ESPN Rob Neyer Blog

The following is an excerpt of Andy Pettitte's deposition to Congress:

Q: What did you ever talk to Clemens about with respect to HGH?

Pettitte: I remember a conversation in 1999 where Roger had told me that he had taken HGH ... That's really all I can really remember, you know, about it. I can't remember specifics about the conversation. That's just, you know -- that's really all I can remember about the whole

conversation.

-- snip --

Q: Did you ever -- did he tell you about the pros and cons of HGH?

A: No. I want to think that he had just said that, you know, like that he had just heard that it helped, like helped your body recover and stuff like that. But again, you know, I hate to try to -- you know, I'm sorry as far as trying to -- I don't want to be inaccurate.

-- snip --

Q: Did there ever come another time after this conversation you're talking about in '99 where you talked to Clemens about his own use of HGH?

A: One other time.

Q: When was that?

A: In 2005.

Q: Do you remember what prompted that conversation?

A: Yeah. The congressional hearings. They were going on.

Q: The hearings into --

A: Steroids and baseball.

Q: And where were you when you had this conversation?

A: In Florida.

Q: Was it just you and Mr. Clemens?

[Mr. Farrell: You have to say out loud yes.]

A: Yes. Yes. I'm sorry.

Q: Can you sort of tell me the story there of what happened there, what you guys talked about?

A: Well, I knew that the congressional hearings were going on. And I thought for sure that someone was going to come up to me, a reporter, and start talking to me and asking me questions about it. And I was going to go ahead and just admit that, you know, I had used HGH when I had used it. And so we were, you know, in spring training in Tampa -- I'm sorry. In Kissimmee, Florida, when I was with the Astros. And I got Roger and just asked him, I said, dude, what are you going to say if anyone -- if any of the reporters ask you if you had ever used HGH? And he said, you know, he said well, what are you talking about? And I said, well, you had told me you had used HGH. And he said, I never told you that. And I said, you didn't? And he said no. I told you that Debbie used HGH. And that's -- that was the end of the conversation right there.

Q: Was he referring to his wife?

A: Yeah.

Q: Debbie.

A: And between '99 and '05, I mean, those 6 years is the only two conversations that I ever recall

having with Roger Clemens with regards to that.

Q: What was your reaction to what he said?

A: Well, obviously I was a little confused and flustered. But after that, I was like, well, obviously I must have misunderstood him.

Q: But he had never told you before that his wife had used HGH, that was the first you'd heard of that, is that right?

A: Yes.

Q: Did you understand that he was saying that as a way or sort of a strategy to handle the press inquiries? I mean, was that the nature of your conversation?

A: Not really. The conversation wasn't very long. That was really the end of the conversation. Just when he said that, I was like, oh, just kind of walked out. I wasn't going to argue with him over it. You know.

Q: It sounds like when you -- it sounds like your recollection of the conversation you had with him in 1999, you are fairly certain about that, that he told you he used it. Do you think it's likely that you did misunderstand what Clemens had told you then? Are you saying you just didn't want to get into a dispute with him about it so you dropped the subject?

A: I'm saying that I was under the impression that he told me that he had taken it. And then when Roger told me that he didn't take it, and I misunderstood him, I took it for that, that I misunderstood him.

A lot of people have been mocking Clemens for using the word "misremember," but while Clemens doesn't seem to have a brilliant grasp of his native language, misremember is a word. And while Pettitte did not, by his own account, actually misremember anything, he does say that he misunderstood. Which is close enough to support Clemens' case.

So now I'm back to 90-10.

Or would be, if not for this testimony that nobody seems to be talking about:

Q: I'll ask it again. Did you ever discuss Clemens' steroids use with Brian McNamee?

Pettitte: Yes.

Q: Do you remember when that was?

A: I don't remember exactly when it was.

Q: Can you give me a ballpark, a couple years or something like that?

A: It had to be in '02, '03 -- no. I would say '03. '03 or '04 maybe.

Q: And do you mind sort of telling me the story of that conversation, how it came about, what you said?

A: Well, we were -- we were at my -- we were at my house. You know we were in -- and I have a gym. We were training in my gym. And I can just remember, you know, Mac telling me that Roger, you know, that he had gotten steroids for Roger.

Q: Was it just you and McNamee there at the time?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you remember anything else about it?

A: I just -- I remember that Mac was upset. I just remember that Mac was upset and he was venting and he was -- you know, he was telling me that that, you know, that Roger, you know, had done steroids.

--snip--

Q: Did you have any reason to think he wasn't being straight with you about that?

A: No. I mean, I would -- I had no reason to think that. No.

This is just hearsay, of course. But now we've pushed McNamee's (alleged, by Clemens) perfidy regarding Clemens from his Mitchell report testimony in 2006 or '07 back to '03 or '04, and we might reasonably wonder why McNamee would have been lying to Pettitte four or five years ago. Now, again it's possible that Pettitte misunderstood. Or is misremembering.

But all these misunderstandings and misrememberings … they require a bit of misbelieving on our end, right? Too much, I think. So now I'm back to 95-5 … and I still know that Clemens doesn't know what "vegan" means. These are strange times in which we live.