Clemens, Cheater

Since today seems to be non-education-related blog post day, let's just roll with that a little longer and discuss the fact that Roger Clemens apparently began using steroids in 1998.

If true, Clemens deserves all the scorn currently being heaped on Barry Bonds. They both did exactly the same thing, at exactly the same time in their careers, for exactly the same reason, with exactly the same result. The prima facie evidence of steroid abuse, in terms of freakishly prolonged greatness, was just as strong. Instead of natural decline in their mid-to-late 30s, each began to rack up additional MVPs and Cy Youngs. Instead of merely being the best position player and pitcher of their generation, they cheated their way into becoming among the greats of all time. Clemens' 354 career wins is, in the context of the modern five man rotation, nearly as impressive as Bonds' all-time homerun record. If Clemens goes to the Hall of Fame and Bonds doesn't, that's racism pure and simple. And Dan Duquette, the Boston Red Sox general manager who infamously said that Clemens was in the "“twilight of his career" before letting him go to the Blue Jays, is owed a lot of apologies right about now.