testing for HGH and other things.

Your use had nothing to do with increasing your fastball. Nothing at all.

Actually it didn't. His K/IN ratio has been relatively steady throughout his career.

You're a team guy, Andy. You make me proud to be an American. I want to cry.

(Example of why Mike Freeman is a complete a**.)

If you're going to laugh at Bonds for saying he thought he was taking flaxseed oil, or mock Mark McGwire's appearance before Congress or laugh at how Sammy Sosa sat before Congress and suddenly couldn't speak English, you have to laugh hysterically at Pettitte's statement.

Again, another flat out retarded comment. All three of these guys blatantly abused performance enhancing drugs to inflate their bodies. I'm pretty sure Pettitte's head didn't double in size like Bonds'. What he did was confirm the statement written in the Mitchell Report. I don't understand how you can compare the situations at all. Pettitte is the only guy of those 4 to even admit taking anything too...

Rumors of HGH and steroid use have swirled around Clemens and Pettitte for some time, so why hasn't Pettitte said anything until now?

I can answer that one. It's because he was named in Mitchell's report. He had to come clean. So Pettitte did the next best thing; he came sorta, kinda clean.

Right, you expected players to come out and admit taking HGH before the Mitchell Report. While that would be nice, it is just unrealistic. Plus, HGH rumors have not swirled around Pettitte that much (at least to my knowledge). His build really hasn't really changed at all and he has never been a power pitcher. Maybe I'm missing out on something but outside of recovering from injuries and such, wouldn't HGH mainly only help develop power pitchers? Did he admit it because of the Mitchell Report? Yeah, I won't argue that point. You honestly can't expect everyone to come clean, and especially Pettitte since he (allegedly) has only used HGH 2-4 times. To charge that he as only come sorta, kinda clean...how can you? There is NO evidence that he used it at any other time. Almost sounds like a personal vendetta against Pettitte if you ask me.