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I know this is kinda old.....
Andy Pettitte was in Washington, D.C., on Monday for a closed-door interview with lawyers from a congressional committee investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.
The New York Yankees left-hander appeared for nearly three hours as part of the preparation process for a Feb. 13 public hearing, expected to focus on Roger Clemens' repeated denials of allegations made by former personal trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report. Met by reporters on his way into and out of the interview room, Pettitte offered no comment both times.
According to The Associated Press, the 35-year-old Pettitte appeared holding hands with his wife, Laura, and did not speak to reporters before entering a room. Pettitte followed former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch, who spoke to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday.
It was anticipated that Pettitte would be asked about his personal experiences regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs, up to and including anything related to Clemens' alleged use that Pettitte may have witnessed or discussed with the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
After the Mitchell Report's release in December, Pettitte confirmed McNamee's claims that the hurler had twice used human growth hormone during the 2002 season while recuperating from injury.
"At the committee's request, Andy Pettitte voluntarily met with representatives of the committee this morning, and fully answered all of the inquiries made of him in a sworn deposition," Pettitte's lawyers, Jay Reisinger and Thomas Farrell, said in a statement. "Out of respect for the sensitive nature of these proceedings, and out of deference to the committee's request for confidentiality, we, on behalf of Mr. Pettitte, will not comment on the nature or specifics of his testimony."
Earl Ward, a lawyer for McNamee, said last week that he believes Pettitte will tell Congress he discussed HGH with Clemens between the 2001 and '02 seasons.
"We're hopeful based on Andy's reputation that he will corroborate Brian's statements with regard to Roger," Ward told the AP in a telephone interview.
Richard Emery, another lawyer for McNamee, said his client and Pettitte also discussed steroid use by Clemens.
"Pettitte is certainly going to tell the truth, and if he tells the truth, everything will be fine," Emery said. "There are a number of conversations where Pettitte and Brian talked about Clemens' use. I think there is everything to believe Pettitte is not a liar."
Through agent Randy Hendricks, Pettitte confirmed an anecdote contained in the Mitchell Report in December that stated that the left-hander experimented with HGH while rehabilitating left elbow tendinitis from April 21-June 14, 2002, when he was on the disabled list and working out in Tampa, Fla.
"I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow," Pettitte said. "I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone."
According to the report, Pettitte called McNamee -- by then a former Yankees assistant trainer who still worked closely with Pettitte and Clemens -- and asked McNamee to travel to Tampa.
McNamee told the Mitchell investigators that he injected Pettitte with HGH two to four times, obtained from former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Pettitte paid for McNamee's trip and expenses, but McNamee said there was no separate payment for the HGH.
Pettitte returned from the disabled list on June 14 of that season and made 19 starts through the remainder of the regular season, going 12-4 with a 3.29 ERA.
He finalized a one-year, $16 million contract with the Yankees in December after briefly contemplating retirement. Pettitte was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA for the Yankees in 2007, his first season back in New York after pitching three years for the Houston Astros.
Clemens is scheduled to give a deposition or transcribed interview to committee lawyers on Tuesday, followed by McNamee on Thursday.
Radomski has been scheduled to appear on Feb. 12, a day before the public hearing. He pleaded guilty to selling drugs illicitly and money laundering in the wide federal net that exposed the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8.
Mitchell, Commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, the long-time executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, appeared at a hearing on Jan. 15.
Andy Pettitte was in Washington, D.C., on Monday for a closed-door interview with lawyers from a congressional committee investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.
The New York Yankees left-hander appeared for nearly three hours as part of the preparation process for a Feb. 13 public hearing, expected to focus on Roger Clemens' repeated denials of allegations made by former personal trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report. Met by reporters on his way into and out of the interview room, Pettitte offered no comment both times.
According to The Associated Press, the 35-year-old Pettitte appeared holding hands with his wife, Laura, and did not speak to reporters before entering a room. Pettitte followed former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch, who spoke to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday.
It was anticipated that Pettitte would be asked about his personal experiences regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs, up to and including anything related to Clemens' alleged use that Pettitte may have witnessed or discussed with the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
After the Mitchell Report's release in December, Pettitte confirmed McNamee's claims that the hurler had twice used human growth hormone during the 2002 season while recuperating from injury.
"At the committee's request, Andy Pettitte voluntarily met with representatives of the committee this morning, and fully answered all of the inquiries made of him in a sworn deposition," Pettitte's lawyers, Jay Reisinger and Thomas Farrell, said in a statement. "Out of respect for the sensitive nature of these proceedings, and out of deference to the committee's request for confidentiality, we, on behalf of Mr. Pettitte, will not comment on the nature or specifics of his testimony."
Earl Ward, a lawyer for McNamee, said last week that he believes Pettitte will tell Congress he discussed HGH with Clemens between the 2001 and '02 seasons.
"We're hopeful based on Andy's reputation that he will corroborate Brian's statements with regard to Roger," Ward told the AP in a telephone interview.
Richard Emery, another lawyer for McNamee, said his client and Pettitte also discussed steroid use by Clemens.
"Pettitte is certainly going to tell the truth, and if he tells the truth, everything will be fine," Emery said. "There are a number of conversations where Pettitte and Brian talked about Clemens' use. I think there is everything to believe Pettitte is not a liar."
Through agent Randy Hendricks, Pettitte confirmed an anecdote contained in the Mitchell Report in December that stated that the left-hander experimented with HGH while rehabilitating left elbow tendinitis from April 21-June 14, 2002, when he was on the disabled list and working out in Tampa, Fla.
"I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow," Pettitte said. "I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone."
According to the report, Pettitte called McNamee -- by then a former Yankees assistant trainer who still worked closely with Pettitte and Clemens -- and asked McNamee to travel to Tampa.
McNamee told the Mitchell investigators that he injected Pettitte with HGH two to four times, obtained from former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Pettitte paid for McNamee's trip and expenses, but McNamee said there was no separate payment for the HGH.
Pettitte returned from the disabled list on June 14 of that season and made 19 starts through the remainder of the regular season, going 12-4 with a 3.29 ERA.
He finalized a one-year, $16 million contract with the Yankees in December after briefly contemplating retirement. Pettitte was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA for the Yankees in 2007, his first season back in New York after pitching three years for the Houston Astros.
Clemens is scheduled to give a deposition or transcribed interview to committee lawyers on Tuesday, followed by McNamee on Thursday.
Radomski has been scheduled to appear on Feb. 12, a day before the public hearing. He pleaded guilty to selling drugs illicitly and money laundering in the wide federal net that exposed the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8.
Mitchell, Commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, the long-time executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, appeared at a hearing on Jan. 15.
