It's Too Late Too Apologize

12/16/07

Here's to you Andy Pettitte. You came clean and admitted that you did indeed use HGH back in 2002 in an effort to try and heal faster in the hopes of helping your club win.

Pettitte is getting mixed reviews from people about his apology and admittance to using a performance enhancing substance, however he will not be getting a high five from me.

The only thing I can thank Andy for is essentially throwing his good buddy Roger Clemens under the bus, because by admitting he used this stuff, it will make it that much harder for Clemens to deny the claims.

And it sucks to be him, because Roger Clemens, for as great as a pitcher as I thought he was, the man lost all of my respect back in 2000 when he threw a ball at Mike Pizza's head, only to one-up himself by throwing a bat at Mikey during the World Series, claiming he "thought it was the ball". Last time I checked Rog- you throw the ball to first, not at the runner. This isn't day camp kickball.

So while his head continued to grow, whatever was in it clearly wasn't getting the same benefits.

But back to Andy Pettitte. Here is a guy who, as a Mets fan, actually had a lot of respect for Andy. He seemed like a good guy who played hard and never gave me reason to dislike him other than the one or two times a year he would pitch against the Mets.

However like just about everybody else linked to steroids- and that includes former favorites of mine Todd Hundley, Matt Franco, Todd Pratt and Paul Lo Duca (interestingly all catchers), Pettitte has completely lost my respect.

And he did not gain a shred of it back with his statement yesterday, which he released through his agent.

First off, if this is a sincere act of remorse, get yourself in front of a Camera. I don't mind if you feel the need to show your family next to you, but give us the decency of saying this yourself, for everybody to see. Shed a few tears if you have to. Fake it. Something a little bit more genuine would have been better.

Secondly, you said that you used the stuff for two days, and that we as fans should not take those two days out of context when considering your entire career.

Are you serious?

You could have used this stuff one time, and you would have lost my respect. And that being said, I find it hard to believe you only used the stuff on two days, but without any other evidence, I can't hold that against you.

I understand you were hurt and wanted to help your team, but you weren't the first player in history to sustain an injury. It happens to EVERYONE. They get hurt, they sit out, get better and come back. Thats how it works. Was in unfortunate that you got hurt- absolutely. But being hurt is no excuse to commit one of the most frowned upon acts in sports, equal to if not just below gambling on the sport.

And then you say "If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize,"

"IF"??????

That would be like OJ finally admitting to killing his wife, and apologizing for making a questionable decision in doing so.

Alright so its not quite that dramatic, but you get the idea.

Are you better off than the other players because you stepped forward and took responsibility?

Yes.

But only marginally. The bottom line is that while I have no doubt tens and hundreds of more players were and still are using this garbage, you managed to get your name in the Mitchell Report, and then given a chance to come clean, you did so in a half-hearted attempt.

And the whole thing with Andy Pettitte, maybe more so than some of the other players is sad because of the kind of person we all thought he was, along with the recognizable name he has.

The fact that he needed to resort to this stuff, for one use, two days of use or however long- just shows that the game of baseball is unquestionably going through the darkest period in its history.

The real unfortunate part is that as bad as this whole mess has gotten, a guy like Andy Pettitte now represents the lows the game has sunk to.

And thats a shame.